The Rambling Disciple

The book of Romans is quite possibly the most read and studied book in the entire New Testament, if not the whole Bible. It is the longest epistle and covers a wide variety of topics so there is something for everyone, to use a phrase. The first great Reformers, such as Martin Luther, based the majority of their theology off of Romans. In fact it was by reading Romans that Luther came to realize what he did about faith and salvation. Given the sheer amount of importance placed upon this letter, it should be no surprise that countless volumes of research of every kind has been done on Romans. In fact I wouldn't be shocked if there were more Romans specific scholars than Old Testament scholars! So let's take a look at Romans and see what some of the major themes are and if there is a unifying point to the whole book. Background The book of Romans was probably written in AD 57. This, however, is disputed. We do know for sure that Paul wrote it in Corinth. The question is wh

1 and 2 Thessalonians largely deal with the same issues. This is largely due to the fact that they were written to the same group of Christians at about the same time. Paul, who is staying in Corinth, is sending these letters with Timothy as he journeys back and forth to report on the status of the churches. While they deal with the same overarching theme, the second coming of Jesus, they are still both unique. 1 Thessalonians was generally more positive and gave more advice on how to live the Christian life. 2 Thessalonians, as we shall see, addresses how the return of the Christ will solve the problems of persecution afflicting the believers. Background The background of 2 Thessalonians is very similar to 1 Thessalonians. Paul was in Corinth for over a year and a half, and during that time he sent Timothy and Silas out to the congregations they had previously founded. They returned with reports and Paul would write letters to the churches. 2 Thessalonians was written shortly a

On Paul's second missionary journey he made his way through Greece, preaching the good news of Jesus Christ as he went. He journeyed through such towns of Athens, Philippi, and Thessalonica. Many came to believe in Jesus because of Paul's preaching. The journey through Greece climaxed in Corinth, where Paul ended up staying a year and a half. While there Paul would send Silas and Timothy out to the cities they had visited to check on the churches. They returned from Thessalonica with some interesting reports. Background 1 Thessalonians was probably written by Paul around AD 50, early in his 18 month stay in Corinth. He had sent Timothy to Thessalonica to see how the new Christians were doing. Timothy returned with an interesting report; the believers weren't doing anything.  Now when I say anything, I don't mean the way we typically think of it. Someone may not be doing anything with their life even though they have a job and a family. In our culture this mea

In the book of James we saw Christians struggling with believing all the right things but not living out that faith. These were Jewish Christians who were used to thinking of themselves as the chosen people who had God's favor (and subsequently salvation) no matter what. James wrote to them to remind them that faith without works is dead and to give them some very practical advice on how to live the Christian life. The next book that was written in the New Testament was the letter to the Galatians, and here we have a very different story. The Christians living in the region of Galatia, which is mainland Turkey, were primarily Gentiles. They struggled with a different issue than the Christians addressed by James; the Galatians thought they had to earn salvation through works. Background The letter to the Galatians was written by Paul, who wrote nearly half of the New Testament books. When it comes to ordering the New Testament books by the date they were written, there will a