On Reading through the Bible
It has been said, “You can’t give away what you don’t have.” I like that. When it comes to sharing Jesus with others, we can’t give away what we don’t have. We cannot give away a solid, mature testimony of the Biblical Jesus if we do not have it. And the surest way to be able to have plenty to share with others is to read the Bible daily. An old prayer of the Church is to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Word of God.
Here is the best advice I can give you about maturing in Jesus and the Christian faith: read through the entire Bible this year.* When you are done, repeat the same (at least) once every year for the rest of your life… on earth. No other single activity will enhance your effectiveness as a Christian witness and leader more than that. You will not find anything closer to a silver bullet.
The following are good reasons not to read through the Bible annually:
Okay, I can’t think of one.
By reading through the Bible, I do not mean devotional readings in a booklet. I do not mean reading a book about the Bible. I do not mean preparation that you might have for a Bible class. I mean reading in some fashion every word from cover to cover. (Not necessarily in that order.) “Reading through the Bible” means reading all the words between the front back covers—every word.
I know that the Pharisees made their stock in trade in the Scripture; they were known for knowing the Scripture inside and out, beginning to end. They knew the Scripture, but they didn’t know it. They didn’t know the one who was at the center of it. Jesus challenged the Jewish leaders, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. And it is they that testify about me.” (John 5:39) Don’t worry that aggressive Bible reading will make you into a Pharisee. The problem with the Pharisees was not their discipline but their hearts. An old Latin phrase reminds us that the abuse of something does not nullify the use of it.
In an interview with a potential staff member I asked, “What does it mean to have a passion for Jesus?” The answer I wanted was something like “working really, really hard in service to him”—passion in the sense of willingness to suffer. His answer was better, “To be passionate for Jesus is to be passionate about his word, for that’s where he is found.”
I like that.
Do you believethat the Word of God is Jesus? John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Do you believe that to have a life centered in Jesus is to have a life centered in the Word because the Word centers in Jesus and Jesus is the center of the Word?
Do you believe that the Word of God is the sword of the Spirit? Ephesians 6:17, “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” What in the world would ever convince us to go out into the world unarmed? What soldier goes to battle without his weapon? A doomed one!
Do you believe that the Word of God is light for our path? Psalm 115:105, “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path.” If the word is light, why would we stumble through life in the dark? Only foolish campers leave their flashlights in the tent when they go hike in the dark woods.
Do you believe that the Word of God gives us life in a way that is even greater than that life sustained by air, water and nourishment? John 20:31, “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” You wouldn’t last too many weeks without food; you’d last only days without water and minutes without air. Not only would you grow weak without air, water and nourishment, you’d grow dead! If the word provides greater things than these, what would ever keep us from reading at least some of the Bible every single day?
Do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God? Cover to cover?**
I do.
And in just 20-30 minutes a day you can read it cover to cover in a year. Your faith, life, marriage, witness and leadership will never be the same. This will provide the sort of Biblical literacy that will enable you to thrive as a Christ follower and a Kingdom leader.
There are tons of plans and editions you can follow. Some Bible reading plans split the Bible into four daily readings: Old Testament, Epistle, Gospel and Psalm. There is one edition out there that has cut and pasted the entire Bible into chronological order. There is one edition that has removed traditional chapters and verse and formatted the text according to natural literary structures.*** Bible apps make keeping track a breeze! A friend of mine uses what I’ll call the Mehrens’ Method: (step 1) look at the last page of the Bible, (step 2) write down the page number, (step 3) divide that number by 365, then (step 4) read that many pages daily—this method has to be adjusted during leap years. Experiment with different translations through the years.
Do not let me burden your conscience. Rather let me capture your imagination. What will life, witness and leadership be like in the long term if as a young person you determine to read through the entire Bible annually? Do you think having read through the Bible 15 times will make you more effective in your 50’s than you are right now? And what impact will having read through the Bible 30 or more times have on your time of redeployment (retirement)?
And be patient with yourself. It may take multiple starts to develop a fruitful Bible reading habit. Just don’t quit starting.
There is no silver bullet for life, but this comes close.
* Yes, reading through the Bible is not the same as studying the Bible. My experience is that someone who does the former will make the latter both more likely and more fruitful.
**Check out A. Trevor Sutton’s “Why Should I Trust the Bible” if you struggle with whether or not all of the Bible is true or in what way all of the Bible is true.
*** Check out www.instituteforbiblereading.org