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THE
BIBLE
THE LORD JESUS
AND YOU
by
John Roberts
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The
Bible
Chapter 2
I
ONCE had a neighbour who bought a roof-rack and had problems
assembling it. He laid all the pieces out on his front lawn,
but they did not seem to fit. He had begun to despair of the
thing. It made no sense to me either. He was convinced that
the wrong pieces had been supplied. When I asked if there
were any instructions, he didn't think so. There had been
a piece of paper in the box but he had thrown it away.
We retrieved the paper and assembly was a simple operation.
Within minutes it all made sense. It fitted together perfectly.
I think my neighbour felt a bit of a fool.
Yet there are so many like him, ignoring the instructions
and wondering why life doesn't make any sense. Can you imagine
it? God, creator of the human being, gives us the Bible, an
instruction manual. Most of us try to get by without it!
The Book of Books
Today, more than ever, men and women are concerned about job
satisfaction. Finding "fulfilment" has become important.
Yet the one book that tells us why we were made goes largely
unread. The Book of books, written to tell us what life is
about is seldom consulted. Is it any wonder that the world
is in the mess it is?
Almost the first noticeable thing about the Bible is its size.
Some modern literary masterpieces are long. Most books are
not. The Bible is large or, if made smaller, is printed in
close type hard to read.
This is because the Bible is really a library of books. The
title actually means "the books". The books have
been bound into one volume because they make up a set. They
depend on one another. Together they form a complete story.
Individual books cannot be properly understood on their own.
The title also contains the word "Holy". This means
separate, put aside for special use. The Bible is different
from all other books.
There are several ways in which we may consider it different.
First of all we shall be struck with the transparent honesty
of the writers. Their openness in writing of failure and sin,
even their own, is most unusual. It is clear that they are
hiding nothing. Their language is direct and forceful.
Secondly the standards they uphold are to be admired. They
present ideals far outside those to which men normally aspire.
They consistently condemn what is offensive to God and applaud
what is right.
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Thirdly
the Bible displays an amazing foreknowledge of future events. It
predicts the future with an accuracy that would be alarming if we
were to meet it anywhere else.
All this is in keeping with the Bible's claims to be the word of
God. The Bible has only one author. God used many writers, but His
message has a "wholeness" about it. It harmonises. It
fits together.
The books - there are 66 of them - are divided into two main sections.
One is called the Old Testament, and one the New Testament. The
word testament (or covenant) means a solemn undertaking. Each testament
shows the way in which God has had mercy on people.
The Old Testament is the record of His mercy to the nation of Israel.
It describes the covenant, or promises, God made to them. The New
Testament is concerned with a development of this for others. It
shows God's mercy to all nations.
This fact leads many to conclude that the Old Testament is unimportant.
A lot of people have an acquaintance with the New Testament but
have not read the Old. Some have Bibles which are not complete.
They contain a New Testament and, perhaps, some of the Psalms to
give comfort in times of difficulty.
This will not do however. We would not expect to understand other
books by starting to read over half way through. It is like trying
to find the way from Lands End to John O'Groats with only a map
of Scotland. Over half of the journey would be missing. It would
not be surprising if, in such circumstances, we got lost.
A Guidebook
In fact that is a very good way of thinking of the Bible, like a
plan. It is a kind of guidebook through life. It is given by the
One who knows what life is about because He created life.
So far we have looked at the title of the book. From the contents
page we have learned that there are two sections and many books.
Some have names familiar to us. Others may sound very strange. We
have mentioned the author too. He is God, although His name does
not appear on the cover as it might with most other books.
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THE BIBLE
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