New Testament Fall 2024 Study Guide

➢ What is the “Overarching Principle” to follow when reading the New Testament?

• seek to pull meaning out of the text, don’t put your own meaning into the text

➢ What is the proper order to studying the Bible? 

• understand, then apply

➢ What is the “Application Principle” to follow when reading the New Testament?

• one correct interpretation with several correct applications

➢ Which characteristic of Jesus does each Gospel focus on? 

• Matthew: King

• Mark: Servant

• Luke: Man

• John: God

➢ What are the four phases of Jesus’ earthly ministry & how would you describe them? (+ transition events)

• public presentation: Jesus is seeking crowds, traveling, performing miracles in Judea & Galilee

• TRANSITION: official rejection of the Jewish leaders (unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) & feeding the 5000 (people try to make Him king, Jesus gives an intentionally hard teaching and they all desert Him)

• private preparation: preparing His disciples for His death/resurrection/departure, and avoiding Jews (performing miracles quietly)

• TRANSITION: the Transfiguration; Peter correctly identifies Jesus as the Son of God and the Messiah, Jesus tells them of His impending crucifixion, the disciples are horrified, the Transfiguration restores their hope & confidence in Jesus

• mixed focus: preparing His disciples, presents Himself to Jews in Perea and Judea

• TRANSITION: Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead in Bethany, stirring up excitement about His imminent return to Jerusalem for Passover

• final events: triumphal entry, rejection, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension

➢ What was the main idea of the Sermon on the Mount? 

• life in God’s Kingdom, Jesus is raising the bar

➢ How many resurrection appearances of Jesus are recorded in the New Testament? 

• 12: 10 in the 40 days following the resurrection, one to Paul, one to John (book of Revelation)

➢ What is the basic storyline of the book of Acts? 

• church comes into existence in Jerusalem, witness spreads to Judea & Samaria, witness spreads to the ends of the earth

➢ How does Peter fulfill Jesus’ statement that he had been given “the keys to the kingdom  of heaven”? 

• Peter is present each time the Holy Spirit is poured out on new believers (Pentecost, believers in Samaria, Cornelius)

➢ According to the book of Acts, how is someone saved from sin? 

• salvation is for those who believe in Jesus (confident about Biblical teaching and obedient to Jesus’ commands) and repent from sin (turning beliefs, behavior, and allegiance)

➢ Where did Paul go on each of his missionary journeys? (Big picture, not every city.)

• First Missionary Journey 

  • Syrian Antioch to Cyprus, up to Lycia & Galatia

• Second Missionary Journey 

  • Syrian Antioch across Lycia, Galatia, Asia Minor (intended to plant more churches), redirected by the Holy Spirit to Macedonia and Greece (spends 1.5 years in Corinth)

• Third Missionary Journey 

  • Syrian Antioch to Galatia, Lystra, Asia, Macedonia (similar path as second journey)

➢ What is the main idea of each of Paul’s epistles? 

• Romans: the basic doctrines of the Christian faith, the gospel, how to live faithfully as a Christian (GOSPEL)

• 1 Corinthians: a wide variety of theological and practical issues that are relevant to the Christian life today (LOVE)

• 2 Corinthians: defending himself against false teachers and encouraging the church to continue collecting the funds to send to persecuted believers in Jerusalem (MINISTRY & GLORY)

• Ephesians: thanking God for the faith of the believers in Ephesus, reminding them of basic doctrines, and providing instruction on basic practices (HEAVENLY PLACES)

• Galatians: to counter the Judaizers teaching that the Law of Moses is necessary for salvation, emphasizing grace through faith (LAW)

• Philippians: a personal letter to the church at Philippi, thanking them for support and concern, encouraging them to rejoice in everything and serve each other humbly (TO THINK, MIND, HAVE A CERTAIN ATTITUDE)

• Colossians: correcting a false teaching, emphasizing the preeminence of Christ, the futility of works, urging them to lead holy lives (PREEMINENCE)

• 1 Thessalonians: assure the church of his love for them and correct a misunderstanding about the second coming of Christ (SANCTIFICATION)

• 2 Thessalonians: correct additional false teachings about the coming of Christ that confused and distressed other believers (LAWLESSNESS)

• 1 Timothy: written to Timothy to encourage him to press on and give him instructions on how the Ephesian church should function (FIGHT)

• 2 Timothy: written about the departure from the truth in Ephesian church (BE STRONG)

• Titus: provide instructions about church organization and practice (GOOD WORKS)

• Philemon: exhortation for Philemon to forgive his runaway slave Onesimus and accept him as a brother (BROTHER)

➢ Which of Paul’s letters are the “Prison Epistles”? 

• Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon

➢ Which of Paul’s letters are the “Pastoral Epistles”? 

• 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus

➢ According to Romans, what does justification involve? (Hint: not just forgiveness of sin,  but also imputation of righteousness) 

➢ According to the book of Galatians, how are we saved? After we are saved, how do we  live out the Christian life? 

• GRACE THROUGH FAITH through the power of the Holy Spirit

➢ What is the key concept in successfully living the Christian life? (Paul discussed it in  Ephesians and Colossians.) 

• “putting off” the old self and “putting on” the new self (new creatures in Christ)

➢ What was Paul referring to when he uses the word “mystery”? 

• things not revealed in the OT period now revealed in the NT period

➢ Based on what he writes in Philippians 3:7-21, did Paul consider himself to be a perfect  Christian? In light of that, how did he live his life? 

• no, Paul did not consider himself perfect, but pursued resurrection and eternal rewards, setting his mind on true citizenship

➢ What truths about the Christian life can we draw out of Paul’s final words to Timothy? 

• the Christian life: is a fight, requires endurance, requires faithfulness

➢ What is the main ideas & keywords of each epistle and book?

• Hebrews: endure in faith & run the race God has, the New Covenant is superior to the Mosaic Covenant, Jesus is superior over all (BETTER)

• James: for readers to be “perfect and complete, lacking nothing”, obedience, true faith is obeying God and loving others (TRIALS)

• 1 Peter: Christ humbly endured suffering and Christians are to do the same (HOPE & SUFFERING)

• 2 Peter: encouraging believers to persevere and warn them about false teachers near the end of his life (GROW & KNOWLEDGE)

• 1 John: to combat heresy, clarify truth from error, to be assured of salvation (KNOW)

• 2 John: instruction to not help false teachers and not welcome someone teaching blasphemous doctrines (REMAIN)

• 3 John: written to Gaius to commend him for hospitality and condemn a false teacher (Diotrephes) who forbid believers from practicing hospitality (IMITATE)

• Jude: warning against following false teachers by unmasking them, encouragements to persevere in faith (KEEP)

• Revelation: Jesus is coming back with eternal blessings for those faithful to Him and judgement for those who reject Him (WITNESS)

➢ What does the book of Hebrews tell us about the relationship between the Mosaic  Covenant and the New Covenant? 

• There is no relationship between the Mosaic and New Covenants, making the Mosaic obsolete

➢ According to the book of Hebrews, how is Christ better than the Levitical priesthood and  the old sacrificial system? 

• Christ is a perfect priest, not a sinful priest

• His blood is more valuable than an animal’s

• His sacrifice is offered in the true temple once and for all

➢ How is it possible for Jesus to serve as our high priest when he was not a descendant of  Aaron? 

• Jesus is a descendent of Melchizedek, an order greater than that of the Levites (Jesus is both priest and kind, like Melchizedek)

➢ How are the writings of James similar to the teachings of Jesus?  

• the book of James reiterates many of Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount (brothers have similar ways of expressing themselves)

➢ What does James emphasize when discussing the relationship between faith and works?

• true faith will be accompanied by obedient actions

➢ Does James contradict what Paul wrote about salvation? How do their writings relate to  one another? 

• no they do not contradict, Paul also pointed to the need for good works following salvation (salvation involves faith which results in action - Romans 10:9-10)

➢ What were the circumstances (“Occasion of Writing”) behind Peter’s first letter?

• Peter writes from “Babylon” (likely Rome) to believers in Asia Minor during a time of great persecution under Emperor Nero

➢ How and why did Emperor Nero persecute the early Christians? 

• Nero likely started a fire that destroyed much of the city of Rome, and blamed the Christians because he needed a scapegoat (Christians were unpopular and an easy target)

➢ What insight does 1 Peter give us into the process of inspiration in the Old Testament  period? 

• Peter says that the OT prophets did not always understand what they were writing about, but faithfully recorded God’s message, inquiring what person or time the Spirit was indicating

➢ In 1 Peter, what topic does Peter use throughout the letter to encourage the believers in  their suffering? 

• Jesus also suffered, so it makes sense that believers would suffer too

  • believers should also humbly endure suffering as Christ did

➢ What were the circumstances (“Occasion of Writing”) behind Peter’s second letter?

• Peter wrote this near the end of his life, possibly as a prisoner in Rome awaiting his predicted death as a martyr

➢ How does Peter demonstrate humility in his second letter? 

• Peter refers to himself as a “servant” and doesn’t claim to be better than those he is writing too

➢ How does Peter view the events recorded in the book of Genesis? How should that  influence how we view those events? 

• Peter views them as historical events , so we would take them as historical events and examples of God’s character

➢ What does 2 Peter tell us about the Day of the Lord? 

• Christ will come suddenly, the present creation will be burned up, a new creation will be made, so we should live lives of holiness and godliness in our waiting

➢ When did John write his three letters? 

• AD 85-95

➢ What was Gnosticism? How did John combat this false teaching? 

• the belief that flesh is bad and sinful and spirit is good, and that salvation is about overcoming the physical prison of the body by yielding to the spiritual through a secret knowledge only available to some.

• John combatted this by giving them knowledge of their eternal life in Christ and no where else (1 John 5:13)

➢ How does the letter of 1 John give us confidence that the New Testament is an accurate  record of the truth taught by Jesus and the apostles? 

• John is a genuine disciple; he was an eyewitness of Jesus’ ministry and present at His arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection.

➢ How does the letter of 1 John help us know that we are truly saved? 

• provides ways to “test” the genuineness of our faith: walking in obedience, regular confession, genuine love for other Christians, involvement in local church, believe and publicly acknowledge Jesus as Messiah and King, and the Holy Spirit dwelling inside you

➢ What issue in the early church do the books of 2 John and 3 John address?

• hospitality & false teachers

➢ The book of Jude is similar to which other book in the New Testament?

• 2 Peter

➢ What are the four most common ways the book of Revelation has been interpreted?

• Preterist: events in Revelation were in the near future for John, but are now in past for us, postmillennialist

• Futurist: events in Revelation were in the future for John and still in the future for us, dispensational premillennialism or historic premillennialism

• Historicist: events in Revelation were in the future for John, and some, but not all, are in the past for us (prophetic outline) , postmillennialism

• Idealist: a committal view about which events in Revelation have already taken place and which have not, amillennialism

➢ What is the significance of the seven letters Jesus had John write to the seven churches?

• Jesus has both praise and criticism for these churches that likely represent different types of churches. His criticisms are balanced with amazing promises for those who overcome through the power of the cross and the Holy Spirit

➢ According to the lecture, what is the best understanding of how the seven seals, the seven  bowls, and the seven trumpets relate to one another? 

• three sets of judgements are telescopic. The seven trumpets ‘fit into’ the seventh seal judgement, and the seven bowl judgements ‘fit into’ the seventh trumpet judgement

➢ What are the three most common interpretations of the millennium described in  Revelation 20? 

• premillennialism: Jesus returns before the church age is over and before the millennium begins, will reign on earth during the millennial period while Satan is bound. Satan will then be released and thrown into the lake of fire

• postmillennialism: the millennium is the church age or overlaps with the church age and Jesus will return after the millennium

• amillennialism: the millennium is a symbol or metaphor for the church age (currently in the millennium)

➢ How does the book of Revelation end?

• the original heavens and earth have been replaced by a new heavens and earth and God’s people are now with Him. God’s redemptive plan is complete and the perfect, intimate relationship with God has been restored.