The Art of Bible Banging!
Matthew 4:4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”
The Lord had been fasting for forty days and forty nights. Luke says that he ate nothing during this fast. Both Luke and Matthew said he was hungry. Satan, the adversary, tells the Lord that he should command the stones to become bread. The verse we are meditating on is the Lord’s answer. We do need physical food, but the spiritual food that comes from the Word of God is more important. Would it have been wrong for the Lord to use His power to make bread out of stones? Apparently. it would have been wrong. I take it that the Spirit had not yet directed the Lord to eat. And when he did eat, He would have eaten food provided in the normal way since His miracles were not self-serving. But what the Lord makes us realize is that the Word of God in it’s entirely is food for our souls. That food is more important than food for our bodies. But what has caused me to stop and think is that word EVERY.
How important is EVERY word in the Bible to us? Do we pick and choose what we want to accept and believe? I understand that we must “rightly divide” or properly interpret the word of God (2 Timothy 2:15). But all of the Word of God as found in our Bibles is important. We read:
The Word is alive and it sorts things out.
Hebrews 4:12 says, “ For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The Word of God is divinely inspired and it should speak to us whatever our needs are.
2Timiothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness”
The Word of God is permanent and its message simply does not change.
1Pe 1:24-5 says, “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the LORD endures forever.”
The Word of God produces faith in the Lord.
Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Because of the importance of the Word of God, I am one of those preachers that people call “Bible Bangers.” I think the Word of God is more important than anything I can say about it. That is why I always start these meditations with a Bible verse. When I preach the Gospel to the unsaved or when I teach or preach to those who profess faith in Christ, I always like to explain Scripture. There are some today who tell people what the Bible says and they often to do it quite well, but they seem to be reluctant to actually read from the Bible to show that their messages are Scriptural. I think that is a mistake.
We had a well-known and very effective evangelist in our area who was reached and saved through a neighbor whose life spoke to him. He then began to ask that neighbor questions about Spiritual things. That neighbor did not have a Bible degree but he had a Bible that he read. His answer to the questions that he was asked always began with him pulling a Bible out of his pocket and saying, “Let’s see what the Bible says about that.” He was a “Bible Banger” and because the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God, the man was saved and became an evangelist.
Yes, the Bible is different from other books. Every Word is precious and powerful. The Lord was not afraid to quote it to Satan. He knew the value of “Bible Banging.” He knew the Word, He applied the Word and He quoted the Word.
May we who trust in the Lord, learn the “Art of Bible Banging.”
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of August 11, 2013