Bible Reading as Works Righteousness

Discipleship and disciple-making is somewhere at the core of what it looks like for the church to live out Jesus’ mission in our world today. And because of this we ought to find ourselves submerged in the Scriptures. At it’s essence discipleship is simply the process of becoming more and more like Jesus in our motivations and actions (cf. Mark 3:14-15).

But somewhere along the way a subtle or not-so-subtle problem can arise: we can mistake discipleship for the mechanics of discipleship. What happens is discipleship can become defined by very helpful and even vital activities that foster growth and development in our lives such as prayer, silence, solitude, evangelism, fasting, and even Bible reading. All of these activities are vital to the process but none of these in themselves are discipleship.

What can happen if we confuse the mechanics of discipleship for discipleship itself is we begin to view these activities as the means by which we become righteous before God, even if unknowingly. So we can begin to see our faithfulness to these activities as the measuring rod for our spiritual growth and maturity. But this will inevitably lead to self-righteousness arrogance or defeat. We’ll become defeated because we’re not living up to our built-in standard. Or we’ll become arrogant and look down on others who do not live up to our built-in standard.

Instead, where all our Bible reading must begin is the Gospel itself. We must discover that our outward adherence doesn’t, in and of itself, guarantee that we will look more like Jesus in our motivations or actions. We don’t become righteous by adhering to some imposed standard. We become righteous through faith in Christ’s death on our behalf. Here is a sampling from the NT:

Romans 3:21-22 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it– the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

Romans 4:4-5 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.

Philippians 3:8-9 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.

The Scriptures are God’s revelation to us, displaying who he is, what he’s concerned about, and how we can relate to him. But it is not merely reading the Scriptures or even obeying them that causes us to be accepted by him, as if we can somehow force God’s hand. Rather, it is Jesus horrific death in our place that does that secures our acceptance before God. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

This is the place that our Bible reading must begin, a radical commitment to the Gospel. If we confuse discipleship for the mechanics of discipleship we’re in danger of reverting to the Christianity as Religion, using Scripture reading as a means to find acceptance before God. But in the Gospel we find great freedom to submerge ourselves in the Scriptures not because we have to but because we desire to become like the one who sacrificed himself in our place.