“DEAR FRIENDS…. The New Testament
Letters”
Bible 101, part 11
Romans 1:1-12, 16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11
September 6, 2009 - Rev. Janet Robertson Duggins
A lot of people find the New Testament “books” referred to as “Epistles” to be among the most difficult parts of the Bible to read and understand. To us, they often seem like a blur of big words and long sentences and abstract theological concepts. I doubt that one sermon can make it all crystal clear, because this is a big topic, but maybe taking a look at the purposes and concerns of this particular genre of Biblical writing will make it less confusing and intimidating.
The first thing to know is that “epistle” is a fancy word (which comes from Greek, of course, which explains why it’s so often applied to these New Testament writings) for letter. Most of the epistles in the New Testament are actual letters written to specific groups of people – church congregations – or to individuals. Some are more general, intended not for a single congregation but to be circulated among churches throughout a wide area. A couple are more like essays in the form of a letter. But the basic concept is that of a letter.
The writers of these works, especially Paul, took a form of
communication that was common in the world of the
Because they were letters, when you read them, there is this sense that you are looking into a moment in time in the life of the church in a particular place. There may well be a message that seems relevant to us, or even universal, but we should always keep in mind that it was written not for posterity, and not to be comprehensive theology or instruction in church life but to speak to what was of concern at the time: Conflict in the church in Corinth, fear of persecution in Thessalonica, confusion in the Galatian church about whether gentile Christians had to perform Jewish rituals, misunderstandings about sin and grace within the Christian community at Rome.
The
The letters provide the earliest glimpses we have of the Christian movement and are the oldest written-down examples of Christian teaching. All of Paul’s letters and most of the other letters were written before the Gospels were written.
During this time, the church was in transition from a faith community rooted in Judaism to a broader community including Gentiles of diverse backgrounds. There was quite a struggle over how Christians – especially Gentile Christians - should be expected relate to the scriptures and practices of Judaism, and this is reflected many of the letters.
The letters reflect a Christian movement that was still in the formative stages, still growing, still trying to define its beliefs and resolve questions and organize itself. That may partly explain why we can discern so many different perspectives within the New Testament, sometimes even in the works of same writer. It may also be why the letters don’t concern themselves much with stories of Jesus’ life – presumably many of the early Christians knew those stories and could share them verbally with each other. But for the leaders of the early church, there were pressing questions to be addressed, and these letters show us how they tried to address some of those questions.
The letters are different but they are all, in some way or other, about THE CHURCH. They are interested in the church’s mission to spread the message of Jesus. They are interested in the church’s faithfulness to Christ, in its unity and in the way its members relate to one another. They are interested in encouraging Christians to develop a more mature and knowledgeable faith and to live godly lives.
Probably most of us, when we think of the epistles, think of the Apostle Paul – naturally, since he is generally recognized as the author of many of them, and he’s certainly the early church letter writer we know the most about.
This is the guy whose original name was Saul, and who
persecuted the early Christians in the name of defending Judaism, until he had
an encounter with Jesus which converted him to Christianity. He became known for his preaching, for
travelling to various parts of the
But Paul didn’t write all the epistles. The New Testament letters include:
• Pauline letters
•
Disputed letters
• Pastoral letters
• General letters
Everybody agrees that seven of the letters were written by Paul:
• Romans
• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• Galatians
• Philippians
• 1 Thessalonians
• Philemon
Some letters have Paul’s name attached to them, but many biblical scholars consider them not to have been written by Paul.
• 2 Thessalonians
• Colossians
• Ephesians
Paul’s name lends authority to these writings, which, if not by Paul himself, were probably written by close followers of Paul, at some time after his death. The “Pastoral letters” - so called because they offer advice to leaders (or pastors) of Christian congregations - also have Paul’s name attached to them, but like 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, and Ephesians, they are widely thought to have been written by someone after Paul.
• 1 Timothy
• 2 Timothy
• Titus
It seems odd to us perhaps that someone else would use Paul’s name, but it was a fairly common practice in ancient times – a kind of attempt to “stand in the tradition” of a respected teacher. It’s not at all an effort to produce a “fake” or anything like that. You might think of someone today writing a “letter” from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and imagining what he would say to us about the issues that face us now. We would know it as an effort to claim and continue Dr. King’s legacy and say something relevant - not as an attempt at deception.
But you might be wondering WHY it’s considered questionable that Paul wrote some or all these six letters. There are several reasons: They are different in writing style from the seven letters that are indisputably “genuine Paul.”
The theological emphases are different. And these letters seem to be from a later time. They reflect a more organized, structured, institutional and hierarchical church. (For example, they mention the church having bishops, and they reflect a more restrictive role for women than was the case in the earliest years of the Christian movement.)
I will come back to Paul in a moment, but I want to briefly mention the other letters, which are usually called “General” epistles (or sometimes the “catholic” epistles, meaning universal or general). It’s something of a catch-all category, as these writings are quite varied.
They are addressed to the church at large (rather than to a specific congregation).
They are written by different people
Some are really essays on theology or Christian living, put into letter-like form.
The General epistles include:
• James
• 1 Peter
• 2 Peter
• 1 John
• 2 John
• 3 John
• Jude
Most of the time, the book of Hebrews is lumped together with the General epistles, but it’s the least letter-like of any of these books, really more of a long theological essay. It draws heavily on material from the Old Testament to talk about the nature of Jesus as both human and divine, and what that means for believers.
Some other interesting things about the General epistles:
1st, 2nd, and 3rd John are anonymous but got their names because they have a lot in common with the Gospel of John in style and theology – especially in the way they focus on the theme of love.
James is a unique book. The viewpoint seems opposite of Paul, with an emphasis on actions more than on faith or theology, and for this reason some people like it and others have found it difficult to accept this book as part of scripture.
1 Peter is very concerned about right conduct, and urges Christians to joyfully accept martyrdom for Christ.
Jude denounces false teachings and those who bring them into the church.
2 Peter copies much of Jude and is thought to be the latest written book of NT (about 150 CE).
But let’s go back to Pau(21)l, because his life and the letters he wrote have played such a defining role in shaping the church, Christian theology, and the other letters that were written after his time by other church leaders.
Paul’s letters were mostly written to the people of churches he helped to found, except for Romans, which is a letter of introduction to a Christian community he had not yet visited. It’s easy to see that he feels himself somehow responsible for these fledgling faith communities. His role with respect to them is sometimes described as a “pastor-theologian.”
Paul wrote about a whole lot of different things:
Conflict in the church
“I appeal to you, my brothers
and sisters, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you be in
agreement and that there be no divisions among you but that you be united in
the same mind and purpose. For it has
been reported to me… that there are quarrels among you….” (1 Corinthians 1:10-11)
Marriage
“To the unmarried and the
widows I say that it is well for them to remain unmarried as I am. But if they are not practicing self-control,
they should marry. For it is better to
marry than to be aflame with passion.” (1 Corinthians 7:8-9)
Giving to help those in need
“Now concerning the collection
for the saints… on the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and
save whatever extra you earn….” (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)
Temptation
“ I do not understand my own
actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.... . I find it to be a law that when I want to
do what is good, evil lies close at hand.
For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war
with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my
members. Wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:15, 21-24)
Communion
For I received from the Lord
what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was
betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and
said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of
me." In the same way he took the
cup also, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink
the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Whoever, therefore, eats the
bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be answerable
for the body and blood of the Lord. Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the
bread and drink of the cup. (1
Corinthians 11:23-28)
Friends
I commend to you our sister
Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae,
so that you may welcome her
in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may
require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as
well. Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work
with me in Christ Jesus, and who risked
their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the
churches of the Gentiles. (Romans 16:1-4)
Freedom
For you were called to
freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity
for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment,
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself." If, however, you bite and devour one
another, take care that you are not consumed by one another. (Galatians
5:13-15)
… and many, many more topics.
Admittedly, Paul can be difficult to read. He is the champion of the run-on sentence. His mind was steeped in intellectual traditions that are not part of our lives. He was a Jew, raised to know the Hebrew scriptures inside and out, and familiar with the way rabbis taught and argued important questions. But he was also educated in the Greco-Roman culture of his time, and very much influenced by the kind of complicated and eloquent rhetoric admired in that world. These things make him kind of hard for us, but they also probably made him the perfect person to take a religious movement rooted in Judaism into a Gentile world.
Each one of Paul’s letters is different, concerned with the specific needs of those it’s written to. But keeping in mind a few key ideas can help to make sense of Paul’s thought:
Expectancy and urgency – Paul expected the end of the world to come soon, and so he considered that it was urgent to spread the Christian message to as many people as possible, sacrificing if need be, to do that.
Faith (not good works or keeping the law) is what puts us right with God
Christology is front and center in Paul: what does the
story of Jesus mean?
• Those who believe are “united with Christ” or “in Christ
(“In Christ is a favorite expression of Paul’s)
• (Jesus is Lord, Head of the Church, risen and living
• Not much interest in the stories of Jesus’ life or his specific words and teachings.
Christ-like conduct is to
be the result of and evidence of being “in Christ”
Relationships within the church are really important to Paul. In his view, they should be characterized by equality, harmony, unity, love, caring for one another’s needs, patience with one another’s weaknesses… because the church is “the body of Christ” and it’s partly through the character of the church that Christ is made known in the world.
If you have avoided reading the letters in the New Testament because you thought they were just full of obscure and abstract (and maybe outdated) theology, I hope you might give them another try. They are still about tahe church, about being Christian, and about what Jesus means.
Don’t worry about whether you understand every word; remember that the people whose lives these letters let us glimpse were people in the middle of grappling with questions about what they believed and what they should do and what choices their church ought to make. We in the church today continue to wrestle with questions like that – maybe now more than ever, because the church now is changing almost as much as it did in its early years.
I kind of like ending our Bible 101 series with the epistles, because they are all about encouraging Christians to go on, to be faithful, to reach out… and to be always learning and growing, trusting Christ, without necessarily knowing what the future will bring. Almost 2000 years later, this message of encouragement is still what we who are the church need to hear.
Resources:
The New Testament –
Introducing the Way of Discipleship,
Wes Howard-Brook and Sharon H. Ringe, eds.
An Introduction to the New
Testament, Charles B. Cousar.