Reading and Studying the BIBLE

This is a companion post to my article, “A Few Big Picture BIBLE Verses.” As I wrote in that post, I often see new Christians online asking how to go about getting started with reading and studying the BIBLE.

The purpose of the BIBLE is to show you how to be acceptable to GOD so you can live with HIM in eternity. It presents as much as we are allowed to know (for sure) about GOD's purposes for the earth and for mankind. Unfortunately, many people, believers and unbelievers alike, never read the BIBLE. The Bible says “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Can you imagine showing up on judgement day and explaining to JESUS that you never bothered to read the BIBLE – not even one book?

Back before PCs, you needed a small library of expensive books to do a deep dive into the BIBLE. Today, these study materials are available to everyone on software – largely for FREE. Studying the BIBLE has never been easier. 

I have been using a free BIBLE Study software program for years called eSword. Dozens of BIBLES (in various languages), commentaries, concordances, and BIBLE dictionaries can be downloaded to your computer for free, from right inside the program. The only paid modules are for books that are still under copyright. If that wasn’t enough, there is a website called Biblesupport.com that has many more free addons for eSword. I particularly like Bob Utley’s commentary.

The Discovery BIBLE is another program that I really like. It is designed to give instant access to the definition of each word and can give you a flavor for how the grammatical nuances of the original languages affect translation. While it is expensive, there is a special link on their site where they try to make the program available to people for what they can afford to spend. 

Understand that the idea is to get more spiritual insight into the BIBLE, not to try to become an armchair academic expert or keyboard debate warrior. 

Where to Start Reading - Matthew Chapters 5 - 7

The BIBLE has two main parts. The Old Testament, where GOD revealed the basics of right and wrong and the New Testament, where JESUS gives a spiritual reinterpretation of the Old Testament, i.e., "love GOD and prove it by loving your neighbor as yourself." As such, the New Testament is the best place to start. Matthew, Chapters 5, 6, and 7, presents the gospel message in just 3 pages. Famously known as the Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount, JESUS tells us how the New Testament supersedes the Old and what the actions and attitudes of Christians should be, if they expect to be saved.

From there, I suggest reading all of Matthew from the beginning (less than 35 pages in most print BIBLES). Then read the Revelation of John. Revelation is the last and hardest book of the BIBLE – you won’t understand most of it (no one does). Revelation is the endtime message that everyone needs to be aware of - it will make you realize that things are very serious. Once you have read some of the BIBLE for yourself, explore some of the free study materials, like Utley’s Commentary, to see what BIBLE teachers have said about those books. (Note that some commentaries interpret the BIBLE from a denominational, or worse, an academic unbeliever’s perspective. IMHO, Utley is honest, unbiased, and a believer as well. It's amazing that his commentary is free.)

Electronic Content to Download

If you speak English, use a “modern English” BIBLE version for easy reading. The English Standard Version (ESV) is good and is free in eSword. The most recent New International Version (NIV, 2011) is also a good plain English translation (paid). You may have heard people say you must read a specific BIBLE version, typically the King James Version. While I love the King James, the two versions above are much easier to understand - if for no other reason than that they don’t use obsolete 17th century words. Amplified Bibles are also good for new Christians - they add clarifying words to the text. 

Is GOD at War with satan?

First of all, is satan real? Some preachers and denominations teach that hell isn’t real; some won’t even mention satan. Christians in such churches generally don’t want to hear anything that takes them out of their “comfort zone,” where they assume that their salvation is a given. Nevertheless, the BIBLE mentions hell more than 100 times. JESUS himself mentioned the existence of satan, the devil, the “evil one,” 83 times in the New Testament (ASV). HE mentioned the existence of demons 46 times. If you don’t believe in satan, then it has to be said… you don’t believe the BIBLE. Rev 12:9  Mat 4:1-11

So, is GOD at war with satan? Surprisingly, the answer is no, not really. GOD can crush satan like a bug any time HE chooses. satan however, is trying to fight a war of rebellion against GOD and since he can’t actually do anything to GOD, he attacks what GOD loves. “satan vs GOD” is really satan vs you. 

satan is out to destroy you as a way to oppose and hurt GOD, because GOD loves you and wants you with him. satan wages his war against us using ignorance, temptation, negative emotion, lies, and unbelief – often injecting evil thoughts directly into our minds. 2Cor 4:4  His goal is to make us unfit for eternal life with GOD by getting us to defile our bodies and souls. Rev 20:11-15  Rev 21:22-27  Every time we are convinced to sin, satan wins a victory over us. People often don’t accept or even know that they are in sin – they may know something is wrong or that they don’t feel right, but they don’t know why. In many areas of life, we have been trained by modern society to obey satan without a second thought.

It is, of course, one of the great mysteries of the BIBLE that GOD loves us and wants us to be saved; but still, HE allows satan to sponsor all the evil we see on earth, and to test us through temptation and hardship.  

Many people can’t accept the fact that although we have the ability to think, our minds are not able to comprehend GOD’s motives or HIS plan. Aside from what we read in the BIBLE, we don’t know why GOD is testing us - other than to prove which of us will obey HIM out of our own free will. If we obey GOD with the right attitude (love), not only does HE provide protection for us here on earth, HE will allow us to move on to the next step - eternity in HIS presence. Heb 2:14-18  There we will learn what our true purpose is. Understand that heaven isn’t necessarily the end point – it may just be a stepping stone to another reality (without sin); a reality that we do not possess the capability to comprehend in our current states.