If you’ve ever shared doubts with a Christian friend about whether you can know that you’ve received eternal life or will go to heaven one day, it’s likely they’ve read to you 1 John 5:13. That’s the verse which says, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” It’s a great verse of assurance that promises us that we can know that we have eternal life. There’s no need to be left guessing. The promise is made to those who believe in Jesus and it has calmed the fears of countless believers. I think it’s a great verse and it’s not wrong to share it with people who have doubts. The problem is that it can be read and applied too simplistically. That’s because it’s a summary statement that comes at the end of a 5-chapter book that has given a series of tests of true and false faith. And so 1 John 5:13 needs to be understood alongside those other tests. The book of 1 John gives at least four tests, alongside our faith in Jesus, that are given to reassure us of our salvation. Let me share them with you.
I remember a woman in one of my Bible studies in Japan who approached me, puzzled, one day. She said, “I don’t know what to do with the Bible. It contains stories that are so remarkable that they can’t be true. But it’s not written like any of our legends or myths. It reads like a collection of eye-witness accounts and historical records. How am I supposed to read it?” She was actually asking a very profound question. Whether people read the Bible or reject it, they often do so without considering what the Bible says about what kind of book it is. The Bible makes the following five claims about itself.
Sometimes, it feels like the people in biblical times had an inside scoop on faith and spirituality. We imagine that walking with Jesus and witnessing the events of his life, firsthand, would make us feel closer to Him. Yet often those people we envy are anything but models of faith. The disciples, for instance, astound us with their confusion, resistance, and lack of trust. There’s an important reason why. We need revelation more than we need experience. Take the episode of Jesus walking on the water. If we were there, it would have been memorable. But we may not have heard everything. We may not have understood everything. And even if we saw and heard everything, we may not have known what to make of it. We have something better than a view of this event, sitting by the 1st c. Sea of Galilee. We have revelation. God has given us in the gospels perfect accounts, not only recording the necessary historical details but giving us an authoritative interpretation of what we’re supposed to learn from them. Understanding this helps us to know how to read them.
Jesus said that the Scriptures pointed to Him but for a long time, I wasn’t sure how. It seemed as if the Bible mostly told stories about people like Noah, Moses, and David. How could they also be speaking of Jesus? I came to learn that one of the ways that the Old Testament points to Jesus is by laying down patterns that foreshadow Him. Those parallels can be seen clearly in the account of Daniel in the lion’s den.
I was someone who avoided the Psalms. I couldn’t figure out what to do with them. They don’t contain great stories or many commands, principles, or warnings. And there’s lots of repetition and emotion that feels like it gets in the way while you’re reading. But as I’ve continued to learn about them, I can now say that I love the Psalms. Let me share three things that helped me along the way.
People often assume that the temple is just an Old Testament church and essentially the same as the building Christians go to on Sunday, or they think it’s so foreign to their experience that they can’t relate to it at all. The temple is such a prominent theme in Scripture that having a sense of what it means and why it’s so significant helps in understanding the Bible's message.
Almost everybody has heard of the story of David and Goliath. It’s so well known that it’s become part of the English vocabulary and a way of referring to any showdown involving an underdog facing insurmountable odds. But what is the story about? What does it mean? And how do we apply its message? Getting these questions right can help open up our understanding of many other parts of Scripture. Let’s consider the message as it’s told in 1 Samuel 17.
We love biographies of successful business people, great inventors, and glamorous celebrities. When we read stories about people in the Bible, we tend to read them in the same way. We assume that the central figure must be a hero, and we look for ways to imitate them. But that usually isn’t a great strategy.
Most people read the Bible for practical principles and spiritual encouragement. When you come to a section like the plagues of Egypt, you find neither. How are you supposed to read sections like this and what can you learn from them?
There are some great stories in the Bible. And there are some important life lessons. For many people, the life of Joseph is one of their favourite portions of Scripture. We learn about God’s presence in conflict, how He shapes us through adversity, and the power of forgiveness. The biblical account seems ready-made for a biography. And it can be profitably enjoyed at this level. But if that’s our grid for reading all of Scripture, there will be many things that don’t make sense and we can miss some important truths that God is trying to communicate to us. As you grow in your reading of Scripture, it’s helpful to look for the ‘big story’ even as you’re enjoying the ‘little stories.’ The big story is the overarching story that often can be traced through a book of the Bible as well as the entirety of the Scriptures. Let me explain how this works with the story of Joseph.
