Is there a narrative for all people?

Is there a narrative for all people?

By Steve Cornell

Make no mistake; the Bible is the narrative that best explains the human story. It answers the main questions of life: Origin: Where did we come from? Meaning: Why are we here? Morality: How should we live? And Destiny: Where are we going? I know that postmoderns resist (and perhaps resent) people who believe in univocal narratives claiming to cover the whole human story. Yet the Bible cannot be localized and limited in the sweep of its embrace. The message of the early Church was all-inclusive: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

There are seven inclusive truths in Scripture that testify to the extensive sweep of the biblical narrative.

1. God has demonstrated his love for all people (John 3:16).

2. God desires the salvation of all people (I Timothy 2:3-4).

3. God has made provision for the salvation of all people (I John 2:2).

4. God commands all people to repent (Acts 17:30).

5. God will hold all people accountable for their response (Acts 17:31).

6. God takes no pleasure in anyone's rejection of his provision (Ezekiel 18:23,32).

7. God will save all people who place faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

Another example of the connection of the bible with the whole human story is the descriptive consequences of human rebellion against the Creator. This is recorded in Genesis 3. The act of disobedience to God resulted in seven consequences affecting every area of human existence. They included the following:

1. Physiological: death, decay, sickness and suffering

2. Psychological: shame, guilt, fear

3. Sociological: blame shifting, alienation

4. Ecological: ground is cursed, thorns and thistles

5. Spiritual: hiding from God, enmity: seed of woman & seed of Serpent

6. Epistemological: distorted thinking, spiritual blindness (II Cor. 4:3-4)

7. Criminal: Genesis 4-Murder!

Those who go to college chose majors related to one of the seven categories above. We've been trying to fix our problems and they all trace back to the biblical account of the first act of human rebellion against the Creator.

Steve Cornell