Walking in Faith

I took a class at my church called New Testament Survey.  The class was based on Paul Benware’s Survey of the New Testament book.  There were some highlights I wanted to capture and make available to other’s.  Mind you, this is my notes and is not exhaustive or precise to Paul’s book.

Matthew
• Date Written: 50-60 A.D.
• Author: Matthew, the tax collector
• Audience: Jews
• Theme: Jesus is King

Mark
• Date Written: 57-59 A.D.
• Author: John Mark
• Audience: Romans
• Theme: Jesus is a Servant

Luke
• Date Written: 58-65 A.D.
• Author: Luke, the beloved physician
• Audience: Greeks
• Theme: Jesus is the Son of Man

John
• Date Written: 85-90 A.D.
• Author: John
• Audience: All/Church
• Theme: Jesus is the Son of God

Acts
• Date Written: 61-64 A.D.
• Author: Luke, the beloved physician
• Audience: Greeks
• Theme: Evangelization of the world

Romans
• Date Written: 56-58 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Jews & Gentiles
• Theme: Revelation of the righteousness of God

1 Corinthians
• Date Written: 55 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Corinth (Romans/Greeks/Jews)
• Theme: Sanctification

2 Corinthians
• Date Written: 55-57 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Corinth (Romans/Greeks/Jews)
• Theme: Genuine Ministry

Galatians
• Date Written: 48-55 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Gauls, Phrygians, and Romans as well as Greeks and Jews
• Theme: Christian Liberty

Ephesians
• Date Written: 60-63 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Circular Letter
• Theme: The Church

Philippians
• Date Written: 63 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Philippi
• Theme: Joy

Colossians
• Date Written: 61 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Colossians (mostly Gentiles but some Jews)
• Theme: All-sufficiency of Jesus Christ

1 Thessalonians
• Date Written: 51 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Large Jewish population but was predominantly Greek
• Theme: Return of Jesus Christ

2 Thessalonians
• Date Written: 51 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Large Jewish population but was predominantly Greek
• Theme: Day of the Lord

1 Timothy
• Date Written: 63-64 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Timothy & believers
• Theme: Administration of the local church

2 Timothy
• Date Written: 67 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Timothy & believers
• Theme: Be faithful

Titus
• Date Written: 63-66 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Timothy & believers
• Theme: Administration of the local church

Philemon
• Date Written: 63 A.D.
• Author: Paul
• Audience: Philemon
• Theme: Forgiveness

Hebrews
• Date Written: 64-68 A.D.
• Author: Unknown (Paul, Barnabas?)
• Audience: Probably Jewish believers in Rome
• Theme: Persevere

James
• Date Written: 45-49 A.D.
• Author: James
• Audience: Jews
• Theme: Living Faith

1 Peter
• Date Written: 63-64 A.D.
• Author: Peter
• Audience: Believers in the Roman Empire
• Theme: Suffering Well

2 Peter
• Date Written: 66 A.D.
• Author: Peter
• Audience: Believers in the Roman Empire
• Theme: Importance of Knowledge

1 John
• Date Written: 85 A.D.
• Author: John
• Audience: Ephesus
• Theme: Fellowship

2 John
• Date Written: 85-90 A.D.
• Author: John
• Audience: Ephesus
• Theme: Abiding in the Truth

3 John
• Date Written: 90 A.D.
• Author: John
• Audience: Ephesus
• Theme: Demonstration of truth or error in the believer’s life

Jude
• Date Written: 68-80 A.D.
• Author: Jude, the half brother of Jesus
• Audience: Believers in the Roman Empire
• Theme: Contend for the faith

Revelations
• Date Written: 90-95 A.D.
• Author: John
• Audience: Romans
• Theme: The End

John MacArthur discussed “Glorifying God in Gray Areas” in an article found within Pulpit Magazine today.  I think there is great wisdom from God in this simple article.  John simply outlines, in seven key points, the questions to ask to help a person make a wise decision based on sound biblical principles.

Way too often, I blur over matters that there is not clear direction on from the Bible.  Heck, who am I kidding — I struggle with matters where the Bible is clear on what to do and what not to do (but that is a conversation for a later time).  Our faithfulness and obedience to God is key.  If we live our lives in a way that is pleasing to Him, you can be assured that you are going the right way.  The hard part is getting to that “pleasing to Him” part.  Romans 3:9-19 reminds me that there is nothing I can do apart from God that can please Him.  It is only when I am acting in conjunction with the Spirit that I can truly do anything that really pleases our Creator.

It is wonderful to have Spirit-led men like John MacArthur who can share wisdom with others on how to discern God’s direction for us.  Thanks!

Paul Martin is starting a series on “What to Do When You Disagree With a Brother over a Secondary Matter“.  This series looks very promising!  (HT: Challies)

I tend to have conversations mostly around the main doctrinal items (Christ as the only way to true salvation, infallibility of the Word, etc.) but find myself engaged in “debates” regarding secondary matters with Christian brothers.  I try very hard to follow Paul’s wisdom from Romans 14:1-15:13, but, like all sinners, I mess that up and find myself taking things personal.  I am sure that other non-Christian’s see this and are disillusioned by our actions.  I need to heed Paul’s warning to only do things that are encouraging to others (brothers or not!).

As I was chatting with a friend tonight, I mentioned that I would pray for his work that night.  He was accepting and also reminded me to pray for his mother.  I began to pray, immediately, for his mom and for God to help her fulfill her purpose here on earth.  For whatever reason, I tuned in the music in the background and listened to the song for a minute.  The lyrics I heard were:

So I pray
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there’ll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that’s what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

It was then that I have a very emotional experience and God revealed Himself to me more clearly.  I had to take the time to send him a quick email to let him know how it touched me and how I felt compelled to share this with him.  It is an amazing testimony to God’s greatness when He can use any situation to make us aware of Him. 

I have been struggling, personally, with obedience to some of the spiritual disciplines.  As such, I was stepping away from a relationship with God that He wants to have.  In my sin, I was stepping further and further away instead of drawing closer and allowing Jesus to rain down on me.  I sit here knowing that I want to experience the pain that God has in store for me if that is what it takes to get me to the place in my life that He wants me.  I want to be greatly used by Him for His will. 

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I’ve gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It’s never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there’ll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that’s what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what’s a little rain
So I pray

Holy, holy, holy

Dan Phillips, over at PyroManiacs, posed an interesting question in his most recent blog.  He asked the question: “What do you do when you hit a verse, or a passage, that either is totally impenetrable to you, or even initially strikes you (let’s be honest) as absurd?”

 There were quiet a few interesting responses to Dan (view the article and comments here) but none I felt really gave a better response to the question than this:

God’s ways and thoughts are a teensy bit higher than ours. It would be misguided human arrogance to think that we should be able to get every little bit of the “why” for every little bit of the Bible. (HT: Chez Kneel)

I think we (or maybe I am alone on this one) often feel like we have to understand everything.  At some level, it becomes an insult to our pride, our intellect, our ability.  It is only once a do a reality check that I remember that I am trying to understand God.  While I can certainly understand His character and the like, understanding everything He has to say to me is a different story.  There are plenty times I am sure He is trying to tell me something and it is as plain as a neon sign flashing in front of my eyes yet I miss it.  Why?  Because I am finite and my Creator is not. 

What do I, personally, do when I encounter a passage I don’t understand?  I try to jot it down in my journal to remind myself to come back to it and do a study (reading Spirit-inspired brilliant men who had a gift for exegesis).  What I don’t do is stop and fret.  I can’t truly comprehend the Trinity.  While I can explain it and articulate the key doctrinal aspects of the Trinity, I can’t even fathom how it truly works.  A triune God-head is nothing something that exists on my plane of reality.  Does that mean it isn’t true or I should ignore it?  Absolutely not!  I accept it, recognize that it is from God and that I will never understand it until I get to His heavenly kingdom when I, most likely, won’t care but will be in complete awe of Him.