How Does the Bible Relate to My Life?

Is the Bible a Guide for Life?

Scripture References

Primary text

• Genesis 1
• 2 Timothy 3:16
• John 17:17

Other references

• John 14:23-26
• Psalm 91

Overview

The teaching starts with a flood of doubts—violence, sacrifice, outdated laws—and insists those questions are welcome. From there it walks through Israel’s covenant law, shows how Jesus fulfills it, and argues that every command can be summed up in loving God and loving others. Two first-hand stories (a poet-scholar and a combat veteran) testify that wrestling with Scripture can restore faith and heal trauma because the Bible is “God-breathed,” living, and still speaks with power today.

Main Points

Questions draw us closer to God

• Admitting “I don’t know” is not off-limits; pursuit matters more than tidy answers.

• “God tells us everything we need to know, but not necessarily everything we want to know.”

• The Bible invites investigation rather than blind acceptance.

Why the Old Testament law looks strange

• Israel’s covenant was like a marriage: God rescues, then gives terms that mark them as His.
• Only sample laws are recorded, woven between stories that expose Israel’s continual failure.
• Ritual symbols (mixed fabrics, animal sacrifices) set Israel apart from death, disease, and surrounding cultures.
• Moral commands express God’s justice because every human bears His image.
• Illustration: The Bible Project dialogue about fabrics, sacrifices, and exile highlights how the laws reveal both God’s wisdom and Israel’s weakness.

Jesus fulfills the covenant and centers everything on love

• God’s character never changes; sending Jesus completes the original promise to bless the world.
• Jesus reduces 600+ commands to two active verbs: love God, love people—“all others, all the time.”
• Loving others means refusing anything un-loving (adultery, murder, lying, trolling, 2 a.m. noise retaliation).
• Simpler does not mean easier; radical, others-first love “will wreck your world in the best way.”

Scripture is God-breathed and reliable — David’s story

• Story: A Bible-major lost confidence in Scripture after academic doubts, even while still in ministry.
  • Gave God an ultimatum while commissioned to write a poem titled “I Believe in the Scriptures.”
  • Genesis 1 and 2 Timothy 3:16 linked God’s breath in creation to His breath in the written Word, breaking the stalemate.
  • Scholarly evidence plus fresh faith let him “put both feet firmly on the Word of God.”
  • The poem’s public reading ignited a room to applaud the beauty and reliability of God’s Word, not the performer.
  • Doors opened for worldwide Bible-translation work; an Indian woman hearing Genesis 1–3 in her language said, “I always knew there was one true God… but I didn’t know it in my heart until I heard it in my language.”

Handle Scripture wisely, never weaponize it

• Knowing the Bible is not for winning arguments or justifying desires.
• Satan’s temptation of Jesus (quoting Psalm 91) shows how out-of-context verses can be a trap; Jesus answers with Scripture in proper context.
• Cherry-picking twists truth and harms people.

Living power: Scripture renews minds and heals hearts

• Story: A returning soldier with PTSD couldn’t read; the Bible App’s audio let him absorb Scripture.
  • Nightly listening rebuilt faith, brought emotional and physical healing, and restored purpose.
• Media changes, struggles don’t—envy, fear, anger, comparison are timeless.
• God’s unchanging Word rewires thinking, offers peace, and guides wise choices.

Key Truths

• Honest questions about the Bible are invitations, not threats, to deeper faith.
• Old Testament laws were covenant symbols and justice guidelines, fulfilled—not discarded—by Jesus.
• All commands funnel into active, sacrificial love for God and every neighbor.
• Scripture is “God-breathed”—alive, reliable, and able to transform those who engage it.
• Misusing or de-contextualizing verses mirrors the enemy’s tactics and undermines true discipleship.

Response

• Bring your hardest Bible questions to God instead of hiding them.
• Read (or listen to) Scripture regularly, asking how each passage points to loving God and people.
• Reject any action or attitude that fails the “Is this loving?” test.
• Study context before quoting a verse; refuse to weaponize Scripture.
• Share the Word in accessible forms—translations, audio, creative pieces—so others can encounter its life-giving breath.

Closing

The message ends by reminding us that technology, culture, and media may shift, but human hearts still need the same truth. Scripture stands as a trustworthy, time-tested revelation of God’s love and justice, capable of renewing minds and healing wounds today.

“This is the living, active breath of God… it is true, it is real, it is reliable, and it’s changing lives.”

Resources

• The Bible Project (video explanations of biblical themes)
• Poem: “I Believe in the Scriptures” (by David)
• YouVersion Bible App (audio and reading plans)