The simple answer to this question is “No”. There was a man crucified next to Jesus, and he didn’t have the opportunity to do anything other than to be sorry for his sins, and to trust Jesus. Jesus said to him, “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).
This man in no way earned his forgiveness; he didn’t have a chance to, and he certainly didn’t have time to read the Bible. You had to be a pretty terrible criminal for the Romans to crucify you, so this man was as bad as they come. But something happened to him as he hung on the cross – he suddenly stopped hurling abuse at Jesus, and realised there was an innocent man dying next to him, and that Jesus was exactly who He claimed to be. The man said “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:42). This man realised Jesus was the King, with a kingdom, and was the Messiah (the promised one), and he put his faith in Jesus to save him.
This list of the rules is called the “Law”. The law of God is perfect, but it cannot save us. The law becomes a schoolteacher to us, teaching us that we are sinful, and that we need Jesus.
The Bible says that if we break one part of God’s law then we are guilty of breaking it all. Please don’t think of God’s law in a negative way; it is a truly beautiful thing that would make this world a beautiful place to live, if only we could keep it. But no matter how hard we try, we cannot keep it – so it cannot save us. The good news is that when we trust in Jesus, God writes His law on our hearts, and although we will still sin, keeping His law will become something we can do, and we will enjoy doing. The Bible says that Christians stop being slaves to sin, and instead become slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18).
That is why Jesus came. He alone has kept God’s law perfectly. He was tempted in every way that we are, but He never sinned.
Romans 8:1-4 puts it perfectly: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”
So, we are not saved by reading the Bible every day (or keeping any other rule or ritual).
The Bible is the sword of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6:17). It is the word of God, and by reading God’s word faithfully every day we are feeding our souls. It is our daily bread (Matthew 4:4). The Holy Spirit will take and use it to make us like Jesus. It feeds us, nourishes us, and teaches us God’s will for our lives. In it we learn all the promises of God, we learn who He is and what He is like. We learn how much He loves us, and how much He hates sin. It is full of wisdom and truth.
If you want to grow as a Chirstian, get to know God, and to live the best life you can for Jesus, then you need to know your Bible. God speaks to us through His Word.
You don’t need to read your Bible every day to get to heaven, because we get to heaven through faith in Jesus alone. But by not reading your Bible prayerfully each day you are missing out on one of the greatest and most important blessings of the Chirstian life. What a privilege it is to have God’s true and reliable words in our hands.
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”
