There are three big life questions. Everyone seeks answers to these questions and lives by them, whether they realize it or not. The questions are 1. What is reality? (What is true?) 2. How do I know what I know is valid? 3. What is good? (How should I live?) Metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics are their respective domains of inquiry. For happiness, it’s critical to find answers.
The best teachers are nature and the Bible. They teach us about God, the uncaused cause or the starting point for reality, validity, and the good. In particular, nature reveals God’s glory, power, order, intelligence, beauty, goodness, and providence.
The Bible reveals who God is, his creative acts, and his mission:
- God is the Creator and Ruler over all things (Psalm 95:3-7).
- God is all-powerful, holy, and just (Psalm 89:14; Isaiah 6).
- God created a perfect world (Genesis 1-2).
- God created men and women in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26-27).
- God created men and women to share in his happiness and enjoy Him and his creation (Genesis 1-2).
- The first humans rebelled and committed treasonous crimes against God, breaking his moral law, and were alienated from Him (Genesis 3) and each other (Genesis 4).
- God cursed the world and humankind (Genesis 3).
- Throughout the Old Testament, God promised to send a Prophet-King-Messiah (“anointed one”) to destroy the evil one, speak God’s words, rule with justice, and atone for sin (Genesis 3:15; Deuteronomy 18:15-18; 2 Samuel 7:12-13; Isaiah 9:1-7, Isaiah 53, etc.).
- God called Abram to leave his civilization and go to a land that he would give him; God made a covenant (serious agreement) with Abraham; God rewarded Abraham’s faith in Him with righteousness (Genesis 12, 15, 17; Romans 4).
- By His grace, God redeemed Abraham’s descendants from Egyptian slavery, covenanted with them, gave them His moral law (the Ten Commandments) and the terms of His covenant, and led them through Moses to the land He had promised their father, Abraham (Exodus). (They worshipped God in a Tabernacle in the wilderness and eventually in a Temple in Jerusalem, and sins were temporarily atoned for via animal sacrifices.)
- Israel rebelled against God and broke their covenant, worshipped pagan gods, and failed to be a light to the Gentiles; God judged them via the Assyrian and Babylonian empires (Isaiah and Jeremiah).
- God promised to redeem Israel and the nations from sin one day through a new and better covenant (Isaiah; Jeremiah 31:31-34).
- Because of His love, God sent His Prophet-King-Messiah, and eternal Son, Jesus, to atone once and for all for the sin of all who believe in and follow Him (Isaiah 53; Romans 3:23-27; Romans 6:23; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-10), inaugurating the new and better covenant with His church.
- Jesus’ resurrection revealed that God accepted his Son’s atonement for sin, and that total forgiveness, righteousness, and love are available to all who are connected to Jesus by faith (Romans 8).
- Men and women can receive total forgiveness and acceptance by turning from their sin and following Jesus (Romans 10:5-13).
- Jesus is coming again to rule as King and will rule over the nations (Revelation 19:11-21).
The reliability of the Bible can be confirmed by comparing it with what has been revealed in nature and by what has happened in history—they do not contradict; in fact, each helps us understand the other.
Furthermore, nature and the Bible show us how we were designed to live, and how to live that way for our good.
Jesus, the great philosopher, said: “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8, English Standard Version)
Finally, the Bible reveals that God is building an unstoppable church. The church has grown and assembled across the world for two thousand years, proclaiming God’s coming Kingdom and how to live in light of it.
To that end, connecting with a church is essential for spiritual growth and happiness.
Find a local church that rigorously teaches the Bible. While searching, I recommend Grace Community Church, located in California; they offer online Bible teaching.
Photo by Christian Walker on Unsplash