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What People Thought About Reading the Bible in 90 Days

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Photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash

One of the things I love about our annual Bible reading challenge is hearing what the participants thought of the experience. Here are some quotes from those who entered the drawing, introduced by the length of time it took them to read the entire Bible:

54 days: Kind of like an all-you-can-eat buffet where you can’t eat too much; you keep going because you always have room for more.

85 days: It was a sweet way to start my day, and again I discovered a flow of thoughts and themes that I miss when reading smaller sections.

66 days: I loved it! I have read through the Bible many times over the last 20 years, using various translations, but I have never tried to read the entire Bible so quickly… Reading the whole Bible through in this way was more like reading an historical novel or biography – I could hardly stop reading! Reading swiftly helped me see more clearly than ever before how the thread of redemption runs through the whole story of God’s relationship with mankind. As I read, my faith in Jesus as my Lord, Redeemer and Messiah has grown stronger, my understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit in my life became clearer, and I gained courage to follow Him more intimately. Telling others about the Kingdom of God becomes easier when you understand God’s story more fully. What a joy!

68 days: I really enjoyed reading it quickly like this. It allowed me to see the 50,000 foot view. I did get confused with all the characters reading this quickly (Kings and Chronicles-I’m looking at you), but it was a great was to see the big picture.

83 days: This is my second year reading (third listening), which gave me the confidence that I’d be able to do it again. I liked the challenge this year as well. I feel like every year I do this I’m able to make more and more connections between the Old Testament and the New (without a study bible or notes telling me references), which feels really cool! I think it just generally makes me realize this is a BOOK and God’s story (and ours!), as opposed to “let’s read a Gospel, or let’s read a certain book of the bible and talk about missions, or friendship, or discipleship or some other topic…). Overall a good experience that I hope to do again next year.

81 days: Overall it was a great experience. it started out well, then about a month in got hard and overwhelming with the amount of reading (I wanted to quit at one point). As I got to the New Testament it got easier. Reading larger portions of a books or even finishing books in one sitting was helpful to see the overall picture/theme of each book. However, there were many times I wanted to think through the text or had questions, but due to time was not able to.

78 days: One advantage of rapid reading is that you get to see the theme of the book clearly rather than the specific details. Makes it easier to identify Jesus’ role in each book. Unlike bite sized bible reading, reading in volume changes the way I retain lessons/values. Sometimes, “less significant” things get bumped by “more significant” ones until only a handful of lessons can be recalled after reading. It is easier for me to see the timeline of events in a book if I read large chunks of the Scriptures daily. You get to appreciate the bigger picture. I’d definitely do this again and again. Reading the Bible in volume saturates the mind and relieves the soul. Why did I not do this while I was young?

77 days: Amazing! I was dreading the O.T., but actually found so much depth there and saw things I would never have seen otherwise. I noticed curious themes emerging between prophets that I would not have noticed without this fast reading. Also, because I did that audio version, I have noticed that I have more of the Bible on command in my mind. I was talking with a friend about an issue and was able to seamlessly draw together an OT and NT source because they were fresh in my mind.

90 days: This is my 4th year, and each year I choose a different translation. Each year, different things jump out at me.

What Not to Do with Difficult Passages

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Elliot Clark has a wonderful piece entitled “6 Wrong Ways to Approach Difficult Bible Passages.” I am certainly guilty of a few of these. How about you?

  1. Avoid hard texts
  2. Exaggerate their significance
  3. Assume correct interpretation is simple
  4. Assume correct interpretation is inaccessible
  5. Research texts like a cold technician
  6. Query the Bible as judge and jury

Clark’s counsel is both concise and practical. For example, regarding point 2:

As I recently prepared to teach from 1 Timothy 2—one of the most controversial chapters in the Bible—I was struck by Paul’s primary command: urging prayer in the church. This focus is often obscured by the more controversial aspects of the chapter. Yet if we spend all our time thinking about a Christian’s relationship to government or women’s roles in the church and never address our calling, posture, and purpose in prayer, we’ve missed the main point. We’ve made the reader’s questions and concerns preeminent.

These errors are worth your consideration. Check it out!

Congratulations to the Winners of the Drawing

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Responses have been collected, and the drawing has now been completed. Winners have been notified via email. So if you see your name below, please check your email for a communication from me. If I don’t hear from any of the winners in one week’s time, a new winner will be selected to take their place.

Grand prize (Logos 9 Silver base package): Camila E.

Second prizes (copies of Knowable Word 2nd Ed and Sowable Word – coming later this year): Elizabeth H, Anthony H, Scott Y.

Congratulations to all who participated in this year’s reading challenge. Soon, I will share some of the comments participants submitted regarding what they thought of their 90-day readthroughs.

How Nineteenth-Century Americans Used the Bible to Support Both Slavery and Abolition

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You might be aware of the fact that many Christians used the Bible to support southern slavery in early U.S. history. Did you also know that many people used the Bible to support abolition? How is it possible that groups of people can all believe in the basic truth that the Bible is God’s word, communicating truth to us, and yet reach opposite conclusions on such huge issues?

We can see the same thing playing out with respect to many other issues today: customs for worship, preaching, and church life. Doctrines surrounding sacraments, church government, salvation, and the moral law. Political issues such as immigration, financial policy, and foreign intervention. Social issues such as abortion, race relations, homosexuality, and gender ideology. On nearly any issue, it is not difficult to find people who claim to believe the Bible, who also make use of the Bible to support contradictory positions from one another.

Why is that? How can the same book be used for so many contradictory perspectives?

Photo by Florian Schmetz on Unsplash

An Answer Worth Considering

While there is a complex range of factors contributing to such a complex situation, there is at least one factor we ought to give more attention to: How are people reading and understanding the Bible? What assumptions do they bring to this ancient book that shape the very methods by which they employ it in support of one position or another?

For example, one person presumes that the most literal, surface reading of a given text ought to be the most persuasive reading. Another person wants to string together a collection of verses that all appear to address a particular topic. Another focuses on their systematic theological system as the governing framework for reading any part of the Bible. Another wants to read the text the same way the heroes of old (or a subset of heroes of old) read it. Yet another wants to read the Bible in tandem with other ancient or modern texts that seem to be saying similar things.

My point is simply that we must not only observe the fact that someone makes use of the Bible to support a position. We must also take note of how they are using the Bible to support a position.

A Conversation Worth Your Time

The thing that spawned these reflections within me was a conversation I just listened to, published by the Mars Hill Audio Journal as one of their Friday Features. The host, Ken Myers, interviewed historian Mark Noll regarding his research on how nineteenth-century Americans went about using the Bible in support of either slavery or abolition in their debates. For now, you can find the interview here. I recommend listening to it as soon as you can, as I cannot promise how long it will remain on their site.

Noll discusses how Christians on both sides of the slavery debate resorted to “proof-texting” to make their case, yet the pro-slavery side tended to be better at it (i.e. more persuasive). Many of the proof-texted arguments in favor of the institution of slavery had no clear rebuttal, and as a result many abolitionists were forced to confess that, while the Bible permits the institution of slavery, they just couldn’t support the American expression of it. This led the pro-slavery camp to instill fear that abolition was simply the beginning of the slippery slope toward denying biblical authority at all.

There were a few shining (abolitionist) stars along the way, however, who were able to demonstrate abolitionist conclusions from biblical texts, through careful contextual study of those texts, tracing the unfolding revelation of God over time. In that day, however, proof-texting was believed to be the best way to arrive at truth, so such careful theological and contextual arguments often went unnoticed or unregarded.

I am confident I am not doing full justice to Noll’s research. So again, I commend to you the recording of his conversation with Myers for more detailed nuance and explanation. I commend it to you highly, as an example of why it is crucial that we not merely quote Bible verses but study them in context so as to grasp the larger arguments of the original authors. How we study the Bible matters.

What Book Should New Believers Read First?

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I’ve often been asked where people new to the Bible should start with the Bible. Which book of the Bible should they read first?

I believe the best answer to the question is: whichever book they are most likely to enjoy reading. So my typical response is to ask them what sort of literature they already enjoy: stories, poetry, non-fiction, etc. Then I propose some options within the Bible that are most similar in genre.

But with that said, there is certainly a place for giving more direction for guided reading to assist folks who are new to the Bible. And to that end, this article by Eden Parker has some wonderful advice. Not only does she provide two “best” options for where to begin; she also provides sound advice to guide the expectations of those just beginning to read the Bible.

Check it out!

Do Your Best

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My third commandment for commentary usage is:

You shall make every effort to form interpretive conclusions or questions about interpretations before consulting a commentary.

Is this because I think you won’t need any help?

Photo by Jason Strull on Unsplash

The Short Answer

No.

A More Nuanced Answer

I’m not suggesting that you utterly bar yourself from the insights of commentaries early in your Bible study process. Last week, I suggested that different kinds of questions need different methods for finding the answers. That’s why this third commandment says that you shall make every effort to form interpretive conclusions or questions about interpretations before consulting a commentary.

In other words, if your question is more observational in nature, then go ahead and consult a commentary. Find quickly those answers ye seek. Do you just need a map? Do you need a historical tidbit? Do you not remember a proper name? Is a particular term unfamiliar to you? Just do it. Take a look; get some help.

This third commandment focuses on the process of interpretation, after observation (or in light of it). And my exhortation to you is to learn how to do the work for yourself. Paul told Timothy to “do your best” in his handling of Scripture (2 Tim 2:15). The standard for evaluation is not getting everything perfect, but for personal progress to be visible (1 Tim 4:15).

So to make progress, you need to learn how to wrestle with the text. You need foster your curiosity and learn how to investigate. You need to gain more confidence from the text than from the experts.

So I encourage you to do your own work first. Observe and interpret, all the way up to the point where you have a guess at the author’s main point. Once there, you’re in the best position to read and consider what others have said about your text. You’ll have firm footing from which to evaluate what they say, testing everything, that you may hold fast to what is good and reject what is bad (1 Thess 5:20-22).

Six Reasons You Should Have Your Own Interpretive Ideas Before Consulting a Commentary

  1. “The one who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him” (Prov 18:17). The first commentary you read will likely seem to be right. Unless it’s not your first time reflecting that deeply on the text.
  2. Commentators often disagree with one another. Why shouldn’t you be able to disagree with them when necessary?
  3. Commentators often change their minds from their earlier writings to their later writings. They are constantly re-evaluating and re-thinking their conclusions based on new insights into the text. So why shouldn’t you do the same with their conclusions?
  4. It is more important for you to make progress in your ability to handle the word than for you to have perfect answers for any given text. If you can get answers only by reading a commentary, what happens if you lose access to your commentaries? Or can’t find a decent one for the next book you study?
  5. If you teach, people will ask you questions the commentary may not have answered. If you haven’t learned to answer your own questions from the text, how will you help others learn how to do that?
  6. Over-reliance or premature reliance on commentaries comes dangerously close to establishing those commentators as a high priestly class through whom your relationship with God is mediated. Jesus died to tear the veil and give you access to the very mind and heart of God through his word.

For the Record

And less you misunderstand my perspective, let me repeat: Once you have a guess at the author’s main point, consult some commentaries! You should welcome the help. It would not be wise to cut yourself off from the trained insights of others to guide you toward even further progress. Do your best.

The Danger of Quoting Verses

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Brandon Smith has a helpful piece on the danger of what he calls “stacking verses,” where we quote verses in isolation for inspiration or to support a particular point.

Some modern examples include Instagram posts and coffee mugs that quote Philippians 4:13 or Jeremiah 29:11. In both cases, these verses appear to promise material, physical, or even eternal blessing from God. However, in both cases, the context of the passage reveals that these verses are a promise of provision amid suffering.

Stacking up these verses might be innocent for some, but this is also the root of the dangerous prosperity gospel that has infiltrated the global church. From as early as Jesus’s ministry to our world today, verse-stacking has plagued the church and brought about countless negative consequences.

The devil quoted a Bible verse to Jesus, attempting to persuade him to test his Father. Ancient heretics had plenty of Bible verses to support their hell-bound doctrines. Sadly, many continue the same practice today.

The problem is not merely in quoting individual verses. It is the danger of quoting verses independent of their context and misaligned with the original author’s intention. Smith provides two interpretive convictions that will help us to avoid much of the danger:

  1. The Bible is a coherent theological book before it is anything else.
  2. The Bible is a canon—a set of 66 books that serve as the rule or measuring rod of our theology.

You should check out his piece to see how he fleshes this all out. I commend his article to you.

Check it out!

Commentaries are Not for When Bible Study is Hard

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A few weeks back, I proposed ten commandments for commentary usage. Those commandments arose from further reflection on the maxim “not whether but when.” I would now like to take a few weeks to expand on each of the “commandments.”

Commandment #1 (“You shall not avoid or ignore commentaries from belief in self-sufficiency to study the Scriptures”) was thoroughly addressed in the “not whether but when” post, so I will not delve into it any further. Let’s now pick up with commandment #2:

You shall not pick up a commentary as soon as Bible study is “hard.”

The Problem

I’m not embarrassed to admit it: Bible study is hard. If we have ever communicated otherwise on this blog, I repent in dust and ashes.

The Bible was written long ago, to people in cultures very different than ours. It was written in languages no longer spoken to address situations no longer extant. The worldviews and assumptions of the Bible’s authors were radically distinct from those held by most today. Even the Bible’s “easier” terminology consists of concepts that prompt very different images today than they would have prompted to the original authors and audiences (for example: church, faith, preach, law, gospel, righteousness, wisdom, salvation, etc.). The Bible’s poetry uses metaphors in a very different way than we use metaphors today. The Bible’s narratives refer to places most of us have never been to. The Bible’s discourses refute arguments people often aren’t arguing about any more.

I’m trying not to overstate the differences, because it is certainly the case that very little has changed in terms of the general human plight and human experience from ancient to postmodern times. But the fact remains that we need a lot of help to understand the people, cultures, situations, concerns, and arguments of the Bible.

Photo by Green Chameleon on Unsplash

A Multi-Faceted Solution

Before running immediately to commentaries when Bible study is hard, I find it critical to distinguish between the different kinds of interpretive questions that can arise.

  • What? questions define the terms.  (“What did he mean?”)
  • Why? questions uncover the author’s purpose.  (“Why did he say that?”)
  • So What? questions draw out the implications.  (“So what does he want me to do about it?”)

In general, the first category of questions often complete your observation. This category involves questions such as:

  • What is Passover?
  • Where is Ephesus?
  • Who was Abraham?
  • What OT passage is this NT text quoting from?
  • What is propitiation?

And for such “what” questions—where you simply need to get something defined, clarified, referenced, or mapped out—a commentary or study Bible may be your best ally. Go right ahead and work to close that knowledge gap between the original audience and yourself, by checking out a helpful resource that can quickly put you in their shoes. There is not much reason to hold back from using commentaries on such questions.

But the other categories of questions warrant a different approach. When you have a “why” question (such as “why does the author say such and such?” or “why does he tell this story in this way?”), you are better off not running to commentaries too quickly. The “why” questions are the heart of interpretation, and their main purpose is to help you figure out the author’s main point or primary argument. If that is hard for you to do, you are in good company. But the solution is not to find “the answers” in a commentary or study Bible. If you do that, how will you be able to evaluate whether that commentator’s answers are true (strong, reasonable, probable, wise) or not? Your best help is to learn how to follow the argument of the text itself. That will give you the best measuring rod against which to evaluate competing interpretations given by others.

And when you have a “so what” question, working toward the implications and applications for you or the people you want to teach, no commentator will know your situation better than you do. Sure, commentaries can help suggest broad ideas or topics for potential application. But they won’t be able to connect the text to your life, today. When your “so what” questions are hard to answer, the best solution is further reflection on the main point, along with prayerful reflection on how to correlate it with the rest of Scripture, and especially with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Bible study is hard. And using commentaries just because Bible study is hard might not be the solution you’re looking for. In fact, it has the potential for grounding you deeper and deeper in a web of presumption from which you struggle to get untangled.

Who is the Parable of the Tenants About?

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In a back issue of Tabletalk magazine, Charles K. Telfer has a helpful piece on the parable of the tenants (Matt 21:33-46). In this parable, Jesus describes a vineyard owner who sends his representative to collect fruit from those who have rented the vineyard, who refuse to hand it over. They kill each messenger, up to and including the owner’s own son. The vineyard owner then declares war on the rebels and hands his vineyard over to others who will serve him more faithfully.

In the course of explaining the parable, Telfer makes an important move. He does not immediately look for what the parable says about us, as so many are so quick to do when they study the Scriptures. First, Telfer looks for what the parable says about them—those to whom Jesus was speaking, and especially those to whom Matthew was writing.

The initial historical fulfillment of these prophecies took place in the disasters of AD 66–70 and 132–35, when the Romans destroyed the temple, the city of Jerusalem, and most of the leaders of the people.

This leads him to some crucial conclusions about Jesus’ purpose in this parable:

Look at what Jesus underlines as the foundational offense: rejecting Him. Jesus puts Himself forward as the Son in special relationship with the Father. C.S. Lewis argues cogently that no one can take Jesus as just another good moral teacher. He must be either the Messiah or a megalomaniac. Jesus claims that rejecting Him is the climactic act that leads to judgment. Jesus puts Himself at the center of Yahweh’s purposes in the way He quotes the Old Testament in the parable. In verse 42, He applies Psalm 118:22–23 to Himself: “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (see Isa. 28:16). In essence, Jesus is asserting, “The powerful may consider Me a valueless reject, but God will do marvels through Me and give Me a kingdom.” More soberly still, in Matthew 21:44, Jesus presents Himself as the dangerous stone (Isa. 8:14; Dan. 2:34, 44). “Don’t brush Me aside!” He is saying.

And then—get this!—Telfer shows how the early church made application from this parable, and he draws some compelling applications for us today.

Telfer’s analysis is a great example of how our application for people today will be even stronger if we don’t go there too quickly. Go the long way around, by first making sure you’ve grasped how the passage spoke to the original audience, pointing them to Jesus. And then your application for today will connect with much greater force.

Please take a look at how Telfer does this. Check it out!

Additional Prizes for This Year’s Bible Reading Challenge

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In case the fact has slipped your mind, we still have a Bible reading challenge underway. All you have to do is read the entire Bible within 90 days, and then you can enter to win a free Logos 9 Silver base package. See here for the complete rules. You still have plenty of time to complete the reading by March 31, and if you’re just getting started, you may count anything you have read since January 1.

When I announced this year’s challenge, and in the reminders since, I’ve off-handedly mentioned that there will be several prizes given in addition to the grand prize. I’m now ready to divulge what those additional prizes will be.

We’ve been working on some updated and new resources to help you learn to both study the Bible for yourself and lead Bible studies for others.

First, my book Knowable Word has been revised and expanded with a second edition.

Second, my new book on how to lead small group Bible studies will soon be available!

I’ll write more about both books another time. But for this year’s reading challenge, three winners will receive copies of both books. So make sure to finish strong and use the form below to let us know how it went for you. So far, we have 13 entries in the drawing. I expect quite a bit more to pour in this month as the deadline approaches. But still—your chances of winning a prize are pretty good!