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New Testament Theology for College Students presents the subject in its simplest form to give readers a basic understanding. Chapter one gives a definition of New Testament (NT) theology to guide the reader to focus on what each writer of a NT book says about major theological themes. A brief history of how NT theology evolved is discussed in the chapter, followed by a methodology for studying NT theology.

Chapter two discusses the Synoptic problem and the solutions scholars have proposed in solving it. Why is a greater portion of Mark found in Matthew and Luke? How do we account for the portions of Matthew and Luke that are not in Mark; and the portions of Luke that are not in Matthew and Mark? Granted that the three gospels were written from the same perspective as scholars say, what do they teach about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, and Last Things? Theology of the Acts is the subject that chapter three discusses. It focuses on what Luke, the writer teaches about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Salvation, and the Church. Acts provide considerable material for understanding the birth and growth of the Church. What theological topics does James teach? Chapter four answers this question. The Scriptures, God, Man, Sin, and Salvation are the contributions of James to the theological discussion of the New Testament.

Since Paul’s letters constitute almost half of the New Testament, chapter five discusses the theological themes that run through his letters. The theology of Paul focuses on God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Sin, Salvation, Church and Last Things. Theology of the book of Hebrews is the subject of chapter six. In this chapter, we find what the author says about God, Christ, the Holy Spirit and Salvation.

The theologies of Peter and Jude are discussed in chapter seven. These books are put together in this chapter because they have fewer chapters but gives insight to major theological topics such as Christ, Salvation, the Scriptures, the Christian Life, the Church, and Last Things.

You might be wondering why John is not mentioned when we discussed the theology of the Synoptic gospels. The reason is that John is written from a different perspective. As such his theology is gleaned not from the gospel of John alone, but also from the letters of John and the book of Revelation. John’s contribution to New Testament theology is found in topics that are scattered in his writings: Revelation, the World, the Incarnation, Atonement, the Holy Spirit, and Last Things. This is the focus of chapter eight.

So New Testament theology is a discussion of the major theological topics gleaned from the writings of the books of the New Testament. Chapter nine has some questions to test students’ understanding of the book. The book can be used as a textbook at the college level, to help the student understand what the New Testament teaches. The chapters constitute a course outline. Some of the chapters are quite long; they can be treated in two or three lectures. It is hoped that both lecturers and students will find this book useful.