{"id":1732,"date":"2025-08-29T19:15:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T19:15:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2025\/08\/29\/the-bible-is-more-than-a-book-to-know\/"},"modified":"2025-08-29T19:15:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T19:06:59","slug":"the-bible-is-more-than-a-book-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/the-bible-is-more-than-a-book-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bible Is More Than a Book to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you ever heard someone use the phrase back in Bible times<\/em>? That expression has always bothered me. I understand what people mean by it, but I want to shout, \u201cWe are still living in Bible times!\u201d The same God who interacted with his people back then continues to invite participation in his story today. The same Jesus Christ the disciples saw rise to the heavens in order to take his rightful place on the throne still reigns and rules from there today. The same Holy Spirit who poured out on the disciples at Pentecost is still being poured out by King Jesus as he builds his church today.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book we preach as pastors is not a story from a long time ago and a galaxy far, far away. It is the story of this<\/em> world, just as relevant today as it was all those years ago.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We live in a time of innumerable false or disorienting stories. But there is only one true story: the one told in the Bible. Maybe some of your people have never thought of it that way. Perhaps they were taught to see the Bible as a list of rules to make them good people. Maybe they were taught it is a collection of inspirational teachings or a systematic theology reference guide. While each of these offers something profitable, none of them captures the heart. The Bible is a story, one comprehensive narrative about what God has accomplished for sinners through the person and work of Jesus Christ.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And your church lives inside it. So do you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve been born into a cosmic drama that started well before any of us were born and will continue into eternity\u2014all of which is found in this one true, unified story. Scripture is not primarily a list of rules (though it does tell us what to do and what to not do). It is not a compilation of various teachings or even a textbook. It is a drama. And we are not mere spectators. We\u2019ve been invited to participate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is discipleship: learning to follow Christ as a participant in this story.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to truly participate, we must identify and remove the false stories we are living so we can put on the better one. That\u2019s true for our congregations, and it\u2019s true for us as preachers of this story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If we want people to grow as disciples of Jesus, their stories must be rescripted by his Spirit, edited to follow the contours of Scripture and written so they may participate.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we cannot participate in the Bible\u2019s story if we don\u2019t know it. Actors playing a part cannot perform a script they don\u2019t know. Put simply, we can\u2019t live in the story of Scripture if we don\u2019t know the story of Scripture.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sadly, many in our churches are doing just that\u2014trying to live a story they don\u2019t know. According to the 2022 State of Theology<\/a> research produced by Ligonier Ministries and Lifeway Research, evangelicals believe the following about the Bible:<\/p>\n\n\n\n