Previous chapter: Chapter 10: Righteousness Is Faith That Loves
Our teacher in life is Jesus. Our classroom is our home. Our lab is home and wherever else we go that day. And our textbook is the Bible – the book that came together in Jesus Christ.
The Word of the Lord
In Chapter 8, I described how the Bible came together through Jesus Christ – the Old Testament prophesying of Him and the New Testament describing how those prophecies were fulfilled. Thus the Bible can be called the word of the Lord. But it is much more than just a compilation of prophecies and fulfillments. Among other things it is the textbook of righteousness from which He teaches us how to live as He did.
There are an untold number of books you can read about Jesus and His ways. I have written a few myself. But no book compares to the Bible. The word “bible” means “book” and it is indeed THE Book. It hold the exclusive franchise of firsthand testimony about the Son of God sanctioned by the Son of God Himself.
If we’re going to read the Bible – and we must – we have to come to grips with its scale and scope. Although the 66 books that comprise the Bible do not each compare to an average book in size, the total collection is the equivalent about about 10-15 average-sized nonfiction books published today. Roughly three dozen authors produced this content over a span of about 1,500 years. Not only that, but the individuals texts that make up the collection consistent of multiple genres and styles. Therefore, the Bible doesn’t lend itself to straight-through reading like a normal book. Many a reader has started Genesis with gusto only to give up in the minutia of animal sacrifice that populates Leviticus. You’ll get more out of the Bible by approaching it as the library it is than as you would normally approach a book.
Christ-Centered Reading of the Bible
Since the Bible is a complete set of Christianity’s founding documents, it only makes sense to formulate a plan for reading the Bible with this foundational fact in mind. How does one go about constructing a Christ-centered reading plan? By giving primary attention to the New Testament. It doesn’t speak more about Jesus Christ than the Old Testament does, but it does speak more explicitly about Jesus Christ than the Old Testament does. And, in fact, the New Testament explains much of the Old Testament to us. Therefore, I propose a reading ratio of New Testament reading to Old Testament of two to one.
Leaving aside momentarily the question of what to read, let’s talk about the quantity and frequency of reading. I suggest each person read the Bible a minimum of once a day for about 15 minutes. Adding another 15 minutes for reflection and prayer will mean a personal devotional time of about 30 minutes a day. I do not see how anyone can live a life devoted to Jesus Christ on less than this. (It wouldn’t make sense to ask “Give us this day our daily bread” and then not allocate sufficient time to eat it.)
Returning now to the question of what to read and apply it to this time arrangement, I suggest a person read three Bible chapters a day – two from the New Testament and one from the Old Testament. On average, this will mean reading about 100 words per minute, which is about half the rate of an average reader. We should allow for slower reading of the Bible because is an ancient text and because its subject matter calls for more thoughtful reading.
Reading and Re-Reading the Bible
Speaking of being Christ centered, Jesus said we should “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” You know from the two preceding chapters that righteousness is love built on a foundation of faith. Wherever we live becomes the classroom where the Lord Jesus teaches us from His textbook of righteousness: The Bible.
Because the Bible is an ancient text, and because it consists of the word of God brought to us by prophets (in the Old Testament) and apostles (in the New Testament), a lifetime of reading and re-reading it will not be enough to digest all the knowledge and wisdom it offers. If our Creator has spoken, and provided documentation, is it not our duty to devote ourselves to reading and understanding it in order to be able to respond knowledgeably to His instruction and commands?
Summing Up the Duty of a Human Being
Thus we have now defined the duty of every human being – male and female, young and old. It is to live life according to the direction of Jesus Christ as communicated through the Bible – in other words, “to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” This is creatures living life according to their Creator’s wishes…and it’s a beautiful thing.
We will now be able to spend the last chapter of this book defining the duty of a man – that is, an adult male.
Next chapter: Chapter 12: The Righteousness of a Man
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The Duty of a Man 