Dear Christian friends:

In the sermon last Sunday we saw that Jesus expects us to judge our teachers and preacher whether or not they preach true or false. And if we are to judge our teachers we must know the Bible. With the Bible we judge doctrines. That means we personally must read our Bibles. Not let the preacher do it for us.

But it is not enough to read the Bible. Many many people read the Bible. Even today it is the most popular book. Yet many people misunderstand what they read in the Bible. They don't read it correctly.

Therefore we need to listen to Jesus here in our text. Here He tries to teach the Jews how to read the Bible correctly. So He will also teach us. Therefore with our lesson let us ask the question:

In our text Jesus says to the Jews: "Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me." (verse 39) So when we find Jesus in the Bible we read it correctly.

The deaf have a very good sign for the Bible, "The Jesus Book." You can't find a better sign for the Bible. When you read your Bible, especially the Old Testament, remember it is telling of Jesus.

Some people think that the Old Testament is of little value. They say, "I read the New Testament, it tells about Jesus; I never bother to read the Old Testament." People who say that are very weak, and poor in Bible reading, babies. Here Jesus was only talking about the Old Testament. The New Testament was not yet written. He told the Jews that "the Scriptures testify of Me."

The Jews like many people today thought that the Old Testament did not teach the good news of Jesus. They said, "Moses, Moses, Moses. We are Abraham's children. We follow Moses." But Jesus says to them in verse 46: "If you believed Moses ye would have believed Me: for he wrote of Me."

In Genesis, the first book of the Old Testament there is plenty about Jesus, the Savior. In chapter 3 after Adam and Eve fell into sin God promised His Son, Jesus, the seed of the woman who would crush the serpents head.

His promise to Noah after the flood was about the Savior Jesus. His promise to Abraham that in His Son (seed) all peoples of the earth would be blessed (saved) (prophesied) meant of the Savior Jesus. The stories of Isaac and Joseph, are hints and prophesies of Jesus. The story of Jews as slaves in Egypt and how God freed them is a hint of our salvation in Jesus. The blood of the Lamb on the door post which saved the first-born of the Jews from the angel of death is a type of Jesus' blood that saves us from eternal death. All these stories Moses wrote.

The Jews had no excuse if they didn't find Jesus in the Old Testament. And not finding Jesus they found a history of which they boasted and laws which they thought they could keep. They became proud and self-righteous, and despised the humble Jesus and His true teaching.

So people today, fail to find Jesus in their Bible reading. True they read Jesus, and believe some of those stories, but they do not believe that He is the Son of God and the Son of the Virgin Mary. They like the Jews think he is the son of the carpenter Joseph, a good man and a fine teacher.

They overlook the chief thing about Jesus, that He is the Son of God who came down from heaven to suffer and die for lost sinners.

Let us not make that mistake in our Bible reading. When you read your Bible, no matter which book or part ask yourself these questions: What does this say about Jesus? What does it say about me? What does this mean for my salvation? If you always ask those three questions while reading the Bible you will begin to read it correctly.

And then there is one more thing to remember in answering our question this morning. When do we read the Bible correctly? When we find eternal life in the Bible.

The Jews believed that they would get eternal life by obeying Moses' law. That is why they refused to come to Jesus. (verse 40) "And ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life." But Jesus tells them in verse 45 here that Moses' law will not save them or give them eternal life, but that it would condemn them to eternal death. Jesus says, "Don't think that I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust." Jesus here warns them that they can't perfectly obey the Ten Commandments of Moses and so will be condemned by that law.

He invites them to confess their sins and worthlessness before God and ask mercy in His Name. They will find Eternal Life not by outward works of Moses' Law, but by humble faith in Jesus' merit and blood.

So you and I will read the Bible correctly if we understand about the Law and Gospel! That Moses' Law shows us our sins and condemns us before the perfect God. It cannot give us eternal life. The Gospel is the good news, that God sent His Son from heaven to obey the law for us and then to suffer our punishment, save us and give us faith, hope and life in God now and forever.

Now let us again ask our question and answer it: When Do We Read the Bible Correctly?

We read and hear it correctly when we find eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, God's Son, Our Savior.

May God help all of us to read our Bibles, eagerly and correctly!

Amen