Email "Messages"

A Minister Responds to Questions from His Congregation

Crane

• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Year: 2011
• eBook ISBN: 9781498273879
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

People Want Answers to Their Questions!Who made God? Has the Bible been corrupted? What is the unpardonable sin? How can a loving God send people to hell?Did Jesus really preach in hell?As a Bible scholar, church planter, and senior minister of a rapidly growing congregation, Steve Crane receives many questions from believers and skeptics alike. His concise, biblical answers get right to the heart of the matter. Crane not only answers your questions, but will help equip you to give the reason for the hope that you have (I Peter 3:15).Staying true to the original Email format, questions and answers have been organized into eight separate categories: Questions about God, Questions about Christ, Questions about the Bible, Questions about Salvation, Bible Questions, Bible Difficulties, Questions about End Times, and Objections to Christianity. This format allows readers to choose the issues that are most pertinent to their interests and needs.

Section Three

Questions about the Bible

Email “Messages”

 Inbox [18/70]

To: Dr. Crane [eaglechristianchurch.com]

Subject: What Is the Bible?

---Original Message---

I was in your church Sunday for the first time and I enjoyed your talk. You spoke from a book called “James.” After services, I talked with you and asked where I could find this book so I could read it. You told me that it was one of the books in the New Testament of our Bible. I must admit, your response confused me. I thought the Bible was a book. Maybe you can tell me what the Bible is. I was also confused when you talked about Greek words. Why is that important?

Reply:

Thank you for asking this important question. In church, we often wrongly assume that people are familiar with the intricate details of the Bible and we don’t explain ourselves as we should. Let me give a brief description of the Bible and how it is organized. Forgive me if I am too detailed—I’ve actually been writing an entire book on this subject.

To start with, I would posit that the Bible is the collection of God’s inspired written word (2 Timothy 3:16–17; 2 Peter 1:20–12). It was written by human authors, who used their knowledge, research, and vocabulary in writing, but it was accomplished under the supernatural guidance of God (God’s Holy Spirit), who guided and guarded what they wrote. I believe the Bible is the authoritative rule of faith and practice for Christians and the Church. It serves in many ways as our constitution, play book, our operator’s manual.

The Bible, although considered one book, actually consists of two parts, which Christians refer to as the “Old Testament” (O.T.) and the “New Testament” (N.T.). Both of these two large sections also contain individual books—sixty-six in all (thirty-nine in the O.T. and twenty-seven in the N.T.). These individual books were written by various people, at various times (all under God’s direction) for various purposes, but all with a common theme—God’s redemptive acts in history.

The individual Bible books were later also divided into chapters and verses for ease of reference. Therefore we often cite not only a Bible book (i.e., “James”), but also a chapter and individual verse (James 1:16). The information given so far may be enough to answer your question about the books in the Bible, but from our previous conversation, I am inclined to think you want more. Let me get more specific.

The first division of the Bible (the Old Testament) is much longer (nearly three fourths of our Bible), while the New Testament is much shorter (constituting about one fourth). The Old Testament came into existence over a period of more than a thousand years and deals with the history of God’s people before the time of Christ; the New Testament within less than one hundred years and deals with Christian history. The division is much like our distinctions of B.C. and A.D.

The word “testament” is a translation of the word which also means “covenant” or even “agreement.” Therefore, when we called one part of our Bible “old” and one part “new,” we are making some type of claim—a claim itself which needs to be explained. The Old Testament or Old Covenant prepared the way for Jesus, not only setting a particular people apart from whom the ancestry of Jesus could be traced (the nation of Israel), but also by clearly demarcating important doctrinal issues regarding sin, sacrifice, and the nature of a Holy God. Under much of the Old Covenant (the time before Christ), people were bound by the Mosaic Law and worshiped God in a Temple. The New Covenant (Testament), is the fulfillment of the Old Covenant where Jesus Christ becomes our sacrifice, God’s people become the new temple, and Christ becomes the center of our worship.

The thirty-nine books we call the Old Testament can themselves be grouped into four sections. The first five books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) are known as the “Torah” (Law) and are ascribed to Moses. The next section includes books we often think of as historical books (Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1–2 Samuel, 1–2 Kings, 1–2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther) and give us the history of the nation of Israel (sometimes, books within this section have been compiled together). The books of poetry include Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon. Finally, we have the “Prophets,” which are sometimes subdivided into categories called major and minor prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

These thirty-nine books became fixed into an official list of sacred books which are used by Jewish people. The Greek word for such an official list is “canon.” Most of these books were written in Hebrew, which is why the Old Testament is sometimes referred to as the “Hebrew Bible” or the “Jewish Bible.” Parts of Daniel and Ezra, plus one verse in Jeremiah and two words in Genesis (a proper name), are written in Aramaic (a sister language to Hebrew).

About two hundred years before Christ, all these books were translated into Greek for the benefit of the increasing number of Jews for whom Greek was the primary language. The Greek Bible, called the “Septuagint” (from the Latin for “seventy”—because of stories about seventy translators) was the Bible used by early Christians, including Jesus and the disciples.

The twenty-seven books of the New Testament tell the story of Jesus and the church. They were all written within sixty years of the death of Jesus—in other words, before the end of the first century. Some of these books (the letters of Paul for example) date from the late forties and fifties. Some may date as late as A.D. 90–95 (the writings of John). The New Testament contains the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) which tell about the ministry of Jesus; a book of the history of the establishment of the church (The Acts of the Apostles); Epistles or letters written to churches or individuals within the church (Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1–2 Thessalonians, 1–2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1–2 Peter, 1–2–3 John, and Jude); and a book of Prophecy (Revelation).

The New Testament was primarily written in Greek, but also contains a few sayings written in Aramaic.

But the Bible is far more than just a compilation of writings of long ago. The Bible is God revealing himself to man and calling people to himself. It is given to teach us, for rebuking, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that we can be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16–17). The Bible is God’s love letter to mankind. It tells us all that we need to know about life and godliness.

In other words, the Bible isn’t simply to be a reference work where we can look things up to make sure we get things right, it is God’s word which is meant to equip God’s people to become what God designed them to be. It is the manual by which we are to make repairs, refuel, and gain direction. It is a roadmap for life.

For further reading: How We Got the Bible, by Neil R. Lightfoot. The Authority of the Bible, by Jack Cottrell.

Email “Messages”

 Inbox [19/70]

To: Dr. Crane [eaglechristianchurch.com]

Subject: Can You Give Me the Message of the Bible in a Nutshell?

---Original Message---

I am confused about exactly what the Bible is about. Can I ask how you would summarize the message of the Bible in a few words?

Reply:

You should know that I can do very little with only a few words, but I will try. Here is the Bible in a nutshell.

There is one true God who created everything that exists. The focal point of his creation was man (mankind) whom he made in his image. Originally, man had fellowship with God, but he rebelled against God’s will and purpose. Sin separated man from God and consequently all of creation was thrown into turmoil. But God loved man so much, he invoked his plan of redemption.

God chose Abraham and his ancestors to serve as a community of God’s people. Although they did not live up to God’s standards, God’s faithfulness to th...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Preface
• Section One: Questions about God
• Section Two: Questions about Christ
• Section Three: Questions about the Bible
• Section Four: Questions about Salvation
• Section Five: Bible Questions
• Section Six: Bible Difficulties
• Section Seven: Questions about Eschatology (The End Times)
• Section Eight: Objections to Christianity
• Bibliography