Before you do this lesson, read these verses from the Bible:

2 Timothy 3:10-17 -- You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Acts 26:1-32 -- Then Agrippa said to Paul, "You have permission to speak for yourself." So Paul motioned with his hand and began his defense: 2 "King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today as I make my defense against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 and especially so because you are well acquainted with all the Jewish customs and controversies. Therefore, I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 "The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. 7 This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. 8 Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
9 "I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them.
12 "On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 About noon, O king, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. 14 We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'
15 "Then I asked, 'Who are you, Lord?'
" 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' the Lord replied. 16 'Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'
19 "So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds. 21 That is why the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me. 22 But I have had God's help to this very day, and so I stand here and testify to small and great alike. I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen— 23 that the Christ would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."
24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul's defense. "You are out of your mind, Paul!" he shouted. "Your great learning is driving you insane."
25 "I am not insane, most excellent Festus," Paul replied. "What I am saying is true and reasonable. 26 The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do."
28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"
29 Paul replied, "Short time or long—I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."
30 The king rose, and with him the governor and Bernice and those sitting with them. 31 They left the room, and while talking with one another, they said, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment."
32 Agrippa said to Festus, "This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar."

Now read the lesson and do the test at the end. The lesson explains what you have read in the Bible.

Just before Jesus the Messiah returned to heaven, he promised his disciples: "But when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, you will be filled with power; and you will be witnesses for me ... to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

Some of Jesus' disciples found that a good way to be a witness was to write books about the life and teaching of the Messiah. For this reason four books were written about the life of the Messiah, and these books are called the Injil.

Other followers of the Messiah wanted to explain more about Jesus' teachings, so they wrote more books. These books are often called letters or Epistles. The man who wrote the largest number of books in the New Testament was Paul.

Paul Was a Witness

Paul was one of the great witnesses in the Church. Before Paul believed in the Messiah, he persecuted the Christians. At that time he was called Saul. But when Saul heard the voice of the Messiah, he became a different man. He began to love people instead of hating them. He entered the fellowship of the Church. People even gave him a new name. They called him Paul instead of Saul. Paul means the little one. Perhaps they called him Paul because he became humble instead of proud.

Later Paul witnessed about Jesus the Messiah in other countries. He travelled to Turkey and Greece. Everywhere he went, he preached about Jesus the Messiah. God blessed the witness of Paul and many Jews and Greeks believed in the Messiah. Many local churches began through Paul's witness.

This made some of the Jewish religious leaders angry. They thought Paul was turning the people from God. Once when Paul was visiting Jerusalem, these leaders caught Paul and had him put in prison. Later Paul was sent to prison in Rome where he was kept for many months.

Letters to the Churches

While Paul was travelling and while he was in prison, Paul wrote many letters. Some of Paul's letters were to his friends and leaders in the Church. Other letters explained to the Christians the truth of the Gospel. In some letters Paul wrote about things that were wrong in the churches he had started. In all of these letters Paul explained the meaning of the life and teachings of the Messiah.

Some other disciples, such as John and Peter, also wrote letters. Each of these letters is a witness about Jesus the Messiah. The Holy Spirit guided these men as they wrote these letters.

The Christians knew that these writings were God's special message to the Church, and so the Church chose many of these letters to be included in the New Testament. We have already said that these letters are called the Epistles. The names of the Epistles usually show to whom they were first sent. For example, the New Testament Epistle called Romans was a letter from Paul to the Church at Rome.

The writers of the Bible were guided by the Holy Spirit of God as they wrote. The Bible says: "All scripture is inspired* by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking* error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living" (2 Timothy 3:16). For this reason all the books of the Old and New Testament are God's own message to mankind.

Christians Respect the Bible

The true message of the Bible is that Jesus the Messiah came from God, lived among people, gave his life on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for sin, and rose from the dead (I Corinthians 15:3-4).

The Bible says: "In the past, God spoke to our ancestors many times and in many ways through the prophets; but in these last days he has spoken to us through his Son (The Messiah)" (Hebrews 1:1-2). The New Testament shows that Jesus is the Messiah whom the prophets of the Old Testament wrote about and hoped for. For this reason we need the whole Bible in order to understand God's full message to mankind.

Christians believe that all the writings of the Bible are from God. For this reason Christians respect these writings greatly.

God often warned the people not to change anything which the prophets and other writers had written. One of these warnings is found at the end of the New Testament. "I ... warn everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to his punishment the plagues described in this book. And if anyone takes anything away from the prophetic words of this book, God will take away from him his share of the fruit of the tree of life and of the Holy City, which are described in this book" (Revelation 22:18-19).

The first Christians knew that they must guard every word of the Bible with great care. They also knew that people everywhere should read the Bible. For this reason they copied the books of the Bible again and again. These copies were sent to churches everywhere. Today we have about 5,000 early copies of parts of the New Testament. These copies prove that the men who copied the New Testament were careful not to make mistakes.

The Bible Translated into Many Languages

At first the New Testament was written only in the Greek language. But soon churches appeared in countries where people did not know the Greek language. For this reason Christians translated* the New Testament and then the whole Bible into the language of the people. For example, about 1,600 years ago Egyptian Christians translated the Bible into four of the Egyptian languages. They did this so that all Egyptians could read God's word in their own languages.

Many years later the English people heard the Good News of Jesus the Messiah. About 600 years ago the English Christians translated the Bible into the English language. Today there are many English translations of the Bible. Some of these translations are in simple English, and some are difficult English.

About 100 years ago Christians in East Africa translated the Bible into the Swahili language. Today the Bible has been translated into most of the languages of Africa. The Hausa, Somalis, Arabs, Nubians, all have the Bible written in their own language. Millions of Africans can now read the Bible in their mother tongue.

All these Bibles are translations of early copies of the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament.

It is the will of God that people everywhere hear the truth of God which is revealed in the Bible. The Bible says: "God our Saviour... wants everyone to be saved and to come to know the truth" (I Timothy 2:4). It is through the Bible that we learn to know of Jesus the Messiah who came from God.

Here is a list of difficult words in this lesson.

inspired - caused
rebuking - telling someone to stop doing wrong
instruction - teaching
translated - to change from one language to another

Learn this verse. 2 Timothy 3:16: "All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living."

Test 2: The People of Faith

Here is the test for Lesson 2. Write the letter of the correct answer on the line on the right side. of the page.
1)            The message of the Bible about Jesus the Messiah is
            a)            only for Jews.
            b)            only for Europeans.
            c)            for all people everywhere.                                                             ___
2)            Saul's new name was
            a)            Paul.
            b)            Peter.
            c)            John.                                                                                              ___
3)            The New Testament was first written
            a)            in the Hebrew language.
            b)            in the Greek language.
            c)            in the English language.                                                                 ___
4)            The letters in the New Testament are also called
            a)            the Epistles.
            b)            the Injil.
            c)            the Zabur.                                                                                       ___
5)            When the Christians made copies of the Bible,
            a)            they changed many things in the Bible.
            b)            they destroyed all the older copies of the Bible.
            c)            they were careful not to make mistakes.                                       ___
Write "True" or "False" after each of the following sentences.
6)            The Old Testament was first written in the Hebrew language.   ______
7)            Christians do not believe that the writings of the Prophets are from God.  ______
8)            God desires only a few people to be saved.  ______
9)            God warned the people not to change what the Prophets had written.  ______
10)            The Bible has been translated into many languages.   ______