What is the Bible?

January 12, 2020 Sermon Outlines

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TITLE: What is the Bible?

SUBJECT: Bible

PROPOSITION: In this lesson, we will seek to answer the question, “What is the Bible.” 1) It means “book.” 2) It is a book of books. 3) It is the word of God. 4) It is the story of God’s work to save man through His Son Jesus Christ.

OBJECTIVE: This lesson is designed to help everyone understand what the Bible is.

AIM: The aim of this lesson is to answer the question “What is the Bible?”

INTRODUCTION:

1. Read: 2 Timothy 3:15 – “and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

2. About the Text:

1) Paul speaks about the purpose of the scriptures in this verse.

2) He says they were designed to make a person wise to salvation through Jesus Christ.

3) A website put out a list of most asked religious questions.

4) The number two religious question that was asked was, “What is the Bible?”

5) Let’s answer that question this morning.

3. Ref. to S, T, P, O, and A.

DISCUSSION:

I. What does the word “Bible” mean?

1. It is from the Greek word biblos which means “book.”

1) “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham” (Matthew 1:1).

2) Book of Moses – Mark 12:26 – the Pentateuch.

3) Book of Isaiah – Luke 3:4 – a prophet.

4) Book of Psalm – Luke 20:42 – all wisdom literature or just the Psalms.

5) Book of the Prophets – Acts 7:42 – major and minor prophets.

2. The Hebrew words for book is sepher, sometimes translated scroll.

1) Hebrew – Law, Prophets, and Writings.

II. The Bible is a Book of books.

1. It has a total of 66 books.

2. It is divided into two parts.

1) The Old Testament (Covenant) – 39 books.

2) The New Testament (Covenant) – 27 books.

3. This nomenclature comes from the Bible itself.

1) Jeremiah 31:31 – “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah”

2) Hebrews 8:13 – “In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”

4. The Old Testament has five main sections.

1) Books of the Law – 5

2) Books of History – 12

3) Books of Wisdom (Poetry) – 5

4) Major Prophets – 5

5) Minor Prophets – 12

5. The New Testament has five sections also.

1) The Gospel Accounts – 4

2) History – 1

3) Epistles of Paul – 13

4) General Epistles – 8

5) Prophecy – 1

III. The Bible is the Word of God

1. It speaks for God.

1) “Says the Lord” – 815.

2) “The Lord said” – 234.

3) “God said” – 44.

2. Those who wrote were inspired by God’s Spirit.

1) “The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, And His word was on my tongue” (2 Samuel 23:2).

2) “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 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 1:20-21).

3) “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).

3. Being the very word of God, the Bible is truth.

1) “For the word of the Lord is right, And all His work is done in truth” (Psalm 33:4).

2) “God’s law is truth” (Psalm 119:142).

3) “God’s commandments are truth” (Psalm 119:151).

4) “The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever” (Psalm 119:160).

5) God “keeps truth forever” (Psalm 146:6).

6) “Sanctify them in thy truth; thy word is truth” (John 17:17).

7) Whatever topic the Bible comments on is the truth.

IV. The Bible is the Story of God’s Work to Save Man through Jesus, His Son.

1. The Bible begins with God – “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

2. The Bible tells of the fall of man (Genesis 3).

3. The Bible tells of God’s desire to save man.

1) “Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22).

2) “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17).

4. The Bible tells us how God saves man through Jesus.

1) “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

2) “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:9).

3) “and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15).