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Articles
Tell the Bible Story
TELL THE BIBLE STORY
[Following are notes from a sermon I delivered on Sunday, July 7. I have tried to put them in readable narrative form for you. Note especially the headings, following by Scripture references in bold type. Maybe my notes and wording will help you, but I encourage you to study the Bible for yourself, and make your own summary of the Bible story, in your own words. I pray this will help. - Dan]
Imagine this scene. You are engaged in conversation with someone and you see an opportunity. This person expresses an interest in the Bible. At the least, encourage them to read the Bible. That’s the source. But also consider these questions: What is the Bible about? What would you say if you had only one opportunity to speak to this particular person, in this particular situation?
One way is to be prepared to tell the Bible story. It’s not the only way. But there is value in helping them see the big picture.
So, prepare to tell the story in your own words, in one sitting. There is a consistent theme: the plan of redemption. It’s also a good lesson for those who already are familiar with the Bible story.
CREATION (Gen. 1-2; Ps. 33:9; Matt. 19:4; Rom. 1:21). In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Before, there was nothing. Then God spoke. All of creation—the earth, the sky, the seas, all plant and animal life—God brought into existence by his spoken word, “God said.” Psalm 33:9: “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.” Then he declared his creation good.
Gen. 1:26-27 tells of the greatest of God’s creation. Man was made in God’s own image and likeness, crowned with glory and honor (Ps. 8). Man was unique. God was mindful of man in a special way.
In the NT (Matt. 19), Jesus said that God created them male and female. He showed his high regard for the creation account, and for the sanctity of marriage. The apostle Paul said the creation proves the power and divinity of the Creator (Rom. 1:21).
SIN (Gen. 3; Rom. 3:23). In Gen. 3, we see for the first time in the creation, the appearance of something that was not good. The man and woman were placed in a perfect place. It was a Paradise. In this perfect place, they were given work to do, but there was also one thing they were not to do. It was forbidden. But the devil told them they could. So they disobeyed, and sin appeared. Separated from their original fellowship with God, they went weeping from this Paradise. Man’s sin in the garden also showed that man is responsible. Man had a choice. Man is accountable to his Creator.
After this, sin continued to spread and bring trouble with it. One of the sons of the original couple murdered his brother. As mankind multiplied, so did sin. There were times when God was sorry he had made man. The problem of sin brought sorrows and frustrations. Sin became man’s fundamental problem. It is a universal problem because all have sinned.
But God had a plan, a remedy, for sin. It was in the mind of God even before creation. Gen. 3:15 contains the first promise of the ultimate victory of the seed of woman over Satan. This promise is the theme of the Bible. It would be fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
NATION (Gen. 12:1-3; see Acts 7:2-19). After many generations, God made a great promise to Abraham regarding his offspring. He promised three things. God said, “I will make you a great nation.” He would bless that nation and give them a land to dwell in. And from this nation there would be a blessing that would come to all families of the earth. This is the theme of the Bible story. God’s eternal purpose to redeem us from sin. The making of the nation was one of the first steps in the unfolding of that plan. Creation – sin – a solution to the problem. It was by God’s grace. Again, this is the theme of the Bible story. Grace is offered, but man must accept his grace.
GOD GIVES THE NATION A LAW AND A LAND (Exodus – Joshua). God gave the nation a leader, a law, and a land. Moses was the leader appointed by God to deliver the nation (known as Hebrews, or Israel) after 400 years in bondage in Egypt. Moses was also the law-giver. God have his Law (Law of Moses) for the nation of Israel for the nation to be united and pure.
At this time, God made a great promise to Moses. In Deut. 18, God promised that someday he would raise up a prophet in some ways similar Moses, but greater than Moses, from among the people. They were to listen to his words. We believe God was talking about Jesus Christ.
After many years of struggle and travel, the nation entered into the Promised Land. Joshua led Israel in a great conquest of the land of Canaan, and they dwelt in it. But again, the problem of sin continued. Yet God was always longsuffering, steadfast in his purpose.
Finally, the people began to look around at the other nations. They wanted to be like them, instead of following God and his will. They demanded a king. “Give us a king for us to judge us like all the nations” (1 Sam. 8:5). They had turned from trusting fully in God’s leadership. They wanted a different kind of king. God was not pleased, but he permitted the nation to have their king.
THREE KINGS (1 & 2 Samual; 1 Kings 1-11; Acts 7:45-47). Israel’s first three kings were Saul, David, and Solomon. Saul failed to live up to his potential. He disobeyed God, God regretted that he had made Saul king and rejected him. None of his descendants succeeded him. David also had his shortcomings, but he proved to be Israel’s greatest king. He is described as a man after God’s own heart. Because of his faithfulness, God promised to establish David’s throne forever (2 Sam. 7). This promise, like others, looked to Jesus Christ and his kingdom. Solomon, despite his wisdom and his many accomplishments, left the nation weakened. Following his death, the kingdom divided. Brings the Bible reader into an extremely complicated period.
NATION DIVIDED (1 Kings 12-22; 2 Kings 1-17). In this period, there were two nations—Israel in the north, and Judah in the south. So, instead of one united kingdom, there were two kingdoms, and two sets of kings. Many of them were corrupt. Sin continued to turn the hearts of the people away from God. Though there were a few good leaders in the southern kingdom, both nations ultimately fell further from following the Lord. Often other nations—world powers—involved themselves in the affairs of these two nations.
Yet, even during all this chaos, God was still at work. The divided kingdom was a time of some of the great prophets. They prophesied about a coming Messiah who would bring salvation. Isaiah called him Immanuel, God with us, the one who would be born of a virgin. The prophet spoke of him as God’s Servant who would “bear the sins of many” (Isa. 53). God was at work to carry out his purpose. But things continued to get worse, so…
EXILE (Deut. 28:47-48; 2 Kings 18-25; Pss. 102; 137). One of the great calamites of the Bible story is when the Israelites went into exile. Think of a people with their own nation, culture, way of life, taken away to serve the needs of a foreign nation. Both nations fell. Israel fell to the Assyrians. The Jews of the southern kingdom were carried away captive into Babylon, where they remained in exile for 70 years. God had predicted this calamity. He had also promised a future deliverance from exile. Those in exile remembered God’s promises. God never forgot his promise of a Savior.
NATION RETURNS (Ezra-Nehemiah). After the 70 years in exile, a remnant of the Jews were allowed to return to their land. It was a long, difficult journey, followed by years of hard work to rebuild their lives back home. It was a work of restoration. Their efforts focused on rebuilding their cities. They rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem. They worked especially on restoring the Law of God in their lives. Sin had led to their exile. Now obedience to God would have to be importance. They continued to hope in God’s promise.
400 SILENT YEARS. The time between the end of the OT and the beginning of the NT was 400 years. These were years of silence. There was no revelation, no communication from God. But even in these centuries of silence, God’s plan was still in play. The faithful remembered God’s promises. They continued to hold to this hope. God was still at work, preparing for the right time, to bring his Savior to the world. This is where all this was headed…
JESUS (Matt. 1:17-25; Gal. 4:4; Acts 2:22-38; Rom. 3:23-26; Heb. 5:9). The time of silence was broken with the announcement of the birth of Jesus. He was the one who would save his people from their sins. He came to fulfill God’s promises spoken through his servants the prophets. Jesus of Nazareth lived a perfect life in perfect harmony with God’s purpose. He taught the people of righteousness. He called them to repentance and announced that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. He fulfilled all prophecy.
He died on the cross. He arose from the grave. He gave his gospel, the good news of salvation, and commissioned his disciples to preach the gospel. These men preached a message that address man’s problem, the problem of sin and separation from God. Jesus’ death and resurrection provided God’s solution to the problem. And when people heard the message, believed in Christ as the Son of God, and were baptized, they became Christians, and members of the body of Christ.
The same is true today, when people read the Bible with an honest heart. God is the Creator, above all. The Bible is God’s word. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Sin is our problem. But God’s plan is we can be redeemed by the blood of Christ. When these things are heard and believed, and when Christ is confessed as the Son of God; then God’s instructions are to repent and be baptized, and live faithfully.
We can do this. We can tell this story. This is our mission, our work.
Dan Petty
