5 Wrong Reasons People Read the Bible
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Only 1/3 of Americans read their Bible once a week.
That means even fewer than 1/3 of all Americans read their Bible daily or make Bible study a regular practice in life.
This statistic is very telling.
What’s even more telling is that only 1/4 of Americans believe that you can take the Bible literally, word-for-word.
As a nation we have ceased to believe the Bible is the literal word of God.
That God’s holy mouth spoke into the ear of the saints old who copied those words down that now comprise our Bible.
And yet, so many people who call themselves Christians today have somehow drifted away from the notion that the Bible is more than just a good book to read once in a way, but that it is central to our faith. It is what our entire faith rests upon.
But is reading the Bible enough?
Is simply reading a few verses, or even a chapter a day, enough to keep a spirit thriving and growing?
The answer is no. It is not enough for a person to read the Bible.
If reading alone, or even study of the Bible, were enough to change a life and help the spirit thrive and grow, Jesus would have had no reason to rebuke the Pharisees.
As a matter of fact, many atheists and followers of cults have actually read and studied the Bible. And yet they remain in their delusion.
Furthermore, the devil himself can quote portions of the Bible.
Here are 5 wrong reasons people read the Bible
1. Reading the Bible does not make you a Christian
Reading the Bible no more makes one a Christian than reading a user manual will make you a Buick.
It may make you more informed about Christianity, it make even make you more aware of God, but it will not make you a Christian.
Acknowledging your sin, allowing the blood of Jesus to cleanse your heart, and accepting Christ to govern your daily life makes you a Christian.
To that point, reading the Bible will not make you a better Christian or a growing Christian.
While growing Christians read the Bible, reading the Bible will not make you grow.
What makes you grow is when you apply what you’ve read in the Bible and invest in your daily relationship with Jesus Christ.
2. Reading the Bible will not make you a better person.
There is great power in the Word of God, but reading the Bible will not make you a better person.
If you want Jesus Christ to change your life, you must become born again.
Reading God’s Word may open your eyes to understand the power of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, but a true life change comes when repent, put our faith in Jesus Christ and then begin actively molding our lives to the truths and principles of God’s Word.
James said that we must be doers of the Word, not just hearers.
When we start putting the Word of God into action, we become fully aware of how lost we really are and how much we need grace for every minute of our day!
3. Reading the Bible will not protect you from suffering.
There are many bitter and ill-informed people out there who, for some reason, believed that reading the Bible would be their talisman against suffering.
The Bible is not a magic charm that wards off suffering in our lives. The Bible is filled with stories of heroes of the faith who endured suffering:
- Job lost everything
- Joseph spent time in prison
- David was hounded by Saul
- Paul was beaten, shipwrecked and imprisoned
- All but one of the apostles were martyred.
This pattern of suffering in the Christian life continues throughout history, even to today where Christians are being persecuted and martyred for their faith.
The difference between Christian suffering and the suffering in an unbeliever’s life is that we have faith that God is using this suffering for a greater purpose.
Furthermore, we know that while God allows suffering, He does protect us from the strategy of the enemy who seeks to steal, kill and destroy us.
“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” Romans 8:28
4. Reading the Bible will not earn your brownie points with God.
God does not have a holy ranking system in heaven, by which He measures the level of your spirituality by the things you do.
Reading your Bible, prayer, and other Christian disciplines will not earn you points with God.
Reading the Bible is the first step in spiritual growth.
We don’t read the Bible for God, we read the Bible for us – so that we will get to know God on a deeper level, so that we will know how we are to live, so that we will learn how to make wise choices based on Scripture, and so that we will recognize deception when it comes our way.
There are no brownie points with God.
Ephesians makes it clear that God chose us, even before He created the world. Even when we were still walking in sin, He chose us.
He loved us. And He can’t love us anymore than He does right now.
5. Reading the Bible wont make God do something for you.
Have you ever done this? “God, if you will just give me that job I’ll read my Bible every single day for the rest of my life!”
Chances are, even if you do get the job, you wont follow through with your end of the bargain.
Reading the Bible wont make God do things for you. God can’t be bartered with and reading His Word isn’t a bargaining chip with Him.
Even more, God wont give you special favors because you read the Bible everyday.
If you’ve read through the Bible each year for the past 10 years, God still wont give you special favors. He doesn’t work that way!
Anytime God causes something to work in our favor, it is His grace.
We can’t earn that favor by anything we do, because there are not enough righteous things that we can do that will ever tip the scales in our favor! There is not enough good that will ever outweigh the bad we’ve done.
The only thing that gives us favor with God is the blood of Jesus Christ.
So, no, reading the Bible is not enough for a Christian to thrive and grow spiritually.
We must do so much more!
A thriving, growing Christian is a Christian who takes what he’s read, applies it to His life, and allows the Word of God to be the final authority for how he should live.
More than a guidebook
More than an instruction manual
The Bible is more than just a suggested way of life. It is what God expects and commands of every person who dares call himself by Christ’s name.
This is why each month I make available for you the Read Through the Bible in 365 Days Challenge.
This Bible reading and prayer journal does more than just offer a reading plan.
It provides worksheets that will help you take God’s Word and plant it deep in your heart until it becomes a lifestyle for you.
I have created a 67-page journal that will help you do these three things to deepen you relationship with Christ.
You can download it for free today and start on this amazing journey to get to know Christ better!
To download the Read Through the Bible in 365 Days Challenge Workbook, just type in your email below and the journal will open up in a browser for you to download.
This is exactly what is wrong with modern, casual Christianity. I agree that reading the Bible in and of itself does not earn salvation or anything else from God. We are saved “by grace through faith” (Ephesians 2:8-9). However, reading the Bible should be vitally important to a Christian. I think the title should read “Five Reasons Why Christians Should Do More Than Just Read Their Bibles.” Why would you use a negative title that seems to downplay the importance of reading and studying God’s Holy Word? We have to do more than just read the Bible, we have to study it so that we proprly understand the meaning and then we have to apply it to our lives. But how can you apply what you have not first read and understand?
How about “Five Reasons Why Christians Should Read Their Bibles:”
1. It Is Profitable (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
2. Jesus Stressed Its Vitality (Matthew 4:4)
3. It Grows our Faith – (Hebrews 10:17)
4. Jesus Used it to Resist Temptation (Matthew 4:1-11)
5. It Is Our Guide (Psalm 119:105)
6. We Are Commanded to Make It a Vital Part of our Daily Lives (Deuteronomy 6:6-9
7. It is Alive and Active and Has the Power to Transform Lives (2 Timothy 4:2)
8. It Will Stand Forever (Psalm 119:89)
9. It Will Accomplish God’s Will (Isaiah 55:11)
10. You Will Be Blessed (Psalm 1:1-6)
Oops! I guess that was more than five reasons. And there are many more. Why not focus on the benefits of Bible study? When you understand and believe that the Bible is the only infallible and inspired Word of God and that it is authoritative in matters of faith and conduct, you understand you can’t live without it.
I think you completely misunderstood the point of this post. The point was to point out that Christians need to do more than just casually read the Word of God, they need to dig down deep and study it. The materials I provide monthly here do just that – encourage Christians to study the Word. A brief perusal of my content here indeed shows that I speak out regularly against casual Christianity.
There is a follow up post to this one here titled 3 Reason to Read Through the Bible This Year: https://fdeanhackett.com/2017/02/3-reasons-read-bible-year.html
I study the WORD of God everyday of my life starting at 5:00 am and lasts 2 1/2- 3 hrs pretty much every morning always its just my life belongs with Christ and IS!
The Spirit of God dwells inside of my that I may understand what the Holy Spirit says through His Beautiful powerful Great and Powerful Word of the almighty God.
OM Goodness someone else who actually understands all of this besides me Praise God I thought i was one of the very only ones left please dont go away brother,thanks for your post Tim.
Thank you for your encouragement, brother!
About not being protected from bad things…you’re wrong. There’s no friendly way to say it. Even King David described Jesus Who is thee Word as strength and shield. Jesus Himself used scripture in response to the enemy. You’re misleading people by teaching them this. Teaching is a huge responsibility. He holds you to a higher standard. Watch yourself please and ask His forgiveness. I recommend redoing this article.
The question is, then, if God’s Word protects us from all bad things, why did Job have all of his wealth taken from him? Why were the disciples martyred? Yes, God is our protection against the enemy’s strategy to destroy us, but that doesn’t mean that Christians will not go through suffering. The difference is that our suffering doesn’t destroy us, it refines us. But many Christians erroneously believe that just quoting scripture will protect them from suffering: financial setbacks, illnesses, diseases, loss, when they fail to realize that God may allow suffering to happen for a greater purpose in their life.