Deuteronomy 23:1

I'm sure you've all heard stories—maybe some of you have experienced this phenomenon—of people who, when in a difficult situation, open the Bible randomly and stumble upon a verse that speaks directly to them. The Holy Spirit, they say, led them to that particular verse, and they gained the strength they needed to press on.

Wondering what it might be like to receive this sort of individualized affirmation from Scripture myself, I tried this once. I opened to Deuteronomy 23:1—"No one whose testicles are crushed or whose penis is cut off shall be admitted to the assembly of the Lord." Wow. Thanks, Holy Spirit. I'm not sure what you were trying to say to me there, but at least I know I'll never have that particular problem.

Maybe I'm just unlucky with Spirit-led Bible browsing, but if people sometimes find the faith and motivation they need to press on from such random acts of Scripture reading, who am I to deny its validity to that particular person? The thing is, the popularity of this odd method of reading the Bible evinces a trend in how Christians today sometimes approach the Word in error.

I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit can't lead people to certain Bible passages; God's Word may whisper a lot of the time, but every now and then it can be a loudspeaker right in your face. But the concept of asking for an answer to a question or problem and then finding the answer by opening the Bible at random assumes a flippant treatment of Scripture. For one, it makes it seem as if the Bible were written specifically for me; for another, it allows for select verses to be taken completely out of context, something that is also popular in the realm of naming favorite Bible verses.

Any Christian who reads the Bible alone in their room, seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit alone, misses a crucial component of the Christian life: the Church. The Bible cannot be read outside the Church. Certainly Scripture is often treated from an academic perspective, but it is my conviction that although a historical approach can be beneficial, it is only, to paraphrase Barth, a preparation of knowledge. True knowledge of the content, context and active power of the Bible is found only within the Christian community. We read the Bible together in order to build each other up in our understanding, to keep each other from error in interpretation or application and to encourage each other to live the commands presented in the Bible.

I've heard people say that they think the Bible should be read by individuals, its morals followed as part of a personal decision; that the Church has corrupted its message and that institutionalized religion gets away from the purity of the Word itself. The problem here is that the Bible would not exist without the Church. The canon was established by the community of faith in order to shape the common belief and the common life. You can try to read the Bible in a vacuum, but you simply can't do it. The story in the Bible is not a story about how you can live your best life now—it's a story of a whole nation called to do God's will, together.

It's fine to open the Bible at random and see what you find. Maybe you'll come across such gems as 2 Kings 4:40 ("O man of God, there is death in the pot!"), Jeremiah 20:9b ("I am weary of holding it in / and I cannot") or Leviticus 3:16b ("All fat is the Lord's"). Heck, maybe that is the Spirit at work—maybe God's trying to make you laugh. Or maybe you'll get lucky and run across something that speaks to the heart of what you're going through. The Bible wasn't written to help you through your life's troubles, but that doesn't mean that it's not applicable. Then again, which would you prefer: a random Bible verse that lifts your spirits momentarily, or a steadfast community of faith, living in the Word, that can continually build you up over time? I'll take that over the comforting words of Deuteronomy 23:1 any day.