Bible Use

"The Bible has been 'recommended' for many other purposes from the one for which it was written. The purpose of the Bible is to bring men to Christ, to make them holy and prepare them for heaven. Any manipulation of the Scriptures to make them speak peace to the natural man is evil and can only lead to ruin!" -- A.W. Tozer

"Before dawn, over midmorning coffee, or at the dinner table with family—whenever you read the Bible, something miraculous is happening.

The presence of desire to hear God's word and think his thoughts testifies to the blood-bought grace by which he called you out of darkness. The mental energy and hungry soul that you bring to an open Bible is not separated from God's saving activity. In fact, the act of your reading is part of that saving activity as God continues his perfecting work (Philippians 1:6).

And it is not merely a piece of God's action in your personal life. It is another scene in God's whole redemptive and revelatory activity towards mankind. Your simple reading the Bible—your interpreting—is a step forward both in the degree of your transformation and in God's manifold wisdom being made known to the world." - Jonathan Parnell

Why God Makes Understanding Difficult

I am convinced that there are many things in religion and the Scriptures that are made difficult on purpose to try men, and to exercise their faith and scrutiny, and to hinder the proud and self-sufficient. - Jonathon Edwards