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In short: swearing on the Bible doesn't stop you from lying, it makes God angry at you if you do.
Long answer: When you swear or solemnly affirm to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, you are making a legal commitment not to lie; if you lie under those circumstances, you are committing the crime of perjury.
But what if somebody was to deny they swore an oath? That's why we have witnesses, and there is no better witness than a god. (Actually, the difference between an oath and a pledge is that an oath is formally witnessed by at least one god. A vow, meanwhile, is a promise made to a god).
So when a Roman swore an oath, he announced his name and the god he was swearing by; that got the god's attention, and since gods see everything, the swearer will be punished if he violates the terms if the oath. You know how in movies a character will tell an obvious lie and declare "and may God strike me down if I lie", whereupon something immediately hits them on the head? That's how oaths actually work.
Likewise, swearing an oath while touching something related to the witnessing god makes the oath even more powerful and binding. Thus, you don't want to break an oath sworn by Jupiter, and you really don't want to break an oath sworn in a temple to Jupiter with your hand on a statue of Jupiter.
Instead of swearing by Jupiter (or Odin, or Ra, or Enlil, or whoever), Christians swear by God, and touch a Bible to make their oath stricter. Muslims use the Qu'ran to the same effect.