Summary of the Bible
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What is the Bible?
The Bible is the sacred Book, or collection of books, accepted by the Christian Church as uniquely inspired by God, and thus authoritative, providing guidelines for belief and behavior.1
Many verses throughout the Bible attest to its divine origin (Genesis 6:9-13, Exodus 20:1-17, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Revelation 1:1-2, etc.) But the Bible was not simply dictated word-for-word by God; it is also the work of its many different human authors. The different writing skills, writing styles, personalities, world views, and cultural backgrounds of the human authors can be seen in their works. Many of the New Testament books were originally written as letters rather than as Scripture. Some Bible writings include the authors' own research and recollection of historical events (Luke 1:1-4) and their own opinions (1 Corinthians 7:12).
The Old Testament
Background
The Old Testament is the first of the two major sections of the Christian Bible. The Old Testament contains the sacred writings of the Jews. It was written over the period of roughly 1000 B.C. to 100 B.C., but it includes narration of events that occurred many centuries earlier and had been passed from generation to generation in oral form. The Old Testament was originally written in the Hebrew language with a few sections written in the Aramaic language.
There was no "official" list of accepted books of Jewish scripture until around 100 A.D. when Jewish rabbis revised their Scripture and established an official canon of Judaism, rejecting some books not found in Hebrew versions of the Scripture. This revision accounts for the fact that Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians use slightly different versions of the Old Testament.
Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity, was born a Jew and practiced Judaism all His earthly life. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism and only emerged as a separate religion after large numbers of Gentiles had been converted. The Jewish Scripture had predicted the coming of a savior, the Messiah, and Jesus fulfilled that role. So it is natural that Christians would retain the Jewish Scripture as part of their Bible.
For more details: What is the difference between Protestant and Catholic Bibles?
Synopsis
The Old Testament tells the story of God's chosen people, the Hebrews, who were later known as Israelites or Jews. Sometime around 1800 B.C., God made a covenant with a man named Abraham to make of his descendants a great nation. The first few of these descendants migrated to Egypt to escape a famine in their own land. After many generations they had greatly increased their numbers but had become enslaved to the Egyptians. God sent a great leader and prophet, Moses, to lead the Hebrews out of captivity and into the Promised Land of Israel. During this time God gave Moses the Ten Commandments which are still considered the basis for a moral life by both Jews and Christians.
In addition to the Ten Commandments, the Old Testament lists many other laws about circumcision, dietary restrictions, blood sacrifices, Sabbath observance, tithing, social welfare, crimes, social behavior, armies, qualifications of leaders, etc. These laws regulated almost every aspect of Hebrew life.
God intended for the Israelites to live according to His commandments and to show the truth of God to all the world (Genesis 12:1-3). However, time and again, the Israelites lost sight of their mission and lapsed into idolatry, sin or narrow-minded nationalism. On these occasions, God called prophets, such as Elijah, Samuel, Jonah, Isaiah and many others, to lead them back to the right path. The Old Testament writings make no attempt to hide the fact that the Israelites and their leaders had many failings and flaws. Yet, through these flawed people, God was able to accomplish His purposes in the world.
The later Hebrew prophets foresaw the coming of a Messiah (meaning "anointed one"), a king who would usher in a golden era of of peace and prosperity. More than any other nation, the Israelites looked to the future, to the coming of the Messiah, and to the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham to make of his descendants a great nation.
For more details: The Ten Commandments, Abraham
The New Testament
Background
The New Testament contains the sacred books that are unique to Christianity. All the New Testament books were written in the Greek language over the period of about 50 to 120 A.D. None of the New Testament books were originally written as part of a Christian Bible, but they were read at church services for instruction in the faith.
The collection of books we know as the New Testament emerged in the late second century, A.D. The church leaders accepted books they believed were based on eyewitness accounts of the events narrated, while rejecting many other early Christian writings. Eventually, the 27 books which form the present New Testament, along with the Old Testament books, became the Christian Bible as we know it today. The New Testament canon was formally adopted by the Synod of Carthage in 397 A.D.
Synopsis
The New Testament tells of Jesus' birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection, the growth of the early Christian Church, and predictions of the second coming of Jesus. Jesus was born sometime between 6 and 4 B.C. in the city of Bethlehem, and He was destined from birth to fulfill the role of Messiah or Christ (the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word "messiah"). He lived an ordinary life for 30 years, and then He began His ministry among the Jews.
Jesus traveled from town to town, healing the sick and preaching about the coming kingdom of God. He taught that God's kingdom is a spiritual kingdom that is now growing among the faithful, and it will find its fulfillment in the eventual sovereign rule of God and defeat of all evil. Jesus said He will come again someday to bring God's kingdom to fulfillment. He promised a wonderful eternal life after death for those who put their trust in God and obey His commandments.
Many of the Jews had expected the Messiah to be a great political and military leader who would defeat Israel's enemies, but Jesus saw His kingdom as spiritual rather than worldly. He taught the way to victory is not through force and violence, but through love, humility, and service to mankind. Jesus was not the type of "Messiah" the Jews had expected, and many of them rejected Jesus and His teachings.
The religious establishment of Israel saw Jesus as a threat. His claims of divine authority and His refusal to follow some of their religious rules were usurping their authority over the people. This conflict ultimately led to Jesus' execution by crucifixion only three years after He had begun His ministry.
Three days after His death, Jesus' body was discovered missing from the tomb, and over the next 40 days Many people saw Him alive again, and He talked with His disciples. At the end of 40 days, He ascended to heaven, returning to God, His Father.
Jesus' miraculous resurrection convinced many people that He truly was the Christ and their personal savior as well. Christianity was born, and Jesus' former disciples became its leaders. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is portrayed as the Son of God, the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah, and as the means of our personal salvation from the power of sin and death.
Jesus taught that love of God and love of other people are the two "Greatest Commandments" that should totally guide our lives. He taught obedience to God and love for all people, both Jews and Gentiles, and even for enemies! Jesus did not abolish the moral and ethical laws that had been in effect from the time of Moses. He affirmed and expanded upon those principles, but He said obedience must be from the heart (attitudes and intentions) rather than just technical observance of the letter of the law. Jesus and His apostles gave us a radically new understanding of the true intent of the Old Testament Law; they brought a new era of the rule of love for all people and spiritual truth instead of rule by law.
The young Christian communities suffered much persecution from the Jewish religious establishment and from the Roman Empire. Saul, a member of the Jewish religious establishment, was one of the fiercest persecutors of Christians. One day, while on the road to Damascus, Saul saw a blinding light and Jesus spoke to him saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" As a result of this overwhelming experience, Saul had a complete change of heart. Now known as Paul, he became a zealous Christian missionary and extended Christianity outside Judaism, founding many Christian communities in the Gentile world.
Paul wrote many letters to the people of the churches he had founded. He explained his beliefs about Jesus, instructed them in proper modes of worship, and sometimes chastised them for moral lapses. He taught that the way to salvation and eternal life is through faith in Jesus Christ and high moral standards, not through obedience to the Old Testament Law. Many of Paul's letters have become part of the New Testament. Through these letters we know Paul as the most energetic and influential interpreter of Jesus' life and teachings.
The Jews of that time believed that holiness could be achieved by obeying about 600 rules derived from the Old Testament Law. But the Gentile Christians did not share that tradition and disputes arose about whether or not it was necessary to follow those rules. Christian leaders, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, decided that the ceremonial and legal aspects of the Old Testament Law - circumcision, dietary restrictions, blood sacrifices, Sabbath observance and many other rules - are not binding on Christians (Acts 15:1-5, 22-29).
What is the Bible?
The Bible is the sacred Book, or collection of books, accepted by the Christian Church as uniquely inspired by God, and thus authoritative, providing guidelines for belief and behavior.1
Many verses throughout the Bible attest to its divine origin (Genesis 6:9-13, Exodus 20:1-17, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Revelation 1:1-2, etc.) But the Bible was not simply dictated word-for-word by God; it is also the work of its many different human authors. The different writing skills, writing styles, personalities, world views, and cultural backgrounds of the human authors can be seen in their works. Many of the New Testament books were originally written as letters rather than as Scripture. Some Bible writings include the authors' own research and recollection of historical events (Luke 1:1-4) and their own opinions (1 Corinthians 7:12).
The Old Testament
Background
The Old Testament is the first of the two major sections of the Christian Bible. The Old Testament contains the sacred writings of the Jews. It was written over the period of roughly 1000 B.C. to 100 B.C., but it includes narration of events that occurred many centuries earlier and had been passed from generation to generation in oral form. The Old Testament was originally written in the Hebrew language with a few sections written in the Aramaic language.
There was no "official" list of accepted books of Jewish scripture until around 100 A.D. when Jewish rabbis revised their Scripture and established an official canon of Judaism, rejecting some books not found in Hebrew versions of the Scripture. This revision accounts for the fact that Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians use slightly different versions of the Old Testament.
Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity, was born a Jew and practiced Judaism all His earthly life. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism and only emerged as a separate religion after large numbers of Gentiles had been converted. The Jewish Scripture had predicted the coming of a savior, the Messiah, and Jesus fulfilled that role. So it is natural that Christians would retain the Jewish Scripture as part of their Bible.
For more details: What is the difference between Protestant and Catholic Bibles?
Synopsis
The Old Testament tells the story of God's chosen people, the Hebrews, who were later known as Israelites or Jews. Sometime around 1800 B.C., God made a covenant with a man named Abraham to make of his descendants a great nation. The first few of these descendants migrated to Egypt to escape a famine in their own land. After many generations they had greatly increased their numbers but had become enslaved to the Egyptians. God sent a great leader and prophet, Moses, to lead the Hebrews out of captivity and into the Promised Land of Israel. During this time God gave Moses the Ten Commandments which are still considered the basis for a moral life by both Jews and Christians.
In addition to the Ten Commandments, the Old Testament lists many other laws about circumcision, dietary restrictions, blood sacrifices, Sabbath observance, tithing, social welfare, crimes, social behavior, armies, qualifications of leaders, etc. These laws regulated almost every aspect of Hebrew life.
God intended for the Israelites to live according to His commandments and to show the truth of God to all the world (Genesis 12:1-3). However, time and again, the Israelites lost sight of their mission and lapsed into idolatry, sin or narrow-minded nationalism. On these occasions, God called prophets, such as Elijah, Samuel, Jonah, Isaiah and many others, to lead them back to the right path. The Old Testament writings make no attempt to hide the fact that the Israelites and their leaders had many failings and flaws. Yet, through these flawed people, God was able to accomplish His purposes in the world.
The later Hebrew prophets foresaw the coming of a Messiah (meaning "anointed one"), a king who would usher in a golden era of of peace and prosperity. More than any other nation, the Israelites looked to the future, to the coming of the Messiah, and to the fulfillment of God's promise to Abraham to make of his descendants a great nation.
For more details: The Ten Commandments, Abraham
The New Testament
Background
The New Testament contains the sacred books that are unique to Christianity. All the New Testament books were written in the Greek language over the period of about 50 to 120 A.D. None of the New Testament books were originally written as part of a Christian Bible, but they were read at church services for instruction in the faith.
The collection of books we know as the New Testament emerged in the late second century, A.D. The church leaders accepted books they believed were based on eyewitness accounts of the events narrated, while rejecting many other early Christian writings. Eventually, the 27 books which form the present New Testament, along with the Old Testament books, became the Christian Bible as we know it today. The New Testament canon was formally adopted by the Synod of Carthage in 397 A.D.
Synopsis
The New Testament tells of Jesus' birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection, the growth of the early Christian Church, and predictions of the second coming of Jesus. Jesus was born sometime between 6 and 4 B.C. in the city of Bethlehem, and He was destined from birth to fulfill the role of Messiah or Christ (the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word "messiah"). He lived an ordinary life for 30 years, and then He began His ministry among the Jews.
Jesus traveled from town to town, healing the sick and preaching about the coming kingdom of God. He taught that God's kingdom is a spiritual kingdom that is now growing among the faithful, and it will find its fulfillment in the eventual sovereign rule of God and defeat of all evil. Jesus said He will come again someday to bring God's kingdom to fulfillment. He promised a wonderful eternal life after death for those who put their trust in God and obey His commandments.
Many of the Jews had expected the Messiah to be a great political and military leader who would defeat Israel's enemies, but Jesus saw His kingdom as spiritual rather than worldly. He taught the way to victory is not through force and violence, but through love, humility, and service to mankind. Jesus was not the type of "Messiah" the Jews had expected, and many of them rejected Jesus and His teachings.
The religious establishment of Israel saw Jesus as a threat. His claims of divine authority and His refusal to follow some of their religious rules were usurping their authority over the people. This conflict ultimately led to Jesus' execution by crucifixion only three years after He had begun His ministry.
Three days after His death, Jesus' body was discovered missing from the tomb, and over the next 40 days Many people saw Him alive again, and He talked with His disciples. At the end of 40 days, He ascended to heaven, returning to God, His Father.
Jesus' miraculous resurrection convinced many people that He truly was the Christ and their personal savior as well. Christianity was born, and Jesus' former disciples became its leaders. Throughout the New Testament, Jesus is portrayed as the Son of God, the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah, and as the means of our personal salvation from the power of sin and death.
Jesus taught that love of God and love of other people are the two "Greatest Commandments" that should totally guide our lives. He taught obedience to God and love for all people, both Jews and Gentiles, and even for enemies! Jesus did not abolish the moral and ethical laws that had been in effect from the time of Moses. He affirmed and expanded upon those principles, but He said obedience must be from the heart (attitudes and intentions) rather than just technical observance of the letter of the law. Jesus and His apostles gave us a radically new understanding of the true intent of the Old Testament Law; they brought a new era of the rule of love for all people and spiritual truth instead of rule by law.
The young Christian communities suffered much persecution from the Jewish religious establishment and from the Roman Empire. Saul, a member of the Jewish religious establishment, was one of the fiercest persecutors of Christians. One day, while on the road to Damascus, Saul saw a blinding light and Jesus spoke to him saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" As a result of this overwhelming experience, Saul had a complete change of heart. Now known as Paul, he became a zealous Christian missionary and extended Christianity outside Judaism, founding many Christian communities in the Gentile world.
Paul wrote many letters to the people of the churches he had founded. He explained his beliefs about Jesus, instructed them in proper modes of worship, and sometimes chastised them for moral lapses. He taught that the way to salvation and eternal life is through faith in Jesus Christ and high moral standards, not through obedience to the Old Testament Law. Many of Paul's letters have become part of the New Testament. Through these letters we know Paul as the most energetic and influential interpreter of Jesus' life and teachings.
The Jews of that time believed that holiness could be achieved by obeying about 600 rules derived from the Old Testament Law. But the Gentile Christians did not share that tradition and disputes arose about whether or not it was necessary to follow those rules. Christian leaders, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, decided that the ceremonial and legal aspects of the Old Testament Law - circumcision, dietary restrictions, blood sacrifices, Sabbath observance and many other rules - are not binding on Christians (Acts 15:1-5, 22-29).
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