This modern classic in New Testament studies offers a compelling defense of the reliability of the Christian Scriptures. Christianity Today named "The New Testament Documents" one of the top 50 books that have shaped Evangelicals. "Our object," says F.F. Bruce, "is to find out what historical research reveals about the origin of the New Testament canon." Concise chapters explore dates and origin of various New Testament books, the formation of the New Testament canon, and examines the Gosp...

F.F. Bruce’s account of finding the Dead Sea Scrolls and learning of their importance will make you feel as if you are making the discoveries yourself. Although first written fewer than ten years after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, this third edition (1964) is an excellent, readable introduction to "the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times.” F.F. Bruce’s balanced and thoughtful book answers the questions readers still want to know about the story, the Qumran community, th...

F.F. Bruce wrote this biography of Paul to share the rewards that he experienced in his study – the rewards that came, he said, because of the warmth of Paul's personality, his intellectual stature, his message of redeeming grace, and his single-minded devotion to preaching the gospel. The result, says Theology Today, is the magnum opus of F.F. Bruce, one of the best known and most respected biblical scholars. Paul is often considered to be the most important person – other than Jesus – in...

The Gospel of Matthew, written for Jewish Christians, focuses on who Jesus is, why he came, and how he fits into God’s bigger purposes. Matthew shows that Jesus is the long-expected Messiah, the bringer of God’s kingdom. The most prominent feature of this gospel is the teaching of Jesus, which is arranged in five discourses that dominate the book’s structure. This commentary is written by one of the most influential biblical scholars in recent times. F.F. Bruce’s writing is clear, illumina...

This story of the early Christian church – from its infancy to the conversion of the English in about A.D. 800 – pictures a church that is an unquenchable spiritual force organized for tribulation. Its spiritual resources are never stronger than in times of seeming disaster. The book is divided into three sections: “The Dawn of Christianity” deals with the church from its infancy to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70; “The Growing Day” continues to the accession of Constantine in A.D. 313; a...

This book is perhaps the most accessible introduction to the writings of St. Paul ever written in modern English. That’s because Professor Bruce does not approach his “expanded paraphrase” as a Bible translator, but as a storyteller recounting the life of Paul after his conversion and his correspondence with churches and individuals. This expanded paraphrase “is designed to make the course of Paul’s argument as clear as possible,” says F.F. Bruce. One unique aspect of The Letters of Paul i...

How did the books of the Bible come to be recognized as Holy Scripture? Who decided what shape the canon should take? What criteria influenced these decisions?After nearly nineteen centuries the canon of Scripture still remains an issue of debate. Protestants, Catholics, and the Orthodox all have slightly differing collections of documents in their Bibles. And many Christians today, while confessing the authority of all of Scripture, tend to rely on only a few books and particular ...

After His resurrection, Jesus met Cleopas and another disciple on the Road to Emmaus and explained to them everything the Old Testament said about Himself. To understand the Old Testament themes that were fulfilled in Jesus, we need to understand Old Testament thought. F.F. Bruce reveals the context of the New Testament writers' understanding of the Old Testament by focusing on five themes: * Jesus's proclamation that "the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15), *...

Who was Jesus and what did he do? These questions are right on target for understanding Jesus as a figure of history. But Christians mean more than that when they ask these questions. They go on to ask, Where did he come from? What is he doing? What is he going to do? For Christians, Jesus is the preexistent Son who became incarnate. And as the resurrected and living Christ, he continues to act, and he will yet do great things in the future. In this book, F.F. Bruce, one of the eminent New...

Discovering the Message of the Bible brings together two important works by two leading evangelical scholars of the twentieth century—H.L. Ellison and F.F. Bruce. Ellison provides a primer to the understanding of the Old Testament; Bruce presents "the central message of New Testament . . . in a creative and invigorating way," said Christianity Today. Both men saw the unity of the two sections of the Bible. "The Old Testament is incomplete without the New," explains Ellison, "for in all its...

The story of the New Testament is best understood when it is set in its historical context, which is what F.F. Bruce does brilliantly in this book. He begins by explaining the political, social, intellectual, and religious aspects of the Jewish people after their return from exile. The life and ministry of Jesus is then set within that culture. After the crucifixion of Jesus, "none of the authorities . . . could have reckoned with the event that confounded all their calculations," says Bru...

In this commentary on five of Paul’s letters— to the churches in Corinth, Thessalonica, and Philippi—F.F. Bruce focuses on Paul’s pastoral care and the growth of the people he loved so much. Since we face today so many of the problems and issues Paul and his converts faced, this book acts as a guide for growth. How can we encourage and build up fellow believers? How can we correct their shortcomings? How can we fulfill the desire to see them become 100% Christians? Professor Bruce explains...