THE GOD OF THE BIBLE

“We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each one should please his neighbours for their good, to build them up. For even Christ did not please Himself but, as it is written: ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’ For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Romans 15:1-4.

The Old Testament, apart from being the root of our understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ, is a rich source of examples of how God revealed Himself to His people and interacted with them. It was His purpose to show them who He was and what He required of them. As we read the stories of the ancients, we gain insights into His character and how we can relate to Him as they did, sinful beings though we are.

Imagine, for a moment, that the Scriptures began at Matthew 1. Who was Matthew and who were the people he wrote about? Where can we find information about them? What about their religion and culture? Who was this Jesus who featured so big in his stories? What about Matthew’s many quotes from a source he seemed to regard as authoritative? How did the Jews get there in the first place?  Why were they being oppressed by a power called Rome? And on and on…

So many questions remain unanswered without the first half of the book. Yet many believers start reading at the beginning of the New Testament, ignoring the fact that it makes no sense without the Old, and then wondering why they don’t understand it, or why their own interpretations don’t make sense or, even worse, lead them astray.

God gave us a story book for a very good reason. We love to read stories, not only because they capture our interest, but also because we learn things from the mistakes and achievements of their characters. We are inspired by the example of great people; we gain insights and wisdom through their struggles; we celebrate and desire to imitate their victories and we love to journey with them in their world, because it is a real world, not a world of make-believe.

How many of us would be enthralled by a book of instructions or a book of deep theology? Those kind of books gather dust in the library and are only written and read by the boffins, while biographies, autobiographies and novels circulate regularly among the readers.

Paul encouraged the people in the church at Rome, many of whom were Gentiles, to study the writings we now call the Old Testament. From it they would learn and gain understanding of the God and the people with whom they had become identified. They would be inspired and encouraged by the stories of people who were sustained, supported and led by the God who loved them and had patience them even when they disobeyed Him again and again.

Unlike the gods whom they once worshipped, the God of the Bible is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love and faithfulness, a generous God who met their needs, fought their battles and kept on giving in spite of His people’s unfaithfulness.

Their stories would be repeated in the lives of the readers as they gained knowledge and confidence in the God who is revealed in the sacred writings. Unlike the stories of the gods which were the ramblings of someone’s overactive imagination, the stories in the Bible are true and verifiable through history and archaeology. As we read, they provide us with encouragement and hope, because the same God who loved and cared about people in its stories, loves and cares about us.

The Bible is a never-ending story. God is still writing it through the lives of His people down the centuries. Your story and mine are being carefully recorded and will be read when the books are opened at the end of time. There is another book being written as well – called the Lamb’s Book of Life. It contains the names of everyone who through faith in God’s Messiah and lives that are the fruit of their faith, have crossed over from death to life.

Everyone’s name is recorded in that book and only erased if he or she fails to be trusting the Saviour  and living in righteousness when they pass forever from this life to the next.

“Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15.

How sad if you neglect to read the book and obey what it teaches! Your name will be erased and will not be there when the books are opened.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.