I’ve always liked to read. From as early as I can remember, books were a part of our family. But the Bible was always one book that I struggled with. Honestly, I just really didn’t know what to do with it. I would sit down to read and I’d make it through a few chapters before I’d start to snooze. Feeling guilty, I’d grit my teeth and try again…not much better.
I knew the Bible was important. I knew the Bible was different from any other kind of book. But I didn’t really understand it.
Having talked with a fair number of you, I’m just guessing that maybe, sometimes, you feel the same way. So, over the next few weeks (and maybe longer), I’d like to spend some time here talking about the Bible – what it is, why it matters, where it comes from, who wrote it, can it be trusted, etc. And I would love to answer some of your questions directly. If you have a question about the Bible or something in it, send me an email here and I’ll work on addressing it in a future installment.
For today though, I want to consider very briefly what kind of book the Bible actually is. Most of us have heard that the Bible is the bestselling book in human history…which is objectively true. As of 1995 (the last time anyone apparently tried to estimate this sort of thing), roughly 5 billion copies of the Bible had been printed and sold. Somewhere over 90% of Americans report owning at least one copy of the Bible. The Bible has been printed in over 2,100 languages. In all the various languages, there are over 80,000 different versions available. YouVersion (the Bible app on the iTunes store) has been downloaded over 100 million times…
To me, those numbers are pretty staggering. And though they do not tell us what the Bible is, they do tell us that a great many people recognize its importance even if they do not fully comprehend why.
The word “Bible” comes to us in modern English from the Latin biblia which was itself a derivation of the Greek ta biblia meaning ‘the books’. And here is where we must make our first key observation. The Bible is not a book. It is a compilation of at least 66 various books from somewhere around 40 authors. Most scholars would conservatively say that the Bible was written down (it was originally passed orally through the generations, which was ironically more accurate in the ancient world) over the course of 1,000 or more years. Its genres include poetry, biography, songs, prayers, history, prophecy, legal codes, letters, and proverbs.
The real miracle in all this is that a series of books with such diverse genres and authors could have such coherence and such a consistent message. When we consider the Bible, we need to recognize that from beginning to end, Old Testament and New, this is one story. From Adam to Abraham to Israel through to Jesus and the early church, the Biblical story tells how the One God created and is working the process of New Creation and Redemption in human history.
And if any of that seems like a stretch for you, you should read it sometime. In about 15 minutes a day, you can make it through the entire Bible in a year. The average person spends about 12 times that amount online in a given day. Don’t feel guilty though – we live in a culture that is not conditioned to think deeply and pay attention to people or things much older than us. If this touches you in some way, just commit to walking a different path in the future. Jesus isn’t in the condemnation and shame business. Besides, we all start somewhere!
So, to round out our thoughts for the day, I’d like to leave you with the words of one of the last (but not the least, though he would say he was) contributors to the great Biblical story, the Apostle Paul: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16–17, NIV)
Or, as we say just about every week, it’s the Word of God for us, the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
I hope y’all have a great week. Thanks for hanging with me on this one. And if you have any particular questions you’d like me to address – send them my way here!
Praying for you today,
Pastor Steve
