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November 10, 2025

40,000 Recommendations and 1 Simple Outline for the New Testament

by Jason Neill

Scripture reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:1-13

When it comes to reading and studying the Bible, there are a lot of resources available. Just today, I visited Amazon’s website, typed “Bible resources” in the search engine, and it resulted in over 40,000 recommendations. It can be overwhelming if you are new to wading through all the study resources, so I thought I would recommend two to get you started.

Paul Benware, who formerly taught at Moody Bible Institute, wrote two volumes covering the Old and New Testaments. Survey of the Old Testament and Survey of the New Testament are titles I recommend for those who are new or seasoned in their Biblical knowledge. Since we are reading through the New Testament, I thought I would share with you a very helpful outline which helped me better grasp the big picture of this section of the Bible.

The New Testament has that title because it concerns the New Covenant that Jesus enacted via his death and resurrection. Benware says this concerning the New Covenant:

“The New Covenant is an enlargement of the great Abrahamic Covenant. The New Covenant is one of three ‘sub-covenants’ which further define the provisions originally given to Abraham (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 15:1-21; 17:1-22; 22:15-18). The New Covenant is largely occupied with the matter of salvation. After The Fall of man and the entrance of sin into the world, it was God’s declared purpose to bring salvation to people. The New Testament Scriptures are clear that the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament could only cover (‘atone for’) sin, but could never take away sin (e.g. Heb. 9:11-15, 24-28; 10:4-14). It is only the blood of Christ that is capable of removing sin and setting men free from the penalty and the power of sin” (Survey of the New Testament, p. 15).

He neatly categorizes the New Testament books in the following manner:

  • The Gospels (Matthew through John) institute the New Covenant.
  • The book of Acts is the New Covenant proclaimed.
  • The Epistles (Romans through Jude) explain the New Covenant.
  • Revelation is the fulfillment of the New Covenant.

So, as you dive into the New Testament, whether you are new to this or have read it countless times, keep this simple framework in mind: The Gospels institute the New Covenant; Acts proclaims it; the Epistles explain it; and Revelation shows its fulfillment. As we continue to read the scriptures, hopefully this outline will help clear away some of the fog you might experience as you get into the details of the New Testament.

Keep reading your Bible!