The Baptist Classroom

This is a Bible
John Wooden won 10 NCAA college basketball championships in 12 years with UCLA. Every year, the first practice began the same way. He taught the players how to put on their socks and tie their shoes. They started at the very beginning with something they had been doing all their life. But little things matter. The fundamentals are essential, and Wooden made sure the little things were covered before moving on to other things. You can’t hit the winning shot if you are sitting on the bench with a blister.
Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi had a similar approach. As the story is told, he would start training camp with professional players by holding the ball in his hand and saying, “Gentlemen, this is a football.” Lombardi’s quote is a little on the money, but he made a good point. The basics matter, and even NFL players need to know and refresh themselves on the fundaments of the game.
What’s that book that you take to church on Sunday? The word Bible means the book. The Scriptures (the writings) are a collection of sixty-six books written by over 30 authors over the period of about fifteen hundred years. It’s not a novel or a history book, but the Bible has different genres and is broken up into the Old and New Testaments. You’ll read narrative, wisdom literature, poetry, prophetic sermons, the Gospels, history, and letters written to other people or churches. I remember the first time that I discovered that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John told the story of the life of Jesus. Not in sequential parts 1-4, but each one started from the beginning again. The Bible is different from other books in that there are two authors of Scripture, the human author, and the divine author. Taking Scripture on its own terms and self-testimony, it is the God-breathed words of the Almighty God. This truth sets the Bible apart from any other book. Because there is one divine author, there is a cohesive point.
After the resurrection, Jesus met some disciples on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32) they didn’t recognize him. These men were sad and confused. Jesus asked them what was wrong, and they told Jesus how Jesus was crucified, buried, and according to what they heard, rose from the dead, but they didn’t see that part. Jesus told them they were being foolish since they didn’t believe all that the prophets of the Old Testament had spoken on these very things. So he started with Moses (who wrote the first five books of the Bible) and thoroughly explained all the Scriptures that spoke about Him. That book that you carry is about Jesus.
Laws, covenants, genealogies, love songs, unfamiliar histories of people and places, and diving in can seem overwhelming. Or, you might have been at this a while, know Scripture by heart, and are deep diving into different books or topics. But always remember your fundamentals. This is a Bible.