God is faithful and good. God is sovereign. God is our redeemer.

Why does Knowing the Story matter?

Prologue Week 1

Do you know God's story? Do you know and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ? In each of the passages we looked at this week, we see a common thread of evidence that knowing God's story and our place within is paramount. With this foundation of truth, you are on the right path. Though many trees were in the forest, the mighty oak of Jesus' redemption and salvation for each of us stood taller and straighter than the rest. As we read through the passages circled to the left, we see evidence of why knowing the story matters.

In 1 Corinthians, 15:1–11, Paul reminds the early church in Corinth that "Christ died for our sins, in accordance to the scriptures and that he was buried, and raised in accordance to the scriptures. God's plan of salvation has always been. It is not a "whoops, I gotta fix this problem" scenario. He is sovereign, and He is good, and He is faithful to bring to completion that which He began. If the early church did not know the scriptures, their understanding of God's sovereign plan of redemption would have fallen on deaf ears.

In Acts 20:24–30, we see that God has given us a ministry, a race to run well, to testify to the gospel of His grace. We must KNOW this gospel and truth and hold fast to it. With confidence, not shrinking away from the uncomfortable parts, we must share the full gospel, the whole counsel of God. With knowledge of the complete Story, we can quickly identify the twisting of truth and the attempt of the enemy to draw us away.

I love in Luke 24 how Jesus opens up the scriptures to the two men walking along the path. They knew the story, starting with Moses and all that the prophets had spoken, but it was here that they finally understood it. As Jesus opened their eyes, the knowledge turned to believing in Him as their savior and Messiah. We also know—a lot of stories, a lot of verses—but maybe our belief and understanding faith of the relevance of scripture is lacking. Today, how can we point to Him if we don't know the complete and true story? It is important to know the story of God so that our minds can be transformed by the scriptures and our souls can long for Him alone to satisfy our deepest need: to be fully known.

In Hebrews 12:1–4, we take comfort in knowing that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (so many forefathers of the faith). However, what good is that witness if we don't know the stories of their faith? We hear that we should run this race with perseverance and know we must lay aside the weight that holds us back. But how? Jesus is the author and perfecter of your faith, your story. Fix your eyes on Him alone.

In Ephesians 1:3–14 we read that we who believe in Jesus Christ were chosen before the foundations of the world. Always. "In him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory" (verses 13-14).

We must know the story. We must believe it is true. We must know the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We must hear, believe and walk in the knowledge of Christ as our savior, our redeemer. He is a faithful and good God with a plan and a promise. If you were walking on the road to Emmaus or sitting with Jesus, would you believe that everything written, everything we will read this year—the Law of Moses, the Psalms, the Prophets and the letters to the Early Church—all point Him? As we begin to understand the metanarrative of the Bible, and our story within His story, we will grow in our love for Him and our desire to share Jesus with others.

Looking ahead to Prologue week 2: Where do we see the story matter?