The New Testament in Seven Sentences
We often explore individual passages of Scripture without seeing the whole. A verse may be inspiring and easy to grasp, but the sweeping context is often difficult and requires persistence. To understand the breadth of the gospel's message, we need to perceive the full tapestry of Scripture with its theological themes woven together. Otherwise, we miss the scope of what Jesus is doing in the New Testament, gaining mere glimpses of his activity or teaching but missing their significance.
Gary M. Burge aims to weave this larger tapestry so that each part of the story takes on richer meaning. Using seven key sentences drawn straight from the New Testament, Burge demonstrates how the themes of fulfillment, kingdom, cross, grace, covenant, spirit, and completion set a theological rhythm for our faith. The seven include
- "You are the Messiah, the son of the living God!"
- "By grace you have been saved, through faith … not by works."
- "You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession."
- "I saw a new heaven and a new earth."
These sentences are not only individually inspiring, but they outline the broader pattern of Scripture that illustrates what God has done—and is bringing to fulfillment—in Christ.
"Burge gives us a panoramic vision of some of the major themes in the Scriptures in this wonderfully accessible book. Sometimes we plunge into reading the Scriptures without an understanding of its larger story line, and we all know that it is difficult to understand the parts of a story without having a grasp of the whole picture. Burge unpacks the meaning of the Messiah, cross, Spirit, and new creation, along with other central themes. This book is a great tool for personal reading, for group studies, and for preachers and students."
"Burge wakes up his readers to the provocation that is the gospel of Jesus Christ. That which many modern readers assume as commonplace (i.e. Jesus came to die on a cross for my sins), shocked the beliefs and lives of the first Christians. With rootedness in history and careful attention to the beauty of the text, Burge invites readers to do the hard—and very good—work of understanding the overarching message of the Christian faith."