What is the Bible?

Hi folks,

Tonight we are going to continue our Back to the Basic series with a look at What is the Bible? Just as a quick reminder we are doing this series because as we chatted with a number of you this summer we thought that what we needed to do was spend time talking about some of the key or basic aspects of Christianity. And so last week we talked about Who Jesus was and we’re going to spend time this week and the next 2 weeks talking about the bible, prayer and the church.

What

So tonight we’re going to look at the bible, what it is and what we use it for. And I want to start with a bit of a question. If someone where to come up to you and ask you what the bible is what would you say? Is it a book with good stuff, a bunch of stories collected in a book? We’ll I’m hoping that tonight we will find out that it is really so much more. I know when I was your age I had this thought that the bible was just a book of rules. A book that told me what I can and cannot do. As I’ve spent time learning and growing I’ve found that it is really a lot more than that.

For you who like information and to know like stats about things; the bible is a book that is written by 40 different people, it was written on 3 continents, originally in 3 languages and was written over a 1600 year period. That’s some incredible stuff there.

One verse that has literally shaped my view of what the bible is and helps me to understand what it is in which says, “16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”

16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.

We learn 3 things from these words:

1. The bible is inspired by God. What that means is that God provided the words that we read to the people who wrote them down. It is saying that what we read wasn’t just the thoughts and opinions of the people who wrote them. Some translations say that it is literally God breathed, from him out to to and through the authors. For me that is pretty amazing. And I’m confident this is the case because the bible really ties together, like the thoughts and opinions flow in such an incredible way that it doesn’t contradict itself and really fits together. It is the words of a bunch of different people which agree with one another, which really doesn’t make sense if it was written over such a long period of time by people who really didn’t get a chance to see what each other was writing.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.

2. It is designed to teach us what is true and to help us to see what that is in our lives. I’m a person who likes to know what is right and wrong. Who doesn’t right? One of the things that I hated about school and some classes where when they gave questions that didn’t have a right or wrong answer, for me it happened a lot in science class. Like when the answer was it depends. My internal nature is like are you kidding me. I just want an answer. So when it comes to life I love a yes or no, or right or wrong answers. And you know what that’s what we can get from the bible. It gives us instruction on what is true, what is right, how we should live and do things. For me that’s comforting. And the truth that it really points to us the truth of Jesus that we talked about last week.

3. The last thing that this verse tells us about the bible is that it prepares us and equips us to do every good work. What does that mean? Well what we are being told here is that the bible can used in all areas of life. It can prepare us for the things that we face, the difficult times, the frustrating times, the times where we feel alone, the times where we face sadness, and the list goes on. It equips us with knowing how to handle these situations. Like when we are feeling looked down on or picked on by the world around us the bible has some advice for us. For example the bible has a story of a woman who was caught in adultery and she is brought in front of Jesus and some of the religious leaders wanted Jesus to deal with her in front of them and at the time the custom was for them to stone people who did wrong things, and Jesus responded to them, that if they were without sin if they’ve not done anything wrong then they should throw the first stone. And you know what none of them could do it. Jesus gives a great command at the end of this story, he tells this woman that he doesn’t condemn her, he no longer counts this sin against her and he tells her to go and sin no more. We can get a bunch of things from this story but one of them is that we aren’t alone. One thing that I take comfort from this story is that I’m not alone. I might mess up but everyone else around me are in the same boat. And I have that comfort that Jesus is telling me the same thing, that my sins are no longer counted against me and I’m to go and sin no more.

In a nutshell that is what the bible is, a book given to us by God to teach us, to point us to Jesus and to prepare us.

So what do we use the bible for? You see, the bible is really designed to be used for a bunch of things. It is literally the word of God and it is used to help us live! There are a couple of things that the bible tells us that I think is pretty important for us to know:

God uses the bible t

The bible tells us about God’s faithfulness to people. The bible is jammed full of examples and situations where God shows up for people, where he is faithful to provide for them. They could be in the worst situations and facing some incredible problems and we can read about God showing up. says, “ 9 Understand, therefore, that the Lord your God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps his covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love him and obey his commands.” God will do what he says and will be there because he is faithful.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.

The bible also give us God’s wisdom and direction. We all need a little direction right? I know on a daily basis I’m trying to figure out what I need to do and what direction I need my life to go in. Contained in the bible are verses which help to direct us to help us make decisions and to guide us in how we need to live our lives.

The bible gives great peace. There are times in my life where I’m fearful, where I don’t know if I’ve made the right decision. Or there are times where I fear the future and what it brings. Where I fear if I’m headed in the right direction in life. The bible gives me great peace in these moments. When I read verses like , “ 1 God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. 2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.” It really helps to settle the fearful nature that builds within me. And I need that because without it I’m sometimes not able to move forward with anything because fear will keep me down.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.

The bible also reveals God’s love for us. And this is a huge one for me and should be for us. We might not always feel love from this world or, from people around us or in our lives, and I just love the fact that I can read about how much God loves me from the bible. That God loves me so much that he has a purpose for me. That he has a plan for my life. We have the famous verse , “16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave* his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” The bible also tells us in , “7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” and in , “37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,* neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And we can go on and on with verse that tells us about how much God loves us. We often need this reminder. When we’re feeling unloved by the world or the people around us we can get comfort that we are loved by God, who loves us so much that he would send Jesus, who we talked about last week, for us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,* neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

I know in my life I’ve seen the bible use for all of these things. To really allow me to lean into the fact that God is faithful to me, to guide and direct me, to give me peace in the middle of some tough things and for me to know that God loves me more than anything, especially when I don’t feel like I’m loved by anybody. Guys this book isn’t just words on a page, these words are really used to help give us life and are pretty amazing. I’d encourage you to not just to chalk this up to being just good words but to really see how they can change, encourage and inspire you.

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” and in , “

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave* his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

* 8:38 Greek nor rulers.

Let’s pray.

* 3:16 Or For God loved the world so much that he gave.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print. and in , “

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.

Tyndale House Publishers. Holy Bible: New Living Translation. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Print.