Do you have to read your bible to be a Christian?

This is a great question. The answer is no. A Christian is someone who has made the decision to follow Jesus.

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).

Jesus says,

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6).

Jesus also says,

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Revelation 3:20).

So accepting Jesus into your life and making the decision to follow Him makes you a Christian.

But here’s the challenge, if your serious about the decision you have made then it’s not a matter of whether you have to read it but that you’ll want to read it. The bible is God revealing himself to us and if you want to get to know God, which a lot of Christians do then its one of the primary ways to do that.

There are three steps to understanding why Christians want to read the Bible.

First: Christians want to live changed lives that are different from the sin, wickedness, and mocking they embraced before encountering Jesus Christ. Why would anyone want to become a Christian if their lives would stay exactly the same after coming to know God?

Second: The Bible, which was written by God through people inspired by Him, provides access to His thoughts and commands on practically every topic of life. We don’t have to wait for God to write his thoughts down on a stone tablet and send them down a mountain to us! Instead, we can just pick up His book and read it. By reading His words, we can learn how to live life a different way.

Third: When we come to know and love His views, then we can begin to model our lives by them, which will make us like the strong, healthy tree in Psalm 1. We will always bear the right ‘fruit’ for every situation, and we will continually grow closer to God.