How To Read The Bible

Texts: Psalm 119:1-18; Colossians 3:16

Pastor Phil Hughes, American Fork Presbyterian Church, UT

July 23, 2023

The Bible is really not just one book but sixty-six different books.  The Bible is like a library.  Some books are history.  Some are poetry and prayers.  Some are stories.  Some are prophecies.  Some are full of visions.

On the one hand the Bible is God’s Word to us.  If I want to hear God I need to get into the Bible and find out what God says.  And while we can get our twenty minutes or so from the pulpit on Sunday that really isn’t going to take us very far.  So we need to encounter the Bible on our own.  But the Bible is not always easy to read.  It can be confusing, dry, and archaic.  Sometimes we don’t know what to read.  Just starting from the beginning isn’t always the best way.

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, in the longest book of the Bible.  It is a prayer, a song, about the value of the words that have come from God. God has given us precepts for our lives. He has spoken through the writings of the Scriptures about what it means to be in relationship with him.

The psalmist sings about learning God’s righteous laws. He says that he has hidden God’s word in his heart.  He meditates on God’s precepts. He asks God to teach him God’s decrees. He prays, “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.”

Skip deep into the New Testament and Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly.”  Other translations say let it dwell in you richly.

How can I read the Bible so that I can let the message of Christ live in me?  And if it is happening in us as individuals then it is happening for our whole church. How can we read the Bible so that we are able to get God’s words in our hearts?  And, so that this church is alive to the word of God?

Several years ago Willow Creek Church outside of Chicago did a study in their church of the things that promote spiritual grow in their people.  They wanted to know what practices moved people closer to God. Based on the responses of thousands of people they concluded this:

“The Bible’s power to advance spiritual growth is unrivaled by anything else we’ve discovered.  Reflection on Scripture is by far the most influential spiritual practice, and it is also the only factor out of the more than fifty we assessed that appears on the list of top five catalysts for each of the three spiritual movements.  That’s why we conclude that it is the catalyst most predictive of spiritual growth.”

By reflecting on Scripture they mean being thoughtful and careful as we read.  We let Scripture impact the actions, decisions and events of our daily life.  We don’t just skim through a Bible passage but we encounter it in such a way that it catalyzes our faith..[1]

So how can you and I read the Bible so this happens?

One of the first questions is what to read? If you already have a Bible reading plan or know how to navigate through various books then keep at it.  If not, I suggest beginning with one of the four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.  Or take a letter of Paul or Peter.  Romans, Philippians or 1 Peter are good places to begin.  Or go through the early and foundational Old Testament books: Genesis, Exodus, or Deuteronomy. These are some of the books that are fairly straightforward to read and good beginning points.

Biblegateway has prepared reading schedules.  Many Bibles have a schedule of daily readings in the back.  The Presbyterian Church has four daily readings listed on their website each day, as do many other places and churches. In a reading schedule there might be one Old Testament and one New Testament passage.  Or there might be four readings from different parts of the Bible.  Each day you move through various books.  If you can’t decide what to read a prepared schedule can be helpful.

1.     Whatever time of day works best for you to read, settle into a comfortable place relatively free from distractions, and begin with prayer.  Begin by asking the Holy Spirit to help you read, see, be open, and focus. He will guide us. It doesn’t mean every time we read the Bible it is a jaw-dropping experience.  It varies.  But we invite the Spirit to help us.

2.     There are several ways we can read the Bible.  One way is for breadth and length.  This is when we read large portions, maybe 1-3 chapters depending on what we are reading.  When we read like this we are just trying to get the big picture, the flow, and just expose ourselves to what is in the passages.  We read it like a novel.

3.     Another way we can read the Bible is reading deeper.  We take just a passage.  It might be a story, or series of verses, or a chapter.  Usually something on the shorter side.  Read it once.  Then pause, be quiet, reflect for a minute or two.  Then read the passage again.  Sometimes we see new things.  We might even read it a third time. In this way we slow down and really let the passage speak to us. We reflect on it.

4.     Sometimes writing is a good way to help our reading.  It helps us focus. Read a passage and write down what you notice, what speaks to you, what challenges you.  Write yourself dry.  By that I mean, write down everything you notice until you don’t notice anything else.  It doesn’t have to make sense to anyone but you.  See how much you can get out of the passage. Or write out a verse or series of verses.

5.     What should we look for when we are reading? Here are six questions to ask as you read: Who is mentioned?  What is happening or being said?  Where does it happen? How does it happen?  When does it happen?  Why is this being said or taking place? When we scroll through these questions it helps focus our attention. It also uncovers things for us. We see details. We notice things.

6.     Pay attention to words that are repeated.  Pay attention to verbs/action words.  Pay attention to words like “however,” “but,” or “therefore.”  They suggest cause and effect.  Pay attention to contrasts.

7.     One question I find is always a go-to is what does this tell me about God?  Afterall, he is the point of the Bible.  Psalm 23 tells me something about God.  When we read about Moses freeing the Hebrews from Egypt that is telling us something about God.  Everything about Jesus tells us about God.  When Revelation speaks about one on the throne that is telling us something about God. The Bible is certainly addressed to people but it is mainly about God.

Sometimes people imagine the Bible is an answer book to all life’s problems. One bible teacher said something that I think is very helpful to keep in mind as we read,

“…the Bible is not about human doings and human problems. It is not really about us at all, but about God. And because it is about God it has its own weird logic, expressed in a strange, wonderful vocabulary — words like election, creation, flesh, spirit, grace, law, apocalypse. Instead of just another self-help manual, the Bible offers us something far more interesting — an account of life, the only life indeed that is worth having; life that comes from God and leads to God.”[2]

8.     Sometimes what we read seems so packed with details and we aren’t sure what this is about. In those times it is important to keep the big picture in mind.  See the forest for the trees. We ask what is the main faith principle of this passage?  What’s the big point?  If I had to make a headline what would it be? Just getting the big picture can be enough.

9.     The Bible is made up of different genres/types of writing.  Pay attention to what type of writing we are reading.  Is it “story” like the stories of Abraham or Moses or David?  Is it poetry like Song of Solomon or Psalms?  Is it prophecy like Isaiah or Micah?  Is it history like in 1 and 2 Kings or Chronicles?  Is it the stories of Jesus like the Gospels?  Is it a letter to a church or leader like what Paul, Peter and James wrote?  Is it visions like Ezekiel or Revelation? Is it wisdom principles like in Proverbs?  When we read different parts of the Bible we have to keep in mind what we are reading.  Sometimes the meaning is straightforward.  Sometimes there are symbols involved. When Psalm 91 says that under God’s wings we will find refuge, it doesn’t mean God has feathers.  It is a way of saying something about God’s protective presence upon us. Different parts of the Bible have to be read in different ways. Think about how we read a novel or a newspaper article or a recipe differently.  Same with different parts of the Bible.

10.  Remember context. The books of the Bible were written thousands of years ago in very different cultures than ours.  There were cultural practices that were different.  There were language differences.  The sense of time was different. There was a first audience and they were not us.  Keep in mind that some things made sense then but not necessarily now.  Certain things that seem really odd to us were not explained because the first intended audience knew what was meant.

11.  But, having said that, one of the powerful things about Scripture is that it still speaks today.  Though the Bible came from very different societies and times it still is true. The Spirit is still bringing these words to life.  Sometimes we read something and it just pierces our heart.  It is the encouragement we needed.  Or it convicts us.  Or it challenges us.  Or it gives us understanding into how God is working in our lives. We get a glimpse of how God is working in the world.

12.  Read the Bible with others.  Often if we want to do something it can be easier with others.  If we want to be consistent in our walking or painting or music or weight loss we find a group to do it with.  It is more enjoyable.  It helps our motivation. Find two or three others and decided to read the Bible together.  Meet at a coffee shop or here at the church.  Hold one another accountable.  Email, Facebook, or send texts about what you are reading.

13.  I believe all of us can read the Bible on our own.  We may not understand every little thing.  There may be questions that come or things that confuse us.  But just reading on our own will bring fruit.  However, if you want to go a little further, then find a good Bible study guide.  There are a number of wonderful booklets that will guide you through reading a passage.  It will provide questions to guide your reading.  Sometimes there are study notes and explanations.  If you want suggestions let me know and I am happy to point you to some good study guides.

14.  I know some of us use Our Daily Bread or some other devotional book.  They usually have a Scripture reference, but it is often just a verse.  I’m glad you are using these but that little Scripture reference is nothing but a cracker.  It’s not even an appetizer. I encourage you to look up that verse and read the entire context.  It might be an entire chapter, or several lines, or a whole story.  This will fortify your reading of the Bible.

15.  As we read the Bible there will be things that we will not understand.  Don’t let that hinder us.  Pay attention to what we do understand.  Last week I was reading an article on reading poetry.  I read it because poetry is hard for me to read sometimes.  I don’t get it.  But I want to be able to understand poetry. This person said that it was OK not to understand every poem.  He said to keep reading until you get to something that you do understand. Sometimes when we read Scripture we hit a patch that we don’t get, but we keep reading and eventually get to something that does make sense.  Pay attention to what we do understand.

16.  It’s OK to reread a passage for another day or two.  If you feel like there is more to get or something is keeping your attention then just stay there.  Let God speak. There is a reason the Holy Spirit is drawing you to that verse, passage or chapter.

17.  If you’ve done any reading in the Bible you know that sometimes there are long lists of names or genealogies. It’s OK to skim through these or just skip over them. You will still get into heaven.  They won’t do much for you and their purpose is usually beyond our reading. I’m not saying they aren’t important but unless we are prepared to dig deep into the list of names it will be rather dry for us. There will not be a test on those names on the day when we stand before the Lord.

18.  Read what you can, not what you can’t. Anything we read is to our benefit.  Even if we are tired or don’t understand everything or come away with more questions than answers.  Everything we read in God’s word counts. Some of us, particularly our young families, wonder “how can I read the Bible with my schedule?”  Anything of value takes some time. If you can only read a little then read a little.  If you have more time to spend then do that.  Now we can listen to the Bible.  You may find you do your “reading” while you drive to and from work or the store. Some people are audible learners.  They do better by hearing than reading.

19.  Let’s read with our mind, but also read with our heart. Which goes back to the first step of reading the Bible – ask the Holy Spirit to lead us. There are things that are interesting.  There is history that is fascinating.  But ultimately we want God to touch our hearts. We want what we read to catalyze our faith.

20.  Finally, remember that the Bible is a big story.  Every piece we read fits into a larger drama.  It is all about God’s redemption of us and this world.  It is about how to live in right relationship with God.  Keep that in view in whatever you read.

If you read the account of Jesus being tempted by Satan you will find that Jesus says, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Our Lord was quoting Deuteronomy 8:3. Jesus knew the Scriptures. If we go back and read the original context of Deuteronomy 8:3 – and whenever a passage from the Old Testament is quoted in the New it is good to go and read it - we find that Moses was telling the Israelites that God had tested them to help them understand their dependence upon God.  So, we are dependent on God’s words to us. We can’t truly live for God apart from knowing his word which nourishes us. It’s here we learn his will, his ways, and his heart.

As we read the Bible there are going to be days when it is nourishing, and there will be days when it just kind of “blah.”  There are going to be days that are like God is jumping out of the page at us and days we wonder why we bothered.  That’s OK.  It all adds up. We keep reading.  We keep seeking the Lord.  We keep our lives open to him.  Remember before anything was ever written down there was God.  And it is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit who we want to know.

Read the Bible.  Wrestle with it.  Let it confuse you.  Let it move you.  Let it haunt you.  Let it nourish you.  Let it change you.

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, we praise you for speaking to us through your word. Your word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.  As we read it open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit.  Help us to understand.  Help us to obey.  By your Spirit show us your ways.

And we will live as disciples of you.  Amen.

[1] From the study “Follow” at Willow Creek Church

[2] Dr. Joseph Mangina, Getting People Into The Story