1.Never come to God’s word as an intellectual exercise; ie. a mere gathering of information about God (1 Cor. 1:21, 2:10-16).
2.Never come to God’s word looking for it to affirm your fullness, but instead, come to the word needy and poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3).
3.Never come to God’s word to feel good about yourself, but come in anticipation and readiness to respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction of your sin (Ps. 19:7-14). i. Do not justify your sin because of circumstances ii. Do not allow yourself to only think of other sinners, who “really need to hear this.”
4.Never come to God’s word to try to hide sin in the grace of God without confessing it and forsaking it, but repent of known sin (Prov. 28:13) and ask God, like David does, to reveal any unknown, errant ways within you (Ps. 139:23-24). In this, we can know that God never turns away a repentant sinner who is seeking his grace in Christ Jesus—a broken and contrite heart he will not despise (Ps. 51:17).
5.Lastly, never come to God’s word satisfied by merely listening to it, but rather be ready to implement it and put it into practice so that you don’t become a deluded hearer (James 1:22-25).