The Bible is a Story, not a Manual

Adapted and Inspired from Pagan Christianity? by Frank Viola and George Barna.

Have you ever done any of the following with your Bible?

• Look for verses that inspire you and highlight, memorize, or meditate on them.
• Look for verses that tell you what God has promised so that you can confess it in faith and thereby obligate the Lord to do what you want.
• Look for verses that tell you what God commands you to do.
• Look for verses to quote to the devil or resist him in temptation.
• Look for verses that will prove your particular doctrine.
• Look for verses to control or correct others.
• Look for verses that "preach" well and make good sermon material.
• Flip open to a random page and take what you've read as a "word" from the Lord.

No doubt we've all done one or more of these.  The problem is that these methods encourage treating the Bible like a manual instead of a story, thus blinding us to the real message.

To really understand the New Testament, one has to become familiar with the whole story from beginning to end.  Once the story is learned, verses must bow and bend to it.  This is when you learn what Christianity is, not by pulling verses out of the Bible and applying meaning to them.

The 2nd man united blog summarizes and discusses great Christian books for those who wish they could read more. It is written by 2nd man united, a Christian pop/alternative band that educates its fans in the Christian life through music, the blog, podcasts, videos and more.  Sign up now for the 2nd man united e-mail newsletter and receive FREE exclusive content for subscribers.

Follow 2^nd man united on Twitter

2nd man united on Facebook