When
a frightened man asked the apostle Paul, "What must I do to be
saved?" he was told, "Put your trust in the
Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." Acts
But
how can you trust someone you don’t know? Why should you? It’s rather dangerous
to trust strangers. The Lord Jesus himself said in His prayer to his Father, "This is life eternal: that they might know
You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
you have sent." John 17:3
Earlier,
Jesus had invited his disciples to be God’s friends, not his trembling
servants (John
So
how can we know our heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus? Jesus said, "The Scriptures testify of me." John 5:39.
The
Bible is the record of God’s dealings with the human race for the last
6,000 years. The life of Christ (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and First
Corinthians 13 are especially clear in telling us what God is like; but 2
Timothy 3:15-17 says "All Scripture is
inspired and profitable..." In order to get "the full
picture," we must read all that God has revealed about himself. (See also
Romans 15:4, 5)
HOW TO READ THE BIBLE?
There
are many fine methods to study the Bible. However, if our chief aim is to know
what God is like, we need to read it with that one question in mind. As we read
Genesis, we will ask, "What picture of God does Genesis give?" As we
read on into Exodus, we will ask, "What does this tell me about God?"
Until we reach Revelation—then we will start over again!
Along
the way, we will find utterly shocking stories. And our goal will be to
reverently ask questions. Abraham, whom God chose as the ultimate example of
the kind of faith he wants in his children, reverently questioned God (Genesis
When
we come upon stories in the Bible we cannot immediately understand, we will read
on! God said the person who is right with him will live trusting him
("faith"), and wait for an explanation (Habakkuk 1:2; Habakkuk 2:3,4).
So
read the Bible and get to know God—and you will be saved.