BIL 102A New Testament Survey
TR 7:50 am-9:15 am
Dr. Ken Schenck
Course
Description
This course covers the literature of the New
Testament. Special attention will be
given to the life of Christ and the history of the early church, including the
life of Paul.
Course
Outcomes
1.
To obtain a general acquaintance with the New Testament as
history, literature and theology.
2.
To develop skills in interpreting the New Testament in its
original meaning and strategies for appropriating it today.
3.
To be changed by one’s encounter with the New Testament and
to take on the disposition of a change agent following models and teaching
found in the New Testament.
Textbooks
New International
Version Study Bible, other versions/editions also acceptable
Schenck,
K., Jesus Is Lord: An Introduction to the
New Testament (
Course
Requirements
1.
I have
emailed you this syllabus, with study questions included over all the assigned
readings of the semester. You will also
find the syllabus and questions at www.indwes.edu/courses/KS-BIL102.
2. Quizzes (300 out of 1000)
There will be daily
quizzes to help you grow in your knowledge and appropriation of the New
Testament. These will be cumulative and
of varying length and point values, covering both assigned reading and material
from class. I will weight the point
value of each quiz point appropriately to constitute 300/1000 of your grade.
3. Class Participation (50 out of 1000)
Since we will be doing
some group work, it is important that everyone get involved. This part of the grade will reflect how
“involved” you are in our class time.
4. Position Paper (150 out of 1000)
You will write a
position paper in which you argue for a position on some issue the New
Testament sheds light on (5-10 pages). See the end of the syllabus for
guidelines.
5. Exams (400 points
total)
There will be a mid-term and a final. The final is cumulative.
Course Grade Scale
50 points – Class Participation 950-1000 A 730-769 C
100 points –
150 points – Position Paper 870-899 B+ 670-699 D+
300 points – Quizzes 830-869 B 600-669 D
400 points – Exams 800-829 B- 599
below F
770-799 C+
Class
Attendance
Attendance will be taken by way of the daily
quizzes. This class allows for two
unexcused absences before grade deduction.
From that point on each missed class is a one-third letter deduction
(e.g., A to A-). Excuses must be given
in writing.
Late Policy
Late assignments drop one grade (e.g. A to A-) per university day (Monday-Friday), starting at midnight the night the assignment is due. The professor is willing to take assignments by email or by hand outside of the classroom, but does not take responsibility for any mishaps that might take place when assignments are not turned in at class time.
Office Hours
My office is in Rm.
109 of the
Tentative Course Schedule
JL=Jesus
is Lord
Class Date Topic Assignment
by this Date
1 9/6 Introduction to the Course Assignments in this column are to be
The
Story Behind the Story read by the
date of their row.
2 9/8 Story Behind the Story JL chaps.
6-7, 14
Ministry
of Jesus
3 9/13 Ministry of Jesus Read the Gospel of Mark
4 9/15 Ministry of Jesus Read JL 5 and 13
Bible
Translations
5 9/20 Special Themes in Mark Read JL 4 and 18
How
we got the Bible
6 9/22 The Passion of Christ Read Matt. 26-27; Mark 14-25
Luke
22-23; John 18-19
7 9/27 Themes of Matthew Read the Gospel of Matthew
8 9/29 Sermons of Matthew Read JL 15 and Matt. 5-7
9 10/4 Sermons of Matthew Read JL 8 and Matt. 13, 18, 23-25
Jewish
Groups of the Time
10 10/6 Themes of Luke Read the Gospel of Luke
11 10/11 Jesus’
Mission & Message Read JL 19, 20, and 24; Matt. 1-2;
The Synoptic
Question Luke 1-2
Birth
Stories
12 10/13 Themes of John Read the Gospel of John
13 10/18 Finishing John Read JL 25-26
Review
14 10/20 Mid-Term Exam Study!
15 10/25 Acts 1-7 Read Acts 1-7; JL 29
Reading Notebook Due
(Matt-John)
16 10/27 Acts 8-14 Read Acts 8-14; JL 35
17 11/1 Acts 15-28 Read Acts 15-28; JL 36
18 11/3 Paul’s Message Read JL 37; 1 and 2 Thess. 1
and 2 Thessalonians
19 11/8 Begin 1 Corinthians Read 1 Corinthians
20 11/10 Applying the Bible Read JL 2, 42
21 11/15 Issues in Paul’s Letters Read JL 40;
2 Corinthians
22 11/17 Galatians and Romans Read Galatians and Romans
23 11/22 Position Paper Day Bring outline of your paper
24 11/29 Prison Epistles Read Ephesians,
Philippians,
Position Paper Due Colossians, Philemon
25 12/1 Pastoral Epistles Read 1 & 2 Timothy;
Titus; JL 47, 50
26 12/6 Hebrews, James, Read Hebrews, James, 1 &
2 Peter,
1 & 2 Peter, Jude Jude
27 12/8 1-2-3 John, Revelation Read 1-2-3 John and Revelation,
JL 53 and 54
28 12/12 Final Exam Study!
Monday,
December 12
Guidelines for
Position Paper
·
Find
a topic discussed sufficiently in the New Testament to give you enough material
that you could write a paper on it.
|
This is
a paper for a New Testament class. A
good paper for philosophy or World Changers probably will not be a good paper
for this class without a great deal of editing. Your topic needs to argue from the New
Testament in accordance with the guidelines below. Some examples of such issues include: baptism (is it essential to salvation; is
there a particular method necessary; what about infant baptism); the second
coming (will Christ come again; will there be an Antichrist…); women in
ministry (can women be ministers; what is the role of the wife in the
family); homosexuality (Are there homosexual Christians); etc… |
·
A
typical position paper has an introduction with a thesis statement (or a
presentation of the issue with a central question you will investigate), a body
of argument that fairly examines the
various positions that could be taken on the issue and evaluates them, and a
conclusion that summarizes how your paper has proven its thesis.
Introduction:
|
·
Introduce the issue. What is
the paper about? How do people
disagree on it? Your thesis statement
(a statement of your position) does
not have to be in the first paragraph.
You can build up to it by providing background in two or three
paragraphs before you state it. ·
You may also structure your paper in such a way as to build to the
thesis in the course of the paper. In
this case, the first paragraph(s) presents the issue in an eye catching way
and leaves the reader with a burning question. |
The Body of the Paper:
|
·
The format of presentation can vary somewhat, although it should be
clear and logical. ·
One way of writing the paper is to begin with a list of the possible
positions someone might take. For
example, on baptism one might argue 1) baptism is not necessary, 2)
sprinkling is the only or best way, 3) pouring is the only or best way, 3)
immersion is the only or best way, 4) God does not mind which way is used,
only that you are baptized. One can
find groups that represent each of these positions. ·
You might then proceed through each of these positions, presenting
each case. It is the mark of a good
paper that I cannot tell what your
position is as you present the arguments for positions with which you disagree
– this shows that you are being fair and are more interested in the truth
than in proving your opinion. As you present the positive arguments for
any particular position, you might then fairly present arguments against each
case. ·
After presenting the various positions that are out there, you may
finally turn to your own position. Do
finally “fall off the log” on the issue – take a position; form a
conclusion. ·
As you investigate, use your own knowledge, things learned in class,
discussion with the professor, and library work to identify New Testament
passages relevant to the issue you are discussing. ·
Keep two questions in mind as you look at these passages: what does the passage say and what does it
mean? Many, many verses say nothing directly concerning the issues important to us today (e.g.
whether someone could make it to heaven if they died before they were
baptized). Their meaning, on the other hand, may still be relevant to your
investigation. Be fair to
Scripture. ·
Let the Spirit help you find yourself in the text. The meaning of the words may have been
different for the original readers than it is for us. What do you think God would say to us today
on the issue? |
Conclusion:
|
· Summarize your conclusions. Recapitulate your thesis. |
Bloom’s
taxonomy is a tool for measuring the level of thinking one attains on any given
subject matter. These levels, which are
given in a loosely ascending order, are
1) knowledge (can spit back rote memorization and
define terms)
2) understanding (understands what those memorized bits
of data mean)
3) application (can take a theoretical concept and
apply it to a new situation)
4) analysis (can break down thought into its components
and explain its dynamics)
5) synthesis (can bring together learning from other
areas and relate it)
6) evaluation (can argue for or against a position
using clear reasoning)
As
they apply to the New Testament, they include such things as the following:
1.
knowledge – knows
names, places; perhaps can even quote Scripture and give references; can give
definitions for concepts like “patrons” or “clients”
2.
understanding –
understands the significance of those names and places in the first century and
what those verses meant when they were first written (for alternative ways of
reading the Bible, the understanding may be of an immediate and contemporary
meaning); understands concepts such as the patron-client system
3.
application – can take
an understanding of a name, place, concept, etc… and can apply that
understanding to a new situation (e.g. can take an understanding of how
Samaritans were viewed and apply it to the Parable of the Good Samaritan)
4.
analysis – can explain
the thought flow of a passage or explain the dynamics of an argument; can show
the presuppositions behind that argument or make suggestions as to why a gospel
presents the life of Jesus in a certain way (e.g. can explain how Paul uses the
common agreement that shorn hair on a woman was shameful and hinted of
promiscuity and use it to argue for veiling during prayer)
5.
synthesis – can
integrate learning from one area with another (e.g. can integrate the
sociological idea of patron-client relationships and relate it to the
theological question of how God relates to His people); can see how blocks of
text relate to one another
6.
evaluation – after
analyzing the presuppositions and context of Scripture, can abstract principles
to apply that Scripture to today
___ The paper refers to the New Testament in a significant way in order to address a specific topic (up to 60 points).
___ The paper recognizes the difference between
“that time” (the original context of the Scripture) and “this time” (our time
and our context)—(up to 5 points).
___ The paper has a thesis, which it states clearly
at some point (up to 5 points).
___ The paper has good grammar/spelling (up to 5
points)
___ The paper shows good organization/progression of
thought (up to 5 points).
___ The paper is aware of positions other than those
taken in the paper and is fair in its treatment of them (up to 5 points).
___ The paper indicates that research has gone into
the writing (up to 5 points).
___ X-cellence factor—the paper shows depth in the
way it breaks down the issue (analysis), the way it connects the issue to other
fields of knowledge (synthesis), and the way it applies general principles to
specific situations (application)—(up to 10 points).
Study Questions
Jesus is Lord (JL) and New Testament Readings
JL chapter 6
1.
Know key terms.
2.
How did
ancients identify themselves in contrast to Westerners today?
3.
Who is Yahweh?
4.
What role did
Moses have primarily for Jews at the time of Christ?
5.
What were some
of the various elements in the Jewish Law?
JL chapter 7
1.
Know key terms.
2.
What are the so
called “four pillars” of Judaism?
3.
What kinds of
titles are “Christ,” “Son of God,” and “Son of David”?
4.
What did
Messiah mean? Did Jews at the time of
Christ expect the messiah to be someone who descended from heaven? Were they looking for someone to take away
their sins? Did they expect the messiah
to be God in human flesh in a literal sense?
5.
How did the
Christian term “Lord” go beyond the Jewish expectations for a messiah?
JL chapter 14
1.
Know key terms.
2.
With what event
does the Gospel of Mark begin?
3.
How easy would
it have been for the people of the Bible to distinguish between a physical and
a spiritual problem?
4.
What is the
probable significance of the fact that Jesus chose 12 disciples?
5.
What did Jesus’
power over demons indicate?
6.
What was the
keynote of Jesus’ preaching?
7.
Did Jesus speak
in parables to make his message clearer?
8.
Does Jesus ask
people to believe in him much in Matthew, Mark, and Luke?
9.
In what region
of
The Gospel of Mark
1.
Does Mark begin
with the story of Jesus’ birth? If not,
what does it begin with?
2.
Does the actual
Gospel of Mark (not the later title) say who wrote it?
3.
Does Jesus
himself get baptized? By whom?
4.
What are the
kinds of things that Jesus does at the beginning of his ministry?
5.
What kinds of
people does Jesus hang around?
6.
How does Jesus
interact with some of the religious leaders?
With evil beings?
7.
Who are the
twelve disciples? Can you name them?
8.
What kinds of
things does Jesus have power over?
9.
How was Jesus
received in his hometown?
10.
How did John
the Baptist’s life end?
11.
What is a
miracle Jesus performed with bread and fish?
12.
What is Jesus’
attitude toward the Jewish food laws in Mark 7 according to Mark?
13.
What is Jesus’
attitude toward giving “signs” in Mark 8?
14.
What is the
turning point in Mark’s gospel, the point where Jesus starts thinking about his
coming death?
15.
When in Mark
does Peter first indicate that he knows Jesus is the Messiah (=Christ)? Does he really understand what this means?
16.
What is the
transfiguration? Who appears with Jesus?
17.
What happens when
Jesus enters
18.
What does Jesus
do the next day in Mark?
19.
What are some
of the questions Jesus’ opponents ask him?
20.
What does Jesus
predict in Mark 13?
21.
What are some
of the things that happen the night before Jesus’ crucifixion? Where does he eat and what is that dinner
called? Where does he pray? Where is he arrested? Who betrays him? Who denies him? Who first condemns him?
22.
Who officially
condemns him early in the morning?
23.
How does Jesus
die? Who helps carry his cross? Where do they crucify him? When do they start crucifying him and when
does he die? What sign is above his
head? What are his last words in Mark? What happens when he breathes his last? What does the centurion say?
24.
Where is he
buried? What Council did Joseph belong
to?
25.
Does Jesus
appear to anyone in Mark 16:1-8?
26.
Who discovers
the empty tomb in Mark? Who talks to
them there and what does he say? What do
the women do?
JL chapter 5
1.
Know key terms.
2.
Do we have any
of the original manuscripts of the New Testament?
3.
To what year
may the oldest fragment of a manuscript of the New Testament date?
4.
What is the
general rule scholars use for deciding which manuscript has the original
wording of the Bible and which manuscripts represent “corruptions” of the text?
5.
Are we in any
better situation to decide the original meaning of the Bible than those who
edited the King James Version four hundred years ago? Why or why not?
6.
Do modern
translations of the Bible take words out of the Bible or did the manuscripts
behind the King James Version add them in?
7.
What are the
two basic approaches to translation?
What are their respective goals?
JL chapter 13
1.
Know key terms.
2.
What was the
primary focus of ancient biographies?
Did they aim at historical completeness?
How rigorously did they stick to/check up on their sources?
3.
What are the
two main ways the word gospel can be
used with regard to the Bible? Do you
know of any ways Christians today use the word that is different?
4.
What was the
basic content of the “gospel” in Jesus’ earthly message?
5.
What is a genre
and how does it affect the way you read something?
6.
Do any of the
gospels have sequels? Which if any?
7.
Into which
ancient genres do the gospels possibly fall?
Which potentially fall in which?
Do you think the gospels might be unique genres, different from anything
in the first century? If so, how would a
person know how to read them?
JL chapter 4
1.
Know key terms.
2.
In what sense
is it not accurate to think of the Bible as a single book?
3.
Were Christians
agreed on which books were authoritative enough to be in the New Testament
canon from the very beginning?
4.
In what year
did someone suggest for the first time (we know of) that the list of books we
now have in the NT was in fact the right list?
5.
What are the
main possibilities for the first book of the NT to be written?
6.
What individual
was one of the first to come up with a “canon list”?
7.
What appear to
have been some of the key criteria for a book to be considered Scripture?
8.
Which books
seem to have faced the least debate over their inclusion in the NT canon?
9.
Which books
faced the most debate?
JL chapter 18
1.
Know key terms.
2.
Does Jesus
publicly proclaim that he is the Messiah in Mark?
3.
What are some
of the special emphases of Mark’s gospel?
4.
Did Jesus’ life
and death resemble what the Jews were expecting in a Messiah? How does the Gospel of Mark redirect their
expectations?
5.
How does Mark
portray the disciples? Is it sympathetic
to them?
6.
Who does the
Gospel of Mark itself say wrote it? With
whom has Christian tradition associated the writing of this book? With what apostle has Mark often been
associated?
7.
What would be a
good guess for about when the Gospel of Mark was written?
8.
What did Papias
have to say about the origins of Mark?
The Gospel of Matthew
1.
What do we find
at the very beginning of Matthew?
2.
Which of the
following do you find in Matthew’s presentation of Jesus’ birth and early
years: an angel or angels, Joseph, Mary, shepherds, wise men, Herod the Great,
slaughter of babies, Caesar Augustus, census, inn, flight to Egypt?
3.
What theme do
we find in Matt. 1:22; 2:5, 15, 17 and throughout the Gospel of Matthew?
4.
Note: Matthew
5-7 is called the Sermon on the Mount.
It has Jesus’ basic teaching on how to live in this world.
5.
Note: Matthew
5:3-12 are called the Beatitudes, the “blessed’s.”
6.
Did Jesus come
to do away with the Jewish law, according to Matthew 5:17?
7.
Whom does Jesus
say to love in 5:44?
8.
What is the
prayer in 6:9-13 called?
9.
Notice
7:12. The “Golden Rule” is the idea of
doing to others what you would want them to do to you.
10.
In Matthew 8
Jesus comes across a soldier with great faith.
Where has Jesus not found such great faith?
11.
According to
Matthew 9:12-13, who did Jesus come to call and who not?
12.
Where does
Jesus tell his disciples where to go and not to go in Matt. 10:5-6?
13.
What does Jesus
tell his disciples to “take up” in Matt. 10:38-39?
14.
In what cities
did Jesus do most of his miracles, according to Matt. 11:20-24?
15.
What invitation
does Jesus issue in Matt. 11:28-30?
16.
What does Jesus
give Peter in Matt.
17.
What is the
process for addressing someone who sins against you in Matt. 18:15-20? What authority does Jesus give the church?
18.
What happens to
the unmerciful servant after he doesn’t forgive someone else in Matt. 18?
19.
What legitimate
basis does Jesus give for divorce in Matt. 19:9? Was divorce part of God’s plan for Old
Testament times, given that He allowed it?
20.
What is easier
for a camel than for a rich person in Matt. 19:23-24?
21.
What is the
Parable of the Two Sons in Matt. 21:28-31 and how does 28:31-32 explain its
meaning?
22.
If Matthew was
thinking of the
23.
What group does
Jesus indict strongly for their hypocrisy in Matthew 23? Does Jesus say to obey the Pharisees teaching
or not to obey them in 23:2-3? Does
Jesus indict them for their attention to detail in
24.
Did Jesus know
when he would return with his angels, according to Matt. 24:36?
25.
According to
Matthew 25, what will happen to the sheep at the judgment? The goats?
26.
How many times
does Peter deny Jesus, according to Matt. 26:69-75?
27.
What does Judas
do with his thirty pieces of silver in Matt. 27:3-5? What does he then do? What do the priests do with the money?
28.
Whom does
Pilate release in Matt. 27:26 instead of Jesus?
What does Pilate’s wife tell him in 27:19?
29.
What happens
after the curtain of the temple rips in Matt. 27:51-52?
30.
Who had helped
care for Jesus during his earthly ministry in Matt. 27:55-56?
31.
What group is
placed at the tomb in Matt. 27:62-66?
What do they later tell the chief priests in 28:11-15 and what is their
response?
32.
Who are the
first to see Jesus rise from the dead in Matt. 28:8-10?
33.
What does Jesus
tell the disciples in
JL chapter 15
1.
Know key terms.
2.
What are some
of the special emphases of Matthew’s gospel?
3.
Name two ways
in which the genealogy of Matthew 1 indicates that Jesus is the Son of David.
4.
How does the
birth story in Matthew parallel Jesus with Moses?
5.
What other
aspects of Matthew point to Jesus as an authoritative teacher like Moses?
6.
In what way
does Matthew indicate that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament? Does Matthew largely interpret the OT in
context?
7.
What seems to
be Matthew’s attitude toward the Jewish law as far as Christians are concerned?
8.
Who was the
author of Matthew? What clues does the
Gospel itself give us?
9.
What did Papias
have to say about the gospel Matthew wrote, and how do these comments relate to
our current Gospel of Matthew?
JL chapter 8
1.
Know key terms.
2.
In what year
after Christ was the temple in
3.
Did more Jews
live in
4.
What language
did most Jews in
5.
To what “group”
did most Jews in
6.
Did Sadducees
believe in an afterlife?
7.
Did Pharisees
believe in an afterlife? What kind of
afterlife?
8.
To what
group(s) does various teaching in the New Testament sound similar?
9.
How did
mainstream Jews view Samaritans?
The Gospel of Luke
1.
To whom is Luke
addressed at its beginning? Does the
book itself name its author?
2.
Does Luke give
the story of Jesus’ birth?
3.
Which of the following
does Luke have in its birth story that Matthew does not: birth of John the
Baptist, angel to Mary, lots of “songs,” census under Caesar Augustus,
shepherds and angels, manger, presentation of Jesus in the temple?
4.
What event took
place when Jesus was twelve?
5.
What was Jesus
doing just before the Spirit descends on him in baptism, something the other
gospels don’t tell us he was doing?
6.
How is Luke’s
family tree different from Matthew’s?
7.
With what story
does Luke begin Jesus’ ministry (I call it his “inaugural address”) at
8.
Compare Luke
6:20-26 with Matt. 5:1-10. How is Luke’s
different? P.S. in Luke we call this
event the Sermon on the Plain.
9.
When John the
Baptist sends people to Jesus to ask him if he is the “one,” how does Jesus
respond (7:22-23)? How is the content of
this response similar to Jesus’ “inaugural address”?
10.
How does Luke
7:35 compare to Matt. 11:19? What might
this say about what Matthew thinks Jesus is?
11.
What women
followed Jesus in Luke 8?
12.
Where was Jesus
sleeping around that time?
13.
Who does Jesus
send out in chapter 10?
14.
What is the
Parable of the Good Samaritan, recorded only in Luke?
15.
What happens at
the home of Martha and Mary, recorded only in Luke?
16.
What does
Jesus’ exorcist ministry indicate, according to 11:20?
17.
What is the
parable of the rich fool, unique to Luke?
18.
What do the
parables of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Lost Son (Prodigal Son) have in
common? The last two are unique to Luke.
19.
What is the
Parable of the Shrewd Manager about?
What is the story of the rich man and Lazarus?
20.
How many people
are healed of leprosy in chapter 17?
21.
Where is the
22.
What are the
parables of the Persistent Widow and the Pharisee and the Tax Collector about?
23.
Who is
Zacchaeus and what does he do, another story unique to Luke?
24.
What does Jesus
predict about
25.
What will we be
like in the resurrection (20:36)?
26.
How stressed is
Jesus in the garden in 22:44?
27.
To whom does
Pilate send Jesus in chapter 23, uniquely told in Luke?
28.
What happens on
the cross in Luke that isn’t told elsewhere?
29.
To whom does
Jesus appear first in Luke? How many men
at the tomb appear to the women?
30.
Who runs to the
tomb?
31.
What happens on
the way to Emmaus?
32.
Does Jesus
appear to anyone in
33.
Where does he
tell the disciples to stay and why? What
does Jesus then do? What do the
disciples do after that?
JL chapter 19
1.
Know key terms.
2.
Luke is the
first volume of a two volume work. What
is the second volume?
3.
Into which
ancient genre do these two volumes best fit?
4.
What are some
of the special emphases of Luke’s gospel?
5.
If Matthew
focuses on Jesus’ mission to Jews, on what aspect of Jesus’ person and message
does Luke focus?
6.
Whom does Luke
understand the “poor” to be?
7.
Who are some of
the “downtrodden” that Luke highlights as targets of Jesus’ ministry?
8.
What is Luke’s
approach to women in relation to Jesus’ ministry?
9.
How much
emphasis does Luke put on prayer in contrast to Matthew and Mark?
10.
Does the text
of Luke give us the name of the author?
Who has tradition always claimed to be the author? Was Luke a Jew or a Gentile?
11.
For what date
does the textbook argue in terms of when Luke was written?
JL chapter 20
1.
Know key terms.
2.
What is the
“synoptic problem”?
3.
What are two
reasons why the suggestion that the Holy Spirit inspired the disciples to
remember the exact words of Jesus not
explain the striking similarities between the wording of Matthew, Mark, and
Luke?
4.
Why does the
suggestion that God dictated the words to the gospel writers not really explain
their similarities either?
5.
Could an
ancient storyteller have conceivably memorized an entire gospel?
6.
Were the
ancients listeners or readers?
7.
Would it work
to say these stories circulated independently of one another to explain the
similarities or does the oral solution require us to suppose they had
practically an entire gospel memorized?
8.
What is the
Griesbach Hypothesis? The Four Source
Hypothesis? What is Q?
9.
Why do most
scholars favor Markan priority over Matthean?
JL chapter 24
1.
In what way is
the typical Christmas story unlike any of the gospel accounts of Jesus’s birth?
2.
In what ways
does Matthew portray the birth of Jesus so that he resembles or evokes images
of Moses?
3.
In what way
does Luke’s portrayal of the birth of Jesus resonate with other themes Luke
highlights in his gospel?
The Gospel of John
1.
What was in the
beginning?
2.
What was the
relationship between the word (logos)
and God?
3.
How did
everything come into existence, according to John 1?
4.
What was the
function of John the Baptist?
5.
What did the
word become in 1:14? P.S. This is called
the incarnation.
6.
What came
through Moses? What came through Jesus
Christ?
7.
Does John the
Baptist claim to be Elijah in John 1?
Compare Matthew 11:14.
8.
What does John
the Baptist call Jesus in John 1?
9.
Where does
Jesus call his first disciples in John?
Compare e.g., Mark 1:14-20.
10.
What does Jesus
turn water into in John 2, where does he do it, and who encourages him to do
it?
11.
What does Jesus
do in the second half of John 2? Compare
e.g., Mark 11.
12.
How much sooner
is this a trip to
13.
With whom does
Jesus meet in John 3? What does he tell
him in 3:3? In John 3:16?
14.
Where did Jesus
come from in 3:13; 6:33, 38; 8:23; 17:24?
15.
What do Jesus’
disciples do in John 3:22-26, 4:2 unique to John?
16.
With whom does
Jesus meet in John 4? What does Jesus
have to offer her (4:10)?
17.
What does Jesus
tell her about her past?
18.
What does Jesus
acknowledge he is in John 4:25-26? How
does this compare to, e.g., Mark 8:29-30?
19.
What is the
result of Jesus’ talk with the Samaritan women (4:39)?
20.
What was the
second miraculous sign Jesus performed? (4:54; cf. 2:23)
21.
What happened
at the pool in
22.
With whom did
Jesus equate himself (5:18)?
23.
What miracles
does John share with the other gospels in chapter 6?
24.
What “I am”
statements appear in 6:35, 8:12, 58; 9:5; 10:7, 11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1?
25.
What happens
after Jesus talks about eating his flesh and drinking his blood in chapter 6?
26.
Had the Spirit
been given yet while Jesus was ministering on earth (7:39)?
27.
What happens in
the first part of John 8? Do all
manuscripts have this story?
28.
Whom does Jesus
say are Abraham’s children in John 8?
Who are the Devil’s children?
29.
What Feast does
Jesus attend in John 10:22? P.S. This is
Hanukkah.
30.
What is Jesus’
attitude toward his death in 12:27?
Compare Mark 14:36.
31.
What does Jesus
wash in chap. 13? What is Peter’s
reaction?
32.
What disciple
do we first hear about in 13:23?
33.
What was Jesus
going to prepare and where (14:3)?
34.
What is the
relationship of Jesus and the father (14:10)?
35.
What was Jesus
going to send (14:16)? What would he do
(14:26; 15:26; 16:8, 13)?
36.
What does Jesus
ask for God to do for him in 17:5? For
the disciples in 17:11, 17? For whom
does Jesus pray in 17:20? P.S. This
chapter is often called Christ’s high priestly prayer.
37.
Does John tell
us about Jesus’ praying in the
38.
To whom is
Jesus taken in 18:12-14? Does John tell
about Jesus’ meeting with the Sanhedrin (cf., e.g., Mark 14:53ff)? Who questions Jesus in 18:19ff?
39.
Why don’t the
Jews enter the palace where Pilate is in 18:28?
Compare Mark 14:16.
40.
What hour is it
in 19:14? Compare, e.g., Mark 15:25, 33.
41.
In what
languages was the sign above Jesus’ head written?
42.
What does Jesus
tell Mary from the cross?
43.
What two things
does John tell us Jesus says from the cross?
44.
What do they do
to hasten the death of the thieves in John?
What does the soldier do to Jesus?
45.
Did the author
of John witness this event (19:35)?
46.
In what kind of
location was Jesus’ body put?
47.
Who first finds
the empty tomb in John 20? What two
people then run to the tomb? Who
believes?
48.
To whom does
Jesus first appear in John? What does he
tell her?
49.
What authority
does Jesus give the disciples in 20:23?
50.
Who wasn’t
there when Jesus made this appearance?
What does he say he’d need to do to believe?
51.
Why was the
Gospel of John written (20:31)?
52.
What happens in
John 21?
53.
Which disciple
stands behind the Gospel of John (21:24)?
JL chapter 25
1.
Know key terms.
2.
Name four
differences between John presentation of Jesus and those of the synoptic
gospels.
3.
Why was John
written?
4.
How does John’s
treatment of faith differ from the other gospels?
5.
What might the
statement “In the beginning was the Word” have meant to John’s first audience?
6.
How does John’s
portrayal of Christ’s pre-existence differ from the other gospels?
7.
What is the
“incarnation”?
8.
How does John
use “I am” statements?
9.
Who are two
candidates for the author of John?
JL chapter 26
1.
Know key terms.
2.
How does the
Gospel of John’s portrayal of John the Baptist differ from that of the other
gospels?
3.
What is one
suggestion for why the Gospel of John might have portrayed John the Baptist in
this way?
4.
What are the so
called “seven signs” in the first half of John?
From where have some scholars argued that these verses came?
5.
How does John
sometimes connect the various “signs” Jesus performs with “I am” statements?
6.
Does Jesus
travel to
7.
What are some
of the Jewish festivals John mentions Jesus attending? How does John use them to indicate truths
about the significance of Jesus.
8.
In what ways
does the Gospel of John allude to the Eucharist and baptism by way of events or
teachings in Jesus’ ministry?
9.
Do you think
John is more of a figurative, symbolic and spiritual gospel or a fairly
straightforward historical presentation?
Why?
Mid-Term
Acts 1-7
1.
What is the
former book to which Acts 1:1 refers?
2.
To whom is Acts
dedicated?
3.
What did Jesus
do for forty days after his resurrection?
What happened on the fortieth day?
4.
What does Jesus
tell his disciples to wait on and where were they to wait?
5.
What do they
ask him in 1:6 and what is Jesus’ response?
6.
Where will they
witness to Jesus? Acts 1:8 is the key
verse of Acts.
7.
What happened
on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2)?
8.
What were some
of the places the people in
9.
Who would
prophesy (2:17)?
10.
What theme do
you find in 2:24; 3:15, 26; 4:10; 5:30; etc.
11.
What has God
made Jesus at his exaltation to God’s right hand (2:35-36)?
12.
What did the
crowd need to do in response to Peter’s message and what would happen as a
result (2:38)?
13.
About how many
were added to the number that day?
14.
What kinds of
things did the believers do in
15.
What does Peter
do in Acts 3?
16.
About how many
believers are there at this time (4:4)?
17.
In whose name
alone is salvation found (4:12)?
18.
What happened
to Ananias and Sapphira?
19.
Who all were
becoming believers in 5:14; 6:7?
20.
Who is arrested
in 5:18? What happens to them? What does Gamaliel say?
21.
Who is there an
argument between in Acts 6? How do they
settle the argument?
22.
Who is seized
and stoned in Acts 6 and 7?
23.
What story does
Stephen tell in Acts 7?
JL chapter 29
1.
Know key terms.
2.
To whom is Acts
apparently dedicated?
3.
To what other
New Testament book is Acts a sequel?
4.
What are the
special emphases of Acts, how to they relate to the special emphases of Luke
and how does Acts bring them out?
5.
What is the
genre of Acts?
6.
When does
Schenck argue that Acts was written?
Acts 8-14
1.
Who approved of
Stephen’s death (8:1)?
2.
Where does the
gospel go to next (8:1)? What happens to
believers next?
3.
Where does
Philip go?
4.
What doesn’t
happen after some Samaritans are baptized and how is the problem fixed?
5.
Who tries to
buy the power of giving the Holy Spirit?
6.
Who believes in
the second half of Acts 8? What is his
first comment after hearing the message (8:36)?
7.
Who becomes a
Christian in Acts 9 and how? What results
after Paul’s coming to Christ (9:31)?
8.
What miracles
does Peter perform in Acts 9?
9.
Who receives
Christ in Acts 10? How does it happen?
10.
What conclusion
do the believers reach after the Cornelius incident (11:18)?
11.
To whom do the
Christians start to speak (11:19-21)?
12.
Where were the
disciples first called Christians (11:26)?
13.
What do Paul
and Barnabas take to
14.
Who was the
first disciple to die? Who was intended
to be second and what happened?
15.
Who dies at the
end of Acts 12?
16.
What two people
does the Holy Spirit set apart in Acts 13?
17.
What island do
they go to? P.S. This journey all
together is usually called Paul’s First Missionary Journey.
18.
What was Saul’s
other name (13:9)? Had Paul been a
Christian very long when he started using this name?
19.
What are some
of the cities on the mainland of Asia Minor (modern day
20.
Who went back
to
JL chapter 35
1.
Know key terms.
2.
Who were the
“Judaizers” in the early church? Does
Acts consider them to have been Christians?
3.
Who were
Antinomians, Ebionites, and Docetists?
4.
Did Paul and
James appear to have agreed on every issue?
If not how might they have differed in perspective?
5.
What was the
argument between Peter and Paul apparently about?
6.
Do you think
that Paul continued to keep most of the Jewish law after he became a Christian?
7.
What is your
reaction to the idea that there was this much diversity within the early
church?
Acts 15-28
1.
What does the
church debate in Acts 15? What is its
conclusion? Who gives the final
word? What four things does the church
ask of Gentile converts? P.S. This event
is often called the Jerusalem Council.
2.
What do Paul
and Barnabas disagree about in Acts 15:36-41?
Who goes with who where? P.S.
This journey all together is usually called Paul’s Second Missionary Journey.
3.
Who do Paul and
Silas pick up at Lystra in Acts 16? What
does Paul do to him?
4.
Where do they
go next (16:10)?
5.
What woman
becomes a Christian at
6.
Where do Paul
and Silas end up at the end of Acts 16 and why?
What happens at midnight? What
does the jailer ask Paul and how does Paul respond? How does the jailer respond?
7.
What do we find
out about Paul in Acts 16:37?
8.
When Paul comes
to a new town, where does he always seem to go first (e.g., 17:2)?
9.
Name four
places Paul goes in Acts 17 and the first part of 18?
10.
What couple did
Paul run into at
11.
What trade did
Paul practice (18:3)?
12.
How long did
Paul stay at
13.
Where do
Priscilla and
14.
After he went
to
15.
What is
Christianity more often called in Acts (e.g., Acts 19:9)?
16.
Why is there a
riot in
17.
With whom did
Paul meet when he arrived in
18.
What happened
to Paul at the temple?
19.
What was the
plot to kill Paul? Who foils it? Where do they take Paul?
20.
With whom does
Paul share the gospel in chapter 24?
What was Felix hoping for from Paul (24:26)?
21.
How long was
Paul imprisoned at
22.
Before what two
Roman officials does Paul appear in Acts 25 and 26? What does Paul do in 25:10? What was Agrippa’s verdict (26:31-32)?
23.
What happened
to Paul’s ship in transit to
24.
How do the Jews
receive Paul when he gets to
25.
How long was
Paul in his own rented house from then on (28:30)?
JL chapter 36
1.
Know key terms.
2.
What kind of
person was Saul/Paul before he became a Christian?
3.
Using the key
aspects of ancient personality, describe Saul/Paul?
4.
How well did
Paul think he kept the Jewish law before he became a Christian?
5.
Was Paul a
Roman citizen, according to Acts?
6.
Are Paul’s
letters arranged in the New Testament in the order in which he wrote them? If not, how are they arranged?
7.
Which of Paul’s
letters do most scholars think was written first?
8.
What other
letter do some think he wrote first?
JL chapter 37
1.
Know key terms.
2.
More than
anything else, to what group did Paul see himself as an apostle?
3.
Did Paul seem
to struggle with a guilty conscience before he became a Christian?
4.
Were the
particular arguments Paul used as important to him as his conclusions?
5.
What does it
mean to be justified?
6.
Did Paul throw
out the Jewish law in its entirety?
7.
What was the
essence of the Jewish law for Paul?
8.
To which
concept did Paul refer more—to justification by faith or to being incorporated
“in Christ”?
9.
In what sense
was Sin cosmic for Paul?
1 Thessalonians
1. To what location was 1 Thessalonians written?
2. What does 1:9 likely indicate about the ethnic
make-up of the audience?
3. From what will Jesus rescue (=save) us, something
that Paul said was coming?
4.
What had
happened to the “authors” of 1 Thessalonians in
5.
Had Paul been
able to complete his stay in Thessalonica?
6.
According to
3:1-2, whom did Paul and Silas send back to Thessalonica from
7.
To what did
Paul, Silas, and Timothy link sexual purity in 4:3?
8.
What metaphor
did Paul use for death in 4:13 and throughout 1 Thessalonians?
9.
Who would come
with Jesus when he returns? From what direction
would they come first?
10.
Who would
living Christians meet in the air? Where
would they all be from then on?
11.
What was the
“Day of the Lord”?
12.
What seems to
have been the resultant state of sanctification in 5:23?
2 Thessalonians
1.
What would be
the fate of those who do not know God and who disobey the gospel of Jesus?
2.
What message
had the Thessalonians apparently received from a forged letter alleging to be
from Paul, Silas, and Timothy?
3.
Did Paul,
Silas, and Timothy indicate that the Day of the Lord had already occurred?
4.
What two things
would precede the Day of the Lord?
5.
Who would set
himself up in God’s temple, exalting himself over everything that is called
God, proclaiming himself to be God?
6.
Why had this
figure not yet appeared? When would this
figure appear?
7.
Who would
destroy this lawless one?
8.
What would
accompany this figure, lending credibility to him?
9.
What was the
rule that Paul, Silas, and Timothy gave the Thessalonians?
10.
What problem at
Thessalonica did these comments reflect?
11.
From whom did Paul,
Silas, and Timothy say not to associate?
12.
What does Paul
do “with his own hand” at the end of 2 Thessalonians and why does he do
it? How regularly does he do it in his
letters?
1 Corinthians
1.
Along what lines were some divisions at
2. Did God send Paul with words of human wisdom? What did Christ not send Paul to do?
3. Were any of the Corinthians wise, influential, or of noble birth? If so, how many?
4. Did Paul think of the Corinthians as spiritual? What did he think of them as?
5. What is the only legitimate foundation for the church “building”?
6.
What does 4:18-21 say about Paul’s opponents at
7.
About what kind of sexual immorality at
8.
Was 1 Corinthians the first letter Paul wrote to
9. Whom would saints judge eventually?
10. Did Paul believe Christians should take one another to court?
11. Who
would not inherit the
12. What happened when a person joined with a prostitute? Did Paul encourage such a person to try to marry the prostitute in such cases?
13. Compare 7:1 in several translations (note also the marginal note in the NIV). Does 7:3-7 appear to be about whether to marry or whether to have sex?
14. In 7:7-8 does Paul consider marriage or celibacy the better scenario?
15. What apparently was Jesus’ instruction on divorce in 7:10? Did Jesus allow for a divorced woman to remarry?
16. In 7:26, what is Paul’s rationale for remaining in whatever marital state you find yourself?
17. What question of the Corinthian church does Paul address in 8:1?
18. If the Jewish “Shema” believed that there is only one God, whom does 1 Cor 8:6 add to the equation?
19. What setting does Paul picture in 8:10? Where is the meat sacrificed to an idol being eaten in this scenario?
20. What is Paul’s operative principle in 8:13?
21. Did Paul believe an apostle had a right to receive support from those to whom he (she?) ministered?
22. What does 9:5 imply about the marital status of Peter and James?
23. How strongly did Paul believe his call to evangelism was?
24. What was Paul’s missionary policy with regard to Jews and non-Jews? How did he deal with their particular scruples?
25. Did Paul believe it was possible for him to miss out on salvation in the end even though he was apostle (9:27)?
26. Did Paul believe it was possible for a Christian to be victorious over temptation (10:13)?
27. What other situation relating to meat that has been sacrificed to an idol did Paul discuss in 10:25? What was his advice?
28. What further situation relating to meat that has been sacrificed to an idol did Paul discuss in 10:27-30? What was his advice?
29. What is the bottom line in 10:31?
30. What does 11:5 assume that women can do in church?
31. Should a man cover his head in prayer or uncover it? Should a woman cover her head in prayer or uncover it?
32. What
was going on during the Lord’s Supper at
33. Is one part of the body more significant than any other?
34. According to 12:30, does Paul expect everyone to speak in tongues?
35. How does love compare in significance to tongues, prophecy, knowledge, etc…?
36. What are some of the characteristics of love?
37. Of prophecy and tongues, which does Paul encourage more for the Corinthians (14:1-2, 5)?
38. What is the main draw back to the use of tongues in worship, according to 14:2, 4, 5, 7-12, 13-17, 19?
39. Did Paul speak in tongues (14:18)? Do you think he was being tongue in cheek here in reference to his ability to speak numerous languages or that he really did privately speak in ecstatic speech (cf. Rom 8:26)?
40. Under what circumstances did Paul allow the use of tongues in public worship?
41. How do you fit 11:5 with 14:34-35?
42. Did Paul forbid speaking in tongues?
43. According to Paul, who was the first witness of Christ’s resurrection and who the last?
44. Do
any of the Christians at
45. In what way was the future resurrection of the Corinthians linked with the resurrection of Christ?
46. With what kind of a body would the Corinthians return from the dead?
47. Who is the “last Adam”?
48. Would the resurrection bodies of the Corinthians be anything like Christ’s resurrection body?
49. What
was Paul wanting the Corinthians to send to
50. Where was Paul when he wrote 1 Corinthians?
51. The phrase “Marana tha,” “Our Lord, come,” is Aramaic and indicates the expectation of Christ’s return originated in Palestinian Christianity.
JL chapter 2
1. Know key terms.
2.
According to
Schenck, do Christians today read the Bible in the same way the original
audiences of the books did?
3.
What does
Schenck mean by a “personal” interpretation of the Bible? Do such interpretations read the Bible in
context or out of context?
4.
For whom was
the Bible written? In what sense could
it have been written for more than one context?
5.
What does
Schenck mean when he calls the Bible a “sacrament of revelation”?
6.
What does
Schenck mean by “community” interpretations of the Bible?
7.
How does reading
the Bible in context affect the way we apply it to today? Would we still apply it directly?
8.
What is the
Apocrypha?
JL chapter 42
1.
Know key terms.
2.
What is the
general rule for deciding whether your interpretation of Scripture is right in
terms of how God wants you to live and act today?
3.
What were some
types of sex in which Paul explicitly said Christians could not participate?
4.
Did Paul
directly address the question of pre-marital sex? If not, what would his answer likely have
been?
5.
What was Paul’s
advice concerning sex within marriage?
6.
Did Paul teach
different things with regard to remarriage after divorce depending on whether
you were talking about a man or a woman?
7.
Did Paul think
Christians should take each other to court?
Why or why not?
8.
Which was more
important for Paul: the rights and freedoms of an individual Christian or love
and concern for the spiritual well being of fellow Christians?
9.
What was the
bottom line of Paul’s teaching regarding meat offering to idols?
10.
What are Paul’s
basic guidelines on the use of tongues in Christian worship?
JL Chapter 40
1.
Know key terms.
2.
What attitude
does Romans take toward homosexual practice?
3.
Does Paul see
homosexual sins as worse than all others?
4.
What do you
think the book means by the phrase “celibate homosexuals”?
5.
What is the New
Testament’s attitude toward sin in the life of a Christian?
6.
What does
Schenck say Romans 7:14-25 is about?
Does he think it is about sin in the life of a Christian?
7.
Is Romans 9-11
more about individuals or about Jews and Gentiles?
8.
How does
Schenck resolve the predestination/free will debate in Paul’s writings?
9.
What is the
TULIP?
10.
What is the
difference between eternal security as most current Calvinists believe it and
the original perseverance of the saints?
11.
Does Schenck
think it is possible for someone to fail to be saved even if they were assured
of salvation at one point?
12.
What does the
New Testament imply about keeping the law of the land?
2 Corinthians
2. What trip did he originally intend that he was not
able to follow through on?
3. What do we learn of from 2 Cor 2:1-2 and 7:8? Is this event recorded in Acts? Is this letter in the New Testament?
4. How frequently does Paul use words relating to the
idea of encouragement, reconciliation, and comfort in the first nine chapters
of 2 Corinthians?
5. What is anyone who is in Christ in chapter 5?
6. With what mission had God entrusted Paul?
7. Did Jesus sin?
What did God make Jesus for us?
8. To what does “godly sorrow” lead?
9. What subject did Paul discuss in chapter 8 that he
also discussed in 1 Corinthians 16?
10. Is the tone of 2 Cor. 10-13 the same or different
from the tone of the first 9 chapters?
11. What does Paul defend in chapters 10-13? Do you think the “super-apostles” mentioned
in these chapters are the same leaders to which Paul’s opponents in 1
Corinthians subscribed?
12. What “human” qualifications does Paul give in
chapter 11?
13. What mystical experience does Paul tell about in
chapter 12?
14. What messenger of Satan did God allow to persist
toward Paul?
Galatians
1. About what is Paul astonished in Galatians?
2. Does Paul claim to have received his gospel from the apostles? If not, how did he arrive at it?
3. What was Paul like before he became a Christian?
4.
Did Paul immediately go to
5.
How long after Paul became a Christian was it before he
went up to
6. Where was he before then?
7.
Who all of the
8.
How long after this visit was the next trip to
9. Why did he go that time?
10. What did he put before Peter, James, and John then? Did they correct him on his message?
11. Does Paul discuss these “pillars” with great respect for their positions in the church?
12. What
did Peter and Paul argue over in
13. Do you think Paul “won the day” that time? Would he have told us if he had?
14. How does one become “justified”? By keeping the Jewish law?
15. Memorize Galatians 2:20.
16. Of what does Paul use Abraham as a model?
17. What is the promise to Gentiles given to Abraham?
18. Which came first, the promise/covenant or the Mosaic law?
19. Of what things is there neither in Christ?
20. What kinds of things are the Gentile Galatians doing to which Paul objects as a slap in the face of Christ?
21. Because of what circumstances did Paul first preach to the Galatians?
22. What contrast does Paul make by allegorizing the story of Sarah and Hagar?
23. What is the consequence of trying to be justified on the basis of the Jewish law?
24. What does Paul wish on the agitators of the Galatians?
25. What sums up the entirety of the Jewish law?
26. What
is the result of “walking in the Spirit” in
27. What are the fruit of the flesh and what are the fruit of the Spirit?
28. What counts for Paul in contrast to circumcision and uncircumcision?
Romans
1. Did Paul consider himself to be an apostle?
2. To whom was Romans addressed?
3. Did Paul found the churches at
4.
According to 1:6,
do you think the audience of Romans was primarily Jewish or Gentile (cf.
11:13)?
5. What is the gospel for everyone who has faith?
6. What is revealed in the gospel?
7. What has been revealed from heaven against
ungodliness in 1:18?
8. How known are God’s invisible qualities to everyone?
9. What sin does 1:23 seem to target?
10. What sin does 1:26-27 seem to target?
11. Does God show favoritism to the Jew because they are
Jews?
12. Does Paul see sin as both a Gentile and a Jew problem?
13. Can anyone be justified by keeping the Jewish law,
according to Paul?
14. Memorize Romans 3:23.
15. What function did Christ’s death serve in 3:25?
16. Does justification come through our works (of the
Jewish law)?
17. Did Paul claim that Abraham was justified by works
(did James agree, contrast James 2:21, 24)?
18. Memorize 5:8.
19. What is the timing of salvation in 5:9?
20. What things followed Adam’s sin?
21. Through whom did righteousness enter the world?
22. Why did God introduce the law into the equation?
23. Does Paul envisage a Christian continuing to sin
after being justified by the blood of Christ?
24. Memorize Rom 6:23.
25. What did the law arouse in us when we were “in the
flesh” (7:5, 11; cf. 1 Cor 15:56)?
26. Does Paul view the Jewish law as a good or a bad
thing (7:12-14)?
27. What element in the equation did Paul blame for an
inability to keep the law in 7:17?
28. According to 8:9, can a person be a Christian and
not have the Spirit?
29. How does 8:2 move us from the realm of the
pre-Christian without the Spirit, enslaved to sin under the law to a person who
is a slave to righteousness?
30.
What does 8:4
say that a person can fulfill when we walk
according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh (cf. Gal 5:16)?
31.
Is the creation
in bondage to sin, as well as humanity?
If so, how did it come to be so?
32. Who intercedes for us in 8:26 and how?
33. Can anyone separate us from God’s love and
justification?
34.
Did Paul have a
strongly negative attitude toward his fellow Jews who had not accepted Christ
(9:1-5)?
35. What was Paul’s hope for ethnic
36. Memorize Rom 10:9.
37.
What did Paul
believe would be the final outcome with regard to the salvation of ethnic
38.
In the light of
his preceding argument, as what did Paul encourage the Romans to present
themselves to God?
39.
Did Paul
encourage civil disobedience in Romans 13 or submission to secular authorities?
40.
Does Paul
believe that the Sabbath commandment in the Ten Commandments is still in force
among Christians (cf. 14:5)?
41.
What partial
definition of sin did Paul give in 14:23?
42.
To what
location did Paul hope to go beyond
43.
Of whom does
Romans 16 serve as a letter of commendation, perhaps the individual to whom
Paul entrusted the letter of Romans?
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon
Ephesians
1.
With regard to
the phrase “in
2.
How many words
in 1:4-14 give you a sense of predestination or determinism (cf. 3:11; 4:1,
7)? Are these words talking about
individuals or a group? What group?
3.
Have we already
been raised (2:6)? Where are we seated?
4.
In the language
of Ephesians, have we already been saved (2:5, 8)? By means of what? Do Christians and works go together?
5.
Who is the
peace between Jew and Gentile (2:14)?
6.
What was the
barrier between the two (2:15)? Through
whom and by whom do we have access to the Father (2:18)?
7.
What is the
foundation of the church (2:20)? What’s
another metaphor for the church (2:21)?
8.
Who are “God’s
holy apostles and prophets” mentioned in (3:5)?
9.
What is the
mystery about which Paul has been talking (3:6)?
10.
What are some
of the things there is only one of (4:4-6)?
11.
What are some
of the roles Christ has apportioned (4:11)?
12.
What advice
does Ephesians give about anger (4:26-27)?
13.
What metaphor
does Ephesians build on the wife-husband relationship?
14.
What is the
first commandment with promise?
15.
With whom is
our true struggle (6:12)?
16.
What are the
various components of the armor of God and what do they represent?
Philippians
1.
To what city
was Philippians written?
2.
How often does
he use words like joy, rejoice, or something similar?
3.
How often does
Paul mention or allude to the importance of unity?
4.
What situation
did Paul find himself in as he wrote this letter?
5.
What did Paul
believe would be the outcome of his current situation?
6.
Where would he
go if he died?
7.
What was Jesus’
attitude and what would it mean for us to imitate it?
8.
Note:
Philippians 2:6-11 is often taken to be an early Christian hymn.
9.
How did
Epaphroditus happen to be with Paul? Why
were the Philippians concerned for him?
10. Who did Paul tell the Philippians to watch out for?
11. How well did Paul think he kept the Jewish Law?
12. What was Paul’s attitude toward these things behind
him?
13. Did Paul think he was a good example to follow?
14. What two women at
15. How had the Philippian church helped Paul in the
past?
16. Was Paul anxious and discontent in his present
circumstances?
Colossians
1.
What was Paul’s
situation as he writes (1:24; 4:3,18)?
2. What Colossian individual is mentioned twice in the
letter as a “fellow servant” of Paul (1:7), a faithful minister to Paul on
behalf of the Colossian church (1:7-8), perhaps a minister to the churches of
Laodicea and Hierapolis as well (4:12-13)?
3. Can you find a hymnic or poetic rhythm to Col
1:15-20? What are the two “He is the”
statements?
4. Through what has God reconciled all things (1:20)?
5. Had Paul ever been to
6. For what did Paul wish the church to watch out (2:4,
8)?
7. Did Paul tell them to keep the Sabbath (2:16)?
8. What are some “earthly” behaviors (3:5, 8-9)?
9. What are the respective roles of wife, husband,
children, fathers, slaves, and masters?
Does Paul argue against slavery?
Does he encourage slaves to work for their freedom?
10. Where was Onesimus from (4:8)? Did Paul talk about him as if he were an
estranged slave?
11. How was Mark related to Barnabas (4:10)?
12. What was Luke’s occupation (4:14)?
Philemon
1. In what situation did Paul seem to find himself as
he wrote this letter?
2.
To what
individuals was Philemon addressed? Was
it a strictly private communication or was a group listening in?
3.
For what things
did Paul commend Philemon in 4-7?
4.
For whom did
Paul appeal to Onesimus?
5.
Paul was
sending Onesimus back to Philemon. What
would he have rather done?
6.
What
specifically did Paul ask of Philemon in this letter (verse 17)?
7.
What leverage
did Paul use in verse 19?
8.
Did Paul ever
clearly ask Philemon to set Onesimus free in this letter?
1 and 2 Timothy, Titus
1
Timothy
1. To whom was it written?
2. At what location did Timothy seem to be as Paul authors this letter?
3. What seems to have been a problem there (1:3-4)?
4. Was the false teaching related in any way to the Jewish Law (1:7-8)?
5.
Note:
Paul never refers to his teaching as “doctrine,” a body of belief, in any of
his earlier writings (cf. 1:10).
6.
How
often does the phrase “Here is a trustworthy saying” appear in 1 Timothy?
7. How many individuals does God want to be saved (2:4)?
8.
Note:
Paul never refers to himself as a teacher (2:7) in any writing before the
Pastoral Epistles.
9.
How was a woman to learn? Could she teach or have authority over
men? Could she speak in the presence of
a man (
10. What
is the logic of the statement that “Adam was formed first, then Eve” (
11. What
is the logic of
12. “The
woman, since she has been deceived, has come to be (and still is) in
transgression.” How will she be “saved”
from this on-going state (
13. What are the qualifications of an overseer?
14. What are the qualifications for a deacon?
15. What is 1 Timothy’s view of money (3:3; 6:5-10, 17-19)?
16.
What
will happen in the “later times” (4:1)?
17. How was Timothy to relate to older men, younger men, older women, younger women?
18. What is the nature of the false teaching 1 Timothy addresses (1:3-4; 4:1-5,7; 6:4,20-21)?
2 Timothy
1. Who was the recipient?
2. Where does Paul seem to be as he writes (1:17)?
3. What is Timothy to pass on to reliable men (2:2)?
4. What is the basic content of Paul’s gospel (2:8)?
5. How does Paul describe false teachers (2:14, 16, 23)?
6. What will happen in the last days (3:1)?
7. From where does Scripture come (3:16)? What is it useful for? What does it equip us for? From the perspective of 2 Timothy, to what does this verse include as Scripture?
8. How much longer does Paul expect to live?
9. Who supported Paul at his first defense? Who stood by his side?
Titus
1. To whom is Titus written?
2. Why did Paul leave Titus and where?
3. What is Titus to appoint in every town?
4. What are the qualifications of an elder?
5. Is it possible to claim to know God and yet show you do not by your actions?
6. What advice does Paul give to older women?
7. What advice does Paul give to young men?
8. What advice does Paul give to slaves?
9.
Who is “God our Savior” in
10. What
is the nature of the false teaching in
Chapter 47
1.
Know key terms.
2.
Was the ancient
world an oral or a literate culture by and large?
3.
What does it
mean to say that a writing is pseudonymous?
4.
Do we know of
any pseudonymous writings from before or after the time of the New Testament? Does this fact imply that the practice was,
at least in some circles, generally known and accepted?
5.
Did most book
and letter-writers in the ancient world do the actual handwriting of the
documents? If not, who did?
6.
What is
ghostwriting?
7.
Would you have
a problem with the suggestion that 1 Peter or Colossians was mostly composed by
Silas or Timothy (respectively), with Peter and Paul nevertheless approving of
the content?
8.
Do most
conservative scholars accept the idea that there are pseudonymous writings in
the New Testament?
9.
What opinion
did at least some early Christians seem to have on this issue?
10.
How much force
do arguments about style have?
11.
What are the
arguments for and against the pseudonymity of 2 Peter? Which option do you favor?
12.
What are the
New Testament books that some scholars think are pseudonymous?
Chapter 50
1. Know key terms.
2. Should we always mimic what God told the original
audiences of the NT to do?
3. Did the NT writings prohibit or limit the Christian
use of slaves or slavery?
4. Did Paul tell Philemon to set Onesimus free?
5. What does it mean to say that 1 Peter reflects a
“defensive strategy”?
6.
How are the
positions of the household codes the same and different from the views of the
ancients toward husbands, wives, etc. at the time?
7.
What does
Schenck mean by looking for the “Christ trajectory”?
8.
Do you think
the discipline the Bible advocates toward children was as mild as the spankings
some advocate today?
Hebrews
1. Through whom has God spoken formerly and through whom has he spoken in
these last days (1:1-2)?
2. Now seated at God’s right hand, whom has he now become greater than
(1:4)?
3. What is the primary function of angels Hebrews mentions in 1:14?
4.
Does the author consider himself
an apostle—someone who has seen the risen Christ (2:3)?
5. For whom did Jesus taste death (2:9)?
6. Why did Jesus take on flesh (2:14)?
7. Who holds the power of death (2:14)?
8. How is it that Jesus can help us when we are tempted (2:18; 4:15-16)
9. What condition is placed on being a part of God’s household (3:6)?
10. Why didn’t those of the wilderness generation enter
11. On what day do we enter God’s rest (4:7)?
12. To what does Heb 4:12 compare the word of God?
13. What does Heb 4:14 encourage the audience of Hebrews to do?
14. What is the job of a high priest (5:1)?
15. What does the audience of Hebrews need to relearn (5:12)?
16. What is impossible to do after one has “fallen away” from Christ (6:4-6)?
17. What example from the Old Testament does Hebrews use to show that God
keeps His promises (chap 6)?
18. What priest is Jesus like from the Old Testament?
19. What is the primary characteristic of a priest after the order of
Melchizedek (7:3,16,24)?
20. Is the earthly sanctuary the true sanctuary (8:2)?
21. What is the difference between the old and new covenants (chap 8)?
22. What can’t earthly sacrifices actually cleanse and what do they actually
cleanse (9:9-10; 10:2-3)?
23. What has Christ’s death done away with (10:18)?
24. What has Christ done with one sacrifice (10:14)?
25. What happens if we continue to sin willfully when we know the truth
(10:26)?
26. Was the audience faithful in its meeting together (10:25)?
27. What had the audience of Hebrews been like in days of earlier persecution
(10:32-34)?
28. What is Hebrews 11 about? What do
all these witnesses have in common?
29. What does Hebrews 12 compare those whom God disciplines to?
30. What will happen to the created realm when Christ returns (12:27)?
31. Do we have a true homeland on earth?
If not, where is it? (11:15-16; 12:22; 13:14)?
32. What does Hebrews call itself (13:22)?
The General Epistles
James
1.
To whom is James addressed (1:1)?
2.
What kind of circumstance are we to consider “joy” (1:2)?
3.
Where is true wisdom to be found (1:5; 3:15)?
4.
What kind of a giver is God (1:5,17)?
5.
What is something God doesn’t do (1:13)?
6.
What is the “perfect law that gives freedom” (1:25;
2:8,12)?
7.
What is true religion according to James (1:27)?
8. How does James
indicate you should treat a rich person who comes into your synagogue (2:2)?
9.
Whom does God exalt—the rich or the poor (1:9; 2:5)?
10.
Who does James indicate exploits the audience (2:7)?
11.
Who is guilty of breaking the whole Jewish Law (2:10)?
12.
Do the demons believe (=have faith) in one God (2:19)?
13.
Was Abraham justified by his faith or his actions (2:21)?
What about Rahab?
14.
Is a person justified by faith alone according to James
(2:24)?
15.
Faith without what is dead (2:26)?
16.
What is the danger of becoming a teacher (3:1)?
17.
Who is a perfect person (3:2)?
18.
What are the contrasting natures of the wisdom from above
and from below (3:15-17)?
19.
What is the origin of fights and quarrels (4:1)?
20.
Why doesn’t the audience receive from God when they ask
(4:3)?
21.
What is the implication of being friends with the world
(4:4)?
22.
The bottom line: to whom are we to submit (4:7)?
23.
What happens when we resist the Devil (4:8)?
24.
What definition of sin does James give (4:17)?
25.
What two OT figures does James mention in chapter 5—what
does each illustrate?
26.
What does the prayer of faith do for the sick physically?
spiritually (5:15)?
27.
What are we to confess to each other (5:16)?
28.
What can the prayer of a righteous person do (5:16)?
29.
What should we do when we see someone wandering from the
truth (5:19-20)?
1 Peter
1. Did Peter have any
help writing the letter (5:12)?
2. To whom is it written?
3. What image of
“becoming a Christian” does Peter use in 1:3,23; 2:2?
4. What is the situation
of the audience (1:6; 3:14; 4:12)?
5. What is the benefit of
trial (1:7)?
6. Exactly what was clear to the prophets of the Old
Testament and the angels about the sufferings of Jesus (1:10-12)?
7. Given the theme of
ignorance, is the audience of 1 Peter more likely Jew or Gentile (1:14,18;
2:9-10; 4:3)?
8. Because God is
_______, we must also be __________ (1:16).
With what does Peter contrast living in this way?
9. Is the audience made
up of long time or fairly recent Christians (2:2)?
10. What are we as
Christians taken together (2:5,9)?
11. What is the function
of governors (2:14)?
12. In what way is the
appropriate attitude of slaves toward their masters similar to the appropriate
attitude of people toward their rulers (2:18)?
13. What does Peter
encourage when a master is abusive and harsh (2:18-20)? How does Peter connect Christ’s example to
the situation of the abused slave (2:21)?
14. What did Christ bear
on the cross (2:24)?
15. How does the attitude
Peter encourages wives to have relate to that of slaves (2:18) or people to
their rulers (2:13)?
16. How should a women
adorn herself (3:3-5)?
17. What did Sarah call
Abraham (3:6)?
18. What are husbands to
treat their wives as (3:7)?
19. What attitude are we
to have when we are harmed for doing right (3:14)?
20. In what context does
Peter say we are to have an answer prepared (3:15)?
21. What do the waters of
the flood symbolize (3:21)?
22. With what does
physical suffering do away (4:1)?
23. What does love cover
(4:8)?
24. What does Peter think
the suffering of Christians in his day is the beginning of (4:17)? What will it end with?
25. What does Peter call
himself in relationship to those he addresses (5:1)?
26. What two leadership
roles in the church does Peter seem to equate (5:1,2)?
27. To whom are young men
to submit (5:5)?
28. What are we to do
under God’s mighty hand (5:6)?
29. What are we to cast on
him?
30. Who is prowling around
looking for someone to devour?
31. What will God do for
us after we have suffered a while (5:10)?
32. From what location is
1 Peter written (5:13—but see an introduction)?
33. Beside Peter, who else
greets the audience?
2 Peter
1. Who is the author of 2
Peter?
2. To whom is it
addressed?
3. What things does 2
Peter encourage us to add to our faith?
4. What are we to make
“sure” (1:10)?
5.
When did Jesus make clear to
Peter that he would die a martyr’s death?
See John 21:18-19.
6. What is the
origination of prophecy—the interpretations of a prophet (1:20)?
7. What does Peter
predict will be among its audience (2:1)?
8. What by product will
this false teaching bring (2:2)?
9. Does money play into
these false teachers in any way (2:3, 14-15)?
10. Does sexual immorality
play into their false teaching in any way (2:14, 18)?
11. Who are the prophets of 3:2?
12. What are the scoffers saying about Christ’s second coming (3:4)?
13. Who are the fathers of 3:4? When
was the promise of Christ’s second coming made?
14. Out of what was the
world formed (3:5)?
15. How will the world
come to its end (3:7,10,12)?
16. What is a day like for
God (3:8)?
17. How does 2 Peter’s perspective on the Lord’s return contrast with 1 Peter
(4:7,17)?
18. What will happen after
the world is destroyed (3:13)?
19. To whom did Paul write his letters (3:15), the same audience as 2 Peter?
20. In this light, what is happening to Paul’s letters at the time 2 Peter is
being written?
21. Is it possible to fall
from a “secure” position (3:17)?
Jude
1. Who is the author of
Jude?
2. Who is his brother?
3. To whom is Jude
addressed?
4. What does Jude
encourage Christians to contend for (3)?
5. Who have slipped into
Christian communities (4)?
6. What kinds of
practices do they do (4)?
7. Whom do they deny (4)?
8.
Where does Jude find his basis
for 6? Cf. 1 Enoch 10:12: “bind them for
seventy generations underneath the rocks of the ground until the day of their
judgment…”
9.
Compare Jude 6, 7, etc… to 2
Peter2:4, 6, etc….
10. What sin were the
inhabitants of
11. What do these
individuals do to “celestial beings”?
12. What example does Jude
9 use to say that we should not bring slanderous accusations against angelic
beings, even Satan?
13. Note: This story apparently comes from a work known as the Assumption of
Moses. Does this story appear in Peter’s
version (2:11)?
14. What do these men “blemish”
in the Christian community (12)? What do
you think this comment refers to?
15. Do they claim to be
leaders or teachers in some way (12)?
16. Where does Jude get Enoch’s prophecy in 14-15? Cf. 1 Enoch 1:9: “Behold, he will arrive with
ten million of the holy ones in order to execute judgment upon all. He will destroy the wicked ones and censure
all flesh on account of everything that they have done, that which the sinners
and the wicked ones committed against him.”
17. Does Jude consider
himself to be an apostle (17)?
18. What did the apostles
say would come in the last days (18)? Compare 2 Peter 3:3.
19. Whom are we to
“snatch” and where are we to snatch them from (23)?
20. What is God able to
keep us from doing (24)?
21. What can he present us
without?
1 John
1.
Does the author claim to be an
eyewitness of Christ (1:1)?
2.
What is the nature of God (1:5)?
3.
What does John say about someone
who would claim never to have sinned (1:8, 10)?
4.
Why is John writing in relation
to sin (2:1)?
5.
If a person does sin, what’s next
(2:1-2)?
6.
What is the old and new command
John is writing (2:9-10)?
7.
What had John’s community
recently have happen (2:19)?
8.
Who is an antichrist (2:22)?
9.
What is sin (3:4; 5:17)?
10. How much sin is in the life of a believer (3:9)?
11. What are those who hate their brothers and sisters in Christ (3:15)?
12. How will a believer with material means act (3:17)?
13. How are we to love? In word or in
deed (3:18)?
14. What are we to do with the claims of prophets in the church (4:1)?
15. What is one key to knowing whether a prophetic claim is from God (4:2)?
16. What is the nature of God in 4:7-8, and what does it mean for how we
should live?
17. What does perfect love do to our confidence in God (4:18)? What if our heart still troubles us (3:20)?
18. Why did John write (5:13)?
19. What do you think a “sin unto death” is (5:16)?
2 John
1. To whom is 2 John written? Is this a person or a church?
2. What is the command John is writing (5)?
3. What characterizes the false prophets of
7?
4. Is it possible for them to “lose” what
they had worked for (8)?
5. What is the warning John gives about
welcoming traveling teachers (10)?
3 John
1. To whom is 3 John written?
2. Whom has Gaius welcomed (5-7)?
3. How do these traveling teachers get their
support (7-8)?
4. Who refuses to accept John’s authority or
the teachers John sends (9-10)?
5. Whom does John commend to Gaius (12)?
Revelation
1.
What is this
book a revelation of?
2.
When did John
say its prophecies would take place (1:1, 3)?
3.
What kind of
words does 1:3 say Revelation has?
4.
To whom was
Revelation principally written (1:4)?
5.
How does the
Lord God describe himself (1:8)?
6.
On what day of
the week did John receive this revelation and where was he (1:9, 10)?
7.
How does Jesus
look when he appears to John?
8.
Which of the
seven churches receives no reprimand at all?
9.
Which church
had “lost its first love”?
10.
Which church
was “lukewarm”?
11.
Where does
chapter 4 take place, and who do the twenty-four elders worship?
12.
Who do they
find worthy to open the scroll in chapter 5?
How is he symbolically portrayed?
13.
How many seals
are on the scroll? What kinds of things
happen as each seal of the scroll is opened?
14.
Where are the
144,000 located when they are sealed in chapter 7?
15.
What have the
great multitude in 7:9-17 come out of?
16.
After the
seventh seal is opened, what happens next?
How many of these are there? What
kinds of things happen as each of these occurs?
17.
What do the two
witnesses, the two “olive trees” do?
18.
Who do you
think the dragon of chapter 12 represents?
19.
Give that the
woman of chapter 12 gives birth to the Messiah (12:5) and retreats to the
desert (12:6, 14), who might you guess she is?
20.
Describe the
beast of the sea according to 13:3 and 7.
21.
Describe the
function of the beast of the land in 13:12 and 13.
22.
How does the
beast of the land affect the ability of people to buy and sell (13:16)?
23.
What is the
number of the beast of the sea’s name (13:18)?
24.
What is the
destiny of those who worship the beast (14:9-11)?
25.
What do the
seven angels of chapter 15 bring?
26.
What do the
seven angels pour out in chapter 16?
27.
Where does the
final battle take place (16:16)?
28.
What title is
on the forehead of the woman of chapter 17 (17:5)? What is she sitting on?
29.
How is the
beast described in 17:8?
30.
How would
someone in John’s day have understood 17:9-11?
What city had seven hills from which a series of kings ruled? Therefore, what does the woman represent
(17:18) and who does the beast seem to represent?
31.
What happens to
“
32.
How do the
angels’ reactions in 19:10 and 21:8-9 differ from Jesus’ in 1:17?
33.
What happens to
Satan for a 1000 years in chapter 20?
P.S. This is called the millennium.
34.
Who is a part
of the first resurrection at the beginning of the millennium (20:4-6)?
35.
What happens
after the 1000 years is up?
36.
What is the
great white throne judgment?
37.
Who is involved
in the second resurrection and what is the second death (21:8)?
38.
How is everyone
judged?
39.
What is the new
heaven and new earth like? What things
are missing (21:1, 4, 22; 22:3, 5)?
40.
Where is the
new Jerusalem? In heaven or on earth?
41.
What warnings
appear at the end of chapter 22 to those who would add or take away from the
prophecies of Revelation?
JL chapter 53
1.
Know key terms.
2.
What three
genres does the book of Revelation fit into?
3.
What kind of
literature is an “apocalypse”?
4.
What are the
four basic approaches to Revelation?
Which one sounds most accurate to you and why?
5.
What is the
bottom line of the book of Revelation?
6.
What is the
image of Christ we see most often?
7.
What number
plays the most significant role in the book of Revelation?
8.
What are some
other significant numbers in the book?
9.
In popular
Christianity, what is the “Tribulation”?
10.
What are the
three positions on the rapture?
11.
How closely
does popular Christian prophecy teaching correspond to the teaching of the book
of Revelation?
12.
Who are the two
beasts in Revelation? How would a
preterist view these?
13.
What are the
three basic positions on the millennium?
Which one sounds most accurate to you and why?
14.
What are some
of the differences between Revelation and the Gospel of John?
Chapter 54
1. In what way is the Bible a witness to saving events?
2. What is the rock bottom foundation of traditional
Christianity?
3.
What role does
Schenck suggest the church and the Spirit might play in appropriating the Bible
to today?
4.
How does
Schenck suggest the Bible might be a sacrament of revelation?
Final Exam