Walk Through the Bible

Passage: Genesis 1:1-4

Genesis is the inspired revelation of God to His people.  As God’s revelation it is authoritative.  We are not dealing with just any document from antiquity.  Perhaps more than any other book in the Bible this one has been maligned and discredited and mocked and completely dismissed by most academic elites.

Genesis was written by Moses around 1500BC to recount the story of God’s people before they go into the Promised Land.  The God who created the universe and all that is in it, is the God who created Israel.  They see what kind of God has created them, called them into existence, how powerful His Word is.

If creation all around us displays the glory of God (Psalm 19), then how much more the account of the origin of that creation in Genesis.

Israel is reminded everything all the pagan nations around them worship, God made.  Sun, moon, stars, animals, rivers, mountains.  And God destroyed all the gods of Egypt and Canaan.  How foolish to worship anyone or anything but God.  God is the creator, sustainer, Lawgiver and redeemer.

Genesis begins with the most profound statement ever written and perhaps the most offensive statement in the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  This marks the absolute beginning of everything.  This becomes the foundation for understanding everything else in the Bible.  Since everything exists by God, everything exists for Him, for His glory.

Genesis doesn’t begin with Adam and Eve, it begins with God.  Genesis (which means beginnings) begins God’s Story, His Story.  God is the author of creation and of the Bible and He is the hero of every story.

Everything that is, is only because of the sovereign creative act of God.  From beginning to end Genesis emphasizes God’s sovereign majesty and authority over all creation and over all history and over all peoples.  God is the author, the subject, the actor.

 Genesis is the book of beginnings.

Passage: II Peter 1:19-21; I Peter 1:23-25

Tonight we will fly over the whole Bible, or the Bible as a whole.  Then starting next week we will fly over the 66 books of the Bible one at a time.  We will start with the really big picture and then 66 sort of big pictures.

The Bible is an utterly unique book, it really is in a class by itself, there is no other book even remotely close to it.  It is unique for several different reasons.

First of all it is a collection of 66 different books of all kinds of genres of literature.  It is made up of histories, poetry, law, proverbs, prophecies, Gospels, personal letters, and apocalyptic literature.

It is written by 40 authors of different cultures, backgrounds, education, occupations including kings, peasants, shepherds, doctors, fishermen, tax collectors, scholars, all writing in a vast variety of locations including wilderness, dungeon, palace, prison, wilderness, dungeon, palace, prison, wilderness, dungeon, palace, prison, in exile, at home, in exile on an island.

It is written over a period of 1600 years, from 1500 BC by Moses to 100 AD by John.  It is written in three languages Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic; on three continents, Europe, Asia and Africa.

It is written in different times: war, peace, poverty, prosperity, freedom and slavery, reflecting a wide range of moods and emotions from the heights of joy to the depths of despair

What would you expect from a book written by such a diverse group of people in such a diverse set of circumstances over so long a period of time?  So if someone claims there is one single theme in the Bible, would you believe it?  How could such a thing be possible?

Don’t people say the Bible is filled with contradictions?  Isn’t the God of the OT different from the God of the NT?  How can you reconcile all the differences, the terrible wars and atrocities of the OT with the message of Jesus and His love in the NT?

Can there be any hope of finding unity in the whole Bible?