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Class 22: The Rest Of The New Testament (A) A C T S Go Tell The Good News! (Part 2) Class 22: The Rest Of The New Testament (A)

Preliminary Information These final 2 lessons come from the Waldron’s last book in their series, “How Long, O Lord?” They comprise surveys of the non-journey epistles written by inspired authors other than the apostle Paul They cover the last 40+ years of the 1st century These were the years of intense persecution against N.T. Christians led by Rome (Nero & later emperors) The age of inspiration was drawing to a close Therefore, it is not surprising to find many inspired exhortations to endure hardships, sufferings, trials, and persecutions After the close of Acts, we do not have an inspired account of the history of the church

Preliminary Information These final 2 lessons come from the Waldron’s last book in their series, “How Long, O Lord?” Therefore, much of the “evidence” is uninspired It is largely attributed to The Early Church Fathers (men who were either acquaintances or disciples of the apostles, and who wrote without the Holy Spirit leading them) The Waldron’s book goes into great detail about them IMPORTANT!! Not saying these later N.T. epistles were not inspired Only reminding us that any supporting evidence re: dating, etc. is outside of the Scripture, and must be viewed carefully and without putting too much emphasis on the writer(s) themselves

Preliminary Information Dating & Audiences Of These Epistles While we were fairly certain re: dating & to whom Paul wrote his epistles, we cannot be as confident with the remainder of the N.T. epistles We will consider them in the order in which they appear in the Waldron’s curriculum

The Epistle Of James AUTHOR James, the Lord’s brother Matt 13:55 1 Cor 15:7 DATE A.D. 60 AUDIENCE 12 tribes scattered abroad (1:1) (most likely, Jewish Christians) THEME Importance of faith, especially in the face of trials & sufferings 1:2-4 Not faith alone 2:24 An obedient faith, demonstrated in sincere attempts to do as God commands

OUTLINE APPLICATION SECTION The Epistle Of James OUTLINE Faith is important 1:2 – 2:26 Opening thematic statement 1:2-4 Faith seeks wisdom from God 1:5-8 Faith accepts life’s inequities 1:9-11 Faith endures temptations 1:12-18 Faith applies the word’s principles 1:19-27 Faith shows no partiality 2:1-13 Faith is dead without works 2:14-26 Faith in action 3:1 – 5:20 Uses the tongue properly 3:1-12 Seeks godly attitudes 3:13 – 4:10 Prevents harsh judgments 4:11-12 APPLICATION SECTION

OUTLINE APPLICATION SECTION The Epistle Of James OUTLINE Faith in action 3:1 – 5:20 Includes God, His will in all human plans 4:13-17 Discourages seeking earthly riches 5:1-6 Enables believers to be steadfast 5:7-11 Renders oaths unnecessary 5:12 Prays in times of deep distress 5:13-18 Seeks to save wandering believers 5:19-20 APPLICATION SECTION

The Epistles Of Peter AUTHOR Peter, an apostle of the Lord DATE A.D. 64-68 (Between Paul’s 2 Roman imprisonments) AUDIENCE “Strangers scattered…” (1 Pet 1:1) “Those of like faith…” (2 Pet 1:1)

The Epistles Of Peter AUTHOR Peter, an apostle of the Lord DATE A.D. 64-68 (Between Paul’s 2 Roman imprisonments) AUDIENCE “Strangers scattered…” (1 Pet 1:1) “Those of like faith…” (2 Pet 1:1) THEME Salvation is worth whatever persecution comes (1 Peter) Beware of false teachers (2 Peter)

OUTLINE The Epistles Of Peter Opening Greetings 1 Pet 1:1-2 Salvation is worth the suffering 1 Pet 1:3-12 Praise of God for His scheme of salvation 1:3-9 A salvation spoken of by the prophets 1:10-12 Preparation for sufferings 1 Pet 1:13 – 2:3 Live as holy children of a holy Father 1:13-16 Live before a holy Judge & Redeemer (Christ) 1:17-21 Love sincerely your brethren 1:22-25 Put away evil…desire sincere milk of the word 2:1-3 Participation in the spiritual house 1 Pet 2:4-10 Living stones in the house of the Chief Cornerstone

OUTLINE The Epistles Of Peter Various exhortations re: suffering 1 Pet 2:11 – 5:10 As aliens, strangers, & pilgrims 2:11-12 Toward civil authority 2:13-17 Servants toward masters 2:18-20 Christ, the perfect Example 2:18-25 Wives toward unbelieving husbands 3:1-6 Husbands toward faithful wives 3:7 Saints toward each other 3:8-12 Saints when suffering for righteousness 3:13-22 Abstaining from former sinful practices 4:1-6 Prepare for the end of all things 4:7-11 Endure by anticipating glory 4:12-19

OUTLINE The Epistles Of Peter Various exhortations re: suffering 1 Pet 2:11 – 5:10 For shepherds of suffering saints 5:1-4 For all to be clothed with humility toward others 5:5-7 For all to be alert re: the Devil 5:8-10 Closing Admonitions 1 Pet 5:11-14

OUTLINE The Epistles Of Peter Opening Greetings 2 Pet 1:1 Importance of knowing God’s will 2 Pet 1:2-21 God has given all we need for life & godliness 1:2-4 How to build strong spiritual character 1:5-11 Truth imparted through prophets & apostles 1:12-21 Beware of false teachers! 2 Pet 2:1-22 They arise out of God’s people 2:1-3 God is able to judge the guilty and deliver the righteous at the same time 2:4-10a False teachers described 2:10b-19 Danger of once-saved saints falling back into a sinful state by believing the false teacher 2:20-22

OUTLINE The Epistles Of Peter Closing Admonitions 2 Pet 3:1-18 Peter’s 2nd letter to remind them 3:1-2 Beware of scoffers re: the Lord’s return 3:3-7 Believe the day of the Lord will come! 3:8-13 In view of all these things, work hard to remain faithful 3:14-18

The Epistle To The Hebrews AUTHOR Anonymous DATE A.D. 60-66 AUDIENCE Jewish Christians who were being tempted (possibly even pressured?) to return to the Mosaic covenant THEME Jesus Christ is God’s final and greatest Spokesman 1:1-2 For maximum benefit, the better the student’s knowledge of the Old Testament is, the more he/she will gain from this book.

OUTLINE The Epistle To The Hebrews The Superior Spokesman 1:1 – 7:28 His Divinity 1:1 – 2:4 His Humanity 2:5-18 Belief in Him 3:1 – 4:13 – As the Son of God – The perils of unbelief – Rest for the believer His Priesthood 4:14 – 5:10; 7:1-28 – Pause in the discussion 5:11 – 6:20 – Hearers had become dull – Hearers were in danger of falling away

OUTLINE The Epistle To The Hebrews The Superior Covenant 8:1 – 11:40 A more excellent ministry 8:1-13 Contrast of the 2 covenants 9:1-28 A better sacrifice 10:1-18 Privileges & Responsibilities of this covenant 10:19-25 The need for endurance through faith 10:26-39 Examples of such enduring faith 11:1-40

OUTLINE The Epistle To The Hebrews Concluding Exhortations 12:1 – 13:25 The example of Christ 12:1-3 The value of discipline 12:4-17 Contrast of the “Two Mountains” 12:18-24 The unshakable kingdom 12:25-29 Various admonitions & benediction 13:1-25

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