Christian Books & the Bible

This is an article by Chris Schlect from The Hammer magazine, a 90's publication of CCM.

“Of making many books there is no end” (Ecclesiastes 12:12).

The Christian literature industry is booming. Secular publishing houses all print Christian books. We can even find Christian books at the grocery store. We should rejoice that Christian literature is being so widely circulated, yet at the same time we ought to pray that there be a return to biblical standards in the market.

A serious temptation accompanies the widespread availability of Christian books, and those of us involved in literature ministry are particularly susceptible. Because so many books have been written about a multitude of subjects, it is far too easy to turn to a Christian book before opening the Bible. Books written by Christians are profitable only when they are approached as a supplementary—not primary—source of guidance. True godliness is cultivated in those who labor in the Scriptures, for there we find the Lord’s counsel (2 Tim. 2:15, 3:15-17).

Luke commends the saints in Berea who measured the teaching of Paul and Silas against the Word of God: “These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily do find out whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11). The Bereans are a good example to all of us who desire to pattern our lives according to God’s will.

Join the #keepthefeast Bible Reading Challenge here. This post coordinates with today's reading.
Written September 1991. Edited 2019.

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