Why the Bible Was Written
Nov 22, 2014 2011
by Tom Durst
But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name. – John 20:31 – NLT
The words quoted above apply specifically to the Gospel of John but they summarize well the essential purpose of the entire Bible, both Old and New Testaments. In another place Jesus, referring to the OT Scriptures, said that their purpose was to testify of Him (see John 5:39-40).
The mistake that the chosen people of His time made is the same one that many Christians often repeat, i.e., overlooking the main purpose of the Bible which is to bring us to faith in Jesus Christ and to new life “by the power of His name.” There are indeed many principles of practical everyday living in the Scriptures but these must be applied from a Christ-centered perspective or they can degenerate into legalistic rules and regulations which often do more harm than good.
Endless speculations about things that are not clearly revealed have often obscured the real purpose of the Scriptures (see Deuteronomy 29:29). Those who displace Jesus and His gospel with other things are manifesting the spirit of the antichrist which really means “in place of” Christ.
The book of Revelation is supposed to be a “revelation of Jesus Christ” but nearly all commentaries and articles written on that book contain almost nothing that really exalts Jesus Christ and His saving work as “the Lamb of God.” Foolish interpretations about the “end times” which incite fear and exalt some imagined future antichrist are very popular.
All belief systems that don’t have as their central focus Christ and Him crucified are ignoring the main point of the Scriptures (see 1 Corinthians 2:2; 15:1-4; 2 Timothy 3:15-17). Jesus is still the Savior of the world and that good news should be the top priority of all truly Christian ministry (see John 4:39, 42; Acts 4:12; 1 John 4:14). If we lose sight of this we have “lost it all.”
No other world religion or philosophy has a savior or any clear teaching about the grace of God (see Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 2:11). They are all based upon human efforts and finding salvation (wholeness, healing) through human works. They are all very “me centered”. The gospel is all about Jesus Christ and His finished work and not “about me” (see Galatians 2:20).
– Tom Durst (Used with permission from the Union With God Devotional Forum)
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