This Book Called The Bible

 

Solomon said, “…of many books there is no end.” (Ecclesiastes 12:12.) Yet one book stands out as far different from all others. This book has been protected and preserved by the providence of God. “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (Matthew 24:35) This protected and preserved book is the Bible. The Bible is God’s word. Therefore, the obligation rests upon us to study God’s book, handle it correctly, believe and obey its teaching.

 

      Can the Bible be understood? Yes! The Bible can be understood. Knowing some simple things can help. The Bible is made up of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Bible is actually sixty-six (66) books, which together tell one story. The message is -- someone is coming, someone has come, and someone is coming again. Thirty-nine (39) Bible books are in the Old Testament. Twenty-seven (27) are in the New Testament.

 

      Can the Old Testament be understood? Yes! The divisions of the Old Testament are simple. The divisions are: (1) five books of law -- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, (2) twelve books of history -- Joshua,  Judges,  Ruth,  I  &  II  Samuel,  I  &  II Kings, I & II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, (3) five books of poetry -- Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of Solomon, and (4) Seventeen books of prophecy -- Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. The Old Testament is true and dependable.

 

      Can the New Testament be understood? Yes! The twenty-seven books of the New Testament can be divided as follows: (1) the gospel -- Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John -- tells of the life of Christ and His personal ministry, (2) Acts tells of the establishment of the church and forgiveness of sins, (3) twenty-one books tell how to live the Christian life -- Romans, I & II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I & II Thessalonians, I & II Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, I & II Peter, I, II, & III John, and Jude, and (4) Revelation tells of the eternal victory for God’s people.

 

      God has given us His word so that we can know how to be saved. To become a Christian, you must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus (Mark 16:16), repent of sins (Acts 2:38), confess Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized into Christ to be saved. (Acts 2:38; 1 Peter 3:21)  God's desire is the salvation of all. "Who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4) The blood of Jesus was shed for every man. (Hebrews 2:9) True happiness here and hereafter comes by being a Christian. "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

 

      Take time to learn God’s word, live by its teaching, die by it and go to heaven when life is over, The Bible is true! You can depend on its teaching. Your soul is safe as you follow its precepts.

 

By Charles Box, Walnut Street Church of Christ, P.O. Box 551, Greenville, Alabama 36037 USA

 

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