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creationliberty:
I personally do not recommend reading the Gospels and going back to Genesis. I recommend reading one of the Gospels to start, then going to Acts and then Romans and so on. Once you go through the NT, I would recommend reading another of the Gospels, then going back to Genesis. The order of the books of the New Testament are not in any chronological order, but rather, they are in order of importance of doctrine, starting out with the foundation of basics in Romans, and working through more in-depth doctrine as it goes.

anvilhauler:
I just looked back and realised that I neglected to put that in.  There's no way a new Christian should go to Genesis etc without having first read the New Testament through a number of times. Big mistake on my part to have not got that right.

someguy85:
A few tips when going through the bible. For starters, it depends on how used to the vernacular you are, anyone familiar with the works of William Shakespeare has a bit of an advantage, but there are plenty of audio book readings of it, and sometimes it can help to hear someone else read it out loud so you get more familiar with it. They're available on youtube although who knows how long that's going to last before the bible is eventually banned as "hate speech"  ::)

When it comes to understanding the bible in it's entirety though, that is a monumental task. the gospel of salvation in the new testament is straight forward, but when it comes to understanding the rest of the bible, in the book of Isaiah there is an interesting passage

"28:9 Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? [them that are] weaned from the milk, [and] drawn from the breasts.
28:10 For precept [must be] upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, [and] there a little:"

You'll pick it up piece by piece because there is a lot of doctrine, there's a lot of historical records, and there's a lot of hinted prophecy and overt prophecy scattered throughout, and when it comes to the book of Revelation...that's probably something we won't understand to it's fullest until after it's all come to pass.

Fun fact, even though the 12 apostles knew Jewish law, and were taught the prophecies, none of them were outside the tomb to greet Christ when he rose again from the dead, even later when Christ visited them after his resurrection, it was Christ who had to open their eyes and understanding to recognize him. All understanding comes from God so if you're stuck on something, pray and ask for knowledge and understanding. This is another reason why, despite what the mega-"churches" love to promote, a conversion to Christ isn't just a quick prayer, it's a life long and eternal thing.

Sometimes a breakthrough will take time, sometimes it'll take a long time...don't give up :)

Woodpot:
Chris, Chris and Kevin. Thank you again for the helpful replies. I am taking your advice to read a single Gospel, then through to the end of the NT, then to another Gospel, then back to the beginning. Christopher previously helped me out on the issue of spiritual marriage (Luke 20:27-40), which was a new concept to me. I realize that I made a mistake earlier in this thread where I said that the KJV is easily understood. In actuality I come across passages that confuse me. I'm sorry for the dishonesty.

I have no idea what I'm doing sometimes. Trying to sort through everything, without being at odds with everything, at the same time dealing with my own haughtiness....I went to a church with a friend yesterday. The preacher saw that I had my KJV, which he complemented me on bringing. His teaching was on being in unity in the Body of Christ, and he quoted from 1 Corinthians 1:10 and 12:25 among others. For my sole benefit, he included English scriptures in his teaching. Sadly, he used the ESV for these scriptures. Since it was my first time at that church, we later had a 1 on 1, wherein I stated my desire for God to grant me repentance through faith, and the preacher was glad and iterated the importance of 'turning from sin.' I am of the mind to do nothing for the time being, as I am not properly of conrite spirits to be in a position of advising him.

And amazingly, today my eyes were opened to something through the sound advice of my friend, when she said: "You're trying to bring about the act of repentance. Don't you have faith in God? Trust in Him, pray, and he will grant you repentance. It's not a thing you can do through hard work and studying." Which is exactly what I had introduced to her through Christopher's teaching on repentance. I can be amazingly blind. Astoundingly.

Thank you for reading this.

someguy85:
We've all been blind on many things in our lives. Give God the glory and thanks for giving wisdom. :)

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