| The Function and Form of Epistles. The function of New Testament letters is not simply to relay information, but, like a sermon, to relate truth to life. And, since the writers address many sensitive, real-life issues, the letter form provides them with a way of communicating ideas that are sometimes easier written than said. Because of the nature of their structure, their topical content, and the logical flow of their arguments, we often read them like an encyclopedia when we want to know something about a specific topic ("what does Paul say about this or that?"). But, as Moises Silva points out, "we should read the New Testament letters as wholes" (An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics, 120). Only then can we understand properly what the author's motivation for writing is and the response he makes to a specific situation. While a New Testament letter is a rhetorical form in itself (i.e. it appeals to the readers' emotions, logic, and character), it may also contain other literary forms within it (such as dialogue, poetry, even narrative [e.g. Gal. 4]) each of which requires its own rules of interpretation. 4. The Historical Context of the Epistles. Unlike other types of biblical literature, the epistles were written to respond to the specific needs, situations, problems, and questions of specific churches and localities (e.g. Romans, Corinthians, Galatians) and individuals (e.g. Titus, Timothy, Philemon). Nonetheless, the N.T. epistles are not restricted to ancient history. Tom Long comments: "The Letters of the New Testament are like almost all other letters: connected to a specific set of circumstances but inherently capable of speaking beyond those immediate conditions" (Preaching and the Literary Forms of the Bible, 110.) | |
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