If a person wants to learn about Christianity in The Holy Bible, where would he or she start reading?

Answer 1

In order to become a Christian I would recommend reading the book of John first and then the book of Acts.

John:

What you will find in John begins the gospel by declaring that Jesus is the one and only Son of God.

“1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

And then in verse 14 it says this.

^“14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

John describes Jesus’ public ministry and then John explains and describes the arrest, trial, crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Most notably in John 19:31-37 it explains how the crucifixion fulfilled the Old Testament prophesies.

³¹ Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crossesduring the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. ³² The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. ³⁵ The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. ³⁶ These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,”^[c] 37 and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”^[d]

This is the scripture that made me open my eyes personally and made me realize that the Bible is for real and that Jesus is the Son of God.

Acts:

The book of Acts is where you learn about the coming of the Holy Spirit as well as how both Jews and Gentiles alike became converted.

The Holy Spirit came upon the apostles at Pentacost.

2 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^[a] as the Spirit enabled them.⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,^[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene;visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

And then Peter declares how to become forgiven in Acts 2:36-39

³⁶ “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

³⁷ When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

³⁸ Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.³⁹ The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Acts also gives multiple examples of believers becoming Christians and how that was done. Simon the Sorcerer was converted and baptized in Acts 8:9-13. The Ethiopian Eunuch was converted and baptized in Acts 8:26-40. Saul was converted and baptized in Acts 9:1-31. Cornelius was converted and baptized in Acts 10:1-48.

Also, the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch in Acts 11:26.

But I would not stop there. Christianity is not supposed to be practiced in solitude on an island. New Christians should keep practicing (not perfecting but practicing) Christianity for the rest their lives. Keep on reading, praying, giving, and following Jesus as closely as possible. Find a church in order to practice Christianity as a community.

Answer 2

I would suggest starting in the Book of John, chapter 1 verses 1-18, which specifically speaks of Jesus as the Word becoming flesh and coming to the earth as both God and Man. I would move into the Book of Matthew, chapters 1-2, which speaks on the Jewish genealogy of Jesus, tieing in the Old Testament promises to the New Testament fulfillment. I would then include the Book of Luke, chapters 1-2, which has parallels to Matthew chapters 1-2. From there, you can now begin reading the Gospels since chapter 3 of the Book of Matthew, chapter 1 of the Book of Mark, chapter 3 of the Book of Luke, and chapter 2 of the Book of John are all speaking of John the Baptists preparing the way of The Lord. This would be a good start to begin to learn about Jesus. To learn about the early church, the Book of Acts is where you can begin. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Yes, Matthew is a great place to start. Also, the Gospel of John is a good read, because the writer highlights the meaning of Jesus' life and miracles.

Answer 4

The Book of Matthew, in the new Testament, is a good place to start because it talks about the birth of Jesus Christ as well as His miracles and teachings. It refers to the prophets who prophesied of His coming in the Old Testament. The New Testament backs up the Old Testament and vice versa. I have found this to be be a good starting point.