HOW TO SERIES
#01 HOW TO READ YOUR BIBLE
TEXT: Psalm 119:15, 18, 33-34
You have heard it said that when all else fails, read the instruction manual. Today, I want to begin sharing with you an instruction manual for the Christian life. We preachers are notorious for telling you what you need to be doing in your Christian life, but I want to go a step further and not only tell you what you need to do, but also how to do it.
The first set of instructions I want to share with you is on how to read your Bible. We know that reading our Bible is very important to our Christian life. I think of what others has said about the Bible.
Theodore Roosevelt said, “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.”
Patrick Henry said, “The Bible is worth all the other books which have ever been printed.”
William Lyons Phelps said, “I thoroughly believe in a university education for both men and women; but I believe a knowledge of the Bible without a college course is more valuable than a college course without the Bible.”
Woodrow Wilson said, “I am sorry for men who do not read the Bible every day. I wonder why they deprive themselves of the strength and the pleasure.”
The Pony Express Museum is in St. Joseph, Missouri. The pony express route ran from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California-a distance of 1,900 miles. The trip was made in ten days. Forty men, each riding 50 miles a day, dashed along the trail on 500 of the best horses the West could provide. To conserve weight, clothing was very light, saddles were extremely small and thin, and no weapons were carried. The mail pouches were flat and very conservative in size. Letters had to be written on thin paper.
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One of the most interesting things was that each rider carried a full-sized Bible! It was presented to him when he joined the pony express, and he took it with him despite all the scrupulous weight precautions.
Because of the importance of the Bible to our Christian life, the Bible should be standard equipment of every Christian. Therefore, we must read the Bible. If we must read the Bible, how should we read the Bible? Let me suggest three things about how we should read the Bible.
1. START YOUR BIBLE READING PRAYERFULLY
As you read your Bible you should approach and commence your Bible reading prayerfully. We find the Psalmist in Psalm 119:18 approaching God’s Word with the prayer: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” We must approach our Bible reading prayerfully because the Bible is:
A) A DIVINELY INSPIRED BOOK The Bible explains its origin in 2 Timothy 3:16: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God.” The word “scripture” means “holy or sacred writings.” Identifying the Bible as “scripture” sets it apart from all other writings. It is a holy and sacred by nature. The word “all” indicates that every word is holy and sacred.
Furthermore, it is a book “given by inspiration of God.” The word “inspiration” literally means “God breathed.” As we breathe out, we are exhaling that which is in us. As a God breathed book, the Bible comes from God. It is not of human origin, although it was written by man. Man was merely the instrument by which God breathed out His Word.
Someone has written: “The authorship of this book is wonderful. Here are words written by kings, by emperors, by princes, by poets, by sages, by philosophers, by fishermen, by statesmen;
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By men learned in the wisdom of Egypt, educated in the Schools of Babylon, trained at the feet of rabbis in Jerusalem. It was written by men in exile, in the desert, and in shepherds’ tents, in ‘green pastures’ and beside ‘still waters.’ Among its authors we find the fishermen, the tax-gatherer, the herdsman, the gatherer of sycamore fruit; we find poor men, rich men, statesmen, preachers, exiles, captains, legislators, judges-men of every grade and class. The authorship of this book is wonderful beyond all other books.”
The Bible may be a book with a compilation of writers, but every word originated with God. The Bible is a divinely inspired book. Understanding that it is a divinely inspired book we then understand that it is:
B) A DIVINELY INTERPRETED BOOK
A. W. Tozer said, “The Bible is a supernatural book and can be understood only by supernatural aid.” Since God is the author of the Bible, only God can give us understanding of the Bible. He must open our eyes if we are to behold wondrous things in the Bible. That is why we need to prayerfully approach our reading of the Bible.
When it come to understanding the Bible we need a teacher-a divine teacher. You can have a PhD from Harvard or Yale and be absolutely inept when it comes to the Bible. A divinely inspired book must be a divinely interpreted book.
Old-timers called it divine illumination. I think of a young preacher who heard others talk about God illuminating their mind. He prayed, “Oh, God, I want you to eliminate my mind.” That’s not quite the same.
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Illumination means that we must rely on divine assistance to understand spiritual things. When you read the Bible we ask God to give you understanding. With the Psalmist, ask that God would open your eyes to behold wondrous things from His Word. When we read our Bibles this is where we must start-reading our Bible prayerfully.
Charles Spurgeon said, “Do you wish to begin to be true readers? Will you henceforth labour to understand? Then you must get to your knees. You must cry to God for direction.” 1. START YOUR BIBLE READING PRAYERFULLY
2. STAY WITH YOUR BIBLE READING PERSISTENTLY
When it comes to reading the Bible there is not set way to read it. One has to adopt a method that best benefits them.
The Bible contains 1,189 chapters; 929 in the Old Testament and 260 in the New. Let’s say that you read 3 chapters each day and 5 chapters on Sunday, you would be able to read the entire Bible in one year. If you read just 1 chapter each day you can read through the New Testament in one year. To read the entire Bible in one year basically will only take about 20 minutes a day.
Let me give you another scenario. The National Reading Institute reports that 200 words a minute is considered poor reading, 250 words a minute is good, and 400 words a minute is excellent. Let’s take the lowest rate of reading, 200 words a minute. That comes out to about 10 verses of Scripture. If you read the Bible at 200 words a minute for 1 hour each day, you could read the Bible through in 2 months or 6 times a year. If you read the Bible at 200 words per minute for only 30 minutes a day, you would read the Bible through in 4 months or 3 times in a year.
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Let me also add that our goal is not just to get into the Bible, but to let the Bible get into us. The Psalmist said in Psalm 119:15, “I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.” The Psalmist stated that he would mediate on the Word of God.
Let me give you 3 things to ask as you read your Bible. First, when you read the Bible ask yourself:
A) IS THERE A PROMISE TO ACCEPT?
As you read a verse or chapter, ask; “Is there a promise from God in these verses that I can claim in my Christian life?” The Bible is a book that is full of promises that God has made to His children. These promises we can claim for strength, comfort, wisdom, guidance, as well as every other need in our life.
Vance Havner said that many Christians are sitting on the premises when they ought to be standing on the promises. The Bible is a book of promises that have been given to us by God. These promises are reliable and trustworthy. We can stand on each promise that God has given us.
• God’s promises are sufficient for now and for eternity. we can rest in God’s promises.
• When you read your Bible, look for the promises that God has made you.
• Mark these promises!
• Trust these promises!
• Accept them as a promise that God has made to you.
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B) IS THERE A PRINCIPLE TO APPLY?
The Psalmist spoke of meditating in and on God’s “precepts.” The word “precepts” speaks of a mandate or command.
When we read the Bible we should ask ourselves, is there something here that God is telling me to do? Does it speak of some sin I should confess? Does it tell me how I should live as a Christian? Does it tell me of something I should do as well as something I shouldn’t do?
How should we live as a Christian? What is right and what is wrong? The Bible gives us the answers. The Bible gives us the laws of heaven for life on earth. Moses said to the people in Deuteronomy 5:32-33, “Ye shall observe to do therefore as the LORD your God hath commanded you: ye shall not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. 33 Ye shall walk in all the ways which the LORD your God hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess.” The Bible gives us God’s precepts, the commands of God in which we are to walk.
When we read our Bible we should ask if there is a promise to accept and a precept to apply. Furthermore, we should ask:
C) IS THERE A PRAYER TO ADOPT?
Does what I read challenge me to seek something from God?
I think of the great prayer of Jabez: (1 Chron. 4:10). “And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me!
And God granted him that which he requested” I never read that without being moved to pray the same prayer.
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• When I read about Elijah on Mount Carmel it moves me to pray for the fire to fall.
• When I read about Pentecost it moves me to pray for revival.
• When I read about the Spirit of God coming on Samson, I pray for the same in my life. There are happenings in the Bible that cause me to cry out, “Lord, do it again!”
If you start reading your Bible with a purpose it will change your Bible reading. It will be more than a duty. It will be a delight. It will be more than a daily task. It will be a daily thrill. It will make the Bible come alive! It will make your Bible reading a time when God speaks to your heart. 1. START YOUR BIBLE READING PRAYERFULLY 2. STAY WITH YOUR BIBLE READING PERSISTENTLY
3. STAND ON YOUR BIBLE READING PURPOSELY
The Bible is not just a book to read. It is a book to obey. James 1:22 says, “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only.” I could read it, Psalm 119:33-34, “Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end. Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.” He sought to learn God’s word through his reading, but also to keep the Word he learned and observe it with all his heart.
A) OUR LIFE IS GUARDED BY THE BIBLE
It has been well said that the Bible will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from the Bible. It is obvious that one of the concerns of the Psalmist was to keep himself clean and unspotted from the world around him. He had earlier said in Psalm 119:9 “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy word.”
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That is why he said in Psalm 119:11, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”
As we live in God’s Word and let His word live in us, it will act as a guard to keep us from sin.
Let the “thou shalt not’s” of the Bible guard you. Understand that when God tells us not to do something,
B) OUR LIFE IS GUIDED BY THE BIBLE
There is not only what we should not do, the “thou shalt not’s,” but there is the “thou shalt’s,” the things that we should do.
We often think of the Christian life in terms of what we should not do. We think if we don’t do certain things we are being good Christians. But the Christian consists also in the things that we are to do.
When we guard and guide our life by the Bible it will turn our reading of the Bible into a cause.
It gives Bible reading a purpose. It turns it into a time when we let God speak to us. And that is the reason we should and must read our Bibles.
Set a goal to read your Bible completely through in the coming year.
George Gallup said that 92% of Americans own at least one copy of the Bible. Of those households, the average number of Bibles they own is three. You can own 100 Bibles, but if you do not read it, it doesn’t matter how many Bibles you own.
Set you a goal to read the Bible every day of your life. Don’t let anything keep you from reading your Bible. And when you read your Bible,
If you will read the instruction manual for the Christian life you will find there is a chapter on reading your Bible.
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