On Memorization

Memorization of Scripture is an ancient practice. Almost as ancient is the reality that people complain about doing so!

Somewhere I read something about the benefits of memorization. The author said, “Bible memorization is a good way to have good things stuck in your head.” That’s good. Better yet, someone else has suggested that we replace the word “memorization” with the phrase “learn by heart.” Yes, that is an even better picture: learn the Word of God by heart.

Let me encourage you to work on memorization of Bible passages. Here are a number of things to keep in mind.

Start with the familiar.

You might be surprised at how many passages you already know almost by heart. Having been involved in the Church for a number of years, you have heard key passages read and preached on numerous times. Without any work at all you are already familiar with them. It won’t take too much effort to fix them firmly in your heart. So pick a few familiar passages and begin with them. This will give you confidence that indeed you are able to memorize.

Repetition transfers things from short term memory to long term memory.

There is an old Latin phrase, “Repetitio mater studiorum est.” It is translated, “Repetition is the mother of learning.” Do you remember high school and college days studying for an exam? Maybe you spent all night cramming bits of data into your brain to do well on the morning’s exam only to find out a week later that you barely remembered any of the material? You short termed it. The trick to get things from short term to long term memory is repetition.

Try this routine with unfamiliar or new passages you want to memorize.

• Read the passage out loud a number of times.
• Make sure you understand what it means. Examine the context. Look up any words you do not know.
• Begin to recite it out loud in bits and pieces. Add a little more of the passage as you master each part. Build on it phrase by phrase until you can recite the entire passage by memory.
• And now comes the key part: do the same thing a week later and then a week later and then one week after that. By then you will not only have the passage memorized, but you will know it by heart. Repetitio mater studiorum est!

Consider memorization of Bible passages as a key investment plan.

Financial advisors emphasize the habit of investing. You don’t start with a million dollars. But if you invest slowly, surely, steadily, over a life time you will accrue great treasure. The habit makes the difference.

Investing in Bible memorization will lead to a great and sustaining wealth. When you develop the habit of learning even a few passages a year, over a lifetime you will have a storehouse of God’s word upon your heart. And where the word is, there is power, there is wealth. Scripture says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.” (Colossians 3:16) This investment plan will out strip any other plan in its dividends.

Memorization of Scripture leads to a ready witness.

Don’t be surprised that one of the serendipitous results of having memorized portions of Scripture is that you are ever more eager and able to give a witness to God’s love in Jesus. Ah, that’s the sweet spot. You will find yourself giving away this treasure while still retaining it.

Where do you start?

See the list of 25 “all purpose” passages at the bottom of this post. Consider starting there. Master the ones you “nearly know,” then add a few of the others each month.

What about those who say, “Learning by rote doesn’t mean you understand what you have memorized?”  Granted. Memorization is not the same as understanding. But the two are not disconnected. In fact, you can’t really understand something without having the right words right. You have to get the words right before you can get the meaning. I like to think of memorization as loading the heart/mind up with lots of software that can be used at a later time. Get it all in there; access it later.

Having the word at the ready readies you to step forward on the path toward significance.

One more thing.  Don’t forget there are other good things to memorize: your church’s catechism, hymns, poems, famous quotes, your spouse’s birthday.

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See 25 Key Bible Passages Below

NUMBER 1:  General Purpose of the Bible

John 20:30-31
³⁰Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹But these are written that you may^[1] believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

NUMBER 2:  General Character of the Bible

2 Timothy 3:15-16
¹⁵and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

NUMBER 3:  Central Message of the Bible

Ephesians 2:8-10
⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

NUMBER 4:  Summary of the 10 Commandments

Mark 12:30-31
³⁰Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these

NUMBER 5:  Inability to Fulfill 10 Commandments

1 John 1:8-0
⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

NUMBER 6:  10 Commandments Show Our Sins (SOS)

Romans 6:23
²³For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NUMBER 7:  A Key Point of 10 Commandments

Proverbs 31:8-9
⁸ “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
⁹ Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

NUMBER 8:  God’s View of Marriage

Matthew 19:5-6
⁵and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? ⁶So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

NUMBER 9:  Father as Creator

Psalm 33:6&9
⁶ By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

NUMBER 10:  Fallen Angels and Spiritual Conflict

Ephesians 6:12
¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

NUMBER 11:  The Father Provides

Matthew 6:31-33
³¹So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³²For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

NUMBER 12:  Jesus as the Christ

Matthew 16:15-18
¹⁵“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
¹⁶Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
¹⁷Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. ¹⁸And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

NUMBER 13  Jesus as the Way to Heaven

John 14:1-6
¹“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God ; trust also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going.” ⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

NUMBER 14:  Jesus’ States of Humiliation and Exaltation

Philippians 2:5-10
⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
    ⁶Who, being in very nature God,
       did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
    ⁷but made himself nothing,
       taking the very nature of a servant,
       being made in human likeness.
    ⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
       he humbled himself
       and became obedient to death–
          even death on a cross!
    ⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
       and gave him the name that is above every name,
    ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
       in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

NUMBER 15:  Jesus as Salvation

John 3:14-16
¹⁴Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, ¹⁵that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
¹⁶“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

NUMBER 16:  Spirit works Faith

1 Corinthians 12:3
³Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

NUMBER 17:  Resurrection of the Dead

1 Corinthians 15:55-57
    ⁵⁵“Where, O death, is your victory?
       Where, O death, is your sting?” ⁵⁶The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

NUMBER 18:  The Last Day

Mark 13:32
³²“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

NUMBER 19:  Power of Prayer

Matthew 7:7-8
⁷“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

NUMBER 20:  Blessings of Baptism

Titus 3:5
⁵he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,

NUMBER 21:  Blessings of Baptism

Acts 2:38
³⁸Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off–for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

NUMBER 22:  Authority of the Church to Forgive Sins

John 20:22-23
²²And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

NUMBER 23:  Church Discipline

Matthew 18:15-18
¹⁵“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. ¹⁶But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
¹⁸“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

NUMBER 24:  Blessings of Holy Communion

1 Corinthians 11:23-25
²³For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, ²⁴and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” ²⁵In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me

NUMBER 25:  Revelation of the Trinity and The Great Commission
Matthew 28:18-20
¹⁸Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”