Acts is a chapter in the Bible that mirrors the most important values--values found in Christ--that I, as a follower of Christ, am capable of interpreting and incorporating into my daily life. Acts is not meant to be a complicated book with its all-inclusive and interweaving events surrounding the history of Jesus and his followers, but it is rather aimed towards aiding humans to critically think and understand the reasoning behind these evident stories in order to teach us lessons so that we might teach others these lessons in turn. I believe that the meaning and purpose of Acts is to teach us how to be Christians and teach others according to the lessons taught by Jesus and his followers. The question is: what valuable lessons are in Acts that we might teach others? By following good examples discovered in the book of Acts, I have stumbled upon some important events surrounding lessons about boldness, faith, salvation and freedom.
The Meaning and Use of Parables in the New Testament The New Testament gospels in the Bible are full of parables by Jesus. A parable is defined as “a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson” (as told by Jesus in the gospels). There were many parables he would tell to make the essence of the lesson easier to fathom. There are several reasons why he would use parables. One of the reasons is because parables would make principles easier to understand.
Beyond the Bible, written by Howard Marshall, is a compilation of essays that seek to propose a biblically sound way to move from biblical text to doctrine and application. Marshall believes that if one is going to move “beyond the bible,” they must do so “biblically.” A concern for Marshall is also how to properly apply scripture to controversial matters in the church today. The book includes more than just Marshall’s work, but essays written by Kevin Vanhoozer and Stanley Porter as well, which backs the idea that hermeneutics should be a discussion, not a solo speech. In Marshall’s first essay, ‘Evangelicals and Hermeneutics,’ he summarizes the state of evangelical theology in relation to hermeneutics. Marshall describes how over the past thirty years, evangelical scholars have come to appreciate hermeneutics more than ever before.
Michael Joseph Brown, unveils new ways to read and examine the Bible in his book, titled “What They Don’t Tell You: A Survivor’s Guide to Biblical Studies”. Although quite technical, the guide, not book, really goes into depth on the process of studying the Bible and its documents. Brown has a new and refreshing way of giving the reader this information that is necessary in a small group, or for a Biblical scholar. This guide is not meant solely for the biblical scholar and talks in detail about the difference between these two, because some may link the two together. Published by the Westminster John Knox Press, WJK for short, this book gives straight forward answers on the best way to thoroughly understand Biblical text.
Much of Jesus’ teaching was through parables, which he utilized as a method of illustrating insightful and divine truths. Biblical scholar Madeleine Boucher informs audiences that “the importance of the parables can hardly be overestimated (Boucher, 1977).” Rather than representing simple anecdotes, each parable displays a deeper meaning. Comprehending the Gospel Parables requires an understanding of the definition of a parables, Jesus’ reason for speaking in parables, and the purpose of parables. The parables of Jesus are mainly found in the three Synoptic Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. Boucher writes, “The parables are generally regarded by scholars as among the sayings which we can confidently ascribe to the historical Jesus; they are, for the most part, authentic words of Jesus (Boucher, 1977).” Representing a key part the teachings of Jesus, it is estimated that they form approximately one third of his recorded teachings (Wiersbe, 1982).
A literature work will always portray an important message to their readers; in the case of the Bible would be its teaching values. Since there are different interpretations of messages that readers can conclude from reading the Bible; the professor William H. Bishop portrays on his article “The Genesis of Values in Genesis” the interpretation according with the Christians, “The Christian worldview is predicated upon biblical teaching and interpretation. It is the foundation for family values. These values are prevalent in the Book of Genesis and are what comprise the family unit, the decline of which is eroding the values given by God”(Bishop,2015). According with the professor, the Christians see the Genesis book as guide to learn the values of a family which is the message of this literature work piece .However, portraying a message is not what Literature is all about.
I would have been greatly helped by this godly counsel in the past, and been saved from a lot of worry and doubt about somehow missing God’s will. Goldsworthy’s book is filled not only with an exceptional outline of biblical history, and how it is unified in its message of Christ, and him crucified, but also includes an incredible amount of practical, usable, godly counsel on how to live in light of the work God has been doing since the world began. For the young Christian, I would highly recommend they read this book, and for those well versed in the Word, this book serves as an excellent reminder, and review of God’s work throughout history.
It is easier to understand how the characters in scripture felt if we immerse ourselves in the text. "That, I concluded, is the problem with most of our writing and thinking about Jesus. We read the Gospels through the flash-forward lenses of church councils like Nicea and Chalcedon, through the churches studied attempts to make sense of him"(Yancey, 24). While observing the text we need to act as if we were never taught anything about Jesus or the Bible. The characters mentioned in this text are Jesus, the disciples, Abba Father (God the Father), and Jesus' betrayer.
Yet it is important that you do not judge others, so God will not judge you. It was said perfectly in the passage, “The measure you will use for others, is the one God will use for you” Luke 6: 38. My favorite parable is “The Parable of the Sower”, Luke 8: 4-... ... middle of paper ... ... reading Luke’s Gospel I felt very knowledgeable of Jesus’ life. I enjoyed reading the Gospel because it isn’t like an ordinary book, nor is it something I read everyday. It was different than I had expected.
Parables are the easiest and most effective way to understand God’s behaviors. Parables are the stories told by Jesus, and these parables represents the reasons why Jesus talked about parables, the faith, and God’s character. Jesus tells parable... ... middle of paper ... ...ry close to you like our parents, and we should look for our sin to return to God. The history and spiritual meaning of parables represent the influence of Jesus’s behaviors. Jesus told people the parables, and make people to do reflection.