The Holy Bible

It is hard to do the Bible justice in a few pages. In this review, I’ll only attempt to provide an outline. In particular I’ll discuss

-the major themes of the book,

-its major division, and

-the types of literature you’ll find in it.

THEMES

The primary theme of the Bible is the relationship between God and man. It’s a broken relationship. The authors of the various books address this in many ways. A couple of metaphors they use that I find particularly compelling are that of a marriage or a parent-child relationship. In these analogies, mankind is depicted as a cheating wife or a child who has run away to a destructive life. God is depicted as the faithful, loving husband or father who is reaching out to redeem, rescue and reconcile the one he loves.

God’s character is on display throughout the Bible. He is just and righteous, and his character is the foundation of morality. He also has great love and mercy. Fortunately, all of these traits are perfectly harmonized in God and shown to man in Jesus Christ. For those who have faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit works from within to recreate this character in them.

DIVISIONS

The major divisions of the Bible are the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament was written before the coming of Christ. It describes the fall of mankind into sin and God’s work to reconcile mankind to Himself with a focus on how this occurs in the formation (and eventual fall) of ancient Israel. The New Testament describes the coming of Christ and the establishment of the church, which is a fulfillment of the promises of God described in the Old Testament.

The major division of the Old Testament are

-history,

-writings, and

-prophets.

The historical books describe the history of man as a moral being, beginning with the fall into sin, and the God’s plan to save man worked out over time. As this plan unfolds, the history increasingly focuses on the Israelite kingdom. The writing are a set of poetic books. The prophets focus on a period of time leading to the ultimate decline of ancient Israel and predict the coming for Christ.

The New Testament can be roughly divided into

-the gospels, and

-the epistles.

The gospels describe the life of Christ and (in the related book of Acts) the establishment of the church. The epistles are message to the church that often deal with the practicalities of living the life Christ called his believers to live.

TYPES OF LITERATURE

The Bible is an assembly of many books, and there are many types of literature in each book. While the highly symbolic language of parts of the Bible get a lot of attention in some circles, most of it is written in a straightforward style. For instance, a lot of the Old Testament is historical narrative and a lot of the New Testament is letters from the apostles to the churches. Poetry is also commonly used. When reading the Bible, it’s important to know if the part your reading is a narration of events, a parable, a poem, or some other literary form.

The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

General Epistles

The General Epistles are so called because most are addressed to the entire church. This is in contrast to the Pauline Letters, which are typically addressed to particular people or congregation. They are sometimes referred to as the Catholic Letters, catholic in this case referring to universal or for everyone.

These letters were written by different people at different times with somewhat different intentions. Even so, some common themes can be found in these books. Some themes that I observed are

-the importance of the Gospel taught by the apostles, and a defense against false teachers,

-that Christians should imitate the love and character of Christ,

-that helping others is a particularly important way to of practically emulating Christ, and

-encouragement for Christians, especially those who are suffering or persecuted.

The Gospel

The Gospel was central to the teaching of the apostles, as it is central to the church today. The writings of the apostles particularly emphasized the deity of Jesus Christ, His death on the cross for the atonement of our sins, and His bodily resurrection from the grave as proof of who He was and the authority of His teachings. Even in that first generation, the church was beset with people who tried to alter, twist, or reimagine God’s Word, putting aside the truth to suit themselves and their own agendas. These authors defend the Gospel against false teachers.

Character

Salvation involves an amazing transformation. It is also just the beginning of a life walking with God. God’s Word works in our minds, and the Holy Spirit works in our heart, to change us so we are increasingly more like Christ. The authors of these letters encourage believers to embrace this process and actively imitate Christ. If a person belongs to God, their character will show it, and it will show more as they mature.

Helping Others

One of the most practical ways to show what Christ is like, and to imitate him, is to help other. The authors of these letters encourage Christians to help the widowed, orphaned, hungry, imprisoned and oppressed, especially if there is a fellow Christian in need.

Encouragement

People suffered in the First Century, even as they do today. Christians in those days sometimes faced active persecution. Even where they were tolerated, their new beliefs and behaviors sometimes brought them into painful conflict with family and friends. The writers of these letters encouraged them to stick with the truth. God is with them and will help them overcome. Often it is the character of believers, especially the way they behave in suffering, that is the testimony that touches the heart of a love-one or even a stranger in a way that eventually brings them to Christ.

The General Epistles are

-James,

-First and Second Peter,

-First, Second and Third John, and

-Jude.

If you’re interested in reading these books, you may also be interested in reading

Deuteronomy

Exodus

Genesis

The Gospels

Gospel of John

Hebrews

Leviticus

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Pauline Letters

Proverbs

Ezra

Ezra was a priest who lived in the 5^th Century B.C. Tradition recognizes him as the author of First and Second Chronicles, his titular book, and Nehemiah. In the Hebrew Bible, Ezra-Nehemiah is a single book.

The book of Ezra is a brief history of the return of the Jewish people from exile and captivity to the land that the Israelite nation had once been ruled. The focus is on the Jerusalem, especially the rebuilding of the temple.

The return began under the reign of the Persian king Cyrus. Ezra covers the period into the reign of Artaxerxes. The work of rebuilding the temple and the city took decades, and it was delayed by opposition, though a reiteration of Cyrus’ command by his successor Darius got the work moving again. Ezra copies the orders and correspondence of these kings.

There is a shift to the first person in the final chapters, when Ezra himself arrives in Jerusalem. He came to work at the temple and reestablish the religious practices of the Jewish people.

To me, the book is not about the restoration of the Israelite nation. It is about the return of a people to the God who called them. Ezra called people to abandon the idolatrous practices they picked up in their exile or from the people living around them and to return to the worship of God and respect for His law. Ezra’s interest is a religious revival.

Ezra is credited with writing

First Chronicles

Second Chronicles

Ezra. The Holy Bible. New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Epistles

Most of the New Testament is epistles, or letters, sent from church leaders to the churches.  Most of these letters were written by Paul, which are collectively known as the Pauline Letters.  The other epistle writers are James, Peter, John, and Jude.

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The church was growing rapidly and dispersed through the nations around the Mediterranean Sea.  Both in Jerusalem and in the churches founded by missionaries or Christians fleeing persecution, there was a need for sound teaching and a way to bind them together into the larger body of Christ.  The epistles served this purpose.

The epistles cover a lot of ground.  Some of them are fairly long and heavy on instruction.  Others are short, more newsy and encouraging.  Themes that I find recurring in the epistles are: a reiteration of the Gospel emphasizing the centrality of Christ, living as a Christian with character and good relationships, and words of warning and encouragement.

Reiterating the Gospel: The Centrality of Christ

The epistles repeatedly summarize the Gospel.  We have all sinned. Christ came to atone for our sins through His death on the Cross.  His righteousness is imputed to those who receive Him.  He was resurrected, as foretold, as proof of that He was Christ and as evidence of the resurrection we will experience.

The epistle-writers vigorously defended who they knew Christ to be.  He was God (he was divine, God-the-Son, a person of the godhead).  He was incarnated; God became flesh and lived as a human being.  He died on the cross, physically dying as a man.  He was resurrected, and that resurrection was a bodily restoration and transformation, not merely a spiritual continuance.

Christian Living: Character and Relationships

Now that these Christians were saved, what did it mean for the way they lived?  This is still an important question for Christians.   We are to abandon sin and do what is right, exhibiting a Christ-like character.  That character is typified by faith, self-control, humility, and especially love.

One of the toughest problems we face in life, and one of the most important, is our relationships.  The epistle-writers address how we are to relate to each other in church, marriage, family, work, and business.

Warning and Encouragement

The early church was beset by false teachers.  These people twisted the scripture to suit their own purposes.  It has not stopped.  These letters warn us to look out for falsehood and show us how to spot it.

Even more than this, though, these letters are full of encouragement.  We are not alone; God is with us always as the Holy Spirit indwells us.  Whatever trials, temptations, or opposition we face, we can live the life God has called us to in Christ.  Not only that, the difficulties we face in ourselves and around us in this sinful world will pass, and we will be resurrected to live forever in the perfect love and peace of God.

The epistles are:

Romans     1 Corinthians     2 Corinthians

Galatians     Ephesians     Philippians

Colossians     1 Thessalonians     2 Thessalonians

1 Timothy     2 Timothy     Titus

Philemon     Hebrews     James

1 Peter     2 Peter     1 John

2 John     3 John     Jude

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Jude

Jude is the last of the short epistles in the New Testament.  The author identifies himself as Jude the brother of James.  I take this to mean he is the Judas identified in Matthew 13:15 as a brother of Jesus, which would make him a brother of James the epistle-writer and early church leader.

This short letter is an encouragement in the faith and a warning against apostasy.  It is a contrast between Christians and people who come into the church for church for other reasons.

Christians are, simply, faithful to the teachings of Christ and the apostles.  This is both belief and action.  They believe the truth and behave uprightly.  Jude does not go into this as much as some of the other epistles.

Apostates, false teachers, and pretend Christians do not have these traits.  They dress up other doctrines in Christian-sounding terms.  Their behavior especially gives them away.  They pursue their lusts, they speak ill of others, they are self-serving, and they are liars.  And they will keep coming.

Of course, Christians aren’t perfect people.  Believers should reflect on these things.  Our salvation was always God’s work, as is our growth in Christ.  However, we are to be reflective, self-monitoring, and humble.  If we fall into bad ways and our conscience doesn’t prick us, if we aren’t moved to repent, we should consider our relationship with God.

Jude.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

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Second & Third John

Because John’s second and third letters are so short, I’m reviewing them as one book.  There are indications within his letters that he may have written many short letters like these.

The second letter is addressed to an “elite lady.”  This may have been a specific woman who hosted a church in her home or it may be a reference to the church.  It is a letter of encouragement.  He reminds his friend, probably friends since it was likely the letter would be read aloud in church, that we must love one another.  He also reiterates the importance of the incarnation of Christ.

The third letter is addressed to Gaius.  John commends Gaius for taking care of faithful teachers and missionaries who traveled by his home.  Gaius even had a reputation for being generous to strangers.  John wrote of a man who sought to hold a high position in his local church, so he refused to have John’s letters read or receive his emissaries.  He even forbid others to do so and ran them out of church if they did.  John then mentions the faithfulness of Demetrius, so it could be that this is a letter of introduction and John’s way of asking Gaius to help Demetrius as he stops there during his travels.

In both letters, John emphasizes and praises practical, active love.  Real love is backed up with deeds.

John also wrote

First John

The Gospel of John

Second John.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

Third John.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

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First John

John was the youngest of the apostles and the last to pass away.  He was especially close to Christ during His earthly ministry, and John refers to himself as the one “whom Jesus loved” in his gospel.  The relationship was strong enough that Jesus entrusted the young man with the care of His mother, Mary, as one of his last acts on the cross.

In this circular letter to the churches, John drops the opening and closing introductions and greetings common to the other epistles. He launches directly into his message.  I find three themes in this book: the incarnation of Christ and true spirituality, knowing the truth, and love.

The Incarnate Christ and True Spirituality

Christianity firmly asserts that Jesus Christ is God and at the same time that He was incarnated as a man.  He lived and died and was resurrected.  He wasn’t resurrected as spirit, he was resurrected bodily.  John adamantly reiterated that this is not only the doctrine of the church, it is something he witnessed personally.

This teaching has consequences for Christian living.  We are not pure, undefiled spirits residing in sinful, depraved bodies.  We are body and spirit together.   The actions we take with our bodies have spiritual consequences.  Likewise, if we are godly in our spirit, it will show in our actions.

John’s writings on this subject may be a reaction to Gnosticism.  It seems that teachers of some form of Gnosticism or some other beliefs were attempting to infiltrate the church.  They taught a strong duality between spirit and body, so that the spirit was pure, good, and untouchable, so one could do as they pleased in the body, which was inherently bad, lesser, and corrupt.  In their view, the resurrected Jesus was as spirit and shed the corruption of flesh to become pure.

Throughout the Bible, you will not find a concept that material is bad and spirit is good.  In Genesis, God called the material world he made good, along with everything, man, animal, plant, and mineral, in it.  Satan and the demons are spirits, but they are evil.  The Bible assures believers that they will be resurrected bodily, like Christ, and that their resurrected body will be everlasting, good, and incorruptible.

Knowing the Truth

Knowing the truth is a Christian’s defense against false teaching.  John writes a lot about knowing in this letter.  That knowing is founded in the revelation of Christ and in God’s Word.  We can know that we know God (Chapter 2).  We can know that we have a new, everlasting life in Christ (Chapter 3).  We can know that God loves us (Chapter 4).  We can know that God hears our prayers (Chapter 5).

Knowing the truth allows us to test ourselves, what we hear, and who we hear it from.  Do we affirm the gospel, including the divinity and bodily resurrection of Christ?  Do we strive to keep God’s commandments?  Do we recognize when we sin and repent?  Do we love others and act on that love?  Jesus Christ said we could know a tree by its fruit, and John is encouraging us to look around and see if the fruit of would-be teachers is good or not.

Love

John is sometimes called the “Apostle of Love.”  Love is a theme of all his writings preserved in the Bible (yes, even Revelation in my opinion).

God loves us and we should love Him.  If we are Christians, we will love Him.  If we love Him, we will obey Him (Jesus said if we love Him, we will keep his commandments).  If we love Him, we will love others, especially our brothers and sisters in the church (Jesus said we would be known know for our love for each other).  Love is the God’s response to us, even when we were sinful and far from him, as evidenced in the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Christ.  The appropriate response to Gods love is to love Him and love the others He loves.

John also wrote the Gospel of John.

First John.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

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Second Peter

Peter writes this letter towards the end of his life.  As he anticipates his death, he wanted to use all his remaining time to remind people of the Gospel and what it means for them.  This letter is meant to be a reminder that will continue after Peter’s death.

In many ways, this is a letter of warning.  Peter as spent his life preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and teaching Christians to hold to the truth and live by it.  However, even in the first generation of the church, there were people who sought exploit the opportunities they saw in this new religion to get followers, wealth and power for themselves.

Peter reminded these Jewish Christians he wrote to that there were false prophets in the Old Testament days.  Similarly, false preachers would try to deceive the church.  They needed to be on guard, because these false preachers would be stirring orators who make big promises.  They would have an appealing look, sound and message.

However, false teachers will be empty of substance.  Their appeal is not to the heart seeking God, but to the flesh seeking to satisfy its lust, though they will try to disguise it.  Watchful believers will recognize them by their sinful habits, covetousness, and lust.

The best guard against false teachers is to always remind ourselves of the truth.  We are blessed to have the Word of God to test what we hear and no whether it is good or bad.  We should remember that God is faithful, and if it seems that He is slow in coming, He is not.  He promised to come again, to judge the world, to destroy what is evil, and to give His people eternal life with Him.  We should be diligent in Christ-like character and good works, leaving little room for sin or the temptations presented by false preachers.

An interesting note is the bit of reconciliation Peter attempts to broker at the end of this letter.  Paul was not a popular figure among the Jewish Christians.  Peter validates Paul’s teaching and mission.  It is a gracious thing for an old man to do after being one of the most prominent people in the church since its founding.  He is more concerned with the truth, the continuation of faithful preaching, and the purity of the people than his position.  If his reputation has value to him, it is in the opportunity it affords him to direct people to faithful, true teaching that will be around when he is gone.

Peter also wrote

First Peter

Second Peter.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

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First Peter

Peter was the most prominent apostle.  We find in the Gospels and other New Testament references to him that he is typically listed first, indicating his position.  The apostles and the early church looked to him as a leader.  In the Roman Catholic, the office of Pope originated with him.

Peter was not a perfect person.  Though he had received a vision showing that Gentiles would be part of the church, he did not move to proselytize them.  That is probably why we see the shift in attention in Acts from Peter to Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.  Peter fell in with the Judaizers until Paul confronted him.

Though he had weaknesses like the rest of us, he was a bold and passionate man.  He was the first to say aloud that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God.  He stepped out of a boat to walk on the water with Jesus.

This letter is from a mature Peter.  To the passion of his youth he added gentleness and love.  Love is woven throughout the three themes of this letter to persecuted and scattered Jewish Christians: living before God, living before the world, and suffering.

Living Before God

As Christians, we have been bought out of the world and sin by the blood of Christ, who suffered and died to atone for our sins.  Because of this, we should be thoughtful imitators of Christ, seeking to be pure and love as He was pure and loving.  Instead of being dragged back into the sinful ways we practiced before, we should rely on the grace of God, exhibited in Christ, and do our best to do what is right, knowing we have help from above.

Living Before the World

Our relationship to God in Christ does not negate the importance of other relationships.  They are more important because God want to display uprightness, mercy and love through us.  Paul especially addresses relationships of authority and submission.  He reminds his readers to submit to authorities in government, work, and family.  The implication is that authorities should conduct themselves with similar uprightness, though we should do our best even if the authorities don’t.  Husbands are especially called out to treat their wives with understanding and honor.  In general, we should relate to others with compassion and courtesy.

Suffering

The people Peter wrote to were suffering.  They fled their homes because they were persecuted for their beliefs.  Peter says that if you must suffer, suffer for doing the right thing.  In fact, if you do the right thing you probably will suffer, because worldly people are more interested in satisfying there lusts and they will come against anyone who doesn’t go along.  In this, too, we can look to Christ as a model.  Christ endured suffering for a purpose, to save us and to glorify His Father.  Our suffering can also glorify God and purify us if we trust Him, continue to follow Him, and remember His faithfulness, for our suffering is temporary but our new life in Christ is forever.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Proverbs

First Peter.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

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James

James.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

James wrote to Jewish Christians.  His letter is full of practical wisdom for all Christians.

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Several related themes run through James.  These are trials, self-control, practical faith, and humility.

James begins his letter with a discussion of trials.  We all have troubles.  Disconcertingly, sometimes our worst problems arise from doing the right thing.  Though it may seem like God has abandoned us in such times, God is at work.  Facing trials with patience and faith builds our character.

Part of a godly character is self-control.  A mature Christian will discipline himself.  In particular, he will watch what he says.  It is hard to control what we say, refraining from idle and harmful words.  It is hard to speak convincingly about the love, grace, and faithfulness of God when you just spewed a lot of gossip, lies, and nonsense.

James writes of faith in very practical and active terms.  Sermons, exultations, and moral sayings are hollow and useless if they are not coupled with service, aid and upright living.  If we really believe the Gospel and have call to be followers of Christ, we will act like Christ who humbled Himself to labor with men, heal the sick, feed the hungry, and care for the needy.

Emulating the humility or Christ is a theme of the letter in itself.  James extols believers to act with humility and treat everyone fairly.  Wealth and position are temporary, but in our eternal relation to God we’re all the same:  each Christian is a sinful person saved by the grace of God.  Pride is a source of strife, people in conflict as they all try to get their own way, but humble people trust God and can let go of strife.

If you’re interested in this book, you may also be interested in

Deuteronomy

Exodus

Genesis

The Gospels

Hebrews

Leviticus

The Most Effective Organization in the U.S. by Robert A. Watson & Ben Brown

The Pauline Letters

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Pauline Letters

The apostle Paul wrote most of the New Testament.  His letters to the early churches mix doctrine, biography, advice, and personal messages.  Paul was Jewish and belonged to a sect of zealots called the Pharisees.  He was an up-and-comer with a prestigious education and leadership roles beyond what was typical for a man his age.  He prosecuted the early church, especially congregations of Jewish converts to Christianity.  He gave it all up, though, after having a vision in which he was confronted by Jesus Christ and he eventually became a missionary and apostle to the Gentiles, planting churches in Europe and Asia.

Several themes recur in Paul’s letters.  Some of these are: the Gospel and doctrinal purity, Christian living, and relationships.

The Gospel

Paul was a preacher of the Gospel.  He frequently reminded people to remember and stick to the Gospel he taught with directness and simplicity.  There were a lot of false teachers who taught alternatives, often to draw followers and enrich themselves.  In Paul’s teaching, everything depended on Christ and what He accomplished through His life, death and resurrection; nothing could be added or subtracted from it.

Of course, some tried to add or subtract.  Some of the teachings Paul opposed were Judaizers, Gnostics, and legalism.  Judaizers proposed that to be Christian, one must be Jewish first.  This included conversion to Judaism, including circumcision, and observance of the law of Moses.  According to the Gospel, everything needed was satisfied in Christ.  The Gnostics came from the tradition of mystery religions, taught “secrets” and proposed a Christ who was resurrected as a spirit.  Paul would have none of that either.  The Gospel was plain and all significant events of Christ’s life for our salvation were publicly known, including his physical resurrection.  Both of these groups touched to some degree on legalism.  People wanted to establish rules to live by, either to control people or to aggrandize themselves or to suggest people had a part in their own salvation.  Paul’s Gospel asserted that Christ is all, His sacrifice atoned for our sins and His power in us enables us to do good.

Christian Living

If Christianity wasn’t about following rules, how were we to live?  Could we do whatever we wanted?  Of course, it is silly to think that God would save us from our sins just so we could do whatever evil came to us.  It was equally naïve to think we could, on our own, live up to any rule that is truly pure and perfect.

Instead, a Christian life should be typified by love, humility, gratitude, and obedience to God.  We are to honor Christ our rescuer by imitating Him.  This isn’t to win his favor, but to return the love He showed us and express gratitude for the mercy we did not deserve.  Christ empowers us to live in a new way, knowing Him and doing good instead of sinning and becoming more estranged from God.

Relationships

One of the most important ways we can show our love for God and be Christ-like is in our relationships with others.  Paul wrote about all kinds of relationships: marriage, parent-child, employer-employee (in those days sometimes master-slave), and fellow in the church.  We should treat others with the love, kindness and generosity that Christ shows to us, especially in the church.

The Pauline Letters appear in most Bibles generally from longest to shortest: Romans, First Corinthians, Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, First Thessalonians, Second Thessalonians, First Timothy, Second Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.  First and Second Timothy, Titus and sometimes Philemon are called the Pastoral Letters because Timothy and Titus were young pastors.

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Hebrews

Hebrews.  The Holy Bible.  New King James Version.  Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982.

To my mind, Hebrews is one of the key books of the Bible.  Like Paul’s letter to the Romans, it ties together and gives context to other scripture.

The audience and authorship of this book are not made clear as is typical of most New Testament epistles.  Based on the subject and the many references to Old Testament scripture, it is clearly direct to an audience of Jewish Christians.  Early church leaders and scholars often attributed it to Paul.  Paul’s commission as apostle to the Gentiles might suggest another author, but Paul’s passion for his native people and thorough education in the Hebrew Scriptures point toward him as a likely author.

I find three major themes in Hebrews.  These are: the centrality of Christ and his fulfillment of the Mosaic covenant, how faith was central to salvation even before the Mosaic Law, and encouragement in Christian living.

CENTRALITY OF CHRIST

The first section of Hebrews focuses on Jesus Christ.  It makes the case for the divinity of Christ and His complete humanity in the incarnation.  As a perfect man, Jesus Christ fulfilled every requirement of the Mosaic Law.  This made him the perfect sacrifice for the sins of man.  In addition, because he is divine and eternal, his atoning sacrifice is likewise eternal.

This is not the only role Jesus Christ fills eternally.  He is the first and highest of mankind and exercises the dominion over creation God gave to man, but that we forfeited when we sinned (as God, He is lord of all also).  As the son of God, Christ had priority over Moses, even though as a man He submitted Himself to the law in loving obedience to the Father.  Christ is a priest of a higher order than the Levitical priesthood, namely a priest like Melchidezek to whom Abraham paid tithes and through him all his descendants including the Hebrew priests.

The law and sacrifices of earlier times were signs pointed to the Christ to come.  All of these things are fulfilled and completed in Him forever.  Where many sacrifices were made to temporarily cover ever mounting sins, Christ’s sacrifice suffices forever to remove all of our sins.  Where the priests entered the presence of God once a year, Christ is constantly in the presence of God making intercession for His people.

CENTRALITY OF FAITH

If Christ does all for our salvation and when no longer need to make sacrifices and observe the Mosaic Law, how do we realize this reconciliation through Christ and live morally?  The answer is faith in Christ.  Hebrews makes the argument that the answer has always been faith in God.

Hebrews makes the argument, drawing on many examples from the Old Testament, that God has forgiven the sins of and imputed righteousness to those who had faith in Him.  This predates Abraham, though for an audience of his descendants it is important in Abraham.  It predates Moses, though for an audience born into a religion base on Mosaic Law it is important in Moses.  Even after the law was given, it is faith that God rewarded because no one could live up to God’s perfect law.

The faithful people of the Old Testament looked forward by faith to a day when God would cleanse their sins, make them righteous, and completely restore their relationship to him.  Even in the time of the law, the sacrifices and observances were signs of the things God was going to do.  God’s provision for the cleansing of sin and the raising us to righteousness were completed in Christ, so we place our faith in Him.  They had faith what was to come, even if they didn’t fully understand it, and we have faith in what Christ has accomplished.

CHRISTIAN LIVING

To wrap up, Hebrews includes encouragement for the faithful.  We’ll face troubles just as those in the Old Testament did, but by faith we can overcome and see the day when God will make us perfect and bring us into His eternal kingdom.  In the meantime, the temporary troubles of this world are opportunities to imitate Christ and become more like Him, more holy in practice.  God is working through these  troubles to help and purify us.

As a result of Christ’s work in us, we should love one another.  This should be practical love, taking care of each other’s needs.  Instead of trying to live up to a law our sinful nature wars against, we put our faith in Christ and walk in humility and love.

If you’re interested in this book, you may be interested in the Old Testament, especially Genesis, Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, Second Chronicles, Jeremiah, and Daniel.  You may also be interested in other New Testament books, particularly the Pauline Letters and especially Romans.

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Top 15 Books Reviewed So Far

I recently posted my 250th review (see list of all 250 here).  Because I think one of the purposes of reviewing books is to help people decide what is worth their while, I periodically list the top books I’ve reviewed so far.  Admittedly, this list is all books of the Bible.  This is because I’ve written a distinct review of each book of the Bible I’ve read since starting the blog.  If you’d like a best of list in which the Bible is treated as a single book, follow this link.

1. The Gospels
2. Romans
3. Acts

4. Colossians

5. Ephesians

6. First Samuel

7. First Corinthians

8. First Samuel

9. First Thessalonians

10. Galatians

11. Pastoral Letters

12. The Pentateuch

13. Joshua

14. Ruth

15. Second Corinthians

Previous best of lists

Best of the First 200 Books Reviewed

Best of First 100 Books Reviewed

Books That Made a Difference to Me

Annual best of lists

Best of What I Read in 2011

Best of What I Read in 2010

Best of What I Read in 2009

Best of What I Read in 2008
Best of What I Read in 2007

P.S.  If you have a book that had a strong impact on you, tweet about it using the hashtag #booksthatshapedme.  Thanks.