What is the Bible?
The Bible is a collection of 66 books that tells the history of God and humans.
The Bible is divided into two sections: The Old Testament and The New Testament.
The Old Testament points to God’s plan for us. The New Testament explains that plan.
The Old Testament tells the story of how God created the world and people. Then people sinned, and because of God’s eternal holiness, the wages of sin is death. So God provided a forthcoming sacrifice for people to be redeemed. In The New Testament, we learn that the Messiah, meaning “the Appointed One,” who would die in our place was God’s own son, Jesus.
This is different from any other religion that has ever existed or probably will exist—the deity comes to the person, not the person having to achieve something to gain eternal life.
The Old Testament is a story about God choosing a people group to honor and be with. That people group would at times follow God and receive His blessing and protection—and their community would thrive. Other times they didn’t follow the ways of God—instead following their own desires or the ways of ungodly nations—and would suffer because God acknowledged their choice and withdrew. One time it got so bad that God allowed them to be hauled off as captives to the most feared foreign and ungodly kingdom. But even as they were being captured, God sent prophets as messengers saying that He still loved them and had a plan for them to return after seven decades of refinement. The point being: God loves people and wants to bless them when they follow His ways.
The first five books of The Old Testament were likely written by a man named Moses. He records some fascinating acts that God performed for his people and the laws He gave them so they could live great lives. A lot of the ensuing timeline of The Old Testament is recorded in three pairs of books: the two books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. The Old Testament actually ends with 2 Chronicles (or Nehemiah). The rest of the Old Testament is literature, poetry, and warnings from prophets, most of which can be slotted into the timeline of the six aforementioned books. The Old Testament isn’t always presented in order, so you may wish to also get a Chronological Bible so you can read it in the order in which events actually occurred.
The Old Testament is approximately 75% of the Bible.
The New Testament, firstly, records the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, and, secondly, how the church of believers in Jesus grew their community and spread the good news of God’s salvation, to all people everywhere, because of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
The New Testament begins with four books: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They are the same story—the life and ministry of Jesus—told from four different perspectives and written for different audiences. In these books, known as the Gospels, you’ll learn about the ways of Jesus as the appointed Messiah and Savior of the world. He worked in ways that many people at the time didn’t expect. He came to serve, not be served. He reached out to the poor and sick more than to people with wealth and prestige. He didn’t overthrow an oppressive government like many hoped he would—instead he called for a new kingdom of God, of love, within people’s hearts. Some among the chosen people of God, the Hebrews, didn’t accept Jesus as the Messiah, largely because he threatened their jobs and positions of prominence in the established church. Ironically, it was these people who called for Jesus’s execution, and he was put to death in one of the most gruesome methods in all of history—which he willingly accepted because it was his father God’s will. But three days later, Jesus came back from the dead, having paid the price of sin on our behalf. Forty days later, Jesus ascended to heaven, and his ministry was taken over by his disciples—the core group of which was only 12 people!
These disciples then took the Gospel to many parts of the world. A prominent member of the established church who didn’t accept Jesus was earnestly managing the massacring of believers of this new movement. Ironically, this man, named Paul, came to know God and accepted Jesus, and he ended up becoming one of the greatest apostles for Jesus, even despite enormous persecution. He even wrote a lot of the rest of The New Testament. Wild, huh?
Just like a significant portion of The Old Testament’s timeline is told through four books, much of the rest of The New Testament timeline is told in a book that comes right after the four Gospels: the book of Acts. A big star in this book is the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of God. God is a trinity, 3 in 1—God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended to heaven, he gave the Holy Spirit to his followers, and it moved in mysterious, often mesmerizing, ways to help people share God’s love.
Moving on, many books of the rest of The New Testament are letters from Paul to the growing Christian churches in various parts of Europe and Asia. Several of these letters were written while he was in prison for his beliefs. Other smaller books were written by some other apostles. So again, once you become familiar with the Bible and its colorful characters, it may help you to acquire a Chronological Bible to better understand the timeline in order.
Languages and translations. The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew, and The New Testament was written in Greek. One of the first translations into English was the King James Version (KJV), published in the year 1611. It was written in what is now an antiquated style of English, and while many people like its form for special occasions and public readings, I recommend an updated version for clarity and study. I recommend the English Standard Version (ESV) because of its balance between literal translation accuracy of the original text and experiential language for how English speakers communicate in modern times. But other versions work well, too: NASB (literal), NLT (experiential), and NKJV, NIV, and CSB.
Bible commentary. You may also wish to consult a Bible commentary as you read through the Bible. Try any of these: Tony Evans Commentary, Matthew Henry Commentary, MacArthur Commentary, or New Bible Commentary (Wenham, et. al.). You don’t have to agree with every single teeny-tiny detail a biblical scholar writes in a commentary. You can think critically and come to your own prayerful conclusions.
I wish you God’s presence, peace, and protection as you get to know the Bible. You’ll learn the ancient story of God, how He loves people, and how He works for them and through them.
Ultimately, I hope you’ll grow to know God personally. I know He hopes so, too!
If you would like to learn more, see this post by Chris Williams.