In 1765, John Wesley wrote on some practical ways to read the Bible.
John Wesley gave us some practical ways to read the Bible.
In his book which was published in 1765, “Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament”, he wrote:
-To set apart a little time, if you can, every morning and evening for that purpose?
–At each time if you have leisure, to read a chapter out of the Old, and one out of the New Testament: if you cannot do this, to take a single chapter, or a part of one?
–To read this with a single eye, to know the whole will of God, and a fixt resolution to do it?
–In order to know his will, you should, have a constant eye to the analogy of faith;
–Serious and earnest prayer should be constantly used, before we consult the oracles of God, seeing “scripture can only be understood thro’ the same Spirit whereby it was given.”
–Our reading should likewise be closed with prayer, that what we read may be written on our hearts.
-And whatever light you then receive, should be used to the uttermost, and that immediately. Let there be no delay. Whatever you resolve, begin to execute the first moment you can. So shall you find this word to be indeed the power of God unto present and eternal salvation?
What John Wesley meant was that the reading of the Bible should include these basics:
a.little time
b. a chapter
c. a single eye
d. a constant eye
e. pray
f. pause
g. power
a. little time
You need to spend time to read the Bible. John Wesley said every morning and every evening, every day. You need to spend time to read the Bible. Make time in your schedule for Bible reading.
b. a chapter
Read a chapter from the Old Testament and a chapter from New Testament. If you can’t do that, you can read a chapter.
c. a single eye
We have to figure out what we can apply in our daily lives. After reading the chapter, what we should apply in our daily lives?
d. a constant eye
Have a constant eye to the analogy of faith: the original sin, justification by faith (because of faith, we are saved, and not because of good works), the new birth we have through Jesus Christ, Inward and Outward Holiness (emphasizing on Holy living).
e. pray
While reading the Bible, we pray for the Holy Spirit to give us understanding on the chapter. We also pray that God’s Word will be written in our hearts as we read.
f. pause
We should pause and examine ourselves by what we read. Examine our hearts and lives. This will result in giving praise to God when He has guided us to a path of blessedness, or at certain parts, we identified with the sins mentioned in the Bible, we then ask God for forgiveness.
g. power
The Bible gives us power to live a victorious life. There are so many testimonies of people who are able to face the challenges in life because they hold on to God’s promises and encouragements in His Word.
We will be blessed as we read God’s Word. After all, it is God’s love letter to us. It is the instructions on living our lives. Let us set aside time each day to read His Word.
Love me … with the love that is long-suffering and kind; that is patient, –if I am ignorant or out of the way, bearing and not increasing my burden; and is tender, soft, and compassionate still; that envieth not, if at any time it please God to prosper me in his work even more than thee. Love me with the love that is not provoked, either at my follies or infirmities; or even at my acting (if it should sometimes so appear to thee) not according to the will of God. Love me so as to think no evil of me; to put away all jealousy and evil-surmising. Love me with the love that covereth all things; that never reveals either my faults or infirmities, –that believeth all things; is always willing to think the best, to put the fairest construction on all my words and actions, –that hopeth all things; either that the thing related was never done; or not done with such circumstances as are related; or, at least, that it was done with a good-intention, or in a sudden stress of temptation. And hope to the end, that whatever is amiss will, by the grace of God, be corrected; and whatever is wanting, supplied, through the riches of his mercy in Christ Jesus.
Today we remember the legacy of our spiritual forefather, John Wesley, the man who started the Methodist movement. John Wesley became a missionary to America. Unfortunately, he failed in his mission trip and returned to England with a broken heart and discouraged spirit. He had all the head knowledge about God, but he did not experience God yet.
On 24 May, 1738, John Wesley unwillingly attended worship at a Moravian ‘Religious Society’ meeting on Aldersgate Street in London. It was during this service that he felt his “heart strangely warmed”, as he experienced God’s love in a most personal way. Until then he had only known God in his mind, but not in his heart. Now he understood the value of a personal experience of God that would bring assurance of salvation to the believer.
And this changed his life and his ministry.
As a result of this change in his heart, John Wesley said he wanted to be “a man of one book”. He said, “Let me be a man of one book”. He wrote about it in the preface of his book, “Sermon on Several Occasions” (1746-60).
He wrote, “I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God, and returning to God: just hovering over the great gulf; till, a few moments hence, I am no more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing—the way to heaven; how to land safe on that happy shore.
God himself has condescended to teach the way: For this very end he came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. Oh, give me that book! At any price give me the book of God! I have it: Here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be a man of one book.
John Wesley graduated from the Oxford University and was a lecturer. He had impressive knowledge, yet, out of all these books and knowledge, he said, the Bible was the most valuable and precious.
John Wesley truly believes that the Bible is the revelation of God. Bible is the infallible Word of God. Bible is precious. The Bible helps us to understand about the way to eternal life and how we should live our lives on this earth. That’s why he so confidently said, “Let me be a man of one book”.
This book—the Bible, has become the compass in the way he lived his life, and it sets the standard for him in serving God and the community. It was his guideline and moral compass.
John Wesley put an emphasis on God’s Word in his life and ministry. He had this strong desire for God’s Word.
Do you desire God’s Word? Is God’s Word the guide and compass in your daily life?
Do you spend time reading God’s Word?
Apostle Paul also recognised the importance of God’s Word. In his last pastoral letter to Timothy, Apostle Paul mentioned the importance of the Bible.
Paul wrote:
Salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (verse 15)
Reading the Bible once in a life time is not enough. There is no such thing as know it all when it comes to reading the Bible. It is not like a text book for a subject, you only need it may be only for one semester then you resell it to your juniors.
The Bible is also not a romance book, you only read it once, it made you feel good and after that you donate it. The Bible is not a book you borrowed from the library and never see it again after returning it back to the library.
It is a love letter from God to us, but as lovers in relationship, we will keep reading the letter because every time when we read the letter, we will feel the sweet feeling and that we feel loved. When someone you love sends you a letter or a SMS or WhatsApp, you will enjoy reading it again and again. Likewise, in our relationship with God, when we read the Bible, Our heart is warm by the love of God.
The Bible is meant to be read daily.
Paul wrote to Timothy, “continue in what you have learned” (verse 14). Continue to learn more about the Bible. It is a journey. There is never an end to it until we die. We can’t learn everything about it in our lifetime.
“Continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of”.
Don’t let your fire die down for God’s Holy Word. Continue to guard your heart and guard your faith, because it is only through God’s Word that you will receive salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
Apostle Paul also mentioned about Timothy learning the Bible from his mother and grandmother. Reading the Bible on our own in our quiet time with God is important. But don’t neglect from learning from someone. I have mentors and friends. We go for Bible seminars to deepen my understanding about the Bible. I listen to sermons from other guest speakers and talk about sermons with my friends. The church organizes a lot of Bible seminars for us to deepen our knowledge in the Bible. Always keep learning the Bible from reliable sources.
My parents had always been nurturing my sister and I spiritually. When I was young, my mum read Bible stories to me and my sister before bed when we were little children. It was always the favourite part of the day for me because I enjoyed the stories and the colours and pictures of the children Bible. Our parents sent us to Sunday school, we enjoyed the arts and crafts and the Bible stories. I praise the Lord for the spiritual legacy of my parents.
My maternal grandma lived to be a hundred years old. Despite her old age, she spent a lot of time in her room in prayers and reading the Bible. She prayed for each of her children and their families, her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She hunger for God’s Word so much that she continue to read the Bible despite failing eyes due to old age. I have this legacy and example to follow. At her funeral, my aunties, uncles and cousins were testifying what a woman of God grandma was. And we all strive to be like her, a woman of prayer and a woman of one book, the Bible.
My aunties and uncles from my mum’s side of the family are godly women and men. They inspired me so much by the way they live their lives and the way they love the people around them. It was through these examples of godly parents and grandma, aunties and uncles that I became sure of my salvation. And they read their Bibles.
Let’s remember to read our Bibles. It is food for our souls.
Victorious living (verse 16-17)
There is a story about a man named. In just six months, Gerald’s life fell apart. An economic crisis destroyed his business and wealth, while a tragic accident took his son’s life. Overcome by shock, his mother had a heart attack and died, his wife went into depression, and his two young daughters remained inconsolable. All he could do was echo the words of the psalmist, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1).
The only thing that kept Gerald going was the hope that God, who raised Jesus to life, would one day deliver him and his family from their pain to an eternal life of joy. It was a hope that God would answer his desperate cries for help. In his despair, like the psalmist David, he determined to trust God in the midst of his suffering. He held on to the hope that God would deliver and save him (Psalm 22: 4–5).
That hope sustained Gerald. Over the years, whenever he was asked how he was, he could only say, “Well, I’m trusting God.”
What does God do with people who put their trust in Him? God certainly honored that trust. He gave Gerald the comfort, strength, and courage to keep going through the years. His family slowly recovered from the crisis, and soon Gerald welcomed the birth of his first grandchild. His lament is now a testimony of God’s faithfulness. “I’m no longer asking, ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ but God has blessed me.”
When it seems there’s nothing left, there’s still hope.
The Bible is God-breath, it is the Word of God. There is power in God’s Word. It sustains us during difficult times.
As in Apostle Paul’s letter to Timothy, Paul also said that the Bible is the manual for victorious living.
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that they servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (verses 16-17)
So that we will not end up like hot messes in our lives. God’s Word teaches us, rebuke us and correct us and train us to be righteous people, living lives which pleases God.
John Wesley gave us some practical ways to read the Bible.
In his book which was published in 1765, “Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament”, he wrote that reading the Bible should include these basics:
a. little time
You need to spend time to read the Bible. John Wesley said every morning and every evening, every day. You need to spend time to read the Bible. Make time in your schedule for Bible reading.
b. a chapter
John Wesley was saying read a chapter from the Old Testament and a chapter from New Testament. If you can’t do that, you can read a chapter.
c. a single eye
Read the Bible with a single eye means that we have to figure out what we can apply in our daily lives. After reading the chapter, what we should apply in our daily lives?
d. a constant eye
Have a constant eye to the analogy of faith: the original sin, justification by faith (because of faith, we are saved, and not because of good works), the new birth we have through Jesus Christ, Inward and Outward Holiness (emphasizing on Holy living).
e. pray
While we read the Bible, we pray. We pray for the Holy Spirit to give us understanding to understand the chapter. We also pray that God’s Word will be written in our hearts as we read.
f. pause
While we read, we also should pause and examine ourselves by what we read. Examine our hearts and lives. This will result in giving praise to God when He has guided us to a path of blessedness, or at certain parts, we identified with the sins mentioned in the Bible, we then ask God for forgiveness.
g. power
The Bible gives us power to live a victorious life. Like the examples of my grandma and also the story of Glenn, we see people living victorious life because they are people of one book, they love God more than anything else, and they were able to weather storms in their lives.
The Bible reading method I personally like to use is the ACTIONS.
A-adoration (praise God. Who God is in this passage?)
C-confession of sins (what are the sins this passage is talking about? Am I committing this sin? Confess it to God)
T-thanksgiving (according to this passage, what can I give thanks to God for?)
I-inspiring verses (which verse speaks to me the most?)
O-obedience (what is the one thing or things God is asking me to obey?)
N-now action (what is the action I have to take?)
S-share (share with others the new insights you have received from reading the Bible today)
I find that using ACTIONS is helpful in my personal Bible reading.
The Bible is a very powerful book. It is God’s Word. It has power. Let us not abandon or neglect it. It is God’s love letter to us, it is the teachings, source of wisdom and instructions for us while we are here on earth.
The Holy Spirit worked in the heart of our spiritual forefather, John Wesley. He then was remembered as “a man of one book”.
May the Holy Spirit inspire us to fall in love with Him and His Word. May God help us to follow the teachings of the Bible in our daily lives. May we treasure God’s Word and mediate on His word day and night. Let’s pray that we too, will be “men and women of one book”, and live victorious lives.
