Why Should I Get a Physical Bible?

by Bibles.net
| Time: 4 Minutes

A personal Bible is one of the greatest treasures you can carry with you through life. So first, we want to make our case for why owning a physical Bible will serve you well. Then, though the Bible is incomparable in its value as it is God’s Word, we will compare it to an essential tool you need to equip you for the challenges you will face in this life.

Owning a Physical Bible Is a Blessing

Here are six benefits of owning a physical Bible as opposed to always borrowing one or using a device.

1. You can commemorate significant lessons God taught you through his Word by taking notes in it or highlighting your favorite passages.

I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. (Psalm 77:11 ESV)

2. You can have a physical legacy of spending time in God’s Word to pass along to your children or grandchildren, and a treasure to leave them.

Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. (Psalm 119:11 ESV)

3. You can use it as an opportunity to share your faith when someone sees you with your Bible, like at a coffee shop or in the car or when sitting outside.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15 NIV)

4. You can become familiar with the books of the Bible, their placement, and the overall story of Scripture.

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 3:14-15 NIV)

5. You can thoughtfully contribute to conversation and community when you’re at church.

A physical Bible helps you find familiar passages easily. It also helps you follow along during Bible studies or at church when the speaker may jump around from passage to passage.

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV)

6. You can hold in your hands a physical reminder that God is real, that he speaks, and he loves you.

What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? (Deuteronomy 4:7 NIV)

The Need for a Physical Bible

Those are just six reasons to get a physical Bible. There are many other reasons to own a physical Bible. So far we’ve talked practically about why we ought to own a physical Bible, but now let’s talk about its spiritual value.

The Bible compares itself to military equipment. Ephesians 6 calls the Bible our one offensive weapon in the fight against the dark powers in the world, our sinful nature, and the devil. It’s our sword: “Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17 NIV).

Or the author of Hebrews writes, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 NIV).

Why would we need a sword? Because we are in a battle, or what Scripture calls “the good fight” (1 Timothy 6:12). Our battle in this life is unseen—but it’s no less real than a physical war. In fact, it’s far more serious:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Ephesians 6:12 NIV)

The biblical worldview places a priority on the unseen—the hearts and souls of people. Humanity’s greatest problem, though it manifests itself in visible forms, is unseen: sin and opposition against God. We need the Word of God, our sword, to battle lies with the truth, accusations with the assurance of God’s love, and temptations with the promise of God’s goodness.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NIV)

Will You Get a Bible?

The ultimate value of the Bible is that it’s God’s Word. It is your offensive weapon in the war of faith. Use it.

Have we convinced you? The best way to understand why we treasure the Bible is to get one and start reading it yourself. We pray God helps you open the book and opens your eyes so you may see wonderful things in God’s Word (Psalm 119:18).

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