The General Epistles Of The New Testament

The General Epistles are a collection of seven letters that were intended to be circulated among all the early churches. They were not sent to any one specific church and, with the exception of 2 and 3 John, do not address individuals by name. Their subject matter is important enough that the authors wanted all the churches to be informed on these matters. JAMES: One of the earliest books of the New Testament was written by James, the half-brother of Jesus, who was the pastor of the church in Jerusalem. James deals with the problems faced by Christians everywhere in their daily walk. For example, he discusses the religion that pleases God, faith which saves because it works, the power of the tongue, coping with suffering and warning against favoritism to the rich and famous. His advice is practical and written in a style that is reminiscent of the book of Proverbs in the Old Testament. 1 JOHN: Written by the disciple who was dearly beloved by Jesus, this epistle confronts the gnostic errors that were pummeling the early church. John wrote to clarify the heart of the Gospel which reflects the heart of Jesus. He exalted Jesus, promoted love to one another and urged believers to avoid sin and entanglement with the world. 2 JOHN: This epistle was written to encourage the churches in a time when deception was rampant and many believers were straying from the simplicity of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He uses two key words in this letter to instruct them how to walk: truth and love. 3 JOHN: John urges the churches to support the itinerant workers who, in turn, support the house church network of that day. He provides us with a study in contrast as he condemns the domineering demands of Diotrephes and endorses the demonstrated diligence of Demetrius. 1 PETER: In this epistle, Peter writes to churches struggling with persecution and suffering. He urges them to depend upon the enduring Word of God, to live holy lives and not to be entangled in the affairs of this life. Their attitudes and actions should all be defined and delivered in the light of eternity. 2 PETER: This epistle was written very near to the end of Peter's life and he writes to warn his readers about the false teachers infecting the churches. He provides the basic steps to increase the fruitfulness of their lives and encourages them to pay attention to God's sure Word of prophecy, to be true to Christ, and to be ready for His expected return. JUDE: Like Peter's second epistle, Jude wrote to warn the churches of the influx of false prophets and teachers. These two epistles have several passages that are remarkably similar, a situation which indicates the seriousness of their words. Their letters had an immediate application to the destruction of Jerusalem, but the situation he describes and the advice he gives are directly applicable to the anticipated return of Christ in our lifetimes. As you use these Study Guides for LIFE, you will be helped by three specific tools: 1) Explanatory notes which offer insight into difficult or controversial passages; 2) Searching questions which direct you back to the text for answers, and 3) Probing questions that expand the context and challenge you to apply the truths in each book to your own culture. Our goal is that you will know what the text says, what it means and how to apply it appropriately. By these means you will be helped to experience the closeness and intimacy of the Lord Jesus Christ, structure your life around Him and prepare for His anticipated return. The Study Guides for LIFE are appropriate for the study efforts of individuals, small groups or teachers preparing to explain each book. Whether you are a curious seeker or a professional minister, these Study Guides will direct your studies into the advice of Jesus' apostles and followers, which are designed to produce disciples after God's own heart.

The New Testament books of James through Jude-the General or Catholic Epistles-can be overlooked due to their brevity and location at the end of the canon. They contribute much, however, to our understanding of salvation and Christian living. In this accessible introduction for laypeople, pastors, and study group leaders, Professor Crowe explains the content of these letters and their implications for the church today. Book jacket.

Respected New Testament scholar Karen Jobes explores the cultural and theological background of Hebrews and the general epistles (James through Jude) in this rich commentary. Writing from an evangelical perspective, Jobes addresses issues of historical relevance as well as how these ancient books connect with Christian faith and practice today. Letters to the Church includes:-Historical background for each book focusing on authorship, genre, date, and content-An exploration of the major themes in each book and detailed commentary on key passages-Boxes with chapter goals, outlines, challenges, and significant verses-Sidebars addressing difficult passages or ideas-Maps, photographs, charts, and definitions-Questions for discussion, reflection, and testing-A comparison of the teachings about Christ in each of the lettersPastors, professors, students, and laypeople interested in deeper biblical study will find this an invaluable resource that offers well-researched commentary in an accessible, spiritually meaningful form.

This commentary on the Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation, excerpted from the Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The New Testament, engages readers in the work of biblical interpretation. Contributors connect historical-critical analysis with sensitivity to current theological, cultural, and interpretive issues. Introductory articles describe the challenges of reading the New Testament in ancient and contemporary contexts, as well as exploring other themes ranging from the Jewish heritage of early Christianity to the contexts of diaspora. These are followed by the survey “Introduction to Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation.” Each chapter (Hebrews through Revelation) includes an introduction and commentary on the text through the lenses of three critical questions: The Text in Its Ancient Context. What did the text probably mean in its original historical and cultural context? The Text in the Interpretive Tradition. How have centuries of reading and interpreting shaped our understanding of the text? The Text in Contemporary Discussion. What are the unique challenges and interpretive questions that arise for readers and hearers of the text today? Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation introduces fresh perspectives and draws students, as well as preachers and interested readers, into the challenging work of interpretation.

This second edition of An Introduction to the New Testament provides readers with pertinent material and a helpful framework that will guide them in their understanding of the New Testament texts. Many new and diverse cultural, historical, social-scientific, sociorhetorical, narrative, textual, and contextual studies have been examined since the publication of the first edition, which was in print for twenty years. The authors retain the original tripartite arrangement on 1) The world of the New Testament, 2) Interpreting the New Testament, and 3) Jesus and early Christianity. An appropriate book for anyone who seeks to better understand what is involved in the exegesis of New Testaments texts today.

These eighteen pieces have been commissioned to provide a succinct yet comprehensive guide to the best of recent evangelical thinking about how the New Testament is to be interpreted, so that it may speak most clearly to today's world. The need for such a handbook can be felt more keenly as on the one side a secularized world dismisses the biblical faith as outmoded, unworkable, and unsatisfying; and, on the other, numerous Christian communities, committed to taking that faith with ultimate seriousness, are driven by controversies about how to read and understand the Bible. Following the editor's introduction, in which I. Howard Marshall examines a familiar New Testament passage in order to exemplify the problems and rewards that await the careful interpreter, the essays are arranged under four headings, beginning with overviews of the history of New Testament study and the role of the interpreter's presuppositions in this enterprise; then going on to discuss the various critical tools, the methods of exegesis, and the application of the New Testament to the faith and life of the contemporary reader. An annotated bibliography concludes the presentation. Because the issues involved here have too often been ignored in many quarters, more than one approach to or opinion about a given matter may surface in these essays; yet, undergirding this diversity is the author's shared conviction, as conservative evangelicals with a high regard for the authority of Holy Scripture, that we are called upon to study the Bible with the full use of our minds. As the editor writes, The passages which we interpret must be the means through which God speaks to men and women today. Our belief in the inspiration of the Bible is thus a testimony that New Testament exegesis is not just a problem; it is a real possibility. God can and does speak to men through even the most ignorant of expositors of his Word. At the same time he calls us on to devote ourselves to his Word and use every resource to make its message the more clear.

Through a detailed examination of the historical shaping and final canonical shape of seven oft-neglected New Testament letters, Reading the Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude as Scripture introduces readers to the historical, literary, and theological integrity of this indispensable apostolic witness. While most scholars today interpret biblical texts in terms of their individual historical points of composition, David Nienhuis and Robert Wall argue that a theological approach to this part of Scripture is better served by attending to these texts' historical point of canonization -- those key moments in the ancient church's life when apostolic writings were grouped together to maximize the Spirit's communication of the apostolic rule of faith to believers everywhere. Reading the Epistles of James, Peter, John, and Jude as Scripture is the only treatment of the Catholic Epistles that approaches these seven letters as an intentionally designed and theologically coherent canonical collection.

This reference volume aims to be a kind of comprehensive status quaestionis for the Catholic Epistles. Here Darian Lockett has collected some of the highest quality scholarship concentred upon the Letters of James, Peter, ohn, and Jude, creating an introduction and orientation to the wide ranging avenues of scholarly investigation into these New Testament texts all in a single-volume. Divided into four distinct sections, the volume begins with an analysis of the Catholic Epistles as a collection, before moving to discuss historical-critical and theological studies, methodological approaches, and, finally, reception history. Taking care to situate foundational essays in the history of scholarship that may be hard to find or contextualize, Lockett offers a brief introduction to each section and draws each section to a close by providing a list of annotated readings which prompt further study and engagement with some of the last literature to be settled upon in the New Testament canon.