It’s the story we actually live in, the one our Creator gave us, as though Shakespeare handed Hamlet the transcript of his own play. The Bible isn’t fiction it’s the story of reality. It’s the beginning of God’s story, but it is also the beginning of your story. However, Genesis proves to be a more important beginning to a story than any other beginning you have ever read. Naturally, reading the beginning of any book would help you understand the rest. I’ll give you an equally great second option to read when you first open the Bible-Genesis, the first book of the Bible. Hopefully you can see why this book would be a fantastic place to begin your Bible reading. John’s ultimate goal is that we would come to know Jesus personally, and being reconciled to God through Jesus, that we would experience the life that is truly life. The Holy Spirit inspired John to write this book in a way that would lead us to believe in Jesus. John wrote his Gospel to convince us that Jesus is exactly who He says He is-the Son of God, the promised Rescuer to whom the whole Bible points. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. The apostle John, who authored this book, explicitly tells us this book’s agenda: Here’s a brief case for why you should read the Gospel of John first. So what book of the Bible should you read first? Let me give you two options. We’ve come all this way and you still need your question answered. Reading your Bible is a means of knowing Him.īefore you open the Bible, ask God to reveal himself to you, to help you hear His voice through His Word, and to help you get to know Jesus. When you open your Bible, the words you read are the voice of the Lord who loved you and gave Himself for you (Galatians 2:20). The Bible does guide us (Psalm 119:105), make us wise (Proverbs 1:5), enlighten us (Psalm 19:8), and train us in righteous living (2 Timothy 3:16), but all these blessings only truly come to us through faith in Christ, not apart from Him. Like these people Jesus addresses, we too are in search for life. It’s easy to come to the Bible hoping for spiritual direction, better perspective, new ideals, an encouraging thought, or practical wisdom. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life” (John 5:39-40 NIV). “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. Jesus corrected some people in the book of John who did just that: But you must understand that the Bible is not an end in itself-that is, the power of the Bible lies not in the book, but in the person who wrote it.īut there is a way to pick up the Bible and miss the point. That’s a great reason to pick up the Bible. Perhaps you’re reading it for the first time because you long for transformation in your life. You may have heard that the Bible is a life-changing book. I want to rescue you from another dangerous thought. If you’re reading the Bible at all, you’re reading the right thing. So friend, don’t succumb to an internal pressure to read the “right” thing. Every part of the Bible was written for your good. Best bible to read and understand full#In His wisdom, God gave us a book full of other books, to equip us for every experience we will meet in this life (2 Peter 1:3). God gave us the Scriptures to equip us for life and train us to be godly-to be like Him. Every book of the Bible is God’s Word to us, given out of His love. No matter where you flip to in your Bible, you’re landing in God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16). Let me try and dissuade you from two dangerous thoughts as you embark on this life-long journey. There is nothing in the world more worthy of your time than listening to God in His Word. I’m excited that you’re setting out to read the Bible. Before You Read the Bible for the First Time Then, I will explain why I think you may want to begin your Bible reading adventure either in Genesis or John. Before I make my case, I want to give you some general encouragement. There are so many to choose from! I’m going to suggest two options. What book of the Bible should a new believer read first?
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