What is the Bible about? There are many answers. The Bible tells us many things. For example, it reveals (at least in part) who God is and what His character is like.
Fundamentally, however, the Bible is about the answers to just three questions. How you answer these questions determines your worldview. A worldview is how a person looks at and understands the world. Here are the questions:
Who am I? -- this is answered in Genesis chapter one.
What went wrong? (Why are there suffering and problems in the world?) - this is answered in Genesis chapter three.
What are we going to do about it? - this is answered by the rest of the Bible. After Genesis chapter three the rest of the Bible is about how God deals with what went wrong in Genesis chapter three.
The answers to these three questions are summarized by three words: creation, fall and redemption.
Creation - We are created by God in the image of God. This means God has the right to make the rules, which He has done, and we must follow those rules (laws) or face the consequences of breaking God's laws. Just as, in our own small way, when we create someone we make the rules that govern how it operates. For example, mankind has created various systems of roads and laws that govern how each road system works.
The Fall - What went wrong? All of humankind (at the time that was just Adam and Eve) disobeyed God and that brought sin (law breaking) into the world. While we like to compare ourselves with other people and conclude that we are good, the truth is that we are not good. When compared to God's standards (the Ten Commandments for example), we are inherently bad. By nature we are law breakers.
Redemption - What has God done about this? When you break the law you must pay the penalty. You have earned that penalty. The penalty for breaking God's law is death (hell). What God did was to sacrifice His own Son, who died on the cross to pay the death penalty YOU owe. Jesus Christ died in your place, because you have broken God's laws. Now God gives you a choice. If you believe this and trust that Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for YOUR sins (law breaking), then your debt is paid and you may enter heaven. However, if you reject this gift from God, then God honors your decision and you must then pay the penalty you owe yourself... you go to hell.
Labels: creation, redemption, the fall, world view
