START HERE • STAGE 3

How To Actually Read The Bible
A Guide for New Believers Who Don't Know Where to Start

You have a Bible. Maybe you have had one for years. Maybe you just got one.

Regardless of how long you have owned a Bible, you may have opened it, read a few verses, experienced either brief inspiration or confusion, and then closed it again, possibly feeling guilty for not reading more.

This cycle does not indicate a personal failing. It is a common experience when one is given a map without instructions on how to interpret it.

The Bible is not merely a collection of inspirational quotes, a rule book, or a daily devotional. It is a far more comprehensive and demanding text. Once you understand its true nature, your approach to engaging with it will fundamentally change.

This article is designed not to provide a specific Bible reading plan, but rather to offer the framework that makes any reading plan meaningful and effective.

What the Bible Actually Is

The Apostle Paul writes this to a young pastor named Timothy:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

— 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The claim is that Scripture is 'breathed out by God.' This is not inspiration in the sense of a poet responding to a sunset, but rather the same language used in Genesis when God breathed life into Adam. Scripture is understood to carry the very breath of God.

Therefore, when you open the Bible, you are not simply reading the perspectives of ancient religious figures attempting to interpret the universe. Instead, you are engaging with what God has chosen to communicate, preserved over thousands of years, through numerous authors, in multiple languages and regions, for your benefit.

Consider the practical implications. When the Bible states that you are a new creation, it is not merely a metaphor intended for encouragement; it is a declaration of reality by God. Similarly, when Scripture affirms that nothing can separate you from the love of God, it is not simply poetic language, but a promise from the Creator.

The authority of the Bible is not merely an intellectual doctrine to be acknowledged and set aside. Rather, it serves as the foundation that determines the significance of every other truth presented in this series. If the Bible is only a helpful book, the declarations in Stage 2 are simply inspiring. If it is the breathed-out Word of God, those declarations become unshakeable.

This distinction fundamentally alters your approach to Scripture.

The One Story You Need to Know

The Bible is 66 books written over approximately 1,500 years by around 40 different authors. Kings, shepherds, fishermen, doctors, priests, poets — writing in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek — and yet one coherent story runs from Genesis to Revelation without contradiction.

This coherence is not coincidental; it reflects the influence of a single Author working through various human writers.

Before reading individual chapters, it is essential to understand the overarching narrative. Without this context, passages may appear disconnected or confusing. With it, the text becomes coherent, including your place within the story.

The story moves in four movements:

Creation.  God makes everything good. Man and woman are made in His image — designed for relationship with Him, with each other, and with the world He has placed them in. This is what things were supposed to look like.

Fall. Man chooses his own way over God's. The relationship breaks. Death enters — spiritual death first, physical death to follow. The world that was supposed to flourish under God's design begins to fracture. Every problem you see in the world today injustice, suffering, corruption, and death traces back to this moment.

Redemption.  God does not walk away. He makes a promise in Genesis 3 a descendant of the woman will crush the head of the serpent. The entire Old Testament is the story of God keeping that promise, narrowing it through Abraham, through Israel, through David, until it arrives at a manger in Bethlehem. Jesus is the fulfillment of everything the Old Testament was pointing toward. His life, death, and resurrection are the hinge point of all of history. The relationship is restored. The price is paid. The way back to God is open.

Restoration.  The story is not finished. Jesus rose, ascended, and sent His Spirit. The Church — every believer now carries the message of redemption to the world until He returns. When He does, everything broken by the Fall will be made new. Creation restored. Death destroyed. God dwelling with His people forever.

You currently live within the fourth movement, situated between the resurrection and the restoration. Recognizing this context allows the New Testament letters to resonate as if they were written specifically for your circumstances, which is their intended effect.

Where to Start Reading and Why the Answer Is Not Genesis

Almost every new believer makes the same mistake. They open to Genesis 1, read through the creation account, get into the genealogies somewhere around Genesis 5, and quietly give up.

Genesis is an important book to read eventually, but it is not the ideal starting point for new believers.

You start in the Gospels. Specifically, you start in John.

The reason is that the Gospel of John was written explicitly to encourage belief in Jesus and to offer life in His name. It provides the clearest and most direct introduction to Jesus—His identity, teachings, miracles, death, and resurrection. If the Bible is viewed as a single narrative, John serves as the chapter that introduces the main character and His purpose.

After John, go to Romans. Romans is the most systematic explanation of the Gospel — what sin is, what salvation accomplishes, what it means to live as someone who has been justified by faith. Romans 8 alone is worth reading fifty times. It is where you find the theological foundation for almost everything in the identity series you just completed.

After Romans, go back to the Gospels — Matthew, Mark, and Luke. By now you know who Jesus is from John and you understand the theological weight of what He did from Romans. Reading the other Gospels with that foundation is a completely different experience.

Then move into Acts — the story of the early church — and the letters of the Apostle Paul: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Galatians. These are the letters written to believers, about the Christian life, in the same voice and framework as everything you have been learning.

The Old Testament can be explored after establishing a foundation in the New Testament. Psalms and Proverbs are accessible early, offering poetry and wisdom that complement your reading. The Prophets and the Law become clearer once you understand their fulfillment in the New Testament. You do not need to earn the right to read the Old Testament, but the New Testament provides the perspective that makes it more comprehensible.

→ Suggested reading order for new believers:

John → Romans → Matthew, Mark, Luke → Acts → Ephesians → Philippians → Colossians

Alongside: Psalms and Proverbs at any point

Then: The rest of the New Testament letters

Then: Old Testament with the New Testament as your lens

The Difference Between Reading At the Bible and Reading With Intention

Reading at the Bible involves opening to a chapter, reading the text, finishing the chapter, and closing the book. While you have technically read the Bible, this approach often leaves you unchanged.

Reading with intention looks different. It starts before you open the page.

Come with a question. Not a complicated theological question — a simple one. What is God showing me about Himself in this passage? What is He showing me about myself? Is there something here to believe, something to obey, something to avoid, something to be grateful for?

Read at a pace that allows for reflection. The objective is not to read as much as possible, but to encounter God through His Word. These are distinct goals. Someone who reads one chapter slowly and thoughtfully gains more than someone who quickly reads ten chapters.

When you encounter a phrase, verse, or word you do not understand, pause and reflect. Do not skip over these moments. Often, the areas that challenge you provide the greatest insight. Take time to consider, pray, and research. Difficult passages are not barriers but invitations to deeper understanding.

Write something down. It does not need to be formal. A single sentence in the margin, a note on your phone, something that transfers what you read from the page to your own words. The act of writing forces you to actually process what you read rather than slide past it.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

— Psalm 119:105

A lamp illuminates only the next step, not the entire path. You do not need to comprehend everything at once; you need sufficient guidance for your immediate journey. Daily reading offers this, providing enough insight for today rather than complete theological mastery.

How to Build the Habit Without It Collapsing in Week Two

Most new believers start strong. The first week is consistent. The second week has a few misses. By week three the guilt has made the whole thing feel heavy, and they have quietly stopped.

The reality is that the objective is not to maintain a flawless record, but to pursue consistent progress in a particular direction.

Missing a day does not undo the days you read. It is not a game that resets to zero. A believer who reads six days out of seven for a year has spent over three hundred hours in the Word. That person is not the same person they were twelve months earlier. The gap days did not cancel the growth.

Begin with manageable goals. Fifteen minutes, one chapter, or even half a chapter is sufficient. The consistency of your practice is more important than the amount read. Regular, modest engagement is more effective than infrequent, extensive sessions.

Choose a specific time for reading and prioritize it. This is not because God tracks your schedule, but because habits without a set time are easily disrupted by daily events. While mornings are effective for many, the best time is the one you can consistently maintain.

When you miss — and you will miss — do not add guilt to the absence. Just pick it back up. The enemy loves to turn a missed day into a reason to abandon the practice entirely. Do not give him the leverage. Open the Bible and read. That is the whole response to a missed day.

A practical strategy is to keep your Bible visible, such as on your nightstand, kitchen table, or desk, rather than stored away. Visibility serves as a daily reminder and can significantly encourage regular reading.

What Comes Next

Engaging with the Word of God is the means by which your mind is renewed. It serves as the primary tool God uses to align your lived experience with your identity in Christ. All the declarations and identity truths from Stage 2 are rooted in Scripture. The more time you invest in reading, the more these truths become internalized knowledge rather than abstract concepts.

Stage 4 covers prayer — the other half of the conversation. If the Bible is God speaking to you, prayer is you speaking to God. The two belong together, and neither one works the way it should without the other.

Before you move to Stage 4, spend at least one week reading through the Gospel of John using the approach from this article. One chapter at a time. One question going in. Something written down coming out. That is the practice. Start there. Much love and blessings!

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