Verse by Verse (14 vols.)

Ruth exemplifies God’s grace in the midst of suffering, and in Verse by Verse through the Book of Ruth, Grant C. Richison divides the book of Ruth into four major parts:

• Ruth in Grief
• Ruth’s Service
• Ruth’s Redemption
• Ruth’s Contentment

Daniel gives hope for the restoration of Israel. The message is that God sustains believers during crisis and it challenges believers to expect God to fulfill his purpose. Daniel reveals the comprehensive program of God culminating in the second coming. It is the most important prophetic book of the Old Testament and is an indispensable introduction to New Testament prophecy. Daniel traces the “Times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) from the captivity of Judah under Nebuchadnezzar to the second advent. It is a prophetic philosophy of history.

Jonah is the picture of God’s grace. The book shows God’s grace reaching beyond the boundaries of Israel to a godless Gentile nation.

Matthew is not chronological but arranges material from Christ’s life according to an overall argument: Christ is the King of the Jews, rejected by Israel. In Verse by Verse through the Book of Matthew, Grant C. Richison divides the book of Matthew into five major parts:

• Preparation for the King
• Program of the King
• Persecution of the King
• Presentation of the King
• Postlude of the King

1 Corinthians is Paul’s longest, most diversified letter, and the best picture of life in New Testament churches. It is a correction epistle about an unstable church broken into four factions, allowing immorality, and suing one another. Paul answers Corinthian church questions on marriage, liberty, the Lord’s Table, gifts, resurrection, and giving.

The book of Galatians shows that law cannot save a sinner nor sanctify a saint. It defends the true gospel and exposes false teaching about the gospel. Galatians shows how the believer fulfills the Christian life by walking in the Spirit.

The occasion for the book of Philippians is a conflict between two women (4:1–2) and it is a thank you note from a missionary to a supporting church. There was no extended doctrinal issue, no error to refute. Paul argues that the solution to conflict is to maintain the attitude of Christ (2:5) toward others. The word “attitude” is the key verse of the epistle.

The purpose of Colossians is to set forth Christ as preeminent (1:18; 2:9). Jesus is more than an angel, for angels are subject to him. There is no need for any other mediator than Christ (1:18–19), for he is the head of the universal church.

First Thessalonians fortifies believers in doctrine and encourages them in holy living. It gives encouragement of the rapture. The book urges respect for leadership and gives instruction in church life.

Second Thessalonians warns about the false idea that Christ had already come in the second coming. Some Thessalonians quit their jobs because of this error. Paul proceeds to give proper criteria to recognize the second coming.

James exposes the fallacy of dead orthodoxy (profession of faith without producing results). Action must match profession. Right acting must go with right thinking and right believing. We cannot separate doctrine and practice—faith works.

Philemon is Paul’s intercession for a runaway slave to a slave master. This book shows how Christians can mediate and communicate between each other even in interpersonal difficulties.

1 Peter prepares Christians for suffering by giving principles for living under duress. It enables Christians to face persecution by the grace of God (5:12).

2 Peter warns of apostasy (1:13&ndash14; 2:1–3). It encourages Christians to remember the fundamentals (1:12–21). The main purpose is to help believers grow in grace to be established in the faith (3:18).

1 John gives assurance of eternal life to those who believe in Christ (5:13). The book motivates readers to cultivate greater fellowship with God (“abide,” “love”). It helps believers to understand standards for fellowship with an absolute God (1:7, 9).

2 John warns about stepping into the domain of false teachers. Abiding in truth is essential for brotherly love.

3 John warns against self-exaltation and self-assumption in leading the local church.

The false doctrine of incipient Gnostic antinomianism weaseled its way into the church, and Jude warns against subversion of the truth and exhorts to “contend earnestly for the faith.” Grant C. Richison divides the book of Jude into six major parts:

• Salutation and Address—Assurance
• Occasion and Purpose—Apostasy
• Apostasy Exposed
• Apostolic Teaching Prevents Apostasy
• Guard Fellowship with God by Honoring His Truth
• Consolation Against Apostasy

Revelation demonstrates God’s sovereignty over the world and history. It gives the final truth about Jesus Christ—the unveiling of his person, power, and purpose (1:1). The book shows the ultimate triumph of the kingdom of Christ and gives a new perspective on history. It gives incentive to holy living and shows that God will ultimately deal with the problem of evil. Finally, it gives a preview of future events and the eternal state.