Day 25 - Acts 28:1-Romans 7:6

Today we begin the third division of the New Testament, that of the Epistles. The next thirteen books we read will be the epistles (or letters) of Paul. Of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, twenty-one are letters written to the various churches; thirteen of Paul, one to the Hebrews, one by James, two written by Peter, three by the beloved John and one by Jude. The typical letter of the period included a very short greeting, or address, such as found in 3 John 1:1, "The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth." Paul typically expanded this greeting into a phrase of blessing and thanksgiving, whereas Hebrews and 1 John contain no greeting at all.

The greeting was typically followed by the body of the letter wherein the author expressed the purpose for his letter and wrote the things necessary for his communiqué, and then the letter closed with a conclusion. The conclusion by the New Testament authors included a benediction and greetings to others known by both the author and recipient.

A study of the New Testament epistles indicates that they generally followed the practice of 1st century AD Greco-Roman letters, but there are significant differences as well. Perhaps the differences may be attributed to the Jewish influence on the writers, or perhaps in the message they had to send. However, the differences are not significant in determining the genuineness or authority of the New Testament epistles. Nineteenth century church historian Philip Schaff wrote in regard to Paul's epistles, "of these epistles, the four most important – Galatians, Romans, two Corinthians – are universally acknowledged as genuine even by the most exacting critics; the Philippians, Philemon, Colossians, and Ephesians are admitted by nearly all critics; the Pastoral Epistles, especially First Timothy, and Titus, are more or less disputed, but even they bear the stamp of Paul's genius."

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