The Bible Is About…

Here’s a list of articles in our Wednesday series about the Bible:

The Bible: What Did It Mean To Them?

The Bible: Who’s The Audience?

The Bible: Chapter And Verse?

Who Chooses The Actual Words In The Bible?

When Words Aren’t Quite That Simple

The Easy Bible

Bible Stories: Were Noah And Moses Really Brothers?

100 Significant Scriptures

Why Read The Bible?

The Bible Is About…

How would you complete the title of this article?

I’m starting a new Wednesday series explaining some ideas about reading the Bible. I’ll be anxious to read your feedback.

For a few years I’ve done a workshop for new small group leaders at my church. If I had my choice I’d call it One Dummy’s Thoughts About The Bible. However, our small group coordinator has no sense of humor so she calls it something boring like Bible Basics For Small Group Leaders.

I’m decidedly NOT any sort of expert, and I think that’s the point. It’s a simpleton’s guide to some of the very basic notions involved in understanding Scripture if you haven’t attended seminary, don’t speak Greek, and don’t commonly use words like eschatology and hermeneutics. Honestly, I think I’m the only person silly enough to talk about such a complex topic in public when most of the audience knows more than I do.

So I’m going to toss out some small chunks each Wednesday and see if we can generate some discussion that’ll help everyone—especially me.

Somewhere near the beginning I ask participants to complete this sentence: The Bible is about _____.

Typically we get answers like these:

• How to live a Christian life—how to follow Jesus.
• The history of God’s people.
• How to worship/pray/do ministry.
• How to please God.
• Religion.

Do you have an answer?

Right answer?

These are all good answers, and I’m sure you came up with others. But at a simple, basic, gotta-get-this-in-my-thick-head level, the Bible is about God.

As hard as it is to imagine, it’s not about me!

The Bible is God’s inspired revelation of Himself, His nature and character, and what He values. C.S. Lewis once characterized the Old Testament like this:

He selected one particular people and spent several centuries hammering into their heads the sort of God He was—that there was only one of Him and that He cared about right conduct. Those people were the Jews, and the Old Testament gives an account of the hammering process (from MERE CHRISTIANITY).

At its core the Bible isn’t really about the Hebrews, and it’s certainly not about me. The Bible is God revealing Himself to us. Here’s how it seems to me: there’s a two-way communication going on between God and humans.

The God-to-human side is revelation. It’s perfect and complete, precisely as God intended. The response, the human-to-God side, is religion.

Religion is the human response to God’s revelation.

We all know that human creations are flawed, and religion’s no exception. Our interpretation of God’s revelation reflects our human limitations, biases, and blind spots. So my personal religion—my personal response to my understanding—is incomplete and incorrect.

Organized religion is often worse, since it’s a conglomeration compromises and preferences. Thankfully, grace covers our mistakes, but we need to remember that our response, no matter how informed or sincere, always falls short.

So when I read the Bible, my primary goal is a better, more intimate knowledge of God. We’re part of the story because He created and desires relationship with us, but it’s not about us.

I have a lot of questions—I’ll leave a few and look forward to your comments.

How did you complete the original sentence?

Does this make sense? Do you agree or disagree?

What would you add?

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