Should Everyone Read the Bible from Cover-to-Cover

[maintenance man]

There’s no question in my mind that everyone will benefit from reading the Bible from cover-to-cover. Seeing how it all fits together from beginning to end is a window into the miraculous nature of God.

But…

To fully grasp what you are reading you need a qualified teacher who can make sure you don’t miss the connections that can be overlooked by the casual reader.

Nevertheless…

It is the Word of God and it will speak to you if you slow down and listen as you read.

Therefore…

Should everyone make an attempt to read the Bible from cover-to-cover or is learning from qualified teachers and reading specific sections enough?

 

[TuxAme]

Speaking as a non-non-denominational, this is the method that I tried to use. I signed up for a Bible course in college and that disrupted those plans a bit (I had to skip the entirety of the Psalms), but for the most part I was able to stick to it. It's the method that I would suggest- how will you know why Jesus came if you start at Matthew?

 

[Arielle Hernandez]

I personally believe that a Christian should try to read the Bible from cover-to-cover at least once. It may take months or years depending on the person and the level of their understanding, but it should be done to fully grasp the nature of God. I know some people who have read the entire Bible three or four times already. I also know some people (like me) who take their time, researching and looking deeply into verses, re-reading chapters and stories to fully grasp concepts, and asking questions to a personal teacher, pastor, or just searching them up online.

Whatever the case, no matter how long it takes, I think the Bible should be read from front to back at least once by every Christian.

 

[Halbhh]

There’s no question in my mind that everyone will benefit from reading the Bible from cover-to-cover. Seeing how it all fits together from beginning to end is a window into the miraculous nature of God.

But…

To fully grasp what you are reading you need a qualified teacher who can make sure you don’t miss the connections that can be overlooked by the casual reader.

Nevertheless…

It is the Word of God and it will speak to you if you slow down and listen as you read.

Therefore…

Should everyone make an attempt to read the Bible from cover-to-cover or is learning from qualified teachers and reading specific sections enough?

My repeated experience is that learning from others, you'd have to get lucky enough to have an unusually good teacher to even get it mostly correct, but....there is a deeper issue than only getting the connections correctly or even many of them. There is the effect of listening to Christ that happens on you, when you do listening to Him.

As He said to His disciples:

"You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you."
John 15:3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.

and

John 10:27 My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.

See, getting things 2nd hand isn't even close to this for the gospels at least. There's no substitute that comes close. Not a priest, nor a bishop, nor a great teacher, like Alistair Begg, Pope Francis, you name em -- not enough.

We need more.

We need to have the impact of Christ's words get past our mere intellect and mere understanding, and hit us, and dwell in us.

So, for the 4 gospels, read some each day, until you've read them through, taking your time. It's good to stop when you feel the need to dwell on what He just said to you, even just 1 verse. Some days it will be 1 or 2 verses and you're full, and cannot continue until you've had time with that 1 or 2 verses. I find sometimes I read a whole chapter, but the best days of all are the blessed days are when I read 2 verses and cannot continue, because I'm so full.

 

[com7fy8]

To fully grasp what you are reading you need a qualified teacher

I wouldn't say every person needs to or must read the whole Bible. But . . . take your time and stay prayerful while you go end-to-end, but also pick and choose different places for special attention, including listening to a sermon and checking out scripture which the preacher gives.

But . . . yes it is good to have a good teacher, but we need how God changes and matures us so we can get things more and more well.

 

[danbuter]

I think a good study bible is a great help, even for groups. Having even one other person reading with you and talking about the bible is a huge benefit, though. If you can, each of you read a different translation and then compare them together. You'll learn a lot. I'm pretty iffy on "teachers", as the few I've met tend to have an agenda. Also, every Christian should at least read the New Testament.

 

[Hazelelponi]

It depends.. I read Bible verses but not cover to cover before I was saved.. I didn't even have a bible til after I was saved..

My teacher, the person who taught me about Christianity, is now my husband. He really was quite helpful in understanding the Christian God and seeing this God as a true God. (That was monumental)

But to get to salvation I needed little from the Bible itself since I didn't believe in the Book until literally the moment I was saved.

But, I think once we come to salvation we should read the Bible. Hosea 4:6 tells us knowledge is essential to faith..and I absolutely agree. Otherwise you'll be blown around in the wind every which way..

Where we get that knowledge we have to be careful about.. I don't do blind following of random preachers, our knowledge should be from the Holy Spirit and in agreement with sound teaching of the written Word.

But should we see the Bible as a book just once and coinciding with in-depth expounding of the Word? Yes.. absolutely..

That's a convoluted route to say yes isn't it? Lol..

 

[com7fy8]

I'm pretty iffy on "teachers", as the few I've met tend to have an agenda.

The ones I am concerned about are teachers who constantly keep talking about certain conclusions they have drawn and they use various scriptures only to keep bringing up those subjects and ideas. This is what I call "fingerprint" teachings, which the teacher always puts on any lessons that teacher gives. This often happens in denominations which have divisive ideas which others do not have, plus there can be movements in which any scripture study keeps being used to bring attention to things of that movement.

Instead, be open as you read and feed. As we grow, we become able to discover more and better, and not always the exact same handful of conclusions everywhere we go in the Bible.

 

[dqhall]

There’s no question in my mind that everyone will benefit from reading the Bible from cover-to-cover. Seeing how it all fits together from beginning to end is a window into the miraculous nature of God.

But…

To fully grasp what you are reading you need a qualified teacher who can make sure you don’t miss the connections that can be overlooked by the casual reader.

Nevertheless…

It is the Word of God and it will speak to you if you slow down and listen as you read.

Therefore…

Should everyone make an attempt to read the Bible from cover-to-cover or is learning from qualified teachers and reading specific sections enough?

I read the Bible from cover to cover when I was in my early 20's. I was not able to remember much of what I read. Later I studied Biblical archaeology, Biblical geography and ancient Near Eastern history. It helped me organize my thoughts about the Bible. I used books by professors and attended Biblical archaeology lectures in the DC area. One should look for good teachers, their books, classes, sermons or lectures.

In the past week I read Jeremiah. Then I was encouraged to start reading Isaiah. Today I found the part about the lion and the lamb living in harmony. There was a passage about God is going to swallow up death. It looked like eternity. If you keep finding good passages, suppose you will want to keep reading.

 

[Not David]

I read the whole Bible once but I did it with notes, otherwise I wouldn't have understood anything or I would had a wrong concept about God.
"…30So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31“How can I, he said, “unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.32The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so He did not open His mouth." (Acts 8:31-32)

 

[Lost4words]

A good 'teacher' would be advantageous. This, i find in the Catholic church. If i want to understand what i am reading i only have to read up on how the church interprets it. I can then dwell on it and see what it means to me.

 

[eleos1954]

There’s no question in my mind that everyone will benefit from reading the Bible from cover-to-cover. Seeing how it all fits together from beginning to end is a window into the miraculous nature of God.

But…

To fully grasp what you are reading you need a qualified teacher who can make sure you don’t miss the connections that can be overlooked by the casual reader.

Nevertheless…

It is the Word of God and it will speak to you if you slow down and listen as you read.

Therefore…

Should everyone make an attempt to read the Bible from cover-to-cover or is learning from qualified teachers and reading specific sections enough?

I think it best to study Gods word topically, especially for a new believer. By reading topically it provides for a overall biblical view on a particular subject of interest which varies from person to person. I also believe self-study is paramount regardless of being taught by "qualified teachers".

Acts 17
for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if these teachings were true.

All should be searching the scriptures daily to see if teachings are true.

May the Lord lead all through the truth of His word. Amen

God Bless.

 

[Halbhh]

A good 'teacher' would be advantageous. This, i find in the Catholic church. If i want to understand what i am reading i only have to read up on how the church interprets it. I can then dwell on it and see what it means to me.

I agree the Catholic church has very excellent teaching and expansion on the scriptures.

But it's still not enough to only read/hear good teaching, to learn what Christ taught. Why? Please see post #4

 

[salt-n-light]

There’s no question in my mind that everyone will benefit from reading the Bible from cover-to-cover. Seeing how it all fits together from beginning to end is a window into the miraculous nature of God.

But…

To fully grasp what you are reading you need a qualified teacher who can make sure you don’t miss the connections that can be overlooked by the casual reader.

Nevertheless…

It is the Word of God and it will speak to you if you slow down and listen as you read.

Therefore…

Should everyone make an attempt to read the Bible from cover-to-cover or is learning from qualified teachers and reading specific sections enough?

What do you mean by enough?

The Bible speaks about the most important question ever: who you are. It shouldn't be a lesser important thing for someone to read cover to cover than a newspaper or a non-fiction book.

Now, is it a requirement for salvation to know everything? No. But it should be a desire to know more about who God is and who you are. So if it means that you will need guidance to understand what you are reading and places to discuss and growth and link with the experiences of your life, then it won't be enough to read "specific sections". The Bible cross-reference each other in the scriptures, and it is also living, it's never stagnant or limited, there is always a need to reference or study it.

 

[SaintCody777]

The whole Bible should be eventually read. I am already on my own Bible plan. Right now, I almost finished all of the gospel of Mark.
While I know that the Old Testament is an essential important part of the Bible, I do not know where to start there.But I can start at Genesis and after Genesis, read Proverbs or Psalams and then read Exodus, Leviticus, etc. I know the OT is important to be the Bible because of course, how it all started, how sin entered the world, and what God used to do with certain men to try to keep themselves pure. I also know the OT has prophecies of Christ, including the crucification, virgin birth, and ressuruction.
I also use some Christian websites to pinpoint me to specific topics quickly. I also use them to learn how to edify myself and how I should live and act as a babe in Christ. One good site I use is biblereasons.com and gotquestions.org.
However, its also very important that whatever you read online and whatever cited Bible sources there you find, check with the Bible yourself to see if that's true. For instance, if any Bible based website like those two I mentioned cites specific verses about a specific topic or theology, make sure you read the context of those verses and consider them in light of the rest of the Bible to make sure its biblically correct (Acts 17:11; Galatians 1:8-9; 1 John 4:1).

 

[maintenance man]

What do you mean by enough?

I've been reading the Bible for decades and have not yet had enough; however, there seem to be many who are satisfied with a view verses here and there.

I personally believe everyone should read the Bible from cover-to-cover without any help from anyone other than the Holy Spirit.

Then I believe they should read it again with the help of well-qualified teachers.

Then I believe they should start a specific study of books in the Bible that have been placed on their heart to study.

At the same time, they should continue to seek out well-qualified teachers who have written books on those sections of the Bible they are studying.

That would be my recommendation.