INTRODUCTION: Have you ever looked the page in between the Old and New Testaments of your Bible. Most will have the words, "The New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." We have talked about the Old Testament. What about the New Testament?

BODY

I. WHAT DO WE MEAN WHEN WE REFER TO THE NEW TESTAMENT?

A. Implies that it replaced something that is "old."

1. Hebrews 8:13_ " In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

2. Paul used such language in his writings.

a. 2 Corinthians 3:14_16 "But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. {15} But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. {16} Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away."

B. Then the "New Testament" would be that which supplanted the Old Testament (i.e. that covenant that was given to the Jews.

1. Luke 22:20_ "Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.""

2. Luke 5:33-38

3. Hebrews 10:9_10 "then He said, "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

C. The Old Testament promised a new covenant and Jesus promised that his apostles would be guided in the writing of truth.

1. Jeremiah 31:31_34 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah; 32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

2. Daniel 2:44

3. John 16:13 - "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

D. The Duration of the New Testament. How long will it last?

1. The Old Testament was to last "till" the New Testament came.

a. Galatians 3:19 - "What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator."

2. But the New Testament would last until the end of the world.

a. Matthew 28:18-19

A. The Gospels

1. Describes the birth, life, and death of Jesus.

2. Luke 1:1_3 "Inasmuch as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled among us, 2 just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus,"

3. They promised the coming Kingdom of God.

a. Matthew 16:18_19 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

b. Mark 9:1 - And He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power."

4. The conclude with the resurrection, ascension, and the promise to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

a. Luke 24:49_52 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." 50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy,

B. The Book of Acts is the second section of the New Testament.

1. Commonly called the "Acts of the Apostles." A more proper name might be, "Some of the Acts of Some of the Apostles."

2. Charts the beginning, early history, and growth of the Lord's church. It is a history of God's people and a fitting link after the gospels.
a. Acts 1:1_3 "The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen, 3 to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."

3. Main events in the book of Acts

a. The coming of the Holy Spirit and the beginning of the church - chapter 2

b. The conversion of the Apostle Paul - chapter 9

c. The conversion of the first Gentile - chapters 10-11

d. The spread of the gospel to the rest of the known world - chapters 12-28.

C. The Epistles, written the various churches and Christians.

1. The majority of these were written by Paul, an apostle "born out of due season." (1 Corinthians 15:8). He wrote 14 (if you assume that Paul wrote Hebrews). They were written to churches with problems (Corinth, Galatia, Colosea, Hebrews), to evangelists to help them deal with brethren (Timothy and Titus), for general edification (Ephesus and Philippia), and one dealing with a personal problem between two brothers (Philemon). Two were specifically written to warn brethren about the danger of going back to the Old Law (Colossians and Hebrews).

2. Peter penned two epistles (1 and 2 Peter). He dealt with various problems. Two of the main ones was dealing with the second coming and the need for spiritual growth.

3. John wrote three epistles. Two of these were written to Christians and one likely to a Christian family (3 John). He was concerned with blunting a false teaching that was making inroads into the church near the end of the first century, Gnosticism. He also warned brethren about the need to practice love toward one another. John also penned Revelation,
which we will talk about in a moment. 

4. James and Jude wrote single epistles. James wrote about everyday Christians living and Jude wrote near the end of the first century urging Christians to stand the for the truth "once for all received by the saints" (Jude 3).

D. The final section of the New Testament is the book of Revelation.

1. This book is often called the book of prophecy because it does reveal what will happen in the future.

2. Regardless of how one dates the book (either in the 60's or 90's A.D.) the key to this book is in what John said in the first three verses. "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants; things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

3. Major view of interpretation

a. That the events that are mentioned take place in the destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70). These individuals believe that it was written somewhere about the time of Nero.

b. That the events that are mentioned take place in the fall of the Roman Empire. These individuals believe that it was written at the time of Emperor Domition near the end of the first century.

c. That the events are allegorical of the church's struggle with Satan over the centuries.

d. That the events are things that have been taking place literally throughout the centuries and that we can determine the fulfillment by looking at historical.

e. That the events are really foretelling events in the "end time" and that they are yet to be fulfilled.

f. One through three are possible (I believe two is the most likely). Numbers four and five do not take into consideration that the events were soon to come to pass. And in order to believe number five one would have to believe that the kingdom has not been established yet, that Jesus' mission was a failure, and that the kingdom is carnal instead of spiritual.