Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing Christ’s day; he saw it and was glad….Isaiah was referring to Jesus when he spoke his prophecies, because he saw the future and spoke of the Messiah’s glory. (John 8:56; 12:41)
Here are some more quotations that I use in teaching and counseling to help people trust Christ and His Scriptures. These are also used in prison ministry. The Old Testament is abbreviated as “OT” and the New Testament as “NT.” The source of many of these is The Complete Gathered Gold by John Blanchard (2006, Evangelical Press). Some have been modernized, edited, and adapted. I also include some hymn fragments that I use as prayers before, during, and after Scripture study and meditation.
If you missed it, you can read Christ and His Bible (Part 1).
Jesus is the Master; the Scriptures are only the servant….As we go to the cradle in order to find the baby, so we go to the Scriptures to find Christ….In believing and reading Scripture we hear the word from Jesus’ mouth. Every word in the Bible points to Christ….Here you will find the swaddling clothes and manger in which Christ lies….If you want to interpret Scripture well and confidently, set Jesus before you, for He is the Man to whom it all applies, every bit of it….The main message in Scripture is Christ and Him crucified….Take Christ out of the Scriptures and what remains?…No word in the Bible can be understood rightly without reference to Jesus’ cross. (Martin Luther)
The Jesus of the NT has one advantage over the Jesus of modern reconstruction — He is real. (J. G. Machen)
When you are reading a book in a dark room, and find it difficult, you take it to a window to get more light. So take your Bible to Christ to understand it correctly. (Robert Murray M’Cheyne)
God the Father is the giver of Holy Scripture; God the Son is the theme of Holy Scripture; and God the Spirit is the author, authenticator, and interpreter of Holy Scripture….Jesus saw Himself as the key to Scripture and it as the key to Himself. (J. I. Packer)
The Bible’s like a banner before God’s host unfurled;
It shines out like a beacon above this dark, dark world.
It is the chart and compass that all life’s voyage through,
‘Mid mists and rocks and quicksands, still guides, O Christ, to you.1
The deity of Christ is the key doctrine of the Scriptures. Reject Him, and the Bible becomes a jumble of words without any unifying theme. Accept Him, and the Bible becomes an intelligible and ordered revelation of God centered on Jesus Christ. (J. Oswald Sanders)
Christ is the scope of the Scripture. (Richard Sibbes)
Christ is figured in the Law, foretold in the Prophets, and fulfilled in the Gospels. (Henry Smith)
Scripture is the royal chariot in which Jesus rides. (C. H. Spurgeon)
A man who loves his wife will love her letters and her photographs because they speak to him of her. So if we love the Lord Jesus, we shall love the Bible because it speaks to us of Him. (John Stott)
The sacred page is not meant to be the end, but only the means toward the end, which is knowing God Himself….The Scriptures are in print what Christ is in person. The inspired Word is like a faithful portrait of Christ….You can be perfectly free to go to your Bible with assurance that you will find Jesus Christ everywhere in its pages. (A. W. Tozer)
O make your church, dear Savior, A lamp of purest gold,
To bear before the nations your true light, as of old.
O teach your wandering pilgrims by this their path to trace,
Till, clouds and darkness ended, they see you face to face.1
Prayer: Father, help us through this fallen world. Help us to follow your commandments. Rescue us from our enemies. Your instructions are our delight. Let us live so we can praise you. May your Scriptures guide us along right paths, bringing honor to your name. We wander away like a lost sheep. Come and find us and help us live by every word that comes from your mouth. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Note: 1 From the hymn “O Word of God Incarnate,” by William Walsham How (1867, alt.). In these stanzas, he reminds us that we need the Bible for daily living, as our banner, lighthouse, chart, and compass. The hymn closes praying that God make and keep us faithful messengers approved by Him to be entrusted with His Good News. We are to hold firm to and hold forth God’s word of life until we see Jesus face to face.