Bible Basics–A Non-Threatening Guide

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Bible Basics

I remember some of the first times I picked up the Bible. I had joined a small women’s Bible study as an adult and had never really read the Bible. The ladies were flipping to chapters and going right to the passages and verses and I was clueless! For a while I was confused and uncomfortable even opening it up and trying to read it. I could have really used some “Bible Basics”!

Whether you are very familiar with its contents or are new to reading your Bible, the need for knowing God’s Word at a glance is valuable. If you’ve been a Christian for a while, this is a valuable exercise to step back and look at it from the perspective of just picking it up for the first time—like someone who doesn’t have any knowledge of how the Bible is laid out or what it contains. If you’re new to reading scripture, this is SO helpful. I’ve put together a “cheat sheet” for the Bible at a glance that you can download for free at the bottom.

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A place to learn Bible basics

Studying scripture with a group of like-minded people is the best way to learn. Bible Study Fellowship International has been my go-to group to learn and grow. It’s from one of their seminars that I’ve taken in much of this simplified information that I’m sharing with you now.

What is the Bible?

It’s God’s love letter to you! One of my old pastors told us all to write this on the first page of our Bibles, “Read for life change”, and I see that every time I open the cover! Most importantly, it’s the story of God, the Creator and Sustainer and Ruler of all of His creation, and His purpose and plan for redemption of His people.

What are all these “versions” of the Bible?

There are a number of “translations” from the original text. The most popular ones are NIV (New International Version), ESV (English Standard Version), KJV (King James Version) and NKJV (New King James Version). There are quite a few others, but these are the ones you’ll come across the most. What kind do you have? Take a look at the binding or open it and look at the title page to determine the version you have.

Who wrote the Bible?

It’s made up of 66 books penned by more than 40 authors, but all inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). So, God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, gave these men His Words to write down so that we would have it for generations. God does not lie and He is perfect and holy, so the Bible is completely without error and can be trusted to be true.

What’s inside?

• Just inside the cover is the Preface followed by the Table of Contents. Some Bibles have the books alphabetized.
• Some books have two parts, such as 1Kings and 2Kings or 1Timothy and 2Timothy.
• The Bible has two main parts–the Old Testament and the New Testament.
• Scripture is annotated with small numbers throughout a passage. They indicate the specific verse in that particular chapter. So, if I’m reading Romans 3:23, that simply means that I’m reading chapter 3 in the book of Romans and I’m reading the 23rd verse in that chapter.

Some Bible helps

• Some Bibles have scripture in the New Testament that is written in red. These are the words of Jesus. The words that he spoke. It’s a helpful tool to quickly let us know these are His words.
• Some Bibles include maps. It’s always great to see places on a map. I’ve always been amazed by some of the missionary journeys and how far and long the apostles walked to carry the Good News.
• A dictionary and concordance are included in many study Bibles. Concordances help you look up a specific word and find it in scripture. If you want to do a word study such as “prayer”, you could use a concordance and find many places where the word is used.

More helps to go a little deeper

• Commentaries are also in many study Bibles. These are written by theologians who have studied the passages and offer more insights to help us understand.
• Sometimes you might see footnotes at the bottom of a page. They’re self-explanatory.
• Marginal references are very useful for studying. I have a Bible that has all the references in a center column. These are for seeing other corresponding passages of scripture. If I’m reading a passage in the New Testament, for instance, and it’s referencing something from the Old Testament, I could easily find that passage in the marginal or center reference and read that one too. (There’s a photo below)

How is it laid out?

The Bible has two parts—the Old Testament and the New Testament.

In the Old Testament’s, 39 books, we read of the history and faith of the Jewish people. They are often referred to as Hebrews, Israelites, Judah and Israel. In it there are:

5 books of the law (the Pentateuch)
Genesis through Deuteronomy
It begins with creation, the call of Abraham and beginning of God’s people (Hebrews), the Exodus from Egypt, the law that was given to His people through Moses (ten commandments), and the journey to the Promised Land.

12 books of the history of Israel
Joshua through Esther
Historical books about the people
Most notably, King David who wrote many Psalms
God’s promise of the coming Savior

5 books of wisdom and poetry
Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon

5 major prophets (larger books of prophecy)
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel

12 minor prophets (smaller books of prophecy)
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
The prophets foretell God’s judgments, call His people to repent and return to Him and give God’s promises, especially of the Redeemer to come.

This photo is of the tabs that my Bible has.  They are well-worn, but you get the idea:)

In the New Testament’s 27 books are the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles as well as letters to the churches (epistles) and one book of prophecy.

Four Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the four Gospels or “Good News”.
They write of the birth, life, teachings, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven of Jesus Christ. All four share this true story, but are written from a different perspective. So, by reading through all four, you gain different aspects of the same events or teachings.

(Salvation or the “Good News” in a nutshell–Sin separates us from God, and we need a Savior to bridge that gap. Jesus is the Lord and Savior of the world. The Redeemer, who’s coming was foretold thousands of years before. By believing that He came from heaven, was born and lived as a human but also fully God, that He died on the cross to take the punishment for our sin and was raised to life, we are saved from judgment and punishment for our sin.)

The Acts of the Apostles
This book contains the history, exciting beginning and spread of the church after Jesus’ ascension into heaven.

21 Epistles – letters from the Apostles to encourage the churches
Romans through Jude
The Apostles share more of Jesus’ teachings and bring them encouragement, helping them to grow.

One Prophecy Book – Revelation
The foretelling of Jesus’ return to earth as God and King.

That’s the Bible at a glance. I hope this helps you to get a basic understanding for yourself or someone just picking it up. If you’re new to studying the Bible or would like an easy way to engage with God’s Word, I wrote a couple of great posts that help you get started and keep you goin! “Go Deeper in Faith and Bible Study” or “Revive Your Quiet Time.”

God bless you as you open up His Word and “read for life change”!

Sally

Romans 15: 13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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