Who is Jesus? What is his message? How do we know? Everything that we know about Jesus comes externally from us. Christianity is a message that has been given. Never lose sight of the significance of receiving a Word from God. We have the God-given privilege to go into a world full of questions and say, “We have a Word from God.” In an age that thinks highly of originality, Christians stand up and say... What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastics 1:9
There is freedom in not being original.
Christians are not the originators of Christianity. Christians are the recipients of a message that has come to us; a message that has sought us; a message that is going forth seeking and saving lost ones as the power of God unto salvation even to this day. At the core of the Christian confession is the truth that God has come to reveal himself to us in the person of Jesus Christ. And at the center of God revealing himself to us through the Son is the book that is defining all books - Holy Scripture, the Bible.
There are many ways that some approach their Bible. Remember what you think of the Bible has bearing on the way that you will think about all things. Scripture is decisive and defining. But there are many ways that people think of their Bible. I do not have in mind the skeptic, though unfortunately, there are many who profess Christ who fall into the category of the skeptic. I primarily have in mind one who loves the Bible, one who opens it with awe and anticipation; one who spends time to hear the voice of God as they live life while letting the Word dwell richly within them.
How do we navigate our way through the thousands of pages of Scripture? The unifying factor of both testaments is this one solitary life, the life of our One Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sake and our salvation is the Incarnate Son of God. What does he say about Scripture. He says that he has not come to abolish but to fulfill. What does this mean? And does what he says have any bearing on the way that we should read our Bible?
Here is what Jesus says about Scripture
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:17-20
In light of this Word, how should we read our Bible? There are three ways.
1. Always Read In The Light Of Christ
If we are going to read our Bible the way that God calls us to read it then we have to do so with faith in the Son. We have to read the Bible in light of the gospel. If we are going to read the Bible the right way then we will allow it to speak to us, and we will conform our ways to its words. We don’t stand over the Bible or tell the Bible what to say. The Bible stands over us and demands that we conform ourselves to it. But more than that, the Son has come conforming to Scripture to conform us to all the standards of the Bible. He does this through his finished work on the Cross and the sending of the Spirit who enables us to understand Scripture. Understanding Scripture doesn't mean knowing the Ten Commandments, or which chapter and verse such and such is. Understanding Scripture means that what we know in our head about Scripture touches not only our head but also touches and effects our heart and our hands.
2. Always Read With Christ At The Center
I wonder if this is the way you read Scripture? Do you read Scripture looking for Jesus? Do you read the Bible so that you will fall more in love with the God of your salvation? The God who chose to create, who chose to redeem, who chose to set you apart for his own glory? There is no reason to think of two testaments as if each testament is doing something different than the other. A Christian understanding of the Bible sees the Bible as Christian Scripture. Not the Old Testament by itself or the New Testament by itself but the Old and New Testaments as one Christian Scripture with one Lord at the center of the text - Our One Lord Jesus Christ who for our sake and our salvation became incarnate. The goal of the Old Testament is faith that leads to life. The goal of the New Testament is faith that leads to life. And we know that there is only one way, one truth, and one life, and it’s in him that we place our faith - Jesus.
3. Scripture Is Always
We could have simply said, “Always.” Read the Bible always. All that we could ever hope for, all that we could ever dream of is written for us in this Book. God wrote a book to give us a sure word for our forever. Central to this book, the reason that it lasts forever, is to whom it reveals - Jesus, the one sent from the Father. And once you’ve seen Jesus in the Bible you can't unsee him.
I hope that when you read the Bible you will read it the way that the most significant life in history wants you to read it. Read in faith, find Jesus and order your life around permanence.