Stop Looking to the Bible for Fortune-Cookie Wisdom

The Bible Is More than a Manual

I think a lot of times we approach the Bible as a self-help manual for the human life; we’ll treat it as little pieces of fortune-cookie wisdom. I’m going to dive into Proverbs and pull out this piece of truth, then I’ll dive into Genesis and pull out another, Leviticus and pull out another.

When everything looks hopeless and dark beyond repair, light shines. The Son of God shows up and saves humanity.

That will give you a certain idea of God as just somebody who’s there to dispense fortune-cookie wisdom. But I think if you understand that the Bible—from start to finish—is the epic story of the history of humanity and God’s dealings with humanity, and you read it in that fashion with those eyes, the glory of God shines through so brightly.

You see how, at various stages in the story, he has acted to offer grace and mercy to humanity and they’ve slapped his hand back over and over again. And yet, again and again he offers it until at the very end, when everything looks hopeless and dark beyond repair, light shines. The Son of God shows up and saves humanity.

If you read the Bible in that story, by the time that moment comes, you are so thirsty for intervention from God that it just feels like a drink of cold water in your mouth. It’s amazing.

Greg Gilbert (MDiv, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is senior pastor at Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of What Is the Gospel?; James: A 12-Week Study; and Who Is Jesus?; and is the coauthor of What Is the Mission of the Church? Greg and his wife, Moriah, have three children.