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Questions for Today |
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Reading the New Testament can leave you with more questions than answers. The groups of people are unfamiliar. The customs are ancient. How are you supposed to know what's going on when you don't know what a Pharisee is?
We invite you to review the following questions. Their answers will provide context for the story and allow you to grapple with what is really going on. If you have other questions, we'd be glad to answer them. You can email us at questions@coloradospringsbible.org.
What is the New Testament all about?
If this is the New Testament, then what is the Old Testament?
How can an ancient book have anything to do with me?
Who is Jesus?
What is the New Testament all about?
The New Testament is the second part of a larger book, the Bible. The Bible has been called a lot of things: an owner's manual for life, God's rule book, a collection of theological facts. But the real heart and soul of the Bible is its story. It's true that the Bible reveals what God wants for us and has lots of practical wisdom for everyday living. It's also true that the Bible teaches us important things about God.
There is, however, something very important that people have forgotten about the Bible: it's a story. It's a true story. It's God's story.
Inside the New Testament, you'll be introduced to a variety of people who, for the most part, do and say things that might seem unusual. Two thoughts may help you make sense of this:
- The New Testament is the continuation of a larger story. Reading the New Testament story without knowing the Old Testament story would be something like watching the third movie in a great trilogy: the movie is great, but a bit hard to follow. The Old Testament sets the scene for the New Testament.
- Every story has a particular context. Like a novel set in the nineteenth century England, the world in which the New Testament story takes place is dramatically different from the world we live in today. That is not to say that the story is not relevant, but merely that understanding the story is linked to understanding the setting in which the story takes place.
The story of Jesus is one too good to pass up. To help you understand his story, we've put together an abbreviated version of the Old Testament to provide both historical and cultural context. It's presented as a three act drama: The Creation, the Fall, and Israel.
The Creation, the Fall, and Israel
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