You can’t worship Jesus if you don’t read the Bible! Now, hear me out …
If you don’t read (i.e., hear, connect, engage, study, contemplate, reflect, act on) the Bible, you don’t know who Jesus is. If you don’t know who Jesus is, you can’t worship Him. And if you can’t worship Jesus, then how can you call yourself a Christian?
I meet a lot of people who tell me they’re Christians. When I ask them if they read the Bible and they say “No,” or “Not really,” then I ask, “So what makes you a Christian?” They usually say, “Because I love God/Jesus.” Now, here’s my dilemma. If someone says they love Jesus but don’t read the Bible, then what “Jesus” are they loving? That’s a crucial question. If we don’t love the Jesus in the Bible, then there’s a problem.
Forgive me if I’m blunt, but surely it stands to reason that if someone doesn’t worship the Jesus of the Bible, that person’s worshipping a different “Jesus.” And who is this other “Jesus” that millions of non-Bible reading “Christians” are worshipping? Probably a “Jesus” they’ve created in their minds. One who can be shaped and moulded to be whatever a person wants Him to be.
There’s a chilling verse in the Gospel where Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” Matthew 7:21. Every time I read this verse I wonder, “Who are the people who call Jesus ‘Lord’ yet don’t get into Heaven?” Well, maybe they’re the people who’ve created an alternative “Jesus” who values what they value, tolerates what they tolerate, and cares about what they care about.
Here’s the rub: If you’re worshipping a “Jesus” who you can control, then you’re worshipping an idol. Jesus said, “A time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth” John 4:23. To worship Jesus in “spirit and truth” our worship must be informed, not by the non-biblical things we think we know about Jesus, but by the Word of God.
Now I know that the Jesus of the Bible isn’t tame. He disrupts our lives, opposes our personal opinions and preferences, demands holiness, gets in the way of pursuing happiness, and expects us to do uncomfortable things. Let’s be honest: the Bible’s Jesus doesn’t align with our preferred version of Him.
Little wonder that people say, “I respect Jesus, but don’t agree with everything in the Bible.” For in their heart of hearts, they know they can’t do things their way if they love the Jesus of the Bible.
So, which Jesus do you worship? Is it a “Jesus” shaped by your imagination, or is it the Jesus of the Bible? If it’s the latter, that’s only true if you read the Bible. There is no other way. You can’t worship Jesus if you don’t read the Bible!
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Summary
To truly worship Jesus, you must read and engage with the Bible, as it’s the only way to know who He really is. Without reading the Bible, people may worship a version of Jesus shaped by their desires rather than the true Jesus of Scripture. Worshipping a “Jesus” they can control leads to idolatry, while worshipping the biblical Jesus demands a life of obedience and disruption. To authentically worship Jesus, we must be informed by the Bible, recognizing that His truth often challenges our preferences and calls us to holiness.
© Scripture Union Canada
