The Basics About the Bible: The Letters Paul Didn't Write

Or maybe he did write one of them.......

 

 Hebrews - The original readers were Jews who decided maybe it would be okay to be just Jews, since the consequences of being Christian Jews were so extreme. 

 God has withheld this writer's name from us.  Maybe the author figured he (she?) was so well-known to the recipients as to make ID unnecessary, or perhaps there was a compelling reason otherwise.  Any scholarly article will tell you the people considered as possible authors, but the final fact is, we don't know.  Maybe the writer was a companion of Paul's, or Paul himself.  We do not know.
 The anonymous (to us) author tells the people, and us, how Christ is superior to angels, to Moses, and to all the prophets.  To leave off following Him would be dangerous.
 As in other letters, there is encouragement and practical application as well as theology.  It is deeply grounded in Leviticus, the OT law, and the workings of the Temple.

 James - There was considerable controversy about allowing this practical book into the Bible, precisely because there is so little theological content. It is the NT parallel of the OT's book of Proverbs: straightforword wisdom.

 I Peter  - Written by Peter, probably about 30 years after Christ's return to heaven, the apostle encourages his flock in the face of persecution and instructs them in practical holiness.  He says he's writing from Babylon - and it may have been literal Babylon - but that was also a code name for Rome, where tradition firmly places him.

II Peter - While Peter wrote his first letter with the help of Silvanus, better known as Silas, his amanuensus, or secretary (5:12), he wrote II Peter quickly and on his own.  Greek scholars would tell you that the language is so different as to be nearly unrecognizable as to be from the same person. (Or perhaps it illustates the degree of freedom an amanuensus had in conveying the boss's ideas, versus the stress & haste the apostle was feeling when he wrote the second letter.)
 The topic of this letter is false teachers and how to deal with them. You do that by strengthening your own faith.

I John - A late bloomer, all John's writings were the "tail" of the NT. We can summarize this book by saying it's about KNOWING the truth. If you want to KNOW you are saved, read this letter prayerfully, and take the test of I John. 

John's Fourfold Purpose:

       - 1:3 so that we can have fellowship with other believers, with the Father, & the Son

       - 1:4 so that our joy can be complete

       - 2:1 to enable us to not sin

       - 5:13 so that we may believe on the name of Son of God,
                       & to assure us of our eternal life

 II John - truth, heresy, and love, or STANDING for the truth.

III John - a warm personal letter to his friend Gaius.  You can compare and contrast Gaius' habits with two other men, Demetrius and Diotrephes. To put this in the frame of I & II John, WORKING for the truth.

Jude - Jesus' half brother originally intended to write about "our common faith," but instead felt compelled to write about the spiritual battles going on around us. 

These four letters are about The Truth: 
Knowing, Standing for, Working for, Fighting for

Revelation - John "was in the Spirit on the Lord's day," and wrote what he saw, "and the things which are, and the things which shall take place after these things."  Rev. 1:10,19

The Three Known  Letter Writers of the NT:

Peter - apostle of hope; he wrote to the "chosen ones"

Paul - apostle of faith; he wrote to the church

John - apostle of love; he wrote to the family

"The church is a body of believers in the position where we are blessed 'with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ.' We are given that position when we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. In the family we have a relationship which can be restored when we 'confess our sins.' Then He is 'faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to forgive us from all unrighteousness.'" I John 1:9

-mostly from McGee