Author: Blake Long
One of the most important spiritual disciplines—if not the most important—is that of reading Scripture. The Bible is God’s Word, and tells us everything we need to know for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3).
And yet, we find ourselves struggling to read it, neglecting to study it, forgetting to meditate on it. When that happens despair can set in quickly and frustration lingers. I’ve felt this, and I’m sure you do, too. Consequently, we inevitably ask, “Do we really need to read the Bible every day?”
It’s always good to ask questions about our intake of the Bible, but I fear this one misses the mark. In other words, it’s not the right question to ask. But first, let me answer the question.
So, do we have to read the Bible every day? The short answer is No, of course not. Reading the Bible daily is not a law of God. You’re no more justified when you read daily compared to when you don’t. Your justification before God falls not on how consistently you read Scripture but on the merits—life, death, and resurrection—of Jesus Christ.
That’s the first part. No, you don’t have to read the Bible every day. It’s not a formal command. There’s no “Thou shalt read Scripture daily, or else.” I don’t believe you’re sinning by not reading the Bible daily.
If we neglect our Bibles, we do damage to our spiritual health. The dustier our Bibles get, the dustier our hearts become.
But that’s where the fine line is drawn. That’s where we say the original question misses the point. We shouldn’t be asking if we have to read our Bibles each day. We should want to, and here are a few reasons why.
We ought to read our Bibles everyday because it is our spiritual sustenance. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus says to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread,” (Matthew 6:11). As breathing keeps us alive physically, reading our Bibles—studying, meditating, memorizing, etc.—keeps us alive spiritually. If we neglect our Bibles, we do damage to our spiritual health. The dustier our Bibles get, the dustier our hearts become.
We ought to read our Bibles everyday because it plays a pivotal role in our sanctification. It’s quite clear that we become more like Jesus through saturating ourselves with Scripture. The more we read the Bible, the more holy we will be. (Yes, it’s possible to read to merely puff ourselves up with knowledge—that’s another issue.) God doesn’t just save us and pick us up to Heaven; He chooses to shape and mold us into the image of His Son, and one the best ways He does that is through Christians immersing ourselves in the Bible.
We ought to read our Bibles everyday because God convicts our hearts through Scripture. When we read the Bible with fresh eyes and hearts, there will be something that convicts us. We need to be convicted. That is part of becoming more like Jesus. We feel conviction and repent, and progress more in holiness. Don’t despise conviction, but embrace it. When God chips away at our hearts through reading the Bible, it might hurt, and that’s okay.
We ought to read our Bibles everyday because, ultimately, it all points to Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are about Jesus Christ, not us. We read the Bible because it points us to the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. What we behold, we become.
We ought to read our Bibles because, if we believe in its inspiration, authority, and infallibility, then God is speaking to us. If we really believed that God speaks to us through Scripture, then reading the Bible shouldn’t be such a hassle. It shouldn’t be a fight; it shouldn’t be an afterthought sometimes. God—our Father, our Creator, our Savior, our Lord—has spoken to us in the Bible. That is a thrilling fact which should captivate our lives!
“The Bible is not a dead letter. It is the living Word of God, which speaks to us as a divine voice calling us to Himself,” the late J.I. Packer wrote. “The Bible brings us into the presence of God, and in it, God reveals Himself and His will to us.”
Don’t be mistaken: many will accuse you of believing in the Father, Son, and the Holy Bible. By revering Scripture we’re not subsequently minimizing the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit illuminates our minds to glory in Christ through the Scriptures (1 Cor. 2:6-16).
Friends, make Bible-reading a priority in your life. God has given it as a gift to us to understand Him and His love and grace for us. And don’t just read—study, meditate, and memorize!