Church of Christ Edify Evangelize

06/08/2026

Introduction

The Bible has two main parts. The first part is called the Old Testament. The second part is the New Testament. The New Testament contains 27 books. It begins with Matthew and ends with Revelation. These books were written by eight men. These men wrote what God told them to write. The New Testament books were written in the Greek language. Later the New Testament books were translated into other languages. The New Testament is divided into 4 major sections. These sections are: The Gospels, History, Epistles, and Prophecy.



The Gospels
The first 4 books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) are called the Gospels. The word “Gospel” means “good news.” These books tell us the good news of the coming of Christ to save man from his sins. These books also tell us of the birth, life, teachings, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. The authors of the Gospels are the same as the title of each book.



History
The book of history in the New Testament is Acts of the Apostles. It is often called the book of ACTS. This book was written by Luke. It tells of the beginning of Christ’s church in Acts, chapter 2. Throughout the rest of the book, it tells how the church spread throughout the world. Acts tells many things that Peter and Paul did. The book of Acts also tells and shows us how people became Christians. Acts is often called the book of conversions. This is because it has so many examples of people being converted to Christ. The following verses are examples of how people became Christians. You should study them carefully.

A. Acts 2:36-38, 41, 42, 47 People on day of Pentecost

B. Acts 8:1-13 People of Samaria

C. Acts 8:26-39 Ethiopian Eu**ch

D. Acts 9:1-19; Acts 22:1-16 Saul of Tarsus, who became the apostle Paul

E. Acts 10:1-48 Cornelius

F. Acts 16:25-34 Philippian jailer



The Epistles
The word “epistle” means “letter.” There are 21 epistles in the New Testament. The epistles of the New Testament can be divided into 2 groups: the Epistles of Paul and the General Epistles. The apostle Paul wrote at least 13 of the 21 epistles. They are: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Some believe Paul also wrote Hebrews. Some of Paul’s epistles were written to individual persons and some to certain churches. Here is a brief summary of each one of the epistles:

Romans: Chapters 1-11 show that we are saved by faith. Chapter 12- 16 are given to encourage the Romans to live the Christian life.

1 and 2 Corinthians: These books were written to the church at Corinth. Paul started this church. First Corinthians tells of the many problems the church had. Paul tells them to correct them. Second Corinthians shows that some of these problems had been overcome.

Galatians: This letter shows that Christians do not live under the law of Moses.

Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians: These letters were written while Paul was in prison at Rome. The letters tell us that unity should be among Christians and that Christ is above and over all.

1 and 2 Thessalonians: These letters deal with the second coming of Christ. Some Christians had stopped working. They thought that Christ was to come again very soon. Paul told them this was not true.

1 and 2 Timothy and Titus: Timothy and Titus were two young preachers. They had been helping churches that Paul had established. He gave them much advice.

Philemon: Philemon was a Christian. He had a slave by the name of Onesimus. Onesimus ran away from Philemon. Paul met Onesimus and converted him. Paul then wrote a letter to Philemon asking him to take Onesimus back as a brother in Christ.

Hebrews: This epistle shows clearly the greatness of Christ’s law over the law of Moses.

James; 1 and 2 Peter; 1, 2, and 3 John; Jude: These books are called the General Epistles. Each book is named after its author. Here is a brief summary of each book:

James: He was a brother of Christ. The book was written to Jews who had become Christians. One of its main teachings is that faith without works is dead.

1 Peter: This book was written to encourage those who were being persecuted (harmed). It shows that it is good to suffer for Christ.

2 Peter: Warning is given against false teachers. It also teaches concerning the second coming of Christ.

1, 2, and 3 John: First John is mostly about love. Second John is the shortest book in the Bible. It is written to “the elect lady.” Third John is written to Gaius. John praises Gaius for his love for the Lord. Gaius is warned against Diotrophes.

Jude: False teachers had come into the church. Jude wrote in order to encourage Christians to fight for the faith once for all revealed to God’s people. Jude teaches us that we must oppose error, even within the Lord’s church.



Prophecy
The book of Revelation is a book of prophecy. It was written by John. It tells us about the things that must shortly take place. Revelation is written in symbolic language. Most of Revelation should not be interpreted as it is stated. A person must understand what the symbols mean. Only then can he interpret it properly. Also, many of the things mentioned have already happened.

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Introduction

The Bible has two main divisions. The first division is called the Old Testament. The second division is called the New Testament. The Old Testament includes the first 39 books of the Bible. It begins with Genesis and ends with the book of Malachi. The Old Testament tells the story of God’s dealings (working) with mankind from the beginning of the world until the birth of Jesus. Although we are not governed by the Old Testament today, it still has relevance and must be studied. (Romans 15:4) and (I Corinthians 10:11)



The writings of the Old Testament

The Old Testament was first written in the Hebrew language. The 39 books of the Old Testament were written by several different men. These men received the message which they wrote from God. In the New Testament, we learn how these writers received the message they wrote: "for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21).



The divisions of the Old Testament

We have learned that the Bible has two major divisions, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament can be further divided into four main sections. These sections are: Law, History, Poetry, and Prophecy.



The books of the Law
The first 5 books of the Old Testament make up the first section of Law. The books in this section are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These book were written by Moses, the great servant of God.

Genesis is the story of the beginning of all things. In Genesis we learn about the beginning of man and woman, marriage, sin, death, different languages, the nation of Israel, and God’s plan to save man from his sins.

Genesis also tells about men such as Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. These men are often called Patriarchs. The word “patriarch” means “a father,” or a “head of a family.” The book of Genesis tells us about the Patriarchal Age (from Adam and Eve to Moses’ receiving the Ten Commandment Law on Mount Sinai). In the Patriarchal Age the people did not have God’s commandments written down in the Bible. Instead, God spoke directly to the patriarchs and revealed His commandments and teachings to them.

Exodus tells about the nation of Israel. God had chosen Israel to be His special people. From Israel God planned later to bring Jesus to be the Savior of the world. The people of Israel had gone to live in Egypt during a time of famine (no food). The Egyptians made slaves of them. Exodus tells the story of how God sent Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt.

Leviticus and Deuteronomy contain the first written law which God gave to mankind. This law was given to Moses on Mount Sinai. It contains the Ten Commandments and many other laws. This law of Moses was given ONLY to the nation of Israel (Exodus 19:3; Deuteronomy 5:1). It was to last until the death of Christ on the cross. Christ fulfilled the law of Moses and took it out of the way. Read Matthew 5:17, 18; Galatians 3:23-28; Colossians 2:13, 14. Numbers is a book of history and also contains some of the laws which God gave to Israel. It tells about Israel’s wanderings in the desert for forty years before they entered the land of Canaan.



The books of history
The second section of the Old Testament is called History. This section contains twelve books. They are: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

These twelve books tell the history of the nation of Israel. They tell about the wars in which God helped Israel destroy the wicked people of Canaan. They tell about the building of God’s temple in Jerusalem. They tell how Israel became a rich, powerful nation but later divided into two separate kingdoms called Judah and Israel.

These books also tell how the people of Israel forgot about their God and worshipped idols (false gods). God punished them for their sins by permitting other nations to make slaves of them. But whenever Israel repented (decided to stop doing wrong things and turn back to God, doing things God’s way), God permitted them to return to their home.



The books of poetry
There are five books in this section. They are Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.

Job is the story of a man who suffered much. Even though he had many troubles, he still remained faithful to God. Psalms are poems and songs written by King David and others. These poems praise God for His goodness, power, and glory. Proverbs is a book of wise sayings. It was written by King Solomon and others.

Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon. It tells about a man who tried to find happiness in riches, love, power, fame, and learning. He found that none of these could bring true happiness. He learned that true happiness can only come from fearing God and keeping His commandments.

The Song of Solomon is a love song.



The books of prophecy
The last section of the Old Testament is Prophecy. It contains seventeen books. These books were written by the great prophets of God whose names they bear. They are: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi

These prophets were men who spoke for God. The prophets had big jobs to do. First: They rebuked the people of their own time for their sins. Second: They were permitted by God to see into the future. God gave them the power to foretell things which would happen many years later. For example, the prophet Isaiah lived 700 years before Christ came to the earth. Yet, he (Isaiah) foretold many things about Christ and His kingdom. Read Isaiah, Chapter 53, which tells of Christ’s death for our sins.

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160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
(Psalm 119:116)

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Abortion is murder

Simple…

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We must have standards and authorities in all the affairs of life. If we do not, then we have much confusion. Every nation has a government which exercises authority over it. The headmaster and teachers exercise authority in the school. Parents exercise authority in the home.

In Christianity we see much division and confusion. Why? Because we fail to be guided by the true standard of authority! The result is hundreds of churches with many different teachings. Before this confusion can be cleared, we must all agree on an authority in Christianity. What will it be?



The Bible is the inspired Word of God

The Bible is the authority in Christianity because it is the inspired Word of God. The apostle Paul, in writing to Timothy, said: "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" (2 Timothy 3:16, 17).

Peter said, "Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Peter 1:21). Peter is talking about the men who wrote the Bible. They were men who were told what to write. The Holy Spirit is the one who told them. If we listen to what the Bible says, we are listening to God. God is perfect. What He says is right. Man is not perfect. He makes mistakes. We must not listen to man because he is sometimes wrong. Since God cannot be wrong, we must listen to Him. Then we know we are right.

"Your word is truth" (John 17:17). The Bible is the Word of God. The words of God are truth. Therefore, the Bible contains all truth (John 16:13).



Man cannot direct his own way

The Bible is the authority in Christianity because man cannot direct his own way. "O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own stepss"(Jeremiah 10:23). Many people think that they can decide by themselves what is right in Christianity. When man tries to direct his own way, he finds much trouble. When he listens to God, he does much better. If man were able to direct his own way, God would not have given us the Bible. In order to find the way of life that is pleasing to God, we must let the Bible be our guide.



We will be judged by the Bible

The Bible is the authority in Christianity because we will be judged by it at the second coming of Christ. "It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). No one can escape death. The whole world agrees with that. Neither can a person escape the judgment. Since we cannot escape the judgment, we must prepare for it. But how can we prepare for it? By listening to Jesus. God gave Jesus authority to speak. It will be the words of Christ that will judge us. Listen to what Jesus has to say: "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). Every man will be judged by his own life. "Then He will reward each according to his works" (Matthew 16:27). "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" (2 Corinthians 5:10).



The Bible tells us what to do to be saved

The Bible is the authority in Christianity because it tells us what to do to be saved. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek" (Romans 1:16). "And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (Hebrews 5:9).

No one but Jesus can tell us what to do to be saved. What does Jesus say we must do in order to be saved? Jesus said, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Mark 16:16).

Again we read in the book of Acts: "Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).

In order to be saved, we must believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died so that we can have forgiveness of sins. We must repent (make up our minds to turn away from practicing sin and turn back to doing things God’s way) of our sins. We must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Then we must be baptized (briefly buried in water) for the forgiveness of our sins.



Conclusion

If we do not accept the Bible as the authority in Christianity, then we are not listening to God. God does not like this. God condemns those who do not listen to Him. Here is what the Bible has to say about it: "But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other Gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:8). If we listen to the teaching of man, we do not have God in our lives. "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father (God) and the Son" (2 John 9). Do you listen to the teachings of Christ or to the teachings of man?

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We must protect the innocent lives of our children.

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160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
(Psalm 119:116)