What is your opinion about the Bible? Is the Bible a book worth reading and exploring? Is the Bible a book which is able to point you to God and the Truth and able to touch your life and transform you? “What is in it for me?” you may ask. “Why does my Discipleship Leader continue to urge me to read it regularly?” you may wonder. I hope to be able to address some of these questions in this short pastoral perspective. If you have any further questions after I have explained or shared my views on them, you may approach any of the pastors and ask them. I am sure that they will be most glad to guide and help you along. Don’t be shy to ask! Be courageous in learning the Word of God!

As a child of God, as a Christian, your primary concern is to know the Bible. You want to read the Bible so that you may know the God of the Bible and love and obey Him. To the Christians, the Bible is the Word of God. How would they know that the Bible is the Word of God?

I hope to share some light here. First, I am addressing the question “What is in the Bible for me?” The Bible reveals God and His salvation plan for the whole world including you and me. In John 14:6 ESV, Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Jesus is telling us that He is the One who knows the way and leads us in the right way to God, His Father. He is also telling us that He is the One who knows the truth and explains the truth of God to us. He is also telling us that He is the One who gives life to everyone who puts their faith in Him. So, the Bible has to be the Word of God pointing us to the God of the Bible revealing His salvation plan through His Son Jesus. Jesus came to this world so that we may have life to the fullest, that is, a full and meaningful life! (see John 10:10).

Second, I am addressing the question “Is the Bible a book which is able to point you to God and the Truth and able to touch your life and transform you?” In John 8:31-32 ESV, the Word of God says, “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” When you know Jesus, you will know the Truth because Jesus is the Truth. When you put your trust in Jesus and continue to know and love His Word, you will experience true freedom in Him. Jesus will set you free from the bondage of sins and shame. The Bible is able to touch your life and transform you. In Psalm 119:105 ESV, the psalmist says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” You need the Word of God to show you the way which you should live your life. The Bible is like a lamp lighting up the path before you so that you may see clearly the path in which you should walk. When you are walking in the dark without a lamp, you will not be able to see clearly the path where you are walking on. With the Word of God, your life in Christ will be completely and properly guided and directed. In Psalm 32:8 ESV, the psalmist says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”

Third, I am addressing the question “How would you know that the Bible is the Word of God?” In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV, the Word of God says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” These two Bible verses tell us that the Bible, which is all the Scriptures, is breathed out by God. This points us to the fact that the Bible is the Word of God.

We need to read the Bible regularly so that we may grow in our faith in Christ. The Bible is food for our soul and for our spiritual well-being. In Job 23:12 ESV, the Word of God says, “I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.” In Matthew 4:4 ESV, the Word of God says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Let us, therefore, desire to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (see 2 Peter 3:18 ESV).

I hope that you can make it your goal to embark in reading the Bible regularly and consistently, not because you have to, but because you are delighted to know God and His Word. Read the Bible? Yes, I strongly urge each one of us to deliberately set aside some time each day to read the Bible and allow the God of the Bible to speak to us. When we intentionally do this, God will be pleased and our lives will be touched and transformed by the very Word of God. We shall, indeed, grow towards spiritual maturity in our faith as we engage in the God of the Bible regularly.