Bible Memorization
Thursday, January 19, 2006 at 01:10PM 
I agree with, believe in, and have benefited spiritually from memorizing scripture. Without a doubt. But, at least for me, the way it really "stuck" in my mind was to memorize the Shorter Catechism with at least one scripture reference. That has done more for me than anything else in being able, not only to remember scripture, but to apply it as well.
My son and I memorized the Shorter catechism over about a two year period several years ago and I can still remember most of it and the scriptures that go along with it. But the really cool thing is the way it pops into my head when I am reading and studying a Christian book, listening to a sermon, or reading my Bible. I can be cruising along in Hebrews and when I get to Hebrews 2:17, my mind immediately goes to the idea of Christ being our Prophet, Priest and King, in this instance our High Priest.
Heb. 2:17 Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.
Now, to be sure, the verse is explicit in saying that He is our faithful High Priest and you don’t have to memorize Question and Answer 25 to see that in the passage, but if you DO memorize the Q and A then your mind will “flesh it out a bit”:
Q25: How doth Christ execute the office of a priest?
A25: Christ executeth the office of a priest, in his once offering up of himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and reconcile us to God; and in making continual intercession for us.
Now we’re getting somewhere! Not only do you have the benefit of seeing again that the writer of Hebrews is presenting Christ as our faithful High Priest, you also rehearse in your mind what it means that Christ is our High Priest. You can thrill again in the understanding that not only did He give Himself a sacrifice for many but He is the One who offers that sacrifice up in our place. And that offering up satisfies God and reconciles us to Him, but because he is the Eternal High Priest, He is making continual intercession on our behalf!
You may be thinking, “Hey, wait a minute! Why memorize the words of men? Isn’t that putting the Catechism before the Scripture? No. It really isn’t. Think of the Catechism as a scaffolding upon which you will construct not only your scripture memorization but also your scriptural understanding. It is an organized way of building precept upon precept. The questions and answers form the "bones" upon which you'll apply the "flesh" which is the Scripture and then the "ligaments and tendons" are the theology and doctrines that connect them all together into a functioning system or "body".
If you are interested in this method (called catechism) or if you're just curious about the Shorter Catechism, here are some links:
The Shorter Catechism (Reformed/Presbyterian)
The Shorter Catechism (Baptist)
And if you are interested in a great study guide, check out G.I. Williamson's The Shorter Catechism Volumes 1 and 2.
’The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains, proves that he has no brains of his own.’ Charles Spurgeon
Reader Comments (5)
I agree,
I have been blessed by the scriptures that I have memorized, and the learning that I have been given from other men regarding those verses.
Thanks for the encouragement to press on with memorization.
Doug
Wow, Kim! You certainly did get another post! and a very good one at that! :o)
Thanks for the gospel message!
One of the best things about memorization is that we have the scriptures "hidden in our hearts", always available to us to think about and to pick apart and gather insights and understanding from...it is all for the purpose of godliness.
Here is another great book: "Spiritual Disciplines For the Christian Life" by Donald S. Whitney
His main thrust is that all discipline is for the purpose of godliness.
In Him,
Karen
I have such a hard time memorizing scripture. I think it's because I was such a die-hard KJV fan at the beginning of my Christian life, and then I started reading the NASB, so all the verses get muddled in my head.
I tried using the Navigators system, but I was not disciplined enough. I find I'm better at memorizing the passages I'm studying. Right now, I'm studying Philippians; perhaps I'll have a cache of Phillipians passages memorized.
I have been memorizing things from the NKJV. I must confess that I was intimidated by bible memorization.
I was encouraging my children to do so and consoling myself with "they are younger, it is easier for them." :o)
The Lord being so merciful, wouldn't let me get away with that! He was prodding me by His Holy Spirit to bring it to Him. So I did. I asked Him to help me with it and I was able to memorize Psalm 1 fairly quickly.
I was so encouraged that I took the plunge with Psalm 19. I have it mostly down, but because I haven't been meditating on it, I have lost a few pieces, so I'm working on those pieces.
Hi Kim and Karen,
When it comes to Bible memorization, I think it comes down to whatever works for each individual, don't you?
I memorized in King James/New King James for years. I love the beauty of that translation, but I switched over to ESV about 6 years ago. I think it's a more accurate, reliable translation. But guess what? I still memorize in King James most of the time. Like you, Kim, I'd get all muddled up, so for memory work, I'm staying with KJV. Works for me! (and it harmonizes with the Shorter Catechism)