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Posts Tagged ‘Bible Study’

Bible Basics – New Testament (General Epistles and Revelation)

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, General Epistles, Hebrews, James, New Testament, Revelation, tagged , , , , on June 22, 2010|

The Bible, as we have discussed is divided into two parts:  Old Testament and New Testament.  There are 66 books in the Bible with 40 different authors, but one consistent message – God’s plan to save sinful man.  In the New Testament, there are 27 books which are divided into the following sections:  Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), Early Church History (Acts), Letters from Paul (Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon), General Epistles (Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, & 3 John and Jude), and Revelation.

The Epistles are listed below each with a brief description or its content or focus.

Hebrews (Illustrates the superiority of Christ over the old covenant.  The author of Hebrews is unknown, but many believe it was Paul.  The audience was the Hebrew  believers.)

James (Anyone who has studied the book of James knows that it pulls no punches.  In this epistle to the Jewish believers, James lays out clearly what it means to live a life of faith and to evaluate one’s own faith honestly in light of scripture.)

1 Peter (Letter from Peter to all Christians that discusses the issues of holiness, submission and suffering.)

2 Peter (Letter from Peter to all Christians to warn against the danger of false teachers and exhorts the believers to grow in the true knowledge of Christ.)

1 John (Letter from John to all Christians.  The key themes found in this book are love in Christ and fellowship with God.)

2 John (Letter from John to the Elect Lady while John was in Ephesus.  The letter reminds the reader to walk in love and beware of false teachers.)

3 John (Letter from John to Gaius.  The letter thanks Gaius for his support of the gospel and criticizes Diotrephes for his pride.)

Jude (The final letter in the General Epistles written by Jude to all Christians.  The letter warns against heresy and false teachers and exhorts believers to contend earnestly for the faith.)

The final book of the Bible is the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Revelation (This books includes things which have been, which are and which are yet to be.  It gives hope to those who suffer persecution and provides a vision of Christ’s return.  It also gives good insights and images of what it is like in heaven.)

2Tim 3:14-17 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,
and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!

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Bible Basics – New Testament (Paul’s Epistles – Part 2)

Posted in Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, New Testament, Paul's Epistles, tagged , , , , on June 17, 2010|

In the last post, we began the discussion of Paul’s Epistles.   There were too many to do all in one post, so here’s the rest of the group with a brief description of the highlights of each:

1 Thessalonians (Written during Paul’s second missionary journey to the church in Thessalonica.  One of the main themes is an exhortation to holiness for believers in light of the LORD’s imminent return.)

2 Thessalonians (Also written during Paul’s second missionary journey and to the church in Thessalonica.  Christ’s return is a theme as is encouragement of believers.)

1 Timothy (The first of the “pastoral” epistles, those letter written by Paul to individuals who were pastors of churches.  This letter is written to Timothy during Paul’s first imprisonment.  It is a guide to leadership of a church and it addresses the issues of false teachers, public prayer, the role of women, and the qualifications for elders and deacons.)

2 Timothy (The second of the “pastoral” epistles, this is also written to Timothy, but it is written during Paul’s second imprisonment, near the time of his death.  Its purpose is to encourage Timothy in his ministry to be faithful even through adversity and hardships.)

Titus (This is the third of the “pastoral epistles”, and it was written to Titus while Paul was in prison in Rome.  It gives the qualifications for elders and gives Titus instructions for dealing with different groups in the church.)

Philemon (This is a letter from Paul to Philemon, a believer, regarding his runaway slave, Onesimus.  Paul asks Philemon to forgive Onesimus and receive him for Paul’s sake.)

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Bible Basics – New Testament (Paul’s Epistles – Part 1)

Posted in Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, New Testament, Paul's Epistles, tagged , , , , on June 15, 2010|

The Bible, as discussed previously is divided into two main sections, the Old and New Testaments.  The New Testament is divided into 5 sections:  the Gospels, Early Church history, Paul’s Epistles, General Epistles and the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Epistles and a brief description of their content are as follows:

Romans (Written to the Roman Christians.  The main topics discussed are the law and God’s plan for salvation through faith.  It also contains many important exhortations for believers including chapter 8, verse 28.)

1 Corinthians (Written to the church in Corinth to address issues that were going on in the church that involved division in the body and immorality.  An important discussion of love is found in chapter 13).

2 Corinthians (Written to the church in Corinth.  In this book Paul defends his call as an apostle, and he addresses deceivers.)

Galatians (Written to the churches in Galatia.  A major theme is grace and liberty in Christ and a rejection of the legalism that was affecting the churches in Galatia.  A well-known list of the fruits of the spirit is found in 5:22-23)

Ephesians (Written to the church in Ephesus.  Important discussion of what God had done for the believer in chapter 1 and where the believer was before being saved by faith in Christ in chapter 2.  Chapter 6 is the well-known discussion of the armor of God and the importance of prayer.)

Philippians (Written to the Church in Philippi while Paul was in prison in Rome.  One of Paul’s “prison” epistles.  Focuses on Paul’s love for the Philippians.  There are no corrections or rebukes in this book.  He exhorts them to godly living.)

Colossians (Written to the Church in Colosse while Paul was imprisoned in Rome.  Major emphasis is on the preeminence of Christ in all things.  Paul was responding to false teachers that were deceiving believers.)

to be continued . . .

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Bible Basics (New Testament Overview)

Posted in Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, New Testament, tagged , , on June 8, 2010|

The Bible, as we have been discussing, is made up of 2 testaments, the Old Testament and the New Testament.  It is important to remember that between the last prophet of the Old Testament (Malachi) and the coming of John the Baptist, the forerunner for the Messiah, Jesus, there were 400 years.  These are sometimes called the silent years because during them, God was silent.  He did not speak through any prophets, dreams or visions that are recorded for us.

The New Testament is also divided into sections which are:

  • Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)
  • Early Church History (Acts)
  • Paul’s Epistles [Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews (maybe*)]
  • General Epistles [Hebrews (maybe*), James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1,2 & 3 John, and Jude)
  • Revelation of Jesus Christ (Revelation)

There are only 27  books in the New Testament compared to the 39 in the Old.  There are 9 or 10* authors compared to 30 authors of the Old Testament.  It was also written over a much shorter period of time than the Old Testament.

*Paul is believed by some, but not all, to be the author of Hebrews.

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Bible Basics (Part 6)

Posted in Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, Old Testament, tagged , , , on June 7, 2010| 2 Comments »

In this 6th post in the series of “Bible Basics”, we continue coverage of the books of the Old Testament and their groupings.  The following is a summary of what has been covered previously:

The Bible has 2 testaments: The Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament has 39 books divided into 5 sections:  The Law, The History, The Poetry & Wisdom, The Major Prophets and The Minor Prophets.

The Law consists of:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The History consists of:  Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

The Books of Poetry and Wisdom consist of: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.

The Major Prophets consist of: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel.

The final grouping of books in the Old Testament is the Minor Prophets which includes:

  • Hosea (Story of a prophet whom the LORD commands to marry an unfaithful prostitute presenting a picture of the unfaithful nation of Israel.)
  • Joel (The prophet warns  Judah of the coming day of the LORD and uses a recent locust infestation to draw the attention of the people to God’s coming judgment.)
  • Amos  (The prophet pronounces judgment on the surrounding countries and then Israel whom he calls to repent for their sins.)
  • Obadiah  (The prophet speaks of the judgment on Edom.)
  • Jonah  (The prophet refuses to go where he was sent to prophesy by the LORD, and as a result, he ends up in the belly of a great fish and then repents.  He later delivers the word of the LORD to Ninevah, and a great revival follows.)
  • Micah  (The prophet speaks of coming judgment against Israel and Judah for their corruption but promises fulfillment of God’s promise through a Messiah.)
  • Nahum  (The prophet pronounces judgment on Nineveh and the Assyrian Empire.)
  • Habakkuk  (The prophet tells the people that the just shall live by faith and God is in control and the wicked will not prosper forever.)
  • Zephaniah  (The prophet tries to motivate the nation of Judah to repent with prophecies of the coming Day of the LORD.)
  • Haggai  (The prophet tries to convince the people to make God a priority and finish building the temple.)
  • Zechariah  (The prophet also encourages the nation to complete the temple and speaks of the coming Messiah.)
  • Malachi  (Last word from the LORD for 400 years.  The prophet encourages the people to stop compromising and return to God with sincerity, so they can receive the blessing.)

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Bible Basics (Part 5)

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, Old Testament, Prophets, tagged , , , on May 28, 2010|

Continuing with our discussion of the Bible ands its organization and content, the following is a summary of what we covered in the last 4 posts on Bible Basics:

The Bible has 2 testaments: The Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament has 39 books divided into 5 sections:  The Law, The History, The Poetry & Wisdom, The Major Prophets and The Minor Prophets.

The Law consists of:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The History consists of:  Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

The Books of Poetry and Wisdom consist of:  Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.

The next grouping of books in the Old Testament is the Major Prophets which include the following:

  • Isaiah [A prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah, Isaiah predicts God’s judgment on Judah was well as the surrounding countries and the world, but also promises a future salvation and restoration.  Many important Messianic prophecies (prophecies about Jesus) are found in this book.]
  • Jeremiah [A prophet to the southern kingdom of Judah also, Jeremiah declares the certain Judgment of God.  He also tells of God’s promise of a new covenant with His people.]
  • Lamentations [A series of 5 poems of lament by the prophet Jeremiah]
  • Ezekiel [A prophet to Israel in captivity in Babylon.  Ezekiel tells of the fate of Judah’s enemies and its future.]
  • Daniel [The book of Daniel includes some well-known Bible stories such as Daniel in the lion’s den and the three Hebrew boys in the firey furnace.  It also shows the future of the 5 world kingdoms and shows Israel during the period of Gentile power in the world.]

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Bible Basics (Part 4)

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, History, Law, Old Testament, Poetry and Wisdom, tagged , , on May 18, 2010|

Continuing with our discussion of the Bible and its organization and content, the following is a summary of what we covered in the last 3 posts on Bible Basics:

The Bible has 2 testaments: The Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament has 39 books divided into 5 sections:  The Law, The History, The Poetry & Wisdom, The Major Prophets and The Minor Prophets.

The Law consists of:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

The History consists of:  Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

The third grouping of books in the Old Testament is the Books of Poetry and Wisdom which included the following:

  • Job (Is the story of a man who has everything, loses everything, doesn’t understand why, is visited and counseled by friends who are totally off base about God, and finally God has to show up and make it clear that He doesn’t have to explain anything.)
  • Psalms (The book of Psalms is the hymn (Him) book for the church.  It includes songs of worship, praise, repentance, and others that pour out the psalmist greatest fears and defeats.)
  • Proverbs (The book of Proverbs is sometimes called the book of “wisdom” because it contains proverbs which teach wisdom on any number of subject that affect the common man including marriage, raising children, handling wealth, handling poverty, adultery, and other issues in life.)
  • Ecclesiastes (The book of Ecclesiastes is believed to be  written by Solomon, and it reflects his search and study of the meaning of life.  His conclusion is that the only true source of meaning and fulfillment in life comes from God.)
  • Song of Solomon (This book, believed to be written by Solomon,  is actually a song which on the surface appears to be the love story of Solomon and his Shulamite bride.  It is often seen as having much to say about emotional love in the context of marriage, but it is also a picture of Jesus and His love for His bride.)

The books of poetry and wisdom do not follow a chronology or tell a history, rather they are superimposed on the history and show the struggles that men of faith like Job, David, Solomon and Asaph have in learning about God and how to draw closer to Him.  These books show us insights into their thinking, their emotions, how they deal with trials and opposition, and how they worshiped the God that they served.

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Bible Basics (Part 3)

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, History, Old Testament, tagged , , on May 17, 2010|

Continuing with our discussion of the Bible ands its organization and content, the following is a summary of what we covered in the last 2 posts on Bible Basics:

The Bible has 2 testaments: The Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament has 39 books divided into 5 sections:  The Law, The History, The Poetry & Wisdom, The Major Prophets and The Minor Prophets.

The Law consists of:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

That brings us to the next grouping of books in the Old Testament – The History.  The Books of History include:

  • Joshua (the tribes entering into and conquering the promised land)
  • Judges (the 300-year period when Israel was ruled by Judges and the Israelites moving through a repeated cycle of sin, oppression, crying out to God, God’s deliverance, and gradual falling away from God and repeating the cycle)
  • Ruth (an important story of two women during the period of judges which has important images of the Kinsman redeemer which connect to the Book of Revelation)
  • 1 and 2 Samuel (a story of 2 kings for Israel, first Saul and then David)
  • 1 and 2 Kings (Solomon’s kingdom and the divided kingdom)
  • 1 and 2 Chronicles (God’s story focused solely on the Southern Kingdom of Judah)
  • Ezra (the return from Babylonian captivity)
  • Nehemiah (the rebuilding of the City of Jerusalem)
  • Esther (a story of a Jewish woman living in exile who saves the Jews from extermination)

The Books of the History span over 1,000 years of the history of the children of Israel following them from the time they entered the promised land, to the time of judges, to their receiving a King (Saul) and his removal by God, to David being anointed their King, to David ruling over Jerusalem, to David ruling over all of Israel, to the Kingdom dividing, to the fall of the Northern Kingdom, to the Fall of the Southern Kingdom and the children of Israel in their captivity and ultimately, their deliverance from captivity.

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Bible Basics (Part 2)

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, Law, Old Testament, tagged , , on May 16, 2010|

As I outlined in the last post, the Bible has 2 Testaments (Old Testament and New Testament), and each testament is divided into books, and the books are further grouped together with other books of similar purpose, content and/or authorship.

By way of review, the groupings of the  books of the Old Testament are:

  • The Law
  • The History
  • The poetry and wisdom books
  • The Major Prophets
  • The Minor Prophets

The Books of  the Law include:

  • Genesis    (Covers the beginnings of man:  his creation, the fall, judgment by flood, judgment at the tower of babel, lives of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph)
  • Exodus  (Life and Ministry of Moses, Deliverance from Egypt, Delivery of the Law, specifications for and building of the Tabernacle, and  the wilderness experience for the Israelites)
  • Leviticus  (Laws of sacrifice, Laws of sanctification)
  • Numbers  (Wanderings of the Israelites)
  • Deuteronomy  (Recap of the law and promises of God)

The books of the law cover the time from creation through the death of Moses in approximately 1406 B.C.

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Bible Basics (Part 1)

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, tagged , , on May 13, 2010|

The Bible is neatly (but not evenly) divided into to “Testaments”, the Old Testament and the New Testament.  As you might know, a “testament” , means a covenant or set of promises from God to man.   To simplify, the Bible is a 2-part set of promises from God to mankind.  The first covenant or testament is the Old Testament.  The second covenant or testament is the New Testament.

The two testaments are  further divided into books, and the total number of books in the Bible is 66.  The total number of authors is believed to be 40.  The authorship of some books is not entirely clear from the historical and other evidence.   The books in the Old Testament are further divided into 5 groupings:

  • The Books of the Law
  • The Books of the History
  • The Poetry and Wisdom books
  • The Major Prophets
  • The Minor Prophets

The purpose and subject matter of each group of books is different from that of the other groups.  Within a group, each book may be different either in its focus, audience and/or purpose.  Together; however, the books comprise one coherent message.  That is the beauty of it.  Learning about any particular book of the Bible is great, but learning how that book then fits into the bigger message and points to the way of salvation can be even more exciting and can bring deeper understanding of God and a greater closeness to Him.

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