The importance of study

There are many reasons why we should study our Bible as much as possible. One as I mentioned previously is to remain invigorated in The Spirit. Loving to read your Bible daily does this. But reading your bible and studying does more than this. It prepares us to witness.

Would you want to take a dance class from someone who doesn't look like they know how to dance? It is one reason why a dance studio should employ great dancers to be their instructors (another being that the students should never be able to surpass their instructors). An intermediate level dancer might be able to teach the basics, but he lacks the intimate knowledge of how one evolves through each of the stages to become a truly advanced dancer. So a student who aspires to be an advanced dancer will only be hindered by the teacher who teaches instruction that will have to be unlearned later on. A very advanced teacher will prepare the beginning students to receive advanced instruction later on. An intermediate instructor will not have the knowledge to be able to do this. And it shows. Students are wise enough to understand that a dancer who isn't amazing will only be able to teach them so much. So they will naturally respect a teacher who has gone through the entire evolutionary process to become an advanced dancer. They might like the intermediate teacher, but they will respect the advanced one.

Did you ever see the Seinfeld episode where Jerry buys a tennis racket at the tennis club? A salesman at the tennis club tells Jerry that it was the racket that he uses. Jerry buys the expensive racket solely on that fact. Then Jerry sees him play, badly. The guys is AWFUL! Jerry completely loses faith in the racket he bought. We don't want to be the salesman when we witness to other people. We want to look like we know what we are talking about. We need to have confidence in what we are talking about. Our number one tool is The Holy Spirit. It will guide us. But our secondary tool is our knowledge of The Word.

Someone new in Christ can tell someone that all we need to get into Heaven is written in John 3:16. And he will be right. But he might be tested. Some of the least faithful are the most knowledgeable of The Bible and biblical history. So if you want to be prepared to take on these individuals, you had better be prepared. Study your bible. Learn from other scholars, mentors, and believers. Increase your knowledge. You never know who God is going to put in your path.