New Testament Survey (Faithful Soldier 2008)

New Testament Survey

Matthew
Matthew was an apostle, and he wrote this book around 50 A.D. during the early years of the church and was written for the Jews. At this time, may of the Christians were Jewish converts. Matthew shows the Jews that Jesus Christ is the Messiah that was prophesied about. He quotes the Old Testament more than any other Gospel does, to show where Jesus fulfilled the prophecies. Matthew uses ways of speaking that Jews would have been comfortable with. In the first 2 chapters, Matthew talks about the lineage, birth and Jesus’ childhood. From there, the book goes on to discuss His ministry. The book of Matthew really shows how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament.
Matthew 5:17 “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”

Mark
The Gospel of Mark was thought to have been written between 57-59 A.D. Mark wrote to Christians who had heard and believed the Gospel and he wanted them to have a biographical story of Jesus that would strengthen their faith in the midst of persecution. This Gospel is unique because it talks about Jesus’ actions more than His teaching. It’s written in a simple way moving from one point of his life to another. It doesn’t begin with a genealogy like Matthew does, because the gentiles didn’t care about the lineage of Jesus. After Jesus’ baptism, Jesus began His public ministry in Galilee and called the first four of His 12 disciples. Then come the record of His life, death and resurrection. The book of Mark isn’t just a collection of stories, but written with the purpose of revealing that Jesus is the Messiah, not only for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles.
Mark 12:33 “Love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself”

Luke
The Gospel of Luke was likely written between 58 and 65 A.D. and is the longest and most thorough of the other three gospels. It also talks about Jesus’ humanity more than the other gospels. Luke begins by telling us about Jesus’ parents, the birth of His cousin, John, Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born and the genealogy of Jesus through His mother Mary. Jesus’ love is shown in His ministry through His parable about the prodigal son, etc.. His followers are encouraged to count the cost of following Him, and at the same time His enemies seek His death on the cross. Finally, Jesus is betrayed, sentenced and crucified. But then after 3 days He rises from the dead!
Luke 3:16, “John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

John
This book is thought to have been written around A.D. 85-90. Besides trying to strengthen Christians through His writings, John also attempted to shoot down a false teaching that was springing up, that Jesus was not God in the flesh, but rather a human, on whom the spirit of God came down at His baptism and left Him at the crucifiction. John’s Gospel introduces Christ, not from His birth, but from the beginning of time as “the Word” and as a diety who was involved in creation and who later becomes flesh, that He might take away our sins as the spotless and blameless sacrificed lamb.
John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

the Acts
Acts was written between 61-64 A.D. by Luke. The book of Acts has a total of twenty-eight chapters and it’s main purpose was to give the history of the Christian church and to equip the church to reach people. Although many were used to preach and teach the Gospel, Paul, who was previously named Saul, was the most influential. Before he became a Christian, Paul persecuted and had Christians killed. After his conversion he went to the ultimate extreme of loving God and preaching his word with power. In this book the main emphasis was in Acts 1:8, when the disciples were told by Jesus to wait until they had been empowered by the Holy Spirit from on high to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
Acts 4:12, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

Romans
The Book of Romans was written by the apostle Paul around 57 A.D. and can be divided into four sections: The main theme of the letter is righteousness. First, through the Holy Spirit, Paul condemns everyone because of their sinfulness. He shows his desire to preach God’s Word to the people in Rome. He points out that God does not expect us to be perfect when we come to Him, but that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We need to live our lives as a living sacrifice to God.
Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 Corinthians
This book was written by Paul to the church in Corinth about 55 A.D. The believers in Corinth were dividing into groups loyal to certain religious leaders. He encouraged them to detest sin, because they were allowing a lot to go on in the church, and encouraged them to deal with the sin. Paul told the Corinthians that it would be better to be taken advantage of than to damage your Christian testimony. Paul gave the Corinthian church instructions on marriage and celibacy, food sacrificed to idols, spiritual gifts and the resurrection and the freedom we have as Christians.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”

2 Corinthians
This book was written mainly by Paul and possibly in part by Timothy around 56 A.D. once again to the church in Corinth. He brings up many of the themes discussed in his first letter to the church. There are a few things we can take from this letter and apply to our lives today. The first thing is stewardship. Not only of money, but of your time. The Macedonians not only gave generously, but “they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will” 2 Corinthians 8:5. In this chapter it is stressed that in the same way we should give all that we are to God. Not only our money.. God doesn’t need our money! But all that we are.
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

Galatians
This book was written by Paul anywhere between 48 and 55 A.D. Paul encouraged them to stand fast in their freedom and to not get entangled in the mosaic law and all the old customs of the Jews, but to be new creatures in Christ, as the flesh was crucified with Christ.
Galatians 2:16, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.”

Ephesians
This book was written by Paul about 63 A.D. to the Christians in Ephesus. Paul wrote this book for Christians who wanted to be mature in their faith. In the Book of Ephesians is the discipline needed to develop into who we should be in Christ. It will help the believer to fortify himself so he can serve God. Doctrine takes up the greatest part of the book.
Ephesians 6:10-11, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Philippians
This book was written approximately 61 A.D. by Paul to the people at Phillipi, where earlier the Philippians jailer and his family had converted to Christianity and now the church was well established. This letter was to thank the church at Phillipi for a gift of money which was brought to Paul by Epaphroditus, one of the members of the church. This is a letter written to a group of people close to Paul’s heart, and comparitavely little is mentioned about doctrinal error. The book is also about Christ in our life and mind, Christ as our goal, strength and joy. It was written from the apostles jail cell in Rome about 10 years after he first preached in Phillipi.
Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me”

Colossians
Paul was the main writer of this book, however, some credit is given to Timothy. The book was written between 58 and 62 A.D. It addresses every area in Christian life, from each person’s individual lives, to work, family and the way we should interact with other people. The main message of the book is that Jesus should be sufficient and that He meets our needs for every area of our life. The book was written to defeat heresy that had arisen in Colosse that endangered the existance of the church. Paul was dealing with a defective view of Christ and also disputes circumcision and other Jewish tradition that was creeping back into the church.
Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”

1 Thessalonians
This book was written primarily by Paul and possibly also Silas and Timothy about 50 A.D. The church in Thessalonica had some misunderstandings about the return of Christ, so Paul was clearing it up. He also gave instruction on holy living. The first 3 chapters Paul talks about how he wants to visit them, but is not able to and Paul expressing his care for them. Then he goes on to speak about living a holy christian life, and clearing up misconceptions about the return of Christ, telling them that the people who died in Christ will also go to Heaven with Him when He comes back.
1 Thessalonians 3:7, “Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith.”

2 Thessalonians
This book was written by the same people as 1 Thess. about a year or two after the first letter was written. The church still had some misconceptions about the return of Christ and believing that He had already returned, had stopped their work. They were also being persecuted and Paul was comforting them. He encourages them to stay firm and stay away from idle men.
2 Thessalonians 1:6-7, “God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with powerful angels.”

1 Timothy
The Book was written about 64 A.D. by Paul to encourage Timothy in his overseeing of the church in Ephesus and also other churches in Asia. The book is known as a leadership manual for church organization. He told him to be careful concerning heresy, but the majority of the letter focused on pastoral conduct.
1 Timothy 6:12, “Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

2 Timothy
This one was written in 67 A.D. to encourage Timothy once again. Paul, imprisoned, lonely and feeling as if his life was drawing to an end, used his time to encourage Timothy and all the believers to stand strong, and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. He tells Timothy to remain passionate in his service to Jesus Christ and to avoid ungodly things and flee from anything that is immoral. It’s easy to get side tracked in Christian life and Paul really stresses how imporant it is to keep our eyes on the goal.
2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

Titus
The Epistle to Titus was written by Paul in approximately 66 A.D. This is one of the books known for it’s pastoral instruction, along with the Timothy’s. It was written to encourage Titus, who was overseeing a church in Crete, a church that Paul had founded during one of his journeys. The island of Crete was inhabited by natives and Jews who did not know the truth of Jesus. Paul felt the need to follow through with Titus and encourage him.
Titus 1:5, “I left you in Crete for this reason, that you would set in order the things that were lacking, and appoint elders in every city, as I directed you.”
Titus 1:16, “They profess that they know God, but by their works they deny him, being abominable, disobedient, and unfit for any good work.”

Philemon
This letter was written in approximately 60 AD and is Paul’s shortest letters. It speaks on the subject of slavery. Philemon was a slave owner who had a church in his home. He had heard Paul’s preaching and was saved, but at that time, his slave Onesimus had run away and was with Paul, and in the mean time had converted to Christianity. But he was still property of Philemon. Paul was writing to smooth out the return of Onesimus to Philemon and encouraging Philemon to view him as a brother in Christ and not as a slave. The early church did not condemn slavery, but it laid a foundation for a new type of relationship between owner and slave.
Philemon v. 16, “no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

Hebrews
The writer of Hebrews is unknown, however people think it to have been Luke and it’s thought to have been written around 65 A.D. The book was written because many Jewish believers were slipping back into the Jewish tradition to avoid persecution, and the writer was encouraging them to hold strong in the faith and continue in the grace of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, the rituals done by the Jews were shadows of things to come, and in Hebrews it’s stressed that those old rituals and traditions are done away with and that Jesus is so much better than anything religion has to offer, and it’s nothing compared to Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 2:3 “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation…”

James
This book was written by James around 45 A.D. and was written in response to the churches over-interpretation of Paul’s letters, to the extent that they were doing away with all social morality, legalism, and secular law. This epistle was directed towards Jewish Christians all over. James emphasized that good actions will naturally come from those who are filled with the Spirit and put their faith in Jesus Christ, and questions whether or not those who are not showing fruit are truely saved. He compares and the difference between worldly and Godly wisdom and tells us to turn away from evil and draw close to God.
James 1:2-3, “Whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow”

1 Peter
Written between 60- 65 A.D. by the apostle Peter, this book shows how through the persecution and tribulation, we must rejoice in Jesus Christ. He says to count it a privilege to suffer for the sake of Christ as our Savior suffered for us.
1 Peter 1:3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

2 Peter
This book was written between 65 and 68 A.D. Peter was alarmed that false teachers were working their ways into the chruch and he encouraged Christians to refresh their memories and to stimulate their thinking and become mature in the faith so that they could withstand these false teachings. Peter encouraged them to grow in the grace and knowledge of their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The word knowledge occurs at least 13 times in the book of 2 Peter.
2 Peter 3:18: But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen.”

1 John
1, 2 and 3 John were written by John between A.D. 85-95. False spiritual teachers were a big problem in the early church. Because there was not a complete New Testament that believers could refer to, many churches fell prey to heretic who taught their own ideas and advanced themselves as leaders. John wrote this letter to set the record straight on some important issues, particularly concerning the identify of Jesus Christ.
1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

2 John
This letter was written about the same time at 1 and 3 John, 85- 95 A.D. 2 John sends a warning to the church about decievers teaching a messed up doctrine of Christ and who believed that Jesus’ resurrection was spiritual and not of the flesh. John was very anxious that believers understood that there were false teachers and encouraged them to have nothing to do with them.
2 John v. 8-9, “Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and Son.”

3 John
This book was written by John between 85 and 95 A.D. to encourage Gailus in his hospitality to John’s messengers who were going place to place, to warn about a man who had taken over one of the churchs in the province of Asia and was behaving in a way contrary to that which the apostles stood for, and to commend the example that Demetrius was being to all.
3 John v. 11, “Beloved, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.”

Jude
The book of Jude was written by Jude between 60 and 80 A.D. After warning about how to avoid false teachings, he advises us in how to succed in spiritual warface. He speaks a lot about the end times and the false teachers that will arise, and how there will be tares in the wheat, and false Christians in the church, and tells us to contend for the faith.
Jude v.18-19: “In the last days there will be scoffers who will follow their own ungodly desires. These are men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit.”

Revalation
Revalation was written between 90 and 95 A.D. by the apostle John. This book is filled with mysteries and things to come. It is the final warning that the world will end and judgment is going to happen. It gives us a tiny glimpse of Heaven and all of the glories awaiting those who endure until the end.
Revelation 21:1, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.”