Why read the Bible?

The word “Bible” comes from the Greek word for “the books,” while the word “Scripture” comes from Latin and refers to “writings.” The Bible is a selective history of God’s dealings with mankind between creation and the first century AD. It is a collection of 66 books and letters that have a remarkable unity; they were written over a period of at least 1,500 years by 40 men of the Jewish and Christian faiths.

The Bible is called “the Word of God” (1 Th. 2:13 NIV) because the writers “spoke from God” and wrote the words that God gave them (2 Pet. 1:20-21). It is God’s letter (or book) to us. In the original language, “all Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16).

The two chief doctrines in the Bible are “the Law” and “the Gospel.” In the Law God tells man what to do and what not to do. The chief purpose of the Law is to show us our sin, which is worthy of God’s eternal punishment. The Gospel tells us the good news of our salvation in Jesus Christ. The word “Gospel” is an old English word that means “good news.” The purpose of the Gospel is to show us our Savior, Jesus Christ and bring us to faith in Him.

The Bible reveals the secret of eternal life; it contains “words of eternal life” that can change our eternal destiny from hell to heaven (Jn. 6:68). The Bible inspires faith in Jesus (Rom. 10:17); it was written so that we may believe and trust in Jesus Christ as the Son of God (Jn. 20:30-31; 2 Tim. 3:15).

Furthermore, the Bible is the most reliable source of spiritual growth, encouragement, lessons on life, and a healthy mind (Acts 20:32; Rom. 15:4; 2 Pet. 3:1-2). It was also written to provide guidelines for our corporate activities as the Church and warnings on inappropriate behavior for Christians (1 Cor. 4:14; 10:11; 1 Tim. 3:14-15).

The entire Bible is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” so that each believer “may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). It teaches us about God and His purpose, and directs us into a way of life that is pleasing to God and rewarding if we obey Him. We should examine it (Acts 17:11), memorize it (Dt. 6:6-9; Ps. 119:11), and read it (1 Tim. 4:12-13). As our body is built from the food we eat, our mind is built from the thoughts we assimilate. We should do what the Bible says (Jas. 1:22-24) because it is to be obeyed (Mt. 7:24).

The Bible illuminates like a light that helps us to see and understand (Ps. 119:105). It is also like a seed that has life and grows (Lk. 8:11), and a sword that helps in our battle against Satan (Lk. 4:1-13; Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12). These illustrations show the importance of the Bible; it is more than just another book. For example, there was a revival when the Scriptures were rediscovered after being lost for over 50 years. King Josiah had the people pledge to obey them; they stopped idolatry, reinstated the Passover and got rid of mediums and spiritists (2 Ki. 22:8-23:25; 2 Chr. 34:11-35:19).

So, to answer this question in brief, we read the Bible because it is unique – it is a life-saving, life-changing book – the most important book we will ever read.

Published, September 2006