The Bible is...
The Bible is a book on love (John 15:12). It is a book on how to love your neighbor as yourself (Gal. 5:13-14), how to love God and how to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Jesus was constantly doing good each day to please the Father (Acts 10:38). He gave us a clear example of how easily this can be done (Matt. 11:30). He fed the hungry, He healed the sick, He helped the needy and He forgave sinners (Matt. 25:31-40). Jesus was constantly doing acts of kindness and charity.
Why did Jesus Christ live this way? He was glorifying the Father by doing good works (Matt. 5:16). He was overcoming evil by doing good (Rom. 12:21; Rev. 5:5; John 16:33). He was learning obedience to the Father by disciplining Himself according to godliness (Heb. 5:8; Titus 1:1). As a result of His daily actions of righteousness, the Father was able to perfect Him (Heb. 5:9). He endured suffering for doing what was right continually (1 Peter 4:1), and He endured to the end.
Jesus, in every respect, showed the successive stages of spiritual growth. He was baptized. He received the Spirit. He was made weak. He was tempted by Satan. He continued to obey God. He was persecuted for doing good. He suffered for doing good. He endured to the end as an example of good works for God’s glory. He told us to do the same. He died for our sins that we might live righteously as He lived, and He gave His life to show us how to live righteously before God in an ungodly world each day.
The word of God is a book that tells how to get the most out of life. It explains how to live forever and how to be God’s friend. The Bible defines sin and righteousness. It demonstrates how to be prosperous. It is a book of wisdom that teaches us how to do God’s Will on this earth as it is done in heaven.
The Bible is a spiritual book. It was written by the Spirit of God as God moved men to write it. It is a book that cannot be understood by those who won’t live it. The Bible is revealed knowledge by God to individuals who live holy lives. Unless you live a holy life before God each day and study, not read, it to show yourself approved to God (2 Tim. 2:15), your understanding of the Bible will always remain incomplete.
When you live to please God each day by doing the things He would have you do, you are considered holy, righteous, saved, born again, sanctified, justified, sinless, godly and upright. By imitating the way Jesus lived daily, you are in Christ. When you continue to abide in Jesus Christ, you are clothed with His righteousness.
You build godly character in your life by serving others for God in secret (Matt. 6:1), helping the elderly, the lonely, the blind, the lowly, the orphan, the widow, or those who have no one to help them. You are considered righteous by God because you are practicing righteousness toward others as God’s word commands (1 John 3:7, 10, 18; Col. 3:17).
Do you know why God doesn’t allow most people who read the Bible to understand it? Do you know why the gospel is veiled and hidden by God, who is allowing Satan to blind people’s minds from truly understanding the gospel (2 Cor. 4:3-4)? If you were blinded, you would have no sin. But when you are allowed to see what the truth is and you do not live it, your sins remain and could cost you your salvation (John 12:47-48). Therefore, God has shut up all in disobedience that He might have mercy on all. Oh, the depth and riches and wisdom of God (Rom. 11:32-33).
Jesus said, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin” (John 15:22). He was referring to sin leading to eternal death. But now they have no excuse for their sin. Now we can see that those who understand the message of the kingdom of heaven no longer have an excuse for their sins. Whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil that is over his eyes is removed (2 Cor. 3:16). What a message. What a truth!
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