"Rightly Dividing The Word"

"Study to skew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."-II Timothy 2:15.

If the Bible is the very word of God as all Christians believe, it is of the utmost importance that every child of God should have at least a general and correct knowledge of this, the greatest library in the world. Today we are passing through a world of revolution in many ways and are soon to come face to face with other religions that know not our God and our Christ as we know them. Then too, there is an increasing number of religious sects that differ so widely from the Church which Christ established that if Christianity is to survive we must get back to the blessed old Book and walk in its ways, that our faith shall not rest on any word of man, but upon "Him in whom there is no variableness neither shadow of turning."

"Rightly dividing (or handling aright) the word of truth" is our text. All competent teachers of the Bible recognize that the first great essential is a correct knowledge of its different parts or divisions. It is all the word of God, but the fact that the 66 books of which it is composed, were written over a period of several hundred years, and addressed to different peoples in widely different conditions, has everything to do with understanding its meaning and its applicability in this day. Hoping we might be of help to some beginners in this study, we are setting down an elementary sketch of the natural divisions of God's book.

First is the two general divisions of the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament naturally divides itself into four parts: (1) Law first five books of the Bible; (2) History-the next twelve books; (3) Devotional-the next five books, and (4) the 17 books of prophecy. The four natural divisions of the New Testament are: (1) Biography-the first four books; (2) History of the early church-Acts of the Apostles; (3) Epistles-next 21 books, and (4) Revelation-the last book of the Bible.

Gentle reader, of this you may rest assured: there is no equal for this unadorned volume which graces the libraries and firesides of more homes today than ever before. As we contemplate the tremendous importance of eternal salvation to a lost world, we humbly submit this simple lesson, hoping for a greater interest in this "Book of books" in this dark and troubled hour.

Culbertson Heights Church of Christ 1400 N. E. 13th Street