The Message of the New Testament

by F.F. Bruce

For nearly 2,000 years the New Testament has been loved, hated, treasured, criticized, believed, derided, read and studied, sometimes even died for. Few believers would ever question its importance as the authoritative documentary basis for the Christian faith. Yet the message of the New Testament has not always been clearly understood, even by those who have read and reread it.

In this book -- now a modern classic -- the most respected evangelical scholar of the past generation guides readers to a clearer understanding of the New Testament's message. Beginning with Mark and proceeding through Paul's epistles, Luke and Acts, Matthew, Hebrews, the general epistles and gospel, F. F. Bruce looks at the individuality of the New Testament writers and explains the distinctive contribution their book or group of books makes to the overall message of the New Testament.

By concentrating on major themes and not fine detail, Bruce succeeds in presenting the central teachings of the New Testament in a compact way. As his profound yet highly accessible scholarship demonstrates, though the New Testament is diverse in both form and content, it nevertheless communicates powerfully the unified witness that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Genres: Theology, New Testament

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Frederick Fyvie Bruce FBA was a Biblical scholar who supported the historical reliability of the New Testament. His first book, The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (1943), was voted by the American evangelical periodical Christianity Today in 2006 as one of the top 50 books "which had shaped evangelicals".

Reviews

[Susanna Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was great.....very sad when it came to an end

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brilliant summation of the essence of the NT.

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Bruce has done an excellent job of summarizing not only the message of the entire New Testament, but also the messages of each of the books (or series of books) within the New Testament. This short book ends up being a great resource for those studying the New Testament, who can use this book as a quick introduction to the Biblical books. Despite its length, there is a remarkable amount of research poured into it, leaving the reader with a greater depth of insight than one might typically find in a book of similar length. And finally, it is impossible to ignore Mr. Bruce's keen discernment as he picks his way through challenging portions of Scripture, informing the reader of the implications of varying lines of thought about a variety of theological opinions.

[Carla Jean]

The church I attended in college had an internship program, complete with reading assignments and regular meetings with the associate pastor. This was one of the books we worked through. I've got notes jotted in the margins, but I'm pretty sure I never finished reading it--and this morning I decided, maybe it was time to do so. It's short, with only about 10 pages in each of its 10 chapters, so it should be a pretty quick (but hopefully informative) read.