Experimental Study of the Word: When Truth Is Wrought into the Soul

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"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." Psalm 119:18

There is a great difference between knowing the truth, and tasting the truth.

A man may study the Scriptures until his mind is crowded with doctrines, texts, arguments, observations, and interpretations -- and yet remain a stranger to the power of those truths upon his own soul. He may be able to explain election, justification, sanctification, providence, and perseverance -- and yet scarcely know what it is to tremble before the holiness of God, rest beneath His sovereignty, mourn over sin, rejoice in saving and sustaining grace, or delight in Jesus.

This is the difference between a merely intellectual religion, and experimental religion.

The word "experimental" means something that is known by experience. It is truth not merely understood by the head, but received, tasted, felt, believed, and lived in the heart.

There is a vast difference between knowing that honey is sweet, and actually tasting it.

So it is with divine truth.

We may know that God is gracious -- but have we ever been humbled by the greatness of His grace?

We may know that God is sovereign -- but have we learned to rest quietly beneath His providence?

We may know that sin is evil -- but have we mourned over the sinfulness of our own hearts?

We may know that Jesus died for sinners -- but have we fled to Him as our only refuge, and found Him precious to our souls?

The great question is not merely, "What do I know?"
It is, "How has the truth transformed me?"

 

The Scripture as a Mirror

We naturally use the Scripture to examine other people. How quickly we find the sins of Israel, the failures of David, the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, the foolishness of Peter, and the unbelief of Thomas!

But experimental Christianity turns the searching light of Scripture upon ourselves. "For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit... it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12

When the Word condemns pride, do not merely think of proud people you know.
Ask, "Lord, where is this pride in me?"

When it condemns worldliness, do not merely think of others around you.
Ask, "Lord, how much of the world has entered my heart?"

When it commands forgiveness, do not merely admire the command.
Ask, "Whom have I refused to forgive?"

When it commands love, ask, "How cold is my heart toward others?"

When it calls us to trust God, ask, "Why am I living as though everything depends upon me?"

When it commands holiness, ask, "What secret sin am I protecting?"

The Scripture is not given merely to expose the sins of mankind.
It is given to expose my sins.

A truly profitable study of the Word will sometimes leave us wounded. It will uncover:
  motives we would rather conceal,
  idols we would rather protect,
  sins we would rather excuse,
  and attitudes we would rather call personality.

But blessed is the wound inflicted by the Word of God, for the same Word that wounds also directs us to the Great Physician.

 

The Word must Be Meditated upon

We should never hurry through Scripture.

We must turn the truth over and over in our mind, as a bee lingers over a flower, seeking to draw out its sweetness.

"Blessed is the one... whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night." Psalm 1:1-2

There is a difference between reading a verse, and feeding upon it.

Read it slowly.

Read it again.

Consider every word.

Ask what it reveals about God.

Ask what it reveals about yourself.

Ask why God has placed this truth before you today.

Turn it into prayer.

Carry it with you throughout the day.

Return to it when temptation comes.

Return to it when sorrow comes.

Return to it when fear comes.

Return to it when you are tempted to doubt God's goodness.

The Scripture which is quickly read, may soon be forgotten.

The Scripture which is meditated upon, becomes rooted in the heart.

 

From Truth to Self-examination

Experimental study of the Word constantly asks, "Is this truth alive in me?"

Suppose you study the sovereignty of God.
Do not stop with the doctrine. Examine your anxiety.
If God truly governs all things, then why am I consumed with fear?
If His providence orders my circumstances, then why do I murmur against them?
If nothing can thwart His purposes, then why do I live as though my future rests upon my own wisdom?

The doctrine must descend from the mind, into the inner chambers of the heart.

Study God's holiness -- then examine your hatred of sin.

Study God's grace -- then examine your pride.

Study God's patience -- then examine your impatience.

Study God's forgiveness -- then examine your bitterness.

Study God's faithfulness -- then examine your unbelief.

Study God's love -- then examine your coldness toward Him.

Study the cross -- then examine why you have so little love to the precious Savior.

This is where the Word becomes worship.

 

The Word and the Mortification of Sin

We must never separate study of the Word, from the killing of sin.

God's Word is not merely a lamp showing us the road to Heaven.
It is also a sword by which the Holy Spirit cuts down the enemies of our souls.

The Christian should be able to say, "This morning the Lord showed me something in His Word that I must put to death."

Perhaps it is pride.

Perhaps covetousness.

Perhaps resentment.

Perhaps self-pity.

Perhaps an unforgiving spirit.

Perhaps an excessive love of human approval.

Perhaps secret lust.

Perhaps anxiety which reveals unbelief.

Perhaps a desire for earthly comfort, greater than our desire for God.

When Scripture reveals these things, then we must take them to the throne of grace.

We must confess them.

We must hate them.

We must renounce them.

We must ask for grace to put them to death.

Study of the Word which does not make us more watchful over sin, may actually make us more knowledgeable while leaving us no more holy.

 

The Word must Lead Us to Jesus

And here is the sweetest part of all.

The purpose of experimental study of Scripture is not to make us perpetually occupied with ourselves. The more faithfully Scripture exposes us, the more desperately it drives us to Jesus.

The law shows us our guilt.

The gospel shows us our Savior.

The commandments reveal our inability.

Grace reveals God's provision.

Our sin makes us ashamed.

Jesus becomes precious.

The more clearly we see our spiritual poverty, the more highly we prize His riches.

The more deeply we feel our spiritual weakness, the more gladly we rest upon His strength.

The more we discover our unworthiness, the more astonishing His grace becomes.

This is why true study of the Word produces worship.

The Scripture does not merely say, "Look at yourself."

It says, "Look at God."
Look at His holiness.
Look at His majesty.
Look at His sovereignty.
Look at His mercy.
Look at His covenant faithfulness.
Look at His redeeming love.
Look at Jesus, the Lamb who was slain for sinners.
Look at the grace which chose the undeserving.
Look at the blood which cleanses from sin.
Look at the righteousness which is given freely to those who believe.
Then fall upon your knees and worship.

 

The Word must Become Prayer

One of the great secrets of fruitful study of the Word, is to turn what we read into prayer.

When Scripture reveals our sin, confess it.

When Scripture reveals God's character, praise Him.

When Scripture contains a promise, believe it and thank Him.

When Scripture gives a command, ask for grace to obey it.

When Scripture gives a warning, ask God to preserve you.

When Scripture reveals Jesus, adore Him.

Thus the Scripture becomes the prayer-book of the soul.

The psalmist did not merely read God's statutes. He cried: "Teach me, LORD, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end." Psalm 119:33

"Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight." Psalm 119:35

This is experimental religion.

The heart hears God speak in His Word, and answers God in prayer.

 

The Final Test

The supreme test of study of the Word, is not how much Scripture we can explain.

It is how much Scripture has transformed us to be like Jesus.

Has the Word made us humbler?

More prayerful?

More watchful?

More tender toward sin?

More patient under providence?

More forgiving toward others?

More detached from the world?

More hungry for holiness?

More dependent upon grace?

More satisfied with Jesus?

More eager for Heaven?

If not, we should stop and ask why.

We can become very learned, while remaining very worldly.

We can become very theological, while remaining very proud.

We can become very skilled in handling Scripture, while being very careless in obeying it.

The Pharisees knew the Scriptures, yet they missed the Savior to whom the Scriptures pointed. "These are the very Scriptures that testify about me," Jesus said. "Yet you refuse to come to me to have life." John 5:39-40

What a fearful possibility -- to handle the Scriptures and yet miss the Christ of Scripture!

Therefore, let us not be satisfied with cold knowledge.

Let us seek living truth.

Let us seek the truth that . . .
  breaks the heart,
  humbles the sinner,
  magnifies grace,
  mortifies corruption,
  strengthens faith,
  produces obedience,
  and makes Jesus increasingly precious.

Let us come to the Scripture, as beggars to a feast.
Let us come as thirsty souls, to living water.
Let us come as condemned sinners, to the message of sovereign grace.
Let us come as weary pilgrims, seeking direction.
Let us come as wounded souls, seeking healing.
Let us come as hungry children, seeking bread.
And above all, let us come seeking God Himself.
For the greatest blessing of study of the Word, is not that we leave knowing more about Scripture. It is that we leave knowing more of the God of Scripture.

Then the Book will no longer be merely upon our desk.
Its truths will be written upon our hearts.
Its promises will become our songs.
Its warnings will become our safeguards.
Its commands will become our pathway.
Its doctrines will become our worship.
Its gospel will become our hope.
And its revelation of Jesus will become the delight of our souls.

"Whom have I in heaven but You? And being with you, I desire nothing on earth." Psalm 73:25
(The above article was AI generated.)