How Often Should I Read My Bible?

It’s pretty common, especially in our western culture, to view Bible reading as an essential aspect of our faith. And it truly is. How could the living Word of God be anything else?

However, in our western world of extremes, time and devotion to the Bible have become something of a checklist item for the devoted believer. We’ve taken the Scriptures and turned them into a chore. We’ve made God’s revelation to us a legalistic weapon.

Allow me to explain.

I talk to people fairly often who struggle with guilt and shame at how little they read their Bible. Bible reading, in a very real way, has become a sort of stumbling block for many.

“Am I a bad Christian if I don’t read my Bible every day?”

I think so often, people have come to view Bible reading as solely a means to please God. When they miss a day or don’t have an earth-shattering revelation, they feel as if they’ve let God down in some way.

In fact, it can be all too easy to wonder if it makes you a bad Christian if you don’t read your Bible every day.

The Bible is a means for knowing the character of God. It’s how God has chosen to reveal Himself to us in these last days. The Bible is an incredibly important book, and we have unprecedented access to the text. But do we have to read it every single day?

Before we can answer that question, let’s look at the history of the Bible a little bit.

The History of the Bible

The Bible was written by 40 different authors over thousands of years. These authors had varied backgrounds, experience, and even levels of devotion.

For most of the Bible’s existence, however, the words have been passed down either orally or through a limited number of scrolls. There was no printing press until a few hundred years ago, which meant that mass production was off the table.

In order to copy the manuscripts to pass them on or share them, the text would have to be copied meticulously by hand onto fragile scrolls or parchments. Not just anyone could copy the text, either; that job was left for the scribes.

If a community was lucky, they would have access to a few of the scrolls or texts from the prophets. But then, what good would it really do them? Most people throughout biblical times couldn’t read.

In fact, literacy didn’t truly become widespread until the last few hundred years. Even today, there are a number of cultures with extremely low literacy rates.

When you think about how inaccessible the Scriptures truly were to the average person, and even some of the priesthood, passages throughout Scripture of people running away from the Lord become a little more understandable. That’s an article for another day, however.

How Was the Bible Used?

As you look at the history of God’s Word and how people used it for generations, you see an interesting picture. By necessity, the Word was often an oral tradition. It was written to be shared in community.

The books of the Bible were recorded to illustrate God’s purpose and plan, as well as teach us lessons about what came before. Every segment of Scripture was recorded under the guidance of the Holy Spirit for the edification of the Church.

The context for the study and reading of Scripture is necessarily within community. Especially in the New Testament, many of the epistles reference being written to a group of people, and were intended to be shared among the community.

When the Apostle Paul wrote the letters to various churches and leaders in the first century, he wasn’t picturing a bound book designed for mass production. He wanted to impart the truths that God had revealed to him to a group of people in a specific area and context, with the understanding that they would embrace and spread that doctrine in their spheres of influence.

Now it’s certainly not wrong to read your Bible individually. You even see pictures of that throughout Scripture, such as the Ethiopian in Acts who is reading from the scroll of Isaiah. But primarily, the Bible is for community and for the Church.

For the majority of the Bible’s existence, the only access that most people had to the text was under the teaching of faithful leaders. Unfortunately, because of this limited access, there was plenty of room for unfaithful leaders to distort the text and the message.

Of course it only takes a quick look around us or on social media to see that hasn’t really changed. But I digress…

How Should We Read Today?

So what does this all mean for us today and how should we approach the Word?

I’ll reiterate that there is simply no substitute for the truth of Scripture and the power it can have in our lives. We have amazing access to the Bible—more than any other culture in history.

But we’re not called to live out disembodied doctrine. Outside of biblical community and discipleship, the Word can become simple text and a means for puffed up knowledge rather than a means to know the heart of God.

The Bible, in the wrong context, can be a source of guilt rather than a source of regeneration and repentance. We should treasure the Bible and never forget how blessed we are to have such amazing access to Scripture.

At the same time, if the Bible was never written with mass production and availability in mind, we shouldn’t act like that model is the command of the Lord.

So here’s the crux of this discussion: is it sinful to not read the Bible every day? I would argue that it is not.

If it was inherently disobedient to not spend daily time in the Word, then God would have set His people up for failure for thousands of years, by ordaining something that was literally impossible to follow through with.

I think we need to be careful to not needlessly heap guilt upon ourselves. We are commanded by Jesus to love God and love people. Treasure the Word, yes. But don’t let the habit of Bible reading become a burden or a stumbling block.

It’s possible to have a deep, intimate, and authentic relationship with Jesus with limited access to the Bible. People have done so for thousands of years.

“Consider it an honor and a privilege to have access to the Word.”

Again, consider it an honor and a privilege to have this access to the Word. Read it. Know it. Appreciate it. But don’t be enslaved by the “duty” of it.

It’s worth noting that this isn’t a recommendation to completely remove Scripture from our lives. What a waste of precious and divine opportunity that would be!

At the same time, don’t let yourself be deceived into a sense of comfort with ignoring the Bible, while also putting forth little to no effort into the prayer and devotion to God that marks the true Christian faith.

Seek Him always. Fall to your knees before Him. Treasure His presence in your life. Then seek the council of Scripture out of a desire to see more of Him and fill your cup with more of Him.

The Word of God is not meant for duty, but for devotion.

So How Often Should You Read Your Bible?

Let’s sum up what we’ve discussed:

• Read the Bible as often as you can or as often as you need to

• But don’t be held hostage by the duty or “chore” of Bible reading

• Our extensive access to the Scriptures is a blessing, not a burden

• You can read the Bible every day and still not have a healthy relationship with God

• It’s not a sin if you don’t read your Bible every day

• Jesus commanded us to love God and love people. Start with that.