Pastor David Platt Explains How (Not) To Read the Bible

Platt referenced James 1:22-25, which says:

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.

The pastor also mentioned Matthew 7:26-27, which says:

But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.

“We live in an information age, right?” said Platt. “If we just look to the Bible for more information, but we don’t apply it, we don’t do what it says, James 1 says that actually is deception.”

To help people avoid that deception, Platt offered an acrostic, MAPS, which readers can use as a tool for their Bible study. MAPS stands for: meditate and memorize, apply, pray, and share.

When we apply God’s Word, we consider, “How does this Word transform me from the inside out? How does it transform the way I think?” Platt said. “How does it transform the way I feel, my desires, my actions, my interactions with others and relationships with others, my whole view of my life in this world?”

He encouraged people to pray according to what they learn in God’s Word and to share what they are learning with others. “God’s Word is not intended to stop with us,” said Platt. “It’s intended to spread through us. And we have opportunities every day to pass on [the] truths, encouragement, conviction we experience in God’s Word to other people.”

RELATED: David Platt: We Need To Get Back to the Biblical Gospel Instead of a False Gospel That ‘Prostitutes Jesus’

Later in the interview, Platt shared practical advice for people who feel overwhelmed at the thought of memorizing the Bible, and at the end of the conversation, he reiterated his point about the importance of sharing the treasure of the Bible with others. 

“You know what it’s like to be around somebody who’s in love,” he said. “It flows out of them. You can see it on their face and their countenance. And this is who we’re supposed to be as followers of Jesus, walking in love relationship with God.”

“I don’t want to give some rosy picture,” he clarified, acknowledging that “we live in a fallen world.”

However, followers of Jesus “have rock solid truth to stand on. We have life abundant that’s found in knowing our Good Shepherd’s voice and following him. And then that should affect the way we talk with others, live around others,” said Platt.

“And this Word is too good, especially in a world where all kinds of people around us don’t know the beauty of God’s Word, and 3 billion people in the world are unreached with the gospel right now,” he concluded. “Let’s be a people who not only receive this Word and experience life in it but spread that life to others around us.”