Study and Discipleship | Christopher Harper

This is the third message in our Long-Form series called “Learn to Study.” It asks us to consider where Bible study fits in our relationship with Christ.

The entire manuscript of this 40-minute lesson can be found below. Learn more about this podcast here.

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Where does study fit into my relationship with Christ?

When we talk about walking with Christ, it should not be a mysterious or bewildering thing
This walk is not just something we feel or privately experience without the ability to identify what has happened
To walk with Him means something
Discipleship is a concrete thing
When it is happening, there are observable components to it
Whatever God is doing on the inside works its way out
It can be seen and known

But it does begin inside a man
Our first passage helps to explain…

Colossians 3:1-4

1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

Everything has changed for the man who has faith in Christ
His affections have changed
His life is altered
What he is now is different than what he was before

To have these affections on “things above,” is to have our minds directed toward them
And the things above are all those things related to Him
Because He is our life
Not just the life we live here on earth, but the life we will live in eternity with Him
So, everything we think and everything we are should be based upon and directed toward Him

If we turn back one chapter in Colossians we’ll find more details…

Colossians 2:6-8

6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

7 Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

There is teaching that contributes to this walk with Christ
Not worldly philosophies or traditions, but that which is after Christ
That which comes from above

Another passage in the New Testament may help…

1 John 2:3-6

3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

We know what He commands based on the scriptures
And we know how He walked, based on the accounts of Him in scripture
We think on things above, by directing our attention to that which came from above, His word

Our relationship with Christ is strengthened and deepened when
Our hearts are turned toward His word
And our lives are shaped based upon His word

There are two passages from the Old Testament that I want to focus on…

Psalm 119:10

10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

There has been an investment of heart and mind in scripture
As a means of seeking after God
The fear of the one seeking, seems to be straying from God’s commands
That could be both straying from obedience
And perhaps straying from the words themselves
For no doubt the first will follow the second

The heart’s desire expressed is to seek God
To do so there must also be a seeking of what God says
For how will we know more of His person without His communication to man?

To be a follower is to first know where He wants us to go
And then to simply go
That is the desire expressed
And should be our desire

What’s more…

Psalm 119:11

11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

There seems also to be a desire to avoid any action that would take us farther from God
That’s what sin does for a believer, interrupts fellowship
And so the believer seeking God hides His words in their heart
So there may be no interruption of fellowship through sin
The memorization of scripture is for change of character leading to obedience
Because there is a desire to please God

Again, a heart for Him, that leads to the study of Him
And this has results…

Psalm 119:12

12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.

This person with a heart for knowing and pleasing God desires teaching from Him
They realize He is worthy of praise and honor
Seeing no one else of worthiness
They ask for more knowledge of Him
So they look to His statutes

And they repeat them as well…

Psalm 119:13

13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

Another translation reads this way…

“I will repeat the laws we have heard from you.”

His words are worthy of repetition
Because of their great value
And their great usefulness
But also because they have impact for all others hearing

They are repeated for us
For our memorization and for our reminder
But also for others

But there is something more…

Psalm 119:14

14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.

Obedience to His words have been cause for rejoicing
And a great deal of rejoicing
Indeed, as much as other (not seeking God) rejoice in their riches
This may be a startling thought
That strict adherence to scriptural principle and command would bring happiness
But not for the one sincerely focused on pleasing Him
For this man’s desires have become God’s desires for him
And so he rejoices
His happiness radiates

And he commits once again…

Psalm 119:15

15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

The scriptures will be this person’s mediation
His eyes will be fixed on what God says
As he holds every word in high regard
Enough to study them carefully and often and seriously

In fact…

Psalm 119:16

16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

The person who delights in something has a difficult time forgetting
For his heart has been turned to it
His appetites are for it
And he returns regularly for more delight

That is what is happening here
And there is another request…

Psalm 119:17

17 GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.

Life and health and good are requested not so the one requesting can live for self
Not so that they can consume more for their own enjoyment
But so they may remain faithful and continue in obedience

You see, when a man’s heart has been turned to these precepts
He lives for the God of the precepts
And wishes to continue that living
To glorify His God and turn others to Him

And…

Psalm 119:18

18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.

No matter how long a person has followed God
And studied His word
And live according to His word
He remains hopeful that scripture will reveal yet more wondrous things
For it is never exhausted
And our eyes never fail to be partially closed to it
Because we live in the bodies of flesh
So we may beg God to open those eyes
To be capable of seeing something else wonderful
About His person and His work

Our lives should be devoted to this
God’s people have always known this
One of the key passages in Israel’s history makes it clear…

Deuteronomy 6:4

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:

There is only One True God
And that is Jehovah
Therefore we are not to survey and select from all the world’s wisdom
This One True God has spoken by His word and through His son
And those who know His son, follow His word
It is the text by which we judge all the world’s wisdom

That is what we will see in upcoming verses, starting with…

Deuteronomy 6:5

5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

This is a familiar phrase
Jesus quoted this text when He was asked “which is the great commandment in the law?”
He answers…

“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”

This is the starting point for a life of study
We must be a disciple of Christ
One who loves God with everything
From the very center of our being, with who we are, and with what we think
Then we may go about exploring and then expressing His word to others
As His totally committed followers

Believers are not simply people of a common creed
We are one family, with one Father, living according to truth He gave us
Because when we do, He sets us apart to work for Him
And His service is our life’s mission

Like us, Israel was to hear and obey…

Deuteronomy 6:6

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

This is referring to the whole discourse of Moses
Everything he passed along to Israel from God
It was to be more than just a guidebook for them
It was to be remembered, because it was to be hidden within the heart

These are more than simple words on a page
They have become words to live by for God’s people
His dictates would be their way of life
And what a blessing this would be

They are told, and we are often told, that to follow is to have joy
So what comes next is no great surprise…

Deuteronomy 6:7

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Such life-giving, joy-inducing, wisdom-providing words ought to be taught
And the home is the logical place to begin
Our children need to know
Our families need a foundation
Commitment to the One True God and adherence to His word must be that foundation
But His words must be spoken over and over
For we all forget
Life is filled with dissent and distraction
Our children need this text to be an ever-present part of their upbringing

This won’t happen without a depth of understanding
We won’t know how to talk about what He said unless we are clear on what it means
Questions will be asked
And we will need to know how answers can be found
The answers will not be ours, they will be His
But with honest heart and careful attention, we will find them

There are many ways we will go about all this…

Deuteronomy 6:8-9

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

We need to find ways to remind ourselves
As we speak about the scripture daily
We shall also make it a part of our décor and even our wardrobe
In whatever ways we can, we must promote it
And teach it, and live it
This is our life of study

Society will find this full immersion unusual, at best
Perhaps bad
People may mock it
Others may disdain it
Governments may make laws against it
And they may impose fines or jail time or worse

There is much precedence for this
But it must not alarm us

The One True God has spoken
We can do no less than listen and repeat
This will give us joy
It will give us an education
It will give us a strong family
Ready to live, and if necessary die, in His service