Have you ever wondered what all of those Books of the Bible are about?
The Holy Bible, God's love letter written to us has 66 books. The Bible is split into 2 halves, the Old Testament and the New Testament. (Find all of the books with a short description here.)
The Old Testament (Old Covenant - Promise) has 39 books from Genesis - Malachi. The Old Testament includes creation, the fall of mankind introducing sin and death into the world, the history of the patriarchs, the promise given to Abraham to bring salvation and redemption into the world through a Chosen People called The Israelites (aka The Jews), The introduction of "The Law" aka God's commandments, The Kings, and The Prophets.
All of The Old Testament points to The New Testament (New Covenant - Promise) which has 27 books from Matthew - Revelation. The New Testament shares the new covenant between God and humanity through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ which in fact fulfilled "The Law" given in the Old Testament thereby bringing in a New Covenant and Grace. The New Testament includes The (4) Gospels which share the life of Jesus and (the "good news") of salvation, and letters to the early churches instructing them how to live life as followers of Jesus. The New Testament ends with a prophecy given to the Apostle John called Revelation detailing the end of times and The 2nd return of our Messiah, Jesus.
Is all of The Bible relevant? ~ Yes! The Bible is God's Love Letter written to us. It is God breathed, full of truth written for us all. Every Word holds special meaning for mankind, great historical insight as to where we began and why this world is in the shape it is in today, gives us instruction how to live life to the full as we have been designed preparing us for eternity with our Father and shares with us the Heart of the One who created us and holds us in The Palm of His Hand.
The Bible is so long, where do I start? ~ Starting from the beginning is always a good place, but for new believers a great place to start is in the Book of John adding on (1) chapter of Psalm and (1) chapter of Proverbs every day.
Why are there (4) Gospels? ~ Each Gospel was written about the life of Jesus from the perspective of a different person and written to a different audience.
Matthew was written from Matthew, The Jewish Tax Collector's perspective to a Jewish audience. Matthew was written to show how Jesus' life and ministry fulfilled the scriptures in the promise of The Old Testament.
Mark was written by John Mark who was not a disciple, but in fact walked with Paul the Apostle. Mark was written to the Christians in Rome.
Luke's Gospel was written by a doctor who was a Greek and a Gentile Christian. He also was a close friend of Paul and wanted to show the place of the Gentile (non-Jewish) Christian in God's Kingdom.
The Apostle John authored The Gospel John to prove that Jesus is the Son of God. His audience being new Christians and searching non-Christians.
I've heard that The Bible contradicts itself, is this true? ~ No, The Bible was God breathed through The Holy Spirit, our Helper, into the hearts of 40 authors over the span of 1600 years, on three continents, and three languages. Every Word written leads us to Jesus, our Savior bringing in God's redemption of mankind. Reading conflict within 2 passages requires going deeper and reading the text carefully and seeking wisdom within the passage. Often reading the Hebrew and Greek original translations for clear understanding of a passage, who it was written to and the context of the passage itself. For example: "The account of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. In Acts 9:7 we read that during Paul’s encounter with Christ the men who were with him heard a voice. In Acts 22:9 we read that these men heard no voice. Well, what appears to be a hopeless contradiction is easily resolved by looking at the original Greek. Here we see a distinction between “hearing a sound as a noise” and “hearing a voice as a thought-conveying message.” Gleason Archer, an accomplished biblical scholar points out, that while Paul’s companions heard the Voice as a sound, Paul alone heard what was being said. (Kind of like the crowd who heard the sound of the Father talking to the Son in John 12:28, and thought they heard thunder.)" Passage shared by Equip.org. As you seek truth in God's Word, the Holy Spirit will reveal the wisdom within it's pages and draw you near to The Author of us all.
Enjoy! We would love you to share your favorite book of the Bible and why!