How We Read the Bible

Submitted by Pastor Doug Bender

If I were to ask you, “How do you read the Bible?”, how would you respond?
Where do you begin? Where do you end? Have you ever thought much about this question, or do you tend to pick up the Good Book and just go?

This question has probably never burned in your mind, but perhaps it’s one we would do well to consider.

Truthfully, the more I have focused on the how of reading Scripture, the clearer God’s Spirit has spoken to me and the more open my heart and soul have been to meditating on its truth and meaning.

First let me start by telling you the ways I used to read the Bible that did NOT bring much benefit and impact:

Divine Osmosis. I remember growing up and thinking to myself that as long as I just looked at the words on the pages, somehow God would immediately empower me with wisdom and blessing. Simply read the words, and like a scene from Lord of the Rings, the barriers to whatever problems I was facing would slip away and I’d be granted safe passage through life’s struggles. As enchanting as that sounds, I came to realize that wasn’t the way Scripture was meant to operate. It’s not a magical formula. It’s much greater and more comprehensive than anything I could ever hope to harness or control…

The Medicine Cabinet. I also used to think that Scripture is there primarily for our hardest moments in life. Facing a huge test or crisis? Time to pull out the Word and turn to passages like Jeremiah 29:11 to know that God holds our plans and through Him it will all work out. Now don’t get me wrong, because of Christ’s work for us all of our plans will indeed work out through Him! Certainly God’s promises are the only source and comfort for our pains; but once again, I had boiled God’s holy Word down to a list of go-to promises that brought some relief to a given situation. This is somewhat helpful, but I needed more. And God’s Word offers so much more than these methods of how to read it can allow.

What I needed to realize is this – the Bible is not a fortune cookie we crack open for a tidbit of goodness every once and a while. The Bible is the living, breathing, all encompassing story of God, the universe, and of you and me.

Hebrews 4:12 declares this: “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

We can never harness the power of God’s Word, because God and His Word is what’s harnessing our lives. We are all being caught up into the grand story of God’s mission – bringing His Kingdom through the work of His Son, Jesus Christ. We like to think we can fit the Bible into our lives. The reality is that our lives fit into God’s Word. And we are blessed to read this Holy Book in order to discover more and more about who we were truly made to be as God’s chosen people.

The Christian author, N.T. Wright, gave an interview on how to think about Scripture and our reading of it. He’s incredibly smart and has a cool British accent. I’d encourage you to check out his thoughts on reading, “The Whole Sweep of Scripture.”