Why should I personally study the Bible?

We know we should study the Bible. It’s something that’s been told to us time and time again. And we know that it’s important. That’s not the problem. The problem is honestly answering this question for ourselves: why?

We’re not asking why theoretically. And we’re not asking it to gain more knowledge. We need the reason to change who we are at our core.

Because until we know and believe the answer, it doesn’t matter if we think we should study the Bible. If there’s not a good reason that we truly believe matters, the beautiful book of the words from God will end up continuing to sit on the dusty shelf.

So…why?

There are so many reasons, but three cover the gist of it. 

First, we study the Bible because it’s how we listen to God. How many times have we had something go on in our lives and we say, “I just wish God would send me an answer from the sky.” I wonder how many times God wants to say, “But I gave you a whole book of my answers!!” It’s almost as if we’ve become desensitized to what the Bible actually is. The Bible is literally God’s words to us. When we say we just need to listen to God, we don’t just sit and meditate and let our mind wander around to come up with a lightbulb idea that will change how we live. We listen to God by reading what he’s given us. And we don’t just read it as a newspaper, discarding it after one use. The Bible is like a precious manuscript, a precious map that nothing else in this world can replace. If we lost it, we would be lost. It’s living and breathing*. Its words can’t be discarded because they are sustained by the Giver of Life himself. If we as humans want to make it in the world covered by sin, we need the illuminated map of the Bible to show us the way. And we need to know it - by studying it diligently.

Second, we study the Bible because you don’t go into battle without a sword. It’d be a little ridiculous to see a fully armed soldier run into the fray of the worst fight ever with… nothing. The soldier just stands there, untrained and unprepared to attack the enemy. That is us standing against the devil if we don’t study the Bible. The Bible is our sword* — and not just as a cool imagery we learned when we were younger. This is real! We are literally fighting for our spiritual lives every day of our lives. Evil doesn’t take a day off. So we can’t afford to either. By studying the Bible constantly, we know how to not only keep evil at bay, but defeat it! Otherwise, we’re just as doomed as if we didn’t know the Bible.

Which brings us to our last reason we study the Bible: to truly know God and have a relationship with him… because he’s the only one who will fulfill the emptiness we’re so desperately trying to fill. Have you ever felt it so painfully you wanted to scream? It’s an emptiness that makes you restless and you’re trying so hard to find that one thing that will soothe your soul. The devastating thing is if we never take time to know God through the Bible, we will literally die hopeless. It’s why it’s so important to share God, through his Word, with the world! Our relationship with God is what we are longing for more than anything else. Satan tries to cover it up and trick us into thinking God is boring or old-fashioned or no longer relevant to what we need. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. God is the only way out. And by studying his Truth in the Bible (his Word that is able to discern our thoughts and intentions!*), we are able to live a life full of hope — now and into eternity.

There are so many other reasons why the Bible is important. You may think of more! The bottom line is when we have a very real and personal reason to study the Bible, it comes naturally. The Truth remains whether you study it or not: you need God’s Word. The question is, will you know it or will you know it?

*For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12