Josh, a listener in Bel Air, Maryland, asks, "Dear Pastor John, today most people have an iPhone or an iPad with a Bible app. Is it okay to use a digital Bible, an ESV app, U-version, etc., during church? And how about community groups, small groups? Is there a specific context when a digital Bible is just not acceptable, and just how important are paper Bibles for Christians today?" So, Pastor John, there's a mix of questions bound up here for you.

That's right. And my answer is going to seem strange for those who remember me saying in preaching how, back in the early days, few sounds were more pleasing to me as I stood to preach than the swish of 500 Bibles and all the pages opening, as I said, "Let's turn to the text," and everybody's Bible turned.

You can even hear them. And that's a beautiful sound in the congregation, and I don't think there's a similar sound for click, click, click on your iPhone or your tablet. But here's my answer. I hope it's okay because I do it. My wife does it and my daughter does it at the church we're attending now.

So am I just biased and self-defensive now, or is there a real warrant for that? So, it seems to me there are two issues here in public use of digital Bibles. Number one is, what is the Word of God? And the second one would be, are there downsides and upsides to reading a digital Bible in public?

The answer to the first question is the Word of God is not paper and ink, but the words in their grammatical context, whether on paper or on a screen. So I don't think, and the reason I say in their grammatical context is because words by themselves don't have any meaning.

They only have meaning when they're connected with other words, and we learn the rules that govern how words get meaning in context. And so God provided those contexts as He put paragraphs together in the Bible. And we have to say the Word of God that we can understand is the words in their grammatical context.

So I don't think there is any intrinsic reason for not reading your Bible digitally or on paper. That's my answer to the first question. There's nothing sacrosanct about paper as opposed to screen. The second one is a little more difficult, namely, are there downsides or upsides to reading a digital Bible in public?

I think the main downside is to using, say, a phone or tablet in public worship or in small group is distraction. People around you may not be used to it. It may not be typical for them still, and they may be dazzled by you taking out your mini television in the middle of the service and turning it on.

It just may feel so, "Whoa, that's bizarre. You're going to watch TV while the text is being read." And another distraction is you may be tempted, this may be even worse, you may be tempted to read text messages or click through to an email that just buzzed on you and you want to see, "Oh, is it really an emergency?" Blah, blah, blah.

That would be a significant loss of reverence and attention to the Word of God and creating of a moment in which God Almighty addresses this people in the reading of His Word. But having said those downsides that are real, frankly, I think the issue of distraction is mainly owing to the newness of it and not the intrinsic nature of it since there are other ways we could be distracted to and we've gotten used to those and gotten over those.

The coming of the digital reading of the Bible is inevitable. And therefore, I think any pastor or small group leader who tries to prevent it is fighting a losing battle that he cannot win and that he should not fight instead. Now, this is something pastors should really give heed to.

Rather, a small group leader, a pastor should preach and teach about how to use them, how to think about them in reverence. What would reverence mean? How do you digitally use your phone reverently in worship? There are irreverent uses like answering your phone while the pastor's preaching. It's irreverent and there would be others.

So, I would say instead of trying to prohibit, let's teach on it and bring it under the meaning of worship. Good, good. Is it irreverent to try and capture something the pastor just said in a tweet on your device to get it out online immediately? Yeah, I think you should wait for that.

That raises a whole new question about note-taking. People used to have their pads and the pastor would even hand out sheets. He encourages people to take notes and now, of course, people have their little iPad right there in front of them. They can type right on it and I think that's inevitable.

If we're really going to care about note-taking, then we better not tell people, "Well, you can only take notes by writing on paper." Now, as soon as I say that, it's only, what, two button clicks away to sending it out. And my sense is that we would do well probably not to be thinking that way.

We should be thinking, "God is addressing me right now. I am dealing with God Almighty. It is a wonderful thing to be able to tell somebody about what God is doing in me." But let it have its hour-long effect on you and then afterwards, in prayer and due consideration, share with the world what you've heard and seen in God's Word.

Now, I've got, I just think this whole, he asked about the whole impact of digital Bible reading. I've got lots of thoughts about private digital reading, but I think probably we should save that for another time. Very well said. Tomorrow, we'll talk about the pros and cons of personal devotions using a digital Bible.

Until then, check out thousands of books, articles, blog posts, and sermons from John Piper at DesiringGod.org, all free of charge. I'm your host, Tony Ranke. See you tomorrow. Transcription by CastingWords