Letters are a blessing

Two people send me letters by ‘snail mail’ — everyone else uses e-mail, text messages, the telephone, and face-to-face conversation. I like writing letters, but not the time it takes. Perhaps this explains why letter writing is becoming a lost art.

In the New Testament church, it was the chief means of communication. If Paul and other church leaders could not be there, they wrote letters. These were delivered by friends — no mail service in those days, not even a pony express. Getting a letter is special, even when they were more common. Getting a letter from Paul must have been special to those early Christian congregations, yet they are special also to me because they are not only from Paul:

All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, (2 Timothy 3:16)

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21)

Both he and Peter agreed; the letters of the NT were from God and the authors were merely the instruments He used to record them. This gives the Bible a unique significance; it is God speaking to those with ears to hear.

Paul wrote four types of letters (or epistles). Theologians define them with long words but the definitions are simple.

Soteriological Letters. This word refers to the study of salvation. The letters in this group are: 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans. They date about A.D. 55–58. The Corinthian Epistles stress the application of salvation to the life of the Church. Romans and Galatians both discuss the doctrine of justification and its outward expression in Christian living, however Galatians has stronger warnings because that church struggled with a strong pull to go back to their old ways of thinking.

Christological Letters. These letters present the doctrinal study of the person and work of Christ. They include Colossians, Philemon, Ephesians, and Philippians, written about A.D. 60–62. They are often called the Prison Epistles. According to tradition as well as internal evidences, they were written from Paul’s when he was a prisoner  in Rome as described in Acts 28. These letters contain passages that highlight the person and work of Christ in a definitive manner.

Ecclesiological Letters. This long word refers to the church. In these letters, Paul gives detailed instructions to two pastors regarding church administration, activities and church leadership responsibilities. The books are 1 Timothy, Titus, and 2 Timothy and they date about A.D. 63–67. The last days of Paul are reflected in the last chapter of 2 Timothy.

Eschatological Letters. This word refers to a branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world. They were written early to a church that was ill-informed about the return of Christ — about A.D. 50–51. These two letters, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, clarify the doctrine of last things, the Second Coming of Christ and the implications of that event in the present life of believers. I list them last because they will be the topic of the next two weeks.

Going back to our letters, we write them for different purposes too, to say thanks, ask questions, give information, even to complain or take the recipient to task about something. These days, electronic and social media are not as effective, partly because people tend to blurt out without editing, or write to create a false impression. Paul did not do that. He was carried along by the Holy Spirit and the words he wrote had been breathed out into his heart and mind by God.

The NT is the story of Jesus Christ and the early church, of Christianity and how to become a child of God and live the Christian life. God’s word is called ‘logos’ but also ‘rhema’ and while both inform us of the will of God, rhema is that special way God uses Scripture to speak to the needs of the moment.

For instance, the above verses say the Bible can teach, reprove, correct and train me in order that I am equipped to do whatever the Lord asks of me. This is highly personal, not in the sense that I can put any interpretation I want on a verse, but that God can use a verse or passage to speak to me what I need to hear. This rhema experience involves reading and studying and is always conveyed by the Holy Spirit. It usually leaves no room for doubt; God speaks and I hear Him. I’ll miss it only if my heart is unwilling or distracted.

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Lord Jesus, today You remind me of how precious Your Word is, writing by men but inspired by You. It is an historical document, but also alive and contemporary for You use it to tell me how to think, speak and act each day, each hour. It is Your GPS for my life made personal in that You know where I am, what I am doing, and what I need to hear. It also reminds me of the importance of writing letters that are guided by the Holy Spirit and can become a blessing to those who receive them. Thank You! Amen.