Questions about the Bible 15: What is the main message of the Bible?
What is the main message of the Bible?
As we have already seen, the Bible contains a variety of different genres of writings, penned by different people at different times. However, its message is consistent and reliable.
I hardly dare summarise its message, but the main themes are dominant:
God created a perfect world into which He placed human beings. They were to care for God’s creation and bring pleasure to Him by being with Him. They were to follow His rules and in doing so they would be prosperous and happy.
From the very beginning, however, humans wanted to live their own way. Adam and Eve, the first humans, rebelled and turned their back on God – they wanted to live for themselves. They disobeyed God. We do the same today. The Bible says, ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ (Romans 3 v. 23)
Because God is just, He cannot allow sin and rebellion to go unpunished. Like a judge in a courtroom He cannot turn a blind eye to the wrong that has been done. The Bible says that the punishment for sin must be eternal death, which is separation from Himself. While God is just He also equally loves. He wants to rescue us from the judgement we deserve. So the Bible says, that ‘God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us’. (Romans 5 v. 8)
This is why Jesus came to earth – He came to die. And when He died, on an awful Roman cross, He carried the judgement of all the sins that you and I have ever committed. He took the judgement sentence that we deserve upon Himself so that we could be declared innocent.
Therefore the Bible goes on to say, ‘If you confess with your mouth ‘Jesus is Lord’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved’. (Romans 10 v. 9)
The Bible is one big rescue story. God is rescuing us, through Jesus, to bring us back into a relationship with Him.
The Bible describes the new life that a Christian will experience in life, through death and into eternity. It also tells how God will ultimately bring all things under His rule as Jesus reigns in His rightful position as Lord of all.
Go to: Questions about Jesus 1. Is the account of Jesus reliable?
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