Discipleship Lesson 3: Bible Reading
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
- The Doctrine Of The Bible
The Bible is the word of God. The 66 books of the Bible—from Genesis to Revelation—are God’s complete written revelation to man. God forbids anyone from adding to, taking from, or changing his word (Revelation 22:18-19; Proverbs 30:5-6; Deuteronomy 4:1-2).
Additions, Changes, And Removals From God’s Word
| False Books | False Bible Versions | False Preaching |
| The Deuterocanonical books (e.g., Judith, Tobit)
The book of Mormon The Qu’ran |
Good News Bible (GNB)
New International Version (NIV) English Standard Version (ESV) New World Translation (NWT) |
False prophecies and dreams (Deuteronomy 13:1-5; Jeremiah 23; Ezekiel 13)
Lying personal revelations (see John 16:13-15; 2 Corinthians 2:17; 4:2) |
- The inspiration of the Bible is COMPLETE. Every single part of the Bible—each book, each chapter, each verse, and even each word—is inspired. God did not merely inspire the thoughts.
Matthew 5:18 “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.”
- The inspiration of the Bible is CONFLUENT. While God is the principle author of the Bible, he used men to write his word. God spoke by man’s mouth (Acts 1:16; 4:25), putting the words in their mind and thus in their mouth (Jeremiah 1:9): “The Spirit of the LORD spake by me, and his word was in my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2).
2 Peter 1:21 “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (see also 1 Chronicles 28:19).
- The inspiration of the Bible is INERRANT. There are no errors in the Bible at all. Jesus said that “the scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). God knows all (Psalm 139:4; 1 John 3:20), so he cannot make errors. God is truth, so he cannot lie (Hebrews 6:17-18; Titus 1:2).
Psalm 119:106 “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.” (See also John 17:17).
- The Importance of Bible Reading
- God’s Word Is Our Spiritual Food
Matthew 4:4 “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (See also John 6:63).
Great men in the Bible “ate” the word of God and by this were able to serve God: Ezekiel (Ezekiel 2:8-3:4); John (Revelation 10:1-2, 8-11); Jeremiah (Jeremiah 15:16); Job (Job 23:12). The Bible causes you to grow in Christ.
1 Peter 2:1-3 “1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, 2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.”
- God’s Word Is Our Spiritual Guide
The Bible is the written will of God for our lives (see 1 Thessalonians 4:3). The scriptures were written for our instruction (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:6). Without the Bible, we do not know God’s plan for us.
Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
The Bible is like a light which shows us where to go.
Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path” (see also Psalm 119:130; Proverbs 6:22-23).
Knowing the Bible prevents you from being deceived (Ephesians 4:14; Hebrews 5:11-14). Whereas sin keeps you from the Bible, the Bible keeps you from sin (Psalm 119:11; Ephesians 5:25-27).
Psalm 119:9 “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”
- God’s Word Is Our Spiritual Treasure
The value of the word of God is greater than anything in the world. Solomon had everything that the world has to offer (Ecclesiastes 2), but he sought the Bible above it all (Ecclesiastes 12:8-14). The kingdom of heaven, and therefore the Bible, is like unto “treasure hid in a field” or a “pearl of great price” (Matthew 13:44-46).
Psalm 119:72 “The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.”
Proverbs 3:13-15 “13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. 14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. 15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.” (See also Proverbs 2:4-5).
iii. The Practice Of Reading The Bible
- The Biblical Command to Read the Bible
Isaiah 34:16 “Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read…”
God has commanded us to “hear” the word of the Lord many times (Deuteronomy 12:28; Proverbs 5:7). In the Old Testament, God commanded the king of his nation to read the Bible every day (Deuteronomy 17:18-19; see Revelation 1:6). The Bible is like Jesus knocking at our door (Revelation 3:20), or God calling us (Exodus 19:3).
Revelation 2:7 “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
Jeremiah 22:29 “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the LORD.”
In failing to know and obey any command of God, we commit sins of ignorance (Leviticus 4:13-14). Because we err when we do not know the scriptures (Matthew 22:29), the Bible is a witness against us if we sin (Deuteronomy 31:26). Jesus commonly asked:
Mark 2:25 “Have ye never read…”
Matthew 21:42 “Did ye never read in the scriptures…”
- The Biblical Examples Of Bible Readers
- Old Testament Believers Read the Bible: When God’s people found the book of the law, they read it. After Moses had received the law of God, he read it to the people (Exodus 24:1-7). Upon finding the book of the law in the temple, Josiah the king of Judah both read it himself, and he also read it before all the people (2 Kings 22-23) (see also Nehemiah 8).
- New Testament Believers Read the Bible: Whenever a New Testament church received a book of the Bible, they would read it before the whole church:
1 Thessalonians 5:27 “I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read unto all the holy brethren” (see also Colossians 4:16).
1 Timothy 4:13 “Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.”
- Jesus Read the Bible: Jesus had a custom of reading the Bible:
Luke 4:16 “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.”
Iv. Principles For Bible Reading
#1) Read the Bible EVERY DAY : In the wilderness, the Israelites had to gather manna to eat every day (Exodus 16:4), which is a picture that shows us we should read God’s word every day (Deuteronomy 8:3). Bible reading should not be missed any day. When the Israelites did not eat all of the manna they gathered, it rotted (Exodus 16:19-20), and when we do not read the amount of the Bible we need, our Christian life will rot.
Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (See also Proverbs 8:34).
#2) Read the Bible FIRST: Bible reading should be our first priority. Be like Mary who “sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word,” not like Martha who was “cumbered about much serving” (see Luke 10:38-42). Just as the manna was given to the Israelites in the morning, and meat was given them in the evening (Exodus 16:8, 12), so also we should read the Bible first, before anything else.
#3) Read the WHOLE Bible: Follow a plan to read the entire Bible. As you read the Bible, you will come across words you do not know, passages you do not understand, and concepts you may not fully grasp. Unless it is a quick dictionary search, do not stop reading, but simply make a note of it, and keep reading. Read the Bible as a normal book.
#4) Read ONLY the Bible: Be careful not to spend time that you should be using to read the word of God to instead read devotionals or commentaries. Although we do benefit from teachers (see 1 Corinthians 4:15; 2 Timothy 3:14), as a saved believer, you do not necessarily need someone to explain the Bible to you, because you have the indwelling Holy Spirit to “guide you into all truth” (John 16:13) so let the Spirit of God be your primary teacher (1 John 2:24-28).
#5) Read the Bible ALOUD: While reading silently may be faster for some people, and may be the only option in some settings, whenever possible, always try to read the Bible out loud. This will greatly improve your comprehension, memory, and pronunciation (see Psalm 119:13).