The Bible has been studied for centuries by people searching for God. It has changed many lives for the better and has comforted many sorrowful people.

Granted, the Bible’s contents have also been used as a weapon against others and have been misquoted to justify any number of evils. Just as with any other book, it is easy to take words from the Bible out of context and use them for one’s own ends.

There have been many in history who have manipulated others with the Bible. But just because some have used it nefariously does not mean that the Bible should be discarded.

It is believed that the Bible contains the way to eternal life. The Bible claims itself to be inspired by God. And if this is so, then there are many reasons not to discard its words, but to find comfort and guidance within this holy Book.

Here are some of the reasons the Bible gives for why we should study its pages:

To give us hope

Romans 15:4 tells us that the things written in the Bible were written for our learning, so that we might have hope. There are a great many comforting verses in the Bible that speak of God’s love for humanity, and His promise to help us in our hour of need.

While on earth, Jesus invited all to come and lay their burdens at His feet. This invitation extends to all humanity throughout all of history. The Bible is a book that can bring great peace and comfort to its readers. There are over 3000 promises in the Bible—assurances from a loving heavenly Father of His care and concern. Accepting them by faith brings a peace and an assurance of His love and power in our lives.



To teach us the plan of salvation

What is the purpose of life? Where am I going when I die?

The Bible provides answers to these questions and many more. Most importantly, however, the Bible clearly outlines the plan of salvation: how we can become reconciled unto God and someday live in the earth made new.

The hope of a happy eternal life in heaven is a hope shared by many religions. The Bible gives us the plan to get us there. In addition, the Bible helps us understand how we got here and why we need a plan to save us.

This can be very critical information, for unless we realize that we need saving, we won’t look for a Saviour.



To reveal Jesus as Saviour

When on Earth, Jesus spoke of the Scriptures as testifying of Himself. To testify means to affirm or declare (often under oath) what one has witnessed or learned through firsthand knowledge or experience. Since the Bible has been written by 40 authors over a period of 1500 years, we should see the Scriptures as a group of writers testifying of the accuracy of their experiences. The Scripture referred to by Christ is the Old Testament. That was the only Scripture there was during His lifetime, and yet Christ declared that the Old Testament testified of Himself.

Those who teach that the Old Testament Scriptures are not applicable to us do not understand what Jesus is saying. If we want to find more about Jesus, we should not restrict ourselves only to the Gospels or Paul's books. The entire Bible will reveal the beauty of God's character and Jesus Christ as the solution for humanity’s problems with sin on this earth.

Why is Jesus the solution to the sin problem?

Find out more about God’s plan of salvation.

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