chevron-leftchevron-right-+crossclosefacebook-bwGroup 15instagram-bwmenuNew Tabtwitter-bwyoutube-bw
facebook-bw twitter-bw instagram-bw youtube-bw menu close - +

What is the New Testament?

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Romans 1:16-17
What is the New Testament? Book Cover

Who is Jesus? What was it like to follow in his footsteps? What was his message? To whom was it given? Who believed? What is the connection between the narrative and prophecy of the Old Testament and the gospel (good news) of the New Testament?

The New Testament, twenty-seven books written in Greek between AD 50 and 100, reveals the fulfillment of the Old Testament’s promise of a savior—Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John use eye-witness accounts of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament’s promise of the one who would save us from sin and death. And the rest of the New Testament chronicles the spread of Christianity in the first-century world. Together, the Gospels and letters of the New Testament offer wisdom and hope for Christ-followers living in a broken world. And that hope will be fully realized when Jesus returns, as promised in the final book of Revelation.

The ministry of Jesus isn’t just something to be observed. There is a call to action found throughout the New Testament. Jesus called his followers to go into the all the world, making disciples (Matthew 28:19–20). The book of Acts records those first missionary journeys and church plants. Led by Paul and Peter, the earliest believers in Jesus as Messiah set out to share the good news of salvation and to equip local groups of Christians with truth for living transformed by Jesus.

And so, the church was born.

As we know well, throwing off the sin that so easily entangles us and running with Jesus is hard. We get tripped up by tradition. Beset by bad habits. Discouraged by doubts. Caught up in comparison. Worn down by worldliness. And the early church did too; we see it played out all through the New Testament.

Paul and the first evangelists didn’t just covert Christians and move on. They continued to equip and encourage. The letters that follow the Gospels were written to specific groups of Christ-followers within the first hundred years after Jesus’s life and resurrection. In them, we see that the Christian life is only successfully lived when it is empowered by the Holy Spirit and lived within the context of community. In these letters, we find the answers to questions we should never stop asking. What is church life supposed to look like? How are we supposed to engage with unbelievers? How do we admonish the wayward brother or sister in Christ? In what do we place our hope? What awaits us in eternity?

The fulfillment of this last question is breathtakingly displayed in the Bible’s final book, Revelation. In it, God promises that one day there will be no more sin and sorrow, only light and life—Revelation gives us the hope we need to press on.

Share

Leader Guide

Download

Learn More

About IF:Equip

Go Back

How to Read Your Bible

Watch Week One

Understanding the Bible

Daily Question

What steps can you take so that your engagement with God’s Word leads to ever-increasing spiritual maturity?

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments (11)

Don’t quit reading or praying. God’s Word is alive and active, so what sticks out to once won’t necessarily be the same things that sticks out the next time you read it. Also, as we mature we are ready to handle the deeper things in Scripture. Ask for His guidance and wisdom and just keep reading.

Making space to truly stop, think, listen and reflect. Acknowledging that it may not be the same amount of time in each season. It may be just a verse or it can be a chapter or more depending on where I may be in my life and what is needed, but I should always seek His Word for direction. Keeping His Word as the center of my life and remembering that it truly is a light and guide for my path will help me to do this.

One step I can take is to SLOW DOWN. Take time to pray in preparation to receive His word. Take time to meditate on it after I finish reading. Be still and wait for Him to give me wisdom or revelation concerning what I have read. If only I would remember to do this!

I need to press on in my daily commitment of reading and lean into my growing desires to journal what I read in the Bible. I need to find community with others that I can encourage and journey with.

Being consistent in my walk with Christ. Taking my quiet in my day to read and study God’s word and continuing to live out my day with what God has taught me each day.

Make it a priority to be in His Word daily; be quiet and listen. My word for the year is direction. I want to seek His direction daily so that I stay on the path He is showing me.

Writing a great article<a href="https://buypvaaccount.com/buy-gmail-accounts/">Usa gmail accounts</a>
is not as hard as some people make it out to be. Sure, there are certain things that you should remember and follow through on to ensure that you succeed, but other than those few things, the rest is up to you. The first thing that you need to keep in mind is that your article needs to relate to your audience. No one likes to read an article that is highly generic and has nothing to do with them. The next thing that you want to do is find a topic or a title that is unique and interesting. By doing these two things, you will be well on your way to writing a great article that really does interest your readers.

One of the most important<a href="https://buypvaaccount.com/buy-gmail-accounts/">Usa gmail accounts</a>
questions one can ask oneself is this: Is this post important for business? For many, it is, however, for others; it’s a non-issue. When we are asked to define what is important for business, we often wince and say, "Umm, well, I don’t know. What’s important to me is getting the word out there that I exist!"

https://buypvaaccount.com/buy-gmail-accounts/
One of the most important questions one can ask oneself is this: Is this post important for business? For many, it is, however, for others; it’s a non-issue. When we are asked to define what is important for business, we often wince and say, "Umm, well, I don’t know. What’s important to me is getting the word out there that I exist!"

Have questions?

We've got answers.

View Our FAQs

Thank you to our study partner