The following is excerpted from Biblical Holiness for the 21st Century, which is a book and also one of the Way of Life Bible College courses, www.wayoflife.org.

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After salvation, nothing is more important for a life of holiness than becoming a serious, lifelong Bible student.

This major passage on the divine nature and power of Scripture (2 Ti. 3:16-17) is at the heart of the major passage warning of end-time apostasy (2 Timothy 3-4). Scripture is the victory in the midst of apostasy.

Scripture is the quick and powerful Word of God (Heb. 4:12); it is pure truth (Joh. 17:17); it is light in a dark world (2 Pe. 1:19-21); it is “able to build you up” (Ac. 20:32). 

Consider just some of the Scriptures that teach the necessity of immersion in God’s Word for holiness and spiritual victory:

“And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 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. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates” (De. 6:6-9).

“Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes” (De. 11:18).

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Jos. 1:8).

“Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine heart” (Job 22:22).

“Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12).

“But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night” (Ps. 1:2).

“The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether” (Ps. 19:7-9).

“The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide” (Ps. 37:31).

“I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart” (Ps. 40:8).

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Ps. 119:9).

“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Ps. 119:11).

“O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97).

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (Ps. 119:105).

“My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God” (Pr. 2:1-5).

“My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh” (Pr. 4:20-22).

“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts” (Jer. 15:16).

“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Mt. 13:33).

“And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. ... Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Lu. 10:39, 42).

“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (Joh. 15:7).

“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (Joh. 17:17).

“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Ac 17:11).

“ And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified” (Ac. 20:32).

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom” (Col. 3:16).

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Ti. 2:15).

“And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Ti. 3:14).

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Ti. 3:16-17).

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).

“For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. 5:13-14).

“We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Pe. 1:19).

“I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one” (1 Jo. 2:14).

Being immersed in Scripture is the path of holiness and the victory over apostasy. No matter how dark the times, Scripture is the victory. God’s people must be Bible people.

- Immersion in Scripture is the path of victory over sin. It has been said “the Bible will keep you from sin, and sin will keep you from the Bible.” Immersion in Scripture is the path of victory over anger, covetousness, laziness, sexual sins, pornography, alcohol, drugs, worldly music, etc.

- God’s people must not entertain any doubt about the Bible’s absolute authority. 

- They must set out to be serious Bible students. This must be a major commitment. They must learn to read it, study it, rightly divide it, memorize it, and meditate on it. 

- The heart and mind must be filled with God’s Word (“in his law doth he meditate day and night,” Ps. 1:2). It is not enough to learn the Word; it must be preserved in the heart.

- The Christian homes must be filled with God’s Word (De. 6:4-9). Learning to be a Bible student should begin in childhood and increase throughout one’s entire life. (We deal with how to do this in Keeping the Kids in the Social Media Age, www.wayoflife.org.)

- The churches must be serious Bible institutes with the goal of building up every member in God’s Word to the utmost of his or her ability. The church should have a Bible institute to train preachers and full-time workers, and it should be a Bible institute to train every member. This requires expository Bible preaching, Bible classes, Bible courses, Bible conferences, an educational web site, a good bookstore, a lending library, etc.

- This requires education in how to study the Bible. It requires  Bible surveys to get a grasp of the entire Scripture, learning Bible study methods, learning the rules of Bible interpretation, learning how to do word studies, learning how to use sound Bible study tools, learning to rightly interpret Bible prophecy, learning how to interpret figurative language, learning about Bible times and the ancient nations surrounding Israel, Bible geography, Bible customs, etc. (The Way of Life Bible College has a large selection of courses designed to help believers of all ages become serious Bible students, www.wayoflife.org.)

- Youth should be a time for serious Bible study. By design, youth is a time when one’s faculties for learning are at their keenest, and God’s objective in this is that young people might learn of Him. “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth” (Ec. 12:1). “O God, thou hast taught me from my youth” (Ps. 71:17). “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Ps. 119:9). The pop culture has destroyed God’s plan for youth, replacing the pursuit of God and truth with the pursuit of vain pleasure, and a large percentage of churches are following the world’s pattern instead of God’s. But we don’t have to do this. We are very encouraged to know of churches that are following God’s Word, and the product is godly, separated youth who are taking the things of God seriously at this important stage of life. I think of the young people I met at Northside Baptist Church in Adelaide, Australia, in July 2024, who took the 22 sessions on Understanding Bible Prophecy seriously and are passionate about pursuing God’s will. I think of a 13-year-old boy there who purchased my commentary on Psalms to assist in his personal study of that book. I think of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Chicago where the serious hymnal Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Psalms by Melody Publications is used in the school and youth group.

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