5 Benefits of Bible Literacy

If you have read and completed the Historical Backbone of the Bible in the last three months, you will now be familiar with the Bible’s historical narrative—God’s Story.

If you haven’t finished yet, keep going—it will be worth it. If you haven’t begun yet, what is holding you back?

It’s a ‘story’ packed with tense drama and action. It’s not sanitized, which might surprise some. It includes humanity’s best and worst, which you would expect in real life: conflict, courage and betrayal, sacrifice and deceit, successes and failures, sex, miracles, and more.

And where is God in all of this? He is ever-present, although we are not always aware of him.

Here are five benefits of reading six days a week for twelve weeks. I have arranged these benefits as the acrostic C.H.E.C.K. 

1.         Congratulations

“C” could be “Continue” or some other C-word – but I have chosen “Congratulations.” You deserve it. This is a word of encouragement that acknowledges your accomplishment.

If you have read the Historical Backbone of the Bible, you have built a fantastic foundation in your life. You have become more aware of God’s ‘Story’ and your place in that ‘Story.’ That means you are:

• looking at life and its purpose differently than you did before,
• seeing events and challenges from a fresh and exciting perspective,
• asking questions about how God is working in your life, or
• how you should respond in ways that please God and bless others.

Even if you have not yet engaged in the Historical Backbone of the Bible, if you have read the posts each week from the beginning, you will have gained a thumbnail sketch of what it’s about.

I expect you are already experiencing some of the benefits of learning God’s ‘Story’ so you can live it more fully. 

2.         Habit 

I understand that it takes at least three weeks to form a new habit. However, there are other ways to create a desirable habit. One helpful article is “5 Scientific Ways to Build Habits that Stick.”

It may have taken you eight weeks or more to complete the Historical Backbone of the Bible.

In the first days or weeks, you likely needed to intentionally set time aside to read the Bible each day. Your partner probably encouraged you to keep going.   

Now, without realizing it, you have established a new and beneficial habit.

Don’t lose that healthy habit. Keep at it!

In an earlier post, I quoted Ed Stetzer, a research professor, who writes:

There is much research that shows the correlation between spiritual maturity and reading the Bible. In Brad Waggoner’s book The Shape of Faith to Come, which is based on a LifeWay Research study, and in George Guthrie’s Read the Bible for Life material, we see that reading the Bible is the best predictor of spiritual maturity. In other words, if you are in the Bible, you are growing spiritually.

Your new habit contributes to your spiritual growth as you become more and more like Jesus.

Choose another section of the Bible to read. Perhaps it will be the Gospel of John, the Psalms, or the Proverbs. Keep the habit—and be blessed as you immerse yourself further in God’s ‘Story’! 

3.         Equipping

The apostle Paul writes:

every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us the truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 from The Message).

The Greek word rendered here as “shaped up” means “fitted out” or “thoroughly equipped”—the same way a rescue boat is fully equipped to fulfill its function.  

Becoming immersed in God’s ‘Story’ not only informs, confronts, corrects, and encourages us but also equips us to live a life useful to God and pleasing to God. 

4.         Community

The Bible is intended to be read, understood, and lived out in community. That is why those engaging in the Historical Backbone of the Bible are encouraged to read it with others for encouragement and accountability.

There are at least three communities involved.

First is the community of God. At the personal level, engaging in the Bible impacts our lives truly and deeply in company with the Spirit of God. One confirmation of this comes from the mouth of the Lord Jesus just before the sending of the Spirit:

“the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26).  

Second is the church. It is in this community of followers of Jesus that God’s people are prepared “for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13).

Third is the world. This includes whatever community of humanity we live in (i.e., place, time, and culture), whether this is our neighborhood, workplace, school, or nation. In full view of our family and neighbors, we are called to live out a life that is faithful to Jesus Christ and a blessing to others. Jesus refers to this life when he says, “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).

Engaging in God’s ‘Story’ strengthens your connections effectively within these three communities. 

5.         Knowledge

There are different ways of speaking about expertise.

On the one hand, we can mean an accumulation of facts. Examples include memorizing the multiplication table (e.g., 5 x 1 = 5; 5 x 2 = 10).

On the other hand, we can mean the useful application of information. For example, we can design and construct a bridge using the multiplication table.

What we gain from reading the Bible should include both types of knowledge. Just as it is useful to know the multiplication table, it is helpful to know the characters, events, and geography of the biblical ‘story.’ However, we would agree that kind of knowledge may help us win a game of Trivial Pursuit—but that’s not enough.

True knowledge of God’s ‘Story’ is intended to equip you to live all of life with God-honoring competence and joy! 

So again, congratulations!

Where do we go from here?

I want to flesh out the historical backbone of the Bible. More on that next week. 

Photo Credit: Lilly Mayfield via Compfight cc