Paul the Apostle writes to the Romans to answer the question, "How can a person be righteous before God?" Through this letter, Paul takes us on a journey of discovery, to find that salvation is offered through the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The church at Colossae was under attack from false teaching that struck at the person of Christ, denying His deity, His supremacy and His sufficiency. Paul addresses the problem by pointing the Colossians to the supremacy and sufficiency of the cosmic Christ.
Paul had heard reports that there were a few problems in the church in Thessalonica and writes personally to correct misunderstandings and to encourage them in their living for Christ. He urges them to go on working while waiting for the return of Christ.
The setting of this letter is to Jewish Christians in the first century who were under pressure to look back to their dreams of the Golden Age in history - the days of the Patriarchs, of Moses, the Law, priests, Tabernacle etc. An unknown author writes to encourage them to hold onto their faith because what they have in Jesus is superior to what they had under the old economy. The Golden Age has dawned and arrived in the Lord Jesus. It has broken into this present age. The perfect has replaced the imperfect.
The letter of James is intensely practical. James is more concerned with Christian living than doctrine. He sees belief as a belief that behaves. He writes on various topics, exposing the deception of dead orthodoxy. This was appropriate for converts from Judaism in which many had a zeal for the Law but failed to practise it. James emphasizes the need to be doers of the Word and not hearers only
This letter was written to encourage Christians in Asia Minor to be obedient to Christ in the face of persecution. We are reminded that our real citizenship is in Heaven and that our conduct in our place of exile must express our heavenly citizenship.
1 John was written against false teachers who had arisen in certain Christian communities. The answer to this doctrinal error is an appeal to the Apostolic Gospel: in Jesus, the Word of God had become flesh. John emphasizes that conduct is of utmost importance. Religion cannot be divorced from ethics. God’s self-revelation is ethical and those who have received that revelation will walk in obedience and righteousness.
Ray Laird