Bible Revival

Recommitting Ourselves To One Book

Kenneth Berding

Bible Revival: Recommitting Ourselves to One Book

Copyright © 2013 by Kenneth Berding

Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225

LexhamPress.com

First edition by Weaver Book Company

All rights reserved. You may use brief quotations from this resource in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at permissions@lexhampress.com.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Print ISBN 9781683592020

Digital ISBN 9781683592037

Cover Photo: Joshua Hynes

Copyeditor: Juliana Semione

To my oldest daughter, Lydia, a woman

who loves the Word of God.

CONTENTS

Preface

1 A Revival of Learning the Word

Confronting Distractions, Priorities, and the Pretext of Being Too Busy

2 A Revival of Valuing the Word

Confronting Haziness, Self-Sufficiency, and the Perception That the Bible Isn’t Enough

3 A Revival of Understanding the Word

Confronting Superficiality, Superiority, and the Assumption That It Should Come Easily

4 A Revival of Applying the Word

Confronting Special Interests, Therapeutism, and a Lack of Dependence on the Spirit

5 A Revival of Obeying the Word

Confronting Sentimentality, Avoidance, and the Opinion That I Have a Right to Decide

6 A Revival of Speaking the Word

Confronting Fear, Excuses, and the Idea That It’s the Responsibility of the Clergy

Appendix A: The Easiest Way to Memorize the Bible

Appendix B: A Method for Attaining Bible Fluency

PREFACE

In 1859 and then again in 1904 a deep and penetrating work of the Holy Spirit engulfed the country of Wales. Wales had already seen many other periods when God had moved in revival—perhaps more than any geographical location in the history of Christianity. But these two spiritual awakenings were two of the most significant. In both cases, the Holy Spirit produced a profound increase of love for God among professing Christians and moved in the hearts of tens of thousands of people who did not know Christ, bringing them to repentance and a relationship with God. But there was a striking difference between the two revivals.

Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge compared the two awakenings and commented about Evan Roberts, the best-known preacher of the second: “Roberts, a gifted exhorter who led meetings filled with prayers, singing, and testimonies, did not prioritize Bible teaching. Compared to the 1859 revival, fewer Welsh preachers taught biblical doctrine. Instead, many new converts sought mystical experiences.”1

The positive effects of the first revival both for the church and for society persisted for many years. The second revival, lacking an emphasis on the Bible, was “gone as quickly as it came.” Hansen and Woodbridge remarked about the second awakening: “After several years, Wales ...