New Testament Summaries

Acts – (Chronicles some of the journeys of the Apostles)

Chap 1. Jesus is taken up into Heaven and the disciples are told to wait for the Holy Spirit to come.
Chap 2. The Holy Spirit comes, they speak in tongues, and 3000 people accept Jesus as their Lord.
Chap 3-4. Peter and John heal a crippled man and get persecuted by the Jewish leaders.
Chap 5. The Apostles continue to testify that Jesus is the only way to heaven and continue to be persecuted.
Chap 6-7. Stephen is stoned for proclaiming that Jesus is the Savior of the world.
Chap 8-28. The truth about Jesus spreads throughout the known world as Peter talks to the Jewish people
and Paul talks to the Gentiles (all non-Jews).

Romans – (Explains the foundational truths about Christianity)

Chap 1. Every human being knows deep inside that God is real. It’s part of our human make up.
Chap 2. God created a set of laws to explain to us what is right and wrong. Everyone is expected to follow
their conscience and allow God to teach them how to live.
Chap 3. Because mankind chose to sin and break God’s moral laws, we lost our relationship with Him.
None of us are able to live up to God’s expectations. Jesus came to the earth to die in our place (sin put us
under a death sentence and on the road to Hell). Jesus paid our price and if we have faith in Him we
become righteous again before God.
Chap 4. You can never be “good enough” to get into heaven. Only through faith in Jesus Christ, that He
died for your sins, can you have eternal life. Abraham was justified by his faith in God, not by the good
things he did.
Chap 5. Adam’s disobedience to God brought death to the world. Jesus’ obedience to God has brought life
to the world. All we need to do is accept Him.
Chap 6. When we accept Jesus, He removes our sin and our desire to sin so that we can live for God and
have a relationship with Him.
Chap 7. If we keep trying to do things in our own strength we will fail miserably.
Chap 8. If we let God lead our lives we’ll find success and victory.
Chap 9-16. God is Sovereign over the whole world and is allowed to judge all mankind for either accepting
or rejecting His son Jesus.

1 Corinthians – (Writing to one of the churches Paul founded in order to help deal with their issues)
Chap 1-3. Paul is upset with them for allowing divisions in the church. He pleads with them to fix it.
Chap 4-5. Paul reminds them of his God-given authority to teach them how to live, and he judges a man
who is sleeping with the man’s step mom.
Chap 6. Paul explains what kind of judgments are allowed and how Christians need to flee sexual
immorality.
Chap 7. Paul tells them that because they can’t stop being sexually immoral they should get married. But if
people are able to restrain themselves from pre-marital sex then they should just live for God.
Chap 8-10. Christian’s have a freedom in Jesus to do many things but we always need to submit it to God
for His approval.
Chap 11. Explains how to take communion.
Chap 12-14. Explain spiritual gifts and how learning to love each other is better than all gifts.
Chap 15-16. Discuss resurrection from the dead. Every Christian has the guarantee of being raised to live
with Jesus.

2 Corinthians – (The Corinthians wrote back to Paul after 1 Corinthians. Now Paul responds)
Chap 1. Paul chose not to visit them because he would have been harsh to them since they were so divided
and were living with sins.
Chap 2. The man from 1 Corinthians 5 repented from sleeping with his step mom and Paul tells the church
to forgive him.
 Chap 3-6. Paul talks about how being a Christian is an amazing calling and how our present persecutions
and troubles don’t compare to the glory we will have when we die.
Chap 7. Paul says he realizes his first letter made the church sad but he is happy he wrote it and that they
changed.
Chap 8-9. Generosity is encouraged. Christians need to help each other out and show the love of God.
Chap 10-11. Paul vs. false teachers. Paul tells them to watch out for people who would lead them away
from Jesus.
Chap 12. Paul had a vision of heaven and the Lord humbled him so he wouldn’t become filled with pride
because of how much God used him.
Chap 13. Paul reminds Christians to test themselves everyday to make sure they’re living for Jesus.

Galatians – (Another church founded by Paul. They were mixing Jewish customs with Christianity)
Chap 1. Paul tells them not to be deceived by another gospel. Only believe the original teaching about
Jesus.
Chap 2. Paul was accepted by the original apostles and therefore his message is sound. Paul even confronts
Peter about having a Jewish favoritism when it comes to loving people (we must love everyone and tell
them about Jesus).
Chap 3-4. Paul argues that the Jewish law never brings salvation. Only Jesus.
Chap 5-6. Through Jesus we have life and the Holy Spirit teaches us how to live without sin.

Ephesians – (Another church founded by Paul. He reminds them about how great Jesus is)
Chap 1-3. Through Jesus we have access to every spiritual blessing and will receive an inheritance in
Heaven.
Chap 4. Christians should love each other and be united. Divisions are immature.
Chap 5-6. Husband should love wife. Wife should respect husband. Children should obey parents. Parents
shouldn’t burden children. Slaves should submit to masters. Masters should treat slaves well. Everyone
should fight against sin and live for Jesus.

Philippians – (Yet another church founded by Paul. Suffering for Jesus is well worth the price)
Chap 1. Paul is in prison for talking about Jesus. He says suffering for Jesus is the least he can do for God.
Chap 2. Paul explains that we should be humble as Jesus humbled himself and died on a cross for our sins.
Chap 3. Our natural bodies and their desires don’t mean anything. Living for Jesus is all that counts in the
end. Whatever we do for Christ will live on for eternity.
Chap 4. Paul thanks the Philippians for being generous and continuing to advance the truth about Jesus.

Colossians – (Church founded by Paul. He tells them Jewish customs aren’t the way to be saved)
Chap 1. Jesus is supreme over all creation because He made it.
Chap 2. We’re free from having to follow man’s traditions in order to follow Jesus. Human tradition is
never able to save anyone.
Chap 3-4. Paul tells them to live holy lives and reiterates the relationships between husband wife, parent
child, slave master.

1 Thessalonians – (Church founded by Paul. Talks about the return of Jesus)

Chap 1. Jesus will return and rescue those who believe in Him from going to Hell.
Chap 2-3. Paul loves the Thessalonians and is glad to see them following Jesus.
Chap 4-5. We must live to please God because He will return and only those who accept Jesus will be able
to escape Hell.

2 Thessalonians – (Paul clears up some things the church misinterpreted in his first letter)
Chap 1. Jesus will return to punish everyone who refused to believe in Him and accept His gift of life.
Chap 2. Jesus won’t return until after the anti-Christ has his time on the earth. (The Thessalonians thought
from Paul’s first letter that Jesus would come back any day now and they were distracted)
Chap 3. Paul tells them to keep living and working but do everything for the sake of Jesus.