Positive Volition Toward the Word of God
[A personal note to those who take up the study of this doctrine. Once you understand the concept, I am confident that you will see how applicable it is, and on your own will find it over and over again in Scripture. If I waited until I found every example and every passage of Scripture, I would probably be in Heaven. It is that prevalent. Therefore, I have decided to post this study for your edification and add to it from time to time as examples turn up in my own ongoing studies of the Bible.]
I. General Remarks
Our volition is extremely important in our spiritual lives. Think of volition in this way. It is like a battery in your car, which has two poles, one positive and the other negative. I know of no other statement that would suggest a different concept.
If you are a believer, your positive volition was exercised at the point of gospel hearing when you believed. You heard the Gospel, and you chose to believe [positive volition], and you accepted Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. But what about after salvation?
God's plan is for the believer to grow in the Grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, 2 Peter 3:18. Since the believer has the capacity for growth, we must cultivate it by studying and learning from the Word of God, 2 Timothy 2:15. Unlike previous dispensations, we derive God’s truth directly from the Bible. It is not passed down to us by word of mouth, from one generation to the next. We have it in writing. This being the case, our attitude toward the Bible is critical.
II. Definition and Description
Positive volition toward the Word of God is love and deep appreciation for the Scriptures. This attitude shapes our view of the Bible and leads to a desire to learn God’s Word. This desire is born in the heart of the new believer at the time of salvation, 2 Peter 2:2. What does positive volition look like? How is it described in the Bible? Let’s take an exam!
How would you rate the importance of the Word of God in your life?
1. Absolutely essential to read and be studied daily.
2. Very desirable and should be studied often.
3. All right and studied if you have time.
4. When you really have a problem, it is an excellent time to turn to the Bible.
5. It makes no difference; it is up to the individual.
The question forces us to ask what value do we place on the Word of God, and it requires us to back it up with actions.
Reflect for a moment:
According to Job 23:12, how would Job have answered this question?
Job 23:12
l have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
Job points out that all of us have physical appetites. Hunger motivates us to eat. If we eat the right things, we will have good health, strength, and stamina. This is compared to a spiritual appetite that he has, an appetite for God's Word. His motivation to spend time in God's Word is expressed by the high regard that he has for it. We asked how important the Scripture is? Job says, "I treasure it." I count it more valuable than any detail of life. It is number one to me.
According to Psalm 119:72, 82, 92, how would the Psalmist have answered this question?
Psalm 119:72
The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver.
What is more valuable than money, wealth, riches?
Psalm 119:82
My eyes fail from searching Your Word, Saying, "When will You comfort me?"
What is more valuable than sleep?
Psalm 119:92
Unless Your law had been my delight, l would then have perished in my affliction.
David came to value God's Word because it brought great encouragement to him in difficult times. "I would have become depressed and ended my life if it wasn't for the Word of God," he said. The Word of God saved his life. This is his testimony. If I thought the Word of God is alright if you have time for it, "l would have died in my afflictions." However, because I value the Word of God above all else, it kept me alive. It kept me sane. It kept me from falling apart.
According to Jeremiah 15:16, how would Jeremiah answer this question?
Jeremiah 15:16
Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your Word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.
God's Word was found. Jeremiah searched the Scripture, diligently studied the law, and found in it great joy. Great way to cure sadness. Read and meditate on the Word of God. Again the same eating metaphor is used as a witness for the importance of the Word of God. How important is food? Well, stop eating, and you will find out. Yet, we do not treat the Word fo God in the same manner. Why? What is wrong with us? Jeremiah was hungry for the spiritual nourishment that comes from the study of God's Word. He didn't snack on the Word; he feasted upon it. Not just a nibble but ate them. They were a welcome to me, as food is to someone hungry.
According to 1 Peter 2:2, how would Peter have answered this question?
Like a newborn infant eagerly desire the spiritual, unadulterated milk so that by means of it, you might grow [spiritually] as a result of salvation. Expanded Translation
It is vital if you want to grow spiritually. A baby desires one thing, milk! It doesn't care about anything else. It doesn't care about what color the curtains are or the carpet, it doesn't care what the color of the booties or nightgown it's wearing. It only wants milk. Peter says, "Just as a baby has a single-minded desire for milk, so should our hunger be for the Word." This eager desire is a part of the new spiritual life that begins at salvation. Here is a question of momentous importance. Do you eagerly desire [positive volition for the Word of God] the spiritual, unadulterated milk of the Word of God? It is abnormal for any believer not to have a love and appreciation for the Bible. So, what happens to your desire?
Peter's answer is fundamental:
1 Peter 2:1
Therefore, rid yourself from all malice, and all deceit, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all slanders
Sin squashes spiritual appetites.
According to Colossians 3:16 and 2 Timothy 2:15, how would Paul have answered this question?
Colossians 3:16
Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Paul appreciated the Word of God, for he understood the blessings it brings into a believer's life. In this new way of life, Christians must "put on" the Word of Christ. These words of the Bible, God's written Word, are to dwell in believers. That is, by study, meditation, and application of the Word, they become a permanent abiding part of one's life. The results are phenomenal. They teach us and counsel us and lift our hearts in singing praises to God.
According to 2 Timothy 2:15-17, how valuable is the Word of God?
They Provide the Words that lead to salvation.
15) and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
They Provide the Words that enable us to grow.
16) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
They provide us with the opportunity for service and ministry.
17) that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
According to Matthew 4:4; Mark 12:24; and John 15:7, how do you think Jesus would have answered this question?
Matthew 4:4
But He answered and said, "lt is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
Jesus said, just as we must eat each day to sustain and maintain good physical health, so each day we must partake of spiritual food.
Mark 12:24
Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?
Jesus knows it is essential because it keeps us from error.
John 15:7
"if you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
Jesus says His word must be in us so that our prayers would be effective.
Many well-named believers have expressed the importance of the Word of God:
D.L. Moody: (Moody, Dwight Lyman 1837-1899) From 1875 until 1899 Dwight L. Moody was unquestionably the chief spokesman for American evangelicals of his day.
He said, "l prayed for faith and thought that someday faith would come down and strike me like lightning, but faith did not seem to come. One day I read in the tenth chapter of Romans, "Now faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God." I had closed my Bible and prayed for faith. I now opened my Bible and began to study, and faith has been growing ever since."
George Mueller (1805-1898) Leader in the Plymouth Brethren movement; founder of Christian orphanages:
The power of our spiritual life will be according to the measure of the room that the Word of God takes up in our life and in our thoughts. After an experience of fifty-four years, I can solemnly declare this. For three years after my conversion, I used the Word little. Since that time, I searched it with diligence, and the blessing was wonderful. From that time, I have read the Bible through a hundred times in order, and at every time with increasing joy. Whenever I start afresh with it, it appears to me as a new book. I cannot express how great the blessing is to me of a faithful, daily, regular searching of the Bible. The day is lost for me on which I have no rounded time to enjoy the Word of God. 1
John Murray (1898-1974) A Reformed theologian.
Before I take leave of my readers, I would come back to this all-important point. I cannot too earnestly and urgently address this call to my beloved young brothers and sisters: Upon your use of the Word of God your spiritual life in great measure depends. 2
How about the Bible's own testimony of itself:
If we do not place upon the Bible the highest value, we will not spend time studying it. Lack of appetite for the Word of God is a profoundly troubling spiritual problem. It is a condition called in this study, "The Arrogance of Negative volition." Indifference and apathy toward the Word of God demonstrate a lack of appreciation, a disrespectful attitude toward, and a failure by the believer to recognize the importance of the Word of God. My prayer for this study is that you commit yourself to a lifestyle of living in the Word.
III. ADDITIONAL EXAMPLES [to be added from time to time]
A. In The Old Testament:
Hosea 4:1
Listen [positive volition] to the word of the Lord, O sons of Israel, For the Lord has a case against the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no [negative volition] faithfulness or kindness Or knowledge of God in the land.
B. In The New Testament
1 John 4:6
We are from God; he who knows God listens [positive volition] to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us [negative volition]. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
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ENDNOTES
1 quoted in Andrew Murray's The New Life, Chapter 51, "Searching The Scripture," 1891.
2 op cit.