What Is the Bible About and Why Should I Read It?

Because I believe that the Bible is the source of true hope, I want to help you to discover the Bible for yourself. I want you to read the Bible.

When you open it, you will find that it seems alive. It tells a story of hope. It paves the way for life and joy in a dark world. It beckons you into a glorious future. Let me explain. Have you ever thought about the uniqueness of the Bible? No book has shaped cultures, inspired invention, or transformed societies like the Bible. No book polarizes people so quickly or reforms people so dramatically.

The Bible is the world’s bestseller and has been since the beginning of the printing press. At the same time, the Bible’s words have spilled out from its pages and found their way onto coffee mugs, into courtrooms, novels, everyday speech, and the into hearts and minds of millions of people. Biblical influence has infiltrated—well, everything.

Have you ever opened the Bible? Are you curious about it? Sure—we can all admit that the Bible has been influential in shaping the world in which we all live—but has it touched you?

I write this article to give you hope. Because I believe that the Bible is the source of true hope, I want to help you to discover the Bible for yourself. I want you to read the Bible.

When you open it, you will find that it seems alive. It tells a story of hope. It paves the way for life and joy in a dark world. It beckons you into a glorious future. Let me explain.

Is the Bible God’s Word?

The Bible is more than a book—it's God’s Word.

We find hope in the Bible because we believe the Bible is God’s Word. The Bible refers to itself as “alive and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12 NLT). No wonder it leaves such an impression on us! Where does it get its power? Is it magical or mystical?

The Bible claims to be the Word of God. “God” means many things to many people. When we say God, we mean the Triune God revealed to us from the first pages of the Bible. He is the Creator, the first cause of all things, the source of all the goodness and love we experience in the world.

Though some like to say God is dead, we’re happy to report that he is alive and well, working in our world, sustaining creation moment by moment (Hebrews 1:3). The Author of the Bible is the Author of creation, the Author of your life. The Bible is alive and powerful because it is written by the living God who made us.

We can draw a few conclusions from the fact that the Bible is God’s Word.

• It has authority over our lives.
• If God has the character he claims to have in Scripture, we can be assured God has spoken truthfully and clearly.
• If God is as good as he claims to be in Scripture, then we can be sure God hasn’t left out anything in his revelation that we might need to know.
• The Bible is a sufficient guide for life, as it is the most important Being’s revelation of his intentions and desires.

If God exists and he has spoken to us, wouldn’t you want to hear what he has said? As you listen to God’s Word, you’ll find that he is good and loving—far better than we could ever imagine him to be. In fact, the story of how God demonstrated his goodness and love to us is the central theme of the Bible.

What Is the Gospel?

Though the Bible is a big book, at its core, it tells a single story. This story is a message of hope for humanity. The Bible calls this message “the good news” or the “gospel. So what is the gospel?

The gospel begins with bad news. The bad news is that we are all sinners, who have rejected God to be our own gods (Romans 3:23). From birth, we are rebellious towards him, incurring his just judgment (Psalm 51:5). Being just and good, God will not overlook our offenses, but tells us that his eternal judgment awaits his rebellious creatures, who have despised him for all his goodness. We all live at odds with God, and are spiritually dead, because we are cut off from the life source with whom we were created to live in loving relationship.

I promise there is good news coming—let’s get to that.

The good news is that God has worked to rescue us from the punishment we deserve. In the greatest act of loving initiation, God has come to us in the person of Jesus. He came to mend our broken relationship with him, and to make us new people who love him and love others. How did he do this?

In an unmatched demonstration of love, Jesus laid down his life for us (1 John 3:16). Jesus, the Son of God bled and died on a cross, suffering God’s wrath for our sins, so that we might be saved from hell and brought into a loving eternal relationship with him (John 3:16).

God doesn’t want our religious rituals, our penance, our service. He wants our trust. He has freely given us the way back to a right relationship with him, the way to true life, a life reconciled with our Creator.

By confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing in our hearts that God raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9), we are saved. God welcomes into his family every person who trusts in Jesus. You see, all God asks is that we believe in Jesus. His gift of forgiveness and righteousness and new life is free. Jesus paid the cost, he bought it with His life. (Romans 6:23).

We created Bibles.net so you could discover the message of hope at the heart of the Bible in every part of the Bible. The Bible is ultimately about Jesus Christ. The Bible urges us to place our faith in him and enjoy a restored relationship with God.

The life the Bible urges us to embrace is a life of faith. But what does a life of faith look like?

What Is Faith?

The Bible describes our life as a life of faith. What is faith? Faith simply means “trust.” Trusting someone means we depend on them. God has filled his Word with promises and direction for our lives. He asks us to trust him and follow him. This doesn’t take a certain intellect or personality or socio-economic status. Faith is possible for anyone—even children. In fact, especially children (Matthew 19:14)!

The apostle Paul offers us a clear and concise summary of what life with Jesus looks like. Listen to this statement:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

When we trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, Jesus comes to live with us forever by sending his Spirit into our hearts. God’s Spirit transforms our lives. Life does not become a series of rules. It becomes a living relationship in which we read God’s Word and learn to trust him and his promises one day at a time (John 6:29). We start to live a life of love—love for God and love for others—because of the love God has shown us (1 John 4:19).

Trusting in Jesus also gives us new purpose, as we live to glorify God, to enjoy him, and help others know how wonderful he is.

Check Out Bibles.net

God has spoken to us in his Word about himself, his rescue plan for us, and his invitation to live under his loving reign from now into eternity.

This is the hope the Bibles offers us. We want to share this hope with you, through books, songs, articles, podcasts, messages, and resources that all communicate the truth of the Bible. It’s okay if you haven’t grown up in church or have never read the Bible. It’s okay if you aren’t sure what you think about Christianity. Come check out the resources on our site to learn more about God’s Word, Jesus, and the life of faith. If you’re still unsure, please contact us and ask us your questions. We’d love to talk with you.

There is hope for this world. There is hope for you. His name is Jesus. Through Bibles.net, we hope to help you better know and love the One who loves you and offers you eternal life.