Insights on James, 1 and 2 Peter

Swindoll's Living Insights New Testament Commentary #13

by Charles R. Swindoll

'To the end of my days, my major goal in life is to communicate the Word with accuracy, insight, clarity, and practicality.' ---Charles Swindoll Combining rich, rock-solid scholarship with a storyteller's imagery and passion, Chuck Swindoll has a gift for sweeping people into the immediacy of the Scriptures. Featuring maps, timelines, holy land images and more, Swindoll's New Testament Insights is a landmark series--the legacy of a master teacher and communicator to the church of Jesus Christ. You'll gain remarkable new insights into the Bible, and God's Word will come alive for you, filled with drama, power, and truth, as you journey with Chuck chapter by chapter through the New Testament. www.SwindollInsights.com

Genres: Reference, Christian, Christian Non Fiction

336 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2010

About the author

Charles Swindoll has devoted over four decades to two passions: an unwavering commitment to the practical communication and application of God's Word, and an untiring devotion to seeing lives transformed by God's grace. Chuck graduated magna cum laude from Dallas Theological Seminary and has since been honored with four doctorates. For his teaching on Insight for Living, he has received the Program of the Year award and the Hall of Fame award from the National Religious Broadcasters as well as multiple book awards.

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent Bible commentary on James, 1 Peter, and 2 Peter. The author explained the meaning of various key Greek words to help the reader understand confusing passages and to bring out the full meaning of the text. He also provided information on the cultural and historical background and quoted similar statements made elsewhere in the Bible to help the reader fully understand the letter's message.

Each letter (James, 1 Peter, and 2 Peter) had it's own self-contained section in the book. The author started each by explaining who wrote the letter, when it was written, and who it was written to. He briefly described the writer's life up to the point the letter was written so we could see what influenced his writing. He included a time-line chart showing critical events in the author's life and historical events that influenced the writing. There was also a map showing where the people written to were located.

Each letter was studied overall and verse-by-verse in sections defined by the major themes in the letter. At the end of each thematic section, he discussed how we can apply the writer's message to our own lives. He also included occasional "journal" pages were he talked about how the verses just discussed had been applied or worked out in his life.

While you'll get the most insight into confusing passages by reading the book/letter's whole commentary, you can also look up just a single verse.

Despite the "digging deeper" nature of the commentary, the author explained things in a way that was easy to follow and understand. It's packed with information; there's very little "fluff." Overall, I'd highly recommend this book to anyone confused by passages in James, 1 Peter, or 2 Peter or to those who simply want to increase their understanding of these letter/books.

I received this book as a review copy from the publisher.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read Charles Swindoll's Leaders of the Bible Series and loved it so I thought I would like this book. It's part of his Insights series on each book of the New Testament and it's a biblical commentary on James, 1 Peter and 2 Peter. Each one is broken down and explained in simple easy to understand language. In the beginning of each section talking about the book of the Bible, Mr. Swindoll has key Greek words. He explains what each Greek word is that he has chosen and how it fits into the particular book. He also has information on the cultural and historical background that is going on at the time each was written and quoted similar passages in the Bible to help the reader quickly see how it all flows together. In each section, Mr Swindoll explains who wrote the letter, when it was written, and who it was written to. There are many time lines, maps, charts, pictures and graphs along with a section about his journal talking about how different events from his life relate to what he is explaining from the book of the Bible. I would highly recommend this book as a verse by verse study of James, 1 Peter and 2 Peter. I look forward to picking up other books in this series.

[Jeff Bobin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always with Swindoll this was not only a great read but enlightening and relevant to today. Part of a great series of commentaries he is writing and showing the depth of his Biblical knowledge and making it apply to contemporary issues.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used it as a daily Bible study. Loved the commentary.

[Daniel Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Swindoll's Bible teaching is clear and well-measured. As he works his way through James and 1 & 2 Peter, Swindoll draws your attention to an underlying theme among the three books: they all tackle instability and how to become a stable Christian. Swindoll takes the biblical text and gives specific ways a believer can apply it to his life.