New Testament Bible-Reading Program

From the Lamb Ledger, May 1980, Vol. 3, No. 18.

How do you fly an airplane? When you are flying in the clouds, you can't see, so you don't know if you're upside-down or not. It's fun until you get beneath the clouds and realize that there's a mountaintop right there. Then you have a problem.

How are you going to guide your life? In John chapter 3, Nicodemus was spiritually blind (Jn. 3:3). you don't know which end is up or down. There is spiritual blindness, cloud blindness, and you've got life blindness. You don't know what to do (Jer. 10:23). What's the connection between all three types of blindness? Interpretation is the answer to all three.

In instrument flying, they teach you three things: scan, interpret and control. Scan means to look at the instruments constantly, back and forth, the whole time you're in the cloud. Interpret means to understand what they are telling you. Control means you have to do something about it. You want to fly your life, don't you?

Instruments and Figures

Think of instruments and figures. There are a lot of figures in the Bible, and a lot of instruments in the plane. Each instrument is like a figure, the instruments stay the same, but they tell you different things at different points in your flight. In the same way, figures can tell you different messages in different passages even though the figures themselves do not change. You had better know how to scan, interpret and control before you get into the clouds! (2 Peter 1:19)

See, you've got this problem: the vanity of youth (Ecc. 11:10). Everything in you wants to walk by sight and feelings. It's not hard to get yourself off the ground, but when you get up into the clouds, it's getting down that's hard.

You've got to learn how to interpret what God is saying to you. God speaks in figures (Job 33:14; Ps. 78:2). You have to learn what God is saying so you will know what to do in your life. There is a whole lot more in the Bible than just "have faith in Jesus and get born again." God wants you to understand a lot more, but it's buried in figures.

For those who really want to navigate through life in a way that is pleasing to God, He invented this set of instruments--figures (Pro. 1:6). He set up the figure system in two places: in the Bible, and in the physical creation.

If it were not for these earthly figures we couldn't understand at all (Jn. 3:12). The only way you're going to be sure of what God intends in your life is by understanding these figures and rightly interpreting. Then, you must be careful to do all that you learn (Deut. 5:1). Be eager to do all that God shows you (Ps. 119:33).

IFR and VFR Christians

Now there are two types of Christians: VFR and IFR. Most Christians are VFR, and so are most pilots. With IFR, you can fly in the clouds or in the dark and still know what to do. Most Christians are not interested in interpretation, but rather only the obvious, clear surface teachings of the Bible. So when some problem comes, they are not sure what to do. An IFR Christian is one who knows how to interpret figures and is always on the lookout for a better understanding of how to walk according to Scripture (Ps. 119:32).

Scan means you continually read. Keep reading the Bible- reading program, over an dover (Acts 17:11). The first scanning that you are doing is just getting you familiar with the Bible, but that's the place to start. Later you will learn about interpreting. You'll rightly interpret what you're scanning and so stay on a straight and level path. Controlling is where faith comes in, practicing what you learn, but scanning and interpreting have to do with understanding.

It Takes Discipline

You must discipline yourself to live according to the truth. You can be in all kinds of trouble, but as long as you stick to right interpretation, you'll be all right, because interpretation does not depend upon your feelings. Get trained to live your life this way, because you really want to walk the way that will please God (Eph. 5:10). That's your purpose.

Remember that faithfulness is more important than understanding; it's the greater of the two (James 1:22). Faith leads to hope and that leads to love (1 Cor. 13:13). And even with your doubts, Jesus will supply you with everything that you need and you will grow in the truth (Jn. 8:31).

Learn to Scan and Fly IFR

Now, for the first part of your IFR training: scanning. As you've just read, the figures of the Bible can be compared to the instruments in an airplane. When you're flying in a cloud, you must scan the instruments, back and forth, all the time, and be familiar with what each one tells you.

The New Testament Bible-Reading Program was prepared to help you learn to "scan" the New Testament. By following this program, you will become familiar with this part of the Bible, so later you can move on to interpreting and have your faculties trained (Heb. 5:14).

The New Testament naturally divides into orderly, fairly even chapter groupings. They are brief enough that you can remember the context of each section. The sections cover enough so that in 78 days you will have read the New Testament once. In the first year you'll have read it four times.

In the morning read your chapters over well. All day be reviewing and remembering what is in them. Don't read beyond the day's chapters. Become knowledgeable about your daily grouping, and later you will see how valuable this will be to you.

"Do you best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2:15).