I adapted the following Sinclair Ferguson quotation, which originally spoke of the pastor’s ministry of the Word, so that it speaks directly to the Christian’s approach to his personal study of the Word:

“The great gospel imperatives to holiness are ever rooted in indicatives of grace that are able to sustain the weight of [Scripture's] imperatives. The Apostles do not make the mistake that’s often made [by Christians]. [For the Apostles] the indicatives are more powerful than the imperatives in gospel preaching. So often in our [personal study of Scripture our grasp of Scripture's] indicatives are not strong enough, great enough, holy enough, or gracious enough to sustain the power of the imperatives. And so our [attempt to apply Scripture's imperatives] becomes a whip or a rod to beat our [own] backs because we’ve looked at the New Testament and that’s all we have seen. We’ve seen our own failure, and we’ve seen the imperatives to holiness, and we’ve lost sight of the great indicatives of the gospel that sustain those imperatives” (adapted from Sinclair’s sermon at 2007 Banner of Truth conference).

Here’s a suggestion for your personal reading of and meditation on Scripture for the remainder of the month of May: First, read the Epistles noting specifically those texts/verses that speak of who you are and what you possess in Christ. Second, pray for spiritual illumination to understand and faith to believe afresh all that you are and possess in Christ. Third, give sustained and prayerful thought on the glory of these great realities so that your heart is lifted up in joyful worship. Fourth, preach the truth of these texts to your own heart every morning, afternoon, and evening with abandon. Fifth, share the fruit of this spiritual exercise with others within the sphere of your Christian community for their spiritual encouragement.

If you decide to follow this suggested plan for the ramainder of this month, please let us know in the comment section and consider blogging about it on your personal blog.