Does the God of the Christians expect Christians to read the Christian Bible?

Answer 1

One opinion:

No, he doesn't expect us to do anything but try our best not making sins, and to just believe he died for you.

Another opinion:

Yes, for the Bible is the word of God. It's the way God speaks to His followers, telling them how to live a life in the image of Christ. It is a tool to bring Christians closer to God, and to help them learn more about what it means to be a Christian.

Another opinion:

The bible is there as a tool to learn how God wishes for Christians to live. If a person has access to this resource, it would be wise to make use of it. But there have been times in history where this wasn't possible, sometimes only through someone reading the scripture to the masses. It's there as a helpful guide to Christianity and an explanation of the character of God, but reading it is not a requirement to be legalistically followed.

Another opinion:

Actually, no one 'knows' what God expects since we have only human perceptions and interpretations and opinions of what God "expects". If you ask one thousand people what God expects you will get one thousand opinions because people must rely on faith to "know" God and faith is the unquestioning acceptance of his existence in the absence of any proof.

Answer:

According to God... if you want to know the Truth and achieve Freedom, you have to read, study and continue in [or live] His Word:

"...Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, IF YE CONTINUE IN MY WORD [the only Word extant in those days - the Holy Scriptures - what we call the Old Testament today], then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the Truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31-32)

Only by reading God's inspired, revealed Word [which now includes the inspired words of His "disciples indeed" - called the New Testament, which sheds light on and illuminates the Old] can we truly know anything about Him... and ourselves. Anything else is just guessing.

"...These are the Words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms [the breakdown of the Old Testament], CONCERNING ME. Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures." (Luke 24:44-45)

Just reading God's Word doesn't automatically equate to understanding. It takes a reader whose mind and heart are trusting with a child-like innocence. A reader who "believes" what he's reading. It's this reader's heart which God will "open" and grant understanding of the Scriptures.

"...to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My Word." (Isa.66:2)

Another thought:Micah 6:8 - He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?

In order to "walk with God," we have to know where He wants us to go. The only way to do that is to humbly "listen" to His word, and accept it. Without the Bible, one is "walking in darkness," squandering their time and wasting their life.

Psalm 119:105 - Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

John 8:12 - Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life."

The answer to your question is an unequivocal YES. Not only does God expect His children to know His word, one cannot be a child of God without it!

Romans 10:17 - So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Hebrews 11:6 - But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

[Quotes from NKJV]