Our Strange Bible

Introduction

This year we are joining along with main sanctuary through a year of Biblical and systematic theology

When we read through Scripture we can often pick up hints of themes but often we need to take a step back to see what the Bible as a whole has to say about specific topics

So this year, we are doing exactly that

What does the Bible have to say about mankind?

What does the Bible have to say about sin?

What does the Bible have to say about God?

What does the Bible have to say about suffering?

And so much more?

One passage might shed light but we need the entirety of Scripture to illuminate the whole picture.

So as we begin this journey, this month, we are beginning with Scripture itself

What is the Bible?

Why can we trust the Bible?

How do we read the Bible?

Is the Bible trustworthy?

Christians place an enormous emphasis on our Bibles and I think it is a good thing!

But this generation of the church is not very Biblically literate

They might say they believe their Bibles and trust it

But they don’t actually know what it has to say

Or they don’t know how to read it

And now we live in a world where non-Christians (who don’t know their Bibles) use the Bible against Christians (who also don’t know their Bibles) which causes people to doubt the Bible in the first place

This was my experience in College

Ex. Steven M.

So our Scripture reading today is from passage that almost all of us are familiar with

Scripture Reading

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (CSB)

All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

So we know this truth, but today I want to talk a bit about the Bible as a whole

First, I want to acknowledge that our Bible is strange (Tim Mackie)

It is the best-selling book of all time...

Yet it is so different than any other books that we usually read (if we read)

It’s a book containing other books

There are different genres

Imagine reading a book and one whole section is poetry, then another is a story, then the same story from a different perspective, then you have an assortment of letters that were sent included in the same book… Its a bit strange

After, we talk about some of the strangeness of our Bibles I want to talk about why we still read our Bibles...

Why the Bible is Strange...

A Different Time and Culture

I know we are aware of this but the Bible is from a completely different time and culture

And frankly, we aren’t used to reading things outside of our culture

How many of you have read Shakespeare?

Even when we read some of his stuff we are shocked by how different the world is (1600s)

But at least it is in the same language

The Bible is strange because its almost like its from a different world

So much talk about land, genealogies, sacrifices and we don’t have a context for that today

Or somethings we might understand but we can lose the weightiness or significance

Jesus and the leper

So we are constantly challenged by the Bible...

Where are we bringing our own assumptions into the Bible?

And we are faced with some confusing parts of scripture because of this

The Parts We Overlook

Secondly, there are parts that we can just straight up overlook and pass over because they are difficult

A couple of years ago we worked through Judges, and man, is that a messed up book

There are not many times you hear the story of Jepthah sacrificing his daughter on a Sunday morning

If the Bible is about God and his people

Why are there such tragic stories in it?

War, death, sexual assault, natural disasters, weird sexual immorality

And often we tend to just overlook it and on to the next thing

But non-believers often quote these weird passages but we never read them to begin with

Or they talk about how the Bible promotes slavery, oppression of women, and other terrible things

But those portions of scripture we often overlook not thinking about them

We have more access to the Bible than ever before, but we still don’t read it

The Hard to Understand (Poetry & Epistles)

Thirdly, there are the parts that are just plain hard to understand

Reading the prophets can be confusing

There is a lot of repetition

There is a lot of imagery that we don’t use today

So lots can be lost in translation

And its not only the OT but even the NT can be hard to understand

Reading some of Paul’s letters can be dense

Even Peter has to say this about Paul:

2 Peter 3:16 (CSB)

He speaks about these things in all his letters. There are some things hard to understand in them. The untaught and unstable will twist them to their own destruction, as they also do with the rest of the Scriptures.

Even me, who has studied the Scriptures for years and am in school studying it still

There are parts I just don’t understand

Parts that are just a little bit confusing

So for these reason we can often justify not reading our Bibles

It’s too out of date, it’s not relevant to today

It’s too messed up, It’s harmful to society

It’s too complex, I’ll just read John 3:16

So given these reasons I want to talk about

Why we still read our Bibles...

It Is Timeless

Do you think there is a reason why the Bible is the best-selling book of all time?

Yes the Bible was written thousands of years ago in a culture foreign to ours

But the Bible still speaks today

The Bible is not just a history book of what had happened in the past

The Bible is God’s word from generation to generation

Millions of people throughout history speaking different languages, all over the Earth, have found truth, hope, and peace in these pages

It’s a beautiful thing

We can read a story of God using a small shepherd boy and making him king thousands of years ago, and it still resonates with us today

Just because the Bible is old, and was written thousands of years ago, does not mean it is irrelevant or out-dated

Often we need some help in understanding---bridging the gap between the Biblical times and our times

But there are glorious timeless truths held inside

The reason the Bible is timeless is not in the words itself, but its because it points us to Jesus.

Jesus has this to say to the religious leaders of his day:

John 5:39–40 (CSB)

You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, and yet they testify about me. But you are not willing to come to me so that you may have life.

The Scriptures are timeless because they are alive, they are pointing us to Jesus

You see the Bible is the only book that reads us as we read it

Our hearts are exposed and God speaks to us as we read His word

How do we know who Jesus is?

We look to the Scriptures to see his character

From generation to generation God’s character is consistent

It Is Real

Secondly, to speak to those sections we tend to overlook because they are messy or tragic

This points to the fact that the Bible is real

Its not all sunshine and rainbows

God is present with his people even in the messy and messed up things

And God is present with us even in the messy and messed up things

And now, especially as a high school student, some of these things can seem shocking and overwhelming

But as you grow up, you begin to learn that life is messy

Things are messed up

And as you read these very difficult portions of Scripture you know that God isn’t absent in those rough times

God is committed to his people despite the terrible things in our lives

So whenever I read a story like that

Where my heart just breaks at the tragedy

I remind myself that God’s heart also breaks

That God endures so much sorrow because of the brokenness of this world

It Is Deep

And finally, we might not read the Bible because it is just difficult sometimes

Its not easy to read in a lot of places

But this is not an excuse to not read at all

We need practice and training to understand God’s word

It takes dedication and a work of the Spirit to sit down and understand God’s word

Do any of you like poetry in this room?

What if you read a poem like you would read a normal story?

You would be confused most likely

Or you would be frustrated that they couldn’t say it in an easier to understand way

I think the same is true for our Bibles

What are we used to reading?

Social media feeds

Websites

Food menus

Text messages

Books (?) maybe

We are so used to things being short and to the point but often the Bible is not like that

It’s not like receiving a text message from God

It takes effort to try and read and understand

Ex. Mining for Gemstones

I love the metaphor for training because Scripture is also likened to a weapon

Hebrews 4:12 (CSB)

For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Imagine using a weapon that you have not received any training for?

You’d probably hurt yourself or other people

But as we train ourselves in the Scriptures we find ourselves able to handle God’s Word with purpose

And guys, you have some of the best resources for training than any generation before you

There are so many amazing resources on YouTube, sermons on Podcasts, Audio-books, to help you along the way

Personally, I love reading and learning

If you are ever looking for a YouTube Channel or Sermons or book to read I can send you recommendations!

And not only online resources but you have a community of people here that care for you and love you

Your parents, Me, other HSM leaders

This is my job!

I’m here to help you wrestle through the Bible

I might not have all of the answers but I can try and point you in the right direction

I absolutely love answering Bible questions when they come up

So I encourage you guys… read your Bibles

Don’t let the difficult parts discourage you

Ask for help when you need it!

Conclusion

So I hope if you get anything from today its that our Bible is strange but that should not keep us from reading it

It’s not easy at times but it contains the words of eternal life

I can testify from my own experience that the Bible contains timeless truths that are like water to a thirsty soul

So I encourage all of you to read

Whether its large portions or just a few verses

Read

And try to read daily

Make it a habit to seek God through reading his world

Pray