Why Do Christians Need To Know The Bible?

Why is it so important for each and every born-again believer to know the Bible – to read it and to study it and to feed on it daily? The reading and following of the Bible is so, so much more important than following the traditional liturgical formulae of man! Following the traditional liturgies of man leads to spiritual death, following the Bible in Christ Jesus leads to eternal life!

The Word of God has always been with us, right from the creation of everything! How do we know this?

John 1:1-4 (NIV – brackets mine) 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He (Jesus) was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.

In the above verses it is made quite clear that the Word was with God at the very beginning and so was Jesus his Son. If we look a little further down chapter one, we see this in verse 14.

John 1:14 (NIV) 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

So, here we have it and it couldn’t be any clearer! Jesus is the Word! The Son who came to earth in the flesh to redeem mankind – a living sacrifice through whom man is forgiven and receives eternal life!

When we read and study the Bible we get to know the very essence of our Lord and Saviour and in the power of the Holy Spirit we can do even greater things than he did. Our foundation as a born again Christian is the Bible, God's Word and the Word that became flesh - Jesus Christ!

John 14:12, 15-18 (NIV) 

12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

In verse 15 above Jesus tells us that if love him and keep his commands (the teachings of the Bible) the Father will give us the Holy Spirit to help us forever more! What an amazing comfort that is!

In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter 8 in the Old Testament, Moses is talking to the Israelites just before they are about to go in and possess the Promised Land and is exhorting them to be obedient to God’s instructions. In verse three he says this to them:

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NIV)
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Here we see that God humbled Israel in their Wilderness journey in order to teach them the importance of obeying His Word to the T! It is not good enough to have a full belly and have clothes on our backs and then to forget being obedient to the Word which is the bread of life – it feeds our spirit and soul! Physical food keeps the body alive for our period of time on earth, but the Bible (His Word) feeds our spirit and soul unto eternal life and beyond!

It is also interesting to note that this is the same passage of scripture that Jesus uses to overcome Satan during his period of temptation in the wilderness just before He began his ministry on earth. Knowledge of the Bible is a crucial part of the Christian’s armoury in defeating the attacks of Satan and his minions!

Matt 4:4 (NIV) 

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Now let’s carry on in the New Testament and have a look at what the Apostle Paul tells the young man Timothy about the importance of knowing the Bible.

2 Timothy 3:16-17Amplified Bible (AMP) 

16 All Scripture is God-breathed [given by divine inspiration] and is profitable for instruction, for conviction [of sin], for correction [of error and restoration to obedience], for training in righteousness [learning to live in conformity to God’s will, both publicly and privately—behaving honorably with personal integrity and moral courage]; 17 so that the [a]man of God may be complete and proficient, outfitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So, let’s now analyse these two verses piece by piece. The Bible is:

• God-breathed – given by divine inspiration to men under the power of the Holy Spirit who is the breath of God.
• It instructs us in all things.
• It convicts us of sin – we should be measuring our lifestyle against the word of God.
• It helps us to correct wrong things in our lives and restores us to obedience to God.
• It trains us on how to live righteous lives.
• It equips us, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to do the good works that God has predestined us to do.

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Why else should we know the Bible?

1.  Like Jesus, it is flawless and without error. It guides us to maturity in our faith and our daily Christian walk.

2 Samuel 22:31(NIV)

“As for God, his way is perfect:
    The Lord’s word is flawless;
    he shields all who take refuge in him.

 

Psalm 119:160 (NIV)

All your words are true;
    all your righteous laws are eternal.

 

Proverbs30:5 (NIV)

“Every word of God is flawless;
    he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

 

2.  We should live on it – Deuteronomyt 8:3 and Matthew 4:4 (These verses are quoted previously in the article)

 

3.  We need to fix the Word in our hearts and minds so that it will always be with us in our souls.

Deuteronomy 11:18b (NIV) 

Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds;

 

4.  We should live by it.

Psalm 119:9 (NIV)

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
    By living according to your word.

 

5.  It leads us and guides us and keeps us on the path of righteousness.

Psalm 119:105, 130

¹⁰⁵ Your word is a lamp for my feet,
    a light on my path.

 

¹³⁰ The unfolding of your words gives light;
    it gives understanding to the simple.

 

6.    It brings life, good health and healing.

 

Proverbs  4:20-22 (NIV)

²⁰ My son, pay attention to what I say;
    turn your ear to my words.
²¹ Do not let them out of your sight,
    keep them within your heart;
²² for they are life to those who find them
    and health to one’s whole body.

 

7.    It accomplishes what God desires.

Isaiah 55:11 (NIV)

¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
it will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

 

8.    The Word will last forever when all else has passed.

Matthew 24:35 (NIV)

³⁵ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

 

9.    The Word has always been with God – John 1:1 (Verse already quoted)

 

10.  THE WORD IS JESUS – John 1:14 (Verse already quoted)

11.  It is the words of eternal life in Christ Jesus.

John 6:68 (NIV)

⁶⁸ Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 

 

12.  It is the sword of the spirit to defeat the evil one. Like Jesus did – quote the          Bible to defeat the evil one.

 

Ephesians 6:17 (NIV)

¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

 

13.  It needs to live in us as part of our daily Holy Living.

 

Colossians3:16 (NIV)

¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

 

14.  It moulds us and shapes us into who God needs us to become in Christ Jesus.    The more we read and study the Bible and understand it, the more we will be      conformed to Christ's image.

Heb 4:12-13 (NIV)

¹² For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. ¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

 

15.  We need to do what the Word says and not merely listen to it or just read it.        We need to put the Word into action in our lives daily! Jesus blesses us when      we do this.

Luke 11:28 (NIV)

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

James 1:22 (NIV)

²² Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

16.  When we study the Word we are able to present ourselves to God as those             who are approved because we will be able to handle the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 (NIV)

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

17.  Knowledge of the Word will keep us from being deceived by false prophets               and teachers.

Jesus himself warns us against these people. When you know the Truth of the Word, you will be able to spot them easily. Stay away from them!

Matthew 7:15 (NKJV)

 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

Matthew 24:24-25 (NKJV)

24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand.

The Apostle Paul also give us a stern warning about those that preach a false gospel. If you don't know the Bible you will not know what is true and what is false!

Galatians 1:6-9 (NKJV)

6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert[a] the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be [b]accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.

When we know the Word for ourselves we will not be deceived by false prophets and teachers. There are many of them in the world today. They are wolves in sheep's clothing and do jot have the things of God in mind. 

If we don’t know God’s Word, then we’ll never know God’s ways and consequently we will never know who we are in Christ Jesus – we will never be truly conformed to His image and we will be easily deceived by false teachings.

Rom 8:29 (NIV) 

29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.

 

Prayer:

Lord, I pray in Jesus name that your Word would come alive to me. I pray that it would bring me healing, understanding, wisdom and above all your love, love that would be manifest in me and through me to reach the lost. O Lord write your words indelibly on my heart and lead me in all truth by the power of the Holy Spirit that I may truly be conformed to your image and be a blessing to this world. Amen.

 To Jesus belongs all glory, honour and praise!

Jesus the Name above all names!

Remember: Reading this article is not excuse for you not to read and study the Bible for yourselves. My word is flawed the Bible is not!

Last updated: 22 April 2024