Most Christians would say that studying the Bible is a critical spiritual discipline, but many of them struggle to do it regularly. While a 2017 Pew Research study found that 63% of evangelical Protestants read the Bible at least once a week, it’s safe to assume that some of that number represents folks who only crack the Scriptures during church on Sunday morning. And this still leaves about 47% who don’t read the Bible once a week.
Holding the Bible in high regard doesn’t guarantee that we’ll read it regularly. There are a number of reasons why someone may struggle to get into the habit of studying Scripture. Sometimes we allow urgent things to crowd out the most important things. And some people struggle to get much out of their time in the Word.
The point of this post isn’t to make anyone feel guilty about not studying the Bible, but rather to offer some helpful and inspiring quotes to remind you of the value of this integral discipline.
Check out these 12 quotes. And if any speak to you, write them out and put them on your bathroom mirror, make it your phone wallpaper, or commit it to memory!
Video: Can the Bible be trusted?
1. The Bible is the greatest of all books
“The Bible is the greatest of all books; to study it is the noblest of all pursuits; to understand it, the highest of all goals.”
― Charles C. Ryrie
2. Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of God
“If you are ignorant of God’s Word, you will always be ignorant of God’s will.”
– Billy Graham
3. The Bible is the treasure map
“I could simply share with you the treasures I’ve uncovered. But I’d rather give you the treasure map.”
– Jane Johnson
4. Study of the Bible is study of God
“We must make a study of our God: what He loves, what He hates, how He speaks and acts. We cannot imitate a God whose features and habits we have never learned. We must make a study of Him if we want to become like Him. We must seek His face.”
― Jen Wilkin
5. The Bible makes for useful Christians
“I never saw a useful Christian who was not a student of the Bible.”
– D. L. Moody
6. We must apply ourselves to understanding the Bible
“We are dealing with God’s thoughts: we are obligated to take the greatest pains to understand them truly and to explain them clearly.”
― D.A. Carson
7. Our growth and maturity depend on the Bible
“God wants to communicate with you in the 21st century. He wrote His message in a book. He asks you to come and study that book for three compelling reasons: it’s essential for growth. It’s essential for maturity. It’s essential for equipping you, training you, so that you might be an available, clean, sharp instrument in His hands to accomplish His purposes.
So the real question confronting you now is: How can you afford not to be in God’s Word?”
– Howard Hendricks
8. Christians need both the Bible and the Holy Spirit
“The wings of an airplane represent the life of every believer. One wing represents the Person and ministry of the Holy Spirit. The other wing represents the Word of God. Just as a plane cannot fly without both wings, neither can the believer in Christ really ‘fly.’”
– Bill Bright
9. Turn to the Bible’s light when your world is dark
“When the world beats you down, open up your Bible.”
– Lysa TerKeurst
10. The Bible always comes through for us
“Down through the years, I turned to the Bible and found in it all that I needed.”
― Ruth Bell Graham
11. Read the Bible deeply and widely
“Some people like to read so many [Bible] chapters every day. I would not dissuade them from the practice, but I would rather lay my soul asoak in half a dozen verses all day than rinse my hand in several chapters. Oh, to be bathed in a text of Scripture, and to let it be sucked up in your very soul, till it saturates your heart!”
– Charles Haddon Spurgeon
12. The quickest route to spiritual maturity is through the Bible
“The Word of God well understood and religiously obeyed is the shortest route to spiritual perfection. And we must not select a few favorite passages to the exclusion of others. Nothing less than a whole Bible can make a whole Christian.”
– A.W. Tozer
Take the Jesus Film 24-day challenge!
Inspired to get into the Bible? We have a great 24-day reading plan that will take you through the Gospel of Luke. The YouVersion reading plan features devotions from Moody Church pastor Dr. Edwin Lutzer and video from the “JESUS” film.
Jump into this reading plan today!
