Why Study the Bible
The most important work a believer can do is to study the bible. The big question is,
•Why is this my most important work?
•Why is it so important to study?
Out of Obedience to the Lord
Psalm 119 teaches that God has ordained His precepts and that we are to keep them diligently. So our first reason to study the Bible is out of obedience to God.
He commanded it, and we obey Him.
•How do I know what His precepts are that I may keep them?
He has written and preserved them for our instruction in His word.
“These words which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9
To Know and Fear the One True God
Through God’s work of creation and the light of nature, God speaks to us. We can see the greatness and goodness of God.
But this, in itself, is not sufficient enough to give us the knowledge of God. God has commanded us to
•Seek Him, to
•Fear Him,
•Search out the scripture that we may know Him.
By God’s grace and mercy, He has had everything we need recorded and preserved for us through His Word. Yet, if we are not careful, we can end up making God Almighty a god of our understanding.
We must study the Bible to know and understand Who the One true God is. We must take all that the scriptures say and teach, and base our beliefs on them and them alone.
“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made. ” Romans 1:20. ” God after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” Hebrews 1:1-2.
To Know and Love Christ
Our salvation comes to us through Christ and Christ alone. He gave Himself in Atonement for our sin that we might have life and have it abundantly.
The scriptures teach us Who He is, and all the wonderful things He has done for those that Love Him.
Why would we not search the Scriptures, study the Bible, to know and love Him more?
“For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died.” 2 Corinthians 5:14.
To Know and Love the Holy Spirit
We know we are to love God and love Christ. We are apt to seek and search the scriptures to know the truths about The Father and The Son.
But what about the Holy Spirit? Although the word “Trinity” is not recorded in the Scriptures, we do know from the study of the Bible that The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit make up the God Head.
They are three persons in one. The Trinity works together to bring about salvation, along with the preservation and sanctification of the believer.
The Holy Spirit guides and directs us into all truth. The work of the Holy Spirit in salvation is essential. We must search the scriptures to know Him more.
He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:5
To Walk in a Manner Worthy of Our Calling
Before God saved us, we walked in the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh. It was all about us and what we desired.
When God saved us, He gave us a new nature. The Old has gone the new has come.
As a new creature, we’re commanded to walk in a manner worthy of our calling. Paul teaches in Ephesians to learn what is pleasing to God.
“For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.” 1 Corinthians 6:20“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
To Workout Our Salvation
This is not teaching works-based salvation. Scripture teaches that our salvation is
•By grace alone,
•Through faith alone,
•Through Christ alone.
It is not by works so that no man can boast. But we are to study the Bible to see if we are in Christ.
The word of truth will show this to us. The Scriptures are a mirror, and when we look into it, what does it reveal about our walk?
Are we growing in grace and knowledge?
Is there ongoing sanctification?
Are we being conformed to the truths of His word?
Unless we are in the word looking at its truth, we would be blinded by the deceitfulness of our hearts.
Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble. 2 Peter 1:10
To Be Aware of False Teachers and Their False Doctrine
If we are not studying the real truth, how will we know what is false? This is nothing new to the church.
There have always been false teachers since the beginning. God, in His Word, warns us about these false teachers repeatedly.
A grave danger is that these false teachers and false doctrines are already in the churches! God teaches in Hosea that His people perish for lack of knowledge.
We must know God’s word to stand against false teachings.
“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” 1 John 4:1
To Learn What it Means to be Apart of the Body of Christ
We were bought with a price, and therefore we are no longer our own. Christ is building up the church into a holy temple.
He has called us, the church, to unity. Each of us makes up a part of the body.
We must learn what role we play in the church. We must learn how we are to use the gifts God has given to us to edify and grow the body.
We must learn to work together to glorify God and learn to show our love for each other to the world.
“Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.”
To Make Disciples
The Scripture is clear; we are to be in God’s word so that we know what is pleasing to God and how to act like a faithful follower of Christ.
We are to teach the gospel to ourselves that we may grow in grace and truth. But we are also called to make disciples.
If we do not know the truth, how can we make a disciple? If we are not teaching and preaching the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth of scriptures, then we are making false converts!
If we truly love someone, we will lead them to the truth! God always leads us to the truth. He holds back nothing, nor should we.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end.”
To Bring Glory and Honor to His Great Name
Our first calling is to bring glory and honor to God’s name. All of the above points I made are instructions given to us by God.
We should be in His word consistently in seeking to know Him and all His precepts so that His name will be great among the nations!
I hope and pray these 10 reasons have helped you understand the importance of studying the Bible.
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Great comments on why we should study. I would humbly add one more to the list which comes from the Jewish side of our Christian roots. The Jewish Sages of Jesus day also said that Study of the Scriptures is the highest form of worship. Thanks for the motivation.
I agree with your comment. Study of the Scriptures is the highest form of worship. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and thank you for your kind words. God Bless You.
I agree with everything on your list, as well as the previous commenter. Thanks for writing this!
Your welcome Melanie!I hope it has been a help and a blessing! God Bless:)
Amen. God bless you.
God Bless you too, Ifeoma!
There was a young woman a few month’s back, who emailed me requesting to join my boards on Pinterest. When I visited her “Christian” site, she had an article called “Why I do not read my Bible.” I thought…this must be a grab line. But sure enough she clearly stated why it was not necessary. Sad but true. How sorry I felt and scared for those who were following and agreeing with her.
Yes, Jo, it is sad! So many are being blinded to the truth! It scares me too. Those of us who know the truth need to pray hard and speak it! God Bless!
Awesome. God bless you.
I would like to add that, studying scriptures is what we need to do in order to PRAY rightly. (Knowing what to pray for and how to pray for it).
God acts on his Word, and so we need to bring His word back to him and remind him of his promises.
Benjamin, yes, we do need to study scripture to know how to pray right! Thank you for that reminder! I pray back Scripture to God all of the time! He does act on His word! Praise Him for it. Thank you for stopping by,you have encouraged me today! God Bless!
Hey Lisa!
I agree with everything on this list. It’s so important that believers are students of the Word of God because it helps grow our faith and sustains us in times of trouble. Not only that, but I love that you explained about false preachers and prophets. In Matthew 7:15, Jesus warns us to beware of false prophets. This means we have to know our Word and doctrine to be able to correctly discern and test others.
Anyway, I love this post! Thanks for sharing it.
Hi Ariel! Thank you for reading this post and responding! I spent a lot of years, to many, not reading and studying God’s Word! I do not want other believers to do the same! Thank you for stopping by today with your encouragement! Blessings, Lisa!