BIBLE 110 SEMI-FINAL STUDY GUIDE
The New Testament as a Whole
Be able to completely reproduce the “Timeline of the NT Chart”. This means:
-Know where and what all of the books are.
-Know how to group all of the epistles together.
-Know what the chapter divisions are for Acts (there are four different sections).
-Know where to place the different boxes for Paul’s imprisonments (there are two).
Know the themes for all 27 books in the New Testament.
The Gospels
-Know to whom each Gospel was written.
-Know the theme of each Gospel.
-Know how that theme fits in with who the letters were sent to.
Matthew – Written by Matthew. Christ is Messiah. To the
Jews. Because they were looking for the Messiah.
Mark – Written by Mark. Christ as suffering servant. To Slaves
in Rome. Because most of the Romans were types of slaves.
Luke – Luke. Christ as Perfect Man. To Greeks. Because the
Greeks were obsessed with the body.
John – John. To the world, Christ is God. Because most
cultures assume there is a God, John makes clear who God
really is.
Paul’s Letters
Know everything about Paul:
-His life before salvation = Paul (who was then Saul) persecuted Christians
his salvation experience = He was in route to Damascus when Jesus appeared to him and
questioned him as to why Saul was persecuting him. Then Saul was blinded and later healed by
Ananias.
his life after salvation = He was then known as Paul and proclaimed and proved that Jesus was
the Christ. Many people wanted to kill him.
any religious positions he held = Paul became a preacher and missionary
any secular occupations = as Paul he was also a tentmaker. As Saul he was a hired thug.
-Know the background for Galatians and James, how they are similar and dissimilar, how they
do NOT contradict each other, and how they tie into what happened in Acts 15 (you will also
need to know, of course, the very important thing that happened in Acts 15 and what was
decided at that very important event).
Galatians says we are saved by faith and not by works, while James says that our works
are evidence of our faith (but they do NOT save us from our sins).
Acts 15 is important because it talks about the Jerusalem council, which basically was a
big debate which ended in allowing the gospel to be spread out to all nations (especially
to gentiles) and that it was alright for Jews to share this faith with non-Jews regardless
of if they are circumcised or not. (the argument was started because some said you
needed to be circumcised in order to be saved and follow the laws of Moses).
-Know the background for I and II Thessalonians: = End times, Christ’s return, assurance for
those who died before Christ’s return, to encourage believers, urge not to neglect daily work.
why Paul departed from Thessalonica = because the Jews there had created a mob that was
seeking to kill Paul.
Timothy’s role in writing I Thess. = Co-sender. He informed Paul that everything was going
well up in Thessalonica?
why II Thess had to be written = because the Thessalonians were quitting their jobs because
they expected that Christ would come relatively soon and because of the fake letter.
(Think of the Powerpoint with the funny voices.)
-Know which books were Prison Epistles and which were Pastoral Epistles.
Prison:
Ephesians
Colossians
Philippians
Philemon
Pastoral:
1 Timothy
Titus
2 Timothy
-Know why Paul wrote each of the four Prison epistles and the problem he had to address for
each one. (remember that the answer is more than just regurgitating the theme).
Despite being warned not to go to Jerusalem, Paul insisted that he should be the one to deliver
the offering (collected in Corinth) to the Jews in Jerusalem. He was caught, accused of bringing
gentiles into the inner court, and then put through a vast serious of prisons and trials. In these he
wrote what we know as the prison epistles. He was imprisoned in Rome when he wrote these.
Ephesians = Theme: The Body of Christ
Purpose: To teach the Church of the Riches of Christ (Their Position in Christ and the
Gifts of The Holy Spirit)
Note: This letter was a circular letter.
Colossians = Theme: Christ as Head
Purpose: To Refute the Colossian heresy (which was Gnosticism = The belief that secret
knowledge could secure release for the soul from imprisonment in the material body).
Philippians = Theme: Joy from a Jailhouse
Purpose: To comfort the believers who were concerned about Paul being in Jail.
Philemon = to the owner of the slave Onesimus, Onesimus was a runaway slave and Paul
was writing to Philemon to ask that he forgives Onesimus and accepts him as a
Christian.
Corinthian Correspondences:
•Previous Letter = Church discipline. It forbade association with immoral people
within the church.
•1 Corinthians = Correcting and collecting the offering for the Jews.
•Tearful letter [Painful letter] = (delivered by Titus) Assured the Corinthians of
Paul’s love for them, called for the punishment of the ringleader who opposed Paul.
•2 Corinthians = to defend his apostolic authority of Paul
•Romans = To present a basic system of salvation to a church that had not received the
teaching of an apostle before and to explain the relationship between Jew and Gentile
in God’s overall plan of redemption.
Side note: (Romans must have been written after 1 and 2 Corinthians, because the
collection issue had not yet been solved)
• Prison Epistles = see above.
Explain:
the offering situation
• An offering was taken up for the poverty stricken in Jerusalem.
why Paul wrote the 1 and 2 Corinthians
• Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to discuss church discipline and about collecting up
the offering.
• Paul wrote 2 Corinthians to defend his authority because there were people
trying to question Paul’s authority
why Paul wrote Romans
• Paul wrote romans so that the Romans might better understand the basic concepts
of salvation.
why he was thrown in jail
• Paul was first thrown in jail because he was falsely accused of bringing gentiles
into the inner courts of the temple.
• Paul was thrown in jail for the 2nd time when Nero was emperor because Paul was
a Christian
what he did in jail
• He wrote the prison epistles.
(side note about gifts)
Rules (1 Cor. 15).
1. Three people at most
2. One at a time
3. There must be an interpreter
4. Women must be silent
5. Do not forbid speaking in tongues.
-Know Everything about Timothy and Titus’ and their relationship to Paul, and what letters he
wrote to them.
1 Timothy: Godly Church Administration
Titus: Disciple One another
2 Timothy: Endurance in Ministry
These books helped set up the early church’s leadership and policy.
Timothy:
• Was with Paul during his first imprisonment.
• Disciple of Paul
• Missionary with Paul
Titus:
• Helped Paul Collect the offering
• Convert of Paul
• Missionary with Paul
• Was with Paul early after his Conversion
Topics discussed in the pastoral epistles
1. Is Single
2. Is Divorced
3. Is Divorced and Remarried
4. Is married to someone of the same gender
5. Has credit card debt.
6. Saved 3 years.
7. Has Children that are Rebellious
8. Has Children that are not Christians
9. Has no Children
10. Is a Woman
Overarching Requirements (among others):
1. Ruling over His household Well
2. Husband of One Wife.
3. Having Children Who believe.
4. I Do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man.
-Know which epistles Timothy co-sent with Paul (you can easily find it in the first line of
the respective epistles...hint, hint).
1 and 2 Thessalonians
2 Corinthians
Colossians
Philippians
Philemon
And know this jawn too…
