And finally, Part 6. It's time to land this plane.
I'm in the New Testament. I've covered the first four books that are sometimes referred to collectively as the Gospels (or biographies of Jesus).
Jesus' work on earth is done, and now it's time for the Gospel (the good news about Jesus) to spread.
If for some reason you're just now coming in to the Clarifying the Bible series of posts, stop here and go back to the first one. It'll make more sense as you move along the way.
This is the conclusion of 20 sentences that, if you'll take the time to learn them, will help you have a better handle on your Bible. You'll be comfortable with it. As I said at the beginning, you'll be able to "palm" it as comfortably as an NBA player can palm a basketball.
Bible study is important. Knowing your Bible is important.
Make it a priority.
Be disciplined.
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”
We're in the home stretch. Let's finish this out.
16. The Book of Acts records the works of the ascended Jesus through His spirit in the lives of the early church as the gospels spread to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth through the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul.
Here's a verse in Acts that would be good to memorize. Acts 1:8 – “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
The verse basically serves as an outline of the book of Acts.
Take a look at this chart. It's a simple, easy-to-understand overview of the entire Book of Acts.
At the end of chapter 7, what happens? Stephen is martyred. Killed for his faith. He's actually known as the first Christian martyr. Then, mass persecution starts and the Jews scatter. The Gospel then goes to Judea, Samaria.
In Chapter 13 the church at Antioch commissions Paul and Barnabas to take the gospel to the known world. The whole book of Acts is Acts 1:8 played out.
Fascinating!!
Now let's move on to the epistles, or letters, that make up a large part of the New Testament.
17. While Paul’s 13 letters are placed from longest to shortest in our Bible, they are better understood in their proper historical context.
Consider these facts:
After Paul’s 1st missionary journey, which was to the region of Galatia, he wrote: Galatians.
During Paul’s 2nd missionary journey, after he had visited Thessalonica, he wrote: 1st and 2nd Thessalonians.
During Paul’s 3rd missionary journey he wrote: 1st and 2nd Corinthians and Romans.
During Paul’s 1st imprisonment in Rome he wrote: Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, and Phillipians.
After his release from prison he wrote: 1st Timothy and Titus.
During his 2nd and final imprisonment he wrote: 2nd Timothy.
Notice the pattern: After his 1st journey he wrote 1 book, during his 2nd he wrote 2, during his 3rd he wrote 3, and during his “4th” he wrote 4.
I think it helps to know the context of what was happening when a letter was written. Here's a challenge. Take the information above, read through the Book of Acts, specifically starting at Chapter 13, and as you follow Paul's journeys pause and read the letters that he wrote at the appropriate times in Paul's journeys.
What about the rest of the New Testament?
18. The general epistles are so named because they (for the most part) are not addressed to specific audiences, but they might better be called non-Pauline.
The term "general epistle" appears in the King James version of the Bible in the book titles of James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1 John, and Jude, but it was not used in the oldest manuscripts. The epistles were not addressed to specific persons or churches and became known as general. 2 and 3 John also became known that way even though they are addressed to specific audiences. Hebrews was addressed to a specific audience.
19. Revelation is the final book of the Bible that records the vision of Jesus which John saw (Revelation 1: 12 – 16), Jesus’ letters to the seven churches of John’s day (Revelation 2 and 3), and the things that will take place in the future (Chapters 4 – 22).
Revelation 1:19 outlines Revelation much like Acts 1:8 outlines Acts - "Write, therefore, what you have seen (Revelation 1:12-16), what is now (Revelation 2 and 3), and what will take place later (Revelation 4 - 22)."
Revelation is the only book of prophecy in the New Testament.
It also has a unique promise. Revelation 1:3 - "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."
I've found that so many people are scared of Revelation, and so many churches don't preach out of it that often. But you just can't ignore that promise. So read it! Take to heart what is written in it! You will be blessed.
And to close out this series of posts on Clarifying the Bible, the last sentence.
20. The Bible is to be heard, read, studied, memorized, and meditated on for a lifetime!
Consider Ezra 7:10 - "For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the Lord, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.
One way to look at it...if you're not doing these three things (study, observe (apply), and teach the Bible), you're just quoting dead guys.
I sincerely hope these posts have helped someone to understand the Bible a little better. If so...let me know!
Remember...
Bible study is important.
Make it a priority.
Be disciplined.
Note: In this series of posts, I am presenting material from Clarifying the Bible as I learned it in the Downline Institute, purposely giving credit to both Downline and Mitch Maher, the author of the study by the same name.
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