THE BIBLE
THE BIBLE IS GOD’S MESSAGE TO MANKIND REGARDING ULTIMATE TRUTH AND HIS PURPOSE AND PLAN FOR EVERYTHING
God has chosen to make himself known in two major ways – through the Bible and through the majesty and order of the created world. The Bible is God’s message to man. By it, he gives us information about life and the universe – its origin, meaning, purpose, and destiny – which man cannot discover in any other way. It is our only reliable way of understanding the character and will of God, and it is the believer’s only reliable authority for faith and life. It is also a gift from God. Through it, we can know how to live in harmony with God and our fellow man.
The Bible is also the history of God working in the lives of individuals, kings and nations to accomplish his will; and it is the record of his incredible patience with and love for man. Some have called it a love story – the story of a loving God who continues to love and care for people, even when they hate him and disregard him. Scripture also warns us of Satan’s methods and goals and prepares us for the temptations and the opposition we will face as we carry out our redemptive assignments on earth on behalf of God.
The Bible (also known as Scripture or the Word of God) is the Constitution for the Kingdom of God and our map for understanding a God-centered worldview and navigating life. Every person on earth has a worldview. It’s our mental map of reality – it’s what each person believes is true, whether it is or not. Every decision we make in life is based on our worldview. The more accurate our worldview, the better decisions we will make. While we can never know all truth, the Bible teaches us all the truth we need, to live ordered and purposeful lives.
Everybody on earth knows that there is something incredibly wrong with this world. This is not the way things were supposed to be. This longing or hope for things to be right again is a major theme in the Bible. The prophets used the word Shalom, which means a universal flourishing, a wholeness where God and humans enjoy one another, all mankind’s basic needs are met and everyone has meaningful work and loving relationships. The Bible describes in Genesis how it was – in Revelations how it will be – and in between how it can be if mankind will love and obey God.
The Bible is made up of sixty-six books written from roughly 1450 B.C. to 100 A.D. The Bible is inspired -- meaning that the Holy Spirit enabled the writers to receive God’s special revelation and speak it or write it in their own language and style, without error or omission, as the very words of God. The writers themselves were not perfect, but under the influence of the Holy Spirit they wrote the intentions of God perfectly. While all true Christians believe by faith that the Bible is absolutely true, we acknowledge that our interpretations of biblical truth are subject to human error, or our own pre-conceived worldviews. Many “truths” over which Christians have debated or fought, are in fact theories to explain some of the mysteries of faith and God which may be unknowable, or unnecessary for us to know.
The Bible is divided into the Old Testament and New Testament. Another word for testament is covenant or promise. God’s covenants are his declarations to certain people of what he promises to do; therefore, the two Testaments of the Bible are God's promises to his people. Many of the Old Testament promises and commands were for the nation of Israel, while those in the New Testament are for believers today – the church.
While there were men and women who loved God and obeyed him prior to the writing of the Bible, when God inspired Moses to write the first five books, for the first time mankind had a detailed plan as to how the people of God should live out his redemptive plan. From that time on, God unfolded new information and instructions, culminating in Jesus’ teachings and the explanation of Jesus’ teachings by the writers of the New Testament. Those teachings are our primary source for understanding our role in the Kingdom of God and the nature of the future and coming Kingdom of God.
The constitution of any country lays out the basic laws and principles which will govern that nation. The writers of the U.S. Constitution never saw it as a burden they were imposing on people, but a way to assure “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." God wants the same thing for us. Trusting the truths in his Constitution will bring us life, liberty, and ultimate happiness. Just as our country's Constitution limits some of our individual freedoms for the common good, the Bible also places limits on our individual freedoms for our good and the good of his kingdom. Inversely, just as failing to obey the laws of our land has consequences, God too has declared there will be consequences for disobedience to his Word, even to future generations.
The Bible then is our primary means of understanding the will of God for our lives (at least that which he will hold us responsible for). It’s also God’s gift to us. It’s the story of his love, revealing to man who he is and what he desires of us, as well as his promises for his creation and his kingdom.
Deut. 5:32,33; Proverbs 3:5; II Tim. 3:16,17; Psalm 119:1,2; Psalm 119:9-11; Psalm 1:1-3; Deut. 11:19, 26-28; II Peter 1:20 ; Romans 12 :1-2