Week 48: The General Letters
Week 48: The General Letters
Tucked away at the end of the New Testament, immediately before the book of Revelation, are the general letters by James, Peter, and John. They are so called because they are not addressed to any particular church. James’s letter, for example, is addressed “to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations” (James 1:1), that is, to all Jewish Christians everywhere.
James was one of the Lord’s brothers. During Jesus’s ministry he was not a believer, but by the day of Pentecost he was. Indeed, he soon became the acknowledged leader of the church in Jerusalem and of Jewish Christians worldwide. His letter may have been written as early as AD 45, and in it he laid his emphasis on consistent Christian behavior.
Two general letters are attributed in the New Testament to the apostle Peter, although the authorship of the second, with all its similarities to the Letter of Jude, is disputed by many. Although Peter handles many topics, in his first letter his main emphasis is on how Christians should react to persecution. There is a reference to suffering in every chapter.
The three letters of John were evidently written by the beloved disciple, who was also the author of the fourth Gospel. If the purpose of John’s Gospel was to lead its readers into faith and so into eternal life (John 20:31), the purpose of his letters was to lead believers into assurance that they had received eternal life (1 John 5:13).
Sunday: Responding to the Word of God
Monday: Faith and Works
Tuesday: The Necessity of the Cross
Wednesday: An Appeal to Pastors
Thursday: The Nature of Biblical Truth
Friday: True and False Assurance
Saturday: The Integrated Christian Life