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As a pastor, I enjoy keeping track of top selling Christian books. Paying attention to the ebb and flow of popular topics and authors gives me a pulse reading on the interests of those in my church and in the body of Christ here in America. It seems that every now and then, a book comes along that strikes a chord within the Christian community. It not only becomes a best seller, but it reaches a "must-have" status. You can tell when a book has reached this pinnacle because a cottage industry is built around it. Excerpts are drawn from the book to create calendars, cards and even study Bibles. Of course, copycat books abound.
Most of the must-haves are excellent. My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers and Henrietta Mears' What the Bible Is All About are time-tested favorites. For anyone interested in church ministry, Rick Warren's book, The Purpose-Driven Church, is a recently written must-have.
The one thing that every Christian should know, and that every Christian should be assured of, is that God is a God of history. God has always revealed himself as a God of history. Beginning in the Old Testament, and culminating in the New Testament, God charges people to remember history.
Consider how God revealed Himself at Mount Sinai when He gave the Ten Commandments. God did not introduce Himself in theological terms "I am the omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient God of the universe." God did not introduce Himself in religious terms "I am God, and I am a Baptist." God did not introduce Himself in political terms "I am God, and I am a Democrat." Of course, that goes without saying. When God introduced Himself, he used historical terms. God said "I am the Lord God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage."
Remembering history is at the heart of Jewish faith in the Old Testament. Why that matters to every believer is because the Jewish faith of the Old Testament is the foundation of the Christian faith in the New Testament. History is at the heart of that faith. Much to the chagrin of many seminary professors everywhere, God did not give us a Bible of systematic theology. If you look in the table of contents in any Bible, you will not find books entitled Ecclesiology, Christology, Bibliology, Pneumatology, or Theology Proper. As valuable as systematizing our theology may be, God gave us a Bible that focuses on history.
We may not be able to understand how God works. We may not be able to understand why God works. But we can understand that God does indeed work. That is why it is important for every Christian to know the history of the Bible. Through the history of the Bible, we witness God working in the lives of His people. It is vital to our faith that we remember.
Like the Jewish faith of the Old Testament, Christianity is a religion of history. It is Christianity, not modern day Judaism that truly builds upon the Jewish faith of the Old Testament. Judaism relies upon the teachings and interpretations of Jewish scholars and writings. Christianity relies upon the Scriptures alone. The central truth of the Old Testament is that God was working to bring about the Promised Messiah. The central truth of the New Testament is the Promised Messiah is found in Jesus Christ. Both Testaments are all about history, the history of God’s love and God’s faithfulness to His people.Do you want to have confidence that God is able? Then learn history. Do you need strength to help you through the challenges of life? Then learn history. Learning the history of the Bible takes our eyes off of ourselves, and it puts the focus where it should be, on God. It doesn’t require a PhD to understand that God fulfills His Promises. You don’t have to know Hebrew, Greek or Latin. Adults and children can learn it. God planned it that way.
So what is the best way to learn Biblical history? Should one simply pick up a Bible, start in Genesis and read through the book of Revelation? That is one way of learning, but I don’t believe it is the best way. Let me explain. The Bible tells us that God gave pastors and teachers to help people grow in their faith. Use them. To take the position that all one needs for spiritual growth is a Bible and the Holy Spirit is to take an unbiblical position. Collectively, we make up the body of Christ. Collectively, we have all the spiritual gifts needed to reach maturity. So use what the good Lord gave you. Use the body of Christ. Turn towards those who have the spiritual gift of teaching. Attend their classes, read their books, listen to their tapes.
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| For the Layman: A Survey of the New Testament Kenneth F. Levy / Great Expectations Co / 1994 |
If you learn the basic information from any of the above studies, you will know more about biblical history than ninety-five percent of the Christians you meet. The following books and tapes provide more information than one can remember. The danger of starting with this material is that the reader can become overloaded with information before learning the fundamentals. Nonetheless, the basics are well presented and the remainder of the material serves as a wonderful resource for your library. God’s Masterwork is a multi-album tape set by Charles Swindoll that comes with a series of workbooks. What the Bible is all About by Henrietta Mears is excellent, as is The Holman Bible Atlas by Thomas Brisco.
The most important aspect of biblical history is that you own it. Abraham is the father of all the faithful. He is an ancestor of Jesus Christ. Everyone who calls him or herself a “Christian” shares in that ancestry. Remember your roots. Learn the history of your spiritual ancestors. Own it. It is provided for your spiritual strength and encouragement. No spiritual gift, discipline or personal study will help you more in your walk with God than simply remembering His love and faithfulness through the ages. That is the one thing that every Christian needs to know.
