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Archive for the ‘New Testament’ Category

Bible Basics – New Testament (General Epistles and Revelation)

Posted in Bible, Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, General Epistles, Hebrews, James, New Testament, Revelation, tagged , , , , on June 22, 2010|

The Bible, as we have discussed is divided into two parts:  Old Testament and New Testament.  There are 66 books in the Bible with 40 different authors, but one consistent message – God’s plan to save sinful man.  In the New Testament, there are 27 books which are divided into the following sections:  Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), Early Church History (Acts), Letters from Paul (Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon), General Epistles (Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, & 3 John and Jude), and Revelation.

The Epistles are listed below each with a brief description or its content or focus.

Hebrews (Illustrates the superiority of Christ over the old covenant.  The author of Hebrews is unknown, but many believe it was Paul.  The audience was the Hebrew  believers.)

James (Anyone who has studied the book of James knows that it pulls no punches.  In this epistle to the Jewish believers, James lays out clearly what it means to live a life of faith and to evaluate one’s own faith honestly in light of scripture.)

1 Peter (Letter from Peter to all Christians that discusses the issues of holiness, submission and suffering.)

2 Peter (Letter from Peter to all Christians to warn against the danger of false teachers and exhorts the believers to grow in the true knowledge of Christ.)

1 John (Letter from John to all Christians.  The key themes found in this book are love in Christ and fellowship with God.)

2 John (Letter from John to the Elect Lady while John was in Ephesus.  The letter reminds the reader to walk in love and beware of false teachers.)

3 John (Letter from John to Gaius.  The letter thanks Gaius for his support of the gospel and criticizes Diotrephes for his pride.)

Jude (The final letter in the General Epistles written by Jude to all Christians.  The letter warns against heresy and false teachers and exhorts believers to contend earnestly for the faith.)

The final book of the Bible is the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Revelation (This books includes things which have been, which are and which are yet to be.  It gives hope to those who suffer persecution and provides a vision of Christ’s return.  It also gives good insights and images of what it is like in heaven.)

2Tim 3:14-17 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,
and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!

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Bible Basics – New Testament (Paul’s Epistles – Part 2)

Posted in Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, New Testament, Paul's Epistles, tagged , , , , on June 17, 2010|

In the last post, we began the discussion of Paul’s Epistles.   There were too many to do all in one post, so here’s the rest of the group with a brief description of the highlights of each:

1 Thessalonians (Written during Paul’s second missionary journey to the church in Thessalonica.  One of the main themes is an exhortation to holiness for believers in light of the LORD’s imminent return.)

2 Thessalonians (Also written during Paul’s second missionary journey and to the church in Thessalonica.  Christ’s return is a theme as is encouragement of believers.)

1 Timothy (The first of the “pastoral” epistles, those letter written by Paul to individuals who were pastors of churches.  This letter is written to Timothy during Paul’s first imprisonment.  It is a guide to leadership of a church and it addresses the issues of false teachers, public prayer, the role of women, and the qualifications for elders and deacons.)

2 Timothy (The second of the “pastoral” epistles, this is also written to Timothy, but it is written during Paul’s second imprisonment, near the time of his death.  Its purpose is to encourage Timothy in his ministry to be faithful even through adversity and hardships.)

Titus (This is the third of the “pastoral epistles”, and it was written to Titus while Paul was in prison in Rome.  It gives the qualifications for elders and gives Titus instructions for dealing with different groups in the church.)

Philemon (This is a letter from Paul to Philemon, a believer, regarding his runaway slave, Onesimus.  Paul asks Philemon to forgive Onesimus and receive him for Paul’s sake.)

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Bible Basics – New Testament (Paul’s Epistles – Part 1)

Posted in Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, New Testament, Paul's Epistles, tagged , , , , on June 15, 2010|

The Bible, as discussed previously is divided into two main sections, the Old and New Testaments.  The New Testament is divided into 5 sections:  the Gospels, Early Church history, Paul’s Epistles, General Epistles and the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Paul’s Epistles and a brief description of their content are as follows:

Romans (Written to the Roman Christians.  The main topics discussed are the law and God’s plan for salvation through faith.  It also contains many important exhortations for believers including chapter 8, verse 28.)

1 Corinthians (Written to the church in Corinth to address issues that were going on in the church that involved division in the body and immorality.  An important discussion of love is found in chapter 13).

2 Corinthians (Written to the church in Corinth.  In this book Paul defends his call as an apostle, and he addresses deceivers.)

Galatians (Written to the churches in Galatia.  A major theme is grace and liberty in Christ and a rejection of the legalism that was affecting the churches in Galatia.  A well-known list of the fruits of the spirit is found in 5:22-23)

Ephesians (Written to the church in Ephesus.  Important discussion of what God had done for the believer in chapter 1 and where the believer was before being saved by faith in Christ in chapter 2.  Chapter 6 is the well-known discussion of the armor of God and the importance of prayer.)

Philippians (Written to the Church in Philippi while Paul was in prison in Rome.  One of Paul’s “prison” epistles.  Focuses on Paul’s love for the Philippians.  There are no corrections or rebukes in this book.  He exhorts them to godly living.)

Colossians (Written to the Church in Colosse while Paul was imprisoned in Rome.  Major emphasis is on the preeminence of Christ in all things.  Paul was responding to false teachers that were deceiving believers.)

to be continued . . .

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Bible Basics (New Testament Overview)

Posted in Bible Basics, Bible Study, Books of the Bible, New Testament, tagged , , on June 8, 2010|

The Bible, as we have been discussing, is made up of 2 testaments, the Old Testament and the New Testament.  It is important to remember that between the last prophet of the Old Testament (Malachi) and the coming of John the Baptist, the forerunner for the Messiah, Jesus, there were 400 years.  These are sometimes called the silent years because during them, God was silent.  He did not speak through any prophets, dreams or visions that are recorded for us.

The New Testament is also divided into sections which are:

  • Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)
  • Early Church History (Acts)
  • Paul’s Epistles [Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews (maybe*)]
  • General Epistles [Hebrews (maybe*), James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1,2 & 3 John, and Jude)
  • Revelation of Jesus Christ (Revelation)

There are only 27  books in the New Testament compared to the 39 in the Old.  There are 9 or 10* authors compared to 30 authors of the Old Testament.  It was also written over a much shorter period of time than the Old Testament.

*Paul is believed by some, but not all, to be the author of Hebrews.

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