The Bible Summarized: Under 100 Words

Image Credit: Ryan Riggins Unsplash

Unless you are a writer, you may have never heard of six-word stories. It’s in the family of microfiction that must be told in 100 words or fewer.

It’s not easy to capture a whole story arc in so few words. Take, for example, Hemingway’s famous six-word story that popularized the style of writing: 

For sale: Baby shoes. Never worn. 

When I read these six words, I was hooked. It fascinated me how you can capture the essence of a story in six words. It was like the micro version of a professional “elevator speech” you might give a stranger in a 30-second elevator ride. 

But if you can tell a whole story with six words, then you can expand it and fill in the gaps up to 100 words and still write microfiction stories. That is the focus of this post. 

For practice, I converted the 100-word microfiction into a Micro “Nonfiction” Piece. I began with my six-word story and then expanded it to 98 words.

I imagined the Holy Spirit saying, "Distill the Bible into six words. Next, use that six-word story to summarize the Bible in fewer than 100 words."

The Bible Summarized as a Six-Words Story:

God created. Jesus saves. We chose.

The Bible Summarized as Micro Nonfiction: 100 Words (or less)

In the beginning, nothing but God existed. So God created everything in six days, then rested on the seventh. Adam and Eve disobeyed His only command, allowing sin to enter the world and forever separating humanity from Him. Through Moses, God gave the Law to reveal our sinfulness. We needed a Savior: Jesus, the perfect God-Man, who became the sacrificial Lamb. He was crucified, buried, and rose on the third day, conquering death. Now God gives us a choice: accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and receive eternal life, or deny Him and spend eternity in hell.

Your Turn

What six words would you use to tell your own faith story? Try writing it, then expand it into 100 words. You might be surprised how powerful this exercise can be.

About the Author

Dr. Trace Pirtle is a retired counselor education professor and a fellow pilgrim on the narrow path. He is the author of the forthcoming book Narrow Path Pilgrim: Finding Jesus Christ Beyond the Church Walls, and shares insights for remnant believers and spiritual seekers following The Way of the first-century church.