I am starting a new thread on my blog. I’ve been thinking and praying about this for sometime. Recent discussions with several Muslims about their claim that “the Bible is corrupt” has caused me to search the scriptures over and over again. The question is, what is corrupt, and who corrupted it? They will point to a verse here or there. An inconsistent translation. However, when we look at the overall theme of the Bible – God’s plan for the redemption of mankind through His son Jesus Christ, a person is no longer dependent on a single verse. God built so much redundancy into His word that it is impossible to miss the message of the Bible if one will only look.
Perhaps the best known passage in the entire Bible is John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (NIV)
We used to see John 3:16 on posters in the end zone of football games. Tim Tebow has even put the verse on his face during football games. The verse is so popular that when quoted even to a non-believer or un-churched person, they immediately know it. An article that shows some pictures and more detail on this can be found online.
Here is an interesting exercise. Look up chapter 3, verse 16 in other books of the Bible. Now consider that the Bible needs to be read in context and expand your scope to see what the passage says. As I’ve done this, the central theme of the Bible is made even more clear. As an example, let’s expand the verses around John 3:16
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (John 3:16-21 NIV)
As we look at this, we need to consider what does it mean to believe in Him? Many will say that they believe in Jesus. However, they may take away his diety, make him a mere man or a prophet. These people then do not believe in the Jesus of the Bible. Verse 19 sheds light on why some people will never believe – they love sin more than they love the savior. Jesus himself says He is the light of the world. Therefore we know this verse (19) is referring to him. Finally, repentence is here in this passage as well. When a man comes into the light his deeds are exposed. He also works for God rather than hiding His sin from God.
The Gospel is plainly seen in these verses. Man can not be in God’s presnce because of sin. The only solution is to repent and trust the savior.
Please check back. My next post will look at Genesis 3:15-16 and then subsequent posts will walk through the 3:16’s of the Bible!
