Nothing else we ever read will be as important as Sacred Scripture. For this reason, it is so important that we read it correctly. The Holy Bible is not like other books. If we just pick it up and try reading it cover to cover, from beginning to end, it is easy to get confused, lose the thread of the biblical “plot,” or even miss the point of it all entirely. This unit will give you the tools that will enable you to see the point. Some of the most fundamental questions about the Holy Bible will be answered: What is Scripture? Why do we have the Bible? How is it inspired by God? Why should we read it? How should we interpret it? Why does it matter to me?

The stories of the early world found in Genesis 1–11 relate to us the very foundations of our faith. The account of creation, God’s covenant with Adam and Eve and all of creation, the Fall of Man, and the escalating drama of sin illustrated by Cain’s murder of Abel, the Great Flood, and the Tower of Babel all reveal essential truths about God, human beings, and the world around us. These stories set the stage for everything that comes after them. Likewise, the stories of the Patriarchs, beginning with Abraham in Genesis 12 and continuing with his descendants Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (which brings the Book of Genesis to a close), provide foundational building blocks for navigating through Salvation History.

The Exodus is the central saving event of the Old Testament. God called Moses to be His prophet and to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt into the Promised Land to become a great nation. The centerpiece of this great drama of salvation is the Passover, which God established for His people to participate in and to remember for all time. God also shared His name with His people, revealing that He is knowable and that He has invited us to know Him and be in relationship with Him.

At the very beginning of Israel’s history, God had promised Abraham that kings would be numbered among his descendants. As the historical books continue, they show us how the Lord honored His promise, recounting the rise and fall of the Davidic kingdom, as well as several successive attempts at restoring that kingdom.

The books of wisdom and the prophetic books connect the Old and New Covenants in a unique way, forming a bridge between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The books of wisdom (or wisdom literature) are the literary expression of the Davidic Covenant. Although not all of them were written during the reign of David and Solomon, many were. Moreover, the books reflect Israel’s mission, which flowered under David and Solomon, to lead other nations to God. The wisdom they contain is universal—helpful for all people in all times. In this sense, the wisdom books point forward to the New Covenant and the Gospel message, which also is not only for the Jews and the descendants of Moses, but for all people, in all times.

The New Testament is the story of the New Covenant told in 27 books. Four of these books are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. But the Gospel is much more than a book. The word itself means “good news” (it is the English translation of the Latin word evangelium), and that is what the Gospel is: the Good News of our salvation. It is the entirety of God’s saving message for us: that He loves us so much that He assumed a human nature and became man, died on a cross, and rose again so that we could have eternal life. If we were to describe the Gospel on one word, however, it would simply be Jesus.

After the Gospels, the remaining books of the New Testament paint a vivid picture of the life and rapid growth of the early Church. The Acts of the Apostles continues the story from Luke’s Gospel, picking up immediately after his Gospel ends, and tells us of Christ’s promise to send the Holy Spirit and His Ascension into Heaven. Then, when Christ fulfilled His promise and the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles at Pentecost, they were emboldened to go out to the ends of the earth to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel.