A Red Letter Letter

6 October, 2026

The following is a real letter to a fictitious person.

Dear Anthony,

Thank you for your kind words about Sunday’s service. I’m glad that the music, the sermon, and the other facets of the liturgy were particularly uplifting to you this week.

I did want to reach out because you expressed some concern about a little rabbit trail I led the congregation down during the message. I said something to the effect of: “When people start talking about red letters, church, that's a red flag.” You respectfully shared that this hit you as somewhat uncharitable, given that these words are the words of Jesus.

Right off the bat, I want to say that I am encouraged by your zeal for the words of our Lord and Savior. I share your passion and am heartened to have men like you in our church.

So, if I may, I’d like to explain how what I said is consistent with honoring His words, and how the “red letter” perspective actually pulls the rug out from Jesus’ own claims of authority.

First, the church has historically held the entire Bible to be the word of God. This view of inspiration, supported by scripture itself, maintains that everything from Genesis to Revelation came directly from the Lord (2nd Samuel 23:2-3, 2nd Timothy 3:16, 2nd Peter 1:20-21). If we’re orthodox in our view of the trinity, this means that all the words of the Bible are Jesus’ words. Any perspective that elevates God’s words on the dusty streets of Jerusalem over God’s words in the fiery cloud on Sinai is problematic.

Second, and this builds off the previous point, Jesus didn’t elevate His words during His ministry over His words from ages past. In fact, what we posses of words spoken by Christ during His earthly ministry, significant chunks are quotations of the Old Testament and explanations of those texts. Jesus used the Old Testament when He was tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11), when He explained His teaching methodology (13:10-17), and when He defends His claims of divinity (22:34-36). It is worth noting that in that last text that He explicitly reinforces the continuing authority of the Old Testament.

There are certainly other reasons for being wary of prioritizing certain words or sentences. For example, there are conservative, Bible-believing Greek scholars who disagree on whether John 3:16 was spoken by Jesus or if it was a Spirit-inspired comment on Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus recorded by John the evangelist. Either way, it is God’s word and it is true. Also, we’re being inconsistent if we trust Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the gospels but turn around and neglect the apostles’ claims that they received other words from the risen and ascended Christ (1st Corinthians 11:17, Galatians 1:12, Revelation 1:1).

Lastly, I do think it is worth mentioning that many “red letter” movements are explicitly attempting to circumvent the areas of the Bible that are culturally uncouth today. Moses and Paul come across as awfully close-minded in what they have to say about roles of women, homosexuality, and welfare. This is, of course, dangerous on the grounds articulated above. It is also silly when Jesus is quoted saying things that are equally offensive by today’s standards: judging (Matthew 7:15-23), upholding Old Testament law (Luke 16:17), the exclusivity of Christianity (John 14:6). Plus, aside from one mention in James, Jesus is the only one who talks about hell in the New Testament. Focusing only on the completely legitimate teaching about love and charity, they miss the fullness of the gospel Jesus came to preach.

I do know that is a lot to consider and to process. But know that there are also longer, more robust critiques of “red letter Christianity” out there. I’m confident that many who espouse that perspective love Jesus, love their Bible, and want to do what is right. But I’m also confident that those same people would embrace the entirety of the Bible if they were to be made aware of the peril that comes from creating tiers within scripture.

Thank you for reading, for being a part of our body at Christ Covenant, and for your consistent support in what the Lord is doing here.

In Christ,

Pastor Matt