Bible-Saturated

I heard this term the other day and wondered about it. "Bible-saturated" refers to someone who has been immersed for a great deal of time in the entirety of Scripture. It doesn't mean someone who has memorized John 3:16 and can quote it without thinking about it. The term refers to a saturation of Scripture. It means "full immersion" Bible living, where one is exposed over a long period of time to all facets of the Word.

One of the key rules in interpreting the words of the Bible is that Scripture interprets Scripture. It is imperative, if we hold that the Bible is the Word of God, that the Bible doesn't contradict itself. Of course, if all you see is a small piece of the Word, then it would be possible to hold to a false notion of that piece if you were not aware that another component of Scripture said something different. It is only in overlaying the two that you come to the right conclusion. So this idea of "Bible-saturated" becomes important.

There are various ways to become "Bible-saturated". The most obvious is to spend a great deal of time in the Bible. It is not a short-term, part time process. It takes dedication and commitment. It requires reading the book in its entirety, of covering entire books in the Bible and then examining words and meanings and pieces of the whole. The Bible itself recommends teachers. They would be indispensable. And, of course, we have the Holy Spirit to enlighten us to the meaning as well. All of this is done over time and with great care. Another method is to grow up that way. In this approach, a child becomes the beneficiary of a "Bible-saturated" home with godly parents who immerse their young in the Word. The Bible is inculcated into the person as they grow up. This is a marvelous time-saving process. The one who comes to Christ later in life has to play catch-up to this blessed individual who was injected with the Word in daily life. Parents, I highly recommend raising kids in a Bible-saturated home.

There are some wonderful advantages to being Bible saturated. Hebrews says, "For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil (Heb 5:12-14). The truth is that when you have been thoroughly immersed into the Word for awhile, this kind of thing becomes almost second nature. You will hear someone make some sort of claim and you may not even know what's wrong with it ... but you know there's something wrong. It's part of having your powers of discernment trained. Bible-saturated people are far less likely to fall into doctrinal error or stray to some new thing as if it is from God. And when you read your Bible, you're far better able to understand what you read because you have a whole catalog of Scripture stored in your mind assisting you, even unconsciously, as you read through the Word. It works like a translation guide to avoid errors and see straight.

Bible-saturated. It's a good thing. I would recommend it for everyone serious about being a follower of Christ.