Tips for Bible Reading

            At the start of a new year, many Christians make a renewed effort to read their Bibles. This is a fantastic desire and one that is absolutely worthy of your greatest effort! There are perhaps no other New Year’s resolutions that would have greater long-term benefits for your life. But most important, to live faithfully as a Christian, you’ve got to know what your Master wants you to do! Reading the Bible is the way to discover God’s will for your life, so it’s a vital habit.

            Many Christians who make this renewed effort also set the goal of finishing the entire Bible in one year. Though the timing of such a project is not the most important detail, it is an important goal to seek to read through the entire Bible. I don’t wish to load anyone down with guilt, but it is a great shame and embarrassment to the Christian community that so many adult Christians have never read the entire Bible. I realize the causes for this situation are diverse—including legitimate reading difficulties for some—but for a good number of folks, misplaced priorities are the likely culprit.

            It is also true, however, that many Christians have never received advice on how to read the Bible—particularly for a project like reading the whole book! I hope to give you such advice in the rest of this column. My prayer for you is that you will embrace the goal of reading the entire Bible and that with the following thoughts in mind, you’ll be successful—whether it takes you one year or five!

Use a translation that makes for good reading.

            Your first criterion for choosing a translation should be accuracy—does it accurately express the meaning of the original Hebrew and Greek in English (or Spanish or German)? Even with this criterion in mind, however, not all translations are created equal! Some of them provide a more pleasant reading experience than others—which is important when you’re trying to read longer portions of the text.

            I preach from the English Standard Version (ESV) because I think it is a highly accurate translation in modern English. But I must confess that it’s vocabulary and style are a bit clunky in some places. It doesn’t always have a great flow to it. In my opinion, the gold standard today for pleasant reading with good accuracy is the Christian Standard Bible (CSB). I use the CSB for my own daily reading plan, and I enjoy it a lot.

            A smooth style and flow for reading really are helpful, so keep this thought in mind. But whether you grab the King James, New King James, NIV, NASB or something else—just keep reading!

Don’t be afraid to skim!

            This advice may sound strange coming from a pastor, but I think it’s true. Feel free to skim through the text when you might otherwise get bogged down and be tempted to give up. While it is good to give careful attention to what you’re reading, the main goal of reading through the whole Bible should be to get a big-picture understanding of the main storyline.

            Think of this process like advancing through a college curriculum. When you take freshman classes in college, your classes have names like, “Introduction to (such and such)” or “Survey of (such and such).” You’re given a big-picture understanding of your subject first; only in later years do you work to master the details.

            Reading through the Bible is like your “Introduction to the Bible” class. Yes, get all the details you can, but focus on grasping the overall storyline. And if you hit a point where you feel like putting your Bible on the shelf, it is far better to skim than to give up.

Follow a “Star Wars” approach for your reading plan.

            What on earth do I mean by that statement!? Think of the order in which Episodes 1-9 of Star Wars were released. We learned the middle of the story first in Episodes 4-6, which also introduced us to the main character of the entire saga, Luke Skywalker. Then, the beginning of the story was released in Episodes 1-3, with the end of it all being finally revealed in Episodes 7-9.

            When you set out to read the Bible, consider reading the middle of the story first, which would be found in the Gospels. Yes, it may seem odd to start in the middle, but the Gospels will help you get very familiar with the main character of the entire saga—the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, the Gospels are easier to read than the first few books of the Old Testament. Starting with slightly easier reading can help you build momentum toward your goal of reading the whole Bible, and that momentum can help you keep going when you hit sections that are more difficult.

            After you’ve read the Gospels, go back to the beginning of the story and read the Old Testament. Portions of the Old Testament are challenging, but since you’ve read the Gospels, you’ll at least know where the overall story is headed—toward Jesus Christ! Finally, finish the project by reading the remainder of the New Testament. You’re understanding of it will be greatly enhanced by the knowledge you gained from the Old Testament!

Listen to a recording of the Bible.

            We have a great resource today in audio recordings of the Bible. These recordings are a great help to anyone who finds reading especially difficult, and they’re a tool that allows anyone to get the Bible on their mind while doing other tasks. Use them while you’re running an errand to Dodge, while you’re on the tractor, while you’re driving to a ball game, or anytime that you have an opportunity to listen.

            You can find good audio recordings for free on the YouVersion Bible app. This app also allows you to access many different translations of Scripture for free. You likely have your smartphone with you all the time, so download this app and turn your phone into a Bible!

If you’ve read through the Bible before, read through it again chronologically.

            If you’ve read through the Bible before and you’re setting out to do it again, let me encourage you to read it this time in the order in which the books were actually written. Our English Bibles do not print the books in the order in which they were written—they group them together by similar themes or shared authorship (e.g. the letters of Paul are all grouped together).

            Instead of just reading cover-to-cover or even following my “Star Wars” approach, find out the order in which the books were written and read them that way. It is very informative to read the Old Testament Prophets, for example, in the context of the events during which they were actually written rather than simply leaving all their writings until the end of your Old Testament reading.

            You can search online for a chronological list of the books of the Bible, or you can also purchase a special Bible that has the books printed in chronological order. For several months now, I’ve been reading through the Day by Day Chronological Bible from Holman Publishers and I have really enjoyed it. Whether you find a list for free or purchase a special resource, the chronological reading approach will sharpen your understanding of the overall storyline of Scripture.

May God bless you in your efforts to know His Word!