No church in the New Testament is more like our modern churches than the Corinthian church.
1 John: Discerning the True Gospel
John wrote his first letter to clarify the differences between the genuine gospel as revealed by Jesus to the apostles and the heretical versions of the gospel spreading in the early church. He gives 2 guiding principles for recognizing genuine believers and false teachers.
2 Peter: How to find life
As his earthly life drew to a close, Peter wrote his second letter to encourage and admonish the churches. What truths did he think were so important that he had to make sure he wrote them down before he died?
Philemon: How to be a Hero
The Epistle to Philemon is a private letter written by the Apostle Paul. Along with the letter, Paul returning Onesimus, a slave who ran away from Philemon. This letter appeals to Philemon to take the right action and free Onesimus, but it speaks volumes to us today about how to live our daily lives.
While philosophers often use this letter to talk about the evils of slavery and condemn Paul for not taking a strong stance against it, I think this letter has much more to say to us as individual believers and how we should live our lives.
Philippians: Choose Life
Paul’s letter to the Philippians is filled expressions of praise, joy and confidence, despite the fact that Paul wrote the letter while he was in prison. The Philippian church, unlike many other churches Paul wrote to, was not facing any particular problem or controversy. Instead their challenges were the kind that plague many churches today. We can learn from Paul how to rejoice and persevere in the mundane, ordinary difficulties of life.
