Understanding books in the Book

The Bible contains the message from God to humans. The Christian Bible holds two main books, or “testaments.” The Old Testament houses the Torah, the journey of God’s people before the coming of the Messiah. The Old Testament is still used in Judaism today. The New Testament reveals Jesus as the anticipated Messiah. It follows the life of Jesus and chronicles its spread and growth. The Bible is a collection of books in The Book.

The New Testament holds the guidebook for Christian believers. This book in the Book consists of twenty-seven different books written by over a dozen authors spanning over fifty years’ time during the first century. Yet this library of books is also presented as one piece of literature. The New Testament stands united in its purpose and content, written by men inspired by God Himself.

The New Testament provides a wealth of literature. As a history, the books chronicle the days of the life of Jesus and the beginning years of the church of His followers. From the standpoint of theology, the writers gather content which serves as a doctrine building the foundation of faith. As a devotion, the writings serve to challenge and encourage believers to follow closer to the footsteps of the Savior.

New Testament Introduction

Following three articles of an introductory nature, the articles on each book provides a capsule of the book. Introductory matters shed light on authorship, occasion, date, design and important teachings. Classic works on biblical introduction have been written over the years, including Theodor Zahn’s Introduction to the New Testament, and Henry Thiessen’s Introduction to the New Testament. In addition more recent works by Donald Guthrie’s New Testament Introduction and N.T. Wright’s The New Testament in Its World add to our comprehension of these books of the Bible.

Understanding the content of the books and the background for the books is critical for today’s Christian. Biblical illiteracy is a concern expressed by theologians and researchers like George Barna, Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer. Today’s culture is increasingly diverse and post-Judeo-Christian. Many Christian denominations push the dating of the books of the New Testament into the second century. Doing so eliminates the credibility of eyewitnesses to the ministry and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore holding to a conservative view of these books is an integral part of sound doctrine.