{"id":64,"date":"2003-10-12T23:31:04","date_gmt":"2003-10-13T03:31:04","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T04:00:00","slug":"who-killed-the-bible-reading","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/who-killed-the-bible-reading\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Killed The Bible Reading?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keith R. Keyser<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Believers that seek to meet according to the New Testament pattern for
\nassembly gathering have been blessed with a long succession of gifted teachers over the
\npast one hundred and eighty years. Men like John Nelson Darby, William Kelly, Henry
\nSoltau, Edward Dennett, John Gifford Bellett, Frederick W. Grant, and Charles Henry
\nMackintosh helped their own generation, as well as subsequent generations through their
\nspiritually sound writings. Many of their works originated in public “conversational
\nBible readings” that were held throughout the English-speaking world.

These meetings
\nconsisted of a gifted brother leading the study, coupled with the contributions of other
\nexercised brethren. The study leader would typically introduce the passage to be studied,
\nand then allow time for questions and comments by other Christians. While there are many
\nother viable formats for corporate Bible studies, this method allows for different
\nbelievers to exercise their gifts (in keeping with the spirit of passages like 1
\nCor.14:26-35.) Furthermore, it generates interesting and edifying discussion, bringing out
\nthe many faceted depth of the scriptures. Bible readings were once a fixture in the
\nmeetings of God?s assemblies throughout North America. In recent times, however, many
\nassemblies have abandoned them in favor of regular preaching services. While these
\npreaching meetings are biblical and valuable, it is the author?s firm conviction that
\nthere is still a valid place for the Bible reading in our gatherings. <\/p>\n

It would no doubt be instructive to ask ourselves why the Bible
\nreadings have been forsaken by numerous assemblies. Certainly part of the reason must be
\nthat the discussions among the participating brethren often degenerated into meaningless
\ndebates on various controversial subjects; alas, in many cases this has been the case. Two
\nsolutions would help avert such theological quagmires. First, the brother who leads the
\nstudy should ideally be a seasoned man of God, adept in the Word and diplomatic in his
\ndealings with others. With such a leader, arguments could quickly be dispensed with, and
\nthe study could be kept moving at a decent pace. Secondly, if a brother is a consistent
\ndisruption to the study, he could be gently approached about refraining from controversial
\nsubjects that would hurt the saints (if he refuses this admonition, Scripture gives clear
\ninstructions for how he is to be dealt with. E.g. 2?Tim.2:24-26; Titus 3:10.)<\/p>\n

The ill-preparedness of the brethren of the assembly is another malady
\nthat has aided in the near extinction of the Bible reading. Long pauses, disjointed
\ncomments, and tangents that are unrelated to the text are all symptoms of the failure of
\nmany of the brethren to come prepared for the study. In some instances, brothers read
\nlengthy sections from commentaries in lieu of making their own comments. While
\ncommentaries are helpful tools, they are no replacement for informed remarks from
\nChristians who have diligently studied a passage. It is evident that not all brethren are
\ngifted in teaching. Nevertheless, there are some brothers who do have this gift, but
\nchoose not to develop or exercise it as they should. Perhaps the most troubling factor of
\nthe death of the Bible reading is that it indicates a low appreciation for the Word and
\nfailure to seriously study it among the brethren of the assemblies. Let us pray for wisdom
\nand diligence in studying the Scriptures that meetings such as the useful Bible reading
\nmay be recovered and revitalized in our gatherings. Undoubtedly the prayers of the sisters
\nalso go a long way in preparing the assembly for the Bible reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keith R. Keyser Believers that seek to meet according to the New Testament pattern for assembly gathering have been blessed with a long succession of gifted teachers over the past one hundred and eighty years. Men like John Nelson Darby, William Kelly, Henry Soltau, Edward Dennett, John Gifford Bellett, Frederick W. Grant, and Charles Henry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-64","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-study"],"yoast_head":"\nWho Killed The Bible Reading? - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/who-killed-the-bible-reading\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Who Killed The Bible Reading? - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Keith R. 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