https://scripturememory.com/why
Why should you memorize Scripture?
Situations in which the application of Scriptural principles may be needed or relevant may arise suddenly, or with insufficient time or opportunity to search the Bible for appropriate guidance.
There may also be occasions (perhaps even lengthy intervals) when a Christian (for whatever reason) does not have a copy of the Bible readily available.
Knowledge of memorized passages is also a highly effective tool in personal evangelism, enabling the Christian to speak instantly and accurately to others about God and salvation through faith in Christ.
At such times, a previous concerted effort to commit Scripture passages to memory will be able to provide inspired guidance, comfort, and witness.
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Jack
Gutknecht ABC/DTS graduate, guitar music ministry Baptist church
Tim Maas' answer would serve as my introduction to a sermon.
1. It is commanded (Dt 6:6-7)
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
This is a direct command from God for His people. We are to treasure His Word in our hearts first, then carefully teach our children to do the same.
Deuteronomy 6:6
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway, the literary genius, said of his life: “I live in a vacuum that is as lonely as a radio tube when the batteries are dead, and there is no current to plug into.”
This is a startling statement, given the fact that Hemingway’s life would be the envy of anyone who had bought the values of our modern society. Hemingway was known for his tough-guy image and globe-trotting pilgrimages to exotic places. He was a big-game hunter, a bullfighter, a man who could drink the best of them under the table. He was married four times and lived his life seemingly without moral restraint or conscience. But on a sunny Sunday morning in Idaho, he pulverized his head with a shotgun blast.
There was another side to Hemingway’s life, one that few people know about. He grew up in an evangelical Christian home. His grandparents were missionaries, and his father was a devoted churchman and friend of evangelist D. L. Moody. Hemingway’s family conformed to the strictest codes of Christianity, and as a boy and young man he was active in his church.
Then came Word War I. As a war correspondent, Hemingway saw death and despair firsthand. His youthful enthusiasm for Christianity soured, and Hemingway eventually rejected the faith he had once claimed.
While we don’t know all that transpired in Hemingway’s heart, it seems he never developed a truly personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Genuine Christianity means more than living in a Christian environment, going through catechism, conforming to the codes, and affirming the truths of Scripture. True Christians are non-negotiated followers of Christ, those who are progressively moving toward Him and who understand all of life in the context of His teaching.
The point is not Hemingway’s life. It’s my life and your life. If we aren’t cultivating a living, vital relationship with Jesus Christ, then we, too, may respond as Hemingway did when life’s questions are agonizingly unanswerable or when our inner impulses are too seductive for us to resist. An allegiance based on systems, rituals, and rules is never enough to keep us loyal.
Deuteronomy 6:7ff
I Take God …
- I take God the Father to be my chief end and highest good.
- I take God the Son to be my prince and Savior.
- I take God the Holy Spirit to be my sanctifier, teacher, guide, and comforter.
- I take the Word of God to be my rule in all my actions and the people of God to be my people under all conditions.
- I do hereby dedicate and devote to the Lord all I am, all I have, and all I can do.
- And this I do deliberately, freely, and forever.
Let's face it folks, we are called to memorize Scripture.
Colossians 3:16 tells us to “let the word of Christ dwell in us richly.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9 tells us to bind God’s law on our foreheads, teach it to our children, talk about it wherever we go, and make it an integral part of our lives. We must know Scripture first before we can teach it or apply it as God desires.
To summarize my first point on why I should memorize Scripture, God tells us to.
“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
This is a direct command from God for His people. We are to treasure His Word in our hearts first, then carefully teach our children to do the same. Our ministry's methods and memory courses are optional, but the practice of memorizing Scripture is not. We need it, and our children do too!
2. For spiritual success (Joshua 1:8).
It offers spiritual success. Scripture memorization offers spiritual success.
God directly tells Joshua [and us, indirectly], “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”
There aren’t many guarantees in life, but here is one: if you memorize Scripture, meditate on it, and act on it, you will have spiritual success!
The Word of God grows spiritual fruit: “... those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”
It’s also vital to growing into spiritual maturity: "As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby."
In addition to that, knowing the Word of God makes your prayer life more effective: "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."
3. For spiritual warfare (Eph 6:17)
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
It equips us for spiritual warfare.
“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
The Word of God in your heart is equivalent to a sword in your hand. When you’re fighting against the spiritual “rulers of darkness of this age” (Ephesians 6:12), a tiny Swiss Army knife isn’t going to protect you as much as a full-sized sword. Arm yourself against the lies of the enemy with the powerful truth of God’s Word.
Jesus Himself, though perfect in His understanding of God’s ways, memorized Scripture and used it in His battle against the lies of Satan. When we memorize Scripture, we follow the example of Christ: But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Ephesians 6:17
Collision
In his book, A Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football, Paul Zimmerman quotes a physicist who made a rather startling discovery. When a 240 pound football lineman (capable of running 100 yards in 11 seconds) collides with a 240 pound running back (capable of covering the same distance in 10 seconds), the resultant kinetic energy is “enough to move 66,000 pounds—or 33 tons—one inch. The scientist says further that in all likelihood, the collision would deliver to the player’s helmet a blow nearly 1000 times the force of gravity.
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