From the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation, the Bible is God’s inerrant and infallible Word to humanity.
It tells a unified story about how God made the universe and humanity in his image, we rejected God, how God made a covenant with the nation of Israel, how God gracefully redeemed us through the crucifixion and ascension of his Son Jesus Christ, and how God’s kingdom is entering into our world to render all things new.
The Holy Spirit testifies to the integrity of the Bible’s “great narrative” in the thoughts of Christians.
According to our understanding, sin, repentance, and confidence are prompted by the Holy Spirit through the Bible’s study.
No matter one’s background or degree of schooling, anyone who takes up a Book can learn something from it.
How Should We Regard The Bible?
The Bible is a powerful tool for our faith; with that power comes great responsibility.
Here’s how we can properly regard the Bible to strengthen our devotion to our Father in Heaven.
- The Holy Book is a book of stories. The Bible is more than just a book of inspirational quotes or a compilation of people’s redemption accounts. It represents reality, the way things are and ought to be. When we have a firm grasp on the overarching storyline from Genesis to Revelation, we can better make sense of the individual passages that fill in the details.
- Understand that the Scriptures are simultaneously divine and human. God prompted each one of the Bible’s words (2 Tim. 3:16). He conveyed his message through the different mortal writers by channeling their voices and writing styles (2 Pet. 1:20–21).
- The Bible was written for us. We are not the exiled Jews in Babylon who have been left to speculate if God has forgotten them. We are not Christians from the first century A.D. residing in Rome, Philippi, or Ephesus. The Bible, however, was penned specifically for God’s people so that we might be instructed, strengthened to remain faithful, and given reason to await God’s promises being kept.
- The Bible teaches us both the holiness of God and the love of Christ. In the Bible, we learn about God’s grandeur reflected in his character, choices, and values. All three persons of the Trinity display many attributes as they carry out God’s designs for the world.
- The Bible describes God’s intentions for humanity and the universe. The Bible’s primary focus is on God. Humans were made in God’s likeness, responsible for reigning over the rest of creation as his caretakers. But because Adam and Eve fell for Satan’s trickery, the universe is doomed to ruin and death. God’s plan to save his people from their wickedness, vanquish their arch enemy Satan and reshape creation so that they can appreciate it eternally is progressively revealed throughout the remainder of the Bible.
- The Bible outlines the core tenets by which Christians should live. Religious life revolves around the intertwined concepts of repentance and faith. When we state we’ve changed, we’re referring to turning away from evil and putting our faith in God. They do so much more than simply expose people to Christianity; they also keep our faith in the Lord lively.
- Sin is revealed in the Scriptures, and the Gospel offers salvation. The Word of God reaches deep within us to expose how our hearts, minds, wills, and deeds are at odds with God’s will for us (Heb. 4:12–13). The Bible can expose the evil working within us even when we are unaware of it.
The Bible doesn’t merely expose our immorality; it also lays out God’s remedy for that transgression in the gospel.
What Jesus has accomplished as our great high priest is laid out in God’s Bible.
Because he experienced temptation himself, Jesus understands our human frailty. But he was sinless, while we are not.
Because of his faultless devotion and atoning sacrifice on the cross, we have access to God’s compassion and forgiveness.
- To sum up, the Bible is relevant to every aspect of our existence. God isn’t merely concerned with reforming our behavior. God plans to turn us into flawless images of Jesus, so he works on us on every level. Our perspectives, beliefs, and even goals shift when we listen to him. The Scripture addresses every facet of human existence.
The History of the Bible
Forty authors contributed to the Bible over 1500 years and boldly assert that their work is the inspired Word of God.
All of Scripture, Paul declares in 2 Timothy 3:16, is inspired by God. That is to say, before affecting the thoughts and hands of the scriptural authors, every word documented in the initial writing of Scripture came directly from the lips of God.
Although prophets were mortal, Peter says they “spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21), meaning that human actions never drove prophecy.
Being “carried along ” is akin to a cloth the breeze pushes. This means the Holy Spirit guided the writers of the Bible. Since humans did not write it, the Bible must have come from God and must be taken seriously as God’s word.
In contrast to other sacred texts, the Bible is written like a report, complete with actual locations, names of participants, and quotes from those involved. Historians and experts have frequently attested to its validity.
God presents himself to us through the unique perspectives and voices of the authors of the Bible.
Each of the Bible’s 40 authors shared a commitment to a core theme: that God, who made us all, longs for fellowship with us. Knowing and relying on him is a summons he issues to us.
The Bible does more than just motivate us; it also sheds light on who God is and how we should live. It doesn’t address every possible concern, but it does address many of them.
The Bible demonstrates to us how to lead lives of meaning and kindness. It urges us to find our security in God, take our cues from him, and bask in the warmth of his affection.
Additionally, the Bible explains how one can attain salvation and eternal life.
How to Regard The Bible In The Modern Age
Nathaniel Schmucker argued that the proof of history is often disheartening because no person can fix the issue of evil. That’s an issue only God can fix.
While micro-level shifts are possible when big community segments are inspired to take action that benefits the common good, evil persists and merely shifts its strategy.
As a result, a sobering pattern emerges from examining human nature and the social justice system’s repeated failings.
There is no way for us to fix our issues. Unfortunately, the wrongs of previous eras are still with us and will be passed on to the next age.
There is hope because the Bible promises that evil has been defeated once and for all.
God continues to mandate that we assist the materially and spiritually impoverished on this earth, and he envisions a time when all suffering will be eliminated.
Christian optimism stems from the fact that Christianity is the only religion that both acknowledges the depravity of sin and offers a remedy to it, making it inherently hopeful.
The Bible gives us reason to have faith when none should exist.
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