The Beginner's Guide To Reading The Bible

A 5-step guide to reading the Bible

Photo by madeleine ragsdale on Unsplash

Sitting down across from my new mentor in the student union building at my college, he pulled out his Bible. It was a large book. The pages were worn with use. There was writing all over the inside of it and highlighter marks. It was crazy to see how much he had written in it.

He was flipping through the pages to share something with me when I finally had to stop him. Looking at the worn pages, writing, and the fact that this book was thousands of pages long, I became extremely overwhelmed.

I told him that exact thing. He smiled kindly. Then he explained something to me which has stuck with me for years. He listed them out on a piece of paper which helped me understand more about this book I have come to love.

• The Bible is a library of books. Different human authors wrote them. They are yet, inspired by God, the creator of all things.
• Each book of the Bible fits into a literary style. Some books are history, some are poetry, and some are teaching.
• There are two main sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament tells of the time before Jesus. The New Testament tells us of the time of Jesus and beyond.
• The Bible is one continuous narrative…