Today I reveal the remaining passages on the list of “Top 10 Bible Passages to Read” that I gave to a woman with whom I studied the Bible several years ago. This woman was brand new to the Bible, so these passages were chosen in order to give her a baseline of Bible knowledge that we could use to then dive deeper into the story of Scripture. Here are the last four passages on my list:
The Word (Jesus) Became Flesh, John 1:1-18
This passage lays out some foundational truths about Jesus Christ, including his divine nature. It declares that Jesus makes God known to us, revealing that God wants to live in relationship with us. In Jesus, we find light that counteracts the darkness of this world. We also discover grace and truth.
How to Be Spiritually Saved, Acts 2:36-39
This passage is one of the clearest teachings about how to be spiritually saved in the Bible. The good news of Jesus Christ is that he provides forgiveness for our sins, thereby solving a problem for us that we cannot solve on our own. For those new to the concept of baptism, a reading of Romans 6 would also be encouraged.
The Virtue of Love, 1 Corinthians 13
Love is a concept that has been warped by our culture’s hyper-sexuality and hyperbolic media. This passage of Scripture poetically explains what love is truly meant to look like. It is also a good reminder of how much clearer love and life become when we let Jesus define and set the standards by which we live.
The Attitude and Example of Jesus, Philippians 2:1-11
To be a follower of Christ is to adopt his attitude toward life and people. This passage explains the “mindset” of Christ and encourages us to take on that same “mindset.” This moving picture of Jesus inspires us to be self-less instead of selfish.
As always, I encourage you to read these passages for yourself and to ask yourself these questions as you read:
- What do I learn about Jesus from these passages?
- What do I learn about Christianity from these passages?
- How would these passages positively impact my life if I applied them to my life?
By the way, I had the great privilege of baptizing the woman for whom I made this list of passages. Her relationship with Christ and the things she has learned from God’s Word has given her the strength and wisdom to deal with the struggles of life she has encountered. She has come through every one of those struggles with a positive attitude, a joyful spirit, and a stronger faith in Jesus. This has happened because she put what she learned from the Bible to the test, and the wisdom of the Bible’s teachings proved themselves to be true.
My prayer for you is that you will also find the teachings of the Bible to be true, empowering, encouraging, and life-giving.
Thanks for reading!
rusty tugman 