How Do Pastors Read Through the Whole Bible

I vividly call back two pivotal conversations that I had with pastors shortly later on I surrendered to the Gospel ministry in the late-1990s. The conversations were pivotal because in them I was exposed to two vastly different approaches to ministry and the Lord used them to convince me that I must saturate my listen with Scripture

In one conversation, I asked a longtime pastor how many times he had read the Bible in its entirety from Genesis to Revelation. His reply: "Never, simply I hope to someday." I was stunned. I thought, just did not express verbally, "Then how do y'all know what yous believe about the Bible and other important doctrines?" Being a very green rookie government minister, I thought that perhaps my question was invalid. I thought that until I had the 2nd conversation a few weeks later.

In the second conversation with some other longtime pastor, a godly homo who retired a few years agone as pastor of my habitation church in Georgia, I posed the same question and got an answer that remains instructive to me many years later: "I try to read through the Bible every year. After all, I accept given my life to didactics and preaching God's Give-and-take and so I had ameliorate know it." That day, I became convinced that I should read through the Bible regularly and, since it was the end of the year, I began my first read through the Bible in a year venture. I was happy that I did. During my lengthy career as a seminary student, I practiced the same matter and afterwards a few years, I had read through the Bible several times. This twelvemonth begins my 15^th directly twelvemonth of this do and the results have been massively helpful for both my walk with the Lord and the pedagogy ministry He has given me.

I accept become convinced that every pastor or teacher of the Bible (or seminary professor) ought to consider this same practice. There are many, many benefits of reading through the Bible every year and hither are v:

1. Reading through the Bible every year will help you learn the overarching metanarrative of Scripture. Afterward reading through the Bible a few times, the historic/redemptive storyline will go 2d nature to y'all. For example, in the OT, it volition assistance you lot profoundly to know that the Kingdom of Israel was divided around 930 B.C., after which fourth dimension the Northern and Southern kingdoms had different kings and began to spin off into serious idolatry. With some adept written report helps (such as an ESV Study Bible or Reformation Report Bible), you will soon learn where everything in the OT belongs on the timeline of ancient history. Pretty soon, y'all will see that the Bible is all almost Christ and will become keenly aware why it is of import to read Leviticus alongside the NT epistle to the Hebrews.

2. Reading through the Bible every year volition improve your ability to interpret and exegete Scripture.  This is a natural outcome of reason number one. The better you know the Bible's storyline, the more than enlightened you will exist of both the virtually and far contexts, the less decumbent you will be to engage in eisegesis. With the whole of redemptive history as your framework, you volition notice information technology no longer compelling to preach slaying the giants in your life from David's encounter with Goliath.

3. Reading through the Bible annually will keep you lot habitually in the Bible. You cannot read through the Bible quickly. Information technology will force you to spend many hours in God's Discussion and that is always a fruitful endeavor. If you commit to read through the Bible every year, there will exist precious few days, if whatsoever, when you lot find yourself out of Scripture.

iv. Reading through the Bible every year volition ensure that yous are engaging God'due south Give-and-take at least as ofttimes as you are engaging other solid Christian books. I love the Puritans and the Reformers. I have to resist buying every slice of excellent Christian literature published today by leading Reformed and evangelical publishers, but I should not be reading iii non-inspired books, no matter who solid and instructive they are, for every book of the Bible I read.

5. Reading through the Bible annually will force you to navigate those less traveled roads of Scripture. Reading through the Bible annually volition force you to read books and passages that might not usually attract your gaze: Leviticus, Numbers, the Song of Solomon, Amos, Philemon, and yes, for those of u.s.a. who suffer from astute allergies to all thing stop times and showroom tendencies toward Pan-Millenniallism, chapters six-22 of Revelation.

Walking through the Bible in a year should non supersede daily meditation upon and memorization of shorter passages of Scripture. Ultimately, you are reading God's Word in order to be transformed in center and heed and it should never be a merely academic exercise. But, shouldn't reading God's Word, even in an academic setting, edify united states? For the follower of Christ, should there ever exist a cold, detached, clinical reading of God's Word?

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Source: https://founders.org/2014/02/13/five_reasons_to_read_the_bible_yearly/

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