I am so glad you have decided to read this, for if you read, understand and accept what is written in this article then your whole life can be changed, turned about and you will become “Born again” as indeed the Bible expresses it. Some who read this text will be glad to be reminded of the time when they first responded to the Bible's message, believed it and began their new life. I wish to keep it simple so all who read may have no excuse to call the message difficult to understand. Consequently, you will find it simple, though not simplistic, not new but very old and not easily forgotten but easy to remember, it really is an A, B, C, structure, who can forget that? Do stay with me as we think through this ABC of the Bible. Sadly, many books which have been written about the Bible in the past have served only to confuse, puzzle or even obscure its central message. Thankfully, there are many good helpful works too but it is vitally important to read the Bible for yourself.
Authority
So, onto our ABC for today’s consideration, when coming to the Bible we quickly find it to be authoritative, so let our A stand for authority. Authority is of fundamental importance to every aspect of our lives, just who is in charge matters. I can almost see, with my mind’s eye, the defiance on my friend's face as he glared at me in the primary school playground where we were kicking a football, we were 6 or 7 years old. I had said “don’t do that” as he kicked the ball against the wall, to which he shouted, ‘who says so?’. It was of course the Head of School who had made the rule. ‘Who says so’ matters, what a right mess we would be in on our roads were it not the law of the land which says we must drive on the left-hand side. We accept that and obey it without question, we obey because it has proved best for ourselves and everybody else in the past. Law and Authority are vital to living life daily. However, when it comes to matters of our soul’s wellbeing, we need an authoritative law not to restrict or burden us but for our obedience so that we may live well, in harmony both with God and with our fellow men. This is just where the Holy Bible fits, it is a must. We need to learn what it says about ourselves and God our maker, for it is a Book of absolute Authority. It is so because it has an Almighty Author even God Himself who created all things including you and me. The Bible is the “Makers Manual”, God who made us knows how best we should function and has said so with authority in the Bible. I repeat it is a book of Absolute authority for it has an Almighty Author.
Blessing
So much for our ‘A’. What about ‘B’? Here I suggest to you that B stands for Blessing, all those who have truly taken the (A) authority of the Bible on board have found it to be a book of bountiful Blessing. Across the world and in lands where other gods are worshipped and obeyed, you will find people who having found the Holy Bible, understood its message, believed and obeyed it, have been born again and now find that they live with joy and peace in their souls. They confess to being blest beyond measure because they're from the Bible they learned of the Lord Jesus Christ who came into the world to bring peace and goodwill. Do take time to read this for yourself in St. Luke’s Gospel chapter 2 v 8 and following. This is not just good news in a general way but for you and me as individuals. In the Bible, we learn, that because Jesus died for sinners, we can have new life, and we can be “born again” as Jesus told a Jewish Rabbi who came to Him by night wanting to know the truth about Jesus. I wonder if you really do want to know the Bible's message and all the blessings of being a born again ‘Child of God’. Again I urge you to read it for yourself, there in the Bible, read about this Rabbi, you will find it in St. John’s gospel in chapter 3. How sad…. no tragic, it is that so many people today arrogantly reject the Bible's authority, rebel against God's law and want to do everything ‘My way’. No wonder lives get messed up and are unhappy, ending in sadness and without hope. Oh! How we need the Bible's message of Blessing. There is a great Christian hymn which says ‘Blessings abound where ere He reigns’ and Christians can all attest to the truthfulness of this statement.
Choice
So we have prescribed A for Authority, B for Blessing and now we come to ‘C’. Having read this far you are now faced with a choice. You can go on living as you have been or you can choose/decide to believe, trust and accept what the Holy Bible says about Jesus the Christ and the new birth by which you can become a Child of God. Learning to accept God's authority, to obey Him and enjoy all the many Blessings he has promised to those who seek and find Him. Like that schoolboy, you can continue to ask ‘who says so?’ or ‘why should I?’ as so many sadly do to their own eternal cost and sad loss. There is most certainly this challenge in the Bible, indeed there is a verse in the Old Testament which reads ‘Chose you this day whom you will serve’. The Bible makes it quite clear that if you are not serving God then you are not just serving yourself but the avowed enemy of God. It also makes clear that we cannot serve two masters, so right now, today, you have this challenging choice to make. I urge, indeed plead with you for your blessing and all your future wellbeing, both here and in eternity, to listen to Jesus Christ in God’s word the Holy Bible, then like that Rabbi of old, hear him tell you how to be born again. Start a new life as a Child of God, read through St.John”s Gospel, John later wrote ‘In this, the Children of God are manifest, (made known) and the children of the devil’. Therefore you have a choice to make, from the A B C of the bible.