Bible Literacy: How to Start Reading the Bible

By R.C. Madison

How well do you know what's in the Bible? Why should you know? This book shows the importance of knowing scripture, why we need to understand it, how it has authority in our lives, and most important, how we can delight in God's Word. The Scripture is the inspired Word of God to us. As we can read it, God Himself speaks to us!

It's not just about learning laws or rules for living–the Word gives us life. Jesus invites us to know about him. He invites us to experience and live in relationship with him. And this is what it's like when we read the word. We're actually invited to know and experience and delight and enjoy Jesus through his Word to us.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Renewal Books
• Release date: Apr 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781386817499

Book preview

What Does It Mean to Be Biblically Literate?

Literate in the most basic sense means whether you can read or write. But it can mean more than that. It is sometimes used in terms of things you know about, like maybe you say you are computer literate; you possess the talents and the ability or skills to operate a computer. Maybe you even have some software knowledge. At my age, I would not be considered computer literate.

But are you biblically literate? What does it mean to be biblically literate? Biblical literacy is the ability to read the Bible with sufficient understanding of its basic meaning and apply its discerned meaning. It's being able to understand the Bible's meaning and that includes the ability to apply its meaning. So when we talk about being biblically literate, that means understanding what the scripture says, what's the meaning of the text, and how do we apply that meaning.

Now, there's nothing wrong with being biblically illiterate–for a time. We were all biblically illiterate at one time. We didn't know what the Bible has to say. I didn't grow up going to church, didn't really read the Bible until I was 21 years old. When I finally did, I was amazed at the Bible. I made a few attempts when I was younger, but I'd usually start in Genesis, go for a while, read about creation and Noah and maybe get to Moses and the Exodus if I was having a particularly good day.

And then I would kind of lose interest and move on to something else. I was very biblically illiterate when I first came to church. I didn't know that much about the Bible, but I was very zealous. I would come to church and I was always excited about going to church. I would go home, and I would read my Bible. I've learned as much as I could. I'd spend hours going through the Bible, wanting to learn what it has to say. As I said, I was very zealous and when I joined the church, we were building a new facility. I was really excited about it. We had a lot of work parties, and I remember a lot of wonderful memories during the construction of the building.

It was a very exciting chapter of my life. It was totally like volunteer labor. I didn't know that we hardly hired anything out. One time during a church service, we were talking about a work party. I just felt like I should encourage people to go to the work party. So, I got up and they gave me the opportunity to express what I wanted to say. And I exclaimed that what we’re doing is so important and exciting. We're growing and moving ahead. It's like the Bible says many hands lighten the work. Then, I sat down and one of the guys came up to me and he asked where that is in the Bible. I said, it's not in the Bible.

I was a little embarrassed because I was pretty illiterate, and I didn't really know what the Bible says; but I knew I was zealous.

So, how do we determine if we're literate or illiterate when it comes to the Bible? There are a lot of ways to find out, just like giving a test. So, that’s what we’re going to do. Feel free to take the test at home, and keep in mind that this is considered a beginner’s level test:

Question 1: What appeared just before Elijah was taken up to heaven?

A boat

A sack of gold

A chariot of fire

A bronze ox

Question 2: Which disease was Naaman afflicted:

gout,

epilepsy,

flu

leprosy

Question 3: In which river did Naaman washed away his leprosy:

the Jordan,

the Tigris

Euphrates, or

the Thames?

Question 4: What was Mephibosheth’s disability? Was he

blind,

deaf,

mute or

lame?

Question 5: Which woman did David watch as she bathed on her roof:

Uriah,

Penelope,

Eve, or

Bathsheba?"

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Ready for the intermediate level?

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Question 6: How old was Noah when he entered the arc:

108,

200,

450, or

600

Question 7: From what part of Adam’s body was Eve created:

fingernails,

hair,

rib, or

heart

Question 8: After God expelled Adam and Eve from Eden, what object did He place to the East of the garden?

eagle's feather,

a fountain,

a height of a cow or

a flaming sword

Question 9: What did Joseph tell Pharaoh he needed to store up in the seven years of plenty?

water

gold

grain, or

blankets

Question 10: Who wrestled an angel?

Adam,

Jacob,

Esau, or

David

Were those tough? Let’s try some advanced, expert-level questions.

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Question 11: What do you call a person who hates his brother?

murderer,

bad brother,

misled Good Samaritan, or

none of the above

Question 12: Why did they bring Abishag to come to King David?

to be his wife

to be his nurse

to make him warm, or

to serve his meals

Question 13: How was King Asa afflicted in his old age?

foot disease,

gout,

boils, or

leprosy

Question 14: Where does the Bible refer to the five golden emerods and five golden mice in the Bible?

Exodus

1 Samuel

1 Chronicles

Ruth

Question 15: How many Lords did the Philistines have during Samuel's childhood?

two,

three,

four, or

five

Answers: (Beg: C, D, A, D, D. Int: D, C, D, C, B. Expert: A, C, A, B, D) What did you score? How well do you know your Bible versus how well you thought you knew the Bible?

God’s Gold and A Plumb Line

So, why should we worry about Biblical literacy? The answer may seem obvious, the Bible is God’s Word, right? Of course we should care about it but here are a few reasons. The first one is because of what it does, or what's in it for us? We can find the answers in Psalms:

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"7 

The law of the Lord is perfect, [ a ]

    reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

    making wise the simple;

⁸ the precepts of the Lord are right,

    rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

    enlightening the eyes;

⁹ the fear of the Lord is clean,

    enduring forever;

the rules [ b ] of the Lord are true,

    and righteous altogether.

¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold,

    even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey

    and drippings of the honeycomb.

¹¹ Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

    in keeping them there is great reward."

Psalms 19:7-11 ESV

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The verses describe God's word as perfect, trustworthy, and righteous. We're precious than gold, sweeter than honey. I believe that the word of God acts like a plumb line.

Plumb Lines

When you're building you have probably seen a plumb line. It's on a string. At the bottom is a heavyweight material usually made out of metal. It looks like what we have played as a kid; the one where you would get the string, throw it on the ground and it would spin around. And the purpose is that it would be tied onto something, and it would hang down vertically. If you're building something, you want everything to be perfectly vertical, unless you're intentionally building something on an angle. And so that's a way that helps you to do that. It's always vertical. It doesn't change. And God's word is like that. It doesn't change. It says this is the standard.

You know this in a sense, this is straight up and down. It never varies. It's not that a man's opinion can make it alter. And if we don't line