How to read the Bible
I have thought to myself many times; that this couldn't be the way God wanted it to be. As a matter of fact there are probably over 4,000 "religions" because of the "apparent contradictions."
I think that one of the primary problems in reading the bible is that when reading you are under the assumption that this is written "directly to you." If you try and apply that premise to the bible you are most surely going to get confused.
It would almost be like you getting a piece of my mail. Let's say in the letter it had a message to meet at my favorite restaurant on Tuesday. Now you could read that message, but it surely wouldn't have much meaning to you.
Well, the same thing applies to the Bible. It is important to understand that the Bible is about the Jewish people. It is a story about their history, and about their future. It is written primarily to the Jews and secondarily to the "church." The church being all believers in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
Many of the "contradictions" would be cleared up if we only asked ourselves; is this written to the "Jews" or to the "church?"
I believe there is one other important thing to consider when reading scripture. That is what "period of time" are we talking about? When breaking down the Bible you will see that there are seven distinct periods of time. They are sometimes referred to as "ages" or "administrations" but for the purpose of this we will call them "periods of time."
Each period of time is marked off in scripture by the way God deals with mankind; and each one ends in a judgement. For a brief description of these periods of time just click on the link. I believe that you will find the Bible to be much more understandable with these things in mind.
Another tip if you are reading it for the first time;
*Pray first before opening God's word. Ask for guidance and to be able to accept what is written and to be able to apply His will to your life.With these things in mind I suggest reading in this order;
*Forget everything you have ever heard about Jesus, God and the Bible before you start reading the Bible. Don't take what you want it to say with you first.
*Never read the Bible trying to prove your belief on any subject. It is only human nature to take ideas out of context.
* Start with the New Testament, people who start with the Old Testament almost never read the Bible all the way through. The New Testament is what is binding on us today not the Old. We need to follow God's will for us today not what was intended for the Jews.
1.Read "Mark." (It is written in chronological order.)
2.Read "Matthew." (It goes into better detail of some events and adds more about Jesus.)
3.Read "John." (It contains a lot of the life of Jesus not before read, especially his last two weeks before the crucifixion.)
4.Read "Luke" then "Acts." (Both written by Apostle Paul's traveling companion Luke. Acts is a continuation of Luke. It describes the early church and contains the examples of New Testament conversions.)
5.Read "Galations." (It deals with the reasons why we do not follow the Old Testament Laws in a more simplified way than does Romans or Hebrews.)
6.Then read the rest of the New Testament starting at Romans and going to Revelation.
7. Once you have an understanding of Romans through Thessalonians you should then begin with the Old Testament; it is there for our learning.
