Do You Have Your Own Library?

9th August 2022

Nowadays, it is so easy to get Bible study resources from the internet.  Practically free and effortless.  The problem is that there are so many different "Christian" teachings in the social media, and if you do not have some basic foundation in your Bible knowledge to filter off the errors, these “teachings” can do more harm than good and lead you astray.  

Allow me to offer some humble advice for the serious Bible student:

 

a)       Always find opportunity to discuss any “new” teachings you may have come across with your Care Group members or church leaders, so that it can be corrected if it is not true..

Proverbs 11:14:  “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety."

 

b)      Invest in a good library.

 

I am glad that during my younger days as a new Christian, I was encouraged to build up my own Christian library.  Get books with good authors. Books are a worthwhile investment that will last you a life-time, and even until your next generations…  Books are good resource materials that you can refer back to over and over again. 

 

I started acquiring books for my library since my student days, back when books cost just a few ringgit each…  We were poor then, but I saved up from whatever meager pocket money I had and invested in books. 

c)       Suggested books for your library

 

Here are some of the books I found useful in my study of God's Word.  

You may also want to ask your leaders or other brothers and sisters-in-Christ to recommended their choice of books for your library ..

The late Howard Hendricks was a professor from Dallas Theological Seminary.  This book teaches on how to read, interprete and apply the bible to our lives.

 

William Macdonald was the President of Emmaus Bible College and a Plymouth Brethren theologian.

 

This is a great Bible dictionary companion.  Wycliffe is synonymous with Bible translation works in the mission field.

 

I had this with me since 1979…

Theology (theos = God, logos = word, knowledge) provides the basic foundation for your faith and beliefs.  Systematic theology simply organizes the various doctrines of the Bible into a systematic and topical format. It is your theology, undergirded by your faith in God, that will pull you through the highs and lows of your Christian life.

 

Lewis Sperry Chafer was one of the co-founder of Dallas Theological Seminary.

 

Hope I was able to encourage and exhort each other in the study of God’s Word that we may grow and mature in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 10:25)

Books, like friends, should be few and well chosen - Samuel Paterson.