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The Bible Summarized:
A Quick Look at what the Bible is...
The Bible is not an ordinary book. No matter what your belief about God and Jesus Christ, it is by far the most complex and decisive work ever written. No part of the Bible has ever been disproved. Many have tried to prove the Bible wrong or inconsistent – none have succeeded. In fact most people who really research the Bible to find faults, end up being convinced that it is the Word of God and that Jesus is the Messiah!
The most important thing the Bible shows us is that God is Real and that we can have a meaningful and relevant relationship with Him, through His Son.
The Bible also shows how to live a happy and fulfilling life, how to overcome depression, break addictions, develop high self esteem, keep marriage alive and vibrant, develop strong leadership skills and how to be successful. It is not a get-rich-quick formulae or 'all my troubles will be gone' quick fix...
Although often used for religious purposes, the Bible presents a view of God that is not evident in many religions…
Many religions generally have a ‘earn your way to god’ foundation that is actually centred on the believer. Faith & different steps are needed & promote the follower towards god. This can be seen in Mormons, Jehovahs Witnesses, Catholics, Seventh Day adventists, Budhists, Hindus, Muslims, Wiccans etc etc The truth is that their 'god' doesn’t exist! We all try to make our own 'god' so we feel better about ourselves....
The God of the Bible however, revealed in Jesus Christ does exists - and states a different foundation for getting to know Him and 'going to Heaven':
The Bible states that we are sinful humans and that a Holy Creator will judge and condemn any of us that have sinned even once. No amount of trying to be good or performing the right tasks can help…we are all guilty! The place of punishment is called hell & is very real despite the fact many of us don't want to face it!
See if you are good enough to go to Heaven here.
But according to the Bible, in His love God sent Jesus to pay for your sins. That means we can’t earn it, and means our attention can be on the one who rescued us!
We can walk with Him while on this planet - and when we die we will go to be with Him forever...Simple eh?
The Bible is separated into Old
Testament and New Testament, Books, Chapters and Verses. Chapters and verses do
not occur in the original manuscripts, but were added to help us with
referencing. So John 3:16 (New Testament, Gospel of John, Chapter
3 and verse 16) reads – For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son,
so that anyone who believes in Him will not die, but have everlasting
life.
Old Testament – The First ‘Half’ of The Bible (39 Books)
Gods’ chosen people before Jesus Christ. Many stories and examples of people who walked with God, and people who didn’t. It has many promises for those who submit to God, and describes many curses for those who continue to sin. It has huge symbolic, historic and theological meaning for today.
Includes prophetic books that give numerous for-telling of the coming Christ, as well as prophecies of what is happening around us at the moment (and that has happened throughout history).
There are poetic books of Prayer and Books of Wisdom that are much more effective than the many ‘self-help’ books out there.
New Testament – The Second ‘Half’ of The Bible (27 Books)
Explains in detail the life and times of Jesus Christ and proves (through fulfilment of prophecy and eye-witness accounts) He is the Son of God. Describes the events and ways of the first Churches and continues to show the power and glory of God.
The Healing and Salvation that comes through Jesus Christ is demonstrated repeatedly.
Each book has a theme and subject, a specific audience and language. All books confirm and expand the others. There is always a new insight and perspective to be gained through re-reading passages in the Bible.
You can read the Bible in many different ways, and some general guidelines can help:
If you want hard hitting advice,
read Proverbs
If you want the history of
creation, read Genesis
If you want to see the prophesies
about Jesus, read Isaiah
If you want to hear what Jesus
said, read John
If you want to read about Jesus’
miracles, read Luke
If you want to know how to walk
with God, read Romans
If you want to see how David
praised and trusted God, read Psalms
These are just general ideas – If you pray, you may feel like just opening anywhere and reading a chapter or so. You feel lead to look up the topics in the back (or front) or use the cross references (down the bottom of most pages). These will tell you where to find confirmation of what you just read or where the prophecy comes from etc.
Get a Bible dictionary – this will explain a lot of the words you may not understand or give background or historical knowledge about a passage or word.
Ask someone who knows how to read the Bible. This is a last resort, as each person is different and it is best if you are led on your own way to find the truth BUT you need to be sure you are not MIS reading the Bible…
The Bible is just a book if you do not ask the Holy Spirit to reveal it to you. Ask God to guide you and lead you to the things he wants you to learn. God wants us to continually learn and grow in our knowledge of Himself, His Son and our own lives. He loves to give us the encouragement we so often need.
The more you read the Bible, the more you will learn and accelerate. Your thoughts and feelings will change as long as you put into practice what you read. Find people who have already found complete contentment through a relationship with God. Stay away from religion – this hinders your relationship with God. What things look like do not count to God – He reads our hearts, thoughts and motives.
Seek and You Will Find.
66 Books, 1189 Chapters, 30,442 Verses
Written by more than 30 people (Tax collector, a herdsman, a doctor, some fishermen, a philosopher, a preacher, some prophets, a statesman, a king, a rabbi and more!)
Written over a period of over 1500 years
There are 15,000 references to God – the best place to find out about Him.
The shortest man – Nehemiah – (Knee – High – Miah !!! Ha Ha Ha)
Shortest Chapter in the Bible
– Ps
117
Longest Chapter in the Bible –
Ps 119
Chapter that is in the centre of
the Bible Ps118
There are 594 chapters before Psalm 118
There are 594 chapters after Psalm 118
Add these numbers and you get 1188
This is the centre verse of the
Bible (Ps 118:8)
Does this say something significant about God’s perfect will for our lives? The centre of Gods will-
Ps 118:8 “It is better to trust the Lord than put confidence in man”
Isn’t it odd how this works out (Or was God at the centre of it?)
The Bible is the inspired (or
‘God Breathed) Word of God 2 Timothy 3:16
The Old Testament was inspired by
God 2 Peter 1:20-21
Peters writings were inspired by
God 2 Peter 3:1-2
Paul’s writing were inspired by
God (Rom, 1&2 Cor, Gal, Eph, Phil, Col, 1&2 Thess, 2 Peter
3:15-16
Reading the Bible cleanses our
morals, 1 Peter 1:22, our critical thoughts Psalms 1:2
and gives peace Joshua 1:8.
It will change our whole thought
process if we allow it Philippians 4:8-9, 1 Peter 1:5-10. The
Bible can cleanse us Psalms 119:9 and change our language
James 1:22-26, Psalms 119:172.
The Word corrects us Psalm
17:4, 119:65,67 It is a mirror James 1:23-25 A lamp
Psalm 119:105
It teaches us to do right and makes us realize what is wrong in our lives 1 Timothy 3:16 Hearing the Word of God helps sinners Acts 2:36-41 and produces faith
The words of God are like food Hebrews 5:12-14 They prepare us in every way and equip us 1 Timothy 3:17
The words in the Bible were given
by God and will never leave you Isaiah 59:21
Even the letters of the words
were chosen by God Matthew 5:18, Matthew 4:4
Every word proves true
Proverbs 30:5
The Bible is spiritual food that
is essential for us to live Matthew4:4
Can help correct believers
Acts 18:24-26, 19:1-7
Gods’ word illuminates our path
Proverbs 6:23
The Holy Spirit Illuminates what
God is saying to us 1 Cor 2:10, 2 Cor 4:6
The Word of God is living and active, sharper than a two-edged sword Hebrews 4:12
The Word of God is a weapon of
attack Ephesians 6:17
It is a discerner of spirit
Hebrews 4:12
The Word of God makes food Holy
1 Timothy 4:3
Blessing comes from putting what
you read into practice Luke 11:28
The Word of God cannot be chained
2 Timothy 2:9
Eternal life comes from the Word
of God 1 Peter 1:23
The title of Jesus
Revelation 19:13
We can know God’s will for our lives through the Bible. (The first step is belief in Jesus Christ John 6:40 + Matt 7:21, 12:50 If we do we will live forever 1 John 2:17)
God’s will for every Christian
includes – Sanctification 1 Thessalonians 4:3 Giving thanks to God
1 Thessalonians 5:18 and Suffering for doing the right thing
1 Peter 3:17
Then the Bible must be applied to our lives Deut 29:29 and Should be regarded with delightful desire Psalm 40:8 (God takes great joy in those who cheerfully do His will)
When the Bible does not answer our specific needs we must have a relationship with the Lord to be able to determine God’s will for our lives 1 John 1:6-7 seek principles form the Word 1 Corinthians 10:6 obtain advice from Godly counsellors Proverbs 11:14, 15:22, 24:6 and use common sense because God uses our own thoughts to do His will Philippians 2:13
If none of these make it clear – we may have to just do what we think is right and know that God will shut the door if it is not His will. Paul demonstrates this in Romans 15:22-32
The Bible as a whole is a book about people’s relationship with God. It gives examples of people who get it right and people who get it wrong. We are meant to have our own experiences with God but can learn from other people’s mistakes and victories from the Bible.
Basic Instructions
Before Leaving Earth (BIBLE)
READ IT OR
WEEP!
TEST IT AND
SEE!
LIVE IT AND
LEARN!