The Ministry of Books

Books carry more than just words and pictures on paper.

Acts 19:19-20
And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.

Books are carriers of knowledge, and books that impart knowledge pertaining to life, spirituality, and humanistic philosophies impart spirits. In other words, many books are gateways for supernatural impartation, be it good or bad, sanctifying or corrupting.

John 8:31-32
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Books contain words or pictures that inspire narratives or fan the flames of ideologies. Depending on the narratives and ideologies that shape our nature and behaviour, we can either be true disciples or false disciples; we can either be free or bound; we can either hear the voice of God or the voice of the serpent; we can either live in righteousness or live in sin; and we can either receive the Spirit of truth or the spirit of error into our being.

Ecclesiastes 12:10
The Preacher sought to find delightful words and to write words of truth correctly.

Proverbs 22:20-21
Have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge, to make you know the certainty of the words of truth…

Books that accurately handle the words of truth will impart the Spirit of truth, and the Spirit of truth will sanctify the readers and set them free into the freedom of their Creator and Saviour.

However, books that are less than accurate in handling the words of truth will impart the spirit of error, and this spirit of error will cause the readers to practise error and, thus, fall short of the glory of God. Hence, books that teach errors as truths are the most insidious, as they lead ignorant and undiscerning readers to fall away from God.

Through reading, we can either know the certainty of the sanctifying words of truth, or perpetuate the perverseness of error in our lives. Life and death are in the power of words, and he who loves it will eat its fruits. Therefore, the ministry of books is a ministry of life and death.

Ecclesiastes 12:11
The words of wise men are like goads, and masters of these collections are like well-driven nails; they are given by one Shepherd.

So, read widely, as ignorance does not impart the sanctifying truth and life of the Spirit; read selectively, for excessive devotion to human wisdom and philosophies are wearying to the soul; read well, like a “Berean” Christian who will examine scriptures to ensure that the words embody the Spirit of truth; and read preparedly, so that we can prove ourselves as effectual doers of the word, and not merely readers who delude ourselves.

Above all, read the Bible faithfully, for the Bible is the complete code revealed to us by the Spirit of God to access “all that God is, all that God has, and all that God wills”. It is the reference book by which the diverse writings of book authors must be bounded. It is the baseline by which all readers can discern the Spirit of truth from the spirit of error.

May the ministry of books be the ministry of the workmanship of God to all who read the words of truth written on their pages.

P.S. This applies to all media platforms from which we learn or receive knowledge, not just from books.

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