Why know your Bible?

Many people wonder why they should study the Bible.  Isn't going to church and hearing the sermon enough?

I guess the answer to that question depends on what the goal is.  If you want to please God then I would say no, that isn't enough.  In fact if you could only do one or the other, my guess is that God would rather have us in His Word on a daily basis then going to church once a week.

This story in Matthew I think illustrates one of the reasons why it is so important for us to know our Bibles.  Here you have Satan tempting Jesus.  Now we know that Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.  Jesus has also been described as having a two edged sword coming out of His mouth so I'm pretty sure Jesus could have flat out whipped Satan if He had chosen to.  But what did Jesus do instead?  Read the verses and then I'll give you my answer on the other side.

Matthew 4:1-11(NKJV)

1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 

2And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 

3Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”

4But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”£

5Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 

6and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:      ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and,      ‘In their hands they shall bear you up,     Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”£

7Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”£

8Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 

9And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”

10Then Jesus said to him, £“Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”£

11Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

In all three cases, Jesus simply defeated Satan with God's Word. 

Now you might wonder, how does that help us?  Because as heirs in Christ we have the same ability.  Can we stop Satan from messing with us and attacking us occasionally?  Nope.  Can't stop that.  But what we can do is know God's Word and use it to turn Satan's attacks into minor irritations that we know we will always prevail in. 

Why?  Because we studied, knew, and depended on God's Word and God.