Help! I Don’t Know How to Read My Bible, Part 1

August 31, 2022

If you read that title, you obviously know how to read. If you read that last sentence, you clearly know how to read.

This is not about reading aptitude. This is a spiritual matter. This is a question of regularly, consistently, meeting God in His Scriptures.

I have found in my time as a pastor that this, together with the frustration of establishing a vibrant and consistent prayer life, is one of the greatest areas of frustration and failure for virtually every believer.

Here is the all-too-often repeated process: A Christian who has not been committed to a daily intake of Scripture is compelled to make Scripture a part of their daily life. This often happens every January along with other “New Year’s Resolutions.” It is also common when a person either begins their new life in Christ through conversion, or an encounter with God has convinced them that they must now be serious and diligent in their walk of faith.

In either case, the individual now commits themselves to read their Bible daily. Let’s call them a New Reader. And here is where the difficulty begins.

I have witnessed almost countless times a New Reader sincerely commit to intake the Scriptures regularly, and more often than not, fail at this most noble of endeavors.

The Reasons We Find It Difficult

The single most common frustration in the daily Scripture intake of most believers is not difficulties in understanding the text. Nor is it the sin-confronting character of many passages. It’s not even the difficulty of finding the time in our busy schedules. The single most common frustration is the method of our Scripture intake. Often it could be said that the difficulty is the lack of method.

The Bible is a big book, and it can be intimidating. Where do I start? How do I progress through a book that is so large?

For many, the default approach is to start in Genesis and simply begin reading. This has been the starting point of many new readers that I have known. Sadly, it has also been their ending point.

Here’s the problem. Everything starts out well. The New Reader is excited―for perhaps the first time in their life―to commit themselves to the daily intake of the Scriptures. They have had their pastor emphasize to them the crucial nature of daily Scripture intake. They have had respected Christian friends echo these true and important sentiments. They have excitedly envisioned themselves being changed in their souls as they daily meet with God and learn of Him over their morning coffee. They have their Bible and notebook ready. They begin with the story of creation, and they are swept up in the narrative through the stories of Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Moses and the Hebrew midwives and the plagues and the smoking Mount Sinai held fast their fascination…

Then came Exodus 21. Suddenly it was like someone left the parking brake on.

They struggled through the next nineteen chapters, only to be met head on by that imposing book known as Leviticus. If they made it through Leviticus, they found Numbers ominously waiting. Few make it to Deuteronomy.

Frustration, confusion, a lack of connection to the Scriptures, and even―dare we admit it―boredom, all come together to spell crushing defeat for the New Reader. And this defeat teaches them the worst possible (untrue) lesson: the Scriptures aren’t for them after all. They were wrong. What they really need is a preacher to tell them what the Scriptures really mean or they need to find the right podcast, or read the right popular book, because they cannot simply apply themselves to the Scriptures on their own. Leviticus proved that to them.

The New Reader has now been robbed of the greatest treasure and spiritual lifeline on earth and that is no understatement. They are now left open and vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy, and more importantly, the sin in their own heart. They have no light, no lamp (Psalm 119:105). They are stumbling on a dark path, and losing their way will be sadly inevitable.

There Must Be a Better Way

Few things are more discouraging to a pastor than watching New Readers get excited about the Scriptures, only to see them spin their spiritual wheels in the mud, and after a few weeks (or for some, a few days) put the Scriptures back down, possibly to never pick them up in earnest again.

There must be a better way. God gave us the Scriptures for us to feed upon them―daily. God intends for every Christian to be a vibrant absorber of the Word.

Many times I have heard New Readers ask: How do I read my Bible? I have listened to well-meaning Christians answer this most important of questions with authoritative-sounding answers ranging from the overly-intellectual, “You have to get a good Study Bible”, to the overly-simplistic, “You need to read it chronologically”, or even, “Just pick a place and start.”

These mean well, but even the best of intentions can lead down the wrong path.

The Wrong Approach

The first thing for the New Reader to do is throw away those Read Through the Bible in a Year timelines. Forget the check off boxes. The intake of Scripture is not a timeline. It is not a list to complete.

I’ve read the Scriptures dozens of times through. I have yet to come across the verse that says we must read our Bible through once a year. I’m pretty sure it’s not there.

Don’t get me wrong, every Christian should read the entire Scriptures, and we should read them repetitively. But after watching so many New Readers struggle―and spending years struggling myself―I’m convinced that the approach that seeks to “read the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation”―especially on a pre-determined timeline―is simply not the most helpful way for the Christian to intake God’s Word.

There is a better way. There is a way that makes sense, a way that helps keep the New Reader engaged, and helps the New Reader to spend the right amount of time in the right portions of Scripture in order to gain the maximum spiritual benefit.

A Better Approach

It begins with a different mindset, a different approach. Let’s call it Reading Your Bible Categorically.

This approach operates on a few basic premises that I feel are helpful, biblical, and effective to open the Scriptures to both the New Reader and the experienced Reader.

1. Think in terms of reading an entire book of Scripture before moving to the next book. Reading two chapters in the gospels, two chapters in 1 Kings, and one Psalm in my experience is very effective―but it’s effective at the wrong things. It’s effective at never letting the Reader get absorbed into the unfolding story, of keeping the grand narrative masked, and giving the impression that Scripture is disjointed and unconnected and difficult or impossible to understand as a consistent, connected story.

2. Cultivate the habit of thinking of your Bible in categories. The Bible is one book, by One Author, telling one story―but that story is told using distinct categories (genres). Learn to see your Bible categorically, and read it categorically.

Understanding the Structure of Your Bible

We all know that the Bible is divided into two sections―usually referred to as the Old Testament and the New Testament. Beyond that, I find that most Christian Readers really do not understand how the English Bible is organized. It’s all a mystery to them. They see it as more or less a hodge-podge of books put together in haphazard fashion, and if there’s any logic to it at all, it’s Greek to them.

A clearer understanding of how the Book in your hands is organized helps you to absorb it in a systematic and helpful way.

Your Bible is divided first according to genre. Oxford defines genre in this way:

A category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

That’s a good way to think about the organization of your Scriptures. Your Bible contain six genres, and each genre is organized entirely together. The genres do not skip around.

Beginning in the Old Testament, we find four genres, and then moving to the New Testament, we find two more.

The Organization of the Old Testament

In the Old Testament, the books begin with the Five Books of Moses (sometimes called the Torah, sometimes called the Pentateuch). As the name implies, these are the books written by Moses. They narrate the creation of the world, and the creation of God’s ethnic people: the Jews. These books contain many exciting stories, such as Noah and Joseph. They also include a great deal of genealogies and laws. This section of books is arranged more or less chronologically.

Following the Books of Moses, we find a section that we will call the Historical Books. These books narrate the history of God’s people, beginning from Joshua and continuing through Esther. These books are all in narrative form, and they take the reader from the point of the nation of Israel miraculously entering into the Promised Land through the return of Israel back to the Promised Land after the Exile. These books contain many life lessons and helpful stories. They show us the heights of earthly glory and the depths of spiritual failure. They show us obedience and blessing, as well as disobedience and idolatry. This section is arranged chronologically as well.

Next, we find the books that I like to call Wisdom and Poetry. Some will divide these into two categories, but I prefer to approach them as one. They contain the Proverbs―pithy sayings of Solomon and others, as well as the racy Song of Solomon, and the philosophical Ecclesiastes. Job, the great study of suffering, is also included here, as well as the songbook of ancient Israel―the Psalms. It’s helpful to know that the book of Psalms divides itself into five books, simply numbered one through five.

Lastly, the Old Testament concludes with the Prophets. The Prophets contain much warning against sinful Israel (and others). The Prophets can be heavy reading, as their purpose is to confront sin, and that cannot help but to be a heavy topic. They include some very strange and difficult sections, such as Daniel and Ezekiel for example. They are arranged in such as way as to begin with the “Major” Prophets and conclude with the “Minor” Prophets. The designations ”major” and “minor” differentiate the length of the prophet’s ministry, and the amount of writing and/or sermon material we are given of each prophet. Isaiah and Jeremiah both are lengthy accounts, while Obadiah is a single chapter. Within each subcategory of major and minor, the Prophets are also arranged in a rough chronological order.

The Organization of the New Testament

The New Testament contains two simple categories: the Gospels and the Letters.

The Gospels are the narrative accounts of Jesus’ life on earth, His death and resurrection, and the birth and growth of the New Testament Church (Acts). The Gospels all give us eye witness accounts of Jesus’ miracles, parables, and life from the different perspectives of four different men―some Jewish and some Gentile.

The Letters, or Epistles, are letters of instruction, teaching, and clarification written mostly to the Churches. The bulk of these Letters are written by Paul. The section begins with his letters which were written to Churches, arranged from longest to shortest. Then come his letters written to individuals, again arranged longest to shortest.

Next comes the Letter to the Hebrews. It is placed at the end of Paul’s letters because no one knows for certain the identity of the author, but many have speculated that Paul was connected with its authorship, so it is placed at the end of Paul’s letters.

Then we find the letter of James, then the letters of Peter, then the letters of John, then Jude, and finally the Book of the Revelation, which can be thought of as Jesus’ letter to His Churches.

The letters are a wealth of instruction to God’s people.

It’s Not All Equally Important or Equally Helpful

Scripture plainly tells us that all of Scripture is God’s holy, inerrant, inspired Word.

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. ―2 Timothy 3:16

Furthermore, all of Scripture is helpful for the Christian to read, meditate upon, and apply to their life.

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. ―Hebrews 4:12

However, nowhere does Scripture teach or even imply that all sections of Scripture are equally helpful, or that the Christian should read and meditate upon all Scripture with equal time.

The Christian Reader does well to understand that some portions of Scripture contain greater revelation concerning our life in Christ and the implications of that life, while other sections of Scripture contain less. Some sections of Scripture contain rich and powerful application to our daily life, while others provide helpful background or supporting revelation.

Therefore, the Christian Reader would be foolish to spend equal time in each section of Scripture. To devote the same amount of energy to Leviticus as to Ephesians would unwise, or equally focusing on Esther and John, or Song of Solomon and James. You get the idea.

The wise Reader prioritizes not only the reading of the Word, but the parts of the Word which are given the greater attention and focus.

What’s Important?

Of first importance are the Gospels and Acts, followed by the New Testament Letters. Of less importance are the Prophets, and the History Books. So a systematic method of daily Scripture intake is in order, one that places proper emphasis in the proper places.

Over many years of reading my Bible daily, I have found the most beneficial approach to be the following;

For the Christian Who Is New to Daily Scripture Intake

For New Readers, especially those who have never read the entirety of the Scriptures: read one entire book from the Gospels, followed by one entire book from the Books of Moses, followed by one entire book from the Letters, followed by one entire book from the History Books, followed by the next entire book from the Gospels, followed by one entire book from Wisdom and Poetry, followed by the next entire book from the Letters, etc. You can see the pattern.

This is what it looks like visually;

We want to prioritize the Scriptures that are most beneficial, while not neglecting any of the Scriptures. This approach puts the Reader in the New Testament about three and a half times more than the Old. For each read through the Old Testament, the Reader will consume the New Testament approximately three and a half times.

Furthermore, the Reader will avoid getting “bogged down” in those extended sections of the Bible that can be so tedious and discouraging, like Exodus 21 through Deuteronomy, or Isaiah through Malachi. A straightforward reading from Genesis to Revelation will mean long periods engaged in one category of Scripture. The Reader also avoids the skipping around that many Yearly Plans introduce in order to avoid these long stretches, and this skipping around is what makes the Story of Scripture so difficult to “put together” in our minds. Remember, the Reader is always consuming an entire book before moving on to the next, thereby leaving the established flow of context in place in their minds.

For the Christian Who Is Not New to Daily Scripture Intake

If the Christian is not new to daily Scripture intake, and has read their Scriptures in their entirety previously, then I often suggest the following pattern: read one entire book from the Gospels, followed by one entire book from the Letters, followed by one entire book from the Books of Moses, followed by the next entire book from the Gospels, etc.

That pattern would look something like this;

This approach doubles the amount of New Testament reading over the previous approach. The Reader would expect to read the New Testament around six to seven times for each Old Testament reading.

Our greatest spiritual benefit is found in the Gospels and the Letters. This is not to take anything from the importance of the Old Testament, but it is to recognize the value of the New, and devote ourselves appropriately.

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son… ―Hebrews 1:1-2

I feel strongly that an approach to the Scriptures such as one of these, or something based on this but modified to suit your needs and personality will;

1. Do the most to prevent the Reader’s exhaustion in tedious sections

2. Ensure the Reader is not only consuming all of the Scriptures, but all of them in appropriate proportions

3. Foster within the Reader a natural comprehension of the Grand Story of Scripture

How Much Should You Read?

That’s like asking, “How much should I eat?” It depends on your appetite. There have been times in which I have read thirty or more chapters daily. There have been many days I struggled to read three chapters. Let your appetite direct you.

Read what feels natural. Read until you feel yourself struggling to stay focused. I don’t suggest you keep reading after the point that your mind is no longer thinking about the words you read. Gently push yourself, but recognize that reading words on a page with little or no reflection upon those words will provide no spiritual benefit. The Bible is not a book of magic words and phrases. It must be understood in order to be beneficial. Letting your eyes just skip across the words serves to do two things: waste your time and teach your heart that reading the Scriptures is really not helpful after all.

Let your appetite be your guide. But here’s the thing about an appetite: the more you feed it, the more it grows. The less you feed it, the more it shrinks.

Don’t expect to open your Bible for the first time in four months and just be swept away into reading the whole book of Acts in one sitting. It’s not likely to happen. Your appetite has shrunk. It will regrow, but not instantly.

Some Final Thoughts

For each approach, I suggest treating the Five Books of the Psalms as individual books. In other words, when you come to category 3 and your next book is Psalms, only read Book One. Next time, read Book Two, and so forth. Psalms is a long book (150 chapters), and it is best appreciated one Book at a time.

Lastly, this is a suggested framework, it is not the Gospel. Feel free to deviate, modify, make it your own. I did not invent this approach. I started with similar approached and made it my own, which is what is represented here.

If you are halfway through Isaiah, and you feel the need to read in the Psalms―do it.

If the next reading on your list is Acts, but you feel drawn to the story of Ruth―go there.

Don’t be a slave to a man-made system. Take this for what it is: an effort to provide a basic approach for those who have never had success in their commitment to daily Scripture intake for whatever reason. This approach works, though you may find a little tweaking makes it work better for you.

It took a lot of words to describe this process, but trust me, it is much easier and more intuitive that it "reads." In no time at all this will seem like the most natural way to approach your daily reading, and you won't even need to keep a printout in your Bible to check off each day.

The important thing is to not only get into the Word, but get engaged in it. Scripture intake is not a chore that we must do to make God happy. It is our indispensable life raft in a shark infested ocean.

Next: what Bible should you choose for your daily reading? (Yes, it matters)