Why Should We Read the Bible?

Everyone lives by a narrative or story. In that story they hang the entire framework of their existence. This framework is meant to help answer life’s ultimate questions like, “How did I get here?” or “Why am I here?” We use stories that try and answer one question or maybe two questions but there seems to be no story or narrative that helps us answer all of life’s ultimate questions.

Enter the great story of the Bible. The Bible claims to be God’s story for the whole world. In the Bible we find the one great story (or metanarrative) that helps us answer all of life’s toughest questions. Answers to questions like, “Who are we?” or “What’s wrong with this World? Or “Where did we come from?” all find their answers in the great story of the Bible. The great truth about the Bible is that it is the great metanarrative that we can hang all of life on. And so we must read what it has to say.

This story that we hold in our possession a most valuable communication. This book contains the inspired writings of 40 authors. It has been passed down for 56 generations. The first volume was written almost 3,700 years ago. This book is the most widely translated, frequently published, intensely persecuted book in the history of the World. I am speaking of course about the living, eternal word of God. The Bible is the totally reliable and without error Word of God written in a great metanarrative that we can understand.  We should read the Bible because it is God’ s Word to us that is promised to exist for all time. Some people may read the Bible because it interests them, others may read it because they find it curious, still others may read it because of how famous it is. The truth is that we should read the Bible because it is God’s Word to us. It's the metanarrative that gives us both the meaning of life and eternity. 

On an earthbound level there are two central sources of human knowledge: reason and experience. The Bible provides a third source of knowledge. It is revelation; the belief that God has revealed Himself and His ways to man in Holy Scripture. This is the axiom of the Christian world view. The Bible is inspired. Literally it is made up of the very Words of God. The Bible is literally “God-breathed” (2 Timothy 3:16). In other words, the Bible is God’s very words to us. This story is not just some compilation of loosely connected fairy tales. It is divinely inspired and linked together to point to one central theme. 

When you pick up a copy of the Bible you are picking up the Words of your creator. When you read the Bible you are listening to the Sovereign ruler speak to you. The Bible is more than a book, it is the book. It is more than just a story, it is God's story. We read and study the Bible because we know the Bible is without error and totally reliable. We read the Bible because we know it has the answers to all of our toughest questions. We read the Bible because it does not change and yet it remains relevant to an every changing world. We read the Bible because in the midst of so much false teaching the Bible is our source of truth. The Bible gives us the measuring stick of truth by which all else is measured. We read the Bible because it equips us to serve the God of the Bible. It teaches us what sin is and how we can overcome sin. It teaches us the only way to be successful and find happiness in life. But most of all, we read the Bible because it shows us a Savior who came to die on the cross for our sins and rose again on the third day so that we can be assured of a home in heaven. 


Posted by Caleb

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