The Big Picture of the Bible
part 1
Assistance from the book written by Kenneth W. Craig
Introduction
“The Bible is one of the most read books in History. It is also one of
the most misunderstood. Much of the confusion results from a
failure to grasp the overall message or central theme of the Bible.
It is a ‘Forest for the trees’ problem. Often so much time is spent
on the ‘trees’ of different Bible doctrines that we miss the ‘forest’
or the big picture. Sometimes we need to step back to see this
big picture. Grasping the overall theme of the Bible provides
direction for deeper study as well as unity in the understanding
and application of its teachings.”
The Bible is our standard
Consider some of it’s amazing facts:
• Collection of 66 books of law, poetry, history, narrative, & prophecy
– 39 OT books
– 27 NT books
• Written by 40 different authors inspired by the Holy Spirit
– Shepherds, farmers, tent-makers, physicians, fishermen, priest, philosophers & kings
– Despite these differences the Bible is extremely cohesive & unified
• Written in 1600 year period (1500 BC – 100 AD)
• Written in 3 languages
– Hebrew, Aramaic & Greek
• 1st book ever printed in 1454 AD by Johannes Gutenburg
The Bible is our standard
Consider some of it’s amazing facts:
• A rare book which claims to be the actual words of God
– Bible says more than 3,000 times “thus saith the Lord”
• It’s Historically Accurate
– Secular historians Josephus (Jewish) & Tacitus (Roman) wrote events of NT at the same
time the NT was written
– “Old Testament archeology has rediscovered whole nations, resurrected important
peoples, and in a most astonishing manner filled in historical gaps, adding
immeasurably to the knowledge of the Biblical backgrounds.” – Merrill Unger
• Prophecies of the Bible
– More than 3,200 verses with fulfilled prophecies
• It never contradicts itself
The Bible is our standard
Consider some of it’s amazing facts:
• The Business of the Bible
– 168,000 Bibles sold or given away per day in U.S.
– The most sold book of all time
– Regularly on various best seller lists
– Been translated into more than 1,200 languages
Two more quotes
#1
“There are many strong evidences for the inspiration of the Bible that one
could consider in the fields of archeology, prophecy, or even science. One
of the most intriguing and convincing evidence of the Bible is the internal
evidence of the unified message it contains: God’s amazing plan to
redeem His fallen creatures. All history unfolded to accomplish God’s
purpose, and each book of the Bible is the single thread woven into this
incredible tapestry. Ordinary men could never have created this book-time,
history, and human nature would have prevented its existence and unity
unless it was supernaturally directed by God. Its documents have been
more critically examined and investigated than any others. The statements
of these 40 different authors are reliable and trustworthy.”
Two more quotes
#2
“If we fail to understand the themes of the Bible, it will not
matter what we choose to believe or practice in religion.
God’s plan of redemption, anchored in the writings of the
Old Testament, was fulfilled in the New Testament. Here it
is called the ‘gospel,’ literally meaning ‘good news’. If it is
our desire to understand the big picture of the Bible, we
must consider and comprehend the importance of this
gospel message.”
There is only one gospel
• Consider Christ’s final command (Must have been important given they
were His final words)
– Mt 28:18-20;
Mk 16:15
– Go and tell His story “the gospel”
• The gospel is God’s power to save
– Rom 1:16
• Our response to the gospel requires obedience
– 2 Thes 1:6-8
Beware of false gospels
Gal 1:6-9
• The fact that the Galatians were Christians, sincere in their beliefs,
and even good intentioned would not protect them from the
promised condemnation if they changed the gospel message
• Those warnings from Galatians chapter 1 have occurred in the
Church today
– Different gospels such as how to be saved, exist today
• Just being religious, even sincerely devout, provides no assurance of
the faithfulness
– Mt 7:21-23;
Lk 6:46
• The gospel belongs to God; therefore, no one is to tamper with it
– Deut 12:32;
Prov 30:6;
Rev 22:18-19
Another quote
“What would Paul have to say to those today who openly proclaim that
nothing matters in our faith as long as we all believe in Jesus? Don’t let the
fact escape you that the Galatians were definitely believers and followers
of Jesus. Knowing and responding to this one gospel is critical to believers
because our salvation depends upon it! Likewise, believing, teaching, or
following a false gospel will cause us to be condemned, no matter how
educated, famous, religious, or sincere we are-or what church we attend.”
A progressive revelation
• The Bible is a progressive revelation from God
• If you skip the first half of any good book, it will be hard to understand the
characters, plot & ending
• The NT is only completely understood when it is seen as being built upon
the foundation of the events, characters, laws, prophecies, covenants, &
promises of the OT
• The NT gives pointers that indicate the important role of the OT
– Gal 3:24;
Rom 15:4;
1 Cor 10:11
• All OT history is a teaching or training period to prepare for Jesus Christ
• A proper grasp of OT is very important in understanding the overall theme
of the Bible (a teaching or learning period for all mankind)