Anne Witton on mission

In the 'olden days', most children went to Sunday school where one of the things they would have learnt is to memorise Scripture. These days, many of us are growing up with a poor knowledge of God’s word and relying on our Bible apps on our phones. And yet memorising Scripture is vital. Here are 4 important reasons why:

(1) Warfare

We can become complacent and forget that we’re engaged in spiritual warfare and yet the Bible says ‘Resist the devil and he will flee from you’. Jesus quoted from Scripture when he was being tempted by the devil in the wilderness (Matt 4: 1 - 11). The devil’s highest attack was to misquote God’s word and take it out of context. Quoting scripture accurately and in context is the most powerful way of defeating the devil’s attacks. Note that Jesus didn’t paraphrase or summarise scripture - he quoted it. If it’s good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for us!

(2) Witness

It is important to learn key scriptures to illustrate and demonstrate a gospel outline. For instance a creation/purpose scripture (eg. Gen 1: 27 and 31 and Matt 22: 37 - 38); a fall/sin scripture (eg. Romans 3: 23 or Isaiah 53: 6); a Jesus’ death scripture (eg. John 3:16 or John 14: 6); a resurrection scripture (eg. Acts 3: 1); a ‘born-again’ scripture (eg. John 3: 5); and an assurance scripture (eg. John 6: 47 or Matt 28: 20). Obviously witnessing does not usually follow a set pattern or give you the opportunity to trot out a ready prepared outline, but it is still important to know scriptures illustrating the key points of the Christian faith.

(3) Worship

We can worship with freedom if we have God’s words written on our hearts. We don’t need to fumble with our Bibles all the time trying to look up an appropriate verse if we have Psalms and Scriptures already imprinted within us. If we have taken the time and disciplined ourselves to learn some Scriptures, God will bring them to mind at exactly the right time.

(4) Walk

We can increase our faith by reminding ourselves of God’s goodness and his promises at any time anywhere. Knowing God’s word intimately helps us to become more Christlike. Rehearsing God’s promises from Scripture builds our relationship with God and convinces us more fully of his goodness and graciousness to us. Having a deep knowledge of the sweep of the whole Bible and how particular Scriptures fit into the big picture is fundamental to us growing in wisdom and maturity.

If, like me, you find Scripture memory hard, here are some apps to help:

• Verses
• Bible Memory (This is the one I use)
• BibleMinded
• Remember Me (£2.99)
• Fighter Verses (£2.99)