New Testament Survey
Welcome
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
A New Testament survey course is one which reviews the content, unity, and progression of the New Testament. Its purpose is to explore God’s Word on a brief book-by-book basis to see how each fits into the overall plan of the New Testament. It is, thus, a survey of the pages of the New Testament, just as a surveyor might explore a piece of real estate to determine its boundaries and makeup. George Washington surveyed much of the early frontier of America, particularly the Commonwealth of Virginia. He learned much about this great Commonwealth performing his surveys. May God richly bless you in this survey of His Word.
This course needs to be distinguished from those taught in Bible colleges and seminaries which are referred to as “Introductions.” An “Introduction” course explores manuscript issues of each book. This type of course would look at the problems of authorship and the creation, transmission, and preservation of each book, as well as the theology of each book. This study you are about to embark upon may touch upon these issues, but a detailed discussion is not part of the intended subject matter.
A comment or two about the materials for this course are in order. First, the prime course book is the Bible. It is suggested that you read much of each book the week prior to its study. But if you cannot, please do not allow this to keep you away. The concept of a survey course assumes some knowledge of each part of the New Testament, but this knowledge need not be very deep for this course to be of benefit.
Secondly, I pray that these course materials will provide a quick, easy to read survey work. Again, it will be helpful, but not necessary, if you read this information in advance of each class. For those desiring further study, a bibliography will be attached at the end of these materials.
It is not the intention to create a school type atmosphere as we perform our survey. However, the more you read God’s Word and the better prepared you are by reading the student materials, the more you will benefit from your attendance. To assist you in this, each week’s lesson will end with a suggested key (memory) verse(s) and set of readings for the next week. You are encouraged to make use of your time by reading these materials.
Jim Arthur
Calvary Road Baptist Church
August, 1999
Revised August 2000
What do you know about the Bible?
What do you hope to learn from this course?
Do you want to learn about history?
Do you want to learn about the Bible?
Do you want to learn about the beliefs and practices of the early church?
