The Bible is not a book like any other. The Bible is uniquely God’s message to us, and as such has a power unlike any other to change and transform our lives. In this session we look at why the Bible is so important, how we should read it rightly, and consider why it can be difficult to read the Bible and what we can do about it.
Find out more about this course by watching the Introduction.
In this interview with Andy Brown, we talk about reading the Bible – with lots of practical advice for beginners.
This is an extract from the How to Live as a Christian episode about Bible reading.
Have you always wanted to read the Bible but have found it too difficult and given up? In this session we explore how to get started reading the Bible: what Bible should you use? When, and how? We also look at a few helpful resources to get you started!
Did you know – you can do the How to Live as a Christian course right here on the website!
I know that the Bible is a big book, and it might seem difficult to know even where to start. I’ve found that books can be one of the most helpful things when learning to read the Bible. A good book can open your eyes and encourage you in your faith. But how do you know which books to choose? There are hundreds of thousands of Christian books available, and more are being published all the time! How do you know which are the best ones?
Let me help you. I’ve chosen five books which I think will help you to understand the Bible, even if you’re a complete beginner. I hope these give a good cross-section, so together they will help you understand the Bible and Christianity more broadly.
Before we begin, there is just one thing I’d like to say: when you’re looking for books, please don’t look simply for new books! C.S. Lewis, the Christian author most famous for his Chronicles of Narnia books, once wrote an essay about why you should read old books. It’s well worth reading. I’ve tried to include here older and newer books, but my suggestion is to try to read tried-and-tested books alongside modern books.
All that said, let’s get into it!
The first book I would recommend is… the Bible! But not just any old Bible – I would suggest beginning with a study Bible. What is a study Bible? Alongside the actual text of the Bible, it has notes which help to explain things in the text. Good study Bibles will often have other articles in them to help introduce Biblical themes, as well as introducing each book of the Bible. I would suggest that a good study Bible is the most useful thing you can buy to start understanding the Bible.
So, which study Bibles are good? There are two which I would recommend – the Zondervan NIV Study Bible and the ESV Study Bible (both available in various different editions). I have personally used the ESV Study Bible but I have heard good things about the NIV Study Bible also. I believe there is little to choose between them, apart from your particular translation preference. I use the NIV translation of the Bible day-to-day and in all the Understand the Bible videos. If you’re new to the Bible, I would recommend it as a good general purpose, easy-to-read version. (The other one I recommend which is a bit easier to read is the New Living Translation. There is an NLT Study Bible, but I don’t know much about it. If you use the NLT, you might want to check it out!)
The next thing on my list is a book to help you read the Bible day-by-day. There are lots of daily Bible reading notes. I know some people use the Bible in One Year App to help them. My suggestion for one book to begin with is Through the Bible Through the Year by John Stott. John Stott was a very capable Bible teacher, who for years was the rector of a large church in London. What I really like about this book is that it’s not complicated: for each day you have a short Bible reading and a page explaining it. It takes you through the whole Bible (in short!) and you focus on the Christmas and Easter passages at those times.
I think this book is a really good way of getting into reading the Bible every day and helping you understand it.
There are also lots of daily devotionals, you can see a round up of some of them here.
Another thing that will really help you to understand the Bible is a Bible overview. It’s so helpful to be able to pick up a Bible and know, whichever book you’re reading, roughly where it comes in the timeline of the Bible and how it fits in with the big picture. In fact, the What is Christianity? course on Understand the Bible is basically a mini-Bible overview. The most helpful thing I’ve ever done in understanding the Bible was an ‘Introduction to the Bible’ course, which was basically a Bible overview. It really does help put things together.
My suggestion for a Bible overview is God’s Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts. It’s a readable overview of how the whole Bible fits together, looking at it through the perspective of God’s Kingdom.
This is also available as a video course (and we’ve run it in our church before).
As I’ve been writing this post, I’ve been thinking about the books which have been significant in my journey of understanding the Bible. There are lots of books which have been really helpful to me – but the most important thing hasn’t been any individual book (apart from the Bible itself!). The most significant thing is the day-by-day journeying with God, reading the Bible, praying, worshipping with other Christians, hearing sermons. It’s all significant in understanding the Bible.
I hope that these books will give you a head start. But remember that understanding the Bible is a journey, not a destination! In fact, I’d say that the more you understand the Bible, the more you realise there is to understand. It’s like walking into a building when it’s dark and thinking it’s only small, but then over time beginning to realise that it’s actually the size of a cathedral.
The most important thing is never to give up. God rewards those who seek him. As Jesus said:
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Matthew 7:7-8
Want more? You might enjoy the What is Christianity course, which is a short Bible overview.
You might also enjoy the How to Live as a Christian series (which is also a video course). Part three of that course is about reading the Bible.
What books have been the most helpful for you in understanding the Bible? Let us know in the comments below! 👇
As a beginner, how do you start to read the Bible? And where should you start? And what version of the Bible should you use? All these questions, and more, covered here! This is the third part of the How to Live as a Christian video course. This is a course aimed at beginners or those new to faith about the basics of living a Christian life.
If you’re interested in Christianity and reading the Bible but you don’t know where to start, this would be good for you.
I mention this in the video, but if you’d like some help I have just started a Learn to read the Bible series. This is aimed at helping beginners to start reading the Bible for themselves. The idea is to help you learn to read the Bible for yourself. It’s not about giving you all the answers, but how to think so you can read the Bible on your own.
All the resources to help you get started reading the Bible are listed on this page.
The particular book I mentioned is Through the Bible Through the Year by John Stott.
This is a very helpful book which takes you through the whole Bible in a year. He gives you a short verse to read every day with a couple of paragraphs about it. I think it’s a brilliant resource for people new to the Bible. The late John Stott was a wonderful Bible teacher with a gift for communication.
This is a video I’ve had on my mind to do for a while, and since I finished the Heidelberg Catechism yesterday, I thought I’d do it today!
This is a simple habit which I personally have found hugely beneficial spiritually, and I’d like to share it with you all as well.
