Why do You Read Your Bible?
Dr. John Snyder is the pastor of Christ Church New Albany, director of Media Gratiae, host of The Whole Counsel podcast, and author of multiple multimedia Bible studies including the Behold Your God series and Living with the True God: Lessons from Judges, and Behold Your God: Seeking Him Early.
In The Sermons of Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically, Dr. Snyder explains the purpose of the Bible.
The primary purpose of the Bible is not dictated by your present crisis.
What is the primary purpose of the Bible? First, it is important to clarify what is not its primary purpose. The primary purpose of the Bible is not dictated by your present crisis. We all go through difficult times and when we have a crisis, we really want to come to God and ask, “What does this book say about my problem?” The purpose of the Bible rises above our felt needs.
The Bible is not, as we have heard it described, primarily an owner’s manual for life. It is frequently treated this way. What do we do with owner’s manuals? If we buy a gadget and don’t understand how it works, we get out our owner’s manual. We read the manual until we understand, and then we put it away. Unless we have a problem, the manual is of no use to us.
The Bible is not an owner’s manual for life.
How many people come to a church, hear a sermon, and say to the preacher, “I want to be a Christian. I don’t want to go to hell. I don’t want to be alone. I don’t want my conscience to be constantly plagued.” The preacher responds, “Great! Christ will enter your life. Here’s the book for you. Read it.” These people take their Bibles home. At first, they are hungry to know something about God, something about themselves, and something about the Christian life. After a while, they figure that they’ve really got it under their belt, and they take their “owner’s manual” and put it in a drawer. When things become difficult, they run back to the drawer and pull out their Bible and ask God to please fix their problems.
The Bible is not an owner’s manual for life. The Bible is very unsuitable as an owner’s manual, even though it says so much about life. Think about the way God has arranged the material in the Bible. Which book of the Bible is called “The Book of Family”? But family is important! Which book of the Bible is called “The Book of Marriage”? Is there even a book called “The Book of How to Do Church”? Which chapter of the Bible is on money? Which chapter is on career choice? Which chapter describes retirement?
The Bible unveils a Person—a Person who is so unlike anyone we have ever met that the only way for us to really know Him is through the book He has given us.
The Bible is perfectly designed for one purpose above all others. The Bible unveils a Person—a Person who is so unlike anyone we have ever met that the only way for us to really know Him is through the book He has given us. This book, the Bible, reveals Him through various types of literature: history, law, songs, prayers, proverbs, sermons, and prophecies. All these types of literature are skillfully crafted to show us God from different angles. That is the purpose of the Bible—to reveal God.