A Letter: Exploring the Epistles

Exploring the Epistles: Straight for the Heart

The Epistles are defined as all books in the New Testament except the four gospels, Acts and Revelation. These letters were written to believers and nonbelievers, corrupt and confused cities, lost and lonely souls looking for answers. Simply stated—they continue, in our day, to be rich in comfort and wisdom requiring care and caution in interpretation.

As mentioned in the previous post, Biblical interpretation isn't as difficult as it may seem, so let's dig in and break down the parts and pieces of an Epistle—reading the recipe before baking.

Do you remember how to write a formal letter, “formal” as in Dear Aunt Millie? That’s a great place to begin understanding how the Epistles are formatted, which are letters as we understand them to be.

Reading the Bible: A Good Translation

The sixty-six books of the Bible were originally written in three different languages:
                                                                                                  
·         Hebrew (most of the Old Testament)
·         Aramaic (a sister language to Hebrew used in half of Daniel and two passages of Ezra)
·         Greek (all of the New Testament)

 Since most of us do not know these languages we rely on good English translations.   

Reading the Bible: What's the point of all these different books?

In the book,  How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, authors Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart provide a guide for choosing the best tools to help you engage with your Bible effectively, interpreting Scripture as God intended. Sound like a tall order?  I hear you. Trust me, it really isn’t as hard as it sounds!