A Persons greatest need once they have been saved is to get to know The Savior. How can this be accomplished? By diving into The Word of God. The Bible says that God;
1 Timothy 2:4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Jesus Christ is The Truth. To get to know anyone you need to listen to what that person has to say. Thankfully we have been left with The Word of God. The words of the Bible are God's words. There is no better way to get to know the Savior than by having His Word planted down in your heart. Jesus prayed to His Father in John 17:17:
John 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Salvation is a gift of God free to those who believe. However, we have been called out to come to a knowledge of the Truth and share that Truth with others. So where do you start reading in the Bible?
The scope of God's Word is so huge and the topics are limitless. The question that arises is, “where do I start reading?” Should I start with Genesis in the Old Testament, or Matthew in the New Testament, or somewhere else? A couple of things to remember are 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. 2Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. All of God's Word is important. Christ Himself constantly quoted scripture. When He faced satan in the wilderness by Himself, fasting for 40 days, He met his tempter with Scripture Matthew 4:4,7,10 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Here are some verses showing Christ's own usage of scripture and His importance placed on the Word:
John 17:17 Sanctify them in the truth: thy Word is Truth.
John 5:46-47 For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?
Mathew 4:4,7,10 which are quoted above.
Mathew 11:10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Matthew 19:4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female,
Matthew 21:13,42 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?
Matthew 22:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.
Christs Words don't just contain the Truth but They are The Truth. And beyond that Christ is The Word of God. He and The Word are one in the same. John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Revelation 19:11-13 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Even after he died on the cross and was resurrected he continued to refer to the scriptures:
Luke 24:26-27 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:44-45 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
Christ and the Written Word of God are the same. We as individuals are not called to understand every Word of God but to believe every Word. God said it and that settles it. His Word can not be added to or taken away from. Put your trust in Him and believe every Word of God.
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
Once you have been saved one of the first things to tackle in God's Word is to begin to understand what He has done for you and what you have been delivered from. When God created man he could have programmed him so he would only think, speak, and act out things that are right. This could have solved the problem of suffering, pain and sorrow we face in the world today. We would be equivalent to a robot having no feelings or choices. God would be getting a relationship from us that was programmed and not sincere or of free choice. There could only be a measure of satisfaction, if any, from this kind of relationship. There would be no love exchanged in this kind of relationship.
One of the other options available which God chose was to create man with the option to choose right or wrong. To serve God or not to. To love without being forced. With this kind of creation, however, there could be devastating consequences. God knew all of these things. He knew if man would or would not serve Him. This kind of creation could bring about pain and suffering. But most importantly a pure loving relationship could be established from free choice. God chose to create this kind of man. And the first Adam,he created, chose wrong instead of right and brought tragedy into this world. He became imperfect or a sinner for he was not created this way. A very important thing to remember is that God is perfection and anything that is not perfect is in a state of sin. Adam was now a ruined creature deserving death and he passed on this ruined state of sin to his offspring, and it has continued to pass down the line to us. A child from birth is in sin, not because of something the baby has done but sin has been passed down to him/her. Once Adam and his wife Eve chose wrong they became imperfect (sinful) so it would have been impossible for a child they would have to be born perfect. Sin cannot create perfection. Only perfection can create perfection. So man became doomed to death because that’s what sin leads to. There was now no hope for man. But our Loving Heavenly Father, who's grace and mercy extends beyond what we can comprehend made a way for man.
Additional Bible verses for this article
Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
1 Corinthians 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
