Which Bible verse astounds you?

Are you really going to hold me to just one? There are so many. I don’t believe it’s one key verse that knocks us out of our sin and wickedness to follow Christ. I believe it is the testimony of all of Scripture. And so I cannot pick just one. But I will hold myself to only a few.

I think the Bible starts out with one of the most amazing things to say. In our day and age when we are taught by scientists and naturalists that we are actually apes and the universe is some 14 billion years old, the first verse of the Bible is astonishing.

They teach us to believe that all this happened by chance, but they have little concrete evidence to prove it. It is still called the theory of evolution, not the law of evolution. The reason is that no one can prove it. It cannot be re-created in a lab and retested. So it remains a theory.

But the Bible starts out by telling us exactly what happened. I grant that both the Bible’s opening statement of profound faith and the theory of evolution are both religious or philosophical ideas by nature. But it still astounds me that the Bible starts out with such a strong statement of faith.

Genesis 1:1, which almost every person I have ever met can quote whether they believe it or not tells us that a personal God created the heavens and the earth (all of creation from top to bottom). I don’t find it surprising that so many people know the verse.

But I do find it surprising (and comforting to me) that God is personal enough to create everything I know and see and touch. And as you read on and Genesis 1-2, you see that he took the time to create humanity in his own image. He slowed down in creation and spent the time to personally create humanity.

This is the fundamental belief of all Christians. Later on in Hebrews 11:6, the writer of Hebrews tells us that we must have faith in God’s existence, and we must believe he rewards those who seek him. Everyone has faith in something, but placing our faith in God’s existence, the very thing we must do in Genesis 1:1 to keep reading, is fascinating.

Another fundamental and astonishing verse for me is John 14:6. When Jesus tells the disciples he’s leaving and going to the Father in heaven, it is astonishing that he would talk about himself this way.

He says that he is the Way, Truth, and Life. We always think of truth in some other fashion. We think of it as objective, that it’s the same for everyone. Others think of it as subjective, and it’s different for every person. But only in the Bible do we find out the truth about Truth.

Jesus declares himself to be Truth. So truth is neither subjective or objective. It is personal. The Person of Jesus is the Truth. We understand the truth when we meet Jesus. And he is the Way. Early followers of Jesus were followers of The Way.

He is the road, the path, the way to the Father, as he states later on in the verse when he says that no one comes to the Father except through him. Everyone except Christians believes that this exclusive claim is bullheaded. But once you meet Jesus, you understand the truth about the way.

In our pluralistic culture, everyone is told that there are many ways to God. But Jesus tells us the truth. He is the only way to the Father. And he is the only Way to live life the way God intended. When God designed creation, he designed the very best practices to successfully please him. People have tried to find ways around these practices, but eventually they run into roadblocks.

And Jesus is the Life. He is the one who brings eternal life to those who trust in him. He is life beyond this life. He opens the door to life with him forever in heaven. I could spend much more on this verse, but I will give just one more.

The final one I will point to is Romans 10:9. You would think after sinning against God in the Garden of Eden and marring his image in us, God would be done with us. Even if he was willing to forgive us and welcome us back into his family, you would think it be the hardest thing to do.

How profound it is that he has made it so simple. He wants to have relationship with us. That’s why he created us in the beginning. But Romans 10:9 shows us a two-part process that anyone can do.

All you have to do is believe in your heart that God raised Jesus from the dead, your initiation into the resurrection to eternal life in heaven, and speak with your mouth that he is Lord. That’s all. Believing in resurrection shows that you believe in the miracle, perhaps the greatest miracle, that God could do.

And speaking with your mouth that Jesus is Lord declares his supremacy and sovereignty. It is commitment to Jesus as he truly is, the Lord of the universe. It is your acknowledgment, your bowing the knee, to his Lordship and kingship.

It’s really that simple. How profound that the God of the universe, snubbed by all of humanity, is so gracious to welcome us back with open arms, giving us the keys to the kingdom as our inheritance, all for just believing in his greatest miracle and confessing the Lordship of Christ.

These are only three astounding verses in Scripture. I could go on and on about the verses that have changed my life and helped me to grow in my understanding of Christ and the gospel. But after all, you did only ask for one.