Paul’s Letters
You said that just because we’re still dealing with sin and death today isn’t enough to conclude Paul’s letters are addressed to us. You suggested there must be some other reason besides the fact that Paul’s message fits our situation.
I don’t see how that follows.
Paul’s letters explain humanity’s greatest problem—sin and death—and reveal how Christ completely solved that problem through His death, entombment, and resurrection. We are still the very people living under that same problem today.
So how can those letters not be for us?
Here’s a simple example.
Suppose I write a letter to my son that says,
“Whoever takes out the trash gets $20.”
My daughter reads the letter, takes out the trash, and I give her $20.
Would I then tell her,
“Sorry, that promise wasn’t for you because I addressed the letter to your brother.”
Of course not.
The promise belongs to whoever meets the condition described in the letter.
Here’s another example.
Imagine a cruise ship is stranded on a deserted island.
A rescue crew manages to contact one man by radio and tells him,
“Go to the north side of the island. A rescue boat will meet you there. It will take you safely home.”
Everyone else on the island overhears the message, or the man who received it tells the others.
When the rescue boat arrives, does the captain say,
“Sorry everyone else, this message wasn’t addressed to you. Only the man holding the radio can get on the boat.”
Of course not.
The message was delivered through one man, but it was intended to rescue everyone who believed it and acted upon it.
And suppose some people never heard the radio transmission directly, but others told them what the rescuer had said. When they arrive at the north side of the island and board the rescue boat, do they suddenly discover that the instructions didn’t apply to them because they weren’t the original recipient?
No.
They board the same boat.
They are rescued by the same rescue crew.
They arrive at the same destination.
The message reached them through someone else, but it still applied to them.
Paul’s letters work the same way.
If you believe the gospel Paul preached—Christ’s death, entombment, and resurrection—and you claim the blessings Paul describes, such as justification, reconciliation, grace, peace with God, and resurrection, then how can you also say his letters don’t apply to you?
Are you saying you possess the very faith Paul describes, but because the letters supposedly weren’t written to you, that faith somehow exists outside the very letters that define it?
That position collapses under its own weight.
Paul wasn’t simply answering first-century questions.
He was revealing God’s purpose for humanity through Christ. He explains how death entered through Adam, how Christ defeated death, and how God is bringing His plan to completion.
If we are still living under the very condition Paul is explaining, and if we have the very faith Paul describes, then his letters are plainly for us.
You can’t have it both ways.
Either Paul’s gospel applies to those who believe it, or it doesn’t.
If it doesn’t, then you have no basis for claiming any of the blessings Paul teaches.
If it does, then his letters are indeed written for those who believe the gospel he preached.
Here’s another example.
Imagine a father tells his neighbor,
“If you are kind to my four-year-old daughter, help her when she needs it, and watch over her while I’m away, I’ll give you a new truck.”
Years pass.
The little girl is now eight years old.
She still needs kindness.
She still needs help.
She still needs someone to watch over her.
A man does exactly what the father asked. He is kind to the daughter, helps her, and cares for her just as the father described.
When he goes to receive what was promised, the father says,
“Sorry. That promise was only for people who helped my daughter when she was four. She’s eight now, so it no longer applies to you.”
No one would think that makes any sense.
The promise wasn’t tied to the calendar.
It wasn’t tied to the year.
It was tied to the condition the father described.
The daughter still had the same need.
The man still did exactly what the father said.
Therefore, the promise still applied.
Paul’s letters are no different.
The promises Paul gives are not attached to the first century. They are attached to faith. If today you believe the gospel Paul preached—Christ’s death for our sins, His entombment, and His resurrection—and you possess the very faith Paul describes, then the promises attached to that faith belong to you.
To say, “You have the faith Paul is talking about, but his promises no longer apply because they were written long ago,” makes no more sense than telling the man who cared for the eight-year-old daughter that the father’s promise expired simply because time had passed, even though the exact same need and the exact same condition still existed.
If Paul’s Letters Aren’t Written to Believers Today, Then Why Does Paul Say They Are?
One objection sometimes raised is that Paul’s letters were written only to first-century believers or to specific groups of people, and therefore should not be read as directly addressing believers today.
At first this may sound reasonable.
After all, Paul addressed churches in Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, and Thessalonica.
But when you actually read what Paul writes, a completely different picture emerges.
Paul repeatedly bases every promise—not on geography, race, or century—but on faith in Christ.
The question Paul continually asks is never,
“Do you live in the first century?”
The question is,
“Do you believe the gospel?”
Paul Defines Who Receives His Message
Paul constantly identifies the recipients of God’s blessings.
Notice what qualifies someone.
Not being Jewish.
Not living in the first century.
Not belonging to Rome or Corinth.
Faith.
Romans 3:22
“Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe.”
Who receives God’s righteousness?
Those who believe.
Paul doesn’t say,
“Upon all first-century believers.”
He says,
upon all who believe.
Romans 3:26
“…that He might be just, and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”
Who is justified?
The one believing.
Not the one living in AD 60.
Romans 4:24
Speaking of Abraham, Paul says,
“It shall be imputed to us also, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.”
Notice Paul’s wording.
Us also.
Who is “us”?
Those who believe.
If you believe God raised Jesus from the dead,
Paul says Abraham’s example applies to you.
Romans 5:1
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God.”
Who has peace with God?
Those justified by faith.
Paul doesn’t insert a date.
He doesn’t insert an ethnicity.
He simply identifies the believer.
Paul Says There Is No Difference
Perhaps someone says,
“Yes, but Paul was still talking only to Jews.”
Then why does Paul repeatedly deny that?
Romans 10:12–13
“For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Notice Paul’s language.
No difference.
The same Lord.
Rich unto all.
Whosoever.
Paul intentionally removes the ethnic boundary.
Galatians 3:26–29
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”
How?
By faith.
Then Paul continues,
“There is neither Jew nor Greek…”
Why?
Because faith—not ethnicity—is the defining characteristic.
Paul Was Sent to the Nations
Paul repeatedly explains why Christ appeared to him.
Acts 9:15
The Lord said,
“He is a chosen vessel unto Me, to bear My name before the Gentiles…”
Paul’s commission immediately includes the nations.
Acts 13:46–48
Paul tells the Jews,
“Seeing ye put it from you… lo, we turn to the Gentiles.”
Then Luke writes,
“The Gentiles… glorified the word of the Lord.”
Paul didn’t suddenly become the apostle to the nations in Acts 28.
His ministry to them begins much earlier.
Romans 11:13
Paul writes plainly,
“I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles.”
If you are a Gentile,
Paul specifically says,
“I speak to you.”
How much clearer could he be?
Paul’s Gospel Is For Every Believer
Paul never says,
“My gospel only applies to people living before AD 70.”
Instead he says,
Romans 1:16
“I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.”
Who?
Every one believing.
Jew first.
Also Greek.
Not first century.
Not twentieth century.
Believers.
1 Corinthians 15:1–4
Paul reminds them,
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel…”
Then he defines it.
Christ died for our sins.
He was buried.
He rose again.
If someone believes that gospel today,
why would Paul’s explanation of that gospel suddenly not apply to them?
Paul’s Letters Were Meant To Be Shared
Paul’s letters weren’t intended to remain locked inside one local congregation.
Colossians 4:16
Paul writes,
“When this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans.”
Notice what Paul expected.
One church reads it.
Another church reads it.
The letters circulate.
Why?
Because their message extends beyond one local audience.
Timothy Was Told To Pass It On
Paul didn’t tell Timothy,
“Keep this message within your generation.”
He told him the opposite.
2 Timothy 2:2
“The things that thou hast heard of me… commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
Notice the chain.
Paul.
Timothy.
Faithful men.
Others.
Generation after generation.
The message keeps moving.
Why?
Because its truth isn’t confined to the first century.
Paul Speaks To Anyone Who Believes
Again and again Paul uses universal language.
Whoever believes.
All who believe.
Whosoever.
No difference between Jew and Greek.
The same Lord over all.
His blessings are consistently tied to faith in Christ—not to a mailing address or a date on the calendar.
Don’t Let Anyone Complicate the Simplicity That Is in Christ
One of the saddest consequences of teaching that large portions of Paul’s letters are not written to believers today is the confusion it creates.
Instead of simply reading Paul’s words and believing them, believers are taught to stop and ask,
“Does this verse really apply to me?”
Imagine reading Romans 5:1:
“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God…”
A believer’s first response should be simple:
“I have believed the gospel. This is speaking about me.”
Instead, many have been taught to think,
“Wait…Romans was written only to first-century believers.”
Or,
“Romans was written only to Jews.”
Or,
“Paul wasn’t speaking to us yet.”
Now the very passages God gave to strengthen faith become passages people are taught to question.
Is that really what Paul intended?
Do believers not face enough attacks on their faith already? Must they also wonder whether the promises that encourage them even belong to them?
The same uncertainty is introduced every time they read Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Thessalonians, Philippians, Colossians, or Ephesians.
Instead of resting in Christ, they are taught to rest in a theological system that tells them which chapters they are permitted to believe.
Paul warned against exactly this kind of thinking.
“But I fear…lest…your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3)
The simplicity is not difficult.
Christ died for our sins.
He was entombed.
He was raised the third day.
God grants faith.
Those who believe are justified, reconciled, and have peace with God.
If God has given you that faith, why would the very letters explaining those blessings suddenly not apply to you?
The Real Question
The question is not,
“Was Romans first sent to believers living in Rome?”
Of course it was.
The real question is this:
Who does Paul say receives the blessings he describes?
His answer is remarkably consistent.
Those who believe.
Again and again Paul says:
- justified by faith
- peace with God through faith
- righteousness through faith
- reconciliation through Christ
- no difference between Jew and Greek
- to everyone who believes
Paul never defines the recipients by geography.
He never defines them by century.
He defines them by faith.
If you possess the faith Paul describes, then Paul is describing you.
The Accomplishment Applies—but the Explanation Doesn’t?
Consider what the Acts 28 and “Jews Only” position is actually saying.
They agree Christ died for our sins.
They agree His death, entombment, and resurrection save believers today.
But where does Paul explain what Christ’s death actually accomplished?
Romans.
Galatians.
Corinthians.
Thessalonians.
Those very books they say are not addressed to believers today.
Romans explains justification.
Romans explains reconciliation.
Romans explains how Adam brought death to all humanity and Christ brings life.
First Corinthians explains resurrection.
Galatians explains grace apart from law.
Thessalonians explains our future expectation.
Then Ephesians builds upon everything already revealed.
So the accomplishment supposedly applies today…
but Paul’s explanation of that accomplishment does not?
That is like claiming a cure still saves lives while insisting the doctor’s explanation of the cure no longer applies.
It is like saying the engine still works, but the owner’s manual is only for the first person who bought the car.
Or like saying long division is still true, but the math textbook explaining it expired because another classroom used it first.
Truth does not stop being true because the calendar changes.
Neither does Paul’s explanation of the gospel.
Don’t Trade Christ for a System
The result of these teachings is that believers slowly stop looking to Christ and begin looking to a system.
Every promise must first pass through someone’s theological filter.
Every chapter must be examined before it can be believed.
Instead of asking,
“What does Paul say?”
people ask,
“Which dispensation was this?”
“Who was the original audience?”
“Am I allowed to claim this promise?”
That is exactly the kind of complexity Paul warned against.
The simplicity is this:
Christ accomplished it.
God gives faith.
Believe Him.
Rest in what He has done.
Fellowship Can Never Replace the Gospel
There is another danger that often accompanies these systems.
Many believers become so dependent upon acceptance within a particular theological group that their fellowship becomes more important than the gospel itself.
When fellowship becomes your foundation, rejection becomes devastating.
Some people become so hurt by being rejected that they swing to entirely new theological extremes simply to find another community that will accept them.
It happens in romantic relationships.
The more desperately someone needs the relationship, the easier they become to control.
The same principle applies spiritually.
The gospel must always come before the group.
Your confidence should rest in Christ—not in whether a particular circle approves of you.
History is filled with people who eventually concluded, “I hate reject Christ,” not because they hated Christ, but because they had placed their hope in people rather than in the finished work of Christ.
Believers will disappoint you.
Churches will disappoint you.
Theological movements will disappoint you.
Christ never will.
Fellowship is a wonderful gift from God, but it was never intended to become the foundation of your faith.
That foundation is Christ alone.
Believe His gospel.
Rest in His finished work.
Then enjoy fellowship—not because your identity depends upon it, but because your identity has already been secured by the One who loved you and gave Himself for you.
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