Bible Speaks Today New Testament – serie

The Bible Speaks Today New Testament set covers every book of the New Testament across 22 volumes. These revised editions are redesigned inside and out and have been sensitively updated with contemporary language and Bible translations to help you follow, study and teach the Bible in today’s world.

The letter of 2 Corinthians is important, Paul Barnett believes, for its magnificent message that God's power is brought to people in their weakness, not in human strength.This momentous theme emerges in a dramatic real-life situation. The apostle confronts shadowy opponents who had recently come to Corinth and formed an alliance with some of the church leaders and members. His letter is a fascinating record of that conflict.Paul Barnett argues that this heated debate between apparent power and apparent weakness is still with us today. His aim in this exposition has been to allow the timely message of 'God's fool' to be clearly heard.

The Gospel according to Matthew is perhaps the most important single document of the New Testament, for in it we have the fullest and most systematic account of the birth, life, teaching, death and resurrection of the founder of Christianity, Jesus the Messiah.Michael Green shows how this very Jewish Gospel portrays the power and purpose of Jesus' life and work, which was to bring light to all nations. Matthew records Jesus as Son of God, Messiah, Son of David, Son of Man and supremely as God returning to Jerusalem as judge and redeemer.The consequences of this steady focus are as relevant now as then. We need Matthew's emphasis on the unity of God's revelation, old and new, its reaching on the life of discipleship and the meaning of the kingdom of heaven, and its insights into the people of the messiah, the end of the world and the universality of the Good News.

At first sight the Gospel of Mark is a simple account of the ministry of Jesus with lots of stories, plenty of action, a large amount of human interest, and some very straight and searching questions, mostly from Jesus himself.Yet underlying the Gospel is the cross and the cost of discipleship, focusing the question of who Jesus was, and how people should respond to him. Donald English's exposition picks up Mark's focus on faith as a risky, total commitment to Christ, and on its mysteries - pre-eminently, why some people believe, and others do not, even to the point of opposition.

Luke the Physician was fascinated by people - rich and poor, Jews and Gentiles, men and women, rulers and slaves. In his Gospel he delights to portray Jesus as the Saviour not of an elite group but of any one, in any condition, who turns to him. Jesus is indeed the Saviour of the world.Luke knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote his Gospel. He tells us his goal in the opening verses: to set forth an orderly and accurate account of what had been accomplished by the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. In this engaging exposition, Michael Wilcock gives special attention to these opening words. Then, as he examines the individual deeds and sayings of Jesus, he shows how the structure of Luke's narrative brings out their meaning.The good news of Luke is still true today. None of us are beyond redemption unless we choose to put ourselves there. This message has implications not only for our personal lives but for our churches and society as a whole.

John's Gospel has had an incalculable impact on human history. Its pages contain a moral and spiritual potency which, over the centuries, has transformed communities, brought about political change and remade human character on a scale without precedent.The power remains in the Gospel today. At its centre, as at the centre of his exposition, is Jesus Christ in his glory and grace, majesty and tenderness. Bruce Milne believes that we can experience his presence even today, for the Gospel was 'written that ... you may have life in his name'.The Gospel of John is a witness to the King, as much a tract for our times as for John's. Bruce Milne's exposition focuses on the ministry of Jesus before his incarnation, during his life on earth and after his resurrection. The centrepiece of this Gospel is the cross, and its background the solemnity of God's judgment of the world.

'The followers of Jesus are to be different,' writes John Stott, 'different from both the nominal church and the secular world, different from both the religious and the irreligious. The Sermon on the Mount is the most complete delineation anywhere in the New Testament of the Christian counter-culture. Here is a Christian value-system, ethical, standard, religious devotion, attitude to money, ambition, lifestyle and network of relationships - all of which are totally at variance with those in the non-Christian world. And this Christian counter-culture is the life of the Kingdom of God, a fully human life indeed but lived out under the divine rule.'In his careful exposition of the Sermon on the Mount, John Stott accurately expounds the biblical text and relates it to life today. Above all, the author says, he wants to let Christ speak this sermon again, this time to the modern world.

Paul's letter to the young church in Rome has dramatically influenced Christians through the ages. It has been described as a 'gateway into heaven'.In this letter Paul gives a complete picture of the gospel - the fullest and grandest in the New Testament. His horizons are vast, taking in time and eternity, the past, present and future of humanity, and the great themes of justification, sanctification and glorification.This is the most personally rooted of John Stott's expositions, for he confesses to have re-encountered Paul's letter constantly throughout his Christian life. At the same time, her interacts with other commentators, some of whom are challenging interpretations that are time-honoured and traditional. He sees Romans as a Christian manifesto for our increasingly unstable world, emphasising the good news of freedom through Jesus Christ. Paul's vision of this freedom is astonishing. It overcomes ethnic conflict, the darkness of moral guilt, condemnation from God and alienation from others. It is a freedom to serve God and our neighbours in love.

In this fresh and gripping exposition, David Prior writes first of all as a pastor. His conviction is that 1 Corinthians is uniquely a tract for our times. His aim is that churches will recognise the problems and tensions inherent in being God's people in the increasingly urban world today, and not be ignorant of the true spirituality that is the work of the Holy Spirit. He wishes for each of them as a body to grow to express the total lordship of Christ.For Paul, he points out, Corinth as a strategic test case: if the gospel of Christ could change lives there, it could do so anywhere. He saw in the Corinthian believers the rich resources for Christian ministry and mission that are present in every local church.

The Apostle Paul was bound by prison chains when he wrote to the church at Philippi. Despite his loss of liberty, and opposition from fellow-workers, the letter radiates joy - joy that Christ was proclaimed, joy in fellowship with the Philippian Christians, and above all joy in Jesus himself. Alec Motyer explores Paul's great themes, so relevant today: Christian unity; the Person of Jesus and what he has achieved for us; the call to live a life worthy of the gospel.

Fullness and freedom - two aspects of Christian life that we all want to share. Paul wrote about them at length (and depth) in his letter to the Christians at Colossae, where certain new teachers were proclaiming that 'mere Christianity' is not enough. There is, they suggested, a fuller experience, a greater liberation, than they had so far enjoyed. But Paul was adamant: all God's fullness is in Christ alone, and only through his complete work are we set free.Paul’s letter to Philemon is of particular interest to us as a letter to an individual friend and convert. Yet it is not marked ‘personal and private’. It was also to be read by the church in Philemon’s house. This letter applies the themes of the fullness and freedom found in the gospel to the complex situation of Onesimus and Philemon, a scenario with much to teach us today about the relationship of the gospel of Christ to social concerns.These are the great objective truths of the faith that Dick Lucas highlights in his exposition, enabling us to see both the riches that are ours in Christ and the irrelevance - even blasphemy - of all would-be improvements on what God has done.

Times were hard for the first readers of the letter to the Hebrews. Many had been exposed to fierce persecution. They had been assaulted, their homes had been plundered, and some had been cast into prison.To such people this letter came as an encouragement. The writer of the letter turns their eyes to Christ, and shows how he fulfils the hope expressed in the Old Testament sacrifices. He calls his readers to a steadfast faith that will take them through the hard times they now face.Such encouragement and challenge is never without relevance to Christians. Raymond Brown demonstrates this clearly in his passage-by-passage exposition.

As a good communicator, James addressed his readers directly and pointedly, with vivid images from ordinary life and attention-gripping statements.This rich exposition brings James' letter to life for today's reader. Alec Motyer is himself gripped by James' energy and concern for practical Christianity. The letter shows how a genuine faith is a tested faith; how encounter with difficulties is an essential part of the growth to Christian maturity. This book powerfully brings out James' memorable themes - the link between enduring trials and maturity; the question of perfection; the good gifts of God; faith, works and Christian concern in a world of human need; the implications of careless and evil words; the meaning of war; the church and healing; confession of sin; and the need for active purity of life.For James, genuine Christianity is practical. It is a tested faith. In this admirable exposition, Alec Motyer captures James' forthright and powerful message for today.

The message of Peter's first letter turned the world upside-down for his readers. He saw the people of the young church of the first century as strangers, aliens who were only temporary residents, travellers heading for their native land.Peter speaks to our own pilgrimage when he tells of suffering now and glory to come. Stormy seasons of persecution were beginning for the church in Asia Minor. These storms rage on in the modern world.Edmund Clowney believes that no true Christian can escape at least a measure of suffering for Christ's sake. Out of his firsthand knowledge as an apostle of Christ, Peter shows us what the story of Jesus' life means for us as we take up our cross and follow him.

What is the book of Revelation? Does it describe in veiled language events of its writer's own day, or is it largely a prophecy of events still to come? Is it a chart of the whole of history from Christ's first coming to his second? Or does it deal chiefly with principles which are always valid in Christian experience?And what is a twenty-first century reader to do with living creatures, locusts like horses, seven bowls of wrath, war in heaven, various beasts and a dragon?Michael Wilcock maintains that when God's words, declarations, arguments and reasonings had all been spoken, God gave the church 'a gorgeous picture book'. He lifts the curtain on Revelation's drama in eight scenes, helping our imaginations as well as our minds grasp the key concepts of this fascinating and enigmatic New Testament book.

John Stott writes, 'During the gestation of this book I seem to have lived inside the second letter of Paul to Timothy. In imagination I have sat down beside Timothy and have tried myself to hear and heed this final charge from the ageing apostle ... 'On each occasion I have been impressed afresh by the timeliness for today of what the apostle writes, especially for young Christian leaders. For our era is one of theological and moral confusion, even of apostasy. And the apostle summons us, as he summoned Timothy, to be strong, brave and steadfast.'

How do two brief letters to a church in first-century Macedonia speak to us today?John Stott demonstrates that Paul's letters to the Christians in Thessalonica offer three key messages to churches at the beginning of the twenty-first century:- a model for ministry, as Paul's self-giving, prayerful love for the church challenges Christian leaders - a vision for the local church, as the apostle touches on evangelism, pastoral care, ethical standards, fellowship, worship, obedience and future hope; - an affirmation of our faith, as he repeatedly returns to the foundation facts that 'Christ has died, Christ is risen, and Christ will come again.' Characterised by John Stott's customary clarity and perception, this exposition illuminates aspects of Christian life and service that are at the heart of God's purposes for this people today.

Truth matters. The apostle Paul’s passion for truth runs throughout his Pastoral Letters - that it may be faithfully guarded and handed on. John Stott is at pains to convey Paul's passionate concern for the future of the gospel, and for younger pastors charged with its care.Contemporary culture, John Stott points out, is being overtaken and submerged by relativism and pluralism - an attitude that all so-called 'truth' in fact can make no demand that others be converted to its particular view.The apostle's unambiguous commitment to the definite truth of the gospel is in stark contrast to the contemporary spirit, and his concern for its future needs to grip us today.

In a climate of disunity and doctrinal deviation, the apostle John called his first readers to live in the love and truth of God.David Jackman has no doubt that John's letters are a vital, powerful word from the Lord to the church today around the world. So often we take extreme positions, leading to a fragmentation of both churches and individuals. This book will help us to respond afresh to the apostle's call to love one another and live in the light.