Bible study is not just reading the Bible. Bible study is much more. In effective Bible study, you must study the whole literary landscape associated with the particular passage under study. This involves understanding the immediate and greater contexts. It involves understanding who is doing the writing and for whom it is written. We must understand the kind of literature and the purpose of the writing. It involves understanding why this particular work was written. The historical context is important and lexical definitions can play a very important role. There is much, much more. I only mean to point out that Bible study is very much a matter of work, it is an intellectual endeavor that far too many people pass over lightly.

Again, Bible study is not just reading the Bible. However, that doesn’t mean that reading the Bible isn’t important in and of itself. Reading the Bible daily, or consistently, apart from studying the Bible, is important because it lays the foundation of good Bible study. First, reading the Bible regularly provides one with a host of wonderful and powerful stories to delve into and that help establish doctrinal truths. The Bible is full of historical accounts of God’s people that help to establish the importance of things like faith and trust. Paul said that whatsoever things that were written afore time were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope (Rom. 15:4).

Reading the Bible also facilitates memory. By reading these stories over and over again, they stick in our memory. Key phrases will stick in our minds and will readily come to the forefront as we face daily obstacles to living the Christian life. “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against Thee” (Psalm 119:11). Memorizing God’s word is not just the responsibility of the preacher, it is the responsibility of every faithful chid of God.

Reading the Bible is also exciting. There are no better stories in all the world than in the Bible. The Creation, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, Abraham, Joseph, David, Peter and Paul, and the list goes on and on. These stories touch on themes that address every aspect of our lives and nature. They are universal stories that address human nature and man’s place in the world. He who has these stories at his mental disposal has not only a much richer knowledge of God’s word, but a much richer understanding of life.

For these reasons and more I encourage you to read the Bible through this year. In our weekly newsletter, we have a plan to read the Bible through and there is always also in the newsletter a question associated with the text. If you chose not to use the plan in the newsletter, I still encourage you to read the Bible through. You will not regret it

In Christ and for the Faith,
Eric