At the time David wrote his moving psalms in Palestine, Homer, the blind Greek poet, sang his poems in the ancient city of Troy. At the time the apostles began preaching, worldly philosophers such as Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Seneca, Plutarch, and Pliny began to shape the pagan world with their thoughts. The Holy Spirit began to stir the apostles to set down in book form the good news of salvation. Thus, the Gospels and the Epistles were written.
Of the twenty-one Epistles, thirteen were written by Paul to specific churches or individuals. All the other Epistles were considered "general" because they were not addressed to any individual but were used as "circular letters" read in church services. Included in the General Epistles are Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Jude. Because these men faithfully followed the Holy Spirit's direction, we are blessed today with the Bible.
John captures the importance of these Epistles in his first letter by saying that the reason they were written was that we might know we have eternal life. There comes a time in our Christian experience when our feelings fade. Satan tries to make us doubt our conversion, and during this time, we need something firm on which to hold. God's Word is an anchor that will not pull loose. In His wilderness experience, Jesus countered the attacks of Satan by quoting the Bible. We should follow His example when we are being pushed around by the enemy of our souls.
“I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.”
1 John 5:13 NLT
No comments:
Post a Comment