25% Off Pre-Order Books with Code: PREORDER25 for Premium & Reward Members Shop Now

Outline Studies in the New Testament for Bible Teachers

CONTENTS

PAGE
PREFATORY 5
HINTS TO STUDENTS 7
HINTS TO TEACHERS 9
THE COURSE DIVIDED INTO LESSONS 11
I. THE LAND OF PALESTINE 13
II. THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE 19
III. THE LIFE OF CHRIST 25
IV. THE THIRTY YEARS OF PREPARATION 30
V. THE YEAR OF OBSCURITY 35
VI. THE YEAR OF POPULARITY 40
VII. THE YEAR OF OPPOSITION 48
VIII. THE WEEK OF THE PASSION 54
IX. THE DAY OF THE CRUCIFIXION 58
X. THE FORTY DAYS OF RESURRECTION 64
XI. THE NEW TESTAMENT WORLD 68
XII. THE SYNAGOGUE 73
XIII. THE CHURCH IN JUDEA 76
XIV. THE CHURCH IN TRANSITION 83
XV. THE CHURCH TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE ASCENSION 89
XVI. THE PREPARATION OF PAUL FOR HIS WORK 93
XVII. THE CHURCH AMONG THE GENTILES 99
XVIII. THE END OF THE AGE 106

PREFATORY

There is no book in the world which repays earnest study so abundantly
as the Holy Bible. Even the cursory reader who possesses a candid mind
can gather many precious thoughts from its pages; and he who turns to it
for guidance in life, however ignorant he may be, will never be led
astray. But as the precious metal lies hidden in the mountains, and must
be sought out by the miners, so the treasures in the Word of Life are
found only by those who search diligently for them. He who not only
reads but _studies_ the Scriptures finds an abundant reward. There is
need in our age of searchers in the Bible, who shall bring out of its
treasure-house things new and old.

In the old Bible the most important themes are those which gather around
the God-man, Jesus Christ. His coming to earth was the culmination of
all prophecy, the focus of all history, and the center of all doctrine;
and the church which he founded has been for nineteen centuries the
inspiration of the world's progress. There are two subjects in the New
Testament with which every follower of Christ should be thoroughly
acquainted, and they are its two most prominent themes: the life of
Christ on earth, and the growth of the early church. In the life of
Christ he should know the order of the leading events; he should grasp
its principles, and should enter into its spirit. Only as we apprehend
Christ can we comprehend the truths taught and inspired by Christ.

But our work as New Testament students must not end with the story of
Christ's ascension from earth. Jesus left behind him a little church, of
only one hundred and twenty members, which in seventy years overswept
all the lands of the greatest empire then on the earth, and which now
covers nearly all the world. Of that church we are members, inheritors
of its traditions, its doctrines, and--best of all--its spirit. It
should be our delight to trace the steps of its early progress, to see
how its plans grew with the advancing years, and how an obscure company
of Jewish disciples became a church of world-wide reach.

To enable a student to obtain this knowledge this book has been
prepared. The earlier studies on the life of Christ have been published
as Studies in the Four Gospels, but have been carefully revised and, in
the author's judgment, improved. The studies on the early church are the
outgrowth of work begun many years ago, frequently revised, taught to
classes many times, and carefully restudied in the light of the most
recent researches in the domain of early church history.

These chapters are, as their titles indicate, _studies_; designed, not
for reading, but for study. This book does not undertake to be a life of
Christ, and a history of the early church, to be read. It simply extends
a helping hand, and holds out to the student a clue by means of which he
can form his own life of Christ and prepare for himself a history of the
early church. Wherever a fact can be learned by searching out a
Scripture reference the fact is not stated, but the reference is given.
Every text referred to should be searched out, as these texts contain
the essential facts of this book.

"1022052663"

Outline Studies in the New Testament for Bible Teachers