Red Letter Bible

[JimmyB]

Browsing through Amazon today, I noticed that there are quite a few "red letter" Bibles, especially the NLT.  Personally, I dislike them, as they break up my train of thought.  The entire Bible is the word of God, so why are Jesus' words printed in red?

[HAZARD]

A red letter Bible is an edition of Scripture in which the words spoken by Jesus Christ are printed in red ink. The red letters are meant to help readers easily locate the actual words spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ.

[JimmyB]

34 minutes ago, HAZARD said:

A red letter Bible is an edition of Scripture in which the words spoken by Jesus Christ are printed in red ink. The red letters are meant to help readers easily locate the actual words spoken by the Lord Jesus Christ.

But if the entire Bible is God's word, why are Jesus' words highlighted?

[Michael37]

2 minutes ago, JimmyB said:

But if the entire Bible is God's word, why are Jesus' words highlighted?

One might also ask, "Why do people make special visits to places mentioned in the Bible?"

Answer, "Because they have special significance."

[Solus Christus]

16 minutes ago, JimmyB said:

But if the entire Bible is God's word, why are Jesus' words highlighted?

Because Jesus is God in the flesh who instituted The New Covenant in His Blood and so His words are paramount in importance. 
 

There are cases where Jesus and the apostles differ:

“But you are not to be called rabbi (teacher), for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. [9] And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. [10] Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. [11] The greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matthew 23:8-11)

”[2] And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. [3] Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. [4] But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2-4) 

Jesus said to be servants, when you look that word up it is like a waiter who tends to your every need. Here in Acts 6 the apostles choose to separate serving from preaching, creating the cast of minister and deacon, when servant according to Jesus was a combo of both, James rebuked this in his epistle, James Chapter 2, when he says “if you say to your brother I’ll pray for you and be well fed, and do nothing for his needs, what good is that? Faith without works is dead.” 

Jesus knew teaching without serving leads to corruption. He even washed the feet of His disciples and told them to follow His example in addition to preaching. 
 

Red Letterist Christians because of this choose to place the red letter words of Jesus as first, then epistles and etc second to those. 

[JimmyB]

30 minutes ago, Michael37 said:

One might also ask, "Why do people make special visits to places mentioned in the Bible?"

Answer, "Because they have special significance."

So according to you, Jesus' words have priority over His Father's?

[JimmyB]

14 minutes ago, Solus Christus said:

Because Jesus is God in the flesh who instituted The New Covenant in His Blood and so His words are paramount in importance. 
 

There are cases where Jesus and the apostles differ:

“But you are not to be called rabbi (teacher), for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. [9] And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. [10] Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. [11] The greatest among you shall be your servant.” (Matthew 23:8-11)

”[2] And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. [3] Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. [4] But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2-4) 

Jesus said to be servants, when you look that word up it is like a waiter who tends to your every need. Here in Acts 6 the apostles choose to separate serving from preaching, creating the cast of minister and deacon, when servant according to Jesus was a combo of both, James rebuked this in his epistle, James Chapter 2, when he says “if you say to your brother I’ll pray for you and be well fed, and do nothing for his needs, what good is that? Faith without works is dead.” 

Jesus knew teaching without serving leads to corruption. He even washed the feet of His disciples and told them to follow His example in addition to preaching. 
 

Red Letterist Christians because of this choose to place the red letter words of Jesus as first, then epistles and etc second to those. 

Read my previous post.  Jesus' words should not have priority over His Father's words.  

Romans 3:2b, "First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God."

[Michael37]

25 minutes ago, JimmyB said:

So according to you, Jesus' words have priority over His Father's?

Where did I say that?

[Solus Christus]

1 hour ago, JimmyB said:

Read my previous post.  Jesus' words should not have priority over His Father's words.  

Romans 3:2b, "First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God."

Ah but Jesus is Word of God itself, and The Father has elevated Him as judge of all, “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son..” (John 5:22) and yet Jesus seeks to do The Will of The Father, “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” (JohN 5:30). And Jesus and Father are One, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:9), “I and The Father are One,” (John 10:30), “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. ² For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. ³ And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth. ⁴ I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ Now, Father, bring me into the glory we shared before the world began.

⁶ “I have revealed you^[a] to the ones you gave me from this world. They were always yours. You gave them to me, and they have kept your word.⁷ Now they know that everything I have is a gift from you, ⁸ for I have passed on to them the message you gave me. They accepted it and know that I came from you, and they believe you sent me.

⁹ “My prayer is not for the world, but for those you have given me, because they belong to you. ¹⁰ All who are mine belong to you, and you have given them to me, so they bring me glory. ¹¹ Now I am departing from the world; they are staying in this world, but I am coming to you. Holy Father, you have given me your name;^[b] now protect them by the power of your name so that they will be united just as we are. ¹² During my time here, I protected them by the power of the name you gave me.^[c] I guarded them so that not one was lost, except the one headed for destruction, as the Scriptures foretold.

¹³ “Now I am coming to you. I told them many things while I was with them in this world so they would be filled with my joy. ¹⁴ I have given them your word. And the world hates them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. ¹⁵ I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one.¹⁶ They do not belong to this world any more than I do. ¹⁷ Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. ¹⁸ Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. ¹⁹ And I give myself as a holy sacrifice for them so they can be made holy by your truth.

²⁰ “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.²¹ I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.” (John 17:1-22). 
 

Jesus words are greater because its a New Covenant foretold by Jeremiah, 

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. ³³ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. ³⁴ And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34) 

“But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6) 

“the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.” (Luke 22:20) 

“Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.” (Hebrews 7:22) 

The Old Covenant is obsolete:

“By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.” (Hebrews 8:13) 

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” (Romans 10:4) 

 

[Willa]

1 hour ago, JimmyB said:

Read my previous post.  Jesus' words should not have priority over His Father's words.  

Romans 3:2b, "First of all, the Jews have been entrusted with the very words of God."

JESUS said and did only what the Father gave Him to say and do, so by that fact the words os Jesus ARE the words os the Father.  Jesus claimed to be the great I AM in John 8:58  Joh 8:58    ESV Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM." and Exodus Exo 3:14  God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'"  JESUS is the Word made flesh who dwelt among us.  He is the Word who was with God and who is God.

Joh 8:24  LITV.  Therefore, I said to you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  Joh 1:2  He was in the beginning with God.  Joh 1:3  All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.  Joh 1:14  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

Luk 1:1  Since [as is well known] many have undertaken to compile an orderly account of the things which have been fulfilled among us [by God],  Luk 1:2  exactly as they were handed down to us by those [with personal experience] who from the beginning [of Christ's ministry] were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word [that is, of the teaching concerning salvation through faith in Christ],  Luk 1:3  it seemed fitting for me as well, [and so I have decided] after having carefully searched out and investigated all the events accurately, from the very beginning, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus; [Act 1:1]  Luk 1:4  so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught [that is, the history and doctrine of the faith].

Some people think that the words of Paul are tainted by his personality, forgetting that the words of Jesus are recorded by John, Matthew, Mark, and by Luke as told him by others.  The truth is that the Bible is God breathed or inspired by the Holy Spirit and revealed to each of us that we may understand it by the Holy Spirit.  It doesn't matter whether Moses penned them. Paul penned them, Luke did or John penned them. the Bible is the work of the Holy Spirit.

I agree that the New Testament is superior to the Old, i.e. that the New Covenant is superior to the Old, so perhaps everything concerning Christ and the New Covenant should be another color.  Since so many people are color blind to red perhaps deep purple or another color should be used.  I find red harder to read and am not color blind to red so I avoid red letter editions.  (I  do have difficulty discerning some shades of blue/green).