Hello! This site is a sequel to A New Christian's Guidebook. If you haven't visited there, please stop by; there is a lot of good information!
The purpose of this site is to address some topics of interest to Christians desiring to learn more than just the basics of the faith (which are dealt with at the other site). This site will constantly grow as new subjects are covered. To start, a timeline of Christianity follows, showing some key events in the 1st century along with important incidents in subsequent centuries. In few cases can we be certain of when many of these events associated with the Apostles occurred. Scholars will disagree by decades when some of the various epistles were written, for instance. I’ve tried to do the best I can at giving a general idea of when some of these events transpired, but in many cases I’ve had to make an educated guess or rely on the opinions of scholars more learned than I. Also, for your purusal, I have written an article on the Pharisees--the most misunderstood group of the New Testament.
Each section herein will be updated every so often as I find time to expand it, so if a particular subject is of interest, check back occasionally.
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CONTENTS
What you never knew about the
Pharisees
On Baptism and bad teaching about
the "Gifts of the Spirit"
Demonology--the forbidden subject
What you never knew about the New
Testament’s view of the Law
What you never knew about doubt
& unbelief
Should Jews be "targeted" for
conversion? or Sharing one's faith with a Jewish person.
A new, three-part series on justification and the Law
I recommend, as additional food for thought, an online message by Messianic David Hocking on the Sabbath. While I would have some different opinions and conclusions than he presents, David cleaves to the essentials of the historic Christian faith, and is one of only a few Messianic Jews whose teachings I can wholeheartedly recommend.
Abraham--our
paradigm for justification--who never kept the Sabbath or Law
.Where no Law is, there is
no transgression.
BIBLE COLLEGE 101
Or...
The Resurrection Life Study BibleTM
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I thank God for Bible colleges, but the sad truth is, many of them do nothing more than turn out cookie cutter clones of the generation that came before the present one, regurgitating the same doctrinal ideas that arose to explain why the power of God left their denominations generations earlier in the first place. The so-called "scholars" that come out of these higher institutes of learning half the time don't even believe the Bible really means what it says, or that it can be trusted to infallibly convey universal truth to all generations! Worst of all, are these men with a bunch of letters after their names, who master examining the Scriptures with a microscope, so that they never see the true picture of what the entire panoply of Scripture reveals, even though they can see the individual molecules of the pigments. They know the legion of textual variants from the various papyri, but they make little or no positive impact on any Believer's life, while demeaning the less-educated Believers who are out in the highways and byways proclaiming the Gospel and doing the real work.
With this in mind, those who wish for a more in-depth understanding of the Bible will find below a series of New Testament commentaries. If you'll study them, you'll receive a better education in the New Testament than you can get at most any Bible college--and all for free! Now so far as things like learning how to compose engrossing, three-point sermons and the like, I can't help you there. Nor will you ever earn yourself man's title of "Doctor" by studying what's offered. But here, what you can do is glean explanations of what the New Testament actually teaches, in an easy-to-understand format that goes beyond denominational doctrinal straight-jackets as it attempts to present as comprehensive an exposition of the New Testament as it can. As of 2005, I will be adding paraphrases to the New Testament books to assist even more in making the traditional King James version of the Scriptures a bit easier to comprehend to a modern audience. The Paraphrase will also expand some verses to help convey their full meanings more clearly, which will be especially notable when we reach the epistles of Paul. (When it does this, the expanded text will be bracketed as this text is.) If you know a person who needs a simpler version of the Bible to read than some that are out there, it may be helpful to print out the pages for him, or to refer him to this site. The King James, of course, is side-by-side with the paraphrase, allowing the reader to compare the paraphrase against the actual Scripture as food for thought. The reader may then agree or disagree with the way the paraphrase renders the verse as seems best to him.
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The theologian may also benefit from looking over the paraphrase since it explains some of the more difficult verses of Scripture.
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Keep in mind, a paraphrase always reflects the writer's own views, so it will always have error here and there due to the writer's fallible understanding of the Bible. Thus, a paraphrase is never to be considered an inerrant exposition of the Scriptures on par with a true Bible like the KJV, NASB, etc. Paraphrases are only study tools, and you should never look at them as true Scripture nor quote them as such.
NEWS!
Special note: This work is finally done, and a new paperback edition for the mass market is currently under production at Xulon books. The price of the books through the web site here will be $25, which will include shipping. For buyers outside the US, the total cost will be $30.
Note that the Bible does not include the Epistle to the Laodiceans. It will also have updated articles on the Pharisees, the way the Law worked in the 1st century with regard to Gentiles, a section on Demons and what the Bible says they can do, and the Unforgivable Sin.
The price will be $25 per copy, which includes shipping.
To order your copy, you may send check or MO to:
Vince Garcia
Box 4284
Fresno, Cal. 93744
You can also use Paypal to my email address: vggarcia@ix.netcom.com
Thanks for all your interest and support!
* If you live outside the US, the price will be $30 which will include shipping by Air
Special offer
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Some copies of the original hard cover test printing from 2006 are still
available. If you would like one as a collector's item, you can order them
for $25 each (includes shipping) while the supply lasts.
Note: The files here always present the most up-to-date version of the work,
while the files at newbible.biz present the files in the most recent
printed edition. There is very little difference between the two but
for some minor revisions here and there.
The Gospel of Matthew--with commentary and paraphrase
The Gospel of Mark--with commentary and paraphrase
The Gospel of Luke--with commentary and paraphrase
The Gospel of John--with commentary and paraphrase
The Book of Acts--with commentary and paraphrase
The Epistles--in correct chronological order
The Epistle to the Galatians--with commentary and paraphrase
(47-48 AD)
The Epistle of James--with commentary and paraphrase
(47-48 AD)
The Epistles of 1st & 2nd Thessalonians--with commentary
and paraphrase (51-52 AD)
The Epistle of 1st Corinthians--with commentary &
paraphrase (52-54 AD)
The Epistle of 2nd Corinthians--with commentary &
paraphrase(52-54 AD)
The Epistle to the Romans--with commentary & paraphrase
(52-57 AD)
The Epistle to the Colossians--with commentary &
paraphrase (61-63 AD)
The Epistle to Philemon--with commentary& paraphrase
(63 AD)
Bonus: the lost Eptistle to the
Laodiceans (61-62 AD)
The Epistle to the Ephesians--with commentary & paraphrase
(61-63 AD)
The Epistle to the Philippians--with commentary &
paraphrase (61-63 AD)
The Epistle of 1st Timothy--with commentary &
paraphrase (65 AD)
The Epistle of 1st Peter--with commentary & paraphrase
(65-66 AD)
The Epistle to Titus--with commentary & paraphrase
(66 AD)
The Epistle of Jude--with commentary & paraphrase
(65-75 AD)
The Epistle of 2nd Peter--with commentary & paraphrase
(65-67 AD)
The Book of Hebrews-with commentary & paraphrase
(65-67 AD)
The Epistle of 2nd Timothy--with commentary & paraphrase
(67 AD)
The Epistles of John-with commentary & paraphrase
(90-95 AD)
The Book of Revelation--with commentary and paraphrase
(96 AD)
What? You don't want to be bogged down with the
King James version and a bunch of commentary notes getting in the way of
easy reading? Well, then click here for...
The Resurrection Life New Testament
ParaphraseTM
This features only the paraphrase, with the notes and King James text
removed.
If you have any other questions, or if this site has helped you, feel
free to email me.
(Note: some people have told me that emails to me have
been bouncing. If that happens to you, try again or use the email address
newbible@earthlink.net)
If you have been blessed by this site and feel moved to donate something
to help this ministry, you may do so by going to
paypal and sending your gift to
vggarcia@ix.netcom.com Give to your own church first,
though! Please note: since Jesus paid taxes, we declare and
pay taxes on any donations.
A New Christian's Guidebook, A New Christian's Handbook, The
Resurrection Life Study Bible, and The Resurrection
Life New Testament Paraphrase are trademarks of Vince Garcia.
Hey--the best church in the world is is
here!
Menu from A New Christian's
Guidebook
Misunderstanding the book of James
This site stands in support of these fine ministries:
Excerpts are from both the KJV and THE NEW JERUSALEM
BIBLE (c) 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd, a division of Random House,
Inc. Reprinted by permission.
Can I be
(Catholic/Mormon/Gay, etc) and be Saved?
Why don’t
all these denominations agree, and how do I know which is right?
I think I’ve
committed the “Unpardonable sin”--what can I do?
Why are Christians
I’ve met such jerks?!
I’ve accepted
Christ--now what ?
How much sin
can I commit and still be Saved?
How do I live
a Christian life?
Why Christians
have no victory or The path of true Christian living
How to overcome
being mad at God
What about
this "Tongues" stuff?
Is Jesus really
coming back, and what is the "Rapture"?
Just who and what is the Devil?
"Can I lose
my salvation?" & other questions Christians might ask (This
section covers quite a bit, including the psychics like james Van Praagh,
the Occult and New Age, and is constantly being expanded.)
