The Strand Study Bible

PURPOSE OF THE STRAND STUDY BIBLE T he purpose of THE STRAND STUDY BIBLE is to help believers gain a better understanding of God and to introduce non-believers to salvation. Thus, the beauty of this work is that it was not written with any particular Christian denomination in mind. It was not compiled to appeal to a certain “clientele” within Christendom. K.P. Yohannan in Against the Wind said it right when he said: Satan has done a masterful job of deception within the Body of Christ. Christianity has been redefined to fit modern society. It is now a good moneymaking business. The Christian music and enterainment industry skyrockets, while the Word of God is peddled for profit and the authentic Christian life of surrender and obedience is tossed aside as legalism. More than 2 billion people who do not know Jesus head toward hell to perish for eternity, while the Church laughs its way to hysteria, claiming this is the sign of the last days’ outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Instead of laying down our lives to serve the purposes of God, we try numerous ways to make the Almighty God our servant to fulfill all our dreams and desires. My brothers and sisters, this is not Christianity. 1 W elcome to a reference work that does not cater to any particular Christian denomination! This work was composed with one purpose in mind –to better help the reader understand three truths: 1. Who God is ( Gen 1:1c , Isa 66:12-13 and Jn 4:24a , b ) 2. Why He created us ( Gen 1:28a & 2:17b , Ezk 28:12 , Rev 12:12 , Isa 6:2 and Jere 9:2 ) 3. What He expects from our life (Jn 6:39-40 and I Sam 18:17b ) T here is only one Bible. It contains the mind of God, the way to salvation, light for direction, food for strength, and comfort for the brokenhearted. It is incomparable, inexhaustible, and inspired (II Tim 3:16 and II Pet 1:20-21). It contains 3,566,480 letters, 810,697 words, over 31,100 verses, 1,189 chapters, and 66 books. It is, therefore, a “divine library,” enclosed in one Book that is divided into two parts: 1. The Old Testament (The Old Covenant) - The OT deals primarily with the nation of Israel and God’s covenant with them through Moses. The Mosaic covenant (Exo 24:8 & II Ki 23:2 & II Cor 3:14) disclosed God’s plan and purpose for a nation who was to bring forth the MESSIAH (the Savior of all mankind – Gen 49:8-10, Num 24:17-19, Isa 7:14 & 9:6 & 53:1-12 and Jn 4:25,42). 2. The New Testament (The New Covenant) - The NT, on the other hand, begins with the birth, life, death, burial, and resurrection of the MESSIAH ( JESUS CHRIST - Heb 9:15-17). The New Testament deals with the promise of salvation through the shed blood of Christ our Lord. According to Matthew 26:28, it is Christ’s blood that is the basis of this new covenant. Thus, the unifying theme for both the Old and New Testaments is JESUS CHRIST . “ Worthy is the LAMB that was slain ” (Rev 5:12).

1 Yohannan, K.P., Against the Wind , Wills Point, TX, gfa books, 2004. Print.

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