Is the Bible a love letter?

First off to answer my title: I hope not. Have you ever heard people say that? "I believe God’s Word is His love letter to the human race," is what I heard and still hear every now and then. When I was a skeptic, hearing statements like that made me laugh. Now, as a Christian, hearing statements like that cause me to a) almost barf and b) want to smack the person on the back of the head (hey, I'm only roughly a 3 year old Christian).

Why does hearing a statement like "the bible is a love letter" cause me to feel such things? Because it's ridiculous to think the Bible is a love letter. Have you ever wrote a history paper, then give it to your crush\date\spouse as a love letter? I know I wouldn't. If I had been given one as a love letter I would have seriously wondered what I done wrong in the relationship. The bible records historical accounts, has wisdom literature, prophetic works, biographical works, and then pastoral letters to struggling churches; hardly what I would call a love letter, but many people think so. Click here to see how many do.

Honestly, to call the Bible a love letter, to me anyway, is to devalue the book. I think it's a low-view of the Bible and of God. I think when you have that kind of view of God and the special revelation he has given us through history and man, which was recorded in the Bible; then you have a distorted view of Christianity. When I read the Bible I don't read anything at all that reads like a love letter (there are some love statements, particularly in the poetry section of the Bible). In the Bible I find wars, genealogies, suffering, biographical accounts, etc.; not a whole lot of, "Oh baby, I miss you so much. You're my everything."

When I read the Bible, there are moments of awe and adoration of God, e.g., chapter 3 of Paul's letter to Titus: "But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." You know what though? Paul's letters are tough. They're not at all like love letters. Instead, he takes the approach of tearing down, then building up, which is actually the best approach (subjectively speaking of course).

I don't want to discourage anyone from reading the Bible because it's actually a very good book. I personally am convinced that it is an inspired and holy book; a book that should be read by all Christians who are able to have a Bible. I think the Bible deserves more respect than labeling it a "love letter."

John Macarthur gives things to avoid while studying the Bible.

"Don't make a point at the cost of proper interpreta­tion . In other words, don't make the Bible say what you want it to say. That's like the preacher who proclaimed that women shouldn't wear their hair on top of their heads. His text was "Top Knot Come Down," supposedly from Matthew 24:17, which says, "Let him who is on the housetop not come down" (King James Version). Obviously that's not what the passage is about! Don't try to find verses to support a preconceived idea. I know if I try to make a sermon, I end up forcing the Bible to fit my sermon. But if I try to comprehend a passage, a message will flow out of the understanding that follows.

In 2 Corinthians 2:17, Paul says, "For we are not like many, peddling the word of God." The Greek word translated "peddling" is kapeleuo, which referred to selling something deceitfully in the marketplace--something that wasn't what it claimed to be. You must not force the Bible to illustrate your preconceived notions. Be careful not to interpret the Bible at the cost of its true meaning.

Avoid superficial Bible study . Unfortunately, some Bible studies consist of nothing more than person's saying, "I guess this verse means..." or "What does this verse mean to you?" Basically that's a pooling of ignorance--a lot of people sitting around telling what they don't know about the verse. To have a successful Bible study, someone has to study the passage beforehand to find out what it really means. Only then can you discuss it intelligently and apply it. Interpretation requires work. Don't take the easy way out and believe what everyone tells you the Bible says. Check the facts out yourself. Don't assume there are many interpretations of a biblical passage. There may be many applications, but there is only one true interpretation. God's Word is precise. It is not ambiguous. God has given us the ability to discover its meaning.

Don't spiritualize the text . The first sermon I ever preached was really bad. My text was, "The angel rolled the stone away" from Matthew 28. I entitled my sermon, "Rolling Away the Stones in Your Life." I talked about the stone of doubt, the stone of fear, and the stone of anger. Doubt, fear, and anger are all legitimate topics, but they have nothing to do with that verse! I call that "Little Bo Peep Preaching" because you don't need the Bible; you can use anything--even "Little Bo Peep."

Picture a preacher saying this: "Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep. All over the world people are lost. And can't tell where to find them. But they'll come home--ah, they'll come." Then you hear a tear-jerking story about sinners who came home "wagging their tails behind them!" Ridiculous? Yes, but unfortunately not too hard to imagine.

Many people tend to do that with the Old Testament. They turn it into a fairy tale with all kinds of hidden meanings--anything but what the text plainly states. Don't spiritualize the Bible. It deserves more respect."

Commenter Tony-Allen has a few things to say about the Bible being labeled a love letter.

"It's what happens when you take a single trait of God and overemphasize it at the cost of all of God's other traits. That's where a lot of this spiritualizing that MacArthur mentions comes from. You pick and choose what you desire to believe or emphasize about the Lord.

The biggest problem, aside from the superficial theology it will give you and the "Little Bo Beep preaching" it will produce, is that you'll be eaten alive when you meet critics of the faith who know scripture better than you do. Christopher Hitchens was often quick (and rightfully so) to call out Christians who refused to deal with what text said. After all, if the Bible is God's "love letter" to to mankind, then what love did He show the people of Sodom and Gomorrah? What love did He show everyone outside the ark when the flood waters came? Do I believe God has love? Yes, but how can you know love unless you know upon what basis you can judge such love? I believe God showed love by taking my place on the cross and bearing the wrath and judgment I rightfully deserved, so that on the day of judgment I would not end up like those in Sodom, Gomorrah or the land outside the ark. If we can't realize that God is much more than superficial love, then we can't even pretend to think we understand God."