People are often surprised at how sinful so many Biblical “heroes” are. One of the Bible’s greatest characters, King David, commits one of the vilest sins ever recorded in its pages. We should learn from this that even a converted member of God’s family can commit truly evil deeds. Yet, we also learn that the hope of the Bible is not that we have to become morally superior to the main Biblical characters. The hope of the Bible is that Jesus paid the penalty for David’s sin and for our own.

Near the beginning of Matthew’s genealogy we see Tamar—a most unlikely ancestor of Jesus. Tamar disguised herself as a prostitute and had sex with her father-in-law Judah. But this is a tale of two sinners. Judah neglected to materially provide for Tamar despite the fact that she was a helpless widow, driving her to desperate measures. This story shows that the Bible is not a book about moral people who lived perfect lives worthy of emulation. Instead, we see how God uses broken people to bring about the only righteous person who has ever lived—Jesus.

In dealing with inner emptiness we often hope for “one true love.” Jacob and Leah have that hope after the failure of their lives. When their dreams are achieved, their hopes are dashed. Leah eventually achieves inner peace by placing her hope in God, who alone can deliver.

Some people claim that they can't trust in the Bible because it is historically unreliable and culturally regressive. But do we have cultural blinders on? Dr. Keller discusses solid reasons that we can trust the Bible historically, culturally, and personally.