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
The "variety of people who wrote the Bible" section shows how the Bible message is unique in the way it was given. The "The Bible echoes" section looks at the way the message is repeated through the books of the Bible. We shall now look in a little more detail at the Bible message to you personally and how it can help you.
a) God’s promises
A promise is a statement that someone will do something in the future. We all make promises of various kinds, but often we don’t or can’t keep them. The other booklets in this series show that we can trust God’s message. This gives us confidence to trust the promises to us that we read in His message.
b ) God’s message to the world
Early on in the Bible we read of promises that God made to a man called Abraham. We shall now look at some of the cross references we look at in the "Bible echoes" section. We find that, although Abraham was the father of both the Arabs and Jews, the promises that God made to him involve all nations.
The first recorded promise that God gave to Abraham makes it
clear that all nations are involved. (Emphasis ours.):
Now the LORD said to Abram [Abraham], ..., and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12 v 1 to 3)
God makes it clear right at the start that everyone can be involved in the blessings on Abraham’s descendants. The rest of the Bible is the account of how God worked out this promise.
God made similar promises to Abraham’s son Isaac:
And the LORD appeared to him [Isaac} ... Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you ... {I} will give to your offspring all these lands. And in your offspring all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, (Genesis 26 v 2 to 4)
Isaac is being told that the blessings to come on all nations would be through his descendants.
The same promise was also given to Isaac’s son Jacob (who had his name changed to “Israel”):
Your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread abroad to the west and to the east and to the north and to the south, and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed. (Genesis 28 v 14)
God has promised to bless Abraham's descendants
Through them all nations can be blessed
His plan is to give blessings to all nations
c) God’s plan through the Jews
We now want to look at how the Bible tells us that all nations can be blessed through Abraham’s descendants.
We find the answer in the New Testament in the letter that the apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Galatia, an area of modern Turkey. (This is another of the cross-references from earlier.) He explains who the descendant was who would bring blessings on all nations:
Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, "And to offsprings," referring to many, but referring to one, "And to your offspring," who is Christ. (Galatians 3 v 16)
So it would seem that it is through Jesus Christ that all nations can be involved in the promises made to Abraham.
Both Jesus and the apostle Paul confirmed the Jewish connection with God’s plan:
Jesus: Salvation is of the Jews (John 4 v 22)
Paul: for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain Acts 28 v 20
Paul again emphasises this in a speech at one of his trials:
And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers. To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. (Acts 26 v 6 and 7)
The record in Acts also brings out the fact that Paul’s New Testament message is based on the Old Testament:
So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets … (Acts 28 v 23)
God’s plan with the Jews has extended to all people of all nations through Jesus Christ
This plan is in both the Old and New Testaments
d) God’s plan for planet earth
We shall now look at some of the details of this plan for our world, through the Jewish nation, which God has given to us.
The Old Testament prophets make it clear that part of God’s plan involves making our earth a much better place to live in.
Again using the cross-references from earlier, we see that Psalm 72 gives a summary of God’s plan:
Give the king Your judgments, O God,
And Your righteousness to the king's Son.
He will judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your poor with justice …
In His days the righteous shall flourish,
And abundance of peace …
There will be an abundance of grain in the earth,
On the top of the mountains …
His name shall endure forever;
His name shall continue as long as the sun.
And men shall be blessed in Him;
All nations shall call Him blessed.
(Psalm 72 v 1 and 2, 7, 16 and 17)
From this we see:
- God is to send a king to rule the earth
- The rule will be just and fair
- War will be a thing of the past
- There will be an abundance of food
Read the whole Psalm through and you will see that it is a picture of our earth ruled by a just and fair king who has managed to solve the problems that face us today.
God’s plan for our world involves:
A just and fair world ruler
An end to the problems in our world
e) Your involvement in God’s plan
In Galatians chapter 3, which we looked at earlier, Paul also explains how we can be involved in God’s plan:
[God] … preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, ‘In you all the nations shall be blessed.’ So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. (Galatians 3 v 8 and 9)
It is those who believe and have faith in what God has communicated to us who will be involved in His plan.
Paul then explains what we should do to demonstrate our belief:
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3 v 27 to 29)
So by being baptized, people from all nations can be involved in the things that God promised to Abraham and his descendants the Jews.
People from all nations can become involved in the wonderful promises God made to Abraham by:
Believing that God will do what He has promised
Being baptized
Read the Bible yourself and you will find out more about this wonderfully consistent message. The other sections on this websites give more reasons why you should look at this message.
Have a look at the "learn more" section to find ways of helping you learn more about this message.
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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