Why the Bible?

I made a comment two days ago, in Sunday's blog entry, about how God did not write the Bible in order to prove Himself or His existence. And to those of us who believe that the Bible is inerrant and infallible, this is important to remember.

God gave us scripture for one primary purpose, and that was for the purpose of drawing humankind back into right relationship with Him. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible is one unfolding plot of God’s redemption for humankind. And central to this plot is the promise that God made to Abraham, which is fulfilled in Christ. As early as Genesis 3:15 the gospel is announced to Adam and Eve, but it is more clearly revealed later in the covenant that God made with Abraham. Ultimately, Jesus is the promised seed of the woman, the greater Child, through whom God uses to draw all nations unto Him. The Bible is one big story about God's desire and His means to draw human beings back to Himself.

God could have set things up to where we all were simply robots that served and worshipped Him, but that was not His way. He did not force His existence on us, nor will He ever. Faith is a fundamental part of the redemptive process. Namely, faith in Jesus Christ. So when we share with others about our faith in Jesus and our belief in scripture, we need to recognize that we can't hold up the Bible as God's proof that what we believe is true. It was not written to prove God; it was written so that we might be drawn to Him through faith.

However, one side note to this is that, while there is no empirical evidence that we can use to absolutely prove that the Bible is true and that God exists, nor is there any empirical evidence that can prove otherwise! But the evidence of a redeemed life, the victories that others can see in the changed lives of those of us who have been drawn into right relationship with God, should speak for itself.