Knowing how people behave today — busy, fast-moving, and impatient — the best books of the Bible to read first are the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. These books take you straight to the central point of the entire Bible: man fell, man deserves to be destroyed forever. No solution can be found within man himself — only eternal destruction awaits every human being who has ever lived on earth.
The other option is that God Himself dies in man’s place and pays the debt of sin, which is life. As Hebrews says, without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. The only solution was for Jesus to die in our place, so that by believing in this debt of sin being paid, we can by faith be forgiven and accept the ransom for eternal destruction that was paid — which is the death of Jesus.
The Best Book to Read in the Bible First — John
The Gospel of John brings you quickly into the heart of the Bible’s message: God sending His Son Jesus to come to earth to save you from eternal destruction. John does not waste time — there is no unnecessary content, though there is truly no unnecessary content anywhere in the Bible. Some books, such as Leviticus, spend many chapters describing the construction of the temple, and someone coming to the Bible through Leviticus might lose interest before reaching the heart of the message.
Some parts of the Bible contain a great deal of detail that, while important, may not draw a first-time reader immediately into the Bible’s central topic. The Gospel of John is widely regarded as the best book in the Bible to read first, because here you learn very quickly that Jesus deeply cares for you. Jesus loves you. Jesus thinks about you constantly. Jesus loves you so much that He wants to live in your heart.
The book of John also tells us that Jesus came at precisely the right time. In fact, 650 years earlier, the prophet Daniel told us that from the rebuilding of Jerusalem in 457 BC to the baptism and anointing of Jesus is 69 weeks, or 483 years. When Jesus was baptised, He declared: The time is fulfilled. Which time was fulfilled? The time of the 2,300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14. This prophecy continues in Daniel chapter 9 and states that from Jerusalem rebuilt to Messiah the Prince is 69 weeks. The best book in the Bible to read first is John, because here we learn that Jesus is God — and that Jesus is love.
In chapter 1 of John, we learn that God has always existed. As God has always existed, Jesus — who is called the Word — was with the Father from eternity. We then learn that Jesus is God, just as the Father is God. This is a powerful introduction to God’s message of salvation. Chapter one of John tells us that God sends people to help others know that they have a hell to escape and a heaven to gain through the righteousness of Jesus by faith.
Why would God send people to help others know the truth, if every human being has a mind and could figure it out alone? Because human reasoning cannot be trusted. Since the fall of Adam, our minds have been darkened. Human beings struggle to discern right from wrong. Sin has clouded our understanding. This is why God sent the Bible — it is the guide to knowing right from wrong. The words in the Bible are spiritual. They are unlike the words in any other book. The words of the Bible have the power to change our hearts and guide us into all truth. Once we begin reading the Bible with prayer before opening it, we learn that there was a fall, and that man needs to reach out his hand to God to be helped.
In the Gospel of John we find remarkable parables that divinely explain spiritual truths. In John chapter 2, we learn that Jesus performs His first miracle — turning water into wine — out of love for a wedding celebration. We see here that Jesus is not indifferent to the small things that happen in your life. Jesus knows what you are going through today, and Jesus truly cares for you. Jesus created you, and He will not leave or abandon you.
In John chapter 2, we also learn that God has all power. He can turn water into wine, heal any sickness, and transport people from one place on earth to another. Jesus can disappear and reappear in another place. Jesus can choose twelve unlearned and simple men and, through them, turn the entire world upside down. Jesus can restore life to a dying child. Jesus can take the most powerful king on earth — Nebuchadnezzar — and cause him to eat grass for seven years to teach him to give God the glory. Jesus can strike down Herod in the book of Acts for receiving glory that belonged to God. And yet Jesus can also take little children in His arms and give them His full attention, when others would think such time was wasted.
In John chapter 2, we see something unexpected: Jesus becomes angry — angry enough to make a whip and drive people out of the temple, commanding them to remove their merchandise from the house of God. People were buying and selling in the temple, but this was the place set apart for the worship of God. The place where God’s presence dwelt had become a marketplace, reducing the things of God to a human, commercial level. We find in the Bible that Jesus is loving, kind, meek, and lowly — but we also learn that Jesus is just, and that all judgment has been committed to Him.
In the book of Hebrews, it tells us that Jesus is in the Most Holy Place in heaven, deciding everyone’s destiny. Since the beginning of the judgment in 1844, according to Daniel 8:14, Jesus has been reviewing all the records — our thoughts, words, and actions — and deciding who will make it to heaven and who will face eternal destruction. We know what is right through our conscience, through nature, through the Bible, and through the promptings of the Holy Spirit. No one has any excuse for not following the truth.
Jesus is reviewing every case, and when this judgment is finished, He will put on the robes of King of kings. This is a solemn time. What a terrible moment it will be when Jesus returns and people discover they cannot enter heaven. The best book in the Bible to read first is John. Jesus says that many will try to enter heaven and will not be able to. These are not atheists — they are people who called themselves Christians. Jesus will say: I never knew you. It means they carried the name of Christian but were never truly like Jesus. Their character resembled Satan — selfish, proud, unloving, unkind, apathetic, and dishonest. Through the righteousness of Jesus, we can overcome those evil traits of character and make it to heaven. By our own works, this is impossible. Only those who recognise that they are wicked, and that only God has righteousness to give, can ask Him for this overcoming power.
The Best Book to Read in the Bible First — Revelation
The book of Revelation should not necessarily be the first book a new reader picks up, but it is one of the most important books in the entire Bible. Revelation tells us what will soon happen on earth. It is described as the revelation of Jesus — the same Jesus revealed in the Gospel of John. It declares that those who listen to, read, and take to heart the words of Revelation are blessed.
Chapter 1 of Revelation tells us that Jesus loved us and freed us from our sins. The death and sacrifice of Jesus is your deliverance from sin. Even though we may stumble and fall, Jesus paid the price — and more than that, Jesus died so that you could overcome sin and no longer be dishonest, proud, arrogant, or unloving. Revelation chapter 1 also declares that Jesus is coming again soon to bring the story of this world of sin, suffering, death, loneliness, and sickness to its close.
When is Jesus coming? No one knows the exact day or hour, but we know that Jesus is waiting for the whole world to hear the truth. Jesus is also waiting for the church to be ready, because if He were to return now, many would not be found ready and would perish. The love of Jesus lingers so that we may be prepared. The church today is lukewarm. Many bear the character traits described above and yet claim to be Christians. This is a deception. We cannot carry the name of Christian while behaving like Satan.
So many people are afraid to stand out and be different. If you are humble, the world will reject you. If you are honest, the world will reject you. But you must decide: will you please the world, or will you be a friend of Jesus? Choose now, because time is passing, and soon it will be too late to cross to the other side.
The best book in the Bible to read first is John — but the book of Revelation may well be the most important and eye-opening book in all of Scripture. It is not so much about what you do as it is about who you are. Many people avoid certain sinful behaviours, which is good, but they believe that holiness consists only in avoiding wrong things. It is more than that — it is also doing right by God’s grace. But far more than that, it is becoming like Jesus. A wicked person can perform good deeds consistently and yet remain selfish, proud, and unloving.
This is the great truth that most Christians and most people on earth are missing. They believe their works will bring them to heaven, yet their character remains unchanged. They need to become meek and lowly like Jesus. In Revelation chapters 1 through 3, Jesus repeats seven times: To him that overcomes. Overcome what? Overcome sin. And this can only be accomplished through God’s righteousness by faith. Many try to work their way to heaven, believing there is something good within themselves to present to God for approval. But this is not so. Our best works are only our way of showing God that we love Him and others. Our works cannot save us — our works say to Jesus: I love You.
Revelation chapters 1 through 3 describe seven churches. We live in the time of Laodicea — a lukewarm church that claims to be in good standing but carries only the name. Laodicea is described as blind, naked, wretched, and poor. It is the condition of those who claim the name of Jesus while being truly evil in heart.
The Best Book to Read in the Bible First — Psalms
If you are going through a difficult time, the best book in the Bible to read first is Psalms. This book is filled with the promises of God and overflows with the love of God and His loving promises to us. When someone loves deeply, they make promises. God promises that He will provide for us, protect us, and give us the desires of our hearts — that even if an army encamps against us, we can rest in peace.
The book of Psalms tells us that the angels of God encamp around us, that we will lack no good thing, and that God is good — and that we can come and taste and see His goodness for ourselves. When we taste something, we experience it directly. It is remarkable that God’s goodness can be so real and tangible that we can actually taste it. When we cry out, God promises that He will hear. And hearing, in the biblical sense, does not mean merely listening and forgetting — it means answering. God may take time to answer our prayers. Be patient, and persevere in prayer.
The Best Book to Read in the Bible First — Galatians
The book of Galatians declares that God’s righteousness is the great central experience of the Christian life. In Galatians, we learn that no one will be saved by their own works. We are saved only by faith. Galatians warns that those who attempt to save themselves by their works are separated from Christ, and that the death of Jesus is of no effect for them.
GA 2:4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.
Here we see that those who are of works — the legalists, the Pharisees — have always persecuted those who live by faith. It angers a legalist to see believers in Christ enjoying the freedom of grace, while they believe they must follow many rules and regulations to earn their salvation. But the Bible is far simpler than that. We first recognise that we are wicked — and this is the hardest part, as so many people still believe they are good without ever truly examining their own character. Then we recognise that only God is good and has righteousness to give, and we ask Him every day to give us His righteousness.
The Best Book to Read in the Bible First — Romans
The book of Romans is another of those extraordinary books in the Bible that teach the great theme of righteousness by faith. The Ten Commandments — God’s moral law — remain fully binding. Many churches teach that the Ten Commandments have been done away with, but this is false. They teach that we are only under grace, not understanding that being under grace means we are no longer required to offer animal sacrifices and observe ceremonial ordinances. We simply come to Jesus. Grace for what purpose? Grace to keep the law and be obedient to Jesus — not in order to be saved, but because we are saved and we love God and other people.
If we are saved by works, the Bible says, then it is no longer by grace. We are saved either by grace or by works — it cannot be both. So why does the Bible also speak of being saved by works? This is one of God’s testing points for us — the so-called apparent contradictions of Scripture.
God tests us in this way because it compels us to truly read and study a topic carefully. Too many people read the surface of the Bible, gather a few verses on a topic, draw a quick conclusion, and end up believing a falsehood. One church takes five verses on a topic and reaches one conclusion. Another church takes five different verses and reaches a different conclusion. Who has the truth? The one who studies all the verses on a topic and arrives at a broad and balanced understanding of what the whole Bible teaches.
It is a sin to teach or believe something that is false, because we are all responsible for our beliefs and our teachings. The Bible is available to us all, and we can all study it carefully and correctly. I hope you have been motivated to read the Bible every day.
Repeat after me: Father God, please forgive my sins. Help me to read the Bible every day. Heal and bless me. Give me Your righteousness. Help me to walk with You. In the name of Jesus, amen.
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