Question: How do biblical texts apply to modern society?

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If you prefer to read, below is Deacon Tom’s Answer:

Thank you for this great question!  If I could rephrase it…what does this 2000 year old book have to do with life in the 21^st century anyway?

First of all, I would have to say you have to think about what the Bible is not…

It is not – a history textbook; (show history book) it is not a single book that someone sat down and wrote 2000 years ago.  It is not a super-secret book that only a few really, really, smart people can read and understand. (show old Bible)

So, what is it?

• It is a collection of 73 books written by different authors, over several centuries in three different languages. (show picture of the 73 books?)
• It is the story of God’s interaction with people over history told with a key focus in mind…the God created us, God loves us, and God wants to share our journey with us

Knowing that key fundamental, we can now look at what the question I think is asking – how does one find and use key bible texts to help us live the life that God wants us to?

3 key things:

1.  Read it!! It is not meant to be a coffee table book!  I remember as a child, we had a family bible and we were told not to touch or open it because it is sacred.  This is not the purpose.  How are we to find out about God’s love if we don’t read what he has told us through the writers that He has sent His message to?
2.  Study it. By that I mean that when we read a verse, or a paragraph or a chapter, we need to think about 2 key things
   1.  When was this written, in what context, with what culture, with what focus in mind – this helps us to understand the message that God is trying to convey and not the literal word by word.
   2.  How does this fit in with the rest of the Bible – one line in one book may contradict something written somewhere else. Example? Harshness, mercy, sin??
   3.  You may want to get a Study Bible to learn more (show Bible)
3. Use it! When read with prayer, great insights can help us on how to live our lives, for example:
   1. Frustrated with God and things always going wrong – read Job
   2. You want to learn how to live a virtuous life – read Proverbs
   3. You want to know how to deal with the ups and downs of emotions through life – read Psalms
   4. You want to know how God interacts with us personally – read the gospels

In summary, biblical texts mean as much today as they have over the past 2000 years and a daily scripture verse or reading is a great way to learn about God, ourselves and the journey of faith.

God has given us the collection of books, letters, poems and writings in order to show us how much He loves us, and that is the context with which we need to read and pray with them.