When I first considered seeking God, I assumed enough that I
went to the Bible to find Him. It turned out that my assumption was right. I was able to be
introduced to the only true God through that book.
Some of my early study was difficult in that I did not know
anything about the Bible. I simply knew it was a book that religious Christians read. I had
no idea where the "on button" was. In this article I will try to guide you through an introduction
to the Bible so that you can get a head start at reading it for yourself.
If you have a Bible, look at it. You will notice that it looks more
like a library than a single book. That is a good observation, as it is filled with books. I want
you to notice that it is broken up in several different ways. It is separated into two major parts;
the Old Testament, and the New Testament. Within these major sections are many titles;
each is a separate book or letter. Looking farther, into the books themselves, you will notice
that each is separated into chapters. Within these chapters are numbers known as verses.
Every line in the Bible can be found by knowing what you now know.
If you are watching a sporting event and happen to notice a sign
that says something like "John 3:16," you can find it in your Bible. Look at the index to find
the book of John. You will find it in the New Testament. Go to the book of John and look for
the third chapter. When you find it, follow the verses down until you come to number 16.
That is the verse to which the sign holder is referring: "For God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal
life."
Any time you see a reference to a passage, you can now look it up.
All you need is the address. It will always be in the order of "book, chapter, and verse."
Go back to the index. The major divisions of Old Testament and
New Testament are books concerning different people and God’s agreement with them. The
Old Testament (OT) is the ancient Hebrew Bible. It deals generally with the covenant, or
agreement, that God made with the Jewish people. It also spoke of a promised Savior who
would come and make a new agreement. This new covenant would be for all people, of all time,
and in every place. The record of that person and the new agreement is found in the New
Testament (NT).
Look again at the index. In the OT, we can break down the books
into categories. Genesis is the book of beginnings. You will find the beginning of many things
in this book. Exodus to Deuteronomy are usually referred to as the books of the law. Joshua
to Esther are all history books. Job to Song of Solomon are wisdom and poetry books. Isaiah
to Daniel are known as the major prophets. They are known as this simply because their books
are longer than the other prophets. Hosea to Malachi are called the minor prophets.
This is a very loose outline of these books. When you are reading
them, it is good to know what sort of material you are reading. Most all of them follow a story
format. Within them you will find poetry, prose, lists… Considering what you are reading will
help you understand what is being said.
In the NT, you will notice that the first four books are
called Gospels. They all refer to the life of Jesus. The next book is Acts. It is a history book
telling the story of the spreading of the message of salvation in Jesus. Romans to Philemon
are all letters Paul wrote to churches or individual Christians. They are all written to Christian
people. Hebrews through Jude are letters written by various authors to Christians in various
places. Revelation is the recording of a vision Jesus gave to John.
If you want to learn about the life of Jesus, you would spend time
reading the Gospels. If you desire to learn how to become a Christian, you would spend time
in the book of Acts. The letters help us to come to know the significance of living as a Christian.
They help us to learn how to live. They deal with different issues that come up in life. They will
even help us to understand how salvation works.
I hope this short overview will help you feel
more confident in approaching the Bible. I pray that you will study this book often and ultimately
come to know the Author of it.
Contributed by Gary Schloemer.
Comments/Feedback are welcome at his
e-mail box.
Originally appeared
on Daily Wisdom
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