Know Your Bible
Why must you know your Bible?
To have everlasting life. In praying to the Father, Jesus said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). The Bible is the only source of the perfect, saving knowledge of God and Christ.
To know the greatest book ever written. The Bible is the greatest book ever written. The Bible is the greatest book because God is its author. There were forty penmen but only one author. All the writers were “moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21). “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16). No other book can compare with the Bible. It is truly God’s book!
To know who you are. Only from the Bible can you know your origin, purpose, and destiny—where you came from, why you are here, and where you are going. We are not a product of evolution. We are a product of Divine creation. God made man in His image and a morally responsible, living soul (Gen. 1:26-27; 2:7). Our purpose is to glorify God and become as Godlike as possible in preparation for the Judgment and our accountability to God (Rom. 14:11-12).
To be saved from sin. The Bible is the only book with its central message, the salvation of sinners. The Bible alone answers the world’s greatest question: “What must I do to be saved?” “The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:14). He saved sinners by His Gospel, “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16). Therefore, Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16).
To identify the church of the Lord and know its importance. When one obeys the Gospel by being baptized into Christ, he is born again of water and the Spirit into the family of God (John 3:3-5). This is the spiritual body of Christ, the church of which He is the head (Eph. 1:22-23). Christ has only one body (Eph. 4:4) and one church (Acts 2:47). In the New Testament, members of the Lord’s church were Christians only (Acts 11:26) and the only Christians.
To find the Christian way of life, worship, and service. The inspired Scriptures are the only doctrine of the New Testament church. The Scriptures alone furnish us completely unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16-17). The inspired Word teaches us that, “denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:12).
To reach the highest goal—“the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14). Paul counted all things “but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8). We should strive to be like Paul, who, near the time of his departure from this life, could say, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:7-8).
[This article was recently published in the Beacon, the weekly bulletin of the Bellview Church of Christ in Pensacola (June 27, 2022). The author of the article, Frank J. Dunn, has a 649-page book with the same title, Know Your Bible. The points in the above article come from pages viii-ix of that book. In addition to some general information about the Bible, each book of the Old and New Testaments is examined. Each book receives from 3 to 15 pages of consideration, including an outline, key words, the theme, and the message of the book. Know Your Bible is a great aid to studying the Scriptures.]