Why the Bible is so important – in the Bible’s own words
God Commands it!
“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth” (Deuteronomy 11:18-21).
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16).
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
“Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).
“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts” (Deuteronomy 6:6).
“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).
“These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come” (1 Corinthians 10:11).
“I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word” (Psalm 119:16).
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me” (John 5:39).
“Look in the scroll of the LORD and read” (Isaiah 34:16).
It is Divinely Inspired
“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
“For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Hebrews 1:1-2).
“Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses” (1 Kings 8:56).
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” (Luke 21:32-33).
“Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89).
“Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you” (Deuteronomy 4:2).
“Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar” (Proverbs 30:6).
“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8).
“…For you have exalted above all things your name and your word” (Psalm 138:2).
“But I the LORD will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay. For…I will fulfill whatever I say, declares the Sovereign LORD” (Ezekiel 12:25).
“I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (Matthew 5:18).
Study of God’s Word Brings Blessing and Reward
“Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).
“…The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward” (Psalm 19: 9b-11).
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24).
“He replied, ‘Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it’ ” (Luke 11:28).
“The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple” (Psalm 19:7).
“Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him’ ” (John 14:23).
“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Joshua 1:8).
“…the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers” (Psalm 1:1-3).
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever–the Spirit of truth” (John 14:15-17).
“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands” (1 John 2:3).
Rejection of God’s Word Leads to Death
“But they mocked God’s messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people and there was no remedy” (2 Chronicles 36:16).
“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. ‘Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children’ ” (Hosea 4:6).
“Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God’ ” (Matthew 22:29).
“To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the LORD is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it” (Jeremiah 6:10).
“Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts” (Zechariah 7:12, KJV).
“But to the wicked, God says: ‘What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you’ ” (Psalm 50: 16-17).
“And if anyone takes words away from this book of prophecy, God will take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book” (Revelation 22:19).
“A man who strays from the path of understanding comes to rest in the company of the dead” (Proverbs 21:16).
“Whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36).
“There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day” (John 12:48).
12 More Reasons to Read the Bible
1. The Bible Is FOOD for the Soul
“He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers 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” (Deuteronomy 8:3).
“I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread” (Job 23:12).
“How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103).
“Like newborn babies crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good” (1 Peter 2:2-3).
“When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God Almighty” (Jeremiah 15:16).
“Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare” (Isaiah 55:2).
2. Is powerful to SAVE
“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile” (Romans 1:16).
“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).
3. Is a MIRROR
“Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like” (James 1: 23-24).
4. Is a DISCERNER of the thoughts and intents of the heart
“For the word of God is living 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” (Hebrews 4:12).
5. Is a SEED, generative and life-giving
“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Peter 1:23).
“The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop–thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown” (Mark 4:14-20).
“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness” (2 Corinthians 9:10).
“He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him” (Psalm 126:6).
6. Is WATER, the power to purify
“…to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word…” (Ephesians 5:26).
“How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word” (Psalm 119:9).
“Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17).
“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart” (1 Peter 1:22).
7. Is a LAMP that illuminates and guides us
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path” (Psalm 119: 105).
“The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130).
“For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life” (Proverbs 6:23).
“And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19).
8. Is a consuming FIRE
‘They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” (Luke 24:32).
“But if I say, ‘I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jeremiah 20:9).
“I will make my words in your mouth a fire and these people the wood it consumes” (Jeremiah 5:14).
9. Is a HAMMER to break the hardened heart
” ‘Is not my word like fire,’ declares the LORD, ‘and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?’ ” Jeremiah 23:39
10. Is a SWORD; a weapon against the devil
“Take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).
“Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only’ ‘ ” (Matthew 4:10, emphasis ours).
“Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth” (Revelation 2:6).
11. Is the SOURCE OF FAITH
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).
“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3).
12. Is a LIFE-GIVING force
“He asked me, ‘Son of man, can these bones live?’ I said, ‘O Sovereign LORD, you alone know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones and say to them, `Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! This is what the Sovereign LORD says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD.’ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ‘ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet–a vast army” (Ezekiel 31:3-10).
“Then I passed by and saw you kicking about in your blood, and as you lay there in your blood I said to you, ‘Live!’ I made you grow like a plant of the field. You grew up and developed and became the most beautiful of jewels” (Ezekiel 16:6-7).
“Simon Peter answered him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life’ ” (John 6:68).
“But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).
“If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life” (Psalm 119:92-93).
“Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ “(Matthew 4:4).
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life” (John 5:24).
“I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death” (John 8:51).