The Purpose of the Bible
The purpose of God.
John 20:30-31
What is the purpose of the Bible, and what is God’s purpose for all his activity in history? Some read the Bible for the stories. They see the Bible as an exciting book on par with any other classical literature. Some read the Bible for spiritual insight. While they regard many of the stories as a fabrication of the imagination of the writers who give us insight into the human quest for connection with the divine being. For others, the Bible is an academic study of language and meaning on par with other great philosophical literature.
In John 20:31, we find the purpose of the book of John and the purpose for all of scripture. The Bible is not written just to convey information. It is not merely a history of the human story, nor is it just written to give us an understanding of God and history. The purpose of the Bible is ultimately transformational.
To realize the importance and purpose of the Bible, we first must recognize its source. The Bible is more than just a compilation of writings from individuals who had keen insight into the history of religion. The Bible originates in the mind of God. The Bible is inspired to convey God’s message to you and me. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, we read, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” So also, we discover in 2 Peter 1:21, “No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” In other words, while God communicated through the human writers and utilized their distinct backgrounds and writing styles, God guided them to record his message.
Second, because it originated from God and God affirmed its message, the message must be the truth, for God is a God of truth who cannot lie. To say that the Bible contains error ultimately makes God a liar and a purveyor of what is false. In Romans 3:4, we read, “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.” God’s words are true because God himself is a God of truth. If we reject the Bible to promote what we want to believe, we are revealing ourselves to be false.
But the Bible is not static but active. It is not merely conveying God’s word to tickle our intellect. God has written his message to us to bring us to the point of faith in him. The message of the Bible is Christocentric; that is, the whole of scripture is centered upon the person of Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, the message is centered on who Christ is and what he will accomplish. It is written to point us to Christ and come to accept that he is God himself come in the flesh to bring redemption and salvation from our sin.
The Bible is written to transform us so that we might accept Christ as our savior and that we may have life in the fullest and truest sense. The gospel of John is not written solely for the purpose that we might answer the question, “Who is the Messiah?” While this is a fundamental question the Bile answer, the ultimate aim is to lead us to a life of faith in Christ. The purpose of the Bible is to bring us to a point where we surrender our life to Christ and live in response to Christ. It is to be transformed so that Christ is revealed in us. Therefore, the fundamental question we must ask ourselves is, “Do we read the Bible just to gain information about God?’ or “Do we read to Bible to be fundamentally changed by God?”
John 20:30-31
What is the purpose of the Bible, and what is God’s purpose for all his activity in history? Some read the Bible for the stories. They see the Bible as an exciting book on par with any other classical literature. Some read the Bible for spiritual insight. While they regard many of the stories as a fabrication of the imagination of the writers who give us insight into the human quest for connection with the divine being. For others, the Bible is an academic study of language and meaning on par with other great philosophical literature.
In John 20:31, we find the purpose of the book of John and the purpose for all of scripture. The Bible is not written just to convey information. It is not merely a history of the human story, nor is it just written to give us an understanding of God and history. The purpose of the Bible is ultimately transformational.
To realize the importance and purpose of the Bible, we first must recognize its source. The Bible is more than just a compilation of writings from individuals who had keen insight into the history of religion. The Bible originates in the mind of God. The Bible is inspired to convey God’s message to you and me. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, we read, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” So also, we discover in 2 Peter 1:21, “No prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” In other words, while God communicated through the human writers and utilized their distinct backgrounds and writing styles, God guided them to record his message.
Second, because it originated from God and God affirmed its message, the message must be the truth, for God is a God of truth who cannot lie. To say that the Bible contains error ultimately makes God a liar and a purveyor of what is false. In Romans 3:4, we read, “Let God be found true, though every man be found a liar.” God’s words are true because God himself is a God of truth. If we reject the Bible to promote what we want to believe, we are revealing ourselves to be false.
But the Bible is not static but active. It is not merely conveying God’s word to tickle our intellect. God has written his message to us to bring us to the point of faith in him. The message of the Bible is Christocentric; that is, the whole of scripture is centered upon the person of Christ. From Genesis to Revelation, the message is centered on who Christ is and what he will accomplish. It is written to point us to Christ and come to accept that he is God himself come in the flesh to bring redemption and salvation from our sin.
The Bible is written to transform us so that we might accept Christ as our savior and that we may have life in the fullest and truest sense. The gospel of John is not written solely for the purpose that we might answer the question, “Who is the Messiah?” While this is a fundamental question the Bile answer, the ultimate aim is to lead us to a life of faith in Christ. The purpose of the Bible is to bring us to a point where we surrender our life to Christ and live in response to Christ. It is to be transformed so that Christ is revealed in us. Therefore, the fundamental question we must ask ourselves is, “Do we read the Bible just to gain information about God?’ or “Do we read to Bible to be fundamentally changed by God?”
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