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DAY 2: The Bible is a Revealing Book
Why does God want you to understand his book?
Because he wants you to know him personally. Within the Bible, God reveals himself to you.
How has he done this?
You can tell a great deal about a person if you examine his or her work. The Psalmist sang, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1). In our world, we have evidence enough to believe that God is a purposeful, powerful, glorious Creator (cf. Acts 14:17).
However, there's a problem.
When Adam and Eve sinned by breaking God's direct command, God's creation was tainted by sin and no longer reveals him perfectly. As a result, we need more revelation today than the world of God.
So, God revealed himself to us in his written word, and so the Bible is at the center of God's revelation.
Without the Scriptures, we would know very little about Jesus. God's word remains his chief way of revealing himself to us today.
How we meet God in the Bible
The Bible reveals our need for God: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).
It shows us the result of this sin: "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).
And it reveals the proper punishment of all who sin: "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41).
Then the Bible reveals God's answer to our need: "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me'" (John 14:6).
And the Bible promises that Jesus is our way to triumphant living: "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full" (John 10:10).
God wants us to respond to this revelation by turning to Christ as our Savior and Lord. When we do this, in Christ we experience God. And the Bible leads us to a personal relationship with its Author.
This same process applies to any problem we have. When we study the Scriptures to find God's answer to our need and we obey what they reveal to us, we experience God personally. We not only find his answer to our problem but also the personal help of his Spirit.
The Bible becomes our bridge to a relationship with God.
How often do you cross that bridge?
About this Plan
Nearly all the problems people have in understanding the Bible start with misunderstandings of what the book is. You can understand the message of the Bible only when you know what it is and why it was written. So, what is the Bible, and why is it so important that you study it?
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