CONTINUING IN THE WORD

Proclamation:

“To the Jews who had believed Him, Jesus said, ‘if you hold on to My teaching, you are really My disciples.’” John 8:31 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by the Apostle John, the disciple whom Jesus loved.  On the day after His Sermon on the Mount Jesus went into the temple courtyard and spoke to the crowd which included Jews and Pharisees.  Jesus said, "If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed." (John 8:31 KJV)

Application:

It is easy for a Christian to “get into” The Word of God.  We can even occasionally behave, speak, and think in a Christ-like manner.  Our problem is not in doing it, but in continuing to do it.  Continuing in The Word implies being in it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, second by second, and moment by moment.  If we “continue” to be in His Word, then we would always be in it and we would never be out of it.  That sounds like we would have to be the perfect Christian, a goal which humans can’t reach but one that is well worth striving for.  Realistically, for us it means that we need to be firmly rooted in The Word of God and not be fickle, going outside of it frequently and regularly.  We need to spend time with The Word of God daily.  In a 24 hour day, one tenth of our time should be spent reading, studying, or meditating on The Word of God.  As a believer we owe, one tenth of our time, talent, and treasure to The Lord. (Genesis 14:20 and Malachi 3:8)  That means we should spend about two and a half hours in His Holy Word and then spend the remainder of the day living it.  Most of us don’t do that.  However, we can all spend more time daily “in The Word of God” by reading it and living it, with a goal of being continuously in His Word.