Bible-only Christians: Where in the Bible does Jesus tell us to read and study the Bible?

Jesus apparently had some training in the Bible (the Old Testament, anyway). He quotes it in many situations, and refers to it in his teaching and his arguments. It's unusual for a person in his walk of life, his 'socioeconomic class'. He doesn't encourage people to read the Bible because 90% of people in his day couldn't read! The Bible was not read by most people, it was -heard- when someone else read it aloud.

Even today, if you want to study the Bible you will spend more time reading exegetics and commentaries than the Bible itself. Churches exist for the purpose of standardizing belief, so they don't just exhort you to read the Bible, they also tell you what it means. If everyone read it independently, churches would become debating societies.

Jesus often cited Old Testament scriptures, implying that Christians needed to understand how God has been working down through history. However, there were no Christian scriptures until decades after the resurrection, and the complete canon of the New Testament wasn't settled until about 400 AD.

One thing Jesus never said or implied is that we can only learn God's will from scripture ("sola scriptura"). Jesus recognized that the scripture-alone approach is a recipe for fanaticism and intractable conflict. In his own days, the Pharisees and Sadducees, using the same Hebrew scriptures, could not agree on angels or the resurrection of the body.

Islam is religion of the Quran, but Shia Muslims fight with Sunni Muslims. Protestant readers of scripture can't agree with 30,000 other Protestant denominations, much less with historical Christianity. For those who find a command to abort babies in the Bible or practice sodomy, the gates of hell have prevailed against the Bible.

Jesus foresaw all this, and his solution was to establish an authoritative church that would protect his original teachings, train new leaders, and pass along his teachings and sacraments to future generations. As he said in Matt 16:18-19, the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.

Cheers,

Bruce

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Jos 1:8)

This was spoken to Joshua by the Lord. If you believe in the Trinity (the Father, Son and Spirit are One and the same), then these words ultimately come from the same source.

As far as the claims by others that the Bible wasn't written while Jesus was on the earth...that's not "totally" correct. All of the books that we find in todays Bible were not all written prior to Jesus; however, other books were. The Torah, or Pentateuch, is believed to have been written 1000 - 1400 years before Christ.The 'Penta'teuch (penta meaning 5) is the first 5 books of the Christian Bible we know today.

He's an issue.... The Christian Gospels hadn't been shared with all the Churches or groups YET, at the time of their writings. The Apostles' writings, also hadn't been compiled into the Bible yet.

So a big issue for justifying "Sola Scriptura" or "bible alone" is that the bible didn't exist at the time that the bible was written. - it was compiled later on.

At MOST.. there are verses talking about being well informed or prepared to represent your faith. But given that most people were not literate at that time... and a hand written book (because this is before the printing press) could cost a person a year's wages -- these verses don't expressly or directly refer to reading the bible or even scriptures.

And any reference to "scriptures" being good for teaching and reproof -- don't mean the bible, but the Jewish Scriptures.

AND they don't say that everything MUST be based on the bible... only that it is profitable for teaching. -- Which even Muslims would agree with.

Sola Scriptura is really a man-made Tradition, an invention of the 16th century, Protestant Reformation, because we don't see Christians basing their entire beliefs on the bible alone until that time.

I don't think the questioner is saying that one should be ignorant of the scriptures or that the bible is not inspired by God and without error... but he IS asking where "bible alone" is or a concrete idea that we are to go by Scripture and nothing else.

THAT extreme, is not in the bible -- that's his point. Bible-only Christians have taken a good idea.. too far. -- I think is his point. Assuming I'm not putting word in his mouth.

And so far, I see responses saying the bible is "good" the bible is "important" - but NOT bible-alone.

And that is why many Atheists, Agnostics, Muslims, Jews, and Catholic Christians have issues with Sola Scriptura or "bible alone" Christianity.

Do you notice that each and every of the examples are basic movements, following the regulation. you notice, Christians stick to the bible the place it says we're not from now directly to stay under the regulation, we are to stay by ability of religion. Romans 4:15-sixteen John sixteen, that the comforter will stay interior believers. basically a Spirit can stay interior a guy or woman. additionally particular the Spirit replaced into already there, in spite of the incontrovertible fact that it replaced into no longer residing in the believers yet. So, particular the comforter is the Holy Spirit. maximum heavily, Muslims do no longer have faith who Jesus somewhat is. Jesus is God the Son. John a million:a million in the start replaced into the be conscious, and the be conscious replaced into with God and the be conscious replaced into God. He replaced into with God in the start. acceptable right here it says that the be conscious replaced into God. The be conscious all of us be attentive to is Jesus. how are you able to stick to somebody you do no longer have faith? Matthew 20:18-19 Jesus reported.. they're going to condemn Him to dying. and could hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. on the third day he would be raised to existence! The Quran denies the very words of Jesus!

It is not there. The Bible did not exist when Jesus walked the Earth as a man. Thus how could He command us to read it? If the Bible is necessary for salvation the Christians who lived during the first 300 years or so of Christianity all went to Hell.

Catholics were responsible for writing the New Testament (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit)

The Catholic Church doesn't "interpret" the Bible. We explain it.

Protestants can only "interpret", because they are not the author (guided by the Holy Spirit), and therefore, can only guess at the possible meaning of a chapter, passage or phrase, just as anyone can only guess at any author's intentions in any other book.

As the author, the Catholic Church is the only proper authority to consult in matters pertaining to the Bible.

Protestants derive their religion from a mere reading of the Bible which they interpret according to their own private judgment. Catholics derive their doctrines from the Church which propounds to them infallibly the teachings of the Bible and of Tradition.

The Bible makes it clear that Christ established the Church as a teaching organization to speak to the world in His name and with His authority. The Church was to teach men whatsoever He had taught - nothing more and nothing less:

Christ placed on all men the obligation of hearing His Church as they would hear Himself...."He that heareth you, heareth Me" (Luke 10:16).

Our Lord Himself wrote nothing. He commanded the Apostles not to write but to teach and preach.

The teaching Church was in existence long before a single line of the New Testament was written. The Apostles evangelized different peoples, not by presenting to them a copy of the New Testament which did not as yet exist, but by preaching the Gospel, the oral message of Christ to them. Thousands of men became Christians and adhered to the whole truth of God before they saw or read a single book of the New Testament.

How illogical, then, it is for a group to step in fifteen hundred years later, wrest the Bible from its historical and lawful possessor and fosterer, put the Bible in the place of the Church, and pretend to possess a true understanding of the purpose and meaning of the Bible?

The Bible does not claim to be the sole rule of faith. Paul wrote, "What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). And he instructed, "Hold to the traditions which you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by letter" (2 Thess. 2:15).

These oral teachings and traditions have been handed down and entrusted to the Church, and they remain as much a part of the full Christian faith as the Bible. To ignore them is no less a tragedy than to ignore the Bible.

He says "Abide in my word" in John's gospel.

In the parable of the Sower he teaches that the word of God, the message of salvation in its totality needs to be listened to so that a believer can flourish. This is a repeating of the same kind of thing Moses told the Jews in Deuteronomy, God told Joshua, Psalm 1 and Psalm 119 taught.

Whereas the gospels end epistles weren't written immediately, there were many eyewitnesses who would have told the many stories and events of Jesus' life and teaching. The "Word" that was preached spoken of in Acts including this information, and also the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah.

The gospels were produced from these eyewitness accounts and testimonies of events and teaching.

There was also the Holy Spirit of course bringing all Jesus taught to the disciples' remembrance, as it says in Jesus discourse in John 14/15/16/17.

They also had supernatural gifts such as praying in tongues to get revelation. Paul did this a great deal as he says in Corinthians. The prophetic gift was also exercised, but not in an Old Testament mode. Those things helped before the gospels and epistles were widely available.

@DrEdge - there are canon lists from the mid 2C, listing the 4 gospels and Paul's letters and some other letters. The fact the canon wasn't set till the 4C doesn't mean the books weren't in wide circulation much earlier. They seem to have been widely available by the 2C.

The scripture in Timothy would refer to the Old Testament since the New Testament was not yet compiled.

Jesus was the Living Word.

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path is OT.

Jesus studied the OT .

The New Testament was not written at the time of the life of Christ on Earth so He instead commanded His disciples to preach the Gospel. Teach repentance and the Gospel. He says this many, many times in the Gospels.