Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan, answers questions about his new book on the Word of God.
Q: You explain that Psalm 119 describes how we ought to feel about the Word of God—that we should delight in and desire it. How do these two things show themselves practically in our everyday lives?
Kevin DeYoung: For starters, there is an affective element. We should be eager to study the word. We should look forward to good preaching. We should love to sing the Bible and hide it in our hearts. Beyond that, the surest way to measure desire and delight is to see what we actually do with the Word of God. Do we read it regularly? Do we welcome its rebuke and gladly accept its instruction? Are we grieved when God’s Word is violated by others and by ourselves? Can we say with the Psalmist that it is good to be afflicted, that we might learn God’s statues?
Q: The second chapter begins with the testimony of a man who claims to have heard the audible voice of God. You make the point that through the Bible, God speaks to us personally. Practically speaking, how can a Christian make the Bible feel personal without twisting it to be some sort of horoscope or self-help book?
Kevin: The Bible should feel personal. It is God’s living and active word (Heb. 4:12). The author of Hebrews quotes from the Old Testament by noting “the Holy Spirit says” (Heb. 3:7). God is still speaking through the words he inspired. Practically, there are a number of things we can do to personalize the Bible: pray Scripture using the handy mnemonic “rejoice, repent, request”, read the Psalms, look for promises, insert first personal pronouns. But of course, before we make the Bible say something to us, we need to understand what the original authors intended to say and what the text meant to the original audience.
Q: You emphasize …
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