Introduction

We are going to be talking about the basics of the Bible. Often when people pick up the Bible and try to read it, they can’t understand it. The Bible tells us in First Corinthians chapter two that people who do not know Christ as their Saviour will not be able to understand the Bible. Because they do not know the Author, they cannot know the Book. The Bible just cannot make sense to them.

I remember the first time I got interested in the Bible. It was before I was a child of God. I had heard about the Bible, so I decided I would read it. I picked it up and started to read it, but I did not understand what I was reading. I didn’t even know where to start to read. Since there are sixty‑six books in the Bible, it is hard to know where to start.

In order for us to understand the Bible, we have to start off with some very basic material. First, we need to understand the basic concepts of the Bible. Let’s look at it this way. Suppose you went to visit in a foreign country that was very uncivilised. You went way back in the jungle, where the natives live who have never been out to see civilisation before. They had never seen an automobile in their lifetime. If you told them, ‘We have an automobile at home that we drive around in,’ do you think they would understand what you were talking about?  No, of course they wouldn’t.

Imagine trying to describe something to someone who doesn’t understand what you are talking about to begin with. How are you going to start? You are certainly not going to deal with details, such as different models of cars, or the options available like air conditioning, leather seats, automatic windows, etc. Those things are going to make absolutely no sense to them. You are going to get right down to the basics. You are going to have to talk to them about wheels, seats, an engine, a steering wheel, brakes, etc. Those are the kind of things you are going to start with, doing it in such a way that it makes sense.

There are two approaches you can make. One would be what we might term a chronological approach. You could tell them about how the automobile first was invented, how it was designed, what the first car looked like and how it was put together, what each part is and what it does, the different changes that have been made through the years, and the kinds of cars available today. You could chronologically explain the making of an automobile. But probably for a native back in the jungle, that is not going to make a whole lot of sense.

The same is true with the Bible. If you sit down with someone and try to explain the Bible chronologically from Genesis to Revelation, you can eventually get the job done, but it is going to take a very long time. It will be hard for them to be able to get a clear understanding of what you are trying to tell them until you have covered most of the Bible.

The second way you could explain the automobile would be to organise your thoughts according to content, giving an overall view. You could explain that a car has a place for you to sit in and it has wheels on the outside that turn. Next you could explain how an engine causes those wheels to be propelled, and a steering mechanism allows a person to be able to turn in the direction they want to go.  Now all of that would be designed to give them the basics. You wouldn’t need to explain the difference between a Ford and a Holden. You would be interested in just giving them the very basics.

That is what we are going to do in this Bible study. We are going to be looking at some basic truths that will give us an overview of the Bible. Obviously, we won’t be able to cover everything in four lessons. Neither are we going to be able to understand everything about the Bible when we are finished. In fact, there is no person in the world that understands everything about the Bible. Some people like to act as if they know it all. But they don’t, because God is the only One who does know it all.