Getting Started

Getting Started An Introductory Guide to Reading the Bible

David Wilson 1

An Introductory Guide to Reading the Bible The Bible is the best-selling book of all time. Yet unfortunately, it is more often bought than read. We want to encourage you to read the Bible because it is God's message for all people, and contains the answers to the most important questions in life. These simple guidelines have been written to try and answer some basic questions and to help you enjoy and understand God's Word better.

The structure of the Bible The Bible is composed of 66 separate books that make up the “library� we call the Bible. These books were written in various languages over a large span of time yet combine to make one unified whole. The first part of the Bible is called the Old Testament and covers the period from the Creation of the world and man until 400 years before the birth of Christ. The second part is called the New Testament and covers the period from the birth of Christ to the death of the apostle John in Structure of the Old Testament approximately AD 95.

17 books of 5 books of 17 books of History Poetry Prophecy Genesis Job Isaiah Exodus Psalms Jeremiah Leviticus Proverbs Lamentations Numbers Ecclesiastes Ezekiel Deuteronomy Song of Solomon Daniel Joshua Hosea Judges Joel Ruth Amos 1 Samuel Obadiah 2 Samuel Jonah 1 Kings Micah 2 Kings Nahum 1 Chronicles Habakkuk 2 Chronicles Zephaniah Ezra Haggai Nehemiah Zechariah Esther Malachi 1

Chapter and Verse The Bible did not originally contain the chapter and verse divisions we have today.

These were added between the 13th and 16th centuries, and are helpful in locating and identifying particular passages of Scripture. (It may be helpful to think of them as an address to help locate particular passages.)

These are written in various ways. For example, the 16th verse of the 3rd chapter of John will often be written like this: John 3:16 or John 3.16 or John ch. 3 v. 16.

Red letters You may have noticed that some Bibles contain words

that are printed in red. They were added as a design feature to help people easily identify those words the modern editors believe were spoken by the Lord Jesus and are primarily found in the Gospels. However, all the words of the Bible are important because, as we shall see, God is the ultimate author of all Scripture.

Structure of the New Testament 5 books of History

21 books of Doctrine

1 book of Prophecy

Matthew

Romans

Revelation

Mark

1, 2 Corinthians

Luke

Galatians

John

Ephesians

Acts

Philippians Colossians 1, 2 Thessalonians

The divine authorship of the Bible

1, 2 Timothy

Titus The Bible is an ancient book Philemon that has impacted the lives of millions of people. This is Hebrews because the author of the James Bible is God's Holy Spirit. He 1, 2 Peter was not the one who picked up pen and paper and actually 1, 2, 3 John wrote the words down, but as Jude the apostle Peter put it, holy men of God wrote as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).

This process is called the “inspiration” of Scripture. This word literally means that God “breathed-out” the message, so that the words of Scripture are the very words of God. The apostle Paul describes it this way: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” (2 Timothy 3:16).

The human authorship of the Bible As you become more familiar with the Bible, you will notice that there are stylistic differences between various books of the Bible. Partly this is because they were written at different times in history; partly because of the nature of the material, e.g. poetry or historical narrative; and partly because God used the authors’ personalities to communicate His message. This will be seen in the use of certain words or phrases that are characteristic of a particular writer. We also read of certain events from the lives of individuals. Paul wrote in Philippians of his imprisonment and used this to encourage other believers, and while it was a 2

personal experience, the Holy Spirit took it and incorporated it into the Scriptures for our learning and instruction.

At least 36 different men were used in writing the Bible. These men came from very different backgrounds and had different qualifications. For instance, Moses was a political leader, Peter was a fisherman, Amos was a herdsman, Matthew was a tax collector, and Solomon was a king.

For this reason, it is important when we are reading the Bible that we try and understand something of the author’s culture and perspective. While it is true that “all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable,” not every passage of Scripture will have application to our particular needs and situations.

The authority of the Bible The Bible takes its authority from its authorship. Since God is the divine author behind the human authors, then it logically follows that it is authoritative, because God is the supreme authority. And since God has spoken, we had better listen. As the author of Hebrews said: “See that you do not refuse Him who speaks,” (Hebrews 12:25).

Some people argue that the Bible is just a human book and merely someone’s opinion and subject to change with the times. But it is the unique dual authorship of the Bible that makes it qualitatively different than any other book.

The reliability of the Bible This leads to the matter of the reliability of the Bible, a subject too vast for this brief introduction. But it is a fair question to ask, “How can I know that the Bible is reliable? Should I accept that it is God’s Word and inspired just because it says so?”

Fulfilled prophecies provide a powerful testimony to the reliability of Scripture and point to its divine origin. For instance, the prophecies concerning the Gentile world powers, given by God through the prophet Daniel, predicted the rise and fall of the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman Empires (Daniel 2, 7). He learned from reading the prophecy of Jeremiah that the Babylonian captivity of Judah would last 70 years (Daniel 9:2). Daniel also foretells the coming of Christ in Daniel 9. In fact, there are literally hundreds of prophecies concerning the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Christ, which were fulfilled during His lifetime. See for instance Psalm 22, Isaiah 7 and Isaiah 53.

Archaeology also has provided confirmation of the reliability of historical events recorded in the Bible. For instance, for years sceptics decried the 3

inaccuracy of the Bible because it spoke repeatedly of the Hittites, and there had been no archaeological confirmation of these people. Yet in the late 1800s, archaeologists uncovered five Hittite temples, a citadel, and more than 10,000 clay tablets that had belonged to this once lost civilization, thereby confirming the historical accuracy of the book.

A third pointer to the Bible’s divine origin is the way it has transformed the lives of those who read and follow its teaching. Many people have testified to the ways in which their lives have been rescued from heartache and despair through reading and responding to its message.

The formation of the Bible One question that is frequently raised is how we know that all the books in the Bible should be there and whether any were left out. The term applied to the list of recognised books is canon, a word meaning “rule” or “measuring rod.”

The idea is that these books were judged to be authoritative and therefore included in the canon of Scripture. No church or council made a biblical book authoritative; they simply recognised what was already true. One author has illustrated this principle by noting that tests don’t make students intelligent; they simply measure their intelligence. In the same way, the authority, accuracy, and transforming power of the books that compose the Bible were acknowledged, and so these books were accepted as authoritative.

The Hebrew Scriptures, our Old Testament, were compiled over a period of many years by prophets and priests. These men were recognised as men of God, and their writings gained an authoritative standing in their communities and were passed on from generation to generation. But perhaps the most important endorsement of the Hebrew Scriptures was that of Jesus Christ, who studied them, taught from them, and quoted them.

The New Testament was written during the first century but since most writing in those days was composed on parchments or scrolls, they were not immediately compiled into a single book as we have now. In some ways the teaching of the New Testament was a radical departure from the teaching of the Old Testament, yet at the same time we see that it is the proper culmination and fulfillment of that which went before. Many Jews found the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth to be blasphemous (cp. John 8:53-59), yet Jesus showed His disciples that the Old Testament really did speak about Him (cp. John 5:39; Luke 24:27). This actually helps us to evaluate the writings of the New Testament because we can see that they fulfill the pictures and prophecies made hundreds of years before.

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Much of the New Testament was written by acknowledged apostles, and even during the life of the apostle Paul, his writings were described as Scripture by the apostle Peter (2 Peter 3:16). As these letters of the apostles were distributed and read, they were seen to have a power and an authority that demonstrated their supernatural origin.

There was some debate in the early days of the church about some books that were included and some that were excluded. The book of Hebrews, for instance, was debated since the book is anonymous and the issue of authorship was important for determining acceptance in the canon of Scripture. But the importance of the material and the power of its teaching, convinced the early church that it was indeed God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16). But the fact that books like this were debated is actually a positive reminder that the early church took seriously this issue of identifying authoritative books.

Some books, like the Gospel of Thomas, were rejected because they were seen to be inconsistent with the recognised Scriptures and contained errors, which a God-breathed book could not.

Some people today claim that the New Testament wasn’t even written until the fourth century, but this is patently false as today portions of New Testament manuscripts exist that date back to the early second century. What happened in the fourth century was that the form of the New Testament as we have it today was finalised.

Some books, known as Apocryphal books, are accepted by the Roman Catholic Church but are rejected by most Protestant churches. These books were all written before the time of Christ but were not accepted by the Jewish community as part of their Hebrew Bibles. Josephus, the famed Jewish historian of the first century, limited the Old Testament canon to 22 books, saying that there were no prophets after the time of Artaxerxes, who died c.

424 BC. These 22 books represent the same 39 books listed on page 1, but some of them were grouped together. For instance, our twelve so-called Minor Prophets were considered by the Jews to be one book.

It is important to note also that neither the Lord Jesus nor any of the New Testament apostles ever quoted authoritatively from these Apocryphal books.

Even Jerome, the man responsible for producing the Latin Vulgate, the standard Bible of the Medieval Church, included them under ecclesiastical pressure, even though he didn’t personally regard them as God-breathed texts.

As Josephus noted, these books provide a useful history of the Jewish period during the 400 years before Christ, but were not considered of equal merit with the Scriptures.

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Why so many versions?

The Bible was not written in English but in the contemporary languages of the day. The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew with a few sections in Aramaic. Later this was translated into Greek and this translation is known as the Septuagint, because it is said to have been the work of seventy translators.

It is sometimes abbreviated as LXX, the Roman numerals for seventy.

The New Testament was written in a form of Greek known as Koine Greek, the common language of the first century Roman Empire. By the fourth century, Latin had become the common language of the Empire and a translation by Jerome became the standard Bible of the church for the next thousand years.

Of course, as the Christian message spread to various parts of the world, Latin was not the common language of local cultures and by the fifteenth century some Christian scholars in England began calling for an English translation of the Bible so it could be read by everyone. However, some in the Church hierarchy opposed this as they felt common people were not qualified to read and understand the Bible.

In the sixteenth century, William Tyndale began work on an English translation of the New Testament directly from the Greek texts. There had been some earlier English translations from Latin but Tyndale felt it was best to work from the original languages. However, opposition to this work became so intense that Tyndale had to flee to the Continent and continue his work in secret. When the New Testament was completed it was smuggled back into England, but Tyndale was eventually arrested and condemned to death for his work and burnt at the stake on 6 October 1536.

Since that time, the English language has continued to change and scholars have felt the need to provide fresh translations that will effectively communicate the unchanging message of God in contemporary English. The challenge is for them to balance accuracy and faithfulness to the original Hebrew and Greek with ease of understanding in English. As a result some translations are easier to read but may lose something of their accuracy. It can be helpful to compare a modern English translation with older, more literal translations to get a fuller and richer understanding of the Scriptures.

How should we read the Bible?

God gave us his Word to be read and understood. It was written by ordinary people (shepherds, fishermen, tax collectors) to ordinary people. The Psalmist wrote, “The entrance of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple,� (Psalm 119:130).

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As a book written by human authors, it should be read normally, as you would any book, seeking to understand the author’s message and purpose for writing, and recognising the use of figures of speech. Keep in mind that the Bible is a collection of individual books by individual authors. We realise that sometimes when people start reading the Bible, they read until they come to long lists of names (called genealogies) or to descriptions of seemingly obscure Jewish ceremonial laws and give up, totally overwhelmed. While it is not necessary to start at the beginning of the Bible, it is best to read individual books consecutively to get the flow of thought. Much false teaching has resulted from people taking passages out of context. While the New Testament will be most relevant to us today, we encourage you to read the Old Testament also as the Lord Jesus and the apostles based much of their teaching on it. To get you started, we have provided a suggested reading plan at the back of this booklet.

As a book written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it should be read prayerfully, asking God by His Holy Spirit to give you understanding. The Lord Jesus promised, “However, when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth,” (John 16:13).

You should read the Bible regularly, so that you will become familiar with its content and message. Many things you don’t understand at first will become clearer as you continue reading.

And finally, read it expectantly, believing that God will reveal His truth to you.

The Lord Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.

And you shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free,” (John 8:3132).

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Suggested Reading Plan We have provided a suggested reading plan to get you started, broken down by various literary styles. This plan includes a selection of readings from the New Testament historical books, the Old Testament historical books, the New Testament epistles (letters written by apostles), and New Testament prophecy.

The number in brackets next to the category is the number of days it will take you to read this category at one reading per day (the selected readings will take just over 6 months). You can check off the passages as you read them. May the Lord bless you as you read and respond to His Word.

New Testament History I (24) John John John John John John John John John John John John

1 2-3 4-5 6 7-8 9-10 11-12 13-14 15-16 17 18-19 20-21

Acts 1-2 Acts 3-5 Acts 6-7 Acts 8-9 Acts 10-11 Acts 12-14 Acts 15-16 Acts 17-18 Acts 19-20 Acts 21-23 Acts 24-25 Acts 26-28

q q q q q q q q q q q q q q q q q q q q q q q q

Old Testament History I (33) Genesis 1-2 Genesis 3-4 Genesis 6-8 Genesis 9, 11

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Genesis 12-15 Genesis 17-18 Genesis 21-22 Genesis 24 Genesis 27-28 Genesis 29-30 Genesis 37 Genesis 39-40 Genesis 41-45

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Exodus 1-2 Exodus 3-4 Exodus 5-6 Exodus 7-10 Exodus 11-12 Exodus 13-14 Exodus 16-17 Exodus 19-20 Exodus 32-33 Exodus 40

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Numbers 9-10 Numbers 11-12 Numbers 13-14 Numbers 16-17 Numbers 20-21 Numbers 22-25 Numbers 31-33

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Deuteronomy 1-3 Deuteronomy 4-6 Deuteronomy 31-32, 34

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New Testament Epistles (65) Romans 1-2 Romans 3-4 Romans 5-6 Romans 7-8 Romans 9-11 Romans 12-14 Romans 15-16

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1 Corinthians 1-2 1 Corinthians 3-4 1 Corinthians 5-7 1 Corinthians 8-9 1 Corinthians 10-11 1 Corinthians 12-14 1 Corinthians 15-16

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2 Corinthians 1-2 2 Corinthians 3-5 2 Corinthians 6-7 2 Corinthians 8-9 2 Corinthians 10-13

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Galatians 1-2 Galatians 3-4 Galatians 5-6

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Ephesians 1-3 Ephesians 4-6

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Philippians 1-2 Philippians 3-4

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Colossians 1-2 Colossians 3-4

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1 Thessalonians 1-3 1 Thessalonians 4-5

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2 Thessalonians 1-3

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1 Timothy 1-2 1 Timothy 3-4 1 Timothy 5-6

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2 Timothy 1-2

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2 Timothy 3-4

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Titus 1-3

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Philemon 1

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Hebrews 1-2 Hebrews 3-4 Hebrews 5-6 Hebrews 7-8 Hebrews 9-10 Hebrews 11 Hebrews 12-13

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James 1-2 James 3-5

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1 Peter 1-2 1 Peter 3-5

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2 Peter 1-3

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1 John 1-3 1 John 4-5

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2 John 1

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3 John 1

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Jude 1

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Revelation 1-3 Revelation 4-5 Revelation 6-7 Revelation 8-9 Revelation 10-11 Revelation 12-13 Revelation 14-15 Revelation 16-18 Revelation 19-20 Revelation 21-22

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Old Testament History II (72) Joshua 1-2 Joshua 3-4 Joshua 5-6 9

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Joshua 7-8 Joshua 9-10 Joshua 23-24

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Judges 1-2 Judges 3-4 Judges 6-8 Judges 13-16

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Ruth 1-4

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1 Samuel 1-2 1 Samuel 3-4 1 Samuel 5-7 1 Samuel 8-9 1 Samuel 10-12 1 Samuel 13-14 1 Samuel 15-16 1 Samuel 17-18 1 Samuel 19-20 1 Samuel 21-22 1 Samuel 23-24 1 Samuel 25-26 1 Samuel 27-28 1 Samuel 29-31

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2 Samuel 1-2 2 Samuel 3-5 2 Samuel 6-7 2 Samuel 8-10 2 Samuel 11-12 2 Samuel 13-14 2 Samuel 15-16 2 Samuel 17-18 2 Samuel 19-20 2 Samuel 21, 24

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1 Kings 1-2 1 Kings 3-4 1 Kings 5-7 1 Kings 8-9 1 Kings 10-11 1 Kings 12-13 1 Kings 14-16 1 Kings 17-18 1 Kings 19-20 1 Kings 21-22

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2 Kings 2 Kings 2 Kings 2 Kings 2 Kings 2 Kings 2 Kings 2 Kings 2 Kings 2 Kings 2 Kings 2 Kings Ezra Ezra Ezra Ezra Ezra

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1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10 11-12 13-14 15-16 7-18 19-21 22-23 24-25

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1-2 3-4 5-6 7-8 9-10

Nehemiah Nehemiah Nehemiah Nehemiah Nehemiah

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1-2 3-4 5-6 8-9 12-13

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Esther 1-2 Esther 3-4 Esther 5-6 Esther 7-8 Esther 9-10

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Where should I start?

Many people are overwhelmed when they first pick up a Bible. They recognise that it is an important work, but feel inadequate to understand it for themselves.

However, God’s intention in giving us the Bible was not to conceal truth but to reveal it. It was written by ordinary people (fisherman, shepherds, etc.) for ordinary people and while there are some difficult passages, with God’s help it is possible for everyone to understand the basic message of the Bible.

This simple guide has been written as an attempt to provide answers to some of the most common barriers to personally reading the Bible. We trust that God will give you help as you get started reading His Word.

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