How should I read the Bible?
Read it to know God, not just to gain knowledge: pray for understanding, read the whole counsel of God, look for Jesus, obey what you learn, and be like the Bereans, who searched the Scriptures daily to check what they heard.
This question arose from studying Can I trust the Bible?.
Begin by reading
Go into the Word
Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
Read to know the God who speaks
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and these are they which testify about me. Jesus is the goal of the Book. Open my eyes, that I may see wonderful things out of your law.
“You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me.
Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of your law.
Come with humility and prayer
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him.
Give diligence to present yourself approved by God, a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed, properly handling the Word of Truth.
Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.
Look for Jesus on every page
Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, Jesus explained to them what was in all the Scriptures concerning Himself. The prophets searched and inquired carefully about this salvation that was to come, revealed in Christ.
Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Concerning this salvation, the prophets sought and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching for who or what kind of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, pointed to, when he predicted the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that would follow them. To them it was revealed, that not to themselves, but to you, they ministered these things, which now have been announced to you through those who preached the Good News to you by the Holy Spirit sent out from heaven; which things angels desire to look into.
whom we proclaim, admonishing every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus;
Be a Berean: search and verify
The Bereans received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Test all things; hold fast that which is good. What you hear from any teacher is checked against the Word.
Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good.
Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness,
Do what it says
Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. The blessing is not in the reading but in the doing, for blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.
But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror; for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.
But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.”
One who has my commandments, and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.”
As you read, you may wonder…
Scripture raises the next question
Studying the Word naturally opens more of it. Follow what you just read: it leads somewhere.
Continue this trail
Is the whole Bible about Jesus?→“Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”Why do Bible translations differ?→“They read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly; and they gave the sense, so that they understood the reading.”How do I build a daily habit of reading the Bible?→“but his delight is in Yahweh’s law. On his law he meditates day and night.”How was the Bible written down?→“knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation. For no prophecy ever came by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit.”What does it mean to meditate on Scripture?→“but his delight is in Yahweh’s law. On his law he meditates day and night.”How do I find Christ in the Old Testament?→““You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and these are they which testify about me.”How do we know which books belong in the Bible?→“Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”What is the difference between reading the Bible and studying it?→“Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”What does it mean that the Bible is both human and divine?→“Every Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness,”Where do the wisdom books fit in the Bible's story?→“To man he said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom. To depart from evil is understanding.’””What are the greatest promises God made before Christ?→“I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.””Why is the Bible arranged the way it is?→“He said to them, “This is what I told you, while I was still with you, that all things which are written in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me must be fulfilled.””Did Jesus treat Scripture as the final authority?→“But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’””Should I test every teaching by Scripture?→“Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.”Hold onto these
Verses to meditate on
Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
Beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he explained to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
Give diligence to present yourself approved by God, a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed, properly handling the Word of Truth.
But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.
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