Reading the Bible, Part 6

Let us review where we have been:

1. The first reason you should read the Bible is that its central figure is a man named Jesus of Nazareth, who made claims that are extraordinary. One claim he made was that he would die and rise again from the dead.

2. The second reason you should read the Bible is because it explains many things in the world that others have no good explanation for.

3. The third reason you should read the Bible is because it covers all the really important events of world history.

4. The fourth reason you should read the Bible is because so many people and institutions do not want you to read it.

5. The fifth reason you should read the Bible is that its central character, Jesus Christ, claimed to be the son of God. In so doing, he actually claimed to be God in the flesh.

Maybe you have a problem with one of those points? Try this: suspend disbelief for the time being and take them at face value. Then move on to point #6 and think about it for a while.

The sixth reason you should read the Bible is that it explains why you do bad things and why everyone else does too. These things are called by the term "sin" in the Bible. The Bible states the fact that all people do bad things. For example, Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned." Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, "For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin."

The Bible explains that the tendency to sin comes from our parents, through their parents, and their parents, all the way back to the first man and woman in the garden of Eden. God gave them a command to do certain things and not do certain other things, and they chose to rebel against God (Genesis 2:17, 3:1-24). All of humanity has been in a state of rebellion and sin ever since then. Therefore, while we recognize that our parents have given us many good things, there is one bad thing they gave us, and that is the tendency to sin.

The natural consequence of sin is death. Sin is the ultimate reason for death of every sort, whether by cancer or accident or heart failure or just "old age."

Do you agree that you have this "sin" problem?

We will see next time a seventh reason you should read the Bible is that it tells of Jesus, who said that He was the only way to have our sins washed away so that we can win the battle against sin and death.