Many people in the world have a fair amount of knowledge about different Bible topics and the moral lessons taught concerning each of these topics. These topics include Moses and the Ten Commandments, Jesus and His death, etc. While many have knowledge about these topics, their understanding of the Bible does not go much deeper than the "the table of contents" so to speak for various reasons ranging from disinterest on a personal level to lack of good teaching on the local church level. Many then decide that those discrete stories and topics don't mean much to them so they discard it as being irrelevant to their lives. If the Bible's purpose was to give us nice stories and facts just to show us we should "do this" and "don't do that" to make us good people then there would be no need for the Bible. That purpose would in fact be useless to us since many people know the difference between right and wrong already.
The sole purpose of the Bible is to bring all of mankind to God by teaching us about our current state, instructing us on how everything works both physically and spiritually and to show us how much God loves each and every one of us. The Bible provides the only system ever that is not based upon any of man's works to reach the goal of ultimate fulfillment. It teaches instead that complete fulfillment with God comes first just by choosing Him. Afterwards all actions and works will follow naturally by the fulfilled person's new understanding and wisdom. As that person's wisdom and understanding grows his actions will bear more fruit, and this exciting maturing process fills him with the contentment that he is right where he belongs in life at that moment. A content and therefore satisfied person has no need to strive and burden themselves for things constantly out of reach and this leaves the person free to live out the meaning and purpose for his life.
The Bible's system is not burdensome as are all other philosophies by man but is completely free, and the burden of works needed to reach fulfillment by all other philosophies does not exist in the Bible. I am sure most people would agree that a God of love who truly wants mankind to find Him should make it easy for us to do so rather than making the way burdensome and clouded by our own works with no assurance of what is to be expected. Jesus' story of a lost and unfulfilled wayward son exemplifies the lost state of mankind and its need for a burdenless decision to turn to God for immediate fulfillment rather than to continue on its own path (Luke 15:11-24).
Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.
Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.
When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.
But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate."
The Bible's system is based upon the fact that all mankind is lost and empty and is constantly trying to find it's way and it's purpose. Proof of this can be seen in the thousand's of different philosophies that have existed from the beginning of recorded history until now. It can also be seen when people try to temporarily fill the void of unfulfillment within their own lives through relationships, beauty, possessions, entertainment, etc. The Bible's sole purpose unifies all of the stories and all of its teachings to one point, that man needs God and cannot reach him through any of his own actions. Just as science lays out the physical laws of the universe around us for the benefit of scientific and engineering advancement, the Bible lays out the laws of the entirety of God's realm. These laws include and transcend even the physical laws, and unlike the physical laws, reach straight to the heart of mankind. Just as a person is healthier and happier when observing the law of gravity while standing on a cliff and not stepping off, people's lives are fulfilled and full of contentment when they follow the laws of God's realm of which we were always meant to follow. Isn't a child's life happier and more content when he follows the wise instructions for life given to him by his parents? It should be known however that the Bible is not just a bunch of rules and regulations for us to live by. It is exactly the opposite. Because no one is able to completely uphold the laws of God, the Bible lays out another way for us (John 14:6).
Everyone knows that there exists right, wrong, good and bad. Most people's heart or gut instinct tell them that God should be completely good having the highest standards but yet also forgiving and loving at the same time (holy and just but also merciful and full of love). If God has a purpose for man, shouldn't we be able to listen to our heart to guide us to that purpose? If there is a way that is true, shouldn't it be compatible with the idea we have of God that is truly in the depths of our heart? The following text explains the condition of man according to the Bible. By contrasting man's condition against the God described above, we realize what we lack in the eyes of a holy and just God but what we are given instead from a likewise merciful God of absolute love.
The Jewish Temple in Jerusalem was the place where God dwelt among His people, the Israelites, and where the priests would perform the rituals required because of the Mosaic Law in order to remain under God's favor and His blessings. The Law was given to Moses on Mt. Sinai and was, by it's required perfection, impossible to fully obey. Because of this, God provided certain rituals for the Jewish people to follow to be temporarily forgiven from having broken the Law and to remain in God's favor. This means that in order to remain in God's favor, the rituals required both a priestly order (Kohanim) descended from the bloodline of the tribe of Levi and also the Temple itself in which to perform the priestly duties and have contact with God. God always knew that the only way any man could have eternal life with Him was through perfect obedience to the Law because He is holy and just and therefore cannot coexist with ANY amount of sin. No mortal man has ever been able to keep all Ten Commandments of the Law for their entire life without breaking any of them. This leaves man with no hope and doomed to eternal death or separation from God. The scriptures teach that not only is God holy and just, but that He is merciful and full of grace. He therefore provided a means of atonement for the Israelites whenever the Law was broken. This "Day of Atonement" or Yom Kippur was specifically for that purpose and provided only a temporary atonement for the sins of the people. Put in another way, it provided a fulfillment of the Law that only lasted for a temporary time. This temporary atonement included the use of sacrifices and the need for a scapegoat both foreshadowing a prophesied Messiah's complete fulfillment of the Law once and for all.
Many Jewish people believe that the Messiah's primary purpose is to bring deliverance of the Israelites out of the hands of her enemies and establish an earthly kingdom ruling in justice and in righteousness. They therefore reject any notion that Jesus of Nazareth was the prophesied Messiah since he was not the earthly king on His first coming that they had hoped for. They have lost sight of the Law that they themselves hold so dear. They have forgotten that the central theme behind their covenant with God was the Law. Therefore it was because of the required perfection of the Law no man could keep that Jesus came to save them and the rest of mankind. Without a final fulfillment of the Law by the Messiah both Jews and gentiles will always remain wanting in the eyes of the just God, and deliverance from the hands of Israel's human enemies pale in comparison to this.
God promised that all mankind would come to know Him through His work with the nation of Israel. God's appointed feasts followed by the Jewish people and much of Jewish history do more than tell a story or commemorate certain events; they also serve to explain the "what" and the "why" for God's plans concerning mankind in the future.
For example, the Tabernacle itself was built so that the children of Israel could have contact with God, but the Tabernacle also shows how sin severely limits access to the presence of God. Only the High Priest (Kohen Gadol) could enter the Holy of Holies in the innermost part of the Temple and communicate directly with God once a year (Heb 9:6-10). The sole purpose of the prophesied first coming of the Messiah was to fulfill the Law once and for all so that all men may have the opportunity to have access to Him at all times and find eternal life with Him (Heb 8; 9:11-28). As the Old Testament clearly demonstrates, the perfect and yet impossible Law was given to Israel and shows all of mankind that no matter how good we live no one can live in perfect obedience of all of it (Rom 2:23,24). All men are equal in this regard (Jew and gentile, religious and secular, rich and poor, educated and uneducated), and all men should therefore be doomed to eternal separation of God were it not for His grace and mercy to all of us.
Just as the atonement of the Israelite's sins required a perfect, unblemished lamb to be sacrificed and given over to death, the promised Messiah (God humbled in the form of man experiencing our pains and temptations) obeyed the Law perfectly, was sacrificed and was given over to death. This made him the unblemished Lamb that provided atonement for mankind's sin through His sacrificial death, but it didn't stop there. Just as the prophecies of the Old Testament predicted, He conquered death and rose again on the third day. It was this victory over death that finally and permanently fulfilled the Law for all of mankind then and now. The previous sacrificial lambs could not conquer death which yielded only temporary atonement and the need for more sacrifices later because the Law was always unfulfilled (Heb. 7:23-28). Now the Law is completely fulfilled, and all people may find eternal life with God by simply accepting His sacrifice for our sin. By accepting this on a personal level, it is acknowledged that our sin is the reason that He died for us, and this acknowledgement brings about repentance to God for our transgressions that has separated us from Him. God is then always faithful to forgive and restore us in a special relationship to Him (I John 1:9). Where we were once dead to God because of sin (Rom 6:7-11), His Holy Spirit comes in us (Eph. 2:22; I John 3:24; I John 4:13-15; John 10:10) and gives us an abundant and fulfilling life (Psalm 23:5; Gal. 5:22-23)!