The Big Picture of the Biblepart 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 standardConsider 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 standardConsider 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 standardConsider 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)