The main purpose of the Bible is to reveal Jesus Christ and his gospel. The Old Testament is about God bringing forth a nation and a people from whom the savior of the world would come. The law given by God to Moses at Mount Sinai was to preserve or to keep the Jewish nation intact until the coming of Christ. Without the law there probably would have been another Sodom and Gomorrah that might have subverted the genetic line from which Christ was to come. All of the sacrifices and the temple rituals pointed to Christ. God was preparing the Jewish nation for the coming of their Messiah. The Old Testament is also about the failure of man to please God or to keep the law. When the apostles preached the gospel it was always in the back ground of the Old Testament that reveals the fact that man is a sinner in need of a savior. The Pharisees missed this important point and tried to establish their own righteousness by trying to keep the law. They took the Ten Commandments and came up with over six hundred rules for holy living. Christ condemned them for doing this. The Bible is the word of God only in a secondary sense. The main purpose of the Bible is to be a witness for Jesus Christ who is the word of God.
The Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John reveal who Jesus Christ is. The Sermon on the Mount reveals the righteousness of Christ and the failure of man to keep the law. Example: Matthew 5:28. If you lust after a woman pluck out your eye or if you steal with your hand cut it off, for it is better that one of your members should perish than your whole body be cast into hell.
The Bible can be divided into two parts; that which tells you to do something, which is law, and that which has been done for you by Christ, which is gospel. The law says do. The gospel says done. The Bible was written under the law. It is a grave error to live according to scriptures like the Pharisees did. Christians are called to live by the spirit of Christ and not by the letter of the law. The word law and religion basically mean the same thing. To do the law is to do religion. To do religion is to do the law. When the apostle Paul exhorted Christians to live a holy life it was not for the sake of being holy, but it was for the sake of being a witness for Jesus Christ and the gospel.
The book of Acts is the results of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the effect that it had upon the apostles. The book of acts is not a model for today’s church. The most important part of the book of Acts is the gospel being revealed to the apostles through the power of the Holy Spirit. Up until the day of Pentecost the apostles had no idea what Christ had accomplished for them in his life, death and resurrection. The emphasis here is not the Holy Spirit, but the gospel being revealed to the apostles. The gospel is always accompanied by the Holy Spirit. The scripture says that after the day of Pentecost the apostles went into every house preaching the resurrection of Jesus Christ. They were not preaching the death of Christ for salvation. The emphasis was the resurrection.
The epistles, written mostly by the apostle Paul, reveal the gospel of Jesus Christ and the effect that it had upon the Jews and Gentiles. The whole Bible is basically about Christ and his gospel. If one does not understand the gospel, one will not understand the Bible. The book of Romans is probably the most important book in the Bible when it comes to doctrine, especially chapters 5 and 6. If you do not understand these two chapters, chances are you will not understand the gospel.
The trinity is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These are three separate entities of the Godhead, yet they are one. It is heresy to mix up the work of the trinity. The Father always remains in heaven. The Son is the savior, and the spirit reveals the gospel and works in and through the believer. The scripture does not indicate that the spirit saves or is the savior, nor does the Father save. All three are present in the trinity but their works are different. Example: Jesus said the father and I are one. The father and the spirit were present in Christ, but it was Christ who was the savior. The Holy Spirit does not save by making us holy. The work of Christ is a finished work. It is not good theology to teach that Christ is doing another work through the believer. The biblical emphasis is Christ at the right hand of God in heaven and not in the heart. The bible does not teach that the Holy Spirit or Christ can be received through invitational prayer. The bible teaches that the spirit is received by faith in Christ and his gospel.
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