We start the Gospels, with
Matthew who presents Jesus as
the Christ, Israel’s messianic King.
Mark presents Jesus as the Servant
who gave his life for mankind.
Luke presents Him as the perfect
Son of Man saving the lost.
And John presents Jesus as
Son of God offering eternal life.
In essence, Mark records what
Jesus did, Matthew and Luke
records what Jesus said while John
shares Who Jesus was. And Acts
chronicles Growth of the church.
Turning to the Pauline epistles:
In Romans, Paul gives a sample of his
message before he arrives in Rome.
And First and Second Corinthians,
Living for Christ in corrupt society.
In Galatians, Paul calls Christians
to faith and freedom in Christ.
In Eph,Paul strengthens believers by
explaining the purpose of the church.
In Philippians, Paul shows true joy
comes from Jesus Christ alone.
In Colossians, Paul shows believers
have everything they need in Christ.
In Thess, Paul encourages the church to persevere in midst of trials.
Paul’s two letters to Timothy give
advice for building strong leadership
and offer principles for discipleship.
In Titus, Paul gives pointers on
church supervision; while in Philemon, he urges forgiveness
and acceptance of erring brother.
Next, non Pauline epistles: Hebrews,
James, 1&2 Peter, 1-3 John & Jude.
Hebrews: Many Jewish believers
were tempted to renounce their
newfound faith and return to
Judaism to escape persecution.
The anonymous writer of Hebrews
appeals to them to pursue maturity
based on Christ’s superiority
to the Jewish religious system.
More is to be gained by suffering
for Christ than by reverting
to a system He came to fulfill.
James: In this epistle to Jewish
believers, the apostle James shows
how faith integrates with everyday
practical experience by stressing
that true faith produces doers
of the Word. For James, a faith
that produces no change in a
person’s life is really no faith at all.
True faith will bear fruit in deeds.
It endures trials, obeys the Word,
controls the tongue, separates
from the world and resists the devil.
In 1 Peter, Apostle Paul offers
encouragement to suffering
Christians. He begins by stressing
the riches of their salvation and
their need for holy lives. Then
he encourages them to develop
an attitude of submission and
humble dependence on God.
And in 2 Peter, Paul warns
Christians about false teachers
and to exhort them to grow in their
faith in and knowledge of Christ
In 1 John, the apostle writes to
help his spiritual brothers in their
walk with the God who is light,
love and life. He is a God of light
and believers must walk in integrity.
He is a God of love and believers
must manifest love for one another.
And He is a God of life and believers
are assured of eternal life in Christ.
In 2 John, the apostle emphasises
the basics of following Christ,
namely truth and love as well as
warns them against false teachers.
And in 3 John, the apostle commends Gaius for hospitality & encourages
him in his Christian life.
Jude: Alarmed by the presence
of false teachers in the church,
Jude is compelled to unmask
their deadly ways and to exhort
believers to stand firm for truth.
Jude who was the brother of James,
ends this short but powerful epistle
with a series of urgent commands:
Remember Christ’s words,
remain in God’s love and seek
to remove erring brothers from
the fiery danger of their ways.