Books of the New Testament Summaries: Gospels and Acts

The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John)

The New Testament begins with four books, called the gospels. The gospels tell the story of Jesus’ life. They do not contain everything that Jesus did or said for John said that the world could not contain everything that could be written about Jesus (John 20:30-31; 21:25). They do tell us enough to teach us about Jesus, develop our faith, and learn how to live.

The book of Matthew, written by the apostle of the same name, seems to be written primarily to the Jewish people—God’s people of the Old Testament. He listed the names in the family of Jesus that showed he was related to King David, as the prophets said he would be 2 Samuel 7 (see Acts 2:29-30). He also shows how Jesus was the one that the Old Testament prophets said would deliver people from their sins and be a king over His kingdom (This promised king is called the Messiah).

It seems that wrote to people who were not Jewish. Since the gospel would be preached to the Jews and the other nations (the Gentiles), they needed to know about Jesus. Mark was not an apostle but a preacher who worked closely with Paul and Barnabas. The gospel of Mark contains only 25 verses that are not also found in Matthew and Luke. Though some believe that Matthew and Luke copied from Mark, we must remember that the Holy Spirit was responsible for all of the gospels, 2 Peter 1:21.

The book of Luke is actually a letter written to a man named Theophilus (sounds like the-ahh-phil-us). Luke sent another letter, the book of Acts, to tell Theophilus what happened after Jesus went back to heaven. Luke was the doctor who traveled with Paul on His preaching journeys.

The book of Luke is the only gospel that claims to tell the events of Jesus’ life in the order that they happened. The other gospels sometimes put stories that were alike together. Luke wrote his gospel from the stories of those who knew Jesus (Luke 1:1-4).

The book of John, was written by the apostle to prove that Jesus is the Son of God, John 20:30-31. John’s gospel does not contain any parables and often tell things that the other gospels do not. Throughout his book, John reminded his readers that God proved, through miracles, the Old Testament prophesies, and God’s voice from heaven, that Jesus is the Son of God.

Facts about the Gospels

  • Only Matthew and John were apostles.
  • Mark and Luke traveled with Paul on different preaching journeys
  • John’s gospel does not have any parables
  • Luke wrote Luke and Acts as letters to teach a man about Jesus and the church
  • A large part of Matthew, Mark, and Luke tell about the last week of Jesus’ life

The Book of Acts

The book of Acts was letter written by Luke to someone names Theophilus (pronounced the-off-fill-us). The gospel of Luke was also written to this man.

The gospel of Luke told the story of Jesus’ life and His death for our sins. The book of Acts begins with Jesus going back to heaven and the apostles going into the world to teach the gospel. The book of Acts is a history of the early church.
Though it is called the Acts of the Apostles, the book only tells about the work of the apostles Peter and Paul as well as Phillip who was not an apostle.

The first seven chapters describe the beginning of the church (Acts 2) and its growth in Jerusalem. Acts 8 describes the work of the preacher Phillip and his work in Samaria, not far from Jerusalem.

  • Acts 9 begins with Saul’s persecution of the church. When the Christians were persecuted, they left Jerusalem and went to faraway cities and preached the gospel. While persecuting the church, Jesus appeared to Saul. Soon Saul, whose name was changed to Paul, preached the gospel of Jesus throughout the world.
  • Acts 10 and 11 describes the first time that the gospel was preached to people who were not Jews. This meant that the gospel was the message of salvation for all people, not just the Jews.
  • Acts 12 describes King Herod’s attempt to quiet Peter. However, an angel let Peter out of prison. Later, Herod died because he accepted worship as if he were God.
  • Acts 13-14 describes Paul’s first preaching journey to spread the gospel into foreign cities.
  • Acts 15 describes a disagreement in which the Jewish Christians thought that non-Jewish Christians should keep the Old Law. The apostles, with the authority of God, decided that Christians did not have to keep the Old Law.
  • Acts 16-18:22 describes Paul’s second preaching trip to foreign cities; Acts 18:23-21:16 describes Paul’s third preaching journey. The rest of Acts describes Paul’s trouble with the Jews and a trip to Rome for judgment.

Facts About Acts

  • The second of two letters Luke wrote to Theophilus
  • Tells about the work of Peter, Paul, and the non-apostle Phillip
  • Describes the beginning of the church in Jerusalem in Acts 2
  • Describes the spread of the gospel throughout the world to Jews and Gentiles

5 Ways You Must Test Your Faith

Paul urges Christians to see if they are standing in the faith. The New Testament outlines some simple ways to get internal awareness of where we stand.

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down. 2 Corinthians 13:5-10

Why test your faith?

How do you know the strength of your faith? You test your faith. The King James Version says to “prove” yourself. When you test or prove something you are evaluating its quality and durability. Is it good and will it last? Car manufacturers test cars to see how they resist failing in harsh conditions or through extended use and the ability to protect the passengers in an accident.

Base Jumping In ShanghaiIn ancient times, armorers would test the weapons they made in order to verify their strength and durability before the soldier took it into battle. The sword would be tested under stress during peacetime so the soldier would have confidence in the strength of the sword during battle. They tested the sword so they would know it would be strong enough, not guess or hope that it will be strong.

Schools perform fire and hazardous weather drills when there is no danger so that everyone knows what to do when disaster strikes. It reminds me of a football players shirt that read, “Championships are won when the stands are empty.” On the practice field players discover how strong or weak they are, what they need to fix before the game, and run plays until they are executed by habit. The legendary Alabama football coach, Bear Bryant, organized some very strong practices for his teams because, as he said, “If a man is a quitter, I’d rather find out in practice than in a game. I ask for all a player has so I’ll know later what I can expect.” He tested his players to see what they were made of and to make them stronger.

Far more important for our life is the strength of our faith. It needs to strengthen us daily throughout our life, help us keep focused on what is important during times of prosperity and trial, and preserve us to the end of our life. As with the sword, we need to test our faith when things are peaceful and strengthen it as necessary so it will be strong in adversity and endure until the end.

Test 1: Are you obedient to the faith?

The first question is simple: are you obeying God? Have you come to the Father through Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins and submitted your life to the rule of the King of Kings by believing the message of the gospel, turning from unholy living and thinking,  acknowledging Jesus as Lord, and being adopted as His child and enjoying the cleansing of sin through baptism (Romans 10:6-15;  Galatians 3:26-27)? If you are not God’s child, that is the first step.

Once you are a child of God, are you daily obeying God’s word? Are you living a changed life? Does your life conform to the standard of teaching to which you committed yourself so that you are a slave to righteousness, Romans 6:17-19? Have you set your mind on what is above and put to death what is “earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry”, Colossians 3:1-5? Have you clothed yourself with holiness and are you demonstrating love and compassion towards others, being filled with the word of God so that it comes out in your words, life, and worship, Colossians 3:12-17?

Test 2: Are you living in faith?

When my children learned to swim, I would have the stand on the end of a dock or on the side of a pool and jump into the water near me. I gave them the assurance that I would be there when they entered the water and could pull them to me. I know they loved me and obeyed me but I needed them to trust me. They had to trust that I would take care of them and protect them and that I had their best interests at heart. We can love God and obey Him, but we must also trust Him with our lives.

We have to live courageous lives knowing that if we step from life into death that He will be there to receive us, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10. Every day we must live with complete trust in God, casting all of our cares into His hands or accept a weak existence where we do not trust God completely with our life.  Consider Paul’s promise in Philippians 4:4-7:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Notice the extremes in the trust we must have. If we want to be able to rejoice in dark times as Paul did and enjoy the peace that surpasses all understanding we must, give everything to God and trust that He hears and will act according to His will and wisdom. I see Christians with weak faith because they will not turn everything over to God. They pray then continue to worry if things will turn out alright. They pray and have no peace because, down deep, they either do not trust that God is there or that He will do anything about their request.  Are you trusting God with everything in your life? If you do not have joy or peace, you are still holding on.

Test 3: Is your faith growing?

With anything that once excites us there is the threat that it will become routine. Our new birth should result in continual growth but if we do not tend to our spiritual life, it can stagnate. The Hebrew writer warned of those who over time should have been teachers needing to be taught the basic principles of the faith again. Later he warns those who endured great hardship for their faith to endure and not shrink back towards destruction. In graphic terms, Jesus told the lukewarm church of Laodicea that He would spit them out of His mouth because they became stagnant. One reason the faith of many grows cold is that they quit growing in knowledge and living their faith. They found a comfortable place and quit growing. When it comes to faith, if you are not growing you are dying.

Paul told the Corinthians to be transformed so that they looked more like Jesus each day:

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:18, ESV)

This  lifelong transformation being in the mind (Romans 12:1-2) and should grow day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). God’s children should be able to notice their stronger faith, deeper love for God and man, and zeal for His work improving every year. How is your prayer life and Bible study compared to this time last year? How is your service for God improved? Do you still struggle with the same challenges or have you experienced many victories and improved self-control? How does your faith compare over longer periods of time?

Test 4: Is your faith evident to others?

Your faith should not be the best kept secret in your life. It should be obvious to others that you are a disciple of Christ. Paul told the young preacher Timothy that his faith should be evident to everyone, 1 Timothy 4:11-16. By practicing and “immersing himself” in what Paul taught him, he would be a good example in his speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity so that his discipleship would be obvious to all. The Thessalonians imitated the Lord such that their faith and example was known in regions beyond their city. Peter urged Christians to live like Jesus so that even their enemies would notice and glorify God.

Do you live as a Christian with boldness and joy? Would your neighbors, co-workers, classmates, and others be able to say, without hesitation, that you are a child of God? Even your enemies should grudgingly admit that you live consistent with your profession of faith even if they hate your faith and think you are fool for following Jesus. Could you be found guilty if put on trial for being a Christian?

Test 5: Do you share your faith with others?

If you know that the gospel is true and that your faith is transforming, you should not hesitate to share it with others. Paul told Timothy to teach others what he learned. They gospel is meant to be taught to others to bring them to Christ. Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) and that should be the Christian’s mission. The Lord does not wish anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9) and neither should we. If you do not share your faith it may indicate that your faith is not as valuable as you claim. Perhaps being a Christian is a lifestyle choice and not discipleship. If you fear persecution, remember that you become a companion of our Lord, the apostles, and prophets who also suffered for proclaiming God’s word, Matthew 5:11-12. If you believe the gospel is the only way to salvation and that others will be lost eternally if they do not obey it, it should urge you to teach others about Jesus.

There are many other tests one might use to see where they stand in the faith but these five tests will give you a good indication of where you are and where you need to grow.

The Christian Sports Fan

Friends have divided over it. Marriages have been strained by it. Fights have been started over it. Some have even been killed by it. The “it” is a fanatical dedication to a sports team. It is often said that college football in the South is more like religion than sport. Yet worldwide you will find passionate  fans of many sports teams who cheer their name, wear the colors, and sing the fight song. The sports field is a great place to find camaraderie and entertainment. Individuals, teams, and games are a wonderful source of inspirational stories, quotes, and illustrations. Even the apostle Paul used boxing and running to illustrate Christian principles.
But sports fanaticism has a dark side and one that Christians should consider. Fanatic, from which “fan” derives, can be defined as “marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion” (Merriam-Webster Online, “fanatic”). A true fan sees little or no wrong in their team but highlights every real or perceived fault in other teams, especially rivals. Whether the fanaticism is directed towards a sports team, political party, or politician, the person is either unwilling or incapable of seeing things in perspective. Their view is clouded by their obsession. They cannot see why everyone does not share their view and believe everyone is ignorant or evil who disagrees with them.
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Allegiance or Idolatry?

To have an affinity for a sports team or hobby is not wrong. To love a team, enthusiastically support them, and follow them is not wrong of itself. Fanaticism is hard to separate from idolatry. There are people whose year will be considered good or bad not by their relationship with family and friends, success in endeavors, the growth of the Lord, or any virtuous thing but by how their team did against a rival or in a championship game. Some will have their year ruined because a rival did better than their team. So a few hours out of a year will determine whether it was a good or bad year? Whether I am happy or sad?
Sometimes our relationship with our sports teams and God can flesh out where our heart really stands.
  • When attending a football game, some can sit in the cold and rain during overtime and double overtime but complain when they feel the preacher went “over” when proclaiming God’s word.
  • Some can endure rain delays or watch a baseball game on a hot day with no complaint if the game goes into extra innings but gripe when the song leader chose some extra songs or the service ended later than usual.
  • Some can recite team rosters, history, and key points in past games but have trouble identifying Bible characters, telling Bible stories from memory, and discussing key teaching of scripture.
  • Some can read blogs, magazines, and listen to sports radio for hours about their team, recruiting, predictions, and game recaps but are bored at the thought of reading the Bible, doing their lessons, or listening to sermon audio on subjects they need.

It’s not that keeping up with one’s team or sport is wrong, it is not. The issue is when we give inordinate attention to what is passing away and less attention to what is eternal. We can enjoy the eternal and the temporal but never let what is passing eclipse what is really important.

Hateful Speech
Christians must also guard their tongue when discussing sports. I have some good friends at a rival school that love their team. I love them more than I love my team. There is friendly poking back and forth at work and with these friends. it is friendly give and take but in the end we value our relationship with one another more than any team and will not insult or demean one another.
But some turn nasty and vindictive and that is where the fun stops. I block some Christian friends on Facebook  during football season because they speak with such venom about their rivals and perceived injustices against their team. Some cannot love their team without hating on someone else’s team. Sadly, I used to fall into that category and I repent of my folly and shortsightedness. Can you let your light shine and glorify God when your words are hateful and launched with an intent to hurt? Can you enjoy your team without hating on another team? Can you walk the high road when someone hates on your team?

Keeping First Things First

I love the Fall. I love football. I love my team. I love its history and I love watching the games. I love a loud stadium. I love it when we win. I love championships. I love everything about it and feel like a kid at Christmas when Fall arrives.

But I love God, His children, and His work more. In this area of my life it must clearly be evident to all. If I’m proud to wear my team colors I must be more zealous to show the glory of the Lord in my word, my priorities, and my life.

O’ Worship the Team

Sung to the tune “O, Worship the King”

O’ worship the team,
You make me so proud.
I faithfully sing,
The fight song so loud.
With venom I’ll speak of our rivals to all,
For grace seasoned speech isn’t used in the Fall.

I tell of your fame,
Your history I know.
I yell out your name,
And cheers proudly crow.
I don’t know much Bible after all of these years,
And don’t speak of Jesus for fear of the jeers.

O’ where is my love?
And what do I serve?
Do I look above,
And feed on His word?

Let all loves in life fade when I seek Your face,
And let my example reflect Your good grace.

My Facebook and Twitter Break

I joked with my wife that I was on a Facebook fast. Although I have not been off completely, I probably have been on 10 minutes TOTAL in the last 10 days. I went on to post a notice about our teen class and change of worship service times. I also went on to get a news update on two friends who were having medical emergencies. I quickly scanned some posts, responded to friend requests, then logged out. My Twitter break has been shorter but consisted of a few times in to respond to a message about Bible study material recommendations, check news by my friends, and retweet some good posts. I have been on Twitter slightly longer, about 30 minutes total over the last 10 days since I do have some work related accounts I follow. I have pretty much abandoned Google Plus.

I have taken breaks from social media in the past for various reasons. During elections I don’t access as much. On football game days and sports finals I have started to stay off (keeps me from getting into dumb debates about teams or thinking less of some friends who have little tact or take sports too seriously and personally). And, as now, the occasional unannounced fast.

Social Media and the Smartphone

It seems that more people are taking a break or re-evaluating how they access social media. There is an excellent article by Wes McAdams on “Why I Deleted Facebook and Twitter From My Phone”  that I recommend you read. It describes his regained focus on  family relationships by limiting his access on his phone.  I conducted my social media phone experiment differently. I originally moved my Bible program to the slot occupied by the Facebook app so when I reflexively went to Facebook my thumb would be hovering over the Bible app instead. I made a commitment to click and read the Bible if I was going to click and read Facebook. While fasting, my social media apps are in a folder that are not accessible as quickly.

Social Media Fatigue?

I don’t know if it is “social media fatigue” but I’m just not on much at all anymore and in and out of Twitter quickly. I bought a Chromebook to do more writing and haven’t added Facebook or Twitter to the launch bar so I have to access from another device.  I haven’t completely dropped Facebook . I probably won’t drop Facebook and Twitter because I use them to link to some business applications and I do want to have a way to reach out to certain friends that I see sporadically. But I transformed the way I used social media before and am changing the way I use it again.

What Have I Gained?

I have generally banned devices from mealtimes so nothing has really changed there.rocks

I feel like I’ve gained more focus when working and writing since I can’t access social media on my Chromebook and have greatly limited it elsewhere. I feel more focused generally since I’m not distracted by so much noise of everyone’s lives. I do get nuggets of important information such as births, deaths, and major life events or profound items of interest mixed in with the static from mundane life events, sports and political drivel, and cat pictures.

I’ve quit chasing “likes”. Being off of Facebook/Twitter has forced me to refrain from posting things that I know will garner likes. I have received invitations to do some cool things, have had some great experiences, and enjoyed some personal achievements and have not shared them on social media.  I have shared some of them with my family and friends but have refrained from posting them. This is a challenge as I have had to personally wrestle with. I have found that I post to my blog in order to help people but often my Facebook and Twitter posts were more self-centered. That is not a problem of the social networks, it is my problem, but like an alcoholic who avoids bars my avoidance of social media is teaching me to be more humble.

I do see value in some religious discussions on social media and there is virtue in that. I generally have not had as much success. Certain friends post some valuable Bible study info so I list them on my close friends list so I can see their updates. Since I work full-time in a business job I don’t have the time that some full-time preachers and others without work constraints have to engage in such discussions.  In fact, I have refrained from posting at times because I knew I could not commit the time to address objections or clarifications. Instead, I write here where I can fully explain the subject I wish to discuss without restrictive comment spaces.  Instead of reading posts I am spending more time reading the Bible, books, and blog posts. Don’t misunderstand: I am not devaluing religious discussions via social media but simply stating that it is not the optimal medium for me.

What’s Next?

I do not know where this will lead. I am enjoying the focus and contentment and attention to study and writing. I am enjoying avoiding needless and foolish arguments over politics and sports teams (though I personally love football). I enjoy not reading complaints about the things in life that most people in the world would feel lucky to have. I do miss some information on my friends but I have found the important information always makes it back to me though a little delayed.

As noted above, I will probably not close the accounts so you can still connect to me via Twitter and the Godly Youth Facebook page. I’ll be around occasionally so don’t be surprised if you see me there.

Lucky for Us!

Guest post by Joshua Sanders. He is a sophomore at Plant City High School in Plant City, Florida. He worships with the brethren at University church of Christ in Tampa, FL.

If any of you are in public school like me, you are bound to face the concept of the origin of the world. My current unit in Biology is evolution. For those who don’t know, evolution is  the process by which all species develop from earlier forms of life (according to scientists). It can be hard to stand strong in your faith while facing all the adversities that come from this theory. How do we overcome this as young Christians?

In Biology class the other day, my teacher decided to show us a video. It was the History of the World in 2 Hours. In this video scientists explained their theory from the Big Bang to now. It was an interesting video, but obviously false. First off, a Big Bang did not create our universe, an awesome God did (Genesis 1:1). Secondly, we did not evolve from animals, God created man. He even created us in His own image (Genesis 1:27).

A common phrase in the video was “lucky for us.” “Lucky for us” the Earth is placed in the perfect position to sustain life; “lucky for us” we developed  opposable thumbs to grab objects, and the list goes on. This did not happen by chance! We have an amazing Creator who loved us so much that He sent His son to die on the cross (John 3:16). That to me is the only explanation for the “history of the world.” But even though some are too stubborn to believe this truth, I do not fret. As it says in Philippians 2:10-11 “… so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

“Lucky” for us!