In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of obeying and acting upon the word of God. He suggests that if individuals have not profited from what they have already understood, there would be no need for God to reveal more to them. The preacher encourages listeners to examine their obedience to the simple truths of the Bible, such as believing in Christ's sacrifice for their sins and trusting Him as their Lord and Savior. He also highlights the significance of studying the Scriptures, as it equips believers to lead others to Christ and answer their questions with biblical truth.

I want to devote my message on this broadcast to the subject of the study of the Scriptures. It seems to be almost universal that men and women will express their regret of not knowing the Bible. Some express the regret of not being able to attend the Bible school. Others bemoan the fact that they did not have study the Bible while they were young and while their memory was better. Others regret that they did not have the interest in Bible study during those early years. These testimonies express the great need on every hand. Then, when we turn to the Scriptures, we are many times exhorted to study the Scriptures. Such expressions are, search the Scriptures, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. By way of example, you will have the Bereans mentioned in Acts 17, verse 11. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word of God with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Timothy knew the Scriptures from a child, and that knowledge was of great profit to him in later years. The Lord Jesus was very familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures, so we can conclude that everyone should have a general knowledge of the Bible, certainly because the Scriptures exhort us, and then because of the testimony of regrets coming from those who pass through life without a working knowledge of the Scriptures. Then, too, the Scriptures were written to comfort and cheer us in all the varied circumstances of life. When the burdens weigh us down, the Spirit of God loves to bring to our remembrance a suitable Scripture which will send us on our way rejoicing. But He will not bring to our remembrance that which we have never read. How often when a soul is depressed because of ill health or bereavement, there is nothing in the human realm that will suffice. But the comfort from the Scriptures is always of utmost help. At such times the word of God, the God of all comfort, draws near through the word and lifts our hearts. How bitter these experiences must be to those who know nothing of the comfort of the word of God. If you feel as though you have come thus far through life without needing the comfort of the Scriptures, rest assured that a day will come in which you will search earnestly for divine comfort and help outside the human realm. The motive for the study of the Scriptures must be to glorify God and to bring blessing into your life. Some study the Bible for the sake of arguing. Their meat and drink is to win an argument. They glory for days in the fact that they have won a biblical argument. Such never grow spiritually, and they sure become professional Bible twisters. That is, they pick isolated verses just to prove an argument. Others study the Bible in order to glory in their knowledge. This, too, is an impure motive, and such only acquire intellectual knowledge which never affects the heart nor changes the life. The true motive for the study of the Scriptures should be so that God may use that knowledge to glorify Himself in our lives. It is possible to read and study the Bible at great lengths only from an intellectual standpoint, storing knowledge in the mind which never reaches the heart. Such knowledge has a value, but the prayerful reading is far superior, for we must be ever conscious that the wonderful book we hold in our hands is living and eternal word of God. This in itself should amaze us and cause our hearts to bow in a reverend attitude, just to realize that before us is the full revelation of God, His mind and His will made known. This should cause worship, and the prayerful reading will always keep you dependent on God, freely admitting that we need the illumination of the Spirit of God. If the reading is only from an intellectual point of view, it would be less charming to re-read the same chapter, but the prayerful reading makes each successive reading more interesting, and unless the heart is touched, your reading is without much value. Your reading must cause you to turn away from self and self-interest to the mighty God whose love and grace you are enjoying. The prayerful reading will cause you to seek Christ on every page of holy writ, for He is the theme and center of all Scripture. By way of example, I call your attention to an incident in Acts chapter 8, where Philip the evangelist is used of God to lead an Ethiopian to Christ. While the Ethiopian was returning from Jerusalem, he was reading the prophecy of Isaiah, and from this wonderful book Philip preached unto him Jesus. While the name of Jesus is not mentioned in the Old Testament, still He is the theme and center of every book and chapter in the Bible, and for this simple reason you will do well to pray a very simple prayer while reading. Where do I find Christ in this chapter? I could almost say, unless you have found Christ in some form in His varied attributes in the chapter, you have not read prayerfully. It is the fresh revelation of that blessed person in all His beauty that warms the heart of the believer, and to get up from your reading with a warm heart surely makes your reading worthwhile. When your heart is warmed by the reading of the Scriptures, you soon find that you have an interest in lost souls that are around you. Every Christian should be able to lead other souls to Christ, and such a task cannot be accomplished without having a working knowledge of the Bible, for anxious souls will ask a variety of questions which must be answered not by human reasoning, but from the Scriptures. You must show that convicted sinner God's verdict regarding his lost condition direct from the word of God, for he will not believe it until he sees it in the Bible. You will have to show him that the substitutionary work of Christ is not only necessary but sufficient to save any sinner, regardless of the quantity of sins committed, and he will not believe this until he sees it in black and white in your Bible. The same is true regarding the assurance of salvation. His assurance cannot rest in the fact that you tell him you think he is saved, but he will have to see it with his own eyes in the Bible. So before you will qualify as a soul winner, you will have to know the Scriptures which deal with the subject of salvation. What would you do if someone approached you and said, I want to be saved. Show me from your Bible how I can be saved. Would you have to turn to the telephone and call the preacher, or could you take your Bible and, through the Scriptures, lead that soul to Christ? I do not mean to infer that preachers should not be called for what could be sweeter music to a servant of Christ than to get such a call, but at the same time, each Christian should be able to take the Bible and point souls to Christ. What I have been saying thus far has been addressed to Christians primarily. For those who are unsaved will find a quite different reaction from the reading of the Scriptures. Instead of warming the heart, the unsaved man finds that it produces conviction of sin. But you will do well to keep on reading, so that the conviction will increase till it brings you to the place where you will voluntarily, like the Philippian dealer, cry out in earnestness, What must I do to be saved? Someone say people stop reading because it produces conviction. This is absolutely wrong. It is like running away from the God who desires to bless you with his salvation. Many will be the souls in heaven who were saved without the aid of human instrumentality, but by the sincere, prayerful reading of the Bible, it is wonderful to know that you do not need to understand the whole Bible before you can be saved. For while the Bible is a profound book, yet there are many simple truths which even a child can understand and believe. And God wants you to believe and act upon the few simple things that God has revealed to you. And he begins to reveal to you, first of all, that you are a lost, guilty sinner, that you cannot save yourself by any effort of your own, be it in the form of prayers, tears of repentance, good deeds, or religious activities. None of these will avail. Then he will reveal to you the fact that Christ, and Christ alone, can save you, that he laid down his life on the cross and bore the penalty of your sins, and that simple faith in him and his finished work means that you are born into his family. When you obey such simple truths, God will give you more light. Perhaps one of the reasons that some of you have not been able to understand the word of God is because you have not acted upon or obeyed what you did understand. There wouldn't be much need of God revealing himself to you any farther if you have not profited by what you have read. Have you obeyed the simple things that God has revealed? Have you been brought to know Christ? Have you believed the report that Christ died for your sins, and are you willing to trust him as your Lord and Savior? May God's word be used to bring you to the place where you will put your entire confidence in Christ, and in Christ alone, for salvation.