Unit 1-C: 
Luther's Small Catechism

 "As the head of the family should teach them
in a simple way to his household.h"
                                    Colossians 2:6-7 (NIV)
 

God Speaks In The Holy Bible

Have you ever wanted God to speak to you?
Ultimately, all of us do!

God knows that we desire to have Him talk with us. He could have chosen to spoke to us through dreams and visions. In fact, that is how much of the Holy Bible was originally written (Hebrews 1:1).

Since giving us all we need to know to be saved in His 66 books, God no longer speaks to individuals with dreams, voices or visions.

Instead, the only place we get God's Word is in the Holy Bible (see II Timothy 3:15-17; II Peter 1:21).

The Bible: God's Library

The Bible can be described as a library of sixty-six books written by approximately forty people over sixteen hundred years. These sixty-six books make up what is called the canon, a listing of Bible books approved by the church.

In order to be canonical (that is, considered part of the Bible), Biblical books had to meet very strict criteria:

• they clearly proclaimed God's truth,
• their writings were inspired by the Holy Spirit,
• their teachings were consistent with other portions of the Bible,
• they had been written by the prophets or apostles,and
• they contained no false or untrue teachings.

Books which met all these criteria were considered "Canonical" and were accepted as authoritative by all parts of the Christian Church.

Books that were not widely accepted by Christian Churches are called the Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical Books.  Roman Catholic add some of these books to their Bible. Because of their errors and false teachings,  most Christians--including Lutherans--do not consider the Apocrypha and Deuterocanonical Books to be God's Word.

The Bible: The Old Testament

The Bible is divided into two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament.

The Old Testament begins with the book of Genesis and ends with the Book of Malachi. It contains sixty-six books, all of which were written between 1500 BC and 400 BC. Since all the Books of the Old Testament were written before Jesus' birth, it's main message is "The Savior Will Come."

Among the thirty-nine (39) Old Testament books are books of History (Genesis-Esther), Poetry (Job-Song of Songs), and Prophecy (Isaiah-Malachi). Among the authors of these books are kings such as David and Solomon, an Egyptian prince named Moses, a fig-tree grower named Amos, prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah and others, as well as other "unlikely" common--and uncommon--people whom God had chosen to bear His inspired Word.

Categories Of Old Testament Books

	Five Books of Moses	Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy
	Twelve Books of History	Joshua Judges Ruth; I Samuel II Samuel I Kings II Kings I Chronicles II Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther
	Five Books of Poetry	Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon
	Five Major (Longer) Prophets	Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel
	Twelve Minor (Shorter) Prophets	Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi.

The Bible: The New Testament

The New Testament begins with the Gospel of Matthew and ends with the Book of Prophecy, Revelation. The first book of the New Testament was written approximately 45 AD. The final book written was the Book of Revelation. Since the New Testament describes Jesus' life and teachings, it's main message is "The Savior Has Come."

Among the twenty-seven (27) New Testament books are the Gospels (Matthew-John) which describe Jesus' life, death and resurrection, a book of history (Acts), many letters to churches and individuals from Apostles (including James, Peter and Paul), and a book of prophecy, the Book of Revelation.

Together both the Old and New Testaments have one teaching: how God saves us by grace through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 3:16).

Categories Of New Testament Books

	Four Gospels	Three Synoptic ("same-eye") Gospels	Matthew Mark Luke
		John
	One Book of History		The Acts of the Apostles
	Twenty-One Epistles (or Letters)	Thirteen Letters from Paul (Written To Specific Churches Or People)	Romans I Corinthians II Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians I Thessalonians II Thessalonians I Timothy II Timothy Titus Philemon
		Eight General Epistles (Written To All Churches)	Hebrews James I Peter II Peter I John II John III John Jude
	One Book of Prophecy		The Book of Revelation

The Bible: In Chapters And Verses

The Bible is divided into chapters and verses. Chapter and verse divisions in the Bible happened long after the Bible was written. Stephen Langton  (d.1228), a professor at the University of Paris and later the Archbishop of Canterbury, England, divided the Bible into chapters. Verse designations as we know them were first published in 1509. 

It is important to remember that these chapter and verse divisions are merely for convenience. Often, however, chapter and verse divisions do not reflect the actual breaks intended by the author. Read more about the history of these subdivisions here.

Learning the Order of the Books

A good way to learn the order of the Old Testament books and the kind of contents that they have is to sing them to the tune of the song "Did You Ever See a Lassie."

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