It’s that time of year again. As we close out 2025 we look forward to the New Year and our list of resolutions to go with it. Near the top of that list, for most Christians, is a fresh resolve to read our Bibles. In this series of posts, I hope to both encourage you in this endeavor, and provide you with some practical ways to engage with your Bibles in the new year. Over the next few weeks, each post will seek to answer the question “how can I grow in God's Word?” by considering the Christian’s call to read Scripture, pray Scripture, study Scripture, memorize Scripture, and meditate on Scripture.

But before looking at the what behind our Bibles, we have to start with the why. In Paul’s final letter, he testifies to the Bible’s usefulness and worth in this exhortation to Timothy: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17, ESV). These verses provide a foundation for why we should read our Bibles and for what we can expect from time spent in God’s Word.

The Bible is From God and For Us

First, Paul makes the simple yet astounding claim that the whole Bible is breathed out, or inspired by God. The Bible is called God’s Word because it contains God’s very words. So why should God’s people read the Bible? Because he wrote it, and when God speaks we should listen. This should be enough of a reason to take up our Bibles and read, but Paul goes on to persuade Timothy (and us) further. He calls the Bible profitable, and specifically towards four ends:

Teaching

First, Paul says that the Bible is profitable for teaching. That is, the Bible is useful in teaching Christians what they are supposed to believe about God. God didn’t leave us to ourselves to try and understand things about him merely from nature or from our experiences. He has revealed himself to us in writing so that we may learn rightly and respond in right worship.

Reproof

On the flipside, Paul says that the Bible is also profitable for reproof. That is, the Bible disapproves of those things that Christians should not believe about God. There are times when our thinking about God is wrong. And while nobody likes to be rebuked in the moment, any good parent knows that such reproof is necessary in bringing up a child. So too does our heavenly father reprove us when our thoughts about him are wrong or misleading. The next time you read the Bible or hear a sermon, you should ask yourself the following diagnostic questions: what has this passage taught me about God so that I might rightly respond in worship to him? Or, is there something in this passage that is meant to reprove my wrong thinking about who God is?

Correction

Similar to reproof, Paul points out a third profitable feature of God’s word, namely that it corrects believers. If reproof is about fixing wrong thoughts about the doctrine of God, then correction probably refers to setting right the believer’s conduct and behavior. (1) The Holy Spirit uses the natural words on the pages of Scripture to supernaturally convict us of our sin and correct us in our behavior. Another helpful question to consider the next time you’re in God’s word is: how is this text calling me to live a different life? Or, is there any particular sin I need to repent of as a result of this passage?

Training in Righteousness

Finally, Paul encourages the profitability of Scripture in that it trains us in righteousness. Again, this differs from Paul’s first point; whereas teaching refers to sound doctrine, training here refers to sound living. Scripture tells us what we must do to live Godly lives. (2) I can think of no other endeavor in life for which I would rather train than in righteousness. What a comfort to know that God’s word helps us live lives that are more pleasing to him. Next time you’re in The Word, ask yourself: how is this passage equipping or training me in righteousness?

The Bible Makes Us Whole People

In verse 17 Paul ends his exhortation with an important promise: “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” So, what is the result of the teaching, reproof, correction, and training that comes from Bible reading? The result of time in The Word is that we become complete or whole people, who are capable of meeting all of the demands that God places on us so that we are equipped for every good work. (3) Whatever resolutions you and I might have for the new year, no goal can be more important than the wholeness that Paul promises to those who spend time with God in his Word. While the next post will get into the details about how to read your Bible, I hope you will enter into this New Year with the assurance that time spent in Scripture is never wasted. Instead it’s meant to teach us, to convict and correct us – it’s meant to change us more and more into the kind of people God wants us to be.

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         (1) Denny Burk, 1-2 Timothy and Titus, in ESV Expository Commentary, Volume 11, Ephesians-Philemon, ed. Iain M. Duguid, James M. Hamilton, and Jay Sklar, (Wheaton: Crossway, 2018), 487.

        (2) Burk, 1-2 Timothy and Titus, 487.

        (3)  Burk, 1-2 Timothy and Titus, 488.