In our discussion of the books of the Bible, we must take up the epistles of the New Testament. As the church of the New Testament grew in Canaan and surrounding countries, in Asia Minor, and also in Europe, it became impossible for the apostles and their assistants to visit these congregations regularly. However, it became necessary to instruct them when heresies appeared in their midst. To keep the doctrine of free grace pure, the epistles were written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

The order in which they appear in the Bible is not the order in which they were written. The majority of them were written by the apostle Paul, and it is these we will be discussing this time. In order to have a better under­standing of the various periods of Paul's life, we give the following dates:

• Paul was probably born about two years after the birth of the Lord Jesus;
• It was about the year 33 A.D. that his conversion took place;
• He was in Jerusalem in the year 36, then in Tarsus for eight or nine years, and later went to Antioch in the year 44 or 45 A.D.
• His first mission journey was during the years 46 and 47;
• He attended the Synod at Jerusalem in the year 48.
• His second mission journey was in the years 49 to 52;
• From Corinth he wrote the two epistles to the Thes­salonians and probably also that to the Galatians;
• His third mission journey was in the years 53 to 57, and during these years he wrote 1 Corinthians and Romans;
• He was taken in custody at Jerusalem, and remained in Caesarea from 57 to 59;
• From the fall of 59 to the spring of 60 he was brought to Rome, where he remained for two years;
• He there wrote first to the Ephesians, then to the Co­lossians, and then to Philemon;
• During the years 62 to 64 he visited several places;
• In the year 64 he was killed by Nero.

THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS: The gospel was probably first preached in Rome by those who had been in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. It had often been the desire of Paul to go there, but time and again he was hindered. He wrote this epistle during his third mission journey from the city of Corinth. In this epistle he explains that salvation is not out of works, but out of free grace only. God the Father has chosen His church, God the Son has given Himself in the fulness of time to the church's salvation, and these merits are applied by the Holy Ghost. The apostle exclaims, "O the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!"

TWO EPISTLES TO THE CORINTHIANS: Corinth was the capital of Achaia, a province of Greece. Paul labored here for two years, and his labor was richly blessed by the Lord. After he left, there came a decay in spiritual life divisions arose, discipline was lacking, marriage was abused, idolatry reappeared, the Lord's Supper was profaned, the resurrection of the dead was denied, etc. It was Paul's plan to return to Corinth, but as this was not immediately possible, he therefore wrote this epistle. He warns them in love, but with stern words. Later he hears that most of the members have humbled themselves before the Lord, and then he writes the second epistle to comfort those who returned.

THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS: The members of this congregation were both Jews and heathens. By the influence of false teachers, some denied that Paul was a true apostle, but in this epistle he defends his position, in that he was called by Christ Himself. He also defends the doctrine of free grace – that we are not justified by the works of the law, but by grace only.

THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS: This letter was not only for the above mentioned congregation, but it also was to be given to the congregations of Asia Minor. Paul probably wrote this during his captivity. After the usual introduction and well-wishes, he immediately begins to explain the grace of God in Jesus Christ (in the first three chapters). The three following chapters form the application.

THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS: During Paul's imprisonment in Rome, Epaphroditus, a consistory member of Philippi, came to him to strengthen him in his bonds. When returning to his congregation, Paul gave him this letter for the members of Philippi to acknowledge them for their love and also to encourage them to fight the good fight.

THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS: This letter was also written while Paul was in prison. He had received a visit from Epaphras, their minister, who came to ask advice about certain new things in doctrine which were brought into the congregation by other teachers. One was – are the angels mediators with God, and must we worship them? Paul warns against this heresy and vain philosophy, and stresses that their hope can only be in the perfect merits of Christ, which must be visible in their life, and they be separated from the world.

TWO EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS: Many believe that this was the first of the epistles written by the apostle Paul, and that it was penned during his second mission journey. Paul was compelled to leave this city of Thessalonica because of persecution, but he sent Timothy to visit the congregation. From Timothy he learned that they had remained firm in faith. Gladdened by this tiding, he writes to encourage them to walk in the way he had made known to them, expecting Christ Who will come to judge the quick and the dead.

The first epistle was a great comfort, but there were some who made a wrong interpretation regarding the coming of Christ, which Paul corrects in the second epistle.

The epistles of the Apostle Paul were written to congregations, but there are also some written to individuals, namely, two to Timothy, one to Titus, and one to Philemon.

The first of these are THE TWO EPISTLES TO TIMOTHY. Paul had left this fellow-servant in Ephesus, while he went on to Corinth. From there he wrote the first epistle to Timothy, urging him to remain with the truth, and directing him how to act against the false teachers, and in the use of discipline. The second epistle is written from Rome, where each day Paul expected to be put to death. He encourages Timothy, assuring him that, when he can no longer give him counsel, the Lord yet remains with His church, and exhorts him to perseverance, so necessary for God's servants.

Next is THE EPISTLE TO TITUS, who was of heathen origin, but was probably converted by the Lord under the preaching of Paul. He became one of Paul's helpers on his mission journeys, and was left on the island of Crete to establish the congregations there. He sent his advice for this work, also commanding Titus to warn those members who lived in sin.

THE EPISTLE TO PHILE­MON is a short letter, but full of instructions. The bearer of this name lived in the city of Colosse and was converted under Paul's preaching. He became an office-bearer in the church of that city. Philemon had a slave named Onesimus, but he had run away from his master. Onesimus tra­velled to Rome, where he met Paul, who sent him back to his master with this letter, wherein he stated that the Lord had converted Onesimus, and urged Philemon to now receive him as a brother beloved.

We hope, young people, that the Lord will also teach us that we are slaves of sin and of Satan. What a wonder it then becomes that the Lord wants to deal with such people who ran away from Him in Paradise, but who are called from death to life by the Spirit and Word.

After these epistles we find THE EPISTLE TO THE HE­BREWS. Much has been written about the author of this book. Both the Dutch and English Authorized Versions of the Bible indicate that Paul is the author; the majority in the old Christian churches also believed that he was the writer of it. However, this opinion changed at the time of the Reformation. Luther said that this book was written by Apollos, while Calvin thought it was by Barnabas. Although there is some doubt about the writer, we do not have to doubt about the contents of this book – the leading of the Holy Spirit is very evident.

Why was this epistle written? There was much decay among the Hebrew Christians; the light of faith had lost its clearness. We will try to explain why. When the heathens came to conversion in great numbers, the Synod of Jerusalem decided that the ceremonial laws were temporal and had come to an end at Christ's death, as the Lord had also revealed by the rending of the veil in the temple. However, many of the Jews could not understand this – they acknowledged Christ as a perfect Mediator, but they still wanted to stay with the Old Testament ceremonies, the temple and the priests. They did not completely return to Judaism, but, among other things, began to neglect the church services. The destruction of Jerusalem was rapidly approaching, as this epistle was probably written between the years 62 and 65. Thus the situation was dangerous, because what they wanted to keep would soon be rejected by the Lord in that destruction. The purpose of the letter was to warn them that they must keep their faith in Christ unshaken, as, in losing the ceremonies, they lost only the shadows in those ceremonies, but that they might now have the fulfilment of the ceremonies in Him. The old covenant had gotten its fulfilment in the new covenant, whereof the whole glory was not yet visible, but the greatness of Christ and His work guarantee that the congregation will, although through a way of humiliation, come to exaltation and glory. The well-known eleventh chapter makes clear that the believers of the Old Testament were saved by faith only; and by that same faith the persecuted Hebrews could overcome the greatest problems.

Next we come to seven epistles, but these are not addressed to certain persons or congrega­tions. They are more general epistles to all believers. One of these was written by James, two by Peter, three by John, and one by Jude.