Reading The Bible Introduces Us To The Great Physician

Unbelief, laziness, busyness, and just plain indifference, are just some of the reasons folks give for not reading the Bible. Gamaliel Bradford, one of the most distinguished biographers of modern times wrote, “I do not read the New Testament for fear of its awakening a storm of anxiety and self-reproach and doubt and dread of having taken the wrong path, of having been traitor to the plain and simple God” (source – scroll down page under heading, "The Man Who Arose From The Dead").

Dear reader, the fear of facing up to failure, guilt, and sin is not a reason to avoid reading the Bible! It’s about as irrational as refusing to see a doctor because there’s a suspicion that cancer may have started to develop in our body.

Yes, the Bible does indeed compel us to "examine" ourselves (2 Corinthians 13:5). It is like an x-ray machine that penetrates below the facade of goodness and shows up any spiritual malignancy (Hebrews 4:11-13).

It enables us to see how God views all the diseases of the soul (Proverbs 6:16-19). But the Bible does more than just expose a fatal condition — it introduces us to the Great Physician, who can cure our sin and bring about spiritual healing (Matthew 9:10-13; cf. 1 Timothy 1:15).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets