In order to properly interpret the epistles, one must understand that epistles are categorized as occasional letters. Occasional documents are written for specific occasions, which make it hard to understand. Historical and literary context are very important to understanding the epistles. Historical context plays a major role. It may be hard to decipher what the exact reason for the letter is, therefore, making it hard to understand the document itself. Literary context is also important because the first century may have a different way of expressing something or may have different names for specific items. Therefore, one must understand the language used at that time as well.
Fee and Stuart gives two basic principles that can be applied to understanding the epistles, the basic rule and the second rule. According to Fee and Stuart, the basic rule states that the text cannot ever mean something other than what it was meant when written for the original audience (pg. 74). This basic rule, referring to literary context, can help set limitations as to what the text could possibly mean.
The second rule focuses more on historical context. Per Fee and Stuart, when faced with similar situations, “God’s Word to us is the same as his Word to them” (pg. 75). When faced with similar situations, one can understand the reason why the epistle was written. Fee and Stuart does caution that one must be sure that the two situations are “genuinely comparable” to avoid changing the situations to match one’s purpose.