For a master copy of the outline, click here: Basic Bible Doctrine
To Listen on YouTube, click here: An Overview of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation (Part 6) - Acts to Philemon
3. The Book of Acts
A. The book of Acts (The Acts of the Apostles) was written in the first century AD, likely in the 60's AD.
B. The book of Acts was written by Luke (Act 1:1 c/w Luk 1:3).
C. Acts begins on the day of Pentecost which was a Jewish feast that Jews from all over the known world had come to Jerusalem to participate in.
i. On that day the church was filled with the promised Holy Spirit and they all began to speak in the languages of the Jews that were there from 16 different nations.
ii. Peter preached a sermon to them and they were convicted in their hearts and about 3000 of them were baptized and added to the Jerusalem church that day.
D. The church in Jerusalem grew greatly.
E. There arose a persecution of the church in Jerusalem and the church scattered and Christianity began to spread to Samaria and north to Antioch.
F. In Acts 9, the conversion of Saul of Tarsus who became the apostle Paul is recorded.
G. In Acts 10 God sends Peter to preach the gospel to the Gentiles for the first time.
H. in Acts 11 Paul joined with the church of Antioch.
I. In Acts 13 Paul was sent on his first evangelistic trip to Asia Minor, after which he made two more trips the whole way to Greece where he started many churches,
J. Paul would later write letters to many of those churches, which make up much of the New Testament.
K. Paul was taken into custody in Jerusalem, and because he appealed to Caesar, he was sent to Rome to be tried.
L. The book of Acts concludes with Paul preaching the gospel to people who came to see him in house-arrest in Rome.
4. The Epistles
A. The book of Romans
i. The book of Romans is a letter to the church of Rome by Paul which was written around 58 AD.
ii. Romans contains much teaching about sovereign grace and many other topics, both doctrinal and practical.
B. The book of 1 Corinthians
i. The book of 1 Corinthians is a letter to the church of Corinth by Paul which was written around 57 AD.
ii. 1 Corinthians was a scathing rebuke of the church of Corinth for their immaturity, tolerance of sin in the church, abuse of the Lord's Supper, and other things.
C. The book of 2 Corinthians
i. The book of 2 Corinthians is another letter to the church of Corinth by Paul which was written around 58 AD.
ii. 2 Corinthians was a follow-up letter to the first letter written about a year later in which Paul commends them for how they had received and acted on the first letter.
iii. Paul also warns them to clean up their act because he was coming for another visit and didn't want to find them in sin and disorder.
D. The book of Galatians
i. The book of Galatians is a letter to the churches of Galatia by Paul which was probably written around 55-57 AD, though some scholars date as early as the late 40's AD.
ii. Galatians is another epistle in which Paul is condemning error in churches.
iii. The churches of Galatia had been infiltrated by Pharisees (Jewish religious leaders) and had been deceived into believing that salvation was by the works of the law and not by grace alone, which idea Paul systematically destroys in the epistle.
E. The book of Ephesians
i. The book of Ephesians is a letter to the church of Ephesus by Paul which was written between 58-64 AD when he was a prisoner in Rome.
ii. Ephesians begins with one of the most elegant discourses on sovereign grace and also covers the bringing together of Jew and Gentile in the NT church, the purpose of the ministry, family life, and spiritual warfare.
F. The book of Philippians
i. The book of Philippians is a letter to the church of Philippi by Paul which was written between 63-64 AD when he was a prisoner in Rome.
ii. Philippians is thought to be the last of Paul's epistles to the churches.
iii. In it Paul speaks frequently of his imprisonment in Rome, which resulted in the conversion of many in Caesar's household.
G. The book of Colossians
i. The book of Colossians is a letter to the church of Colosse by Paul which was written between 58-64 AD when he was a prisoner in Rome.
ii. The book of Colossians is a good commentary on the book of Ephesians since they cover many of the same topics.
H. The book of 1 Thessalonians
i. The book of 1 Thessalonians is a letter to the church of Thessalonica by Paul which was written between 48-53 AD.
ii. 1 Thessalonians was one of the earliest of Paul's epistles.
iii. In it Paul writes about election, holy living, the second coming of Jesus Christ, and much more.
I. The book of 2 Thessalonians
i. The book of 2 Thessalonians is another letter to the church of Thessalonica by Paul which was written between 48-53 AD.
ii. In it Paul writes about the second coming of Jesus Christ, the end-time events, church discipline, the importance of working, and much more.
J. The book of 1 Timothy
i. The book of 1 Timothy is a letter to a pastor named Timothy by Paul which was written between 61-67 AD.
ii. 1 Timothy is the first of the three pastoral epistles.
iii. Paul ordained Timothy to the ministry.
iv. In this epistle, Paul instructs Timothy about many things which he needs to know to be a good minister such as the importance of prayer, male leadership in the church, the qualifications for pastors and deacons, the importance of reading and studying the word of God, how to relate to variously aged people in the church, servants, and wealth.
K. The book of 2 Timothy
i. The book of 2 Timothy is a second letter to Timothy by Paul which was written between 61-67 AD.
ii. In this epistle, Paul reminds Timothy of sovereign grace, exhorts him to ordain other men who will be able to teach others, tells him how to deal with heretics, warns him about the perilous times of the last days, and charges him to preach the word and do the work of an evangelist.
L. The book of Titus
i. The book of Titus is a letter to a pastor named Titus by Paul which was written between 61-67 AD.
ii. Titus was another pastor that Paul ordained and he tells him much of the things as he did Timothy.
M. The book of Philemon
i. The book of Philemon is a letter by Paul to a friend of his named Philemon which was written between 58-64 AD.
ii. The epistle to Philemon was written while Paul was in prison in Rome.
iii. While in prison at Rome, Paul met a slave named Onesimus who had escaped from his master, Philemon.
iv. Paul converted Onesimus and sent him back to Philemon with a letter asking Philemon to forgive Onesimus and charge anything that Onesimus owed him to Paul's account.
v. The epistle to Philemon is a lesson on how to win friends and influence people.
