Should I be interested in the Bible?
What is in the books of the Bible?
Who are the main people in the Old Testament? - part 1
Who are the main people in the Old Testament? - part 2
Who are the main people in the New Testament? - part 1
Who are the main people in the New Testament? - part 2
In this section, we shall look at the first three vital issues we mentioned in the overview. Under various headings we shall show that the Bible gives one consistent message. Under each heading we shall give three passages from different parts of the Bible to show the consistent message. We shall only give the relevant phrases, but we recommend that you look up the verses and let us know if you disagree with our conclusions.
1 Where did we come from?
a) We were put here by a power greater than ourselves
The Bible tells us many times of the power, greater than ourselves, that created our world and keeps it going. We are not expected to have blind faith, there is other evidence apart from the statements in the Bible that there is a power greater than ourselves. (The other sections on this site look at some of this evidence.)
Here are some examples of what the Bible tells us:
The first book of the Bible makes these simple statements:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. (Genesis 1 v 1 and 2 v 7)
The prophet Jeremiah tells of the power of our creator:
Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You. (Jeremiah 32 v 17)
The Apostle Paul gave the Greeks at Athens the same message:
God … made the world and everything in it, … He gives to all life, breath, and all things. (Acts 17 v 24 and 25)
b) Our Creator does not change
The God who created our world does not change. We can see this because the natural laws which govern our world do not usually change. The same laws seem to apply outside of our earth. This indicates that the same power is in control throughout the universe. Here are three Bible verses:
The Psalmist says of God:
But You are the same, And Your years will have no end. (Psalm 102 v 27)
God speaking through the prophet Malachi makes a similar statement:
For I am the Lord, I do not change. (Malachi 3 v 6)
The Apostle James describes God as:
… the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. (James 1 v 17)
c) Our Creator’s Words are true and so can be relied on
Because our Creator does not change, His message does not change either. This is an important issue to consider. When we are thinking of the vital issues we mentioned on page 3, we need a message that is totally reliable so that we can put our trust in it:
Moses refers to God as:
A God of truth. (Deuteronomy 32 v 4)
The sentiment is echoed in the Psalms:
The entirety of Your word is truth. (Psalm 119 v 160)
Jesus also gave the same message:
Your word is truth. (John 17 v 17)
d) Our Creator asks for respect for what He says
Because His message is true, the God of the Bible asks us to
respect and obey what He says:
Right at the start God gave our first parents a simple command:
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat…’ (Genesis 2 v 16 and 17)
In the Psalms, God asks people to listen to Him:
Oh, that My people would listen to Me. (Psalm 81 v 13)
Again, Jesus gave the same message:
But He said, ‘… blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’ (Luke 11 v 28)
e) Our Creator approves of people who respect His requests
Throughout the Bible we can see that God approves of those people who do what He wants:
At the start of the Bible, Abraham was approved by God because he accepted what He said:
And he [Abraham] believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness. (Genesis 15 v 6)
The Jews were promised a blessing if they obeyed God:
Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today… (Deuteronomy 11 v 26 and 27)
Jesus regarded those who respected God’s purpose as his close family:
For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother. (Mark 3 v 35)
f) Because we have the choice we can reject God’s message
The Bible has many examples of those who reject God’s requests:
Right at the start our first parents chose to disobey God:
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3 v 6)
One period of Jewish history is summarised like this:
Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law behind their backs … (Nehemiah 9 v 26)
The apostles in the first century encountered those who rejected God’s Word:
It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it … (Acts 13 v 46)
We were created by a power greater than ourselves
Our Creator does not change
Our Creator:
has given us a message that we can rely on
asks for respect for the message
approves of those who respect the message
allows people to reject the message
2 What is the meaning of life?
a) The Bible shows that our Creator is concerned about people
The Bible shows our Creator’s concern for us
Our Creator’s care for us is seen all through the Bible:
Our Creator has promised that the natural cycles which support our lives will continue:
While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease. (Genesis 8 v 22)
The prophet Jeremiah told the Jews what their attitude should be:
Let us now fear the Lord our God, Who gives rain, both the former and the latter, in its season. He reserves for us the appointed weeks of the harvest. (Jeremiah 5 v 24)
Jesus tells us that God’s care is shown to all regardless of their attitude to Him:
… for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (Matthew 5 v 45)
b) God sent His Son to show us how we should reflect His care
The Jews were promised a special prophet who would speak for God:
I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. (Deuteronomy 18 v 18)
Jesus came to show us what God is like:
Jesus said to him [disciple Philip], ... " He who has seen Me has seen the Father"; (John 14 v 9)
By following Christ’s example of showing love, we are imitating God:
Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us… (Ephesians 5 v 1 and 2)
c) God’s care for people involves a plan to enable them to have life after death
The writer of Psalm 49 was confident in God’s plan:
God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave. (Psalm 49 v 15)
The plan involves the work of God’s Son, Jesus Christ:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3 v 16)
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5 v 10)
We shall look at more aspects of this plan of God in section 3
d) Knowing that we have a caring Creator gives us confidence for the future
Having a caring Creator gives us confidence for the future
We have seen that our Creator cares about us and has arranged a plan to enable us to have life after death. This must give us a real hope for the future, despite our present problems:
King David showed his confidence in God:
The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, My stronghold and my refuge; (2 Samuel 22 v 3)
Psalm 18 tells us that it is better to trust in God, rather than national rulers:
The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? ... It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in princes. (Psalm 118 v 6 and 9)
The apostle Paul tells us to trust in the One who has power over death:
… we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, (2 Corinthians 1 v 9)
e) Those who are not interested in God’s plan must take the consequences
If we ignore God’s message, we shall eventually be destroyed:
The people in Noah’s day rejected God’s message and were destroyed:
Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. … So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth …’ (Genesis 6 v 5 and 7)
The book of Proverbs tells us the consequences of ignoring God and going our own way:
There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. (Proverbs 14 v 12)
Jesus likened rejection of his words to building a house without foundations:
But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall. (Matthew 7 v 26 and 27)
Our Creator is concerned about people
God sent His Son to show us how to reflect that care in our own lives
God’s care for people involves a plan to enable them to have life after death
Knowing that we have a caring God gives us confidence in his promise of a future life after death
There is no life after death for those who are not interested in God’s plan
3 Where are we going?
a) God’s plan involves people being raised from the dead
The Bible assures us that some people will be raised from the grave and given endless life. The New Testament reference tells us two important facts. Firstly, it tells us that the resurrection will take place when the Lord Jesus returns to the earth. Secondly, it tells us that it will be those who have a relationship with Christ who will be raised.
Your dead shall live; Together with my dead body they shall arise. (Isaiah 26 v 19)
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12 v 2)
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout ... And the dead in Christ will rise first.
(1 Thessalonians 4 v 16)
b) A worldwide peaceful kingdom is another part of His plan
Throughout the Bible, many verses talk of a future world order different from today’s.
Now it shall come to pass in the latter days That the mountain of the Lord's house Shall be established on the top of the mountains, And shall be exalted above the hills; And all nations shall flow to it … Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore. (Isaiah 2 v 2 to 4)
And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. (Daniel 2 v 44)
Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!' (Revelation 11 v 15)
c) God plans to fill the earth with people who respect Him
We can have the wonderful hope of being involved in this peaceful worldwide kingdom on earth:
But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. (Psalm 37 v 11)
Then the kingdom and dominion, And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. (Daniel 7 v 27)
Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection … they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years. (Revelation 20 v 6)
Those who die “in Christ” will be raised from the dead when Jesus Christ returns to the earth
They will then be involved in a peaceful worldwide kingdom on earth
Variety of people who wrote the Bible
The "ring of truth" found in the Bible
Similar ideas and principles running throughout the Bible
The writers of the Bible message
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