The Christian Bible is the most-read book of all time!
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Is the ENTIRE Bible a Message Sent to us from God?
I know, silly question. For most of those getting this blog, I assume that the gut-level answer will be “YES.” So, why ask such an obvious question? Simple. As a result of my research in writing, “God (still) has BIG Plans for the Jews.” I discovered that a large number of Christians could not answer the question, “Why is there an Old Testament?” That’s why I emphasized the word “ENTIRE” in my question above. If the whole Bible is the holy, inspired Word of the Living God, what are we to make of the two-thirds devoted to the Old Testament? Some would like us to believe that the New Testament was intended to supersede (or replace) the Old Testament (A Theory called “Replacement Theory” or “Supersessionism.”) To me, that sounds an awful lot like the way Joseph Smith justified the Book of Mormon – God told him that there was a “new message” He (God) wanted to communicate with the world and amend His prior message. Both concepts depend on God’s need to update or change His message. To believe that assumes that God didn’t get it right the first time, and such a thought, frankly, breaks the very definition of God. God never makes a mistake, and He never has to amend His words.
Evidence that Demands a Verdict
Many years ago, I read a book by a young pastor named Josh McDowell, who wrote “Evidence that Demands a Verdict.” It revolutionized my view of the Bible because it helped me see that the Bible could not exist unless God had inspired it to be written. One of the best arguments Josh put forth was that the Bible was:
- Written by 40 different authors.
- Who lived over a span of ~1,500 years.
- At a time when there was limited language proficiency, limited means to communicate, and a limited audience who could even read what they wrote.
- The backgrounds of the authors were diverse – some rich, some poor; some powerful, some with no power at all; and some highly educated versus some who could barely read
Yet, the product of their collective work was 66 books whose story was woven together with such consistency and purpose that its message has influenced billions across thousands of years. That sounds like a miracle to me! So, why do we let so-called scholars pontificate on what portions of the Bible we should believe and what portions we have to take “with a grain of salt?”
Now, you might think my point only covers events like the Flood, and if so, you’d be wrong. In writing my book, “God (still) has BIG Plans for the Jews,” one of the first questions I had to contend with was:
Why did God write the Old Testament?
As a child, my answer might have been: “Because it contains so many cool stories about God performing blockbuster miracles!”
As an adult, I felt my answer had evolved to: “Because God wants us to know we are sinners, and we needed Him to send Jesus!”
If that was all there was to it, what purpose did the Jews serve in the Old Testament? Were they only intended to be an object lesson in what not to do? Were all the promises God made to them in the Old Testament nullified when so many rejected Jesus in the New Testament?
I was at a loss to answer these questions until I discovered the author, Christopher J. H. Wright. Dr. Wright is a prolific and respected Christian author. But his trilogy of books entitled:
- “Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament”
- “Knowing God through the Old Testament”
- “Knowing the Holy Spirit through the Old Testament”
forever changed my life and my perspective on God’s purpose in writing the Old Testament. If you want to understand better how two-thirds of your Bible is relevant to and vital for your Christian (or Jewish) beliefs, I strongly encourage you to read these books. At a minimum, my Jewish friends should read #2, and my Christian friends should read #1. All will benefit from reading #3.
In my humble opinion, no one has done a better job of making ALL the Bible relevant than Dr. Wright.
In my next blog, I’ll probe a bit more into Dr. Wright’s books and add some more meat to establishing the Bible as the one book we can trust that God wrote especially for us.
Like what you read? Don’t miss the next edition! Subscribe to my posts.
One Comment