When you come to visit and are shown a family photo album, you cannot do without some additional comments to help you correctly navigate the faces depicted. After all, the family archive is the property of a given family, so an outsider may not be able to figure it out on their own.
The Bible was written for the chosen people, whose heir, after the coming of the Lord and Savior into the world, was the people of God, that is, the Church of Christ. The Bible is the book of the Church. And therefore it must be understood as the family to which it belongs understands, that is Church.
But first, let's talk about this. Today, everyone can buy a Bible, open it and start reading. What is needed for this reading to lead to a positive result and become life-saving? And is it possible to read the Bible the way one reads an ordinary book?
The Bible is a Divine book, it is the Word of God addressed to us. But we must prepare ourselves for a correct understanding of this Word. If we open sacred pages somewhere on the subway or on a bus, if we try to penetrate their meaning hastily or without effort, then most likely we will not understand anything. This requires internal preparation, a certain spiritual attitude.
The Holy Fathers teach that reading the Bible should be preceded by prayer - concentration of spiritual and mental strength in order to “cool down” from the heat of everyday life, to free ourselves from the captivity of emotions, passions, and experiences. “Let your reading be in silence, undisturbed by anything,” inspires the Monk Isaac the Syrian. Ancient monks read Scripture little by little, out loud, trying to concentrate as much as possible on the meaning of the biblical text. In 4th-century Egyptian monasteries, monks memorized biblical texts by repeating them constantly to themselves throughout the day. And the great Russian saint of the 19th century, St. Seraphim of Sarov, said that the mind of a Christian should “float” in the words of Scripture. When reading the Bible, you need to
readiness to perceive it not only with the mind, but also with the heart. The Bible should be read slowly. There is no need to absorb chapter after chapter, reading several pages at a time without stopping. “When you read the Divine Scripture, do not just keep in mind to read sheet by sheet,” says the Monk Nicodemus the Holy Mountain. “But listen to every word with thoughtfulness.” It is best to read no more than one chapter a day, reflecting on what you read. It is very important to notice incomprehensible words in the Holy Scriptures, to write down expressions that are new to us, so that later, by turning to interpretation or with the help of an enlightened person, we can find the answer to the question that arose while reading the Word of God.
By reading the Bible, we enter into communication with God, recognize Him, and establish a personal connection with the Creator. That's why Reading the Bible is not only rational, but also deeply spiritual.
Depending on the level of knowledge, education, and life experience, a person develops his own perception and understanding of the biblical text. There is some danger hidden in this. On the one hand, individual work with the Word of God kindles a religious feeling in us and strengthens our faith. But on the other hand, we are not immune from mistakes when, reading the Bible, we are able, due to ignorance, lack of experience and appropriate education, to come to the wrong conclusions.
In this regard, the question arises: is there an infallible criterion for the correct understanding of the Holy Scriptures? The Church asserts: since the Bible is the book of the people of God - the Church, then the general church understanding contains the criterion, by checking with which, mistakes can be avoided.
Why is the general church understanding of the Bible infallible, but an individual one can turn into error?
The Bible is a Divinely inspired book, written by Divine inspiration, and in order to penetrate into the essence of God's message to the world and man, you need to have the Holy Spirit in your heart.
People are at different distances from God. One is closer, the other is further away. One has great gifts of the Holy Spirit, and the other does not have these gifts. But it is known: in the Church as a community of faith, the same Divine Spirit lives and acts, Who inspired the ancient biblical authors with inspired texts. And therefore the Church, having this Spirit within itself, is able to accurately comprehend the Word of God. This all-perfect interpretation of Holy Scripture is, of course, not contained in the individual statements of certain church leaders, even the most enlightened and authoritative ones. An infallible understanding of the Word of God is preserved in church teaching, which is formed on the basis of Holy Scripture, belongs to the Church and is passed on within its bosom from generation to generation. Thus, Church doctrine, based on the Word of God, is in its essence an extensive commentary on the Word, inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit.
With what solemnity, with what majesty the reading of the Holy Scriptures takes place in the Church! At one of the most important moments of the service, the Word of God is solemnly carried into the middle of the temple. Before proclaiming the text during the Divine Liturgy, the priest reads a special prayer in which he asks the Lord to help everyone present understand the meaning of what is being read. The deacon exclaims: “Wisdom. Let us listen,” thereby emphasizing that the Word of God brings special wisdom to people, and it must be perceived with special attention. After reading the biblical texts, the liturgy is followed by a sermon, promoting the correct church understanding of Divine truths.
Listening to the words of Holy Scripture, we stand with our heads bowed, ready to receive the Word of God. Listening to the eternal verbs of Divine Revelation, we part with the world for a while and plunge into ourselves. For the Word of God, according to the testimony of the apostle, in its action is like a “sword of the spirit” (Eph. 6.17), capable of cutting human nature, separating truth from untruth, light from darkness, good from evil. The Word of God has colossal power of spiritual influence on man. And it is very important that, as we listen to this Word, we absorb the truth that the Holy Spirit conveyed to the ancient authors of the Bible and which is taught to this day by the Church of Christ, the community of faith.
Our knowledge of God is most strengthened by considering all the wisely constructed nature around us. God reveals himself even more in Divine revelation, which is given to us in Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.
The Holy Scriptures are books written by Prophets and Apostles with the help of the Holy Spirit of God, revealing to them the secrets of the future. These books are called the Bible.
The Bible is a historically established collection of books that covers - according to the Biblical account - an age of about five and a half thousand years. As a literary work, it has been collected for about two thousand years.
It is divided in volume into two unequal parts: the larger one - the ancient one, that is, the Old Testament, and the later one - the New Testament.
The history of the Old Testament prepared people for the coming of Christ for about two thousand years. The New Testament covers the earthly period of the life of the God-man Jesus Christ and his closest followers. For us Christians, of course, the history of the New Testament is more important.
The subjects of biblical books are very diverse. At the beginning it is devoted to the historical past from the point of view of the philosophy of history and Theology, the origin of the world, and the creation of man. This is what the oldest part of the Bible is dedicated to.
The books of the Bible are divided into four parts. The first of them talks about the law left by God to the people through the prophet Moses. These commandments are dedicated to the rules of life and faith.
The second part is historical, it describes all the events that took place over 1100 years - until the 2nd century. ad.
The third part of the books includes moral and edifying ones. They are based on instructive stories from the lives of people famous for certain deeds or a special way of thinking and behavior.
There are books of very high poetic and lyrical content - for example, the Psalter, Song of Songs. The Psalter is especially interesting. This is a book of the history of the soul, the inner life of a person, covering the range of internal states from spiritual soaring to deep despair due to one or another wrong action.
It should be noted that of all the Old Testament books, the Psalter was the main one for the formation of our Russian worldview. This book was educational - in the pre-Petrine era, all Russian children learned to read and write from it.
The fourth part of the books are prophetic books. Prophetic texts are not just reading, but revelation - very important for the life of each of us, since our inner world is always in motion, striving to achieve the pristine beauty of the human soul.
The story about the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ and the essence of his teaching is contained in the second part of the Bible - the New Testament. The New Testament consists of 27 books. These are, first of all, the four Gospels - a story about the life and three and a half years of preaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then - books telling about His disciples - the books of the Acts of the Apostles, as well as books of His disciples themselves - the Epistles of the Apostles, and, finally, the book of the Apocalypse, telling about the final destinies of the world.
The moral law contained in the New Testament is more strict than that of the Old Testament. Here not only sinful deeds are condemned, but also thoughts. The goal of every person is to eradicate evil in himself. By defeating evil, man conquers death.
The main thing in the Christian faith is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who conquered death and opened the way for all humanity to eternal life. It is this joyful feeling of liberation that permeates the New Testament narratives. The word “Gospel” itself is translated from Greek as “Good News.”
The Old Testament is the ancient union of God with man, in which God promised people a Divine Savior and, over many centuries, prepared them to receive Him.
The New Testament is that God really gave people a Divine Savior, in the person of His Only Begotten Son, who came down from heaven and became incarnate from the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and suffered and crucified for us, was buried and resurrected on the third day according to the Scriptures.
We asked visitors to our portal whether and how often they read the Holy Scriptures. About 2,000 people took part in the survey. It turned out that more than a third of them do not read the Holy Scriptures at all or do so extremely rarely. About a quarter of those surveyed regularly read the Holy Scriptures. The rest - from time to time.
The Holy Scripture itself says: “Search the Scriptures, for by them you think that you have eternal life; and they testify of Me” (John 5:39); “Dig into yourself and into the teaching; do this constantly: for by doing this you will save both yourself and those who listen to you” (1 Tim. 4:16). As we see, reading and studying the Holy Scriptures is considered the main activity and duty of a believer.
We turned to Archpriest Oleg Stenyaev.
If a Christian does not turn to the Holy Scriptures, then his prayer, not combined with reading the word of God, is most likely a monologue that does not rise above the ceiling. In order for prayer to become a full-fledged dialogue with God, it must be combined with the reading of the Holy Scriptures. Then, turning to God in prayer, through reading His word, we will receive an answer to our questions.
The Scripture says that man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God (see: Deut. 8:3). We must remember that a person needs not only physical, material food, but also spiritual food. The Word of God is food for our inner, spiritual man. If we do not feed a physical person for a day, two, three, four, and if we neglect to take care of him, then the result will be his exhaustion, dystrophy. But a spiritual person can also find himself in a state of dystrophy if he does not read the Holy Scriptures for a long time. And then he wonders why his faith is weakening! The source of faith is known: “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for every person to cling to this source.
By reading the Holy Scriptures, we immerse our consciousness in the commandments of God
Psalm 1 begins with the words: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, and does not stand in the way of sinners, and does not sit in the seat of the wicked, but his will is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1: 1-2). Here, in the first verse, we are shown three positions of the human body: not walking, not standing, not sitting. And then it says that the believer abides in the Law of God day and night. That is, it tells us with whom we cannot walk together, with whom we cannot stand together, with whom we cannot sit together. The commandments are in the word of God. By reading the Holy Scriptures, we immerse our consciousness in the commandments of God. As David said: “Your word is a lamp to my feet” (Ps. 119:105). And if we do not immerse our consciousness in, then we walk as if in darkness.
Addressing instructions to the young bishop Timothy, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Let no one despise your youth; but be an example for the faithful in word, in life, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Until I come, keep busy with reading, instruction and teaching” (1 Tim. 4: 12-13). And Moses, the seer of God, setting up Joshua, said to him: “Do not let this book of the law depart from your mouth; but study therein day and night, so that you may do exactly everything that is written in it: then you will be successful in your ways and will act wisely” (Joshua 1:8).
How to study the Holy Scriptures correctly? I think that we need to start with the Gospel and Apostolic readings of the day, indications of which are in every church calendar - and today everyone has such calendars. In the old days, it was customary: after the morning rule, a person opened the calendar, looked at what the Gospel reading was today, what the Apostolic reading was, and read these texts - they were a kind of edification for him for that day. And for a more intensive study of the Holy Scriptures, fasting is a very good time.
You should definitely have a Bible at home, choose a copy for yourself that will be comfortable for your eyes and pleasant to hold in your hands. And there must be a bookmark. And as a bookmark, you need to read a fragment of Holy Scripture from beginning to end.
Of course, it is recommended to start with the New Testament. And if a person is already a church member, he needs to read the entire Bible at least once. And when a person uses the time of fasting for intensive study of the Holy Scriptures, this will bring him God's blessing.
It has long been noted that, no matter how many times a person reads the same biblical text, at different periods of life it opens up with new facets. In the same way, a gemstone, when you turn it, shines blue, turquoise, amber. The Word of God, no matter how many times we turn to it, will open to us more and more new horizons of knowledge of God.
The Monk Ambrose of Optina recommended that novices become acquainted with the New Testament according to the interpretations of Blessed Theophylact. These, although brief, convey the very essence of the text. And in his comments, Blessed Theophylact does not deviate from the topic. As is known, he took as a basis the works of St. John Chrysostom, but from them he singled out only what relates directly to the text that is being commented on.
When reading the biblical text itself, one must always have either the Explanatory Orthodox Bible or the same commentary of Blessed Theophylact at hand, and when something is not clear, turn to them. The commentary itself, without the biblical text, is quite difficult to read, because it is, after all, reference literature; you need to turn to it when you are faced with an incomprehensible or difficult fragment of the Bible.
Parents should study the Holy Scriptures with their children
How to teach children to read the Holy Scriptures? I think parents should study the Holy Scriptures together with their children. The Bible repeatedly says that it is the father who must teach the Law of God to his children. And, by the way, it is never said that children should study. This means that whether they want it or not, they still need to study the Law of God and read the Bible.
I went to the Orthodox Church for a long time, and more than once personally communicated with the priests. They did not refuse to teach me and guide me on the right path, including by giving examples from the Holy Scriptures. But never once was it suggested to me study The Word of God.
Another interesting fact is that it was difficult to buy a Bible in Orthodox churches. Of course, I cannot speak for all settlements where the Orthodox denomination has its churches, but only for my city - a large regional center of Russia, but I have heard that this situation is typical for the entire territory of the former USSR. I remember then I looked for a long time for an inexpensive edition of the Holy Scriptures in the churches of our city, but I never found it. More precisely, sometimes there were books, but only huge ones with a huge price, which I couldn’t afford at the time. But on the other hand, in all churches there was an abundance of other, most varied spiritual literature - inexpensive publications about saints, about fasting, prayer books, etc.
While working on this book, I decided to check whether the situation has changed over the past decade or more. Almost nothing. The same rare “ledgers” with a relatively high price. For example, in our church there is always a Bible: large and pocket-sized editions, expensive and very inexpensive, accessible even to low-income people.
This situation with Bibles in Orthodox churches should make you think. In my opinion, this fact is precisely both a consequence and confirmation of the fact that in this denomination knowledge of the Holy Scriptures does not come first.
However, God says His Word is necessary study:
There is also an opinion among parishioners of historical denominations that the Bible is difficult for ordinary people to understand without additional education. However, it is not clear on what this conclusion is based. Indeed, in Old Testament times, as already noted in Chapter "Legends", The Word of God had to be known by the whole people - every person, regardless of his social status: from kings to illiterate women and even children.
"Of all that Moses commanded Jesus(To Navin. - Author's note) , there wasn't a single word which Jesus would not have read before the whole assembly of Israel, and wives, and children, and strangers who were among them» (Joshua 8:35).
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart and instill them in your children and talk about them sitting in your house, and walking by the way, and lying down, and rising.”(Deut. 6:6,7, see also Deut. 17:18,19, Deut. 31:11,12, 2 Chron. 17:7-9, Jer. 36:6, Ezra 7:10, Hos. .4:1).
The New Testament texts are also addressed to ordinary people. Christ constantly taught the people, including children.
“When evening came, His disciples came to Him and said: This is a deserted place and the time is already late; let go people so that they would go to the villages and buy food for themselves... and those who ate were about five thousand people, except women and children» (Matt. 14:15,21).
The Gospel tells us that Jesus constantly went to the synagogue to read the Scriptures:
“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and entered according to His custom, on the Sabbath day to the synagogue, and got up to read» (Luke 4:16).
And absolutely everyone was allowed (and is still allowed) to come to the synagogue to study the Holy Scriptures, including children.
Most of the letters of the apostles are addressed to churches. From their content it is absolutely clear that they are addressed not to ministers, but to everyone Christians in these communities. Even those letters that were written directly to the ministers Titus and Timothy are simple in their presentation. This means that when we read the Bible, we come into direct contact with the words that the prophets, and then Jesus and the apostles preached to ordinary people. Did their listeners have additional education? U overwhelming most don't.
Jesus called everyone of people:
« Search the Scriptures, for through them you think to have eternal life; and they testify of Me"(John 5:39).
The apostles continued their instruction:
« Get into it into yourself and into teaching; do sim constantly“For by doing this you will save yourself and those who listen to you.”(1 Tim. 4:16).
“The people here were more thoughtful than those in Thessalonica: they received the word with all zeal, examining the Scriptures daily, is this really true?(Acts 17:11, see also Acts 17:2, James 1:25, 1 Tim. 2:4).
Despite such direct calls of Christ and the apostles, not all Christians follow them. From my small experience of communicating with Orthodox priests, I concluded for myself that they do not know the Bible well enough. I think they will read it once or twice and then return only to the texts they use in the service. Or they read those chapters that are pleasant to them, understandable and do not cause any contradictions. But deeper study of all They don't study Bibles.
Some authoritative representatives of Orthodoxy also agree with the above opinion. Thus, the famous Orthodox figure Archbishop Mikhail Mudyugin (1912 - 2000), Doctor of Theology, professor, rector of the St. Petersburg Theological Academy, in his book “Russian Orthodox Churchliness. The second half of the twentieth century" (Chapter "The Word of God in the life of the Church and the Orthodox Christian") wrote:
“It’s a sad fact, but undeniable: the Russian Orthodox people does not know The Word of God does not strive, does not even consider it necessary to know. The overwhelming majority of the clergy, having passed it in the seminary (precisely by “passing” and not studying), very rarely contacts him for home reading and even preaching on well-known topics of church holidays or the lives of revered saints.”
Archpriest Alexander Borisov (1939), candidate of theology, president of the Russian Bible Society, in his book “White Fields” (chapter 3) writes:
“To consider the Holy Scriptures as something completely inaccessible to believers... means to take the Bible for some kind of mysterious esoteric text, accessible only to initiates. But it is unlikely that God intended to bring the Good News in some clever encrypted form so that only the elect could understand it correctly. The Gospels were written by believers for believers, with the purpose of recording in writing sermons about the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
Unfortunately, the idea of the need to have the Gospel and read it with great difficulty it is introduced into the consciousness of our fellow citizens returning to the Church or coming to it for the first time.
The most common type of priest in our country is the “center” - this is a priest of a completely sound and, as they say, “simple” faith... Almost all of these priests from the Gospel, except at the service, don't read, the Old Testament and the Epistles of the Apostles, as a rule, almost don't know(except for the little that remains in memory from the seminar course). Accordingly, they rarely preach (many never preach at all).”
Sometimes, when reproaching Christians of historically widespread denominations for poor knowledge of the Bible, you can hear from some of them an answer with something like this: “The study of Scripture is far from the main task of a believer, because the Pharisees and scribes knew it well, and, despite this, they were often subjected to criticism from Jesus. Hence the conclusion - for a good Christian it is enough to be spiritual, attend church, read the lives of saints and try to live by their example.” However, such a conclusion cannot be drawn by analyzing directly the words of Christ to which they refer. On the contrary, Jesus rebuked the spiritual leaders of his time precisely in poor knowledge of Scripture, in his non-fulfillment And addition to the law of the God of his human traditions:
“For you, having forsaken the commandment of God, adhere to human tradition» (Mark 7:8).
“On that day the Sadducees came to Him, saying that there is no resurrection... Jesus answered and said to them: “(Matt. 22:23,29).
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, who go around sea and land to convert even one; and when it happens, make him a son of Gehenna…Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you tithe mint, anise, and cumin, and left the most important things in the law: judgment, mercy and faith; this had to be done, and this should not be abandoned.”(Matt. 23:15,23)
"Woe to you lawyers, that you took the key understanding: they themselves did not enter, and they prevented those entering» (Luke 11:52, see also chapter "Tradition").
Dear reader, after reading this book, I hope you will be convinced that it is very important to delve into the Message of the Creator written for all people, in which not a single word is in vain:
“The words of the Lord are pure words, silver, cleared of earth in a furnace, refined seven times» (Ps. 11:7).
“And they will know that I am the Lord; It was not in vain that I spoke» (Ezek. 6:10).
"God's no word will remain powerless» (Luke 1:37, see also Prov. 8:6,7).
Despite the simplicity of the Bible, you need to study it seriously. Look, after Jesus taught the people in parables, He then explained their meaning to everyone who did not understand, but wanted to understand the teaching of the Lord:
« Surroundings He and the twelve asked Him about the parable. And he said to them: you have been given know the secrets of the Kingdom of God, and those external everything happens in parables; so they look with their own eyes and do not see; they hear with their own ears and do not understand, yes won't contact» (Mark 4:10-12).
In those days, one had to follow Jesus to understand the depth of God's instructions. Today, as already noted, All The teaching of the Lord is in the Bible and anyone can open this amazing Book and comprehend the will of the Creator.
Poor knowledge of the Word of God can lead to very negative consequences. After all, a verse of Holy Scripture taken out of context can be given the opposite meaning. Sometimes, in order to understand the true meaning of any text of the Bible, you need to know: by whom and when it was written, to whom it was addressed, what circumstances accompanied it, and what the message in general is about. To be convinced of this, it is often enough to simply read the previous, this and following chapters in their entirety - and the previously incomprehensible text will “fall” into place. It is worth noting that previously there was no division of Scripture into chapters and verses. This contributed to the understanding of the phrases of the prophets and apostles only in the context of their entire message, that is, it did not encourage the selection of any verse from the Bible for its separate interpretation in isolation from the rest of the narrative.
But if, after studying the nearby chapters, you continue to have doubts about a particular verse, do not despair - understanding will come with time. It happens that in order to correctly interpret a phrase, you need to have an idea about the habits and customs of that time, about the historical situation. Sometimes, you need to know other places in Holy Scripture where the same thing is told. And sometimes, it is necessary to analyze the text in the light of the general teaching of the Lord. After all, the Bible is unified Message from God! This means that the information in It is “systematized.” According to the general rules: if some element drops out of the system, it means either the system is false (which in our case is excluded) or this element in this system has a different function. Therefore, thanks to the rule « All Scripture is inspired by God"(2 Tim. 3:16), after some study, any text of Holy Scripture finds its explanation.
The Bible can also be compared to a mosaic picture. Having a set of puzzles, you can post an image. But, if at least a few fragments are swapped or replaced with others (false ones), the correct picture will not work. At the same time, we must understand that God is Wisdom (see Ps. 103:24, Prov. 3:19, Dan. 2:20, 1 Cor. 3:19, Jude 25), therefore He could not give people Your Message either in the form of a highly complex puzzle, or a hastily assembled collection of texts.
These examples illustrate the assertion that the Bible is complete and answers to all questions can be found in It. But for this you need to study the Holy Scriptures - apply diligence, and not be content with a rare selective reading of chapters or texts.
The Gospel provides a good example of the importance of a thorough knowledge of the Word of God. After his baptism, while fasting in the desert, Jesus was tempted by Satan. The evil one deceived the Messiah, to which Christ firmly rebuffed him. The devil even tried to deceive Jesus with a quotation from Scripture taken out of context, but Christ, of course, knew His Word better than Satan.
Look what Satan said to Jesus:
“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for written: He will command His angels concerning You, and in their hands they will bear You up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.”(Matt. 4:6).
In Scripture the text reads like this:
“He will command His angels concerning you - guard you in all your ways“They will carry you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”(Ps. 90:11,12).
The difference is just a few words, but in the end it makes a huge difference. God promised through the psalmist security on the paths of life to the righteous, and Satan took the verse out of context, made a change to it and invited Jesus to throw himself from the wing of a high temple, saying that the Angels will catch you. Therefore, Jesus answered him with a different, but already exact quotation of Scripture from the book of Deuteronomy 6. Article 16: “It is also written: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”(Matt. 4:7).
This example clearly shows how dangerous an erroneous interpretation of individual Bible verses taken out of context and poor knowledge of the Creator’s teachings in general can be. The devil studied the Word of God well, so that distorted form of presenting to people the will of a loving, fair, wise Creator.
Jesus warned about the possibility of error resulting from poor knowledge of the Holy Scriptures:
“Jesus answered and said to them: you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures» (Matt. 22:29, see also Mark 12:24).
At the same time, Christ said that the truth is not deeply hidden:
« Seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you"(Luke 1:9).
« He who has ears to hear, let him hear!» (Matt. 13:9).
However, many people do not want to seek the truth and fulfill the will of the Creator. Jesus, regretting, spoke about them, quoting the prophet Isaiah 6 ch. Articles 9 and 10: “Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, and they do not understand; And the prophecy comes true on them Isaiah, which says: You will hear with your ears and not understand, and you will look with your eyes and not see., for the heart of this people is hardened, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and lest they be converted, that I may heal them.”(Matt. 13:13-15).
To achieve any goal you need action - desire. We know that this statement applies to all aspects of life. It also applies to spiritual growth. Jesus said: “The kingdom of God is preached, and everyone by effort enters into it"(Luke 16:16, see also Matt. 11:12). Let's take, for example, the Civil Code. Anyone, even those without education, can use it if necessary and find the articles they need. But will he take into account all the nuances? Most likely, his conclusion will be incorrect or incomplete. Only a person constantly turning to all articles of this code, can make a competent conclusion taking into account all the nuances. The same goes for the Bible.
The importance of studying the Word of God can be attested to by any serious student of the Holy Scriptures. At first, much in the Bible seems unclear, drawn out, or simply unnecessary. Texts are often difficult to perceive, even difficult to grasp their meaning. But over time, with repeated and subsequent readings of the same verses, taking into account the information already received, you begin to better understand the wisdom and importance inherent in them. And as more time passes, opening the Holy Scripture anywhere, you begin to read it immediately fluently, putting together hitherto obscure phrases into coherent sentences with an understandable meaning.
This is explained simply: the Lord appreciates when a person trying to comprehend His will. Then the Creator, through the Holy Spirit, helps the seeker discover in the Holy Scriptures what a person needs most now, what his mind and soul are ready and able to accept at this moment.
In addition, you need to realize that reading the Bible is not only a desire to know the will of the Lord. This is communication with the Creator "for the word of God lively and effectively". (Heb. 4:12). This means that every reading of Scripture is an opening of one’s heart to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, before reading the Bible, you must sincerely pray to God for liberation from earthly “burden” - human pride, baggage of knowledge, stereotypes, prejudices, skepticism, mistrust... That is, you need to start studying the Bible with a pure heart and mind... and listen to simple, accessible words loving Creator.
Dear reader, you can pray now, as later we will begin to analyze in more detail the text of the Word of God - the Bible.
In fairness, it should be noted that recently in Orthodoxy and Catholicism there has been a shift towards the study of the Bible, both by the clergy and the laity. But, knowing the speed at which change is occurring in “conservative” churches, it is difficult to expect that Christians of these denominations will discover for themselves in the near future what you will learn by reading this book to the end.
22.1. How and in what order to read the Bible? You can adhere to the reading order that is observed during the service. It is indicated in the Orthodox church calendar for every day. In the Bible published by the Moscow Patriarchate, at the end of the Old Testament there is an index of the Old Testament readings, and at the end of the New Testament there is an index of the Gospel and Apostolic readings. 22.2. What can you read from Holy Scripture during Lent? To the daily prayer rule you can add reading the Gospel, the Apostolic Acts and the Apostolic Epistles, and the Psalter. 22.3. What to do if not everything you read in the Bible is clear? It is necessary to read the Holy Scripture while living in the Church, for only the Church - since the Holy Spirit is always present in it - is a true teacher in reading; and in order to avoid the risk of falling into error due to an incorrect understanding of the texts, one should resort to their ecclesiastical interpretation.
Recognizing our limitations and sinful impurity, which hinder the penetrating knowledge of the word of God, we must humbly pray to God so that He will be worthy of hearing and fulfilling His word.
22.4. What book should I buy to understand the church service?
– A book telling about the liturgical Rules of the Orthodox Church.
22.5. What book should I buy to fast correctly?
– In church shops there are many books telling about all aspects: fasting, prayer, the Sacraments, etc.
22.6. In what literature can one read the Ten Commandments?
– A detailed explanation of the Ten Commandments is given in the Law of God (compiled by Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskaya).
22.7. What books should a believing Orthodox Christian have?
– , Psalter, Law of God, Orthodox prayer book, lives of saints, Akathist, Canon.
– First you need to pray to God to direct your mind to understand the Scripture. Do not be content with just reading the Gospel - try to fulfill its commandments.
The Holy Fathers advise reading the Gospel daily: even if you really don’t have enough time, you should still try to read one chapter. On the other hand, the advice of holy people is known to observe moderation when reading: it supports a constant desire to read, and satiety with reading turns one away from it.
– The point is not who the Bible was taken from, but what is printed in it. The overwhelming majority of “Protestant” Bibles in Russian are printed from the Synodal edition of the 19th century, as indicated by the inscription on the back of the title page. If there is such an inscription, you can read it without embarrassment, since the texts of the holy books do not contain anything non-Orthodox. Another thing is “free” or “modern” translations of the Bible or individual biblical books (for example, “The Word of Life”), as well as the Bible with commentaries. Naturally, Protestants comment on the Word of God from their heretical positions.
– Christianity does not close the world from a person, but opens it in all its diversity, but through a new prism of perception. Of course, you can also read good secular literature, historical and scientific. We must avoid only those works that arouse base passions and deprive the soul of peace and joy.
– You need to read books that strengthen your faith. For a believer, especially someone starting to become a church member, it is necessary not only to get acquainted with Christianity, but to try to study it deeply in order to clearly know what, why and why he believes? Otherwise, faith will remain at the level of stereotypes, sometimes very far from true Christianity.
Any Christian should deepen his knowledge about faith also because those around him, knowing that he believes in God, periodically ask him questions about faith. And you need to be able to give an answer. “Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and reverence.”(1 Pet. 3:15).
Before you do something, you need to know it. By reading the ascetic and dogmatic works of the holy fathers, one can get closer to the depth of their faith, which they acquired through their ascetic life.
– One becomes a member of the Church through Baptism, before which it is advisable to undergo a course of public conversations. After Baptism, one must regularly participate in divine services and begin the Sacraments. Anyone who misses a church service for three Sundays in a row is excommunicated from the Church.
22.14. When reading the Psalter, there are places where it talks about enemies. What enemies are implied?
– These are invisible enemies - crafty evil spirits who harm people with sinful thoughts and push them to sin.
22.15. What to do with non-Orthodox literature?
– As in any other area of life, the content of books depends on what comes from the hearts of their authors. If it is sin and passions, then the work is saturated with them and transmits them to other people. A true Christian turns away from such things and tries to protect himself and his loved ones. If a work artistically reflects the richness of life created by God, and even more so the higher spiritual and even spiritual aspirations on the basis of which the author created his creation, then the introduction of such literature to a Christian is not only permissible, but also necessary.
Therefore, non-Orthodox literature must be approached judiciously. Secular books (textbooks, reference books, etc.) should be used for their intended purpose; obviously spiritually harmful (pagan, magical, occult, sectarian and immoral) books and brochures should be burned. “We will be ashamed if we know how to reject food that is harmful to the body, but are not discriminating in the knowledge that feeds our soul, and allow good and bad to reach it” (St. Basil the Great).
You cannot simply throw spiritually harmful books into the trash: firstly, other people can read them, which can harm them, and secondly, many of these books contain quotations from the Holy Scriptures and throwing such books into the dirt is not good.
A practical guide to parish counseling. St. Petersburg 2009.
