Letters That Still Speak Today: Understanding the New Testament Epistles

We explore why much of the New Testament feels like reading someone else’s mail and show how that lens unlocks clarity, context, and comfort. Real letters from pastors and apostles become living guidance for modern believers when we read them as whole conversations.

• definition of an epistle as a letter
• why letters change how we read the New Testament
• who wrote the letters and who received them
• overview of Paul, James, Peter, John, and Hebrews
• when and why the letters were written
• how ancient letters were structured and read aloud
• whether letters to them are for us today
• a simple method for reading epistles well
• key themes: faith, conflict, leadership, suffering, hope, love
• takeaway that epistles are pastoral, Spirit-inspired guidance

RESOURCES:

• Anyabwile, K. (n.d.). Literarily: How understanding Bible genres transforms Bible study (pp. 120–121). Function. Kindle edition.
• Galan, B., & Curiel, J. (n.d.). Bible overview (pp. 429–430). Function. Kindle edition.
• Got Questions Ministries. (2002–2013). Got questions? Bible questions answered. Logos Bible Software.
• Jacobson, R. A., Jacobson, K. N., & Wiersma, H. H. (Eds.). (2019). Letters (or epistles). In Crazy book: A not-so-stuffy dictionary of biblical terms (pp. 203–204). Fortress Press.
• MacArthur, J. (Ed.). (2011). The MacArthur study Bible (NIV ed.). Thomas Nelson.
• Ryken, L. (2020). Reading the New Testament letters: What you need to know. In D. Mangum (Ed.), Lexham context commentary: New Testament. Lexham Press.

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Note: All scripture references are from the NIV translation unless otherwise indicated.