What Are You Reading?

"Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine." 

(I Timothy 4: 13 kjv)

Were I still preaching, or were Charles Spurgeon, I would surely take the single above text and preach an hour on it and still not get it all said. It is full of much good instruction. It is not hard to see a sermon or two in the above words of the Apostle Paul to young preacher Timothy. 

The words are an exhortation, the dictates of a master to a student, to one who was a disciple in the school of Christ. They are not spoken in an angry bossy spirit, like the barking of military orders, nor like a strict overbearing father to a son who is judged to be lazy. Three things Paul says that Timothy should "give attendance to": first reading, then exhortation, then doctrine. I want to focus on the first thing on the "to do list." 

"Give attendance" is from the single Greek word "prosecho" and, means, according to Strong: 

(figuratively) to hold the mind towards, i.e. pay attention to, be cautious about, apply oneself to, adhere to:—(give) attendance, beware, be given to, give (take) heed (to unto); have regard.

Thus, we might see Paul's exhortation as "spend all your time reading." This is what all disciples in the school of Christ are called to do. What is on top of the reading list is the bible itself. Every Christian when first entering the school of Christ should spend as much time as is possible simply reading the whole bible. Yes, it will require effort and a will to do so. But, it is often rewarding in the very doing, not to mention the end reward. 

"The cloke that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments." (II Tim. 4: 13)

A good student/disciple will be an avid reader of books, but not just any books. I do not believe that God, our Teacher, is pleased when we spend most of our time reading worldly or secular books. A disciple who daily reads romance novels rather than the books of holy scripture is not pleasing the Lord, and is not improving his or her life by such reading. What answer would we get if we surveyed the reading habits of professing Christians today? What would be the ratio of bible reading, or reading books on the bible, versus reading non religious books? 

For my own self, I love to read. I love to be around those who like to read. I love sharing with others what I read. I have been helped and improved by things I have read. Outside of the bible, I loved the books of Charles Dickens, such as his Christmas carol about Scrooge and Christmas, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Pickwick Papers, etc. I also loved reading Don Quixote in college! I loved reading many religious works, or bible related books, such as Paradise Lost, Dante's Inferno, biographies of Christian men and women, history of the church, etc. But, we must always make sure that the above "especially" of the text describes our reading history. We read, and read, and read some more, and what we read is "especially" the scriptures, meaning that they are where we spend the most of our reading time. Reading the news is also important, as books about goings on in the news, about culture and politics. A disciple needs to be informed about what is going on in the world, and on issues he will vote upon as a citizen.

A disciple who gives good attention to reading, especially reading the scriptures and books on interpreting and applying scripture, will be equipped to also give attention to "exhortation" and to "doctrine." 

When you want to know about something in particular, you consult the experts in that field or area of science or knowledge. You should do this in your reading and studying of scripture. A serious bible student will be checking the meaning of words, commentaries, and other works written to explain scripture. Further, the more you read and learn the better you will be able to exhort and to teach others. You will be able like two early disciples, Aquila and Priscilla, who discussed the scriptures with a preacher named Apollos, and helped him to better understand the scriptures. (Acts 18: 26) Also, disciples who become parents will certainly want to make bible reading a part of the daily ritual of the home and they will be better parents for knowing and following the teachings of the scriptures. 

So, it is no wonder Paul put reading at the head of the list, before exhortation and doctrine. You have to read scripture first before you can know the doctrine of God's word and be able to exhort others. 

Spend your time wisely in reading. If you are like most, you only have so much time to give to reading (unlike those who are paid full time pastors of churches), so don't waste that time. Further, after reading the word, meditate upon it, chew on it and let it become part of you. 

There is so much biblical ignorance in America, yea, in the world. We are called to spread the teachings of the bible. Praise God for the work of the Gideons! What we see all around us today is well described by these words of the prophet of the Lord:

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD." (Amos 8: 11)