Which book of the bible should a new believer read first?
great question. There are many to choose from! I will suggest two options. Before presenting my case, I want to give you some general encouragement. Then I’ll explain why I think you might want to start your Bible reading adventure in either Genesis or John.
You are reading: What books of the bible should i read first
before reading the bible for the first time
I am excited to know that you are about to read the bible. there is nothing in the world more worthy of your time than listening to god in his word. Let me try to dissuade you from two dangerous thoughts as you embark on this journey of a lifetime.
no matter where you look in your bible, you are landing on the word of god (2 timothy 3:16). each book of the bible is the word of god for us, given for the love of him. God gave us the scriptures to equip us for life and train us to be godly, to be like him. In his wisdom, God gave us a book full of other books, to equip us for every experience we will encounter in this life (2 Peter 1:3). every part of the bible was written for your good.
so buddy, don’t succumb to internal pressure to read the “right” thing. if you’re reading the bible, you’re reading the right thing.
I want to rescue you from another dangerous thought. You may have heard that the Bible is a life-changing book. perhaps you are reading it for the first time because you yearn for a transformation in your life. that’s a great reason to pick up the bible. but you must understand that the bible is not an end in itself, that is, the power of the bible does not reside in the book, but in the person who wrote it.
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but there is a way to take the bible and miss the point. jesus corrected some people in the book of john who did just that:
“Study the scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. these are the very scriptures that testify about me, but you refuse to come to me to have life” (john 5:39-40 niv).
It’s easy to turn to the Bible hoping for spiritual direction, a better perspective, new ideals, encouraging thought, or practical wisdom. like these people whom jesus addresses, we too are in search of life. The Bible guides us (Psalm 119:105), makes us wise (Proverbs 1:5), enlightens us (Psalm 19:8), and instructs us in righteous living (2 Timothy 3:16), but all these blessings only come truly to us by faith in Christ, not apart from him. When you open your Bible, the words you read are the voice of the Lord who loved you and gave himself up for you (Galatians 2:20). reading his bible is a means to know him.
before you open the bible, ask god to reveal himself to you, to help you hear his voice through his word and to help you get to know jesus.
We’ve come all this way and you still need us to answer your question. So which book of the bible should you read first? let me give you two options.
consider reading john first
here is a brief example of why you should read the gospel of john first. the apostle john, author of this book, explicitly tells us the agenda of this book:
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and many other signs Jesus did in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20: 30-31 esv)
john wrote his gospel to convince us that jesus is exactly who he says he is: the son of god, the promised savior to whom the entire bible points. The Holy Spirit inspired John to write this book in a way that would lead us to believe in Jesus. John’s ultimate goal is that we come to know Jesus personally, and be reconciled to God through Jesus, that we experience life that is truly life.
hopefully you can see why this book would be a fantastic place to start your bible reading.
consider reading genesis first
I’ll give you an equally excellent second option to read when you open the Bible for the first time: Genesis, the first book of the Bible.
Naturally, reading the beginning of any book will help you understand the rest. however, genesis proves to be a more important beginning to a story than any other beginning i have read. you desperately need to read it. It is the beginning of God’s story, but it is also the beginning of your story. the bible is not fiction; It is the story of reality. It is the story we really live in, the one given to us by our creator, as if Shakespeare handed Hamlet the transcript of his own play.
genesis is not only the beginning of god’s story and yours, but it is also the foundation. themes woven throughout the bible find their source in genesis, plot patterns that recapitulate throughout the bible first appear in genesis. the promises that are fulfilled in the rest of the bible are given first in genesis. In fact, the first 11 chapters of Genesis alone are quoted over 100 times in the New Testament! reading genesis will lay in your mind the foundation for a biblical worldview and thus help you orient yourself towards life in general.
choose!
friend, two books that I recommend you to read first, you can decide between them. open john and you will meet jesus, who himself is the greatest gift you could ask for in this life. open genesis and enter the story of the bible. As you open the Bible for the first time, I pray you will discover that instead of inviting God into your story, he has invited you into his.
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