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I’ve never had this conversation word-for-word. But I have had this conversation a hundred times before in different forms:

  • Person: “Do you know what the Bible means? Believers’ instructions before leaving earth.”

  • Me: “Oh! Is it an acronym? I didn’t know that!”

  • Person: “Yes! Everything God wants from people is in this book. God wants you to live a good life.”

There’s plenty to affirm: God has desires for people, God wants us to live a good life (though we need to talk about what that means), and He’s communicated His desires through Scripture.

The Bible, however, is way more than just instructions. In fact, sometimes the Bible gives instructions to people in certain circumstances that just don’t apply to us anymore in the same way because of covenantal contexts. How should we read it then? Wanting to apply the Bible isn’t wrong—but application must flow from what God is doing in the text. What happens when we read the Bible as a simple list of people to imitate or patterns to avoid?

· Jesus slowly disappears: The Bible miraculously becomes more about us, and less about Jesus Christ.

· Reading becomes exhausting: Every passage feels and reads like another command.

· Grit trumps grace: Scripture is turned into a scoreboard instead of Gospel good news.

There’s got to be a better way.

What is Redemptive-Historical Reading?

Redemptive-Historical Reading offers a better way. It simply means reading each passage as part of God’s plan to save the world culminating in Jesus!

Think about Matthew 5:17-18.[1] The Law isn’t just a moral standard; it’s a witness. When Jesus says that He fulfills the Law, He doesn’t mean He merely obeys it better than anyone. He means the Law was always pointing beyond itself—to Him and His work as Savior! Instead of asking first, “What should I do?” this approach is more interested in asking:

  • What is God doing here?

  • Where does this passage/story sit in the larger story of the Bible?

  • How does this passage move God’s redemptive plan forward more and more?

  • How does it point readers to Jesus?

We’re assuming quite a bit here. The Bible has one divine Author, the Author has one primary focus in mind, and the Author wants to communicate that focus to people. And He does through the story of Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture tells one coherent story:

  • Creation: God designed the world and humanity for His glory and our joy. The way this is accomplished ultimately is by us living in loving relationship with Him and one another.

  • Fall: Our sin has fractured God’s good creation, separating us from Him. Sin has brought brokenness to every domain of life.

  • Redemption: God promised to step into our brokenness and rescue us from our sin. He sought to restore us to a relationship with Him. He does this through Jesus and the power of the gospel.

  • Restoration: God is restoring all things through Christ, and His people live now as signs of that coming renewal in the world.

How to Read the Bible Redemptively

How do you do this on a practical level? Let’s take the Old Testament, for example (Luke 24:44). Remember how Jesus taught His disciples how to read the Law of Moses? The prophets? The psalms? They all talk about Him! It means:

  • The promises in the Bible anticipate Jesus!

  • The failures reveal our need for Jesus!

  • The sacrificial system prepares us for Jesus!

  • The kingship of David foreshadows Jesus!

  • The exile exposes the consequences of sin—and true healing can be found in Jesus!

We’re not trying to hijack the Bible and push Jesus somewhere that He’s not. We’re reading this way because Jesus was already there! The Bible has been moving this direction all along! Here’s a helpful sequence of steps we can take to read redemptively:

  • Read: Read the passage carefully. What’s happening? What’s the passage actually saying?

  • Locate: Locate the passage within the story. Where are we in redemptive history: Creation, fall, redemption, restoration?

  • Ask: What is God revealing to us? About himself? His promises? Us?

  • Trace: Trace this passage back to Jesus. Can it be done? How does this passage prepare for, point to, or find fulfillment in Jesus?

  • Apply: Apply the gospel here! How does this passage shape my heart and life because of what Jesus has done? Not because of what I do?

Want a helpful example? Look at David and Goliath! A moralistic reading says, “Be brave, be like David!” A redemptive reading asks, “Who defeats the enemy on behalf of God’s people?” Jesus, the true champion! Matt Chandler does a great job of explaining this in less than a minute![2]

It’s entirely possible to read for life-change and still miss Jesus. But when we look for Jesus throughout the Bible, not only will it change us. We’ll live lives marked by gratitude, humility, worship and trust. Reading the Bible redemptively places you and me into His story; His story of redemption becomes the ground for our stories. God isn’t just the hero of the Bible. Reading the Bible redemptively also reminds us that He’s the hero of ours, too. When we read the Bible this way, obedience ceases to be a desperate attempt to earn God’s favor and becomes a response of gratitude!

Helpful Books: