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 Discovering the New Testament is a new and comprehensive introduction to the New Testament in three volumes. This magnificent and deeply caricatured introduction to the New Testament is powerful, engaging, and intended to reach a broad audience of people. I cannot wait for the 3rd volume to be released. Below I will offer an honest review of the 2nd volume.

This volume continues the excellence found in the first volume on the Gospels and Acts. If anything, this volume is even better because it lies in the author’s area of proficiency. He has written a major exegetical commentary on Philippians that is outstanding. This volume covers only the Pauline Epistles. In each chapter, the readers are presented with occasion and context, structure, rhetorical devices, the form of letters, authorship, a discussion on its placement in the Pauline section of writings, and concluded with some questions to consider and application points to review. When I encountered the first volume, I felt it would be a complement to Dr. D.A Carson’s New Testament Introduction.

This is a great introductory work to help anyone come to a better understanding of the New Testament. I am happy with the layout, design, and easy reading. If a person wants a deeper understanding of the New Testament, this book is the one to help you. Being a seminary student with not much time, the author makes Paul simple and yet deep. I read this book along with Dr. Thomas Schreiner’s work on Pauline theology and these books complement themselves.

Remarkably, even at 1200+ pages for the two volumes, there are sections with seemingly brief. This is the nature of a survey text. For example, at the end of his chapters, he could include a short bibliography of moderate and advanced commentaries. For his chapter on Paul’s mission life, a list of several key works on the subject would point interested readers to more detailed treatments. All in all, this is a great book and does a good job getting its point across.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review.

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