Why Memorize the Bible?
Excerpts from a message by Lester Roloff
I believe the Bible is right when It says, “Now the just shall live by faith.” I don’t believe it’s possible to live by faith unless we know the rule of faith, which is, of course, the Word of God. Psalm 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” I submit to you that the fifteen words in this verse give us the only answer to juvenile delinquency. Now verse 9, “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word.” Folks, these two verses supply the simple solution for all the ills of this wicked and crooked and perverse nation we live in. Nothing has stopped the downward trend of the American people, and nothing will except these two verses.
Why do I believe it’s so important to memorize Scripture? It’s our message! If we’re going to deliver the Word of God, we ought to memorize it. Every Christian has a Bible message. We need to know the message. “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Romans 10:17).
Bible memorization is good exercise for our minds. People are troubled in their minds today because of trouble in their hearts. Memorizing the Bible will keep our minds off the devil. If we are memorizing the Bible, we’re not thinking evil thoughts. We can’t memorize the Bible and watch television at the same time. Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” Dear friend, I’d like to remind you that most people don’t have perfect peace because they don’t keep their minds on Him. Most people think about the news or the television more than they do the Lord, and they wonder what’s wrong with their minds! The best brain food in the world is the Word of God.
The Bible is our washroom because It says, “Now ye are clean through the Word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3). Each of us is as dirty as a filthy rag unless we’ve been in the Word of God. Don’t tell me that we are going to walk through a muddy world and not get dirty; we will! We’ve got to have a place to go take a bath. How long has it been since we’ve plunged into the Bible’s soapy water? Isn’t it strange that most people are cleaner on the outside than they are on the inside? We are living in a time when most people are taking a bath on the outside, but on the inside, Jesus is looking and shaking His head in sadness. In addition to our cleansing, the Bible is also our sin prevention. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. There’s only one thing that’s going to keep us out of sin and keep the devil out of us, and that’s the Bible! When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness and there wasn’t anyone present but the devil, what did He do? He just gave him three hits with the sword, and his innards were hanging out. Jesus whacked him wide open with the Word of God. That sorry rascal gathered himself and hobbled off through the wilderness. Why? Jesus knew how to use the Word of God. Since Jesus took the Word of God to defeat the devil, what do we need to do, full of our sin and weaknesses? We can’t make it without the Word of God! In Matthew 4:4, Jesus said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Let’s memorize the Word of God!
The Bible is our dining room—where we eat. “Feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). Psalm 23:1-5 says, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” Let us dine regularly. Let us be nourished with the Bible’s heavenly health food. It’s our dining room.
The Bible is our library. It’s the getting together of all God has said to us for life in this dark world. We can think of everything being put together in one book: that’s our library. If you think of one Book where we can find the answer to every question for every need, this is it! The wisdom of the Bible humbles me. I can read most any man’s book and come out standing up. But after reading the Bible, I wind up on my knees. It humiliates me because I never have measured up, and you haven’t either. I love the Bible because it gives me a high goal that I’ve never reached. It gives me a desire to do better than I’ve ever done. There’s no book that digs in my soul like the Word of God. It makes me sorry that I’ve not been a better man. Anything that will keep me humble will also keep me holy. It will keep me praying. No man can truly pray until he has first humbled himself. “If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14). The Bible says, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (I Peter 5:6).
The Bible is our resting place. It’s our consolation room—where we go for comfort for our hearts. It’s a place where we can rest spiritually. Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Memorize the books of the Bible. Read the Bible through. Memorize one chapter every thirty days; in five years you’ll know sixty chapters. The devil can’t get into your heart if it is filled with the Word of God. If you’ve got your bucket full of peaches, you won’t have room for rocks, mud, and dirt. Fill your bucket with the Word of God. “If ye abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John 15:7).
Roloff Evangelistic Enterprises
(copyright 2022)