Although the Bible contains a diverse collection of writings penned across generations, it holds together as one book, with God as its author. Scripture’s unifying subject is Jesus Christ and the salvation He brings—but even believers misunderstand the message being conveyed throughout the Old and New Testaments. Vaughan Roberts, in his helpful book God’s Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible, offers clarification:
Many Christians have an idea that God decided to send Jesus to earth only after his first plan had failed; his original idea (Plan A) was to give people an opportunity to become his people by obeying his law. But they failed, so he scratched his head and came up with another idea (Plan B): to save people by grace through the death of Jesus. Nothing could be further from the truth.
God had always planned to send Jesus. The whole Bible points to him from beginning to end. In the Old Testament God points forward to him and promises his coming in the future. In the New Testament God proclaims him to be the one who fulfills all those promises.
From the newest convert to the established believer, each of us stands to benefit from a deeper understanding of how the pieces of the Bible fit together.
Excerpt taken from p. 18 of God's Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts (Copyright (c) 2003 by Vaughan Roberts) with permission from InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL (www.ivpress.com).