Why the Bible Was Written?

MEMORY VERSE: “These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” —John 20:31

JEREMIAH 26:1-3; LUKE 24:44-47; JOHN 20:30,31; I JOHN 1:1-4

THE Bible is more than a book of moral and ethical precepts. It is the textbook of Christianity, revealing God’s purpose in the creation of man and the divine plan for his recovery from sin and death.

It has been said that the Bible is the torch of civilization, and in many respects this is true. History shows that wherever the Bible is introduced into a nation’s cultural and religious life the result has been beneficial to that country or nation. The moral principles expounded become the standard of the national conscience. Nations have based their laws on the concept of justice found in the Bible.

We believe, however, that from the great Creator’s standpoint the purpose of the Bible is much more pointed and specific. We believe God intended that to the believer the Bible would explain the past, the present, and the future of his dealings with his human creation.

There is a special reward for those who accept the fact that the Bible is God’s Word and believe what he said. In the Old Testament the servants of God were tested along this line. In Genesis 15:5,6 the Bible states, “And he [God] brought him [Abram] forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be. And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.”

The Apostle James uses this incident to illustrate the fact that faith, to be profitable and pleasing to God, must be accompanied by works. In fact, it is by works that we prove our faith in the promises of God. James 2:21-23 states, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”

Much of the Old Testament is a record of God’s dealings with the nation of Israel. But this is more than a mere historical account. The Apostle Paul in I Corinthians 10:11 states that the experiences of the nation of Israel were not only for their benefit, but were to be examples and illustrations to the church during the Gospel Age. The New Testament writers, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, used these experiences and certain features of the Law as types and shadows of the reality being developed during the Gospel Age. For example, in Hebrews 8:4,5 the apostle states, “Seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things.” The priests who served in the tabernacle under the Law were pictures, or shadows, of the reality—the church.

We find, therefore, upon close examination, that much of the material in the Old Testament and practically all of the New Testament is focused toward one real objective, and that is to call and instruct the footstep followers of Jesus during the Gospel Age.

The purpose of the various epistles in the New Testament becomes obvious when we observe to whom they were written. The Apostle Paul addresses his epistle to the Romans as follows, “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name. Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ: to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints.”

In I Corinthians the apostle addresses the epistle “unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.” In II Corinthians the apostle addresses the epistle “unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which are in all Achaia.” And in Philippians 1:1: “Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons.”

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