By Kelly Bauer
If you’re a 90’s kid like me, you may remember the Christian band, Burlap to Cashmere. They had a song called, “Basic Instructions.” Its upbeat, Latin-feel inspired ten-year-old me to create countless (cringe-worthy) dance routines. The lyrics were written as an acrostic poem, using the letters in the word, “Bible” to define the Bible as, “basic instructions before leaving Earth.” Maybe it was the catchy tune, the easy to remember lyrics, or the fond memories I have listening to the song; but I often think of those words when considering the Bible’s purpose. It wasn’t until recently, after gaining a better understanding of the story of Scripture as a whole, that I realized Burlap to Cashmere’s definition of the Bible is deeply lacking. The Bible is so much more than an instruction manual. Let’s dig a little deeper together to discover more about what the Bible really is.
The Bible is composed of two testaments, 66 books, 1,189 chapters, and 31,202 verses. It has more than 40 different authors. The two main sections of the Bible are the Old and New Testaments. The word “testament” can be translated as “covenant.” The Bible begins with the “Old Covenant.” This is the promise of the coming Christ. The “New Covenant” is God’s plan of redemption coming true through Christ (Challies, Byers, & Schwartz, 2019).
Within the testaments, the books of the Bible are organized into different sections. The first five books of the Bible are called the Pentateuch. These books lay the foundation for the entire Bible. In the Pentateuch we learn of creation, the fall, and the Israelites before entering the Promised Land. Next, we have the Historical Books. This is the time of the judges and kings. This section of the Bible tells of the time the Israelites spent in the Promised Land. Following the Historical books, we have the Writings (poems and songs) and Prophets. In these sections we learn of the exile, a time when the Israelites are kicked out of the Promised Land, and then finally when the Israelites can return home to the Promised Land. The Old Testament makes it very clear to us that God’s people need saving and that God has promised a Savior. Moving to the New Testament, we begin with the Gospels. The four books of the Gospel tell the good news of Jesus Christ. They document his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension. The last sections of the Bible are Acts, Letters, and Revelation. Here we follow Jesus’s disciples as they teach the good news, start the early church, and ultimately make more disciples. (Vischer, 2020).
How did we end up with these 66 books that make up our Bible? We call the collection of writings that have been recognized as inspired Scriptures the canon. There are four rules that guided early church leaders in recognizing which writings were divinely inspired. 1) It had to be written by an apostle or prophet of God or someone closely connected to one. 2) It had to clearly show the power and presence of God. 3) Its message must be consistent with other recognized scripture. 4) It had to have been widely accepted by the church from an early date (McDowell, 2015). The OT canon was already recognized during Jesus’s ministry around 30 AD. Athanasius completed the first list of the 27 books of the NT in 367 AD, but it wasn’t until 397 AD that those 27 books were officially recognized as the NT by the Council of Carthage. It is important to understand that the NT canon was not determined by a vote. It did not come from conversations held by a group of important men around a table. Rather, it was decided by wide, ancient consensus. Councils did not create the canon, rather they recognized what was already there and responded to it. The canons of both the OT and the NT were “the result of many years of God’s people reading, using, and responding to these books (Kruger, 2013).”
There are two questions that come to my mind when I ponder the validity of the Bible. How can I trust that the Bible is true? How can I trust that scripture is God-breathed? The more time I’ve devoted to studying Biblical history the more I have been blown away by how much of the Bible can be proven historically accurate. There are three basic tests that are used to prove or disprove the reliability of any historical text: The Bibliographical Test, the External Evidence Test, and the Internal Evidence Test (McDowell, 2015). As someone who desires to seek historical facts in relation to the Bible, I have spent time studying how the Bible holds up to these tests. Let me tell you that the Bible undeniably surpasses any other classical piece of writing in proven reliability. I’d love to get into all the fascinating ways history has proven the Bible to be true, but I don’t have time to do that here. I invite you to do your own research or reach out and have a conversation with me. If you’re like me, connecting the truths in our Bible with the truths of historical science will be a game-changer in solidifying your faith.
If I’m confident that we can trust the Bible is true and historically accurate, how can I trust that it is God-breathed? Open your Bibles and read through the following passages: Galatians 1:11-12, 2 Peter 1:20-21, 1 Corinthians 2:13, Hebrews 1: 1-2, 1 Thess. 2:13. You can see through these passages the self-attestation of Scripture. According to J.V. Fesko, self-attestation means, “The Scriptures bear witness about themselves in various ways that they are the true word of God, and the Holy Spirit efficaciously applies this witness to give the Christian confidence in the written word of God.” In other words, we believe the Scriptures are God-breathed because they tell us that they are. The Holy Spirit plays an important role here. As sinners on our own we could never fully submit to the Word of God. The Holy Spirit first must enter our hearts, causing us to repent and admit the need of a Savior. Through this process our hearts are opened to the authority of God’s word. If, at times, we find ourselves doubting that the Scriptures are God-breathed we can turn to Scriptures themselves and pray for the Holy Spirit to replace our fear with faith (Fesko, 2020).
The apostle Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete for every good work.” Paul is telling us that there is an instructional purpose to the word of God. We should look to the Bible for teaching and correction. That catchy 90s tune doesn’t have it all wrong after all! The Bible does have instructional purpose, but what sets our Bible apart from other religious texts is that it also has a relational purpose. In John 5:39 Jesus says, “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” If you’re looking for an instruction manual or an easy ticket to heaven, you’ve missed the point of the Bible. The Word of God is meant to point you toward a life-transforming relationship with Christ.
Resources for additional study:
A Visual Theology Guide to the Bible: Seeing and Knowing God’s Word. Written by Tim Challies, Josh Byers, and Joey Schwartz
God Breathed: The Undeniable Power and Reliability of Scripture. Written by Josh McDowell
According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible. Written by Graeme Goldsworthy
Even Better than Eden: Nine Ways the Bible’s Story Changes Everything About your Story. Written by Nancy Guthrie
Laugh and Grow Bible for Kids: The Gospel in 52 five-minute Bible Stories. Written by Phil Vischer (Yes- I’m suggesting a children’s Bible, but this one is great! It really helps lay the foundation of understanding the parts of the Bible, their purpose, and the Metanarrative. Anyone new to studying the Bible could learn from this Book!)
References
Challies, T., Byers, J., & Schwartz, J. (2019). A visual theology guide to the Bible: Seeing and knowing God’s word. Grand Rapids, MI, MI: Zondervan.
Fesko, J. (2020). The Self Attestation of Scripture and Internal Witness of the Holy Spirit. Retrieved July 15, 2020, from https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/self-attestation-scripture-internal-witness-holy-spirit/
Kruger, M. J. (2013). Ten Basic Facts about the NT Canon that Every Christian Should Memorize: #8: “The NT Canon Was Not Decided at Nicea-Nor Any Other Church Council.” Retrieved July 15, 2020, from https://www.michaeljkruger.com/ten-basic-facts-about-the-nt-canon-that-every-christian-should-memorize-8-the-nt-canon-was-not-decided-at-nicea-nor-any-other-church-council/
McDowell, J. (2015). God breathed: The undeniable power and reliability of scripture. Uhrichsville, OH: Shiloh Run Press.
Vischer, P. (2020). Laugh and Grow Bible for Kids: The gospel in 52 five-minute bible stories. New York, NY: Hachette Book Group.
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