Him, We Proclaim, From the Scriptures (Acts 13:13-43)

I love the Bible. I trust it as totally true, the very words of God. I hope you do, too. But, the Bible can actually get in the way of faith if we don't understand what God is trying to do with it. The religious leaders of Israel would have sworn by their allegiance to the Scriptures but Jesus rebukes them sternly about their faith-killing way of relating to God's Word. He says in John 5:39, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me." The Jews had lost sight of the point of the Bible. It had become an end to itself and it had become the means of their justification. From the beginning, God's Word was pointing God's people to the Messiah, and that Messiah is Jesus of Nazareth. When you get that, the Truly True Bible comes alive. It is all of grace. It is all of love. The whole Bible is whole Gospel showing us whole salvation through the Holy Savior. I say all that because we see Paul preaching the Word, showing the people Christ, knowing that is what the Spirit uses to save. And we should follow suit.