The Discipline of Scripture Memorization

I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you (Psalm 119:11, ESV)

If you have been in church long enough you have heard preachers and Bible teachers saying that every Christian needs to memorize the Bible. With that comes excuses from Christians saying they do not have time or I can't memorize anything. They treat scripture memorization like phone numbers on a smart phone. They store it in their phone without bothering remembering the phone number.

Why is scripture memorization important for a Christian? It is not just another thing on your to-do list, but it is a discipline like prayer. First, it keeps us from sin. Psalm 119:9 says, "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word." A couple of verses later, we see probably the most famous verse that preachers teach on scripture memorization, which is the one mentioned above, where we store up or hidden his word as some translations say, that we might not sin against God. When we memorize scripture, it will help us in our fight against sin. When a temptation comes, the Holy Spirit will use whatever scripture you have been studying and/or memorizing to help overcome that temptation.

Also scripture memorization is a good thing to have when you sin because it helps remind you of the gospel. I know when I sin, 1 John 1:9, comes to mind to remind me to confess that sin and God will cleanse me. Another scripture that comes to mind is 1 John 2:1-2 saying that when I sin, Jesus is my advocate to the Father. The good news of gospel is Jesus died for all our sins even the ones we will commit tomorrow and the ones we do on purpose yet because of God's grace and mercy, there is forgiveness through Christ. When we sin, we can recall Romans 5:8 that Christ died for sinners.

Scripture memorization is also good to have when you are witnessing and you do not have a Bible. If you remember key passages in leading someone to Jesus, you will arm yourself with the tools you need to witness. Please remember that prayer and dependence on the Holy Spirit are also important when it comes to witnessing.

Finally, remember Jesus memorized Scripture. When he was tempted by the devil, he used scripture to combat temptation and even used scripture while confronting the Pharisses. Back in the day when Jesus walked this earth, people would listen to a Rabbi and remember every word he teaches. Can you imagine going to school and not taking notes? None of us can nor will attempt. People in the early church did not have copies of the Bible like we do today.

Memorizing Scripture is a discipline and takes time. You will not master it overnight and you will struggle. Do not give up. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you. You may be asking where should I start. Let me recommend you check out a post I wrote last year called, Memorize the Gospel.