Abiding in Christ

by David Rollert

Ecclesiastes 12:12 states, “But beyond this, my son, be warned: the writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.”

This is as true now as it ever was. There are more books, podcasts, blogs, articles, and videos about the Bible than could be counted. Among that content there are well-written and insightful lessons that can help us understand God’s word and grow closer to Him. However, among that content there is also an overwhelming amount of false doctrine. How can the thoughtful Christian benefit from the good content while avoiding the false teaching?

Let us consider together what the Apostle John wrote in 1 John 2:24,

“As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.”

John says, “that which you heard from the beginning.” This refers to the sound doctrine that the apostles received from Jesus and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This sound doctrine has been the same since the beginning of Christianity. That sound doctrine must abide in us!

But what does it mean for sound doctrine to abide in us? The term “abide” carries the idea of remaining or dwelling within something. Thus, the sound doctrine that the apostles taught should remain or dwell within us. Sadly, sound doctrine will not be miraculously imparted into our brains. We must go through the effort to instill that sound doctrine into ourselves. This is done through Bible study.

Many people think that Bible reading and Bible study are the same. They are not. Simply reading the Bible is great for familiarizing ourselves with scripture, and for setting our minds on things above, rather than on things bellow. Bible study, however, goes deeper than Bible reading. Bible study is an effort to understand and internalize scripture. We do this by comparing different passages to harmonize them, digging into the words and phrases used to fully comprehend what is being said, and considering our own lives in light of scripture to better conform our lives to God’s will. With simple Bible reading, you may read through a book like Romans in an hour. But, studying that same book in depth may take you months.

That kind of in-depth study builds familiarity and understanding of scripture. When you are intimately familiar with the truth, then it becomes easy to spot falsehood. False doctrine stands out like a sore thumb when you truly know the scriptures.

I encourage you to make the time to study God’s word in-depth. You will not regret the effort!