The Bible is not a Book of Many Stories but Rather Only One
I absolutely love this quote. I think that ‘getting it’ here makes such a difference as to how we approach our Bible reading, teaching, and ministry.
…we usually read the Bible as a series of disconnected stories, each with a ‘moral’ for how we should live our lives. It is not. Rather, it comprises a single story, telling us how the human race got into its present condition, and how God through Jesus Christ has come and will come to put things right. In other words, the Bible doesn’t give us a god at the top of a moral ladder saying, ‘If you try hard to summon up your strength and live right, you can make it up!’ Instead, the Bible repeatedly shows us weak people who don’t deserve God’s grace, don’t seek it, and don’t appreciate it even after they have received it. If that is the great biblical story arc into which every individual scriptural narrative fits, then what do we learn from this story? -Tim Keller, Counterfeit Gods, pp. 36-37 (emphasis mine)
Possibly Related posts:
- Book Review- Counterfeit Gods
- Book Review- The Prodigal God
- The Storyline of the Bible in 4 Minutes
- Long on Pants and Short on Bible Verses
- The Focus of the Bible
5 Responses to “The Bible is not a Book of Many Stories but Rather Only One”
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Beautiful! I will share it with the young girls bible study I’m leading. I’ve been taking ages trying to get through the Old Testament overview!
Totally fits with what we’ve been talking about. I saw you recommended the Advent Songs by Sojourn-i recently got the CD for free off of NoiseTrade and have been listening to it almost non-stop. They also have a few other really great Christmas music cds there. But that one remains a favorite.
We are really enjoying The Big Picture Story Bible, because it clearly shows the biblical storyline. Graeme Goldsworthy is another excellent resource.
Good to hear Vanessa. Glad to hear you are serving at school!
JD: really enjoy Goldsworthy. I actually have a post cued up from him that should come in the next day or two from the book ‘According to Plan’. He is really helpful.