The New Testament division of the Bible has been known to me all my life; however, as I have grown in my faith and in the knowledge of scripture God has made new things evident in my life and has increased my understanding of His word and purpose. In light of what he has taught me at Union, through taking this New Testament Survey, I am going to reflect upon the insight he has shown me about the relevance of missions to the church and to the personal lives of Christians, including my own, by focusing on three books. First is The Gospel of Matthew, where I will discuss Jesus’ ministry and his call and purpose for us to continue his ministry. Second is the letter of 1 Timothy, where I will discuss the message of the gospel and how we are to carry …show more content…
The message of the gospel is primarily that we are sinners and are in need of a forgiveness we can not achieve on our own. Paul’s testimony in the first chapter of 1 Timothy reveals the message of the gospel. First, Paul recognized his sins against God-blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. Second, Christ came into the world, as a ransom, to save sinners. Third, we receive mercy because of God’s great love and forgiveness, which is only by the grace of the Lord. Fourth, we must believe in him for eternal life. Lastly, the Lord calls us to his service. He writes to Timothy confident in the truth of the gospel of Christ. He knows where he stands with the Lord-in mercy and grace, forgiven and called to serve a greater purpose. As Paul’s confidence in the gospel shaped his life, so should it shape ours. It should be the message our life proclaims and the drive which propels us to fulfill our missionary …show more content…
As missionaries for Christ, we should also abide in Christ. Part of abiding in Christ is training. We have to train in order to endure and to progress in the faith. Part of the training includes reading of the scripture, using the gifts we have, caring for the needy and the body of Christ, and pursing love, gentleness, and steadfastness. Many things play a role in our characters as missionaries of Christ, but it is important to be well aware of what the Bible says because the way we are perceived impacts our witness. For example, when personally witnessing to someone, you want them to be able to see that what you are saying to be true of Christ has manifested in your life. If the gospel is not evident in your life, then it will likely not be as evident to the lost person as to why they should accept the good news of the gospel. Therefore, we must practice and work out our salvation in order to be good witnesses, trusting that God will work in us and be seen through
In Matthew 24:43–25:13, it gives us a story of Jesus. We see Jesus painted as a thief in the night and as a bridegroom, both being mirrored images of Jesus as the returning King. The central message in both stories is to watch and be ready, because the day and hour of His coming are unknown. In Matthew 24:43-51, it gives a parable of two slaves, one whom is a wise and faithful servant, found caring for the master’s household (God’s people). The other is an evil servant whom beats the other slaves, lives among the world, and commits worldly acts. In Matthew 25:1-13, we find a parallel story, about ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and did not take extra oil, and five were prudent and carried extra oil for the trip. In both stories, we find the faithful understood that watching meant being properly prepared, servicing the kingdom, and knowing that Jesus will return at an unknown time. The unfaithful were not ready for the kingdom, they showed their true character, and thought they had more time. The Scriptures drops the message that one day the Lord will return as King to judge all. There will be a reward for the true servants and there will be punishment for the false servants.
In Matthew, Jesus performs miracles, shares parables, and teaches the way of God. The theme of Matthew 's Gospel gives evidence to Jesus as the Messiah, the son of Abraham, the one chosen by God to deliver the people from their sins (Matthew 1:1). Which places special emphasis on Jesus’ fulfillment of prophecies – the prophecy of “the Son of David’ (Matthew 12:23).
The Gospel according to Matthew, although being the first book of the New Testament canon, it was not considered the first gospel genre to be written. Matthew’s gospel gives an account of the life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. In this essay, I intend to look at how the exegesis and interpretation of this gospel may be affected by our understanding of the authorship, its intended readership and where and when it was written. Although all these categories are important in their own right, I will focus more of the intended audience and readership of this gospel.
In the bible we see that one of the first well-known missionaries was the Apostle Paul. Even though we see that Paul had background work in taking care of or killing those who did not share the same mind set as he did, he did however experience a life changing moment where he was able see the importance of acceptance and bringing Christianity into ones own identity. The work of the Apostle Paul was given by God to serve all people and share with them God’s grace and message through Jesus Christ. 3 This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for[a] Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given me for you,.” Paul traveled to many places and was known for sharing the...
Miriam Perlewitz is the author of the book. She was serving as missioner for ten years in the Far East; Miriam Perlewitz receives a M.A. and Ph.D. in biblical languages and literature in 1977 from St. Luis University Divinity School. Since then, she has been Professor of Biblical Studies at the Maryknoll Graduate School of Theology, and has participated in renewal program for missioners and New York archdiocesan programs for adults.
----------. “Bible and Missional Change”. Baptist Association of Christian Educators 2014 Conference. Kansas City, MO, April 3-4, 2014.
Most people would agree that Matthews’s gospel is the most Jewish of the four gospels. This first century Jewish writer, set within the Jewish tradition, wants the reader to learn about Jesus, the one he called Messiah. It is thought the work of Matthews’s gospel is unlikely to be a translator; there is no evidence to say if it is the same, Matthew mentioned in the gospel. We can say for certain the author was a Jew. And safely dated to the last quarter of the first century; the Didache and Ignatius of Antioch reference Matthew’s gospel in the first part of the second century. The gospel of Matthew appears to have a dependence on Mark with early rabbinic Judaism possibly trying to consolidate itself after the Jewish war.
The Sermon on the Mount is founded in the gospel of Matthew in chapters 5-7 in the bible. Also, the Sermon on the Mount is in the new testament in the bible. The New Testament gospels were collected around 70 to 90 C.E. Jesus Christ put a huge emphasis on the Sermon on the Mount because the passage showed how Christians are supposed to live and it is described as the teaching of Jesus. In addition, the Sermon on the Mount describes the people that were blessed by god. Furthermore, the reading basically said that if you did the right things as Christian, the individual will get rewarded. This was a big focus of the reading. Many people consider the Sermon on the Mount, the most important Sermon, Jesus
After his conversion to Christianity, Paul traveled throughout the Roman Empire and preached the Gospel, similar to Jesus’ own ministry across Galilee. Paul’s teachings were more focused on the community and the relationships of its members with each other and with non-Christians, whereas Jesus’ teachings were geared towards the individual and his/her personal relationship to God. Despite this discrepancy in their doctrines, Paul’s teachings remain consistent with those of Jesus. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul’s teachings, such as unity in the community and love for others, echo the teachings of Jesus as depicted in the Gospel of Mark and Matthew. Paul essentially reiterates the teachings of Jesus, and applies them to the lives of the people he preaches to, so that they may understand Jesus’ teachings and embrace Christianity.
Teaching infuses understanding and knowledge. Spreading the message about Christ and the ability to lean, trust, and depend on Him is the message of gospel and the New Testament. “Paul evangelized as the commissioned representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. Evangelism was a task that had been specifically entrusted to him. Paul saw himself as Christ’s herald” (Packer, 1961, p. 42-43). The gospel is a real message about Christ who comes to save real sinners. It’s critically important that sinners come to an understanding that they are far apart from God and known as enemies to Him. “The gospel is a message about sin. It tells us how we have fallen short of God’s standard; how we have become guilty, filthy, and helpless in sin, and now stand under the wrath of God. It tells us that the reason why we sin continually is that we are sinners by nature, and that nothing we do, or try to do, for ourselves can put us right, or bring us back into God’s favor” (Packer, 1961, p.
14 Jonathan T. Pennington. Heaven and Earth in the Gospel of Matthew. (Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, 2009), 214.15 Dale C. Allison, Jr. Studies in Matthew: Interpretation Past and Present. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 101.16 Frank J. Matera. Passion Narratives and Gospel Theologies: Interpreting the Synoptics Through Their Passion Stories. (New York: Paulist Press, 1986), 115.17 Dale C. Allison, Jr. Studies in Matthew: Interpretation Past and Present. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005), 229.
Since Matthew and Luke are not modern day biographies, they do not follow the standard that we imagine. I think the explanation for the combination of similarities and differences comes from the fact that the Matthew and Luke are styled differently and also have different audiences. Since Matthew and Luke are interpreting history for a specific audience, this would explain why Matthew and Luke contains differing details. For example, Matthew tells of the Wise Men that came to visit Jesus in Matt.2:1-12 while Luke tells of shepherds that came to visit Jesus in Luke 2:8-20. Since Matthew is styled for a Jewish audience, perhaps it is considered more impactful and stunning that wise philosophers came to worship a child. On the other hand,
God’s salvation is a common theme found in the gospels. Salvation in terms of being rescued from judgement because of our sins. Luke's gospel centers on God's plan to provide salvation to everyone. Luke emphasizes the Old Testament and its promises of a Messiah and clearly shows that it is Jesus. The gospel remains forever good news to anyone who realizes that he needs to be saved or he will eternally perish. It is believed that the world will not let you down if you give your life to it in faith because all other gospels will fail you in the end. This one saves you from the final wrath of God and leads you to the only true joy and fullness of His presence forever. John sums it up
Parents should teach their children to have a missionary spirit. They should mold their children’s mind to interest in the work of God. It is important for the parents to shape their children’s interest toward the spreading of the Gospel. Let us see the counsel:
The known world was impacted by the spreading of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was done by the first century church with great passion. These early followers of Christ set the world on fire, by relaying the Good news of Jesus Christ, first to the nation of Israel then to the gentile world. The Bible tells us that the Apostle Peter was commissioned to bring the announcement of Christ’s death and resurrection to his Jewish brethren, whereas, the Apostle Paul was chosen by Christ to bring the Gospel message of salvation to the gentile world. The early works of the church are recorded in a series of letters that have become known as the scriptures of the New Testament.