Tough Questions Christians Face
John 1:1, 1 Peter 1:3-12, Mark 13:31
FActs About the Bible
How many books are in the Bible? 66
How many books are in the Old Testament? 39
How many books are in the New Testament? 27
How many chapters are in the Bible? 1,189
How many chapters are in the Old Testament? 929
How many chapters are in the New Testament? 260
Old Testament (TaNak)
- TORAH “Law” (Genesis-Deuteronomy)
- NEVI’M “Prophets” (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Twelve Minor Prophets)
- KETUVIM “Writings” (Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles)
"In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God." John 1:1 (NLT)
"Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!'" John 8:58 (NLT)
Apostles’ Writings
"15 And remember, our Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him— 16 speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction." 2 Peter 3:15-16 (NLT)
New Testament – Canon “Measuring Rod”
Criteria:
- Authorship – had to be an apostle
- Content – has to line up with Old Testament; can’t ramble
- Acceptance – had to be recognized by the church
Neither individuals nor councils created the canon; instead they came to recognize and acknowledge the self-authenticating quality of these writings, which imposed themselves as canonical upon the church.”
Bruce Metzger (Leading Translator and Scholar)
When asked, ‘What is more important: prayer or reading the Bible?’ I ask, ‘What is more important: breathing in or breathing out?'”
Charles Spurgeon
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