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I have a love-hate relationship with jigsaw puzzles. When all the pieces neatly fit together to form the picture on the top of the box, it can be a thing of joy and wonder. But when you’ve lost the box lid, or you've got a few hundred pieces of blue sky staring at you from the table, the whole thing seems like a frightening, confusing mess.

Most people approach the Bible with this same sense of fear and confusion. They may have a vague recollection of some of the famous Sunday school stories contained within: Adam and Eve, Noah and the ark, David and Goliath, Moses and the Ten Commandments. But they have little idea of how the whole Bible actually hangs together, and what it ultimately means. So, like the neglected puzzle, the Bible sits idly on many people's shelf, left to simply gather dust.

That's where Vaughan Roberts' book, God's Big Picture, comes to the rescue. Roberts’ aim is simple: "to help Christians to find their way around the Bible and to see how it all holds together and points us to Jesus" (p. 14). By highlighting the Bible's central plot-line - the kingdom of God – and summarising its eight major chapters - from creation in Genesis to the new creation in Revelation - the big story starts to emerge. God is at work to re-establish his kingdom, to see "God’s people in God’s place under God's rule and blessing" (p. 22). He does it ultimately in Jesus, the focus of the entire Bible and the fulfillment of all God’s promises to save.

When you first get that concept, it's a mountaintop experience. In fact, I still remember, as a new Christian, having my eyes opened to the grand story of the Bible through Graeme Goldsworthy's book, Gospel & Kingdom. It was awesome. Unashamedly, Roberts takes the outline from Goldsworthy, gives it a makeover, and the result is superb. Never has biblical theology been so clearly explained as in this book. The chapters are short and very easy to read and digest, free of technical discussions or theological jargon. The diagrams are extremely helpful in explaining concepts, (e.g. the three tenses of salvation, p. 137), and demonstrating the way God’s plan unfolds throughout the Bible (i.e. the "two-dimensional" historical-relational timeline, p. 167). Likewise, the accompanying studies ensure that readers engage with the actual text of the Bible - the great, watershed moments of salvation history - as well their biblical context.

Goldsworthy's books will always have a soft spot in my heart for introducing me to the big picture of the Bible, but Roberts' book is now my first port of call for training others in biblical theology, and the one I unreservedly recommend to those in need of an introductory biblical overview (including interested unbelievers!). It's a must for anyone who is keen to navigate and communicate the Bible with confidence (especially the rough and difficult terrain of the Old Testament), but it's particularly a must for anyone heading to NTE this year, where we'll explore the whole topic of what it means to live in God’s kingdom, under God's King.

For those who have lost the 'box lid' to the big picture of the Bible, or who only have a bunch of 'blue sky' pieces, namely disconnected stories from the Bible, this book will literally change your life. It will open up your eyes to the joy and wonder of how the whole Bible hangs together according to God’s magnificent plan: to lovingly bring his people into his presence, under his rule and blessing through the person and work of Jesus. Hopefully, as a result, you will better know, teach and love Jesus in all of the Scriptures, in order to better glorify him in all you do (p. 163).

If you haven't read it, get a copy today. If you’re coming to NTE, read it in the next few weeks!

By Mark Barry

(2/11/09)

God's Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible
By Vaughan Roberts
Leicester, England: IVP, 2002 (repr. Leicester, England: IVP, 2009)
170 pages