Does God Expect You to Read the Whole Bible?

It’s already January 8, and I’m wondering if you’ve set a goal for reading the Bible this year?

I have.

Lord willing and by His grace, I plan to read the Old Testament in 2025 and the New Testament in 2026. I’ve done this before and it’s my favorite way to read the whole Bible – over two years.

Many Christians prefer to read the Bible in one year – and to that, I say, “Amen.” There are plenty of good 1-year Bible reading plans available for free online. Here’s a list of 20 different plans, with links to downloadable free PDFs of each plan:
https://www.ligonier.org/posts/bible-reading-plans

If you’d like to learn more about my 2-year plan, check out this article:
https://godwrotethebook.com/2-year-bible-reading-plan/

Included in the above article are links to free downloadable PDFs. I first did this plan in 2016, so the specific dates correspond to that year. You can easily adjust the dates for 2025, should you want to follow my plan this year.

Let’s get back to my original question: Does God expect you and me to read the whole Bible?

Short answer: Absolutely.

A longer answer: Of course He does. He gave us a book. Why would He do that, and not expect us to read all of it?

An even longer answer: The benefits of reading the whole Bible are many. If you’re looking for motivation to read God’s Word, please check out Top 10 Reasons for Reading the Bible Today (it’s free in Kindle format below).

Another longer answer, with Biblical support: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16 ESV). I emphasize the word “all” for obvious reasons. Every verse is for our benefit. Every word of sacred Scripture was ultimately written by God because He loves us and desires the best for us. He wants to teach us, rebuke us, correct us, and train us to live a righteous life – and He has chosen to do that through a written document we call the Bible.

May you grow in the knowledge of God this year through quality time in the Word of God.