Every Wednesday I share some quotes I’ve come across that I really like. These are the insights of others that have stuck with me or that are generally worth pondering. Sometimes I may add some of my own comments to go with the quotes, but more often than not I’ll let people smarter than me simply speak for themselves.
This week I’ve got some reflections on the importance of studying the Bible, and I want to start with a quote from John Hannah, who was one of my professors at Dallas Theological Seminary. One of the things I enjoyed most about Dr. Hannah’s classes (aside from his near-encyclopedic knowledge of church history) was when he would interject brilliant little off-the-cuff remarks in the middle of his lectures. Here’s one I particularly enjoyed:
“Being biblical doesn’t mean you have a verse for your concept – cults have that. It means that you have the weight of all of the revelation of God on that subject, so that it is nuanced by the totality, not a particularity. That’s being biblical, not ‘having verses.'” – John Hannah (DTS Class Lecture, 3/1/2017).
Dr. Hannah’s point is that it’s not enough to cherry-pick verses out of context and then assume you know “what the Bible says” on a topic. Instead, you need to become familiar with how the whole Bible addresses your topic. This is some much-needed advice in our culture of memes and Instagram-ready sound bites. Learn to go deeper so that your thinking isn’t surface-level.
Here’s some wise words from A. W. Tozer on the value of spending time in Scripture:
“When I come to the Bible, and when I spend time reading and meditating upon the Scriptures, I am entering a world where God is dominant and desires to reveal himself to the worshiping heart.” – A. W. Tozer (Delighting in God, 108).
In other words, Bible-reading shouldn’t be just an academic exercise or just another item to cross off your spiritual “to-do” list; rather, it’s a way of allowing your entire outlook on life to be transformed. Read to get to know God personally and have his perspective shape your heart.
And finally, a few practical remarks to chew on:
“If you stop learning today, you will stop leading tomorrow.” – Howard Hendricks.
“If you don’t know, learn. If you already know, apply. If you know and have applied, improve.” – Anonymous.
Do you have any Bible study quotes you particularly like? Feel free to share them in the comments! See you down the path.
Categories: Wise Words
Theology Pathfinder 
Great quotes! I particularly like the last (anonymous) one. Going to share that on Twitter! 🙂
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