Have you ever considered grabbing a thick, big, theology book? Maybe you have attempted it and stopped or perhaps you have thought you could never work your way through it. I want to give you 8 quick reasons to push past these thoughts and begin to dig in to that thick, big book.
Continue reading Theology… Why Bother? 8 Reasons
First, I want to say that – I am not a good reader! People assume that since I read a lot that I must be a good reader. The reality is that I am perhaps the worst reader I know. I am a slow reader (even though I took a speed reading class once) and worse than that my comprehension level is atrocious. Seriously, I have prayed about this, whined about this, asked God why do I retain so little, etc… It’s bad – really bad! My kids laugh at me because when they were young and I would read to them The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia or… they retained everything and dad… “He forgets everything!”
Continue reading 30 Book Challenge… Where Do You Find The Time To Read?
Ok so if you did not read 30 Book Challenge, you might want to go back and read that before proceeding.
Some of you have asked for “the 2019 reading list.” Below are some of the books I plan to read for 2019. You should make your own list – these are books that interest me. I promise you, you will not meet the 30 book challenge unless you are picking books that interest YOU! So, don’t try to read my list. Now that said, you might find some of the books below to be interesting to you. If so, great! Let’s get to reading in 2019. Continue reading 30 Book Challenge – My 2019 List
Love reading? Hate to read? Either way, I want you to consider joining me in 2019 for a “30 Book Challenge.” In our digital, social media, high-octane entertainment age – I realize that a challenge to pick up a black and white print book is so…. 1990’s. But yes, let me challenge you back to the stone age and invite you to read this year. You might not be ready for a “30 Book Challenge” and that is fine! Just pick a good book and get started reading.
Below is a list of 10 books I enjoyed in 2018 and 10 books that I plan to enjoy in 2019. I included some of the books I call, “fun reads” and other books that require more effort, coffee, and undistracted time.
This Sunday Trinity Community Church begins its series preaching through Galatians and James.
Galatians: Faith Alone
James: Faith That Is Not Alone
Below is a Galatians Primer of various quotes and thoughts to prepare our hearts for our study. Each paragraph and the various quotes can stand alone. Read them, consider them, and then read the letter to the Galatians in one sitting. This post is intended to stir your minds to begin thinking, Galatians. If you are not a part of Trinity and would like to follow along in our series you can do so here.
If you have not already done so, snag your copy of Esther’s Gospel, The God Who Is There. If you are a Kindle user, there is a sale on the book that ends today!
.99 cents!
It is that time of year. Fall, pumpkins, costumes, and….of course, candy!
I live in the wonderful state of Florida. Fall in Florida means there’s usually a little less humidity, an occasional cool breeze, and plenty of mosquitos to smack while kids gather candy on October 31st. Oh, the fondness of Fall memories growing up in Florida!
I have been unable to blog these past few weeks. I hope to explain why in my next post. For now, a post from Acts 4.
Recently, Orlando’s news included the needless shooting death of Christina Grimmie. Christiana was, by everyone’s estimation, set to become the next vocal superstar. Then, roughly twenty-four hours after Grimmie’s death, a gunman walked into the Pulse Nightclub and ended the lives of 49 people. Then, a few days later, a mother and a father were lounging on a beach while their two-year old son played in a mere foot of water when an alligator attacked and killed him. Unthinkable – Tragedy!
The start of another year kicks off with yet another disappointing Presidential debate. More, Ridiculous banter, pathetic ridicule, and pre-planned talking points. Ugh!
In the midst of the presidential banner, the turn of the calendar also has me preparing sermons on racial unity and the Sanctity of Life. Sadly, in 2016, babies continue to be born clinging to life as a result of a botched abortion. Born living and breathing, these babies are then denied proper care and are left to die and ….it’s legal! Pouring over Psalms 139 and mingling among the massive statistics of dead babies leaves me angry, sad, numb, and oddly enough…. full of hope.
The apostle Paul, nearing the end of his difficult life, seeks to encourage his friend and son in the faith, Timothy. Timothy is a pastor in Ephesus, where many of those that he and Paul considered to be friends are now opposing the message of the gospel. Paul warns of these men and the effect of their false teaching in the church.
Christian, are you comfortable in your own skin?
You gotta love the apostle Paul! He was comfortable in his own skin, meaning, he knew who he was and what he believed. He knew what he was saved from, he knew his Savior, and he made no excuses for it. Paul did not set out to offend. But, neither did he water down truth… A watered down truth is no longer….truth. Sometimes, truth offends.
So I ask you again: Christian, are you comfortable in your own skin?
What was the result for Paul being true to who he was and what he believed?
It was lashings, periods of time in prison, his friends abandoned him, and so much more.
But, like a beaten boxer, he kept getting back up to be “hit” again.
What drove Paul?
Was he ever tempted to give up the fight and call it a day?
We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,
(1 Corinthians 1:23 ESV)
Paul understood that to some, his preaching of Christ crucified would be a stumbling block or foolishness, and he seemed to be ok with that.
We want a salvation that does not offend my desires, and a Savior who not only accepts me “just as I am” but accepts my ongoing blatant rebellion against Him as well.
Why was Paul ok with preaching the Word that caused stumbling blocks and was viewed to be folly? The next verse tells us why.
but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:24 ESV)
Christ crucified was what drove this man. He was a man aware of the death to life reality for himself. Once Saul (persecutor of the church) now Paul (church planter, preacher, evangelist, and inmate).
We live in a day where pastors and church leaders are seeking to make God’s Word more palatable. Palatable is good…. isn’t it? Yes and No. Yes, because we need to help people understand God’s Word. And no, because we are not at liberty to change or to water down God’s Word to conform to this world.
And this is where we get it wrong. God’s Word calls us to conform to the Word, rather than the Word conforming to the world. Sadly, ours is a day when believers water down the Word to help the Word conform to the world.
When the Word and the World collide, we are to go with the Word!
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
(Romans 12:1-2 ESV)
3 Reasons why we are conforming more to the world than to the Word.
1.) The desire for growth. So strong is the desire today to be a pastor, or a member, of a large church that compromise soon follows. In the name of adding people, many are willing to compromise God’s Word.
Sure, I want the church to grow just as much as the next guy! However, we have to ask ourselves: Is the addition of people that comes from watering down the truth of God’s Word actual growth?
While it may be growing “our” kingdom, we must consider, is the kind of growth we are experiencing in our churches, growing God’s Kingdom?
I submit to you that if it is built on the world rather than the Word, it is not growing God’s Kingdom.
This is, perhaps, worse than no growth at all? If we are adding people to a false gospel and to man’s kingdom, are we not serving ourselves rather than God?
People might be added, but not converted.
I often hear: “you can’t argue with success.” Which means, because there are a lot of people attending, God must be blessing the church. How foolish that we define success with a number of people in a room as opposed to what the Bible clearly states.
(For example: Matthew 28:19-20)
2.) Because of fear
Difficult days lie ahead for the church in America. I am afraid that Christians are afraid. We fear people, government, and political correctness more than we fear God. We lust to be accepted and approved by people.
For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
(Galatians 1:10 ESV)
Now, that is a man comfortable in his own skin. When preachers toe the line of political correctness, they do so out of fear of man rather than fear of God.
3.) Because we have forgotten
We have forgotten that Christ calls us to “deny ourself, and take up our cross and follow Him.” We want an easy salvation, one that requires no repentance, no change, and no Savior. Christianity 101 calls us to repent from our sin. The church then is not called to make life more comfortable for us in our sinfulness. The church is a place of repentance and transformation.
And, nothing less than Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection makes this possible!
What does the Bible have to say about life in 2015? Anything? I mean, when I look at the Bible, people are sacrificing animals, walking around in robes, and the central figure calls Himself the Son of God.
What does any of that have to do with how I drive to work on Monday morning, how I parent my children, or how I go to the grocery store?
The question that I am really getting after is this: Is the Bible sufficient for our lives today? Is it possible that a book written thousands of years ago, in a different culture, addresses our lives in 2015? Does God’s Word address my world and my problems?
Have you ever wondered if the Bible is really able to help you with your deepest problems? Have you struggled to know what to do with your
life, and wished you had some special word from the Lord? Have you ever thought to yourself that the biblical teaching on sexuality needs updating? Have you ever wished for a more direct, more personal revelation than what you get from slowly reading through the Bible? Have you ever secretly wanted to add something to the word of God— you know, just to make things safer? Have you ever wanted to take something away to make the Bible more palatable? Have you ever assumed that the Bible doesn’t say anything about how to worship God or how to order his church? Have you ever felt like the Bible just wasn’t enough for living a faithful life in today’s world? If you can answer yes to any of these questions— and we all will at times— then you are struggling with the sufficiency of Scripture.
DeYoung, Kevin (2014-04-30). Taking God At His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me (pp. 43-44). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:15-17 ESV)
Above is the often quoted verse about God’s Word. But, Christian, do you believe this verse? Do you really believe it? Do you believe that God’s Word is breathed out by God? And not only that, do you believe His Word is profitable for your life in 2015?
God’s Word does not need us to help it out! We do not need to try to improve it by adding to it. It is, after all, GOD’S Word. We do not need to take away from it, make it more palatable, or anything of the sort. Our job is to respond to its glory and power, not attempt to improve it! (Wow, how full of pride are we when we think it is our job to “fix” or update God’s Word.)
We can say all the right things about the Bible, and even read it regularly, but when life gets difficult, or just a bit boring, we look for new words, new revelation, and new experiences to bring us closer to God. We feel rather ho-hum about the New Testament’s description of heaven, but we are mesmerized by the accounts of school-age children who claim to have gone there and back . From magazine articles about “My Conversation with God” (see chapter 2), to best-selling books where God is depicted as giving special, private communications, we can easily operate as if the Bible were not enough. If we could only have something more than the Scriptures, then we would be really close to Jesus and know his love for us.
DeYoung, Kevin (2014-04-30). Taking God At His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me (pp. 45-46). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
1.) How we go about our day is one way to help us to consider our view of the sufficiency of Scripture.
Let’s say that you are having some problems, and you are not sure where to turn.
Is your reflex to ask what does the Bible say? How might the Bible address this problem?
Or, is your reflex to ask what does this popular author say, what does my friend think, let me call my pastor, etc. Hey, there’s nothing wrong with getting input from friends and pastors, and…. The Bible itself tells us there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors.
But, I am talking about an unintended or perhaps intended view of Scripture that subtly thinks God’s Word can’t help me on this one. I need a New York Bestselling author for this problem. Or I need the wisdom of a Piper, Sproul, or Keller. (All favorites of mine, by the way…) While these authors can be a source of help, be sure you are not using them, or others, in a way that actually diminishes the sufficiency of God’s Word. Pastors, teachers, authors, and friends can be a source directing us to grow, trust, and rely on God’s Word or, they can be replacing God’s Word.
God’s Word is sufficient. It is our authority and it is sufficient for all of life!
2.) How we build our churches is one way we dismiss the sufficiency of God’s Word.
What are we saying with the dog and pony show in the church today? What is needed in our churches is not more entertainment, flashy worship sets, or CEO pastors. What is needed is the Word of the very living God! Paul to Timothy: Preach the Word!
How we “do” church says a lot about what we believe about God’s Word. Is it sufficient or does it need props?
3.) The Word is sufficient for growing in Christ
God has given us all we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1: 3); Scripture is enough to make us wise for salvation and holy unto the Lord (2 Tim. 3: 14– 17). If we learn to read the Bible down (into our hearts), across (the plot line of Scripture), out (to the end of the story), and up (to the glory of God in the face of Christ), we will find that every bit of the Bible is profitable for us. To affirm the sufficiency of Scripture is not to suggest that the Bible tells us everything we want to know about everything, but it does tell us everything we need to know about what matters most. Scripture does not give exhaustive information on every subject, but in every subject on which it speaks, it says only what is true. And in its truth we have enough knowledge to turn from sin, find a Savior, make good decisions, please God, and get to the root of our deepest problems.
DeYoung, Kevin (2014-04-30). Taking God At His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me (pp. 54-56). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
4.) A sufficient Savior is what matters most in 2015!
“It is finished”
Jesus Christ on the cross.
Consider the sufficiency of what Christ accomplished on the cross! Nothing more can be added to His sacrifice. No human effort adds anything to your salvation. No Bible reading, obedience, giving, serving, or any other thing adds to what Christ has done in any way at all! His death on the cross atoned for sins and the moment I try to add to that atonement, I have belittled the sufficiency of the Savior.
Thanking God today that the Word of God is sufficient!
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. (2 Timothy 3:16- 4:1-4 ESV)
I love the above scripture! The Apostle Paul writes, with great conviction, as he seeks to root Timothy and us in the Word of God.
God’s Word = Authority:
1.) Because it is God’s Word
This is our foundation, we must begin here. Do you believe God’s Word IS… GOD’S Word? Paul tells us that it is a God breathed – God inspired Word. The Word is not our word. And since it is not our word, it (not us) has authority. Once we buy in to a Word that is not God’s Word, pack it in. We are done! At that moment, there is no longer a p0int in considering the Word. In an instant the Word no longer carries meaning or conviction. At that point the Word has lost its power. It is just a Word that is no more inspired than the next book on the shelf. It may contain good advice or nice suggestions for living, but it is not the Word of God. And, once it becomes anything less than God’s Word, it becomes nothing. It becomes nothing more than man’s ideas and opinions. And those are a dime a dozen folks. But, the Words of the Creator and Savior… those are Words that have worth!
So, Paul says to Timothy, Preach the Word. And thus, the Word is what we preach. Not our opinions, but the Word. We would do well, and our churches would do well to stick to the Word.
To preach the Word is to recognize the Word of God is wisdom. Submission to the Word is what joyfully does. Why? Because it is God’s Word! He is the Authority, not me and not you.
2.) Authority exists outside of us
I am so glad for this! I enjoy affirming that God’s Word is God’s Word. This rightly takes the authority out of my hands and places it where it belongs. It places it in the Sovereign, able, worthy, hands of God! I am a cruddy authority to my own soul. Why? Because, I want what I want – NOT what I need.
Paul to Timothy: teach what is sound. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth.
Is it not amazing how similar Paul and Timothy’s problems are to our problems today? Our culture does not want sound doctrine. We lust for trendy sermons filled with clichés and simple solutions to a profound problem all aimed to suit ones passions.
Personally, I do not need to hear a sermon preached to suit my passions! That is NOT what my soul needs! My soul needs my passions confronted rather than suited. The Word does not exist to suit my comforts and worldly desires. It exists for God glorifying transformation.
If my authority is what I want, then I am immediately off in a million directions. And tomorrow, I will likely have a new set of authoritative opinions of my creating. I am grateful for the Authority of God’s Word. It is not fickle, it does not change, nor does it shift with my shifting opinions or the opinions of our culture.
This means, I do not have to guess if the Word changed while I slept last night. The Word is rooted in the very nature of God. The unchanging God gave us His unchanging Word, that I / we might be changed!
Jesus came, He lived a sinless life, died on the cross for my sins, rose from the grave, and He ascended to the right hand of the Father!
HIS Authoritative Word tells me to repent of my sins and to trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. I joyfully have done so. I am forgiven! Sins paid for! It is finished! Christ settled it all on the cross, and none of that will change tomorrow!
That is HIS Word, not mine. This is the settled, unchanging, and authoritative, Words of God.
3.) The Authority of God reveals God
The Authority of Scripture reveals the character of God. Revealing His faithfulness, kindness, goodness, grace, mercy, sovereignty, trustworthiness, sufficiency, wisdom, power, truth, glory, and more!
The Word reveals God. As I said above, it is God’s Word. God makes Himself known to us through His written Word.
This has implications for us as we seek to read His Word. The Word is first and foremost given to us to help us to know God.
How kind and good of God to give us His Word. Without it, I would be adrift to every passing fad of my sinful heart. The Word is an anchor to my soul.
We can open the Word and read it seeking to grow in our understanding of who God is and what He has accomplished on our behalf.
4.) Authority informs response
Once we are convinced that the Word is God’s Word, and that it exists to make God known to us, then we are postured to respond rightly to its authority. Our responses are varied. Have you read God’s Word and responded in worship, humility, submission, conviction, repentance, faith, etc?
These and many others are the appropriate responses to the regular reading and preaching of God’s Word.
The Word of God exists to reveal God and when He is revealed, His glory is on display and we get to respond to that glory
Thank you God for your authoritative Word to us! Thank you for preserving your Word throughout history and making yourself known to us through your Word. May you grant us grace as we seek you today through the reading of your Word!
The below is taken in entirety from In The Line Of Fire by Michael Brown. While, I am wanting to write my own response to recent Rob Bell comments. My thoughts are many, and time is…. limited. So, for now, the below will have to suffice.
My quick response before I turn it over to Mr. Brown.
May our hearts grow in conviction for this 2,000 yr old book and its absolute relevance in our lives today!! Is there anything more relevant than the God of the Universes revealing Himself and Redemption to us?!? Rob Bell thinks God’s Word to be irrelevant…. Does that make Rob Bell irrelevant?
Michael Brown
For those who had any questions, Rob Bell has now made himself totally clear: He is willing to trash parts of the Bible as “letters from 2,000 years ago” when God’s Word contradicts his views on same-sex “marriage.”
Bell appeared on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday program together with his wife, Kristen, to promote their new book The Zimzum of Love: A New Way of Understanding Marriage. In an interview last December, Bell explained that on page 16 of the book, he and Kristen give their “whole hearted affirmation” to same-sex “marriage.”
That was no surprise in light of his announcement in 2013 that he supported redefining marriage. In fact, that had been his position for years, although he had not proclaimed it publicly prior to 2013.
But on Oprah’s show, he and Kristen went much further, dismissing the words of Scripture and criticizing churches that were determined to be faithful to God.
Explaining to Oprah why they included “gay marriage” in their book, Rob said, “One of the oldest aches in the bones of humanity is loneliness. Loneliness is not good for the world. Whoever you are, gay or straight, it is totally normal, natural and healthy to want someone to go through life with. It’s central to our humanity. We want someone to go on the journey with.”
Of course, he’s absolutely right in terms of the importance of intimate personal relationships.
God made us to be relational beings, but in a very specific way. He formed Eve as the fit companion and helper for Adam, the two of them uniquely designed to complement each other in the journey and mission of life.
And Paul’s solution to loneliness (and, even more so, to temptation) was specific as well: “Nevertheless, because of sexual immorality, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband” (1 Cor. 7:2).
He didn’t say, “Each person should have his or her own companion,” because that was never God’s intent for His creation.
In contrast, what the Bells want to do is take God’s very specific, beautiful blueprint, and radically redesign it in the name of “love.”
To be sure, the church needs to take on the burden of those who struggle with same-sex attraction, helping them in every way possible find personal and relational wholeness in Jesus. But we are hurting them rather than helping them when we think we know better than God.
Rob Bell was then asked by Oprah when the church was going to embrace same-sex “marriage,” to which he responded, “We’re close,” with Kristen adding, “I think it’s evolving.”
Rob then explained, “Lots of people are already there. We think it’s inevitable, and we’re moments … ,” at which point Oprah chimed in, “Moments away from the church accepting it?”
Rob’s answer said it all: “Absolutely … I think culture is already there, and the church will continue to be even more irrelevant when it quotes letters from 2,000 years ago as their best defense. When you have in front of you flesh-and-blood people who are your brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and co-workers and neighbors, and they love each other, and they just want to go through life with someone.”
So, according to Rob Bell, the church of Jesus should follow worldly culture and deny the plain teaching of God’s Word in order to be “relevant.” (For my thoughts on the idolatry of “relevance,” click here.)
And according to Bell, human feelings trump God’s Word, which can easily be dismissed as outdated—2,000 years outdated, it appears.
I guess what’s trending on Twitter trumps the timeless wisdom of the living Word of the living God.
I guess an emotional appeal carries far more weight than transcendent truth.
That’s similar to what Methodist Pastor Frank Schaeffer told me on my radio broadcast last year, explaining that he had to revise his views on the Bible and same-sex “marriage” after his son came out as gay but would “absolutely” have to restudy the issue if his son reversed his position about homosexuality.
Talk about loving your son or daughter (or father or mother) more than Jesus (see Matt. 10:37)
But that is exactly what Rob Bell is calling for: Go with the culture, stay “relevant,” dismiss the outdated biblical evidence and listen to your emotions.
Kristen, for her part, explained that some churches are just not getting with the program: “There are churches who are moving forward,” she said, “and there are churches who are almost regressing and making it more of a battle.”
How antiquated! How backwards! How embarrassing!
How dare these churches entrench themselves against the onslaught of worldly culture.
How dare they continue to resist the redefining of marriage and the rewriting of the sacred Scriptures.
How dare they hold fast to their position that God’s ways are best.
How dare they not get with the program of liberal progressivism.
The bad news is that many professing Christians are capitulating to culture and abandoning the holy and wholesome ways of the Lord.
The good news is that the Word of God stands forever (Is. 40:7-8; Matt. 24:35), and one day, Oprah Winfrey, with all her massive influence, and Rob and Kristen Bell, with their substantial influence as well, will be mere footnotes in this age of compromise and apostasy, marked as eternally irrelevant by the only One whose opinion matters.
That’s why I pray for their repentance today.
Michael Brown
I don’t know how you read books, but when I start into a new book I try to ascertain, as quickly as possible, what is the point? Yep, that’s all folks…. I want to know why did the author write this book? And, I want to know why…. fast!
I want to microwave my book – cook it fast! What can I say…. I am an American.
Usually one can find a purpose statement tucked in the introduction. I hunt for that statement, sentence, or even a few sentences where the author lets us in on the reason he has spent countless, frustrating hours researching, writing, and laboring to bring all that work to a finish and into our lives.
And hey, I am just like you….. I am busy! I need to know – and quick – is this book worth the time?
Me: Why did you write this book?
Author: Here is why I wrote this and where this book is headed.
Me: Thank you for letting me know if I should put the book down and forget it or journey on with the author.
(By the way – some authors already have credibility and I pre-order the book knowing…. it will be worth my time and effort. More on that later.)
I have a weird relationship with the author. I consider him / her my friend. Yep, weird right?!? . But, I like to think of the book I have in front of me as a conversation.
Grab a coffee, grab my friend off the shelf and let’s chat. And when I think this way, I get to do coffee with Charles Spurgeon, or a theology with Edwards, fantasy with Lewis or Tolkien. And, while I love to sit down with these friends! It is hit or miss sometimes to do so on any given day.
BUT – my every day goal and desire is to sit down with my Creator, Savior, Father, God!
Wow, are you kidding me?!? When I (when you) sit down to read the Bible, you are reading GOD’S WORD. You are sitting down with….. Almighty God! Coffee nearby, pen in hand – God is right there with me/ you!
Back to where this post started.
The point of the Bible – from start to finish – is to lay out for us God’s plan for Redemption.
Here is a quick overview of the Bible.
We could say – the point of the whole Bible – is about: Redemption. How will the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit each work to bring about redemption of fallen man?
The Father Sends
The Son takes on human flesh and goes to the cross for our sins! (Phil 2)
The Spirit quickens our hearts.
God’s Word in a nutshell. Redemption. The purpose of the Word of God, the purpose for our lives, and the reason the believer does not put the book down or ignore the glory it reveals.
The gospel is the Bible’s main message, and preaching the content of the Bible—that is, the prophetic anticipation of God’s redemptive purpose in Christ from the Old Testament and the apostolic witness to the accomplished work of Christ in the New Testament—unleashes the power of the gospel message and achieves its God-ordained end.
Bullmore, Mike (2011-08-02). The Gospel and Scripture: How to Read the Bible (The Gospel Coalition Booklets) (Kindle Locations 88-90). Crossway. Kindle Edition.
From start to finish, the consistent thread throughout the Word of God is REDEMPTION.
Everything prior to Jesus, looks forward to Jesus. Everything post Jesus, looks back to Jesus.
Listen in on how John gives us the purpose statement for the gospel of John.
“so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31).
How will sinful man be made right with God?
Well, therein lies the point of the whole book. Jesus Christ is the Author AND He is the Answer! He is the point. He is the reason we have a Bible and need a Bible. And friend, He is WORTH OUR TIME! That is right, He is WORTH it. Worth my / your time! Worth the effort.
So, take up the book this year in 2015. Grab a coffee and pen. And get to know the Author and The Point of the whole book!
“You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God. . . . And this word is the good news that was preached to you” (1 Pet. 1:23–25).