Why Study the Bible?

When I first gave my life to Christ, I didn’t read the Bible much—just once a week during the new believers' class at church. But when I finally opened the Bible for myself and started reading it with fresh eyes, everything changed.

I realized there are three powerful reasons why studying the Bible isn’t just a Christian routine—it’s essential for growth, maturity, and real impact. And for Black believers, there’s an even deeper reason that can’t be ignored: We must study the Bible for ourselves to reclaim the truth and resist centuries of whitewashing that tried to erase our history, presence, and spiritual power.

1. Bible Study Fuels Spiritual Growth

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.”— 1 Peter 2:2 (ESV)

Reading the Bible isn’t optional—it’s our lifeline.

Just like a baby needs milk to grow strong, we need God’s Word to grow in faith. At first, it may feel unfamiliar. But as you keep coming to the Word, your spirit begins to crave it. You begin to need it. You start to recognize God's voice through it.

📌 For Black Christians: Studying the Bible for yourself is a radical act of spiritual restoration. For too long, Scripture was used as a tool of oppression—misinterpreted, cherry-picked, and weaponized to control and distort. But the Bible does not belong to the oppressor. It’s God’s Word—and it includes our story, our ancestors, and our dignity.

2. Bible Study Builds Spiritual Maturity

“By this time, you ought to be teachers, but instead you still need someone to teach you the basic truths of God’s Word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!”— Hebrews 5:12 (NIV)

This scripture challenges us not to stay spiritually stuck. Growth requires discipline.

Spiritual maturity means learning how to discern right from wrong, truth from deception, and righteousness from religion. We live in a time where too many are satisfied with surface-level faith. But we’re called to grow deeper—to go beyond the basics and truly walk in power.

📌 For Black believers: Digging into the Word is also about unlearning lies—lies that painted biblical characters as white, erased African presence in the early church, and distorted the Gospel into something passive or powerless. We are not outsiders in God’s story—we are central to it. From Ethiopia to Egypt, from Moses' marriage to the early church in Africa, our lineage is woven into the biblical narrative.

3. Bible Study Strengthens Spiritual Impact

“All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”— 2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV)

The Bible equips us for real life, not just church life.

It helps us make sense of what’s right, what’s wrong, and how to live boldly in a world that often feels broken. It’s our daily bread, our map, our mirror, and our sword.

📌 Especially for us as a people, reading Scripture with eyes open to history and truth gives us the tools to push back against the narratives that tried to erase us. The Word restores our divine identity and our call to walk in truth, power, and love.

Final Thought

There is no growth without God’s Word. There is no maturity without deep engagement. There is no real power without knowing the truth for yourself.

And for Black Christians, studying the Bible personally isn’t just about spiritual growth—it’s about reclaiming what was stolen. It’s about recognizing that God has always been near to us, speaking to us, and including us in His story.

So don’t settle for secondhand truth.✨ Open your Bible. Study. Reclaim. Grow. ✨