The Bible is a collection of 66 books written by about 40 authors, in three different languages, on three different continents, over approximately 1600 years. The Bible claims to be inspired and inerrant. This means that the Bible is from God and that it is without error in everything it addresses.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another—showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way. Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.
The Bible contains many different styles of writing such as poetry, narration, fiction, history, law, and prophecy and must be interpreted in context of those styles. It is the source of the Christian religion in that the Bible contains the words of God and how the Christian is to apply the words of God to his life. The Bible is the user’s manual for life.
President Ronald Reagan is quoted as saying: “Within the covers of the Bible are all the answers for all the problems men face.”
The Bible is divided into two main parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. You will see that each Testament consists of a number of separate books. The Old Testament has 39 books, and the New Testament 27. The Bible is not a single book. It is a library of 66 different books, found in one cover!
The Old Testament is a collective name for all Biblical revelation which was given to man before the time of Jesus. It could also be called the Old Covenant, for it is named after the covenant which God made with Abraham and his descendants. It was renewed with Moses and the people of Israel, the people God chose to serve Him as an example to all people to lead them to God. Jesus introduced the New Covenant, which calls on all people to serve the living God. The Bible has a message which is ageless and for all believers.
The 39 books of the Old Testament were written by at least 72 writers, during the period approximately 2050 BC to about 400 BC.
The second main section of the Bible was written within a period of roughly 60 years (40-96 AD). It deals mainly with the life of Jesus and his teaching, as well as the growth of the early Christian church.
The accounts in the Bible were not generally written down as they occurred. Rather they were told over and over again and handed down through the years before someone finally wrote them down. Yet the same themes may be found throughout the book.
So along with the diversity there is also a remarkable unity. So what is the Bible? Well, in addition to all the above, the Bible is this:
It is a guide for living life to the full. It gives us a road map for the perilous journey of life. Or to put it another way, on our voyage through life's ocean, we find our anchor right here.
It is a storehouse of wonderful stories for children and grownups. Remember Noah and the ark? Joseph's coat of many colors? Daniel in the lion's den? Jonah and the fish? The parables of Jesus? In these stories we recognize the triumphs and failures of ordinary people - and we may even see ourselves!
It is a refuge in trouble. People in pain, in suffering, in prison, in mourning, tell how they turned to the Bible and found strength there in their desperate hours.
It is a treasury of insight as to who we are. We are not meaningless robots, but we are magnificent creatures of a God who loves us and gives us a purpose and a destiny.
It is a sourcebook for everyday living. We find standards for our conduct, guidelines for knowing right from wrong, and principles to help us in a confused society where so often "anything goes."
Some say that the Bible is nothing more than fairy tales. With God as its inspiring Author, the Bible is the world’s greatest work of literature, and throughout the ages multitudes have spent their lives proclaiming its truth. Many, in fact, have made the ultimate sacrifice so that others may simply hold in their hands a copy of its pages. Nevertheless, there has never been a book that has been as viciously attacked as the Bible. Banned, burned, mocked, ridiculed and defamed, many have been put to death for simply possessing one. But still the idea that the Bible is a fairy tale persists.
If there is any book that you should read at least once in your lifetime it needs to be the Bible. And the sooner you read it, the sooner you will know how to live.
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