Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Excuse #3 – I want to go deeper.

At first, that doesn't sound like an excuse.  It sounds completely valid and good. And, in certain cases, it is.  We are not called to remain infants in our faith.  God expects us to go deeper and to mature in Christ (Hebrews 5:12-14).

But the unfortunate reality is that a lot of Christians use this as an excuse to sit on their rear instead of a catalyst to bring actual growth.

Sometimes "I want to go deeper" actually means "I want to sit around and study the Bible…but not do what it says."

The last thing most Christians need is another Bible study. As Mark Batterson likes to say, "We are educated far beyond our level of obedience."

True Bible study means that the person is not just hungry for information.  They are hungry for transformation. They want to be transformed by the will and the Word of God.

It really doesn't matter if you know who the father of Mehujael was or how old Methuselah was.  That might matter in a game of Biblical trivial pursuit, but if all you have is that information…then it really is trivial.

Are you applying what you are learning from the Bible? Are you just sitting around and debating the finer points of theology or are you doing what the Bible says (James 1:22)?

I can't remember who said this, but it is spot on.  If you want to really study the Bible, start reading until it tells you to do something. Then go out and do it. Do not start reading again until you have obeyed that command.

That would would take us deeper than we ever dreamed possible.