By Mike Beaumont

The apostles’ teaching

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…” (Acts 2 v42)

When do we normally go and get taught? When we need to learn how to do something. That’s how it was for these first Christians. They did not assume that, just because they had come into a relationship with Jesus, they now suddenly knew it all. On the contrary, they saw that there was so much that they now needed to learn.

What sort of things do you think they might have needed to learn about?

What was the apostles’ teaching?

The apostles’ teaching was based, not on their own made-up ideas, but on three very specific things:

what we now call the Old Testament: this is the first part of the Bible, with its story of how God began to build his family and to patiently prepare for the coming of Jesus. It contains history, laws, prophecy, poetry and wise sayings.
the life and teachings of Jesus: eventually this would be written down into what we now call the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). But initially it was passed on by word of mouth. This was the most common way of passing on teaching in the ancient world, and was therefore far more reliable and accurate than passing on things by word of mouth today would be. In addition, Jesus had specifically promised that the Holy Spirit would help them to remember everything once he had left them (John 14 v25-26).
the Holy Spirit’s guidance of them: the Holy Spirit guided them in very specific ways as they applied the first two points (the Old Testament and the life and teachings of Jesus) in the light of Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension (return to heaven). This guidance was written down by them, largely in the form of letters to churches, which would themselves soon be seen a part of Scripture, on a level with the other two. (See 2 Peter 3 v15-16)

These three strands – the Old Testament (with its preparation for Jesus’ coming), the gospels (with their account of the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus), and the letters (with their application of Jesus’ teaching) would come together to form what we now call The Bible.

Just another book?

But if we treat the Bible as just another book we will miss something. This is not any old book; this is God’s book! God himself was at work in its production, influencing the writers through the Holy Spirit so that what he wanted written was exactly what they wrote, so that he could reveal himself to us as he really is.

Read: 2 Timothy 3 v16
What do you think the description of the Bible as God-breathed really means?
What did you think about the Bible before you became a Christian?
What does this verse tell us about the purpose of the Bible?

God has not given us this book for the sake of it, or to clog up our lives with irrelevant history or rules. It is meant to help us and bless us! In fact, we could even see it as God’s ‘love letter’ written to each of us, unfolding his heart and purpose for us. In the light of this, how silly not to read it!

If we are going to grow as a Christian, then, reading the Bible needs to become a regular part of our life. Like food, it is best if this happens regularly.

Learning from the Bible can happen in a number of different ways:

during Sunday meetings, by listening to the teaching or ‘sermon’
in midweek groups, through discussion together
with another individual, especially a more mature Christian
in time spent with God on our own

Which of these opportunities are you beginning to make use of?

But how do I get into this book that may have been so strange to me in the past?

Getting into the Book

Let’s look at this by asking a number of simple questions:

Which Bible?

Which Bible should I use? Because the Bible was written in other ancient languages (Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek), it has to be translated.

Some translations retain rather old-fashioned, but very poetic, English (like the Authorised, or King James, Version)
Other translations are written in a very up-to-date style (such as The Message or The Contemporary English Version)
Some translations are half way in between (such as the New International Version)

Each has its own advantages and followers and your own church will probably have a particular one that it has opted for. What matters most for now as a new Christian is that you use one that you can understand.

Where do I start?

Where do I begin to read? After all, the Bible is a big book (actually, a collection of books: 66 of them in all, written by some 40 authors over a period of 1500 years!).

The best place to start is, unlike other books, not at the beginning, since some of those early books can be harder to understand at first until you know a little more about the background to them.

We recommend you begin with –

one of the Gospels
the book of Acts
a New Testament letter (e.g. Philippians)

After that, one of your Church or group leaders can help you know where to go next. There are also lots of booklets that can help.

If you have started to read the Bible recently, share with the group what you have been reading and how you have been finding it.

When?

When is the best time to read the Bible? Answer: there is no best time! No time, in itself, is more blessed than another. The key issue is: when will you get the most out of it? If you are a ‘morning’ person, then that is probably the best time. If you are not, it is probably the worst! And vice versa. For some people lunch time can be the most convenient. The key is this: it needs to be somewhere where you can cut yourself off for a little while from other distractions, and when you are awake enough to think!

When do you think will be the best time for you to do this? If you are studying this in a group or with another Christian, how about helping one another by seeing how you have been getting on with it the next time you meet.

What?

What should I do when I start reading the Bible?

Pray, first of all.

What do you think it would be good to pray and ask for at this point?

Then read the passage. Read carefully that you have chosen and take a few moments to think about what it says – about God, about Jesus, about the Holy Spirit, about us.

Ask God to help you. Ask him to show you one important thing for you to note that day and to try to work on.

What do you think it would be good to do once you have finished doing this?

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