Introduction
Contrary to popular belief, the Bible is not just one book but actually a collection of 66 books written by about 40 authors, in three different languages, on three different continents, over approximately 1600 years. Yet despite all of this, it maintains congruency, which is a fancy word for harmony or that they are in agreement. Every piece fits in with each other.
What makes the Bible so important in the Christian faith is that it is said to be inspired and inerrant, which means that it came from God and that it is without error in everything it addresses. Yet surprisingly, nowhere in the entire Bible does the authors try and persuade its readers that it’s without error or directly from God, they simply assumed people would read and believe it. The early church certainly did.
The Bible is therefore the source of the Christian faith because it contains the words of God and stipulates how the Christian is to apply the words of God to his or her life. The Bible describes the origin of man in the Garden of Eden along with his fall into sin and out of fellowship with God.
It further describes how God called out a special people to Himself, the Israelites. He promised the Israelites a future Messiah who would restore mankind’s relationship with God, which was destroyed because of sin. Therefore, it is the inspired account of the work of God in history bringing to fruition His prophetic declarations concerning Jesus.
Content
So what exactly is in the 66 different books? Well the Bible contains many different styles of writing such as poetry, history, parables, prophecy, as well as fiction. Many will claim that the entire Bible is fiction, but this is simply their opinions, and when we say it contains fiction we refer to parts like Ezekiel 23:1-4 which is a written account that didn’t really happen, but it is used as an illustration, and usually the authors are very clear on matters like these.
In short, the Bible points to Jesus. The Gospels describe what Jesus said and did. The Old Testament explains why Jesus said and did what He did, and the rest of the New Testament describes how the early church interpreted what Jesus said and did. Jesus said to the religious leaders of His time in John 5:38 “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me”.
Furthermore, the Bible declares that forgiveness of sins is found in Jesus alone, Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved”. Yet again, many will claim that it is nothing more than fairy tales.
Historical Evidence
Archaeology however contains much information regarding people, places, and events that is written about in the Bible. In fact, archaeology routinely demonstrates the accuracy of the biblical records concerning locations and events recorded in the Bible. In addition, the Bible contains great wisdom and truth that has changed the lives of millions, which in turn helped shaped nations.
The Jewish Book
The Jewish Bible only has 39 books in it. The Christian Bible has 66 since Christians include the New Testament books. The Roman Catholic Church added several apocryphal books in 1546AD in response to the Protestant Reformation. But, those additional books bears no marks of inspiration. We’ll delve deeper into this at some stage, for now just trust us that the apocryphal books were never meant to be in the Bible as we have it today and adds nothing new to the Christian faith.
Authority Of The Bible
Because the Bible is inspired from God, it is automatically authoritative. This means that it is the final authority in everything. It addresses and stipulates the rule of conduct and worship for Christians. Those who would reject the final authority of the Bible position, often are led into false religious beliefs and certain false doctrines.
Below is a list of all the books in the Bible, and at Faith Nuggets we endeavor to create a course for each book, studying the content by pericope rather than just chapter by chapter. If there is a course available, the specific Book will have a hyperlink to the course.
The Old Testament Books Of The Bible
- Pentateuch – 5 books:
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- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
- Historical Books – 12 books:
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- Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First Samuel, Second Samuel, First Kings, Second Kings, First Chronicles, Second Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther
- Poetical – 5 books:
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- Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
- Prophetical – 17 books:
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- Major Prophets – Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel
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- Minor Prophets – Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
The New Testament Books Of The Bible
- Historical Books – 5 books:
- Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts
- Pauline Epistles – 13 books:
- Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon
- Non-Pauline Epistles – 9 books:
- Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation
Note: Some authors attribute Hebrews to Paul.