It is highly unlikely that I could list all the excuses people have used to answer our title question-Why People Do Not Study the Bible. Excuses are like opinions; everybody has a bag full. I underlined the word excuses in the first sentence of this article to emphasize a point. Excuses that people give for not studying their Bibles are just that-excuses. They are not reasons!

When the Lord uttered the parable of the great supper, He condemned excuse making. He said, "A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came, and showed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, that none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper." (Luke 14:16-24)

Considering our subject, isn't studying God's word partaking of a great feast, the "bread of life." Jesus said, "I am the bread of life: He that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." (John 6:35) Therefore, all men in all places should be thankful for God's word, which when read, studied, obeyed, and properly applied, will make one "wise unto salvation." (cf. 2 Timothy 3:15; James 1:22-25)

Many people, including some of our brethren, contribute to their own spiritual destruction by failing to engage in the life-giving study of God's word. Following are some of the excuses they give:

• I'm too busy, and there's no time for me to study. Everyone has the same amount of time--24 hours a day, 168 hours a week! They find time to work, play, sleep, eat, and satisfy their own whims. If people were really truthful on this point, they would confess that they don't take the time to study. In 2 Timothy 2:15, the apostle Paul commanded Timothy to study. Paul also wrote, "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." (Ephesians 5:15,17)
  
  So, the "I don't have time" excuse won't hold water! Those who make this excuse are like the thorny-ground hearers spoken of in the parable of the sower--"And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful." (Mark 4:18,19) Rather than living a life of sacrifice (cf. Romans 12:1,2), such a person is too busy living "the life of Riley." I wonder if those who use this excuse will be too busy to die and spend eternity in a devils hell?
  
  
• The Bible is just too difficult to understand. Any subject, if not studied, is difficult to understand. If this excuse be true, then the apostle Paul didn't know it, for he wrote, "How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)." (Ephesians. 3:3,4)
  
  As we acknowledged previously, Paul said, "be not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is." Peter wrote: "some things were hard to be understood." (2 Peter 3:15,16) Please notice that he did not say they were impossible to understand. The Bible, when properly studied, can be understood. Saying the Bible is too hard to understand is charging God foolishly for giving man words he cannot understand, and then using those words to "judge him in the last day." (John 12:48) Who can honestly believe God would do such a thing?
  
  
• Studying is the job of the elders or the preacher. I am persuaded that many of our brethren actually believe this. If so, they have been taken in by the clergy-laity form of religion, which is foreign to first-century Christianity. Some brethren have the false notion that since we pay the preacher, it is his job to study and spoon feed the brethren. Was Paul's command to Timothy, in 2 Timothy 2:15, applicable only to preachers? Hardly.
  
  The Hebrew writer scolded the Hebrew brethren for their lack of growth in spirituality and ability to teach (cf. Hebrews 5:12-13).
  
  The Bereans "were more noble (fair-minded, NKJV) than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." (Acts 17:11) Was the preacher the only one who was searching? I think not! The Berean brethren were searching the scriptures.
  
  Paul commanded Timothy, "And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also." (2 Timothy 2:2)
  
  The fruit of this excuse is brethren who cannot teach Bible classes, can't or won't read Scripture before an assembly of brethren, can't fill in if the preacher is sick or out of town. The result is a church weakened by weak-minded brethren who, when they "ought to be teachers...need that one teach (them) you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God." (Hebrews 5:12) Brethren, when we expect the preacher or elders to do all our studying and teaching, we violate God's commands.
  
  
• God's Word is not all we need. Denominationalism relies on man's creeds and manuals, or on perverted Bible versions. The Baptists have their Baptist Church Manual; the Jehovah's "Witnesses" have the New World Translation; the Methodists have the Methodist Discipline; the Mormons have the Book of Mormon; the Presbyterians have the Book of Order and Book of Confessions; the United Pentecostal Church International has its Manual; etc.
  
  Some brethren are even soaking up the error of such writers as Charles Swindoll, Robert Schuller, and L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Scientology cult, and the author of the popular book, Dianetics. Some have been taken in by the Promise Keepers movement and other cult organizations. Why? They have a love for men's evil devices and no regard for the gospel of Christ, which is "the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith." (Romans 1:16,17)
  
  Let us learn "not to think of men above that which is written" (1 Corinthians 4:6), and let us remember the words of the wise preacher who wrote, "And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." (Ecclesiastes 12:12,13)
  
  
• The Bible is too negative. Really, God's Truth exposes their sin and error. Many people, and some of our own brethren avoid open study of controversial subjects, such as marriage, divorce, and remarriage; fellowship; gambling; immodest dress; smoking; social drinking; and such like. In some areas of the country, brethren, who in reality are ashamed of the gospel of Christ, boycott congregations that boldly stand for the Truth and teach "all the council of God."
  
  Gospel meetings where these subjects are openly examined in light of God's word are avoided and boycotted. These congregations are generally small in number and struggling because of their open stand against sin, error, and compromise. To use the words of one of my compromising "preacher" brothers, "They are disdained as those who will someday not need buildings in which to meet, just "phone booth" meeting places because of their small numbers.
  
  When the accusers refer to preachers who openly warn against all sin and error, they use derogatory statements, such as: "that preacher is a serpent in the garden;" "he is a watch dog preacher;" "he makes slurs from the pulpit;" "he is a name caller;" "he's a contentious trouble maker;" "he makes personal attacks;" "he is reckless;" "he is an extremist who promotes his own agenda." Evidently, those who make such faulty charges would not tolerate the preaching of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Paul, Peter, or even Christ!
  
  Paul wrote to warn Timothy about brethren who would reject the truth: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." (2 Timothy 4:3,4)
  
  The truth of the matter is, that a preacher's bold rebuke of sin and error usually has one of three results: the listener will be cut to the heart and repent, ignore the message all together, or reject the message and stone the messenger (cf. Acts 2:38-14; 7:51-60). Dear reader, how many of God's messengers have you ignored, rejected, or stoned?

Conclusion: The few words in this article have not "touched the tip of the iceberg" of countless foolish excuses that have been, are, and will be given for not studying the Bible. Maintenance of our faith, our spiritual survival, and salvation depend on proper Bible study and application of its truths. Please read 2 Peter 3:17,18, an appropriate way to close this article.