It occurs to me that many people have some confusion as to what was written to them, and what was not written to them.
Some churches actually teach that you shouldn’t read the Old Testament, because it wasn’t written for Christians. I think that is erroneous, as the Old Testament writings help one to understand the New Testament. There are many times that the New Testament refers to prophecies in the Old, which don’t make much sense without some knowledge of the Old. Further, there are many things in the Old Testament that help to illuminate the conditions under which the New Testament was written, so knowledge of the Old Testament can be very valuable in understanding the New Testament. Just as an example, I have posted before about how the Passover sacrifice compares to the crucifixion. Some of what was written in the gospels makes a lot more sense with an understanding of the Passover.
Some people are under the impression that, although the Gospels relate Jesus’ teachings, it is the epistles that really teach the message of salvation. This, too, is erroneous. The epistles were written to people who already had a relationship with Christ. Notice that generally the epistles are addressed to believers (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 2 Corinthians 1:1, Galatians 1:2, Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:1, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 1:1, etc. Hebrews is not addressed to anyone, James is addressed to “the twelve tribes”, but, in general), either a church, or an individual, that were already saved. I would imagine that might be possible to put together a study on salvation using only the epistles, but it would be difficult, at best; I’m not entirely sure, I’ve never tried—nor would I. The only reason that I suspect that it’s even possible is because the apostles writing letters to the churches would, at times, want to talk about what the church needs to offer to those outside the church. To be honest, though, the main purpose of the epistles was to encourage those who were already saved, not only to stay saved, but also to grow in Christ. In some cases, they were used to correct things that the churches were doing wrong. Realistically, though, if you want to learn about salvation, you should look at what Jesus taught in the Gospels, and then look at what the Apostles did with that teaching in the Book of Acts; keeping in mind that He worked with them for three years, and He wouldn’t have sent them out to spread His message unless He knew that they understood it.
There are also some people that seem to think that we shouldn’t worry too much about what the epistles say, because those were written to specific individuals or churches, and not so much to the modern church. Again, I think this idea is erroneous. The group of believers that I belong to may not be in the situation that, say, the church at Corinth was in when 1st Corinthians was written, but there is a good chance that we will be if we aren’t careful. It wouldn’t be in the Bible if it would never apply; God is not a fan of idle words. Think of it as having tools in a toolbox. Sometimes you may pick up a tool, and not recognize it, or understand what it is for, and you may be tempted to throw that tool away. You should probably put it in your toolbox anyway, because if you find yourself needing that tool later, you may not be able to find it again. God doesn’t give us tools for no reason. Sometimes He gives us tools long before we understand the reason, though.
Some churches actually teach that you shouldn’t read the Old Testament, because it wasn’t written for Christians. I think that is erroneous, as the Old Testament writings help one to understand the New Testament. There are many times that the New Testament refers to prophecies in the Old, which don’t make much sense without some knowledge of the Old. Further, there are many things in the Old Testament that help to illuminate the conditions under which the New Testament was written, so knowledge of the Old Testament can be very valuable in understanding the New Testament. Just as an example, I have posted before about how the Passover sacrifice compares to the crucifixion. Some of what was written in the gospels makes a lot more sense with an understanding of the Passover.
Some people are under the impression that, although the Gospels relate Jesus’ teachings, it is the epistles that really teach the message of salvation. This, too, is erroneous. The epistles were written to people who already had a relationship with Christ. Notice that generally the epistles are addressed to believers (Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:2, 2 Corinthians 1:1, Galatians 1:2, Ephesians 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Colossians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:1, 1 Timothy 1:2, 2 Timothy 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 1:1, etc. Hebrews is not addressed to anyone, James is addressed to “the twelve tribes”, but, in general), either a church, or an individual, that were already saved. I would imagine that might be possible to put together a study on salvation using only the epistles, but it would be difficult, at best; I’m not entirely sure, I’ve never tried—nor would I. The only reason that I suspect that it’s even possible is because the apostles writing letters to the churches would, at times, want to talk about what the church needs to offer to those outside the church. To be honest, though, the main purpose of the epistles was to encourage those who were already saved, not only to stay saved, but also to grow in Christ. In some cases, they were used to correct things that the churches were doing wrong. Realistically, though, if you want to learn about salvation, you should look at what Jesus taught in the Gospels, and then look at what the Apostles did with that teaching in the Book of Acts; keeping in mind that He worked with them for three years, and He wouldn’t have sent them out to spread His message unless He knew that they understood it.
There are also some people that seem to think that we shouldn’t worry too much about what the epistles say, because those were written to specific individuals or churches, and not so much to the modern church. Again, I think this idea is erroneous. The group of believers that I belong to may not be in the situation that, say, the church at Corinth was in when 1st Corinthians was written, but there is a good chance that we will be if we aren’t careful. It wouldn’t be in the Bible if it would never apply; God is not a fan of idle words. Think of it as having tools in a toolbox. Sometimes you may pick up a tool, and not recognize it, or understand what it is for, and you may be tempted to throw that tool away. You should probably put it in your toolbox anyway, because if you find yourself needing that tool later, you may not be able to find it again. God doesn’t give us tools for no reason. Sometimes He gives us tools long before we understand the reason, though.
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