Why should we read the Bible?

from the old testament

• God reveals Himself through His words and actions. Reading the Bible helps us know the God who created and redeemed us rather than constructing a god according to our own preferences (Exodus 34:6–7; Deuteronomy 7:9; Psalm 103:8–13).
• The Bible preserves God's acts in history so His people remember His faithfulness, and God commanded His people to remember His works and tell the next generation about them (Deuteronomy 4:9–10; 6:6–7; Psalm 78:4–7).
• God's Word instructs us in righteous living. Moses commanded Israel to obey God's statutes and commands (Deuteronomy 5:31–33; 10:12–13). Psalm 119 celebrates God's Word as a guide for life: “Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path” (Psalm 119:105).
• The wisdom literature especially connects God's instruction with wise living. Proverbs teaches that God's instruction gives wisdom, knowledge, discretion, and understanding (Proverbs 1:2–7; 2:1–6; 4:5–7). The Bible helps us distinguish between the paths of wisdom and foolishness.
• Psalm 119:9 asks how a person can keep his way pure and answers, “By keeping Your word.” Psalm 119:11 adds, “I have treasured Your word in my heart so that I may not sin against You.” God's Word does not merely tell us what sin is; it helps shape our desires and choices.
• Joshua 1:8 commands Joshua to keep the Book of the Law before him continually, meditating on it “day and night” and obeying what it says. Psalm 1:1–3 similarly describes the person who delights in God's instruction and meditates on it continually as a tree planted beside flowing water. We should read God's Word and let it transform our lives.
• Israel was repeatedly warned that forgetting God's commands would lead them away from Him (Deuteronomy 8:11–14; 31:16–18). God's Word functions as a continual reminder of His covenant, expectations, and character.
• God's Word confronts people when they wander. The prophets called Israel to return to God, exposing idolatry, injustice, rebellion, and hypocrisy (Isaiah 1:16–20; Jeremiah 7:23–28; Ezekiel 18:30–32). Scripture does not simply affirm us; sometimes it tells us what we do not want to hear—but what we need to hear.
• The Psalms lead us from knowing God's truth to worshipping Him (Psalm 19:7–14; 95:1–7; 100:1–5). Reading the Bible is therefore not merely an intellectual exercise; it should move us toward worship.

from the new testament

• The Bible points to Jesus. After His resurrection, Jesus explained how “all the Scriptures” spoke about Him (Luke 24:25–27, 44–47). John likewise said that his Gospel was written so that people would believe Jesus is the Messiah and Son of God and have life in His name (John 20:30–31).
• Paul said the “sacred Scriptures” can give wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:14–15). The Bible reveals to us the problem of sin, God's solution in Christ, and the promise of salvation.
• Peter tells believers to long for God's Word “like newborn infants” so they may grow into salvation (1 Peter 2:2). God's Word nourishes spiritual growth.
• Jesus prayed that His disciples would be sanctified by truth, declaring, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17). The Bible gives believers a standard to test teachings, beliefs, and ideas (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1).
• Romans 12:2 calls believers to be transformed by the renewing of their minds. Scripture reshapes how we understand God, ourselves, the world, sin, suffering, relationships, and purpose.
• Paul gives one of the clearest statements about Scripture's purpose: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). He then explains the purpose: “so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:17). The Bible teaches, confronts, corrects, trains, and equips us.
• Reading the Bible is not a checklist item—we are not done just by reading it; rather, God calls us to respond to what we read in His Word (James 1:22—25).
• Paul says Scripture was written for our instruction “so that we may have hope through endurance and the encouragement from the Scriptures” (Romans 15:4). Knowing and reading God's Word helps us live with hope in Him.
• Romans 10:17 connects faith with hearing the message about Christ. Proclaiming God's Word is one way people hear and respond to the gospel.
• God's ultimate purpose for believers is conformity to Christ (Romans 8:29). Reading the Bible directs believers toward Christ's character, teaching, example, and commands. As Paul says, God's Word trains believers in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16–17).

implications for today

We live in a world overflowing with opinions, advice, algorithms, podcasts, headlines, and competing ideas about how we should think and live. If we don't intentionally fill our minds with God’s truth, something else will. Reading the Bible is not about checking a religious box or simply gaining more information—it is about allowing God’s Word to shape how we see Him, ourselves, other people, and the world around us.

That means Bible reading should be more than something we do when we have extra time. When we regularly read, meditate on, and obey Scripture, we give God’s truth a voice in our everyday decisions. The Bible corrects us when we are wrong, encourages us when we are discouraged, gives wisdom when we are uncertain, exposes lies we have begun to believe, and reminds us of promises we are tempted to forget.

But reading the Bible is not the finish line. James 1:22 warns us to be “doers of the word and not hearers only.” The goal is not simply to know what the Bible says, but to let what it says change how we live.