Why You Should Read The Bible

If we believe what we tell everyone, we are all busy people. Most of us lead off with it when we ask how we are doing. When approached about things we need to add into our lives, we remark that we will try to “find the time.” We never find time though do we? In order to do important things, we have to make time. One of the things we need to work hard to make time for is consistent Bible reading.

Here are four reasons you need to make time to read your Bible.

Read the Bible to know God

You can look at creation and know that God exists and is powerful. Romans 1 tells us this and we experience it when we look at a beautiful sunset or feel a cool breeze. Creation cannot tell us specifics about how God is though. We need the Bible for that and the Bible delivers in a powerful way. From the first verse to the last verse, we learn about who God is and what He is like. We learn about his character and his ways with people. You were made by God and you were made for God, so read the Bible to get to know him.

Read the Bible to Know Truth from Error

The world we live in is filled with constant and consistent messages about life. In any given day we hear a stream of voices telling us what we should think about money, power, ethics, peace, and joy. How is a person going to figure out which of these voices they should give an ear to? Only in the Bible do we hear a clear, consistent voice pointing us to the difference between truth and error. The Bible defines clearly what the truth is and speaks frankly about what the truth is not. With many voices screaming for our attention, we need to hear the words of Scripture every day.

Read the Bible to Grow in Christlike Character

We often bemoan the failures and sins in our lives. We struggle to know how to change and often lack the proper motivation for changing. Reading the Bible shapes our character. The Bible’s words aren’t just words on a page, they are the words of the living God. He speaks through the words of the Bible and changes us. As we meditate on God’s word and act on them, we are convicted of sin, repent, and begin to see real change in our lives.

Read the Bible to Help Others Who Struggle

How often do we have moments when we are speaking to other people who struggle and don’t know what to say? We deliver our standard platitudes, but the truth is that we don’t even know if we believe them. The pages of the Bible are filled with words of comfort and encouragement to hurting people. Solomon wrote the entire book of Proverbs to help us know how to make wise decisions. Reading the Bible gives you words to share with struggling friends and neighbors. You get to go from empty phrases to words that point them back to the God who loves them.

You have seen why you should read your Bible, now will you get started on this fantastic journey? Start now and over the next few weeks I’ll give you some tips to help you along the way.

For Further Reading:
How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart
Knowing Scripture by R.C. Sproul