Act 28:31
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preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness, unforbidden [by any]. {NOTES: Please read the Definitions Section and other non-bible sections to understand the MLV better.} {{ Introduction to the Christian Letters After you know about who Jesus was in the first four books and have followed an example of how to become a Christian in Acts, then comes the remainder of the New Testament. A collection of letters written to Christians, helping them to know how to live their lives for Christ Jesus after they are saved from their sins. These letters are where the word grace or favor is used with Christians in the New Testament. They were not arranged in chronological order so to read and learn from them as God intended, it is better to follow the order of the Simple Reading Schedule. This way each letter will build upon the others. You will also have some preparation before you read Romans, a very intense letter and hard for most to understand. Each letter deals with specific issues and problems that different groups of Christians were struggling with at the time of the writing. The most common problem was that Jewish false teachers were binding the Gentile Christians under the Law of Moses. However, up front, the Law, spoken of in the letters is in a very generalized way as Law vs. the Law most often. It is the old covenant of God, the Old Testament from Genesis through Malachi. The first nine letters are written by the apostle Paul to specific congregations of the Lords body in various cities and are named for the area in which those Christians lived. The next four letters are written by Paul to specific Christian individuals who were working with congregations. The letter to the Hebrews was written to help Jewish Christians understand that the Old Testament had fulfilled its purpose in pointing people to something so much better: Jesus the Christ. The letters of James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Jude were all written to Christians in various areas, and the letters are named after the writer. The book of Revelation is a combination of letters from Christ Jesus to specific congregations, and a prophecy given as a reminder to Christians to stay faithful even in persecution because God is the one ultimately in control.}} {{ Introduction to Romans 58 AD The Romans had their problems with Jewish Christian false teachers also. But Paul first addressed homosexuality, which was a common practice in Rome at the time. Emperor Nero was a classic example. Paul puts it in blunt terms in 1 Cor. 6:9: they will not inherit the kingdom of God. In the next few chapters, Paul deals with: various quotes of the O.T., why the Jews of his day are not heirs of the faith of Abraham, and that Christ was the fulfilment of that promise to Abraham, long before the Mosaic Law was given. In chapter 6, Paul gives us one more aspect about immersion, the death, burial, and resurrection, same as our Lord. Chapter 7 shows the contrast of a married couple and remarriage, but the whole point is that you cannot keep the Old Covenant of God and also be married to the New Covenant of Jesus, for otherwise God would call you an adulteress. Paul speaks of his (and our) war between what we want to do vs. what we are to do in Christ and how nothing can ever keep us from the love of God. Chapter 9 goes back to the argument against the Jewish false teachers. In Chapter 10, Paul addresses the same problem with the Israel of then and many false religious groups of today,they have a zeal of God, but not according-to full knowledge. Then Paul speaks of the reports from the apostles that brought them to Christ. In Chapter 11, Paul speaks that it was always Gods plan to have the Gentiles and Jews under one covenant. In Chapters 12-14, instructions on how to live as a Christian, and governments in Chapter 13. In Chapter15, Paul returns to more about the Law of Moses vs. the Law of Christ. Ending with Pauls typical farewells.}} [Romans 1]