Introduction to the Bible: Videos
What Is the Bible?
The Bible is God’s Word to us given that we might know him and serve him and minister to others. In this lesson, learn that the Bible is a collection of 66 God-inspired books divided into Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament is organized into four categories: The Pentateuch, History Book, Poetry Books, and Prophetic Books. The New Testament also has four categories: The History Books, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, and The Revelation. All the books of the Bible carry forward a single message, that God restores man’s separation from Him by sending Jesus. The Old Testament declares that “Jesus is coming,” while the New Testament declares that “Jesus came.”
The Purpose of the Bible
We must understand how the Bible came to be and why God gave it to us. All of Scripture has four main purposes; and they all point to Jesus. Those four purposes are: (1) To present Jesus Christ as the Savior and Redeemer of the world (2) To provide for us the historical context in which Jesus came (3) To show believers how God wants us to live (4) and to lead the unbeliever into faith in Jesus.
How to Study the Bible
To study the Bible and apply its truths to life requires work. Effective Bible study is a three-part process: observation, interpretation, and application. In other words, we ask ourselves these three questions: “What does it say?” “What does it mean?” and “What does it mean to me?” Along with these three parts to Bible study are a number of guidelines to help keep us on track, and twelve “rules” are provided in this lesson.