New Testament Theology: A New Study of the Thematic Structure of the New Testament

por J. Julius Scott Jr.

Editorial:

Christian Focus

, 2008

Overview

Julius Scott has a passion for the studying and teaching the New Testament. He carefully unfolds seven themes in the New Testament by answering these seven questions:

1. Who is Jesus?
2. What must I do to be saved?
3. How should a Christian live?
4. What is the Church?
5. What is the church's relation to society?
6. How shall it end?
7. What does the New Testament teach us about God?

These are vital questions for all Christians—indeed the answers to them will inform and influence every aspect of our lives. Dr. Scott carefully brings together all the evidence from the New Testament to help us do just that.

Contents

Top Highlights

“God selected the men⁶ whose backgrounds and personalities would express that which he desired; he ‘breathed’ (2 Tim 3:16) his message into them, and remained active in the writing process, superintended the project (2 Peter 1:21 says ‘being carried by the Holy Spirit’) to assure its authority and accuracy.” (Page 18)

“The ultimate purpose of the Bible is to reveal God and to call humans into relationship with him. The careful study of the Bible involved in theology, Biblical history and other forms, misses its own mark if it does not bring one to know God better and into a proper relationship with him.” (Page 20)

“The Bible is not so much concerned to reveal concepts, principles, and rules as to reveal a person, God. It does so primarily by showing him at work and in relation to the universe and human beings.” (Page 19)

“Theology as a field of study is divided into at least four subdivisions: historical theology” (Page 17)

“In Mark, for an instance, ‘Son of man’ is used in three distinct settings: (1) he is present and active on earth with authority (Mark 2:10, 27), (2) he is the redeemer who is to suffer (Mark 8:31; 9:12, 31; 10:31, 33–34, 45; 14:21, 41; note also 9:9), and (3) he is coming again as judge and ruler (Mark 8:38: 13:26; 14:62). Matthew and Luke use the term in a similar manner. The union of Messiah and Son of man may have called for a shift in the disciples’ thinking, but not an impossible one.” (Page 46)

Endorsements

This book is a labor of love—for the Scriptures, for readers, for learning, for teaching, and for God himself. The author takes up each topic in a wise, thorough, probing, and reverent manner. Readers will gain fresh insight into the history of New Testament times, the convictions of the biblical writers, and the implications of the age-old yet ever new Christian message for today. Readers will also glimpse the work of major New Testament scholars as their research has unfolded over recent decades. This is an excellent intermediate survey for college students, as well as for laypersons eager to move to new levels of biblical understanding.

—Robert W. Yarbrough, Professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri

Julius Scott's New Testament Theology is in fact a theology of the New Testament helpfully pitched at the level of the college student and general reader rather than the professional theologian and affords a detailed but readily readable and comprehensible topical exposition of New Testament teaching. Among its particular features I single out its careful treatment of the church's relation with and responsibility to society. Clearly and simply presented, it should attract a wide audience among Christians wanting a systematic guide to the main theological themes in the New Testament.

—I. Howard Marshall, Emeritus Professor of New Testament, University of Aberdeen

About James Julius Scott, Jr

James Julius Scott, Jr is Emeritus Professor of Biblical and Historical Studies at Wheaton College Graduate School. His doctorate is from the University of Manchester where he studied under F. F. Bruce. He is ordained in the ministry of the Presbyterian Church in America.