Gird Up the Loins of Your Mind

We shouldn’t read Scripture to prove what we have already concluded is correct.

By DAVE JENNINGS 

Read Time: 10 minutes

Several important hallmarks of Christadelphia have survived over our 170-year history. One of them is a commitment to regular and robust Bible reading. Reading the Scriptures is a non-transferable, non-delegable practice. 

We must admit that “life” seems to get in the way of regular reading and contemplating the Scriptures. It did with me for many years. It was my loss. Long work weeks, ecclesial responsibilities, raising children—all invaded time I should have invested in personal reading. Daily responsibilities can easily gobble up the time required to read the Bible individually or with our families. But this choice is made at our peril. The intake of Scripture, like the gathering of manna, was always intended to be daily. We’ll finish this article with some ideas that might help us all re-commit to Bible reading with an eye for better comprehension.

Reading the Bible With The Right Attitude

Bro. Len Richardson wrote a few years after Bro. Wille about “how” we read.

There is an important exhortation for us, as Bro. Richardson suggests, to read the Scriptures without biases and preconceptions, and with an open mind. We shouldn’t read Scripture to prove what we have already concluded is correct. The Scriptures assist us in developing the skill of critical thinking. It is what the Bereans embraced. When they heard the expounding of Scripture, they “received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11).

What’s remarkable about those in Berea is that they didn’t merely accept the words of Paul and Silas, they took the time to go back to the Scriptures to verify the message. As they went to very familiar passages, they could see, with the help of the apostles, what they had previously missed. This result was only possible because they had open, prepared minds, and let Scripture be the referee over what was right or wrong.

Committing to critical thinking and Bible reading is essential. Even in the presence of Spirit gifts, Paul directed the Thessalonian believers:

Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. (1 Thessalonians 5:20-22 ESV). 

Other versions help to instruct us on what this requires.

• KJV – “prove all things”
• NASB – “examine everything”
• JB Philips – “By all means use your judgement, and hold on to whatever is really good.”

We don’t have the blessing (or challenge) of the gifts of tongues or prophecy in our ecclesias today. Paul’s message was that no matter what you see or hear, test it! Even in the presence of Spirit gifts.

Engagement Today

Sometimes, I see troubling behavior in our ecclesias. While a brother leads a class or gives an exhortation, Bibles lie unopened in the audience. In some cases, Bibles aren’t even brought to the meeting! There is a lack of verification of what is being preached. This situation is not how the Truth has flourished for many years. The standard is not to listen to an exhortation like we would watch a movie. It is not entertainment. There is an accountability to learners and presenters to carefully follow what is being presented, check the verses cited, and assess the speaker’s message. This accountability makes us all better and protects us against false teachings that might unintentionally arise. The Apostle John instructed first-century believers:

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (1 John 4:1).

It is common these days to hear external citations from Internet sources shared in an exhortation or Bible class. I sincerely doubt any of us would intentionally teach incorrect doctrine. Yet we might unwittingly do so by quoting such sources without adequately analyzing or assessing them by Scripture in advance. Before we introduce these ideas to others, we must test them.

I am certainly not against the use of electronics. I see an increasing number of brothers and sisters using their laptops at meeting as a replacement for a hardcopy Bible. These devices have the potential to enable some great analysis and assessment in the moment of what is being said. There are many convenient Bible study programs available today. Some use their smartphones. But we must be honest about the risks of these devices. These same devices can also be a great source of distraction. I sometimes hear the familiar sound of ESPN updates coming through during meeting. The “ping” of a new email or text message received. These are highly likely to divert our attention. There is value in Bible study tools (real-time) on electronic devices. However, there must be a high awareness of the possible threats to concentrated Bible study. And for the fantastic point that the brother just made at Bible class—how will you capture that? Do you have a notepad, a Bible margin, or a special place on your electronic device? 

We have seen dramatic shifts in reading habits in the past years. It is a misconception to think that younger people read books less.3 In fact, the opposite is true. Young people read more than their predecessors ever did. But is there a difference in content read on a physical, hardcopy book versus on a screen?

The Smithsonian magazine commented on this recently.

We need to pause here and recognize that no special “holiness” is associated with the mechanism we read from—whether hardcopy or electronic. In Bible times, most did not have a personal copy of the law and prophets. They were dependent on their hearing in synagogues and other locations. 

What seems important is that all the skills listed in the Smithsonian article have value for Bible readers. The more contemplative and analytical value of reading from a hardcopy Bible is a big part of critical Bible reading. But so are the skills of determining patterns, making connections, discussing them with respected friends, and having an action orientation. The mechanism we use to read isn’t the issue. How we read is important, as well as how we prepare our minds to take in the Word.

The words of the Apostle Peter are helpful here. He described how the prophets “searched diligently” to understand God’s plan. Believers are now blessed to see the fulfillment of these prophecies and the many places in Scripture where the Lord’s sufferings and resurrection were revealed in advance. He further said that even the “angels desire to look into” the plan of God. The Scriptures are the Divine revelation of God’s plan, and the best minds of men and women search it diligently. Peter instructs the believers to have the same passion for the Scriptures.

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:13).

Girding up the loins means being prepared. It is Passover language. We must be ready to go on a journey and be fully led by our God. But this is about girding up the loins of our minds, being ready and prepared. So, when we are sitting in meeting or in a circle with our family reading Scripture, the point is to gird up the loins of our minds. Connecting with this is having a pencil and paper handy (or the electronic equivalent). But it certainly means we must be fully engaged. Ready to learn and prepared to assess.

Earlier in this article, we said we would share some thoughts about making Bible reading consistent and more effective. Here are a few ideas.

Join a Bible reading group. This action can be done in a room together or as a virtual reading group. There is immense value in reading with others and sharing questions, thoughts, and reflections. If you can’t do it every day, form a group that meets consistently—say once a week.

Read from the Bible with your children. While it is nice to show videos to our children about Bible stories, these can be supplemental. But when your children are old enough to read, have them read the stories with you. Begin teaching the skills associated with reading the text and developing a mental picture of the story.

Ecclesias and Christadelphian gatherings need to reinforce the practice of regular Bible reading. When the daily readings are used at the Sunday Memorial Service, they reconnect all of us to the important journey of reading all of Scripture. It’s even more powerful when the exhorting brother takes his comments from the readings. It would be good for us to recommit, as Bro. Wille said, to share together what struck us as we read from Scripture this week.

Read from other Bible versions. I have been a King James reader for many years, but when I hear others read from newer translations, it often opens up the passage’s meaning in a way the KJV does not. The same goes for any of us who read only one version. Employing multiple versions is an important analytical tool for critical Bible reading.

When you come to a place in Scripture where you have a question, make sure to write it down. Consider making a list and keeping such questions at the rear of your Bible to be investigated later.

Lastly, I will share a comment Bro. David Levin recently wrote about “doing the readings” as a warning against legalism.5 There may be some value in just being exposed to the three reading portions daily. But speeding through them without critical thought is not what God expects from us. We would be better served to read less and spend more time contemplating and analyzing. Let’s not be trapped in ritualistic practices that fail to engage the mind. Instead, may we spur one another along toward girding up the loins of our minds. Our survival as individuals and a community are at stake.

Dave Jennings