Editor Reviews:

Product Description:

Packed with big truth, this little book on the New Testament can be read in roughly one hour, making it a book you’ll actually read. Mark Driscoll, one of America’s most influential pastors, answers the nine most common questions about the New Testament—questions about authorship, different translations, trustworthiness of the Scriptures, and more—and gives an overview of the various kinds of New Testament literature. Two appendices include a comprehensive list of further resources and a checklist for reading through the entire New Testament.

On the New Testament is part of a series of inexpensive and accessible books that give clear, biblical answers to difficult theological questions and controversies. Through this series readers will get a solid and simple introduction to the Bible by investing just a little time.

Praise for the A Book You’ll Actually Read series:

“Mark has a gift of taking weighty ideas and expressing them in clear and lively language.”
Bruce A. Ware, Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Serious, informed, reverent, but not technical discussions of great themes.”
D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

“Simply and superbly written! Mark Driscoll has given us tools that can be placed in the hands of a skeptic or seeker, a new believer or mature saint.”
Daniel L. Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

“These accessible books will encourage believers to see that theology is not an afterthought in the mission of God and the life of his church.”
Ed Stetzer, Director of LifeWay Research

“These books are well worth an hour of your time.”
Craig Groeschel, Founding Pastor of LifeChurch.tv and author of Confessions of a Pastor

Rating : - Accomplishes its purpose well
I really appreciated this book.

I got it in the mail on Friday, and was easily able to read it in about an hour. As I was reading I kept thinking about how much I would love to get this book into the hands of members of my church.

As is probably obvious by the book's title and size, it is a very brief introduction to the New Testament. Driscoll started the book by answering nine basic common questions people have about the New Testament ranging from "How were the New Testament books chosen as Scripture?" to "How did Jesus interact with Scripture?" He provides all sorts of basic information that I could see being extremely helpful for someone who was first trying to get a handle on what the New Testament actually is. Chapter two provides basic instruction on how to read the New Testament. He discusses the different genres present among the 27 books hat make up the New Testament, and he offers a brief summary of each individual book. There are also some helpful charts and graphs sprinkled throughout the book.

The book ends with two appendices, one on building a theological library and the other a New Testament reading checklist. He recommends a number of good volumes on all sorts of theological topics that will be helpful for anyone desiring to become a more serious student of the Bible. The books he recommends are quite conservative, but I personally always feel more comfortable erring on the side of conservatism when it comes to pointing would-be Bible students to resources. I appreciate that fact that Driscoll makes it clear that becoming a student of Scripture is going to require the commitment of considerable time and resources. No one develops a deep knowledge of and love for the Bible on accident. Driscoll does, however, provide URL's for a number of excellent free online resources that will be of some help for those strapped for cash.

In sum, this is a great book to introduce people to the New Testament (particularly if they have a short attention span). I gave the book four stars out of five because it would have been nice to see a little bit more detail about how to read and interpret Scripture, but even as I say that I realize this was meant to be a brief introduction. Mark Driscoll and Crossway have done the Church a great service by producing this book.