The Bible was written in a world very different from our own. Its authors lived in cultures that thought, spoke, and viewed the world differently from how we do today. Yet many of us instinctively approach Scripture as though it were written directly to twenty-first-century readers. As a result, we sometimes miss important details and occasionally misunderstand the author’s intended message. The good news is that there is a way to read Scripture that can greatly enhance our understanding.
Many believers have been taught to think of the Bible as a story about rules and requirements. Yet when we step back and look at the larger biblical narrative, a different picture emerges. From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture tells the story of a God who desires a relationship with the people He created. The Bible is not primarily the story of humanity searching for God. It is the story of God pursuing humanity.
Despite how frequently the Bible speaks about sin, many believers struggle to define it. Ask a group of Christians what sin is, and you’ll likely hear a variety of answers. Some describe it as breaking God’s rules. Others define it as moral failure or disobedience. While those answers contain truth, the biblical picture is richer and more profound.
Despite how often the Bible uses covenant language, many believers are unsure what a covenant actually is. More importantly, many don’t realize that covenant is one of the primary themes holding the entire Bible together.
Grace is often understood in ways that unintentionally separate it from obedience to God. Yet when we step back into the Jewish world of Scripture, we make a critical discovery: In the Bible, grace and God’s commandments were never meant to be enemies.
Many believers think of the Kingdom of God primarily as heaven or a future destination. But in the Bible, the Kingdom is far more concrete, relational, and connected to God’s covenant purposes than many realize. In this article, we explore how Jesus and His first followers understood the Kingdom within the Jewish world of Scripture.
Many Christians assume that after Jesus’ resurrection, the earliest believers immediately stopped practicing Torah and began forming a new religion separate from Judaism. But when we carefully read the New Testament, a very different picture emerges.
Many Christians assume Jesus came to abolish the Torah, but the Gospels tell a very different story. Jesus taught from the Torah, lived according to the commandments, and revealed its deepest meaning through His life and ministry. When we recover the Jewish context of Jesus’ teachings, the Bible begins to feel more unified, vibrant, and connected than ever before.
Many Christians think of the Torah as outdated. But in Scripture, it’s God’s instruction for how to live in a relationship with Him. When we rediscover the Torah, we don’t move away from Jesus; we actually begin to understand Him more clearly. This is the foundation many believers are missing, and it changes everything.
In the middle of the journey from Passover to Pentecost, Lag BaOmer offers a meaningful invitation to pause. It reminds us that God is at work not just in the big moments, but in the in-between, bringing clarity, growth, and encouragement along the way.
