How To Read The Bible
Read a sample of my new book...
As some of you may know, my latest book “How To Read The Bible” was released last week. This is a companion to my first book, “How To Pray,” and were originally notes from short courses I gave in our small church in Ireland. A lot of ‘basic’ Christian resources assume a lot of knowledge, and both prayer and reading the Bible can be shrouded in a lot of mystery. Starting out, people might feel they need to know a lot of complex ideas about religion before they even turn the first page.
This book is for those people.
I have no interest in making millions (as if!) or becoming a huge Christian celebrity. These books are to help people new to Christianity fall in love with Jesus, and grow in their knowledge and joyful obedience as His disciples.
I hope you enjoy the book, and if you find it helpful, let me know. Oh, and as my kids remind me to say, buy the book. I’m the worst marketer in the world!
INTRODUCTION
Liam flipped open his Bible for the fourth time that week and still didn’t know what to do with it. Genesis made sense until it got to the genealogy part. Leviticus? He’d rather not talk about that. Someone had told him to try the Gospels, so he opened to Matthew and got lost in a list of names he couldn’t pronounce. I mean, who in the world names their kid ‘Zerubbabel’!?
“Is this what being a Christian is supposed to feel like?” he wondered.
“Am I just supposed to pretend I understand all this?”
He closed the Bible, feeling a little guilty, a little embarrassed, and a lot confused. He knew he wanted to know more about Jesus since starting to go to church. He wanted to grow in his faith. But when it came to reading the Bible, he wasn’t sure whether he was doing it wrong, or if it was just too hard for someone like him. Everyone else at church seemed to know where things were, they shuffled to the pages for the sermon without looking up the table of contents like he did. They quoted verses. They nodded knowingly when the preacher spoke. Liam, meanwhile, was Googling things like “What is a Philippian?” and “Why are there two Testaments?”
What if he said something wrong in small group? What if someone
found out he didn’t even know where to find Psalms? What if he wasn’t a “real” Christian after all?
If Liam’s experience sounds familiar, this book is written with you in mind.
The Bible remains one of the most talked-about and least-understood parts of the Christian life for many new believers. We hear about it constantly, quoted from preachers, referenced in conversations, and printed on mugs and bookmarks. But few people ever stop to explain how we’re actually meant to read it, why it matters, or how to begin if we’ve never really opened it before.
This isn’t a book about advanced hermeneutics or theological jargon. In fact, you don’t even need to know what the word ‘hermeneutics’ means! (It is just a fancy word for interpretation.) It’s not for Bible experts or seminary students. It’s for you. For anyone who’s ever opened the Bible, felt overwhelmed, and anxiously wondered if they were the only one who didn’t get it. My hope is that by the time you finish these pages, you’ll have three things; confidence to open your Bible and engage with it, a simple framework to help you read it well, and a clearer sense of how this ancient book connects with your everyday life.
Let’s begin by clearing up some misconceptions. The Bible is not a magical answer book. It’s not a spiritual checklist or a religious rulebook. It’s not a book of motivational quotes to sprinkle over your week. And it’s definitely not just for pastors, theologians, or people who’ve memorised half of the book of Romans.
Instead, the Bible is God’s Word. His chosen way of revealing who He is, how He works, and what it means to follow Him. It tells one unified story from beginning to end, the story of how God rescues and restores a broken world through Jesus. And the best part? You’ve been invited into that story.
Reading the Bible isn’t about mastering information. It’s about meeting a Person. When we open Scripture (another word for the Bible), we’re not just reading words on a page, we’re opening ourselves to hear the voice of the God who made us, knows us, and loves us enough to speak.
You can read this book straight through or jump to whatever chapter feels most relevant. Each one includes “Try It” sections where you can put things into practice, along with reflection questions to help you apply what you’re learning. Don’t feel pressure to master everything. Like any relationship, reading the Bible takes time, consistency, and a willingness to show up even when it feels awkward or slow. Throughout these pages, I’ll draw from biblical examples, practical advice, and the experiences of believers who’ve gone before us. But remember, your relationship with Scripture will be uniquely yours. You don’t need to read like anyone else. God is more interested in your honest engagement than your theological vocabulary.
Before we dive in, let’s begin with a simple prayer. You don’t have to get the words right. God is more interested in your heart than fancy words:
God, I want to learn how to know You through the Bible. I don’t understand it all yet, and sometimes it feels hard or confusing. But I believe the Bible matters, and I believe You want to speak to me through it. Help me as I start. Give me patience when I feel lost, and joy when I begin to understand. Thank You for giving me Your Word, and for being patient as I learn to read it. Amen.
There, you’ve just started.
Now let’s open the Book together.
CHAPTER1
WHAT IS THE BIBLE?
The question might seem too basic to ask, yet it’s exactly where we must begin. For many people, the Bible sits on a shelf at home, perhaps unopened, or it’s quoted on social media or in sermons you’ve heard. Because it is so central to Christian faith, we often assume everyone already knows what it is, or at least what it’s meant to be. But assumptions can be dangerous. They create barriers, leaving us with half-formed ideas that don’t quite match reality. And when something becomes overly familiar, it’s easy to forget why it matters in the first place.
At its simplest, the Bible is God’s Word. But even that short phrase raises all sorts of questions. What does it mean for God to “speak” through a book? How can words written thousands of years ago carry God’s authority for today? Why are there so many kinds of writing, history, poetry, letters, and laws all bound together? And perhaps most importantly, how could this book written thousands of years ago possibly have anything to say about my modern life?
Rather than starting with a definition or a set of doctrines, it may help to think of the Bible as a story. Not a fairy tale or a myth, but the true story that God has been telling since the
beginning of time. It is a story of creation, rebellion, rescue, and restoration. At its heart, it’s the story of God’s love for His people and His determination to redeem a broken world. And the most astonishing part is that you and I are not spectators, we are part of this story.
I thought before we began, we could look at the overarching story of the Bible in the four categories of Creation, Rebellion, Rescue and Restoration.
Creation
Creation is God’s good beginning. The opening pages of the Bible reveal a world spoken into being by a God of beauty, purpose, and generosity. Every part of creation, from the largest mountains to tiniest molecules, bears His design and intention. Humanity, made in His image, stands as the pinnacle of this work, made to reflect His character, to live in relationship with Him, and to steward the world as His partners. The story begins with goodness, order, and blessing.
Rebellion
But something goes wrong. Humanity chooses independence over fellowship with God, trusting our own wisdom rather than God’s word. That decision fractures everything, our relationship with God, with one another, and with creation itself. The harmony of the garden of Eden gives way to conflict and shame. Sin enters the story, not as a small mistake, but as a deep fracture that distorts God’s good design. Yet even in this moment of rebellion, God’s promise of redemption begins.
Rescue
From that point forward, the Bible traces God’s unfolding plan to rescue His people. Through covenants, prophets, and promises, He moves history toward a single turning point, the coming of Jesus Christ. In Him, God steps into the story Himself, taking on human flesh to bear the cost of sin and restore what was lost. The cross is the greatest act of rescue the world has ever known, where love triumphs over rebellion and grace rewrites the human story.
Restoration
The story does not end with rescue but with restoration. Jesus’ resurrection is the beginning of new creation, a world made whole once more. Through His Spirit, God is renewing hearts and lives even now, calling His people to join in His restoring work of justice, mercy, and hope. The final pages of Scripture show this completed vision. We see creation healed, humanity reconciled, and God dwelling with His people forever. The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a heavenly city, a picture of all things made new.
A Divine Book with Human Authors
The Bible didn’t drop from the sky fully formed, leatherbound, and printed in gold letters. It was written by real people in real times and places. Farmers and kings, prophets and fishermen, poets and prisoners all are inspired by God to communicate His truth. Some wrote in palaces, others in deserts, others in exile. Its authors lived across centuries and spoke different languages, yet Christians believe that through all these voices, God Himself was speaking.
Paul puts it this way in 2 Timothy 3:16:
“All Scripture is breathed out by God.”
That doesn’t mean each writer sat in a trance, robotically taking dictation from Heaven. Rather, it means God’s Spirit worked through their personalities, their vocabulary, their cultural contexts, and even their limitations to communicate His truth. We can trust the Bible as perfect, because the God who gives it to us is perfect. In this way, the Bible is authored both fully divine and fully human, just as Jesus, the One it ultimately points to, is both fully God and fully man.
Because of this, the Bible is rich with variety. Some passages read like gripping stories. Others are heartfelt songs or raw prayers. There are sermons that cut to the heart, laws that guided societies, letters written to struggling churches, and visions that stretch the imagination. Each form serves a purpose. Each section invites us to listen carefully. The goal is never simply for information, it is meant for the transformation of our lives.
The Bible Is a Library, Not a Leaflet
New readers are often surprised by how varied the Bible feels. That’s because it isn’t a single book but a carefully curated collection of sixty-six books, written across three continents in three languages over more than a thousand years. Think of it more as a library than a leaflet, an orchestra playing together rather than a single instrument.
This library has two main sections:
The Old Testament tells the story of God’s relationship with Israel, His chosen people. It lays the groundwork for understanding human sin, God’s covenant promises, and the anticipation of a coming Saviour.
The New Testament centres on Jesus, the Saviour Himself. It records His life, death, and resurrection, as well as the story of the early Church learning to follow Him and spread His message to the world.
The Old Testament anticipates Jesus. The New Testament reveals Him. Together, they form a unified story of God’s redeeming grace.
The Point of the Bible Is a Person
One of the most striking moments in the Gospels comes in John 5:39, when Jesus tells the religious leaders:
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.”
This is a crucial insight. The Bible is not the final destination, it’s a signpost to Jesus. It’s not primarily about mastering information but about meeting a Person. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible points us to Jesus.
Of course, the Bible teaches truth, gives wisdom, corrects us when we wander, and comforts us in suffering. But its primary purpose is relational. God speaks through His Word so that we might know Him, walk with Him, and be transformed by His presence to flourish in our humanity. If we read the Bible only for rules or knowledge, we miss its heart. The ultimate aim is to encounter the living Christ.
Three Common Misconceptions
Because the Bible is so well known in name, many people approach it with unhelpful assumptions. Let’s clear away a few common misconceptions:
The Bible is not a rulebook. Yes, it contains commandments, moral teaching, and wisdom for living. But its primary focus is the story of grace. The Bible is not first about what we do for God, but about what God has done for us.
The Bible is not a magical answer book. We don’t open it like a fortune cookie, flipping to random verses to solve our problems. God does speak through it, but His Word is not a set of riddles or codes, it’s an unfolding story that requires patient listening.
The Bible is not only for “spiritual” people. You don’t need a theology degree or years of church background to read it. The Bible was written in everyday languages of its time, addressed to ordinary people. What you need most is an open heart and a willingness to learn.
A Living Word for Real Life
One of the Bible’s most powerful claims about itself comes in Hebrews 4:12:
“The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.”
This isn’t just poetic language. It is a practical truth. The same God who inspired these words continues to speak through them today. The Bible doesn’t only describe what God once did, it reveals who God is, His character, His promises, and His ways. That makes it deeply relevant to every generation.
As you read, you will find passages that confuse you. That’s normal. You will also encounter verses that convict you, comfort you, challenge you, and change you. That’s what it is meant to do. The Bible isn’t something to conquer or master like a textbook. It is more like a home to live in, a place to return to again and again, where God Himself meets you.
A Quick Note About Translations
One of the questions that a lot of people can have when first reading the Bible is why there are so many different types of Bible. We have all these letters, KJV, ESV, NIV, NLT. Are these different versions, or the same Bible?
The Bible we read today has been translated from the original languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek so that people everywhere can understand it. This is a gift, not a problem. The variety of translations doesn’t mean there are “different Bibles,” but rather different ways of expressing the same message in natural, readable language. Some translations aim for word-forword accuracy, others for a smoother sense-for-sense flow, but all seek to make God’s Word clear to everyone in their own language. Just as light shines through different windows without changing its source, each translation helps us see more of the same truth. Whichever one you use, the same story is speaking, God reaching out through His Word to reveal Himself.
There you go - that was a little sample from my latest book, “How To Read The Bible.” If you’ve made it this far, I want to give you a little gift! Firstly, because you’ve cared enough to read to the end. Secondly, you might care because you are as passionate as people reading the Bible as I am.
If you are a Pastor or a church leader, and you think that getting a few copies to give out in your church, or to friends, would help them learn more, then get in touch and I would love to give you a free Ebook copy of the book. Then, if you read the whole thing and like it, you can buy some after having read it. Deal?
If you just want to get a copy of the book, the best way is probably to buy a copy at this link: HOW TO READ THE BIBLE
Looks like we have a similar mission! God bless you and the purpose He’s given you.