YouTuber John Stapleton shares on How We Should Feel About The Bible. Be sure to subscribe to John’s Weekly Bible Blog.

We love the Bible so we can treasure the Bible.

1) 5 Reasons Why You Don’t Read the Bible

1. You’re not “religious” (oppressive).
2. Its boring.
3. You don’t understand it.
4. Its irrelevant.
5. You don’t want to.

You are missing out on the single most rewarding piece of humanity – your ability to connect your soul to God.

Yes, we human beings can accomplish a lot on our own. We can dig deep and find strength. But there is something even richer. Your soul ponders things like, “Is there more?” “What’s the point? and “Why?” These answers are found in the Bible.

Your soul longs for completion, unconditional love, and peace. You can dismiss the Bible and say, “All I need, I can find within myself.” This is the beauty of God – He gives you free choice to do that. But I’m here to tell you, the way I would tell a friend who I could look squarely in the eye and with love and certainty say to you, THERE IS MORE. I can’t convince you to find it, but I will implore you to consider.” – Keri

2) 5 Wrong Reasons to Read the Bible

Superstition.

You believe it will make you a Christian, but it won’t. Jesus said in John 5:39-40: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.” The Bible points to the reality of life that is found in Jesus.

Luck

You believe it will protect you from suffering. Ironically, the Bible not only records many stories about suffering, it tells us that we will suffer and it makes clear that God prefers to perfect his people by suffering, not get his people out of it.

Merit

You believe God will like you better the more you read it. However, God doesn’t simply favor some people over others because some have read more of the Bible than others. God actually tends to favor those who do what they read. Obedience is better than mere listening.

Selfishness

You believe reading it will make God do stuff for you. But God isn’t bought off by any of our good deeds, even reading the Bible. That’s manipulation, not worship.

Legalism

You feel as if you have to be respected for proving points and having all the answers. I used to be that guy and it is not worth it. Bible studies are more fun when we are curious students instead of lecturing professors.

3) 7 Biblical Reasons to Read the Bible

Life

Psalm 119:107 says, “I am severely afflicted; give me life, O Lord, according to your word!”

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The Psalmist is saying the God’s Word gives us life. That means we do not read the Bible just for information also but transformation.

Hope

Psalm 119:43 says, “Take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules.”

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Rules are not oppressive; they give freedom.

Joy

Psalm 119:111 says, “Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.”

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Joy is the alternative to trying to selfishly manipulate God.

Comfort.

Psalm 119:52 says, “When I think of your rules from of old, I take comfort, O Lord.”

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God gives us comfort in affliction, not instead of affliction.

Motivation For Obedience

Psalm 119:120 says, “My flesh trembles for fear of you, and I am afraid of your judgments.”

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Many of us like to skip to 2 Timothy 1:7 where it says that God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear, but there is a healthy fear of God that the Bible gives us as we heed its warnings and learn from people who suffered God’s punishment because of their disobedience.

Promises About God

Psalm 119:122 says, “Give your servant a pledge of good; let not the insolent oppress me.”

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God speaks through the Bible that contains his very promises.

Tears

Psalm 119:50 says, “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.”

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When we sin, God’s Word convicts us and sometimes we reap the consequences of our sins. We read the Bible to feel remorse for our sins. Without God’s special revelation, there is no way to understand the depth of how grievous sin actually is. Afterward, we should see the value of God’s Word because it can keep us from a lot of negative consequences if we live by it.

4) 3 Practical Reasons to Read the Bible

Build The Habit.

Regular Bible reading is not natural to a lot of people and it is something that you will most likely not get around to if you don’t make a plan. Unless you put in on the calendar, its not real. It is the things that we do habitually and continually that form our character the most.

Imagine what kind of person you will be after 20 or 30 years of sitting under the teaching of the Bible? If you feel the right way about it, it will make you holier, no question about it!

Gain Better Understanding

Gain a better understanding of God and your relation to him.

To know his plan for your life turn to the Bible. If you want to better understand yourself, look at God as he revealed himself in the Bible and you will better understand yourself.

Respond To God

Lastly, we read the Bible to respond to God’s self-disclosure of himself.

Everyone who who hears the Word of God instantly is responsible for what they heard. Hearing God’s Word with no intention on doing the Word is evil. We must act on what we heard.

James 1:23 says “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (NIV).

5) 8 Ways We Feel After Encountering God’s Word

• Love for God’s law (Psalm 119:48, 97, 113, 163, 165).
• It holds our attention and our delight (Psalm 119:14-16, 24, 47).
• We are eagerly excited to get back to it (Psalm 119:18).
• We depend on and crave it (Psalm 119:18-19, 103).
• It is the most valuable thing (Psalm 119:72).
• We can fee secure by it (Psalm 119:72).
• Our enjoyment of it should be for our lifetime (Psalm 119:92).
• It is our constant muse (Psalm 119:97).

6) Our Imagination of God’s Word

It is treasure!

We treasure God’s Word because 1 Peter 2:9 reminds us that we are God’s treasure. The result of treasuring God’s Word is goodness (Luke 6:45), knowledge of the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4:1-7), and wisdom (Colossians 2:2-3).

Most of us have heard the saying that we can’t take any of our stuff with us when we die, but we can send it ahead. The Bible tells how to store up treasure forever (Luke 12:33; 1 Timothy 6:18).

Meditation

“The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.” (Psalm 119:160 ESV)

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