Do you have to read the Bible? Well… no actually. You are allowed to not read the Bible and call yourself a Christian. That seems like a weird statement, but technically it’s true. You can do a lot of things I wouldn’t recommend and call yourself a Christian. We’re not here to find the minimum requirements of being a Christian, however; we want to be disciples of Jesus.

The Bible is one unified Story that leads to Jesus and if you want to be a disciple of Jesus you need to know the full story. Beyond the Bible itself Church history helps us see the value of scripture. The history of the church tells the story of the thousands of people that came before us who literally died to make the Bible publically available and accessible. Battles were fought over this, people martyred, and millions upon millions of hours given to the translation of the Bible. All of this so that we could have access to it. It’s that important.

Why would people give their lives for a bunch of old books? The Bible isn’t just some random stories that provide good advice for your life. The Bible is the story of God’s unceasing, eternal, and redemptive love chasing after humanity- chasing after YOU!

So yes, you don’t have to read the Bible. No one is going to knock your door down and force you to read it, but if there is a chance that it is even a fraction as valuable as I have described- don’t you think it’s worth a read? Jesus thought it was worth his time.

Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” —Luke 14: 6-21

Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Growth Challenge- Study the Bible

Open your Bible or Bible app and find this scripture.
Write out the scripture that Jesus quoted. Circle and underline things that stood out to you. Write out questions you have about this quote.
Contemplate what it means that Jesus is fulfilling this scripture and that all scripture is connected. Think about how blessed we are to have access to scripture. Pray.

Make it a practice to ask questions and write out scripture when you’re studying if it’s helpful.