God's Big Picture
Tracing the story-line of the Bible
by Vaughan Roberts
IVP 2002
Many of us today know very little of what the Bible says. Even followers of Christ can be ignorant of large parts of the Bible. We may see it as little more than a collection of spiritually encouraging quotations; we may have our favorite stories, to which we return repeatedly. If we have had any kind of theological education, we may have been taught to view the Bible as a collection of sixty-six books, each with its own message, but with no central, over-arching theme.
In "God's Big Picture" Vaughan Roberts helps us to see the Bible as one book, with one author (God) and one consistent theme - God's kingdom - God's people, living in God's place, under God's rule and blessing. In taking this approach, Roberts is consciously indebted to Graeme Goldsworthy.
This is a short book (less than 160 pages), and well worth the time it takes to read. There are eight main chapters:
- The pattern of the kingdom - Adam and Eve in Eden
- The perished kingdom - the fall
- The promised kingdom - God's promises to the fathers of the nation of Israel - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
- The partial kingdom
- The prophesied kingdom - the prophets in the Old Testament
- The Present Kingdom - the kingdom of God comes in reality in the person of Jesus Christ
- The proclaimed kingdom - the worldwide spread of the Good News of Jesus Christ
- The Perfected kingdom - God's kingdom will finally come in visible power and glory.
The key principle Roberts develops for understanding the Bible as one book with one message is that the whole Bible points to Jesus Christ - the Old Testament as well as New Testament. After he was raised from the dead, Jesus appeared to two of his followers as they journeyed from Jerusalem to Emmaus. The Bible says that he "explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself." (Luke chapter 24 verse 27). Of course, "all the Scriptures" for them at that time meant our Old Testament - the New Testament was not yet written.
In his introduction, Roberts says:
I mentioned the prodigal son to an Oxford student recently. He looked blankly at me. The average non-Christian is almost completely ignorant of the contents of the Bible. It remains the world's best-selling book: one and a quarter million copies are sold in the UK alone every year. But although many have a copy on their shelves, very few ever read it.
The knowledge of Christians is often not much better. We all have our favorite passages, but much of Scripture remains uncharted territory, especially the Old Testament. If we are honest, we find it outdated and rather un-Christian at times. What have dietary laws, animal sacrifices and the temple got to do with Jesus Christ? And what about the exodus from Egypt, David and Goliath, and Daniel in the lion's den? They are great stories, but what relevance have they got for us today? I hope this book will answer those questions, or at least give you a framework that will enable you to answer them for yourself. Its aim is to help Christian to find their way around the Bible and to see how it all holds together and points us to Jesus. (Page 14)
'God's Big Picture' helps us to see how the Bible fits together as one book, one story, one 'big picture' centered on Jesus Christ. This should equip us to point people to Christ from any part of the Bible, rather than from just a few favorite passages.
However, Roberts' aim is more than just to give us a better understanding of the Bible's message. It is also to affect our hearts and wills. He says:
It would be a terrible thing if a deeper knowledge of the Bible affected only our heads and not our hearts. The Bible is a relational book, which the Holy Spirit uses to help us grow in the knowledge and love of God through Jesus Christ. (Page 153-4)
Roberts goes on to say that this book
will have failed if it leaves its author and readers growing only in intellectual understanding. Let us make sure we do not make the mistake of the Pharisees, who diligently studied the Scriptures and yet refused to come to Jesus to have life (John 5:39-40). As we learn about Christ from the whole Bible, let us determine to love, honor, worship and obey him. (Page 155-6)
Vaughan Roberts is Rector of St. Ebbe's Church, Oxford. He is also a popular speaker at Spring Harvest.
To order from the UK, go here.
(Apparently not yet available in the USA)