Guidelines For Living

Guest (Male): Take a break from your busy schedule and join Harold Sala for Guidelines for Living.

Harold Sala: I was standing in an ancient Chinese temple, now a temple of the people in Canton, China. As we listened to our guide tell how the Chinese people had been liberated from old religious beliefs, a young man who was studying English at the university approached a tourist in our group to try out his English.

He spoke pleasantly for a few minutes in broad generalities and then inquired, "Do you have a Bible?" Caught somewhat off guard, the man replied, "No, not with me, but I do have one at home." "Do you read it?" asked the young man. Candidly, the person responded, "No, not much, but it's there." Puzzled, the Chinese youth queried, "If you have a Bible, why don't you read it?"

Now, this was no set-up political interrogation, but the searching of a young man who had been denied religious freedom all his life, who couldn't understand how someone could possibly possess something so rare as a Bible—at least as it was in 1979—and not read it, let alone study it or memorize it.

Could I make it personal? Do you have a Bible in your home? Do you read it? Do you study it? The Bible isn't a religious book which brings luck to the owner like an amulet or a charm. Rather, it's a textbook on living, a roadmap that will take you by the foot of the cross to heaven's shore.

Tragic yet true is the fact that so many who possess a Bible possess little understanding of this thrilling book. To me, the Bible is simply the record of God's dealing with people. It's like a spiritual contract between us and God, a valid agreement as to what God will do, provided we follow the stipulations of the agreement.

The Bible tells us that just as there are physical laws that govern our universe, there are spiritual laws that govern our relationship with God. This book tells you how to become a Christian, how to pray so that your prayers are answered, how to live a life that is above the carnal tug of sensual lust, and how you can find peace of mind in the assurance that your sins are forgiven.

But of course, you won't find all of these subjects under neat little headings as A: how to be born again, B: how to pray so your prayers are answered, and C: how to succeed in business, and so forth. Nevertheless, the answers are all there.

Now, the tourist who was approached by the Chinese youth seeking a Bible possessed one, all right, but the Bible in the leading character of this book had never possessed him. You see, in my possession are a vast number of books on science. And although I am very much interested in the subject, I would hardly consider myself to be a scientist simply because I possess numerous books on the subject.

Now, owning a Bible only points the way. It doesn't guarantee your entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven. True, it tells you how to become a Christian, but it isn't a passport that guarantees arrival at the end of the trip.

Do you read your Bible? Well, you may be thinking, "Hey, there's no need to read it because it just doesn't make sense to me." If that's you, friend, I'd suggest that you begin by meeting the Author, for only then will His book really begin to make sense. Once you know the central figure of the drama, a person whose name is Jesus Christ, you will begin to discover it will make sense.

Scores of people have told me, "Once I received Jesus Christ, the Bible became alive and I understood it." The natural man, wrote Paul, receives not the things of the spirit of God, neither can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. That's the difference. Don't just possess a Bible. Let it possess you.

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