Bible Society of Maine
Sunday School Lesson (For All Ages)
Reverend Richard H. Petersen, PhD.
    An Introduction to the New Testament for beginners

 Call it "NT 101." This is for you if you are just starting to read your Bible.
 Look at your Bible right now. The first section is called the Old Testament. It has 39 books. The      second section has 27 books. It is called the New Testament. The Old Testament contains about  75% of your Bible, and the New Testament the remaining 25%. Total number of books in the  Bible is 66. Today you are starting to read the New Testament.  .1

What is a testament? My dictionary lists the legal definition first, namely, a will. Under religion the definition is a covenant between God and man. Wonderful, what's a covenant?

A covenant is an agreement between two parties, in this case, God and man. It contains both promises and conditions. In the Old Testament the agreement is between the God of Israel and the people of Israel. The promise is long life in the Promised Land. The condition is that the people of Israel are to obey the laws given them by God.

In the New Testament the agreement is between the same God and all the people of the world. Here God reveals Jesus as the Son of God, the Messiah, the Lamb of God, and the Savior of the world. The promise is forgiveness of sins and eternal life. The condition is that you put your faith in Jesus as your own personal Savior and Lord.

As you read your New Testament you will see these truths unfold, and you will grow in your understanding of God's covenant with you as you progress from beginning to end.

So first, look at the index of the New Testament. You will find the names of the 27 books. They are divided into chapters, and the chapters are divided into verses. This helps you to find something in the Bible. Suppose a speaker refers to John, three, sixteen. You have your Bible with you, and you turn to the Book of John, the third chapter, and the sixteenth verse. This is, abbreviated, John 3: 16. The number before the colon is the chapter, and the number or numbers after the colon refer to the verse or verses.

Look up John 3:16 right now. This one is worth memorizing:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."

Next, if your Bible does not indicate this in the index, the 27 books themselves are assembled in four groups. The first four books are in group one. The fifth book in the New Testament stands alone in group two. The next twenty-one books constitute group three. The last book in the New Testament also stands alone in group four.

Now look at each of the groups. First, the four books are called the Gospels. They are the Gospel according to Matthew, the Gospel according to Mark, the Gospel according to Luke, and the Gospel according to John. We often say Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each tells the story of Jesus' life, ministry, teachings, death, and resurrection. These are the primary sources of information we have about Jesus.

Second, the fifth book in the New Testament is called the Acts of the Apostles. What is an apostle? An apostle is a person sent on a mission to spread news or information. The earliest apostles of Jesus were the men whom He called to be His disciples. You first encounter these men in the Gospels. What is a disciple? A disciple is literally a student, one who learns from. his teacher. We generally refer to them as disciples up to Jesus' resurrection and ascension into heaven. After this we call them the apostles.

In the book of the Acts. of the Apostles, however, we notice that, though all of the same men are named, some are mentioned more than others. We notice also that some new people are called apostles. The one person of whom we read so much in the Acts of the Apostles is a man who did not know Jesus when He was conducting His ministry on the earth. This man's name was Saul of Tarsus, but later he took the name Paul, and we recognize him as St. Paul. You will read how the Christian faith began in the Holy Land and spread to Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, which dominated the society at that time.

Third, the next group of twenty-one books is the Letters. They may also be called the Epistles, which is simply another word for "letter." They may be arranged as follows: From Romans to Philemon were written by Paul (Saul of Tarsus); we are not certain of the name of the author of Hebrews; the next Letter was written by James; next come two Letters by Peter; John wrote three Letters; and Jude wrote one Letter.

Fourth, the last Book in the New Testament and in the Bible is the Revelation to John. It is called the Apocalypse, another word for "revelation." It tells of the second coming of Jesus Christ and the end of the world. It is a fitting close of the New Testament and of the whole Bible, for the Bible begins in eternity with the creation of heaven and earth, and it ends in eternity with the restoration and re-creation of all things, the new heavens and the new earth.

So, where do we go from NT-101? Well, to NT-102, of course. Start reading from wherever you want, but keep a sheet of paper nearby, so that you can write down any questions that come to you while you are reading. May I suggest you start with the Gospel of Mark, the shortest of the four Gospels. Read it all the. way through, not all at once, but read a chapter or half a charter before putting it down Then, when you pick it up again, start where you left off. Your sheet for questions will make a good bookmark.

Let me stress this: Please send any questions you have to us at the Bible Society of Maine. We will be glad to give you some guidelines. We want you to be an informed reader and Christian, and you can be sure our replies will be fair and truthful, avoiding any particular denominational slant. We can say this because our team here is made up of many persons, both Catholic and Protestant, and from many different groups within Protestantism. 

We’re here to help you. We look forward to hearing from you. 

Written by Rev. Richard H. Petersen, Ph.D., member of the Bible Society of Maine since 1961.