Dear Pastor:
YOU ARE, A VERY IMPORTANT PERSON! The Spiritual, mental and physical health of every member of your congregation ia dependent upon your teaching, preaching and prayers. when you stand before God and give account of the flock He has entrusted you with, it, will be a time of absolutes and established facts. Thus, it is vital to you to be sure the things you teach and preach are those that Jesus Himself or the Apostles would teach and preach if they stood in your pulpit this week. Since this letter is going to many different denominations, obviously, not all can be right in a11 points.
I am not out to put forward any denomination nor build a name for myself. I come to you to urge you to study God's word and to understand it as He clearly meant for it to be understood. Please realize that Jesus was the greatest Teacher of all time and that when His Apostles had questions in their hearts, He frequently knew before they could ask and would answer and explain until they did understand. Isn't that right?
Now, ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God... but I hasten to point out that if you take a statement out of context, you can easily twist its meaning, as the Apostle Peter acknowledges in 2 Peter 3:15, 16. Let me illustrate. I am a licensed, current private pilot. If I say to you, "Brother, if you will come to my house this Saturday, I will take you flying," are you telling the truth a couple of weeks later when, after not callinz me or coming by my house, you tell someone, "Sam broke his promise to me. He promised to take me flying the other Saturday, but didn't." All too often, we do this with the Scriptures. Please, for Jesus sake, be careful to use all Scripture in the context in which it is written.

If you received a letter in your mailbox that was addressed to me, but happened to get in your box, would you open it and read it? I hope not. OK, now, let me call this to your attention: The books of Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, the Epistles of John, Jude and Revelation were all written to churches or bodies of believers. Timothy, Titus and Philemon were also written to believers. These believers had already been "saved" or born again as the Apostles taught, but were being bothered by false teachers and teachings. Nothing said in any of those books. was ever intended for lost, unbelieving sinners! Think about it, pray about it, and may the Holy Spirit guide you into all truth.

Yours for Jesus'. sake,

Samuel M. Smith