Preacher and author Beth Moore garnered quite a bit of attention last week after she posted a brief Twitter thread in which she argued spending time reading the Bible and spending time with God are not necessarily the same thing.
Really, the comments aren’t that revolutionary and shouldn’t be controversial. But people were still upset. Here’s what she wrote:
Do not be deceived. People who study the Scriptures constantly and are continually mean-spirited, rude, slanderous and, aside their religious rhetoric, bereft of outward evidences of the Holy Spirit are having Bible study without God. He affects us. You can take that to the bank.
— Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) January 3, 2019
*we need God (drop the “to”)
— Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) January 3, 2019
Moore responded to one critic, telling him to read John 5, presumably because two of the chapter’s verses (39-40) directly reference the reading of Scripture and allowing theological understanding to replace true, intimate relationship with God.
The passage reads, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.”
Years ago, the late Scottish theologian William Barclay explained the passage this way: “[The religious leaders] read [the Bible] not to search for God but to find arguments to support their own positions. They did not really love God; they loved their own ideas about him.”
It’s important for Christians to understand even though God is his Word, and often meets believers there, doesn’t mean a healthy understanding of the Bible and theology equals a personal relationship with God. After all, even Satan knows the Word — and he knows it all too well.
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The devil tempted Jesus with Scripture, coaxing him with Old Testament passages he twisted in an attempt to trick the Son of God into sinning. But Jesus not only knew the Bible, he had an intimate relationship with the Father, a connection that proved to be a firm foundation and motivation in an uncertain time.
One woman summed it up perfectly, writing, “In our ministry, we have repeat Bible study attendees who sadly never apply God’s Word to their lives. But then there are those whose lives and hearts are changed in every Bible study we offer. The Author shows up every time. We just need to look and listen for Him there.”
In our ministry, we have repeat Bible Study attendees who sadly never apply God’s Word to their lives. But then there are those whose lives and hearts are changed in every Bible study we offer. The Author shows up every time. We just need to look and listen for Him there.
— Janet Sudak Graves (@janetsgraves) January 3, 2019
“Yes,” Moore replied, “indeed.”