My brother in law sent this Tim Keller sermon to Derek, who in turn sent it to me. I listened to it yesterday, and it honestly changed the way I think about the Bible. First of all, here is the sermon in its entirety:
I highly recommend listening to the whole thing, because there is a lot more to it than ust what I am about to talk about. What stuck out to me most, though, is the fact that the Bible is not a guide on how to live life. So often, I go into my time in Scripture with the hopes that God will show me some what I need to do. And while the Bible does have commands, promises and teachings in it, the main purpose is not to show me how to live my life.
The main purpose of the Bible, is to point to Jesus.
Obviously. This is not new information. But that is not how I approach it. I approach the Bible as, "of course I know its about Jesus, he died so I could have a relationship with God, now give me a list of things to do, so I can do those and be good at being a Christian". And, yesterday, Tim got through to me, that if I am only using the Bible as a moral guide for my life I am missing the point.
Every last thing in the Bible points to Jesus as our savior. I don't need to be given a list of things to do and not to do. I need to be reminded every day that Jesus is the perfect atoning sacrifice for my sin. No amount of good things or avoidance of bad things will make a bit of difference or have the slightest chance of allowing me a relationship with God and entrance into Heaven. Every day, I need to be reminded of how awful my sin is, and how awesome Jesus is, and if I can truly understand those two things, then my life will be changed. There will be no need for a moral guide to life. If, every day, I can understand the gospel, then, the things that the Bible says are good, I will delight to do, and the things it says are bad, I will want no part of.
I don't need to go to the Bible each day to be told how to live. I need to go to the Bible each day to be reminded of what Jesus has done for me.
September
3 years ago
2 comments:
I totally agree, Anne! I don't think we should totally dismiss the purpose of the Bible as a guide for how to live, because it's especially important when dealing with one of those sticky or subjective situations to see what the Bible says about it, and the Bible calls itself a "mirror" to show us what needs fixing in our lives. But the main purpose is most definitely to point us back to Christ!
Happy Birthday Scome!
I hope you have a triple Jood Day!
Great Post! I still need to listen to this sermon myself! Can't wait!
I love you!
D
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