12/30 Why Read the Bible in 2025?

This is Scripture for Students. I’m Steve Whitacre, president of Trinity College and a pastor at Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville. I want to help students build a daily habit for life-long Bible reading. Today is December 30, 2024 and in this episode of Scripture for Students, I want to talk about Why Read Through the Bible in 2025.

When I started running track in about 7th grade, no one ever explained to us why stretching was important. It seemed like an unnecessary 15 minutes before and after practice that kept us at school a half hour longer than we needed to be. It wasn’t until I skipped the stretching one practice that I discovered why stretching was so important. As I spent the entire next day aching, limping, and groaning, I resolved to never skip stretching again!

In that little episode, I learned why stretching is important and I learned that there are few things in life as frustrating as working at something and not knowing why you are doing it. 

Reading the Bible is the same way. I would love to say, “Read your Bible this year. It will help you. Just trust me.” But it is its own kind of hard work to get up and devote time to reading your Bible every morning for an entire year. If you don’t have good reasons to do it, you will give up as soon as you hit the genealogies at the beginning of the book of Numbers. I want to give you a few good reasons for reading the Bible.

Here are four reasons you should join us in reading the Bible in 2025:

First, God works through his Word. The Bible is God’s instrument of change in the lives of everyone who believes. You can think of regular Bible reading as preventive maintenance. It is not so much a cast for a broken arm as it is the strengthening effect of a healthy, balanced diet. Think of it as spiritual hygiene. When we read our Bibles regularly, God grows spiritual health in us in ways we don’t even recognize. God’s word cures a thousand ills in our hearts without us even realizing it. He equips us for trials we don’t know are coming. And he delights us daily with his presence and with reminders of the gospel.

Second, God sovereignly applies his Word to unexpected situations. You’ll be surprised how often a morning’s Bible reading is “just the right thing” for the needs of the day. It blows me away how often this happens. Maybe I’ll read a chapter from Matthew’s gospel in the morning. Maybe the words from 6:34 stand out to me and I spend a minute or two thinking about these two sentences: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Later in the day, I’m driving somewhere and I notice a strange sound coming from under the hood of my car. Is it going to be a pricey repair that I don’t have the money for? I could easily spend the next half hour worrying about that, but I’ve read Matthew 6 that morning, I’ll remember that God commands me not to be anxious, so I can rest in his promises to provide for my needs. This kind of experience happens to me all the time. And it isn’t just for me. That brings us to the third reason to read the Bible in 2025: 

Third, as you read God’s Word daily, you’re digging a well that you can draw on for the good of others. I think every true Christian wants to be able to care for our brothers and sisters. And we want to be able to say something lasting and meaningful, which means we’re going to need a reservoir of God’s Word. Opinions, tips and tricks, even quotations from historical figures won’t sustain someone nearly so well as even a single verse from Holy Scripture. But you can’t give what you ain’t got. One of my favorite Bible verses on this is Isaiah 50:4, “The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary.” God wants to use you to sustain with a word him who is weary. But you won’t be able to do that unless you are drinking deeply from this book yourself. 

Fourth, God will show you his grace in portions of Scripture you might not often visit. The gospel is on every page of our Bibles and in every book of our Bibles. Are there certain chapters or even whole books that you’ve avoided? Or maybe you haven’t avoided them so much as neglected them. We all have our favorites; some people camp out in Psalms; others keep returning to Philippians. Maybe you’ve never really read Hosea. Or maybe you skip over the speeches in Job so you can get to the good stuff when God begins questioning Job. Maybe you like Isaiah, but not Jeremiah. Maybe Philemon feels to you like you are listening in on someone else’s conversation. Well, as we read parts of the Bible that we’re not as familiar with, we can expect God to meet us in surprising ways. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable…” I’ve done some study on that word “all” and you know what? It means every bit of God’s Word is good for you! 

Finally, God will meet you as you read it together. Here’s a pro tip: you will enjoy reading through the Bible so much more—and you will get so much more out of it—if you read it with someone else. Enlist your parents, your siblings, your friends, your youth group or your small group. And then talk about it. One of two things will happen: either you will notice the same things as your reading partners and you will both be able to enjoy the experience of seeing together, or you will notice different things and this will double the value of your reading. You’ll be learning from God’s word and learning from one another. There are so many great conversations awaiting us around the dinner table, sitting at a stoplight, or in your small group, encouraging one another with what God is showing us.

So there are five reasons that I hope will motivate you to join us reading the Bible in 2025. This is just a starter list! How many more reasons can you add to this list? 

That’s all for today. If you enjoyed this episode please share it with a friend and follow us on Apple Podcasts.

This content is sponsored by Trinity College of Louisville. We shape young men and young women for Christ and for the church. Learn more at TrinityCollegeLou.com. Until next time, keep growing!