11th August 2025

‘The Chosen’ is one of my favourite television shows; I love how they have created believable background stories for many of the stories we see in the Gospels. But what intrigues me in almost every show is when the disciples are talking among themselves and sharing passages of Scripture. Bibles were not available to them; scrolls were kept in the synagogues. Yet, as depicted on the show, these men were able to quote long passages of Scripture.

This was because Jewish males were encouraged to memorise the Torah, beginning at age five. Classes were held in the synagogue. Many went past the Torah to also study the writings and the prophets. As a result, some had much of the Old Testament memorised. They valued and loved the written word. 

How important is the Bible? While I can argue that the Bible is not needed for salvation, which is obvious because thousands became Christ followers without the Bible, I believe the Bible is an important gift from God.

Some have questioned Paul’s statement to his young protégé, Timothy, when he said:

‘All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.’ (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NRSVA) All Scripture? Does this mean that every word of the Bible is infallible? That every story is exact in its details? Can the answer to every question be found in the Bible? No, that would be silly. People reproduced and translated the scriptures, and people make mistakes. Further, there are topics the Bible doesn’t cover; it wasn’t meant to provide the answer to every question. However, the Bible is fully authoritative for all matters of faith and salvation.

The Bible was meant to point to Jesus and to the kingdom of God. The Old Testament is story after story of God’s faithfulness, albeit written by humans in particular cultures and with their personal perspective of what they were experiencing or how they were being inspired. So, while all Scripture is breathed by God, it doesn’t mean every word, jot, tittle and punctuation mark were written with God’s hand.

Here are a few reasons I believe the Bible is one of the greatest gifts:

• It reveals an eternal, triune God who is perfect and through the Spirit will convict the world that rejection of Jesus is the basic sin, that righteousness is imputed from Jesus alone, and Jesus has the final word on judgment.
• It reveals a God who is faithful, who operates out of his love for us, who had a plan for us from the very beginning, and who guaranteed his plan would be fulfilled by sacrificing himself.
• It reveals a God who is our Abba/Father, our Saviour/elder brother/friend, and our Comforter/Teacher who lives in us.
• It shows us how to live — ‘love others as I have loved you.’
• It gives us direction — Great Commandment/Great Commission.
• It teaches us how to have right relationships, esteeming others better than ourselves.
• It shows real people going through real struggles, encouraging us that God loves us through all we go through.
• It shows God fulfills his promises — he can be trusted, counted on, and believed.
• It reminds us of our true identity — saints, beloved, redeemed children of God.

As Paul told Timothy, the Bible is profitable for teaching on a myriad of topics, but primarily about who Jesus is, who we are in him, and where our future lies. It is profitable for reproving and correcting. God doesn’t leave us in a blame game; he corrects us so we can learn the next step, that the Bible is profitable for training in righteousness, to help us grow in grace and knowledge.

This is a slightly edited version of an article that was first published on 21 May 2025 in the GCI Update https://update.gci.org 

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