What Books of the Bible are the best for beginners/new Christians to read?

not just rainbows & butterflies: What Books of the Bible are the best for beginners/new Christians to read?
I am an agnostic and I recently decided to start reading the Bible, just because. I’m really loving it so far (I’m reading NLT).

What are the best Books of the Bible for new Christians or beginners to Bible study? Which ones sort of “sum up” the stories or teachings in a concise and readable fashion? Which are the most important ones for understanding the message of the Bible? What would you say are the “best of” the Old and New Testaments? Any special recommendations?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Levi
Genesis and the first book of the new testament

Answer by Paul M
The Gospel of John. There is much elementary material in John, yet there is a depth to John that has made scholars step back in awe.
Genesis has excellent narrative and background for the entire Bible. Remember, Genesis is written in the format of an ancient treaty.

Answer by Jered K
Old Testament- Isaiah, Job, Tobit
New Testament- Gospel of John, Acts, Romans, Galatians

Answer by kl
Well, I think it’s important to realize that the Bible is really just one story…the story of the creation, fall and redemption of man through Jesus. When seen through this lens, things start to come alive in a way they won’t if you view it as a series of moral tales, if that makes sense.

To me, some of my favorite OT books are Ruth — which just put the church in the place of Ruth and Boaz in the place of Christ and it’s pretty much the gospel message. I LOVE Genesis. Love, love, love. I also love Daniel and Job.

Of the New Testament, I love Matthew, John, Romans, Galatians (Galatians is GREAT in the NLT — it’s a very, very clear presentation of the message of the entire Bible if you’re wanting to understand that better), Colossians, Hebrews, and James. And hey, throw in Revelation because it will complement your reading of Daniel in the OT.

🙂

Answer by paradisemtn
Read all of First John~it will bless you
1 John 1
Introduction
1 We proclaim to you the one who existed from the beginning,[a] whom we have heard and seen. We saw him with our own eyes and touched him with our own hands. He is the Word of life. 2 This one who is life itself was revealed to us, and we have seen him. And now we testify and proclaim to you that he is the one who is eternal life. He was with the Father, and then he was revealed to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we ourselves have actually seen and heard so that you may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We are writing these things so that you may fully share our joy.[b]
Living in the Light
5 This is the message we heard from Jesus[c] and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. 6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. 7 But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. 9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Answer by G man
Start with the book of John. Then try reading Mathew, Mark and Luke. In the old testament proverbs is a good place to start. Or Job is one I found to be real interesting, especially the last 2 chapters. The NLT is really good, plain english is so much easier to understand.

Answer by Pastor Art (((SFECU)))
Mark is the simplest and shortest Gospel.

The Gospel of John gives the clearest teaching about Who Jesus really is. That is He is the God Who Created the Heavens and the Earth.

Acts is the history of the early church.

Romans and Galatians clearly spell out what we must do in order to be saved.

Luke is the one Gospel which tells the story in chronological order.

Matthew’s Gospel is directed mainly at Jewish people.

Hebrews is the deepest and most thought provoking New Testament book.

Isaiah in the Old Testament is full of Prophesy about Messiah.

Genesis tells us how we got here.

That’s where I would start.

Then I’d work on reading it all thru in a year.

Click this link once a day and after a year you’ll have read thru the Bilbe competely:

The next two links explain how to become a Christian.

https://www.godlovestheworld.com/

https://www.wayofthemaster.com/

The Alpha Course is a Ten week introduction to Bible Based Christianity:

https://www.alphausa.org/

This is the best place for answers to questions about the Bible:

https://www.allaboutgod.com/

Answer by treetop
stay in the new testament this is where we live today,christ ushered in a new covenant at his death on the cross read hebrews 10:16-18 read the whole book.if jesus is talking (red letter) then all his teaching is before the cross and it will be under the law (ten comandments) he burried us under the law showing us there is no way for a person to be come rightiousness through obedience to the law, the bible says under the law if you donot forgive your brother then you father in heaven will not forgive you,under the new covenant we are to forgive as christ has forgiven us, and to love your neightbor as you would like your self to be loved,also read 1 corinthians 15:16,17 after you read answer these? what would the value of our faith be in christ if christ had not been raised from the dead? in what condition would we be left if christ had not been raised? what do you think it means to be “still in your sins”? what can you conclude about the significance of christ’s resurrection in regard to our faith? the resurrection of jesus christ has come under the most careful scruiny of men, from new testament times to present day. legal minds have examined the evidence, historians have examined the fact and testomnies of those who have reported the event,and others have written books concerning the relevance of the resurrection. these have affirmed that the resurrection of jesus christ is a well established hisrorical fact. to those who know christ as personal lord and savior, the resurrection is the vital cornerstone to the validity and assurance of our salvation.

Answer by peacelove
If you start with the New Testament, you’ll hit the 4 stories about Jesus first — Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Then, you can read the rest of the New testament and start on the Old Testament. Psalms in the Old Testament is a book of songs for comfort and strength, and the book of Proverbs is about wisdom.
I got a Life Application Study Bible in NLT. The study Bible is good as it has lots of footnotes to help explain the Bible verses and what they can mean for us today.
I like Bible studies at church. If you ask a Christian church near you, they will likely have a weekly Bible study group and that can be a fun way to get your questions answered and learn God’s will for your life.
I’m a Lutheran, and I like the Baptist and Calvary Chapel churches too.

Answer by Chris
Start in John 🙂

Here’s a website that teaches the meaning of every verse of every Book in the Bible: https://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes.htm

The website can help with anything that you don’t understand 🙂

And above all, make sure that you’re saved! Jesus is God, and Jesus loves you so very much! 😀

Salvation is a FREE GIFT that happens in a split second when you believe in Jesus alone to save you! It is impossible to lose or “leave” salvation (John 6:39-40, 1 John 5:13).

The truth about Jesus is that the only way to be saved and to get into heaven and avoid being sent to eternal hell, is by believing in faith alone that Jesus, who is God, died for our sins on the cross as FULL PAYMENT for all our sins, and then Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Believe this and you will be in heaven, no matter what!

Please pray now: “Jesus, please forgive me of my sins. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins and You rose from the dead. Thank You for eternal life!” You will be in heaven with Him forever when you die. 🙂

Answer by shell
looking for the little treasure,,hummmm!{:>,, agnostic,,what do you want to know about “my god “jehovah”{:<,,,is it for war or peace?

Answer by David M
The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John these contain the teachings of Jesus, there are many accounts of the events of His life and ministry. There are numerous parables to illustrate central teachings, and Christian principles.

The three epistles of John, I John, II John and III John are some of the shortest books in the Bible and contain a condensation of many Christan principles.

For a broad overview of principles to live a righteous life, you would do well to read the Book of Proverbs. The is much wisdom and good instruction in Proverbs. You do not have to read it from beginning to end, the principles contained therein are normally contained in a few verses, followed by more principles for instruction.

Answer by Skye M
When I first decided to read the Bible I went from cover to cover. Many will suggest NT or John first but for it to really make sense it is good to read it cover to cover. Reading the Old Testament will help you to understand what is in the New. If you do have questions I have email and IMs open. I am a minister and would be more than willing to answer questions and none are dumb or stupid. The NLT is a fairly easy to read version. Will pray for you.

Answer by Ratiocinative
How do you usually read a book? Start at the beginning, and finish at the end. This is why so many people have such a hard time understanding the Bible, they abandon all of what they learned about reading in school.

1) Read the Bible from beginning to end, just like you learned how to do with other books in school.

2) Takes notes so that you can identify the literary elements of the Bible, such as the plot, the inciting force, the conflict, the climax, and the resolution, just like you learned how to do with other books in school.

There are no “best books”. The Bible is a bunch of different books, but they’re arranged so that they give an historical account of God’s interaction with the Israelites. There are a couple books that are basically repeats of each other, but other than that you can’t skip books or you will be missing parts of the story. If you’re really trying to understand what the Bible says, then read the whole thing. Shortcuts are for traveling, not for studying.

Answer by Eddie L
I am glad you are interested in reading the Bible; it is a fascinating book and the all time best seller of all books. Let me use an analogy for you. Often a blockbuster hit movie will be followed by sequels and sometimes even a prequel, which is a movie that covers the time leading up to the events in the big blockbuster. For instance, Batman was a huge success and then later the movie “Batman Begins” came out which chronicled how Bruce Wayne became Batman. Anyway, the Life of Jesus is the Blockbuster of the Bible and the Old Testament is the Prequel and the Book of Acts and the Epistles are the sequels. The Book of Revelation is the grand finale!

So first “watch” read the blockbuster life of Jesus portrayed in the four Gospels–Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. To narrow down more, start with the Gospel of Luke and then read the book of Acts. They were both written by the same human author and one is a sequel to the other.

As far as the Old Testament, I encourage you to read Genesis and Exodus first of all.

I wish you much success and hope your hunger to learn more about the Bible grows. For reading that gives insight on some of the themes of the New Testament, read some of the blogs contained on the link below.

Answer by PhileoTruth
The book of John is definitely the best because it establishes Jesus the Christ as God. For a new convert to begin in Genesis or any of the OT history books, is to subject them to some very difficult reading. The OT requires much more study about the Bible lands and customs than the NT. The new believer will be confused by how God is portrayed in the OT and possibly turned off. At least in the NT, there are explanations of the OT that can preempt some of the passages that may seem ambiguous or confusing.

In short, the book of John introduces the believer to the One who saved him/her.