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God and the Bible

19th September 2012, sjh, hej

 

1) Why learn about this?

There is good evidence to show that there is a God in our universe who is supremely powerful over the Earth. The consequences of this are far-reaching, and make it compelling to at least learn about this God and see how it could affect our lives.

The Holy Bible is connected to God as being the source of information about God, and also as his message to humanity. As such, it forms an important piece in this process of understanding who God is, and what he means to us.

The Kingdom

At a personal level, the Bible contains a big message for everyone. That is the message of the “Kingdom of God”. It is about something that is going to happen on the Earth in the future, and parts of the Bible describe for us what events will occur at that time. It is like a history told in advance.

This kingdom will redefine the face of the world and is going to offer a world without evil, and an endless life for people who take the time to find out about God. A well known quotation emphasises the world peace of that time:

Micah 4:3: they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. KJV

A sculpture depicting “Let Us Beat Our Swords into Ploughshares” appears outside the United Nations Headquarters in New York symbolising the efforts of that organisation, but the goal of a peaceful and prosperous world has constantly eluded the governments. The Bible shows that it will happen, but only through the intervention of God.

Not only does the message of the Bible include the peace of the world, but also something individual. It describes a resurrection from the dead, where those people who have been faithful to God and died will be raised to life again in this kingdom time. So it is not something that is far-off and irrelevant now, but rather something that has a direct meaning to everyone.

Christ

Two thousand years ago, a man named Jesus lived in Israel and spoke of this kingdom of God. He was called “the Christ”, which has a meaning of “saviour”. He came to offer a way for people to be saved from death and overcome the problems in life. Some of his message was,

Matthew 11:28: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." WEB

The basis of Jesus' message was that he was the son of the one true God, and that by believing in him and following in the commands of God, that great benefits could be obtained. One of these was forgiveness from God, which opens the way into entering the Kingdom of God when it is fully established.

The Bible is clear on saying that this way though Jesus was unique, and the only way to have a part in the reward and eternal life in the Kingdom of God. Jesus said,

John 14:6: ... "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. WEB

This makes Jesus a very important person, and certainly worth learning more about who he was, what he did, and what the promises were that God gave through him. The pages of the Bible reveal that to us.

Added Value To Life

Although the central message of Jesus was about the coming Kingdom and a better world, there is also something relevant to life here and now. For one thing, it gives an answer to the age-old question of “what is the meaning of life?”. By understanding who God is, and if you can relate to him, much of the uncertainty about life can be resolved. It means we know who we are, why we are here, and what we should be doing.

The result of this is the opportunity for a happy and peaceful life that doesn't require wealth or status.

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