The Joy of Bible Reading

To Obey Is Better than Sacrifice

2012-01-28T14:45:00.003-05:00

Fred Zapel on the Priority of Obedience:

Two major points of application arise from this. First, God expects us to obey him, and he holds us accountable accordingly. God does not offer suggestions. He gives commands. And we, his creatures, are bound to obey. We must not pick and choose — we must obey.

Second, we must not pretend to worship God if we will not obey his commands. We may go through the motions — go to church, give our money, sing the songs, pray — but if we are otherwise disobedient, our worship will not be acceptable.

Shameful Even to Mention

2012-01-20T19:50:00.005-05:00

Carl Trueman shares this quote from Peter O'Brien's commentary on Ephesians, regarding Ephesians 5:11-12:

"The earlier expression, 'the fruitless deeds of darkness' (v. 11), is a general one and could include sins done openly as well as those committed secretly. Such a description focuses on their evil character - they belong to the realm of darkness - and the fact they are utterly futile. These 'works' are the sexual vices (perhaps even perversions) mentioned in v. 3, not immoral pagan religious rites, as some have suggested. They are now described as 'the things done in secret': those who commit them (i.e., the 'disobedient' of vv. 6, 7) do not want their sins to be brought out into the open (cf. John 3:20). But their dark deeds are so abhorrent, Paul asserts, that it is 'shameful' even to mention them, much less to do them. He utterly repudiates these sexual sins, but desires to convey their seriousness without mentioning the details of the depravity. Paul and his readers knew what they were, and he will not dignify them by naming them. Instead, he wants the light of the gospel to shine through the readers' lives and expose these deeds for what they are" (The Letter to the Ephesians, pp. 371-72).

Trueman applies this text to our Christian culture: "Here's a question: would it make any difference to you, any difference at all to the way you talk, to what you watch, to the way you 'engage culture', if Eph. 5:12 had never been written?"

Understanding the Synoptics

2012-01-14T16:04:00.002-05:00

Justin Taylor collects together four videos featuring Darrell Bock (research professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary), who gives a 40-minute talk on How the Synoptic Gospels Help Us See Jesus’ Authority from the Ground Up. In other words, he shows some of the ways that the Synoptics (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) establish Jesus’ authority one step at a time.

Christmas in November?

2011-12-24T10:49:00.002-05:00

In Paul's Maier's article, The Date of the Nativity and the Chronology of Jesus' Life, he examines the biblical and historical clues to suggest the "first Christmas" took place sometime in November (or early December) of 5 B.C.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

God Is Jealous

2011-12-17T15:00:00.000-05:00

It’s hard for us to think of God as a jealous God, because most of the time human jealousy is so destructive and ugly. It is full of resentment and spite. It diminishes and controls the other person. But divine jealousy is different. Joyce Baldwin describes it like this:

It is significant that God is first spoken of as ‘jealous’ at the giving of the covenant code (Ex. 20:5; 34:14; Dt 5:9), when the special relationship was established between the Lord and His people, Israel. Because they are His, they can belong to no-one else, hence the prohibition of idolatry and the sanctions against it in the third commandment; but these are followed by assurances of ‘steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments’ (Ex 20:6). God's jealousy is a measure of the intensity of His love towards those with whom He has entered in covenant. So great is His love that He cannot be indifferent if they spurn Him by disobedience or sheet carelessness….

God’s love is never passive but is always expressing itself in positive encouragement of what is right, or, when it is spurned, in unmistakable judgments, intended to bring the sufferer to his senses, and back to God. His love is so intense that it can do no less (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, TOTC, pp.102-103).

A Leader Who Has Forgotten Grace

2011-12-11T15:59:00.005-05:00

In Numbers 20, as in Exodus 17, the children of Israel complain to Moses that they have no water and are going to die of thirst. God tells Moses to gather the people at "that rock" and then he says to Moses, "Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink" (Numbers 20:8). So Moses gathers the people together, but instead of speaking to the rock, he says to the people: "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?" (v. 10). And then he strikes the rock twice and water gushes out. But God says to Moses, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them" (v. 12).

In an article about Speaking with Contempt, Tim Keller explains what's going on:

What did Moses do wrong? Of course he failed to follow instructions. He struck the rock instead of speaking to it, and that is disobedience. Nevertheless, God’s rebuke goes deeper. In calling them “rebels” Moses set himself up as their judge. In saying, “Must we bring you water?” he set himself up as their deliverer. Everything Moses did pointed away from God toward himself.
It is not hard to understand why. Leadership brings a steady drumbeat of criticism and misunderstanding, even when things are going well. When things go poorly, people vent their frustration and anger on those in charge....
This makes sense of Moses’ reaction. “His response is not only the striking of the rock, it is the answer of a man who under pressure has become bitter and pretentious.” (D. Carson, For the Love of God , vol 1, May 11th reading.) God was ready to be gracious, but Moses was in no mood for that. The relentless criticism had made him self-righteous. He held them in contempt. He had wrath but no compassion, and that is the mark of a man who is becoming less like God, not more. (See Isaiah 15-16 where God grieves even as he speaks in judgment.) Moses is a man who has forgotten grace, and the sign of it is a sanctimonious spirit along with words of denunciation without humility and compassion.

Keep Yourselves from Idols

2011-12-05T19:17:00.002-05:00

Justin Taylor quotes from David Powlison's excellent article, "Idols of the Heart and 'Vanity Fair'"on Why 1 John Ends with a Command.

John’s last line properly leaves us with that most basic question which God continually poses to each human heart. Has something or someone besides Jesus the Christ taken title to your heart’s trust, preoccupation, loyalty, service, fear and delight? It is a question bearing on the immediate motivation for one’s behavior, thoughts, and feelings. In the Bible’s conceptualization, the motivation question is the lordship question. Who or what “rules” my behavior, the Lord or a substitute? The undesirable answers to this question—answers which inform our understanding of the “idolatry” we are to avoid—are most graphically presented in 1 John 2:15-17, 3:7-10, 4:1-6, and 5:19. It is striking how these verses portray a confluence of the “sociological,” the “psychological,” and the “demonological” perspectives on idolatrous motivation.

The Big Picture Story of the Bible

2011-11-18T20:45:00.002-05:00

Justin Taylor summarizes Graeme Goldsworthy's broad outline of the biblical storyline: The Pattern of the Kingdom: “God’s People, in God’s Place, Under God’s Rule.

The pattern of the kingdom is established in the Garden of Eden.
This pattern is broken when sin enters in.
The pattern is reestablished in salvation history in Israel but never fully realized.
The same pattern shapes the prophetic view of the future kingdom.
The pattern of the kingdom is perfectly established in Jesus in a representative way.
The pattern of the kingdom begins to be formed in the people of God through the gospel.
The pattern of the kingdom is consummated at Christ’s return.

Questions to Ask When Reading the Bible

2011-11-15T20:12:00.003-05:00

Justin Taylor summarizes both J. I. Packer's and Gerald Bray's 3 Questions to Ask When Reading from the Bible.

Packer's 3 questions:
1. "What is shown about God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?"
2. "What is shown about the bewildering, benighted world with all its beautiful and beneficial aspects alongside those that are corrupt and corrupting?"
3. "What is shown to guide one’s living, this day and every day?"

Bray's 3 questions:
1. "What does [the passage] tell us about God? What does it say about who he is and about what he does?"
2. "What does this text say about us human beings? What are we meant to be and what has gone wrong?"
3. "What has God done about this and what does he expect of us in the light of what he has done?"

The Sermon on the Mount

2011-10-31T21:02:00.004-04:00

From Craig L. Blomberg's article, "The Most Often Abused Verses in the Sermon on the Mount," Southwestern Journal of Theology (Volume 46, Number 3, Summer 2004, pp. 1-17):

... it is significant that while one can still find supporters of the most influential approaches to the sermon throughout church history - the older Catholic “two tiers of Christians,” the Lutheran “law to prepare for the Gospel,” the Calvinist “mandate for the state,” the nineteenth–century liberal “social optimism,” Schweitzer’s “interim ethic,” and old–line dispensationalism - even various contemporary representatives of these movements, along with much of mainstream biblical scholarship, have achieved a broad consensus that the sermon is to be understood as part of Jesus’ “already but not yet” ethic and inaugurated kingdom eschatology that characterized his teaching more generally. The rest of our paper will assume that this interpretive grid is the most accurate one.

Matt. 5:1-2 immediately reinforces this conviction as the stage is set for Christ’s sermon. While crowds surrounded Jesus, “his disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.” His words form instruction for those already committed to him at some level as his followers, and they are addressed to his followers in community. In other words, Jesus’ ethic is not first of all for the state or society as a whole (though applications can be made there), but neither is it limited to what today would be called individual Christians’ private lives. It is a manifesto for what would become known as the church.

Saved by Faith With or Without Works?

2011-05-22T14:21:00.004-04:00

There are skeptics who say the Bible is full of contradictions, and they point to James 2:14-26 as an example – they say that James contradicts Paul, because James says faith without works is dead (James 2:17, 20, 26), whereas Paul teaches that we are saved by faith apart from works. For example, Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.”

So on one hand you have James saying that faith without works cannot save, and on the other hand you have Paul saying that we are saved by faith, not by works. On the surface it seems like James and Paul are opposed to each other. And it’s not only skeptics who question James’ teaching. Martin Luther, one of the leaders in the protestant Reformation, said that James “mangles the Scriptures and thereby opposes Paul and all Scripture” (quoted by Douglas Moo, The Letter of James, PNTC, p. 5).

But if we’re careful in reading James, we’ll find that he doesn’t contradict Paul. James never says that works saves us. He’s not holding out good works as an alternative to faith. His question in James 2:14 is, “Can such faith – can that kind of faith – save him?” In other words, James is getting at the nature or character of saving faith. It’s faith that saves, but not all faith is genuine. Specifically, James doubts the reality of a person’s faith if there is no resulting life of obedience. His contention is that if a person has genuine faith, then they will not only say they believe, but they will have works of faith in their life.

This is consistent with Paul and other biblical writers. The Bible teaches that we are saved by faith. However, the faith that saves us will always produce good works – otherwise it is not genuine faith. Look back at Ephesians 2. Right after saying we are saved by faith not by works, Paul followed up with this declaration: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). So Paul and James are on the same page. There is a kind of faith that saves, and a kind of faith that doesn’t save. Faith that saves – faith that is genuine – always produces a life of good works.

Take Pride in Your Low Position

2011-03-12T17:39:00.001-05:00

In James 1:10, the rich are urged to take pride or boast in their "low position." What is this low position? Some think it refers to our identification with Christ as believers, which the world views as a "low position." In other words, don’t boast about your wealth or status or influence. Boast about who you are in Christ. Even though the world views it as a low position, it’s the only status that ultimately matters. Others think James is using scornful irony to urge an unbeliever to boast in his future low position (literally, humiliation) - i.e. condemnation - when he is judged by God.

But from the usage of the word and the context, I think that the low position James is talking about is our frailty as humans (cf. Acts 8:33; Philippians 3:21). Our life here is transitory. We are like a plant under the scorching sun: we will wither, our blossom will fall and our beauty will vanish (James 1:11). No matter how great our possessions, we will be brought low. What we have here will fade away. Material riches and a comfortable life – they are all temporary. In fact, we can drop dead at any time, even as we’re going about our daily business. James says with some irony that we should take pride in this reality, and what he means is that the transitory nature of our existence should humble us, so that we live with heaven and eternity in mind.

The Message of Job

2011-03-06T15:51:00.002-05:00

Robert McCabe links here to his five post series on Job. In part 3 of the series he summarizes the message of Job:

What then is the overall message of the book of Job? I would summarize it like this. Because of God’s incomprehensible wisdom and incomparable power as reflected by His creating and sustaining the world and its inhabitants, He is its sovereign who freely administers justice correctly. With Job’s fuller revelation of the theocentric nature of the world, he repented of his wrong and fearfully submitted to the Almighty. In short, the mysterious nature of God’s control of life’s moral order should produce in his people a repentant faith in God and a wholehearted reverence for his sovereign majesty.

Is God's Giving "Generous" or "Single"?

2011-03-05T16:20:00.006-05:00

James 1:5 encourages the sufferer to ask God for wisdom, "who gives generously to all without finding fault" (NIV). Douglas Moo comments on the word translated "generously":

Yet another possibility should be considered. The Greek word involved is found only here in the NT. It comes from a root whose basic meaning is "single," "simple," an idea retained in Paul's use of a word cognate to this one in Eph. 6:5 (cf. Col. 3:22): "Slaves, obey your earthly masters ... with sincerity of heart." 1 Corinthians 11:3 displays a similar usage of this word, Paul expressing his fear that the Corinthians minds might be led astray from their "sincere and pure devotion to Christ."

Another cognate word may have this sense of "single," "undivided," in Luke 11:34, as the famous KJV rendering puts it: "The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light." This occurrence is particularly important, since we know that James is dependent on Jesus' teaching in this verse. When we turn to the usage of this word group in the LXX, we find an even more striking pattern. Only once does any of the words refer to generosity (3 Macc. 3:21), while all of the eleven other occurrences denote "sincerity" or "integrity" or "blamelessness."

Moo concludes:

These texts ... suggest that [James] has taken an OT term denoting "integrity" and applied it to God. Such a linguistic move would make sense in light of James' tendency to portray Christian character as a reflection and outgrowth of God's. And arguably the most important theme in James is his concern that Christians display spiritual integrity: singleness of intent combined with blamelessness in actions. Furthermore, this very point surfaces explicitly in vv. 7-8. Taken together, then, the evidence suggests that James is not so much highlighting God's generosity in giving as his single, undivided intent to give us those gifts we need to please him (The Letter of James, Pillar New Testament Commentary, pp.58-59).

Reasons to Read the Bible

2011-02-20T17:28:00.001-05:00

George Guthrie gives nine biblical reasons why we need to read the Bible.

Gentry on the Holiness of God

2011-02-06T17:03:00.004-05:00

Josh Hayes provides a summary of Peter Gentry's presentation on the meaning of holiness.

At the Sept. 29 faculty address, Peter Gentry, professor of Old Testament interpretation at Southern Seminary, said that the common understanding of God’s holiness is mistaken. Instead of defining it as transcendence and moral purity, he argues, theologians and biblical scholars should define the term according to the context of its occurrences in the biblical text.

In his address, Gentry argued that the biblical contexts indicate that holiness refers to a state of consecration or devotion. “

Unfortunately, the church of Jesus Christ, at least in the Western world, has not understood very well the meaning of the word ‘holy’ nor what it means to worship a holy God,” Gentry said.

Gentry illustrated this notion by examining the biblical texts of Exodus 3, Exodus 19 and Isaiah 6 in order to expound upon the meaning of holiness.

You can listen to Gentry's faculty address, "No One Holy, Like the Lord" by clicking on the link here.

"He Who Has Ears to Hear"

2011-01-22T10:38:00.003-05:00

In his book, We Become What We Worship, G. K. Beale deals extensively with the call to "hear" in the letters to the churches in Revelation 2-3. He writes concerning the "hearing" formula:

This formula has its background in the Synoptics and the Old Testament where in both cases it occurs in connection with symbolic or parabolic revelation. In the Old Testament it refers to the effect that the symbolic revelation of the prophets had on the Israelites. The primary function of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel was to warn Israel of its impending doom and divine judgment, especially because of their intractable stance toward idolatry. They delivered their warnings in a rational and sermonic way, exhorting the audience about their sin and reminding them about their past history in which God had judged their fathers because of the same kind of selfish disobedience. But these prophetic messages had little success because of Israel's idolatrous allegiances and consequent spiritual lethargy and stiff-necked attitude against changing the ways in which they had grown accustomed. They had become spiritually lifeless like their idols and spiritually hardened to rational, historical and homiletical warnings.

As a consequence, the prophets also took up different forms of warning. They employed symbolic action and parable in order to get attention. But such a change in warning form is effective only with those who already have spiritual insight. Symbolic parables cause those who "have ears to hear and hear not" to misunderstand further.

How Does "Out of Egypt I Called My Son" Refer to Jesus?

2010-12-12T09:01:00.004-05:00

From Kevin Deyoung's commentary on the use of Hosea's "Out of Egypt I called my son" in Matthew 2:13-15:

Matthew clearly wants to portray Jesus as fulfilling Israel’s history and bringing it to a climax. Matthew didn’t think Hosea 11:1 was a direct prophecy about Jesus and his family going to Egypt. And Hosea certainly didn’t mean it as such. The passage is about Israel’s Exodus out of Egypt and about her subsequent idolatries and adulteries. Matthew understood that. He wasn’t trying to give Hosea 11 a new meaning. But he did see something Messianic in Hosea’s words. Jesus would be the faithful Son called out of Egypt, filling up what was lacking in the first faithless son, Israel. From his genesis to his exodus to his baptism in the Jordan to his forty days in the wilderness, Jesus was identifying himself with the covenant people. He was the embodiment of Israel.

Encourage One Another

2010-11-19T18:54:00.003-05:00

The NIV translates 1 Thessalonians 4:18 like this: “Therefore encourage each other with these words.” Instead of "encourage," some translations (KJV, NASB notably) use the word “comfort.” In light of the passage's focus on what happens to those who have fallen asleep (died) in Christ, many hear the word "comfort" and think primarily in terms of consoling those who are grieving. But that is only one dimension of the word translated "encourage" or "comfort." It can mean to exhort, to urge, or to plead with people. It has the idea of coming alongside in order to strengthen or help.

I see a connection to the first verse of the chapter, where Paul says, “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more” (1 Thessalonians 4:1, NIV). The word “urge” in verse 1 is the same word translated “encourage” in verse 18. If the connection is legitimate then the point is this: Just as Paul urged (encouraged, exhorted, pleaded with) the Thessalonians to live a life pleasing to God, so we are to urge (encourage, exhort, plead with) one another to live a life pleasing to God. And we do so by reminding one another of the hope of the resurrection and the promise of Christ’s return.

Born of Water and the Spirit

2010-10-11T13:44:00.003-04:00

D. A. Carson on the meaning of Jesus' statement, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:5).

There are a number of Old Testament passages where water and Spirit are linked, but perhaps the most striking is found in the writings of a sixth century BC Old Testament prophet by the name of Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 26, God promises a time when he will transform his people. "I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean" (36:25). "And I will put my Spirit in you," indicating life and power from God himself (36:27). So whatever else this new birth is, if it is in line with the promise of a prophet six centuries earlier, it is bound up with the dawning of a new covenant that would be characterized by moral transformation (the water sprinkling the heart) and by the power and life of God to transform and renew. That is what Jesus meant by a new birth of water and the Spirit (The God Who Is There, pp. 129-30).

A Sermon Outline of Joshua 24:14-15

2010-08-15T09:23:00.002-04:00

An outline based on Joshua 24:14-15, but which takes in the surrounding chapter:

1. The context of serving the Lord (why we are to serve the Lord)

God's grace (Joshua 24:1-13, especially verses 12-13)

2. The content of serving the Lord (what it means to serve the Lord)

God's uniqueness requires allegiance and submission to him alone (cf. Joshua 23:6-16)

3. The contest for serving the Lord (how false gods/idols compete for our allegiance)

God's holiness demands wholehearted faithfulness (Joshua 24:16-27)

All Are Guilty

2010-07-24T13:52:00.000-04:00

Romans 1 and 2 show that both the moral person and the immoral person need the gospel. In Romans 1:20, Paul writes that those who suppress the truth by their wickedness are “without excuse.” Then, in Romans 2:1, he says that “you” who are morally good “have no excuse.” So it doesn’t matter if we’re religious or irreligious, moral or immoral, we have no excuse before God for our sin.

Your Desires that Battle Within You

2010-07-18T13:33:00.003-04:00

Justin Taylor outlines Paul Tripp's treatment of James 4:1-10. Tripp describes five stages in the war for the heart:

Stage 1: Desire. “The objects of most of our desires are not evil. The problem is the way they tend to grow, and the control they come to exercise over our hearts. All human desire must be held in submission to a greater purpose, the desires of God for his kingdom.” (p. 85)

Stage 2: Demand. (“I must.”) “Demand is the closing of my fists over a desire. . . . I am not longer comforted by God’s desire for me; I am threaten by it, because God’s will potentially standards in the way of my demand. . . . The morphing of my desire changes my relationship to others. No I enter the room loaded with a silent demand: You must help me get what I want. . . .” (p. 86)

Stage 3: Need. (“I will.”) ” I now view the thing I want as essential to life. This is a devasating step in the eventual slavery of desire. . . . To ‘chriten’ desire as need is equivalent to viewing cake as I do respiration. . . .” (p. 86)

Stage 4: Expectation. (“You should.”) “If I am convinced I need something and you have said that you love me, it seems right to expect that you will help me get it. The dynamic of (improper) need-driven expectation is the source of untold conflict in relationship.” (p. 87)

Stage 5: Disappointment. (“You didn’t!”) “There is a direct relationship between expectation and disappointment, and much of our disappointment in relationships i s not because people have actually wronged us, but because they have failed to meet our expectations.” (pp. 87-88)

Stage 6: Punishment. (“Because you didn’t, I will. . . .”) “We are hurt and angry because people who say they love us seem insensitive to our needs. So we strike back in a variety of ways to punish them for their wrongs against us. We include everything from the silent treatment (a form of bloodless murder where I don’t kill you but act as if you do not exist) to horrific acts of violence and abuse. I am angry because you have broken the laws of my kingdom. God’s kingdom has been supplanted. I am no longer motivated by a love for God and people so that I use the things in my life to express that love. Instead I love things, and use people–and even the Lord–to get them. My heart has been captured. I am in active service of the creation, and the result can only be chaos and conflict in my relationships.” (p. 88)

Timothy Often Gets a Bad Rap (And Shouldn't)

2010-07-04T16:18:00.005-04:00

From an old post of Bill Mounce's questioning Was Timothy Timid or Fearful?

How do you determine the meaning of a word? Etymology can point us in a direction, but ultimately it is how the word is used in other contexts. This gives us the range of meanings possessed by the word, and then it is up to the immediate context (2 Tim 1:3) to determine the specific nuance of meaning.

If you check out my commentary, you will see a listing of the uses of deilia. Nowhere does it mean "timid." In fact, I am a bit at a loss to know where "timid" came from. The word means "fearful," "cowardice." BDAG lists the gloss, lack of mental or moral strength, cowardice. This is why the ESV reads, "for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control" (emphasis added).

Is Paul saying that Timothy is fearful, a coward? That seems impossible. Nowhere in our understanding of Paul or Timothy is there a place for cowardice. And look at the entire verse. Is Paul actually saying that Timothy should not be fearful but should be characterized by power, love, and self-control? Would this mean that Timothy was not characterized by power, love, and self-control? That seems hardly possible as well.

So what is Paul saying? Things are not always as easy as we would like them to be. I believe that "fear" is merely a literary foil to emphasize that Timothy’s life is to be characterized by power, by love, and by self-control. In other words, Paul is not saying that Timothy is fearful or cowardly—this makes no sense in light of what we know about Timothy, and merely being young or physically sick does not mean that you are a coward. Rather, these are qualities that Timothy already possessed, and Paul is encouraging his young co-worker (and best friend, I believe) by reminding him of what Timothy knows is true.

Carson on 1 Peter 2:9-10

2010-06-27T14:32:00.002-04:00

Andy Naselli provides a link to D. A. Carson’s chapter in Holy, Holy, Holy: Proclaiming the Perfections of God that explains and applies 1 Peter 2:9-10: “‘A Holy Nation’: The Church’s High Calling.”

An excerpt regarding our identity as Christians:

... what does Peter say to establish our corporate identity? He says, in effect, “You are a chosen people; a royal priesthood; a holy ethnicity—a holy nation; God’s special possession.”

I hope you now see that these categories are not discreet, hermetically sealed-off things that are added to one another. They overlap. In each case, there is an emphasis on God’s initiative, on supreme God-centeredness, and on the built-in implication of incalculable privilege over against every other form of self-identity. We are God’s people, sanctified by God, chosen by God, loved by God. We are His priesthood, His nation, His people. This is our identity (pp.84-85).

God Repented

2010-04-04T19:39:00.000-04:00

Jonah's message to Nineveh was, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned.” But the very fact that Jonah announced God’s judgment and the very fact that Nineveh was given forty days all imply the possibility of mercy. And that’s what happened when Nineveh repented: “When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he had compassion and did not bring upon them the destruction he had threatened” (3:10).

Some people have a problem with God relenting and changing his mind about Nineveh’s destruction. They think it means that God is fickle. Or that God is changeable. But in reality, God remained the same. He remained consistent to his own character. It was Nineveh that changed. Walter Kaiser explains it like this:

God can and does change in his actions and emotions toward men so as not to change in his basic character. God’s repentance does not prove him to be fickle, mutable, and variable in his nature or purpose. Rather … “if God had willed to treat the Ninevites after their repentance as He had threatened to treat them before their repentance, this would have proved Him mutable. It would have revealed Him as displeased, at one time with impenitence and at another time with penitence” (Toward Old Testament Ethics, p. 250).

Resurrection Sunday

2010-04-04T15:06:00.000-04:00

There are some differences between the various accounts of Jesus' resurrection, but no contradictions. Justin Taylor offers a reconstruction of What Happened on Sunday.

Perplexed by Parables

2010-04-01T22:20:00.001-04:00

Jonathan T. Pennington, in "Matthew 13 and the Function of the Parables in the First Gospel" SBJT 13/3 (Fall 2009), writes about the disciples response to Jesus' usage of parables:

One of the most interesting and unexpected elements of this story is what happens in verse 10. After Jesus preaches this parable of the Sower, the disciples are not sure what to make of it. They are perplexed. They have no idea what Jesus is doing. To feel the weight of their confusion one must think back to the narrative that precedes this text. These fishermen and tax collectors and political revolutionaries are following Jesus because they have seen his God-given miraculous powers and because every time he opens his mouth they amazed at his wisdom and authoritative and clear teaching. They are drawn by the power of Jesus and his teaching that speaks right to their hearts, fears, and hopes. Finally there is a prophet who seems to have the ear and mind of God, and he is offering this God as a gracious, loving Father to any who will follow him. That’s all good. Nothing shows this better than the incredible teachings as summarized by Matthew in the Sermon on the Mount. What insight, wisdom, and clarity are found here, such that at the end of the Sermon everyone responds the same way: “Wow! He teaches as one with authority, not like our scribes!” (7:28-29).

But now here in chapter 13 Jesus’ teaching seems crazy. What is this odd story? An apparently careless farmer goes out and sows seed very poorly. Most of it is wasted on the road and clearly bad soil for sowing, and then one little portion produces an astronomical, unheard of, fairy-talelike yield. What kind of sermon is this? What kind of story is this? What does this vague little story have to do with Jesus’ teachings as in the Sermon on the Mount? We can easily imagine the disciples’ perplexity: “What happened to that powerful, meaty teaching like Jesus used to give us?”

This is what motivates verse 10. The disciples come, probably rather sheepishly, and ask him why he is suddenly teaching with these vague metaphors, unlike his previous teaching.

Why Jonah Ran

2010-03-21T21:42:00.003-04:00

When commanded by God to go and preach against Nineveh, Jonah ran the other way. He knew that God's warning of judgment included an implicit opportunity for repentance. And where there is repentance, there is forgiveness. That's why Jonah ran. He didn’t want Nineveh to be spared from destruction.

Jonah had an issue with God's plan. Notice the end of verse 3: Jonah was trying to “flee from the Lord.” It was God he had a disagreement with. He believed God was wrong to give violent and cruel Nineveh the opportunity to repent. This is how James Bruckner summarizes the issue: “If the violent repent, should God forgive them without consequence for their actions?” (Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, The NIV Application Commentary, p. 27). Bruckner goes on to say:

Jonah ran from his call in protest against God’s move toward the violently wicked. This is the true reason for Jonah’s running. It is a theological reason. He wants God to be consistent: to destroy those who are violently wicked and to prosper the righteous. He believes God is making an inconsistent and dangerous theological move by offering to forgive the Ninevites.... To Jonah, God is taking an incredible risk in sparing the Ninevites, a risk that is bad for the victims of the world and for God’s reputation. He wants nothing to do with such a strategy (p. 52).

Teach Your Child Wisdom

2010-02-28T08:51:00.003-05:00

Proverb 10:1 says, “The proverbs of Solomon: A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish son grief to his mother.” The thought is repeated throughout Proverbs:

Proverbs 15:20 - “A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother.”
Proverbs 17:21 - “To have a fool for a son brings grief; there is no joy for the father of a fool.”
Proverbs 17:25 - “A foolish son brings grief to his father and bitterness to the one who bore him.”
Proverbs 19:13a - “A foolish son is his father’s ruin….”
Proverbs 23:15 - “My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad.”
Proverbs 23:24b - “… he who has a wise son delights in him.”
Proverbs 27:11a - “Be wise, my son, and bring joy to my heart….”
Proverbs 29:3a - “A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father….”

All of that leads me to believe that the most important job of parenting is to teach our children the wisdom of God. Two other considerations support that conclusion. First, Proverbs 10:1 begins a new section in the book, which is comprised of a collection of short sayings. These are identified as “the proverbs of Solomon,” and the very first proverb that he sets forth is this one about a wise son bringing joy to his father. So it seems as if Solomon is emphasizing this saying by giving it a place of prominence in his collection. Second, Solomon motivates parents to teach wisdom by saying that a wise child brings happiness to his or her parents. Our children can either be a source of anxiety or a source of joy to us. Solomon addressed the heart desire of every mom and dad for their child to be a delight, not a heartache. And he said the way for that to happen is for our children to grow up to be wise persons.

Do Good to All

2010-02-27T14:32:00.000-05:00

The father says to his son in Proverbs 3:27-28: "Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, 'Come back later; I'll give it tomorrow' – when you now have it with you."

These verses tell us to do good whenever we have the ability and opportunity to do so. But what does it mean to do good to “those who deserve it”? Does it mean that we should only care about people who have earned it? Does it mean that we can ignore people that we don’t think are deserving of our help? Perhaps it would help to translate the sentence a bit more literally: “Do not withhold good from those who own it” or “those who possess it.” The idea is of obligation and responsibility. So when we provide for our family, that’s part of doing good. If we hire someone to do work for us, we are responsible for paying them. If we take out a loan, we are obligated to pay it back.

When you think about it, this is simply doing what we should be doing. Yet it can be hard to live out and even more challenging to communicate to our children because of the sense of entitlement that many today feel. Rather than thinking of others as deserving our good works, we’re conditioned to think of ourselves as the deserving ones. How do you view the relationships in your life? Do you treat people as though they owe you? Or do you act like you owe them a debt of love and good deeds?

The obligation to do good doesn’t end with the people we feel responsible for. Jesus once said that the greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, and to love your neighbor as yourself. It prompted someone to ask him, “Who is my neighbor?” In other words, who do I have a responsibility to love? Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan to show that our neighbor is anyone with a need. That’s also the point of Proverbs 3:28. It says we have a responsibility to do what we can to meet the needs of a neighbor, and to do it promptly. We are to be sensitive to their plight and not ignore their hardship. In light of all that God has done for us, we have an obligation to love others. When we have the ability to help, we are to seize the opportunity to do good.

Bind Love and Faithfulness Around Your Neck

2010-02-15T13:59:00.004-05:00

Proverbs 3 gives this piece of instruction: "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man" (Proverbs 3:3-4).

“Love and faithfulness” are closely connected, and could be translated “faithful love” or “true kindness.” Together they are key words in the covenant between God and his people. They have to do with our relationship with God. But is this instruction for us to love God and be faithful to him? Or does this passage refer to God’s love and faithfulness toward us?

The command to bind them around the neck and write them on the tablet of the heart indicates it is God’s love and faithfulness that is being talked about. This is supported by the similarity between Proverbs 3:1-4 and Deuteronomy 6:1-15. The Deuteronomy passage instructs the people of Israel to love God and to obey him. God’s commands were to be upon their hearts, impressed on their children, talked about at home, and bound as symbols to their hands. The passage goes on to warn the people not to forget God after he brings them into the land that he swore to give them. In other words, they were to remember the God of the covenant who had so faithfully demonstrated his love to them. Like the instruction in Proverbs 3, they were never to let God’s love and faithfulness leave them, and they were to teach it to their children.

God Intended It for Good

2010-02-08T21:14:00.002-05:00

In Genesis we see Joseph's response to his brothers, who had sold him to become a slave in Egypt: “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives” (50:18-20). Joseph understood that the good purposes of God prevailed in his life, despite the bad that had happened to him. I appreciate the fact that Joseph acknowledged the actions of his brothers as evil, but I also appreciate the fact he didn’t dwell there. In effect he made it clear to them, “I know what you did. It’s not like I’m going to wake up one day and figure out how bad you treated me. I am fully aware of your actions. You hated me. You brutalized me. You betrayed me. But that is not the basis of our relationship. Instead I choose to relate to you on the basis of what God has done in this situation, not what you have done. ”

When Life Is Unjust

2010-01-31T16:32:00.002-05:00

One question that people have when they encounter unfairness is this: Where is God? It's easy to feel that God is with us when things are good, but where is he when things are unjust? In the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife in Genesis 39, the writer makes it clear that “the Lord was with him” (v. 21). In fact, the text goes to great lengths to compare Joseph’s stay in prison with his stay in Potiphar’s house:

In prison, God was with Joseph (39:21). In Potiphar’s house, God was with Joseph (39:3).
In prison, God “granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden” (39:21). In Potiphar’s house, “Joseph found favor in [his master’s] eyes” (39:4).
In prison, “the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison” (39:22). In Potiphar’s house, “Potiphar put [Joseph] in charge of his household” (39:4).
In prison, Joseph “was made responsible for all that was done there” (39:22). In Potiphar’s house, Potiphar “entrusted to his care everything he owned” (39:4).
In prison, “the warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph’s care” (39:23). In Potiphar’s house, “with Joseph in charge, [Potiphar] did not concern himself with anything” (39:6).
In prison, the Lord “gave [Joseph] success in whatever he did” (39:23). In Potiphar’s house, “the Lord gave [Joseph] success in everything he did” (39:3).

Joseph had gone from the highest social circle in the land to the lowest social circle. He had lost everything - his reputation, his influence, his lifestyle. But one thing remained constant: God’s relationship with him stayed the same.

Look for It

2009-12-24T13:05:00.003-05:00

David Powlison highlights two promises and two commands of God that are frequently linked: "I am with you. Don't be afraid. Be strong and courageous. I will never forsake you." Concerning the latter promise, Powlison writes:

In the pages of the Bible, God explicitly promises, "I will not forsake you" (e.g., Josh. 1:5). Once you know to look for it, you see that he says the same truth in a hundred other ways, too. "God is faithful" and "His steadfast love endures forever" and "The Lord is my refuge" are variations on a theme.... So with good reason his children cry out to him in their troubles and distresses, Don't forsake me! Again, hearing, we believe and speak (bold added, "God's Grace and Your Suffering," in Piper and Taylor, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, 171-72).

Ecclesiastes in a Sentence

2009-12-21T22:36:00.003-05:00

Life is frustratingly enigmatic so that we will "fear God" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).

Piper on Bible reading

2009-12-16T21:56:00.003-05:00

From "An Interview with John Piper" (Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, p. 239):

... be in the Word of God every day seeking to see Christ as your treasure. I'm very intentional about the way I use this Book. I'm reading through the Bible with my typical Bible reading plan that most people have at the church. But I'm on the lookout for God and for Christ, not just moral precepts; I'm on the lookout for God. Show me your glory that I might be transformed from one degree of glory to the next (2 Cor. 3:18). It is seeing the glories of Christ in the gospel. That's why I almost never stop my reading unless I catch a little bit of the Gospels, just to see Jesus functioning on planet Earth. So I look at him and I love him. I come away with something almost every day that is just stunning about Jesus that enables me to commune with him in an admiring, personal way because I just saw the way he was in the Bible.

Illustrations of the Tabernacle and Temple

2009-12-16T21:13:00.002-05:00

Resurgence has reproduced incredible illustrations of the Tabernacle and Solomon's Temple from the study notes of the ESV Study Bible.

The Purpose of Spiritual Gifts

2009-11-28T09:45:00.001-05:00

From 1 Corinthians 12-14, here are some of the purposes for spiritual gifts:

Spiritual gifts are “for the common good” (12:7).
Spiritual gifts are “so that there should be no division in the body” (12:25a).
Spiritual gifts are so that the parts of the body “should have equal concern for each other” (12:25b).
Spiritual gifts are for the “strengthening, encouragement, and comfort” of God’s people (14:3).
Spiritual gifts are “so that the church may be edified” (14:5).
Spiritual gifts are so that the unbeliever will be “convinced by all that he is a sinner and will be judged by all, and the secrets of his heart will be laid bare” (14:25).
Spiritual gifts are so “that everyone may be instructed and encouraged” (14:31).

Do Not Welcome Him

2009-11-12T21:45:00.002-05:00

In the first century, missionaries were traveling teachers who went from town to town proclaiming the gospel. One of the ways they were supported was through the hospitality of other Christians. They would be welcomed into people’s homes, provided with food and drink, given a place to wash and rest, and possibly supplied with help for the next leg of their journey.

But false teachers also looked for this kind of hospitality or “support.” The admonition in 2 John 10-11 regarding these false teachers is firm: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [that is, the true teaching about Jesus Christ], do not take him into your house or welcome him. Anyone who welcomes him shares in his wicked work.” This is a remarkable statement, seeing that it comes from one who has sometimes been called the “apostle of love.”

This admonition is not saying that we shouldn’t care about people who believe differently from us. It is not saying that we can never have anybody in our homes who teaches something different from us. Keep in mind, hospitality in John’s day and age was not simply about having somebody over for dinner. It was a means of supporting and encouraging the furtherance of a person’s ministry. This is made clear in verse 11, where we are told that showing hospitality to a false teacher means sharing in the spread of a false message. That also helps us to understand what John meant when he said don’t welcome the false teachers. He wasn’t saying that we should be rude to people and not say hi to them. The greeting in this case, or possibly the farewell, was an expression of God’s blessing. The point is, don’t say that you hope God will bless their ministry, or that you wish their ministry will be successful and prosperous. If they are spreading doctrinal error, we shouldn’t be doing anything to strengthen or encourage the furtherance of their false teaching. In fact, to do so is to actively participate in their error and thus be accountable to God for it.

The Message of 2 & 3 John

2009-11-06T21:38:00.000-05:00

These two books are particularly suited to the topic of missions support. In the first century, missionaries were itinerant preachers, who traveled from town to town telling people about Jesus. One of the ways they were supported was by Christians opening their homes to them. They would be provided with food and lodging, and then sent on their way with supplies for their journey. It appears that 2 John was written to warn against providing this kind of hospitality to false teachers. Notice verse 10: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching [the true teaching about Jesus], do not take him into your house or welcome him.” On the other hand, 3 John commends support for true teachers of the gospel. Verse 8 says, “We ought therefore to show hospitality to such men so that we may work together for the truth.” So, both of these letters have something to teach us about how to support missionaries. Our methods may have changed, but the principles remain the same.

Translating sarx in Romans

2009-10-26T21:45:00.004-04:00

Douglas Moo's essay, "Flesh" in Romans: A Challenge for the Translator (pdf), in The Challenge of Bible Translation.

Five Questions to Ask When Reading the Bible

2009-10-04T09:50:00.004-04:00

From Andrew Sherwood's Live Blogging God Exposed, Part 3 (Danny Akin):

5 helpful questions asks as Akin is working through a text:

1) What does this text teach me about God?
2) What does this text teach us about fallen man? 
3) What do I want my people to know? 
4) What do I want my people to do? 
5) How does this text point to Jesus?

With a little reworking you can make these into questions you ask yourself when you read the Bible.

(HT: Darryl Dash)

Death of a Fig Tree

2009-09-27T08:58:00.003-04:00

Jesus' cursing of the fig tree in Mark 11:12-14 (see also Matthew 21:18-19) seems strange, especially since Mark tells us "it was not the season for figs." Why would Jesus curse the tree for not having fruit if it wasn't expected to have fruit? This is D. A. Carson's explanation:

Why should Jesus curse a tree for not bearing fruit when it was not the season for fruit? But this theory misses the point. That it was not the season for figs explains why Jesus went to this particular tree, which stood out because it was in leaf. Its leaves advertised that it was bearing, but the advertisement was false. Jesus, unable to satisfy his hunger, saw the opportunity of teaching a memorable object lesson and cursed the tree, not because it was not bearing fruit, whether in season or out, but because it made a show of life that promised fruit yet was bearing none (“Matthew” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 8, p. 445).

The Structure of the Book of Job

2009-09-13T15:53:00.003-04:00

A long time ago I took Dr. Robert McCabe's course on Job - almost 20 years ago now - and greatly benefited from a better understanding of the message of the book. Recently on his blog he has posted a series on Job. In this post, Prizing God above His Gifts: Job’s Message for Today (Part 4), he provides an outline of the book.

Ortlund on How to Read the Bible

2009-08-16T09:43:00.002-04:00

Ray Ortlund says there are two ways to read the Bible:

We can read it as law and threat, or we can read it as promise and assurance.

If we read the Bible as law, every page will feel like God glaring at us: “If you ever . . . .” And since we are all law-breakers at heart, the Bible will crush us. Even the promises will come across as law: “God will bless sinners—well, the ones who deserve it.”

If we read the Bible as promise, every page will be hope from God. It will breathe new life into us. Even the commands will be sweetened with grace: “God will bless sinners—yes, sinners who break these laws."

Parable of the Two Sons

2009-07-21T22:34:00.002-04:00

Kenneth Bailey has an excellent book about the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). One of the themes in the parable concerns sin:

The parable exhibits two types of sin. One is the sin of the law-breaker and the other the sin of the law-keeper. Each centers on a broken relationship. One breaks that relationship while failing to fulfill the expectations of the family and society. The second breaks his relationship while fulfilling those same expectations (The Cross and the Prodigal, pp. 87-88).

Regarding the latter (older son's sin):

He rebels against his father. In his speech he insults his father ... by omitting any title. The phrase "O father" is an essential sign of respect. The older son chooses to be rude. The younger son was a rebel and knew it. His brother is a rebel and does not know it. He answers, "I have never disobeyed you" (p. 84).

And:

He has broken a relationship, not a law. The law he fulfills to the letter as he proudly affirms. Like his brother, he now breaks his father's heart (p. 85).

The Importance of the Heart

2009-07-18T19:42:00.004-04:00

Ever notice the importance that the Bible places on the heart? Here are some reasons gleaned from the book of Proverbs on why we should focus on the heart:

First, we focus on the heart because life springs from the heart. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Prov. 4:23).

Second, we focus on the heart because wisdom resides in the heart. “Wisdom reposes in the heart of the discerning” (Prov. 14:33).

Third, we focus on the heart because plans begin in the heart. Proverbs 20:5 says, “The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.”

Fourth, we focus on the heart because God measures the heart. “All a man’s ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart” (Prov. 21:2).

Resources for Understanding Proverbs

2009-07-15T21:32:00.006-04:00

C. J. Mahaney provides some Tools for Preaching Proverbs ... which will be helpful even if you're not preaching Proverbs but just wanting to understand its message. I like this chart:

Trust in the Lord

2009-07-11T21:27:00.000-04:00

Many Christians have memorized Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." It’s good that these verses are so well known, but unfortunate that they are often misunderstood and misapplied.

One of the keys to interpreting these verses is the phrase “all your heart.” In the Bible, the heart encompasses our entire being. It includes all of our faculties, including the mind. For example, the heart is where we learn and follow godly parental teaching (Proverbs 3:1). The heart is also where God’s promises are absorbed and integrated into our lives (Proverbs 3:3). The heart has the capacity to remember and retain truth. It’s not merely the seat of our emotions but also of our intellect and will.

So when we come to the second half of verse 5 and read that we are not to lean on our own understanding, it obviously doesn’t mean we should shut off our minds. It can’t be a statement against the intellect, because we are to trust the Lord with all our heart, which includes the mind. What then is our “own understanding”? It’s the judgments and perceptions and insights of the world. We are not to lean on – we are not to trust, rely upon, put our confidence in – the philosophies of the world. We’re not to make choices based on a secular worldview, or society’s values, or anything else that might shape our heart apart from God’s revelation of reality. I think verse 7 makes the meaning clear: “Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.” To lean on our own understanding is to be wise in our own eyes and not fear God.

Thus, to trust in the Lord is to rely upon the revealed truth of God. It’s to place our full confidence in God who has revealed himself in the Bible. We are to lean upon the ways of God, and wholeheartedly follow the will of God as revealed in the word of God. Or as verse 6 says, we are to acknowledge God – know God – in all our ways.

When we trust God and follow him in every realm of life, he will make our paths straight. This is a better translation than “he shall direct your paths.” It doesn't mean God will make the course of our life smooth. The word “straight” has the idea of uprightness. So this is not a promise that all our problems will be smoothed out; rather that we will walk in the way of righteousness, knowing right from wrong, reality from deception, truth from falsehood.

An Outline of Jonah

2009-07-05T09:23:00.004-04:00

Theme: The Compassionate Love of God

How far does God's love pursue? (Jonah 1:1-17)

A. God's love for a rebellious servant (1:1-4)

What God wanted of Jonah ... he called Jonah to proclaim judgment against Nineveh
Why Jonah ran from God ... he had a problem with God giving Nineveh the opportunity to repent

B. God's love for an indifferent servant (1:5-12)

C. God's love for a guilty servant (1:13-17)

How deep does God's love reach? (Jonah 1:17-2:10)

A. God's love reaches to the depth of Jonah's distress ... and ours (2:1-2)

B. God's love reaches to the depth of Jonah's guilt ... and ours (2:3-4)

C. God's love reaches to the depth of Jonah's hopelessness ... and ours (2:5-6)

D. God's love reaches to the depth of Jonah's stubbornness ... and ours (2:7-10)

E. God's love reaches to the depth of Jonah's death ... and ours (1:17)

How wide does God's love stretch? (Jonah 3:1-10)

A. The simplicity of God's message (3:1-4)

B. The conviction of God's message (3:5-9)

The people of Nineveh believed God
They humbled themselves
They repented of their evil ways
They hoped for mercy

C. The grace of God's message (3:10)

How high is God's love magnified? (Jonah 4:1-11)

A. A superlative description of God's love (4:1-3)

God is gracious
God is compassionate
God is slow to anger
God is abounding in love
God is a God who relents from sending calamity

B. A profound lesson about God's love (4:4-11)

The lesson ... from a vine, a worm and a windstorm
The point ... "Should God not be concerned* about that great city?"

*The translation "concerned" does not bring out the emotion of the word; it has the idea of being concerned with tears running down your face.

Faith Is....

2009-06-28T13:32:00.002-04:00

I prefer this translation of Hebrews 11:1 ...

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (NKJV).

Over this translation ...

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (NIV).

The latter translation focuses on the subjective element of faith: Faith is having assurance and certainty that the promises of God will come true. The former translation, on the other hand, focuses on the objective element of faith: Faith is the substance and evidence that the promises of God will come true.

We usually think of faith as needing evidence, not as the evidence itself. The word translated “evidence” (or “certain” in the NIV) is used only here in the New Testament. Outside the New Testament it is used with the meaning “proof” or “argument” or “test.” How is faith the evidence or proof or test of things not seen? I think it means that faith demonstrates the truth of heavenly things. We don’t physically see the promises and rewards of heaven yet. But when we see with spiritual eyes, the resulting life of faith is the proof that these unseen realities are indeed real. Or to say it another way, if we have banked everything on heaven, then the visible expression of our confidence is faith.

Observing What You Read

2009-06-28T09:41:00.002-04:00

Making observations is an important step in all reading. From a workbook called Reading Comprehension Success in 20 Minutes a Day (p. xi):

This step - making observations - is essential because your observations (what you notice) lead you to logical inferences about what you read. Inferences are conclusions based on reason, fact, or evidence....

If you misunderstand what you read, it is often because you haven't looked closely enough at the text. As a result, you base your inferences on your own ideas and experiences, not on what's actually written in the text. You end up forcing your own ideas on the author (rather than listening to what the author has to say) and then forming your own ideas about it. It's critical, then, that you begin to really pay attention to what writers say and how they say it.

Unfortunately, this step often seems to get bypassed when people read the Bible.

Parable of the Sower

2009-06-16T20:46:00.002-04:00

In Matthew 13:1-9, Jesus tells the parable of the sower:

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."

Then in verses 18-23, Jesus gives the meaning of the parable:

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

In the verses in between Jesus explains to the disciples why he speaks in parables. But it's not an aside; it's integral to the parable. Notice the connections:

Verse 12: "Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance."
Verse 23: "But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."

Verse 13: "This is why I speak to them in parables: 'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.'"
Verses 18-19: "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. "

If those connections are legitimate then I think there is a clue in verse 11 about the heart that is like "good soil": "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them." The "good soil" of understanding is the result of God's grace in our lives, and the way one gains such a heart is through repentance and faith.

The Significance of the Transfiguration of Jesus

2009-06-07T12:33:00.001-04:00

Daniel Wallace offers Some Biblico-Theological Reflections on the Transfiguration of Jesus:

The following comments are only preliminary; frankly, it would take years, perhaps a lifetime, to explore the depths of the meaning of the transfiguration. (a) It symbolized and foreshadowed both the resurrection and parousia. (b) It was a temporary unveiling of the Son of God’s eternal glory. (c) That this glory was seen and not just expounded on was so that “the disciples could taste in part what could not be fully comprehended” (Calvin). That is, as the old Chinese proverb says, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” (d) Moses and Elijah were a part of the picture to show both continuity with the OT in the ministry of Jesus and his own uniqueness and absolute authority (hence he alone wore the brilliant clothing, and he alone is identified from heaven as the one to be obeyed). (e) The cloud was a continuation of the Shekinah glory: the presence of God has returned fully in the person of Jesus Christ. And Moses and Elijah are there, silently endorsing him as the one in whom men meet God.

Paul Tripp on Psalm 73

2009-05-24T13:11:00.004-04:00

Paul Tripp has begun posting again. This time he is working through Psalm 73. Here's a sample from his first post, Too Good to Be True?

When sin takes awe away from you, that sense of divine wonder that is meant to shape every person's life, you look for ways to fill the void. Now think about it, if you are not getting your wonderment vertically, that is, from the Creator, then you will look for it somewhere in the creation. You will be shopping for the buzz of wonder where it simply is not to be found. Your friends and family cannot give you the awe you seek. That new restaurant will blow you away, but it won't introduce you to the heart satisfying wonder of God. That new car will make you happy for a while, but it has not the capacity whatsoever to fill your soul with glory. The Psalmist here gets at the dilemma in a single word, "good." You're looking for "good," pure, unadulterated, imperishable, unending, and unfailing good; because you're wired that way. You're looking for the kind of good that can lift you out of your boredom and quiet your longings. And that good is only to be found one place; God. God is good in every possible way. He is good in righteousness. He is good in power. He is good in grace. He is good in his faithfulness. He is good in mercy. He is good in holiness. He is good in justice. He is good in his rule. All his words are good and true. All his actions are good and right. When he is angry he is good. When he preserves life, he is good. When he takes life he is good. When his words are hard, they are good. When his words are gentle, they are good. His promises are good. His provisions are good. His plan is good. In all of the universe, you can only say this about God; he is good all the time and in every way.

"The central theological principle of the Bible [is] the rejection of idolatry."

2009-05-24T13:02:00.005-04:00

(Moshe Halbertal and Avishai Margalit, Idolatry, p. 10)

- HT to Ray Ortlund.

Obedience Is Better than "Worship"

2009-04-19T13:15:00.004-04:00

I'm reading through the Bible again, this time using the Today's New International Version. This morning I was reading about the rejection of Saul as Israel's king in 1 Samuel 15.

Samuel said to Saul, "I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD. This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.' "

So Saul summoned the men and mustered them at Telaim—two hundred thousand foot soldiers and ten thousand from Judah. Saul went to the city of Amalek and set an ambush in the ravine. Then he said to the Kenites, "Go away, leave the Amalekites so that I do not destroy you along with them; for you showed kindness to all the Israelites when they came up out of Egypt." So the Kenites moved away from the Amalekites.

Then Saul attacked the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to Shur, near the eastern border of Egypt. He took Agag king of the Amalekites alive, and all his people he totally destroyed with the sword. But Saul and the army spared Agag and the best of the sheep and cattle, the fat calves and lambs—everything that was good. These they were unwilling to destroy completely, but everything that was despised and weak they totally destroyed.

Then the word of the LORD came to Samuel: "I regret that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." Samuel was angry, and he cried out to the LORD all that night (1 Samuel 15:1-11).

When Samuel went to confront Saul, Saul had many excuses for his disobedience. Here are a few of my thoughts arising from those excuses:

1. Partial obedience is not a substitute for full obedience. It's frightening to hear Saul's self-delusion on this point:

Saul said, "The LORD bless you! I have carried out the LORD's instructions" (v. 13).
Saul answered, "The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest" (v. 15).
"But I did obey the LORD," Saul said. "I went on the mission the LORD assigned me. I completely destroyed the Amalekites and brought back Agag their king" (v. 20).

2. "Worship" is not a substitute for obedience. Repeatedly Saul claims that his disobedience is motivated by a desire to honor God.

"The soldiers brought them from the Amalekites; they spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to the LORD your God, but we totally destroyed the rest" (v.15).
"The soldiers took sheep and cattle from the plunder, the best of what was devoted to God, in order to sacrifice them to the LORD your God at Gilgal" (v. 21).

But here is God's assessment of Saul's professed intent to worship the Lord: "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (v. 22).

Seven Days of Creation

2009-03-29T15:24:00.001-04:00

Robert McCabe argues A Defense of Literal Days in the Creation Week.

What Is Ecclesiastes About?

2008-12-28T14:55:00.003-05:00

As a follow up to a previous post, here is Robert McCabe's summary of The Message of Ecclesiastes:

Having made a thorough study of life to discover meaning and purpose, our author has presented the results of his study in Ecclesiastes. He has presented the subject of his work in 1:2 and 12:8, “Everything is frustratingly enigmatic.” This is to say, everything about life is a burdensome mystery. This subject was not based simply on empirical observations, but his observations were sifted through his theological grid. Qohelet understood that God created an originally perfect cosmos, but he subsequently imposed a curse on his cosmos and its inhabitants. However, he also recognized that God is working to restore his creational design. Because of his theological understanding of the early chapters of the Torah, his subject in Ecclesiastes has been shaped by his theological a prioris. In his search, Qohelet had attempted to master life but was faced with one frustration after another. He came to realize that he could not accomplish his objective and that the object of his search was not the creation but the Creator. As a result, he has used a dialectical structure to reflect the conflicts he encountered and to commend the enjoyment of life from a theocentric perspective.

In responding to his subject, Qohelet in summary form has exhorted us to judiciously and reverentially use and enjoy our divinely bestowed gifts. The primary thrust of his response focused on his Leitmotiv of enjoying life. From the placement and content of this Leitmotiv, four responses were synthesized. First, the placement of this motif highlighted our limitations as depraved, finite beings. Because of our limitations, we should not attempt to master life but to make the most of and enjoy what God has given us. Second, each of the refrains exhorting the celebration of life reflected a theocentric perspective on life. Third, the enjoyment-of-life motif has emphasized that we be actively engaged in and enjoy our food, drink, work, fruits of our labor, spouse, clothes, perfume, and youth. Because of this theme’s coordination with God’s judgment and the fear-of-God motif, this is a judicious and reverential use of God’s gifts. Fourth, Qohelet regarded his exhortation to enjoy life as normative truth. In the midst of a sin-cursed world and a veiled providence, Qohelet has counseled us to have a submissive faith in our sovereign God, to be diligently involved in our responsibilities of life, and to enjoy God’s blessings.

"Vanity of Vanities"

2008-12-28T14:34:00.005-05:00

How should we translate the Hebrew word hebel in the book of Ecclesiastes? KJV translates it "vanity." NIV has "meaningless." But I like what Robert McCabe writes about this word:

Though it would appear that no English term provides an equivalent to [hebel], the closest of the options is probably “incomprehensible” or a synonym such as “enigma” or “mystery.” However, a limitation of “incomprehensible” is that it does not necessarily account for the emotive connotations of [hebel]. This is expressed in 2:17 where Qohelet states that he hates life because his work had been grievous. We would grant that this is hard to comprehend, but it is more than that. Life with its difficulties and vicissitudes as a result of the Fall is a puzzle that finite man cannot figure out and it frustrates Qohelet in his search for meaning and purpose. In his attempt to master life, Qohelet eventually realizes with defeated expectations that he cannot understand God’s scheme of things. Though in English we do not have a precise word equivalent to the meaning associated with this Hebrew term, I would prefer to translate it something like a “frustrating enigma.”

The First Noel

2008-12-28T14:25:00.001-05:00

Ray Ortlund comments on Luke 2:19.

But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. "Treasured up" means that she prized and guarded and preserved in her thoughts everything that happened. "Pondering" means that she began connecting the dots between the Old Testament prophecies and now these astounding events, reaching by faith for what it all meant.

The Purpose of Parables

2008-11-30T14:54:00.006-05:00

When Jesus was asked by his disciples why he taught using parables, he responded, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"(Mark 4:11-12).

The last part of Jesus' answer is a quotation from Isaiah 6:9-10. It declares the purpose of parables, not their nature. Jesus' parables had the same intended effect as Isaiah's prophetic ministry. Parables are not esoteric teachings. They do not contain hidden meanings that only the initiate can decipher with a secret code. Rather the purpose of parables is to challenge its hearers to respond to Jesus' promise of the kingdom. The challenge includes - either explicitly or implicitly - a warning of God's judgment to those who refuse to follow Jesus (we should take "perceiving" and "understanding" in the sense of biblical wisdom - that is, they are the responses of those who fear God). In this light, parables serve to confirm the hardness of heart of those who hear but do not believe.

A Template for Prayer

2008-11-23T18:51:00.005-05:00

Another post from Rich Rhodes on What Does the Lord's Prayer Mean? He summarizes the "template" for prayer that the Lord's Prayer offers:

Praying using Jesus’ words as a template gives us the following way to form our prayers:
1) Acknowledge who God is.
2) Pray for His work on earth.
3) Ask for what you need.
4) Ask for forgiveness.
5) Ask for a way to deal with temptation and opposition.
The order is crucial, and it’s the part we get wrong all the time.

How often do we open our prayers with requests to deal with our immediate situation, with pleas for forgiveness to deal with our feelings of sinfulness, with requests to rain down fire and brimstone on our enemies. (OK, that’s a little over the top, but you get the idea.)

When we do so, we easily lose track of just who God is.

If we started every prayer putting God’s majesty and His agenda first, we might just get a better perspective on life.

The Lord's Prayer in Ojibwe

2008-11-16T13:27:00.006-05:00

Rich Rhodes posts The Lord’s Prayer in the Ottawa dialect of the Ojibwe language:

(It’s presented here with the original spelling in bold, the modern spelling in italics, and a back translation from Ottawa into English....)

ODANAMIEWIN AWI DEBENDJIGED.
Odanamihewin awi Debenjiged.
THE LORD’S PRAYER
Nosina wakwing ebiian,
Noosinaa waakwiing ebiyan.
Our Father, who is in heaven.

apegish kitchitwawendaming kidanosowin,
Apegish gichitwaawendaming gidanoozowin.
May your name be sacred.

apegish bidagwishinomagak, kidogimawiwin,
Apegish bi-dagwishinoomagak gidoogimaawiwin.
May your kingship arrive.

enendaman apegish ijiwebak, tibishko wakwing, migo gaie aking.
Enendaman apegish izhiwebak dibishkoo waakwiing mii go gaye akiing.
What you think [should be], may it happen the same on earth as in heaven.

Mijishinang nongo agijigak nin pagwejiganimina minik eioiang memeshigo gijig,
Miizhishinaang noongo a-giizhigak nimbakwezhiganiminaa minik eyooyaang
memeshigo-giizhig.
Give us our bread today, as much as we use every day.

bonigitedawishinang gaie ga iji nishkiinangi,
Boonigidetawishinaang gaye gaa-izhi-nishki’inaangi,
And forgive us who have angered you,

eji bonigitedawangidwa ga iji nishkiiiamindjig,
ezhi-boonigidetawangidwaa gaa-izhi-nishki’iyaminjig.
in the way we forgive those who angered us.

kego gaie ijiwijishikange gagwedibeningewining,
Gego gaye izhiwizhishikaange gagwe-dibeningewining,
Do not lead us into a trial.

atchitchaii dash ininamowishinang maianadak.
ajijayi’ii dash ininamawishinaang mayaanaadak.
and put what is bad far from us.

Apeingi.
Ape’ingi.
Amen

It was refreshing to read the "back translation" of a very familiar prayer. The part that especially caught my eye - because it adds an emotional charge to our sin against God and also captures our typical emotion when others sin against us: "And forgive us who have angered you, in the way we forgive those who angered us." (emphasis added)

No Bitter Root

2008-10-28T14:29:00.003-04:00

Hebrews 12:15 warns: “See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.”

The verse is not telling us to get rid of bitterness, although the Bible does say that bitterness is a sinful response (see Ephesians 4:31). Here, however, the expression “bitter root” or “root of bitterness” comes from Deuteronomy 29:18: “Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the Lord our God to go and worship the gods of those nations; make sure there is no root among you that produces such bitter poison.”

The idea is this: Don’t be a person who seeks your hope, security and significance outside of God. You may think that it will make you happy – whether it's money, health, family, career, popularity, or any other thing. You may think it is the root of happiness, but it will really grow into a tree that bears bitter fruit. When you seek your ultimate joy outside of God, you will plant a root of bitterness not happiness.

Job and Suffering

2008-10-05T10:56:00.002-04:00

Ray Ortlund offers some thoughts on The Book of Job.

The book of Job is not answering a theoretical question about why good people suffer. It is answering a practical question: When good people suffer, what does God want from them? The answer is, he wants our trust....

... when we ourselves suffer in ways we cannot explain, God wants us to trust him more than we ever have before. Job eventually settles into a deeper place where, without answers to his questions, he trusts in the omni-competence of God: "I know that you can do all things" (42:2). What God can do is more important than how God explains himself. What if he did tell us every mystery right now? Would we be satisfied? I doubt it. It would only pander to our pride. Far better to leave it all with God, as our faith deepens from questioning to admiring. We don't live by explanations; we live by faith.

The Ten Commandments

2008-09-21T11:29:00.003-04:00

Molly Friesen shares a corporate confession used recently by her church: Confessing our Sins to God Through His Ten Commandments. It provides a helpful reminder of what each of the commandments means.

In response to one of the comments, she observes that this may well have been adapted from Martin Luther's Small Catechism.

I prefer the ending in the "adapted" reading:

Have we kept God's law perfectly?
We have not.

What is the penalty for failing to keep God's law perfectly?
The Judge of all the earth rightly declares: "Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."

What then must we do to be saved?
We can do nothing. God must do everything.

And what has God done?
In love, God sent his Son to atone for our sin, so that all who turn from their own righteousness and trust alone in Christ's righteousness have the sure promise that God will forgive and justify them, set them apart and purify them unto life everlasting.

What Is the Bible About?

2008-08-29T21:58:00.003-04:00

Luke finishes his record of the early church by describing Paul's ministry in this way:

Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 28:31).

It seems to me that the substance of Paul's message is what the Bible is all about: From Genesis to Revelation, the story-line of the Bible is the kingdom of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

For a presentation of this two-fold theme of the Bible, see the first article in the Biblical Overview Series on The Pattern of the Kingdom and the Perished Kingdom.

The Bible is about the kingdom of God (Mark 1:14-15)

Now, firstly, if you look at v15, literally this verse reads “The time has been fulfilled. The kingdom of God is near”. Now this is very significant - it means that at the time of Jesus God’s people were waiting for something to be fulfilled. All their hopes and expectations - their hopes for the Messiah, their hopes to get their land back free of the Romans, their hopes for the new covenant that had been promised in Jeremiah - all these hopes came under the umbrella of the kingdom of God. The Jews believed that when God’s kingdom finally arrived they would get their Messiah, their King; they’d get their land back; they’d have the new covenant. Jesus arrives on the scene and says the time of waiting is over, God’s kingdom is about to arrive.

And this means that as we read the Old Testament, those books that make all the promises, that create all the expectations and hopes of fulfilment, we need to see the OT as being fundamentally about the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is what the Bible is all about. Notice that Jesus mentions it here right at the start of his ministry and we know what happens from here on in the gospels - Jesus teaches about is the kingdom, doesn’t he? So we get all the parables, “The kingdom of God / kingdom of heaven is like …” The kingdom of God is what the Bible is all about....

The Bible is about Jesus (Luke 24:25-27, 44)

But there’s another thing to grasp and that’s the Bible is all about Jesus - turn to Luke 24 with me. Now these three areas in v44, Law of Moses, Prophets and the Psalms are the three sections of the Hebrew Bible - it’s a way of saying that all 3 parts of the Old Testament write about Jesus. And this is massively significant for us as we read the OT - somehow, in some way, all the areas of the OT that we read are telling us about Jesus, pointing us to him....

Which Tree Makes You Happy?

2008-08-24T15:12:00.003-04:00

In his book, The Reason for God, Tim Keller quotes historian George Marsden who summarizes Jonathan Edwards' teaching on why God created the world (emphasis added):

Why would such an infinitely good, perfect, and eternal being create? … Here Edwards drew on the Christian Trinitarian conception of God as essentially interpersonal…. The ultimate reason that God creates, said Edwards, is not to remedy some lack in God, but to extend that perfect internal communication of the triune God’s goodness and love…. God’s joy and happiness and delight in divine perfections is expressed externally by communicating that happiness and delight to created beings…. The universe is an explosion of God’s glory. Perfect goodness, beauty and love radiate from God and draw creatures to ever increasingly share in the Godhead’s joy and delight…. The ultimate end of creation, then, is union in love between God and loving creatures (p. 218-219).

In this light, consider the serpent's temptation of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:1,

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

God created the world to share his infinite joy with his creation. But Satan comes along to call all that into question. God is keeping this from you, because he doesn't want you to have the fullness of his joy and love. But if you eat of this one tree, you will have real joy. This is the essence of sin. We look elsewhere, other than God, for joy and meaning and life. What is it in your life? What is "the tree of the knowledge of good and evil" in your life that tempts you to turn away from the infinite joy of God?

The gospel tells us that there is another "tree" - the cross of Jesus (cf. Galatians 3:13) - where we can be restored to the joy of God. At the cross, we are delivered from our sin and idolatry ("Sin is what you do when you are not fully satisfied in God" - John Piper), and turn to seek joy and hope in Jesus Christ.

Commentary Recommendations

2008-08-24T15:00:00.002-04:00

This looks like it will be a useful site: BestCommentaries.com provides recommendations for Bible commentaries.

Students of the Scriptures are busy and generally poor, while their tools (books) are expensive and many. As Qoheleth put it so long ago:
The writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body. (Ecc. 12:12)
This site works toward resolving that tension by enabling Bible students at all levels to make good, informed decisions about which commentaries they should purchase and use by providing a constantly updated biblography of commentaries on each book of the Bible and collecting reviews, ratings, and prices of commentaries from a variety of sources.

The most notable sources are the published books by D. A. Carson, Tremper Longman, III, John Glynn, and Jim Rosscup. In addition to these print publications, the web resources of John Piper's Desiring God Ministries, R. C. Sproul's Ligonier Ministries, and the Denver Seminary Journal are in the site. The data from these books and websites have been used with permission from the respective owners and aggregated to provide an average score representing a wider array of biblical scholarship than would be possible with a single book. These books are still extremely valuable and should be consulted directly along side of this website.

Scores and ratings alone cannot determine the best choices for an individual pastor or student, but we hope the combined resources available through this site points them in the right direction.

"They're All Dead"

2008-08-20T21:24:00.005-04:00

While encouraging A Novel Method of Reading the Bible, David Ker shares a story from Abraham's experience:

Genesis is the work of a genius. The story-telling is art at the highest level. Let me give an example. Remember the story of Abraham trying to talk the angels out of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah? The scene shifts to the angels in Sodom basically rescuing Lot’s family. Then Lot’s wife (Remember Lot’s wife!) looks back and poof turns into a salt lick.

The episode ends with the disgusting story of Lot’s daughters getting him drunk so that he can father their children thus explaining the origins of two of Israel’s hated enemies the Moabites and the Ammonites.

But tucked right in the middle of this drama is a little interlude:
Early the next morning Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the Lord. He looked down toward Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from the land, like smoke from a furnace.
That’s such an evocative scene because if you’ve been reading this like a story it forms a dramatic pause tying the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah back to Abraham’s pleading for mercy. But because it is from Abraham’s perspective you imagine him thinking, “They’re all dead.” He doesn’t know they escaped. It’s a classic cinematographic trick where the hero thinks the heroine is still in the house even though we the viewers saw her escape out the back door. Then, boom! The house explodes. The hero reacts in horror and then will have the added drama of discovering that his damsel is still alive.

The Audience of the Gospels

2008-08-17T10:59:00.002-04:00

Richard Bauckham's paper For Whom Were the Gospels Written? contends that the four Gospels were not written for a specific Christian community but a general Christian audience.

Commentary Reviews

2008-08-04T13:16:00.002-04:00

Jeremy Pierce has a compilation all the posts in his series of Commentary Reviews. He looks at a wide range of books and makes recommendations for three different levels of detail.

James on Economic Injustice

2008-07-24T21:23:00.002-04:00

A warning from James 5:1-6 to the rich (on a macro/world level, that includes most of us in North America):

1. Don't hoard (share generously) - vv. 2-3
2. Don't exploit (treat fairly) - v. 4
3. Don't indulge (live simply) - v. 5
4. Don't oppress (relieve hardship) - v. 6

Understanding Proverbs

2008-07-06T14:18:00.002-04:00

Isaac Hydoski offers some suggestions for understanding and applying Proverbs, including these questions (with application to a specific proverb, Proverbs 18:1: “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment”):

1. Is there action or thinking that is expressed positively or negatively in this proverb?

It would appear that the person in this proverb is removing himself from his community for selfish reasons. He has a personal and self-focused desire that has led him to separate himself from the blessing and the wisdom of his community. He has become an isolated loner in order to seek out his own desires.

2. Are there any consequences that can be discerned in this proverb?

This man, due to his selfishness, finds himself in a position of rejecting or “breaking out” from sound judgment or wisdom. He is in the position of a rebel now who opposes the wisdom of his community for selfish reasons.

3. What are the dangers I’m being warned about?

The danger or warning in this text would seem to be the rejection of wisdom. Inherent in this rebellion against wisdom is that we become fools who are deceived into believing we are wise. A wise man listens to counsel but a fool rejects it. (Proverbs 12:15).

4. Or conversely, what are the benefits held out in this proverb?

If we listen to the counsel our community provides we will possess wisdom and understanding and be protected from the deception of our own desires.

5. How does this proverb connect with the rest of the book?

Within this proverb we can see themes that are evident throughout the book. Humility, embracing instruction, community, the seeking out of wisdom, and the juxtaposition of the wise and the fool (study the context in Proverbs 18:1-21 to see this more clearly) is thread throughout this book. Making connections like this help you see the major thematic elements of the book which will, in turn, help you understand the message of Proverbs more clearly.

The Church as God's Temple

2008-06-28T21:35:00.000-04:00

The latter half of Ephesians 2 talks about a significant dimension of the believer's relationship with Christ, namely that we are part of a "new man" or body - the church. Verses 19-22 summarize and elaborate on what it means to be the church: "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."

As the church, believers have full citizenship in God's kingdom, they belong to God's family, and they are God's temple.

A few thoughts on the church as God's temple. The imagery depicts believers as bricks or stones in a building. In this building, the apostles and prophets are foundational. In 1 Corinthians 3:11, Jesus Christ is called the foundation of the church. But the apostles and prophets can also be said to be the foundation in the sense that they were the authoritative recipients of the revelation concerning Jesus Christ. Our life as believers is built on this revealed teaching, which we have recorded for us in the Bible.

Jesus Christ is identified as the chief cornerstone of the foundation (though some think that this refers to the crowning stone or capstone of the building). The cornerstone was the standard from which the builder lined up all the other stones in the foundation. "The cornerstone was the support, the orienter, and the unifier of the entire building. That is what Jesus Christ is to God's kingdom, God's family, and God's building" (John MacArthur, Ephesians, pp. 82-83).

The church as the building of God is called a holy temple. Together, we are the dwelling place of God - his home, so to speak. In the Old Testament, God's abode was said to be the Temple in Jerusalem. Heaven is also called God's dwelling place. But in the present age, the church is where God dwells by the presence and power of his Spirit.

Finally, concerning the phrase "joined together and rises" (v. 21), Andrew Lincoln writes:

Both terms introduce the notion of the Church as an organism.... Both terms also introduce a temporal element into the writer's perspective on the Church. The joining together of all the elements that make up the total structure of the Church is a continuous present activity. As the adjusting and fitting together take place, the Church can be seen as in the process of growth toward its ultimate condition of holiness... (Ephesians, pp. 157-158).

Guide for Reading the Bible

2008-06-12T22:01:00.003-04:00

The New Attitude Blog links to a one-page document that will help in reading and understanding the Bible:

You’ll find seven questions to ask every Bible passage you come across in order to help you better interpret the passage and a short bibliography of other Hermeneutics resources. All this on just one page you can print out and keep in your Bible.

Peace with God

2008-06-01T10:58:00.000-04:00

Ephesians 2:16-18 continues to describe the "one body" that Christ has created: "And in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit."

Andrew Lincoln comments on these verses:

What is the nature of the peace which is proclaimed? Is it peace between the two groups or is it peace with God...? If the wording were "preached peace to the far and near," it could be taken to mean primarily an announcement of peace between the two groups. However, the wording of the church, which in fact has peace preached to the two groups separately, tips the scale against a horizontal reference for peace as the primary one. The force of the rewording is that a vertical reference for peace now becomes the primary one. Since v 16 has made clear that both groups, "the near" as well as "the far," require reconciliation with God, it is likely that v 17, by talking of a proclamation of peace by Christ to each of the groups, has this vertical dimension primarily in view.... That the vertical reference for peace becomes dominant in v 17 is reinforced by the elaboration of v 18 with its assertion that through Christ the two groups now have access "to the Father." So Christ proclaims a peace with God to each of the groups (Ephesians, p. 147-148).

As I've contended in previous posts, I think that reconciliation with God is the primary focus throughout this section; it doesn't merely "become" the dominant thought in these verses.

Frustrated Desires

2008-05-27T19:48:00.002-04:00

James Stulac, commenting on James 4:2 says:

What is complicated about this verse is the determination of the correct punctuation and the resulting structure intended by James (since the ancient manuscripts have no punctuation to guide us). One tradition perceives James to be thinking in a series of clauses coming in pairs with contrasting positive and negative verbs. This is reflected in the KJV as a series of three such pairs:

Ye lust, and have not:
ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain:
ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

The NIV follows the same pattern....

This view focuses on the pairs of verbs, a positive verb followed by a negated verb, as the guiding thought in James's meaning. If so, then James's intent is to describe the pattern of frustrated desires. The chief grammatical difficulty with this view is that it requires a key role for kai ("and" in an antithetical sense, similar to "but") to form each of the contrasts and therefore has to overcome the absence of kai from the third pair....

A second way to punctuate the verse (preferred by Mayor 1897:131; Mitton 1966:147; Laws 1980:169; Moo 1985:140; Kistemaker 1986:131 and others) is reflected in the RSV, TEV and NASB. This view recognizes the first two contrasts of positive and negated verbs but ends the series where the text lacks the kai to continue the grammatical pattern. This view discerns two parallel statements, each asserting a cause and effect:

You want and do not have: (so) you murder.
And you covet and cannot obtain: (so) you quarrel and fight.

If this is James's meaning, then his intent is to draw a definite connection between desires and behavior. This has James making a clearer moral exhortation, warning that Christians' covetous desires lead to murderous fighting....

Self-confidence and Comparisons with Others

2008-05-25T10:47:00.005-04:00

From John Owen, Overcoming Sin and Temptation (edited by Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor), p. 200:

The case of Peter is clear unto this: "I will not deny you; though all me should deny you I will not; though I were to die for it, I would not do it" [Matt. 26:33,35]. This said the poor man when he stood on the very brink of that temptation that cost him in the issue such bitter tears.... At the first trial he compares himself with others, and vaunts himself above them: "Though all men should forsake you, yet I will not." He fears every man more than himself. But when our Savior afterward comes to him, and puts him directly upon the comparison, "Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me more than these?" (John 21:15), he is done comparing himself with others, and only cries, "Lord, you know that I love you" [John 21:15, 16, 17].

Christ Is Our Peace

2008-05-18T12:14:00.006-04:00

"For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace" (Ephesians 2:14-15).

There seems to be a chiastic structure to these verses. I don't know how to draw it here, but the corresponding parts are:

A. "he himself is our peace" ... "thus making peace"
B. "made the two one" ... "one new man out of the two"
C. "destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility" ... "abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations."

One might also argue, from the Greek, that the focal point of the chiasm is "in his flesh." Jesus Christ, through his incarnation and crucifixion (his life and death), is the One in whom we have peace. I said previously that the Jewish/Gentile alienation in this passage is secondary to the God/us alienation. So the peace is certainly the two (Jews and Gentiles) becoming one, but more significantly it is both having peace with God.

The chiasm also indicates that "the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility" is "the law with its commandments and regulations." Again we can speak of the separation between Jews and Gentiles here - it is the law that separates us from each other. But this distinction is a symbol of the separation between God and us. That is the greater "wall of hostility" which Christ came to destroy.

Elsewhere, Paul speaks of the law as a barrier that separates us from God in this sense: "Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful" (Romans 7:13). Also: "All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law'" (Galatians 3:10).

Jesus Christ destroyed the barrier that the law establishes between God and us. This is what Paul means when he says Christ abolished the law. There is no contradiction between Paul and Jesus' statement, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" (Matthew 5:17). For Paul, abolishing the law means destroying the barrier. Elsewhere he explains that this indeed involves the fulfilling of the law, as Jesus said: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:1-4).

James and Unwise (False) Teaching

2008-05-11T12:45:00.005-04:00

It's not uncommon for commentators to see the book of James as a loosely connected set of proverbial teachings. The unity of James 3:1-12 and James 3:13-18 is generally ignored. But both passages deal with individuals who are making "boasts" (v. 5 and v. 14). I don't think it's much of a stretch to think that these individuals who claimed to be wise were the same ones who wanted to teach others. But they were "all talk," and their words were not backed up "by deeds done in the humility that comes from (true) wisdom" (3:13). Thus James warns the church about the dangers of both an uncontrolled tongue and false wisdom coming from these wannabe teachers.

Bible Geography

2008-04-30T20:59:00.004-04:00

Many years ago I was encouraged to buy The MacMillan Bible Atlas by Yohanan Aharoni and Michael Avi-Yonah. It's good to see that there's an updated version.

You can also get on-line Maps & Geography in Biblical Studies. Though I haven't had time to peruse it, these internet tools look very helpful.

Satellites surround the earth, and Google Earth can zoom in to individual houses. Bible maps have now been adapted to take advantage of this amazing facility, especially the Bible Geocoding project which links 800 places and 10,000 photos.

Traditional maps are still very important, especially for explaining specific events. And photographs bring the places alive, especially when linked to a map. You can even download the BibleMapper and create your own, though to make professional looking maps, I recommend the Accordance Bible Atlas.

With Christ

2008-04-26T10:51:00.005-04:00

Walter Marshall on the The Great Gift of Union with Christ:

“You might think that you are unworthy to have such a great gift as union with Christ. Remember, however, Christ shed his precious blood to redeem you. That precious blood will enable you to miraculously advance in holiness through your union with Christ.

Union with Christ is not a privilege you earn by your sincere obedience, or by your own attempts at holiness. Your union with Christ is not a reward of your own good works. Rather, union with Christ is a privilege that God gives to every Christian when they first become a Christian! Right when you enter into the Kingdom of God, you also enter into union with Christ!”

One of the results of union with Christ is reconciliation with God: "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13).

As the previous verses indicate, we were once separate from Christ, alienated from God, and excluded from God's people and God's promises. We were truly "far away." But Christ's death obtained all the blessings of reconciliation, so that when we are united with Christ through faith, we are "brought near" - we now have hope and we have God in the world.

Without Christ

2008-04-22T20:12:00.002-04:00

In Ephesians 2:1-10, Paul speaks of our sinfulness and lostness, then he shows God's grace and mercy to save us. In Ephesians 2:11-22 he follows the same pattern, except now the themes are expressed in terms of alienation and reconciliation.

In light of God's grace, the passage begins with a call to remember: "Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called 'uncircumcised' by those who call themselves 'the circumcision' (that done in the body by the hands of men) - remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:11-12).

Most of the emphasis in commentaries and sermons on this passage seems to focus on the notion of Jew/Gentile reconciliation. While that is a significant matter, the main idea in these verses is: "Remember that ... you were separate from Christ." Consequently I think we should maintain a clear sense of the reason for the Jew/Gentile distinction spoken of in this passage, namely to dramatically symbolize our separation from Christ. The theme of the passage is not so much Jew/Gentile reconciliation as it is God/us reconciliation.

The importance of remembering our alienation from God is expressed in this quote of Sinclair Ferguson (quoted at Of First Importance):

“How can we recover the new affection for Christ and his kingdom that so powerfully impacted our life-long worldliness, and in which we crucified the flesh with its lusts?

What was it that created that first love in any case? Do you remember? It was our discovery of Christ’s grace in the realization of our own sin. We are not naturally capable of loving God for himself, indeed we hate him. But in discovering this about ourselves, and in learning of the Lord’s supernatural love for us, love for the Father was born. Forgiven much, we loved much. We rejoiced in the hope of glory, in suffering, even in God himself. This new affection seemed first to overtake our worldliness, then to master it. Spiritual realities—Christ, grace, Scripture, prayer, fellowship, service, living for the glory of God—filled our vision and seemed so large, so desirable that other things by comparison seemed to shrink in size and become bland to the taste.

The way in which we maintain ‘the expulsive power of a new affection’ is the same as the way we first discovered it. Only when grace is still ‘amazing’ to us does it retain its power in us. Only as we retain a sense of our own profound sinfulness can we retain a sense of the graciousness of grace.”

Faith and Works

2008-04-19T22:10:00.006-04:00

There is a significant problem of interpretation in James 2:18. The verse says, "But someone will say, 'You have faith; I have deeds.' Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do." Robert Stein (pdf) summarizes the issue:

In a now famous quotation, Dibelius refers to 2:18 as “one of the most difficult New Testament passages.…” Some of the difficulties involve: “Who is the person raising the question and how should we understand the question? Is the questioner an ally of James repeating his views or an opponent?” The second main question involves where James’s reply to the question begins. Does it begin in 2:18b, 2:19, or 2:20? There are three main alternatives regarding the identity of the questioner:

(1) He is a supporter of James who attacks the idea that one can have faith apart from works. Thus the “you” refers to his and James’s opponents, and the “I” to his and James’s views. This ally argues against the suggestion that faith and works can be separated. They are not two, acceptable alternatives. This allows the “you” and “I” to correspond more consistently to the opponent’s view (“you”) and James’s and his supporter’s view (“I”) throughout the passage. Thus we should understand 2:18 and 19 as essentially James’s and his ally’s response to their opponents.
(2) It is a straw man James uses to argue (either in favor of James or in opposition to him) that faith can (or cannot) be separated from works.
(3) It is an opponent of James who argues that faith and works are separate virtues or gifts. Some have faith whereas others have works. They can exist separately. Just as some are ordained for works (note the deacons of Acts 6), others are ordained for prayer and ministry of the word, i.e., faith (note the apostles of Acts 6). The opponent, like Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:4ff., believes that “faith” and “works [healing]” are separate gifts.

Stein argues for the latter viewpoint but notes one "weakness" of this interpretation (emphasis added):

The opening expression “But someone may well say” opens a diatribe that usually involves an opponent whose view is being stated (1 Cor 15:35; cf. also Rom 9:19; 11:19; Luke 4:23). This suggests that in 2:18 the question comes from an adversary. Also the normal way of interpreting the “But (alla)” of 2:18 is as an adversative. It is far more common to interpret the Greek word alla as “But” than “Indeed” as the first view requires. The first view also requires us to think that James is now introducing a third person into the argument, whereas it seems more likely that he is dealing with the same opponent who is now responding to what James has said in 2:14-17.

It is better therefore to interpret 2:18 as introducing the argument of an opponent. Where, however, does the opponent’s argument end? It seems best to see it as ending in 2:18a and to have James’s counter argument begin with “Show me…” in 2:18b. These verses then should be understood as follows. An opponent challenges what James has said in 2:14-17 by saying, “You have faith and I have works.” The problem with this statement is that the opponent attributes to James “faith” and to himself “works,” and this view is the opposite of what James has been arguing in 2:14-17. One would expect from the mouth of James’s antagonist, “You have works and I have faith.” Here, however, the “you” and “I” should be understood more like “one” and “another” or as allos . . . allos in Greek. It must be acknowledged that the latter understanding is a weakness in the interpretation advocated.

I would like to suggest one way to address the "weakness" that Stein mentions. Instead of reading quotations marks in the text, what if we read the text like this: "But someone will say that you (the reader) have faith and I (James) have deeds." Of course, this means that James' opponent is not so much separating faith and works, as he is accusing James of a works-salvation.

Don't Be a Hypocritical Judge

2008-04-16T10:06:00.000-04:00

Perhaps you've heard people say that we shouldn't judge people because Jesus said, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged" (Matthew 7:1). Stan Fowler offers a helpful look at Is It Ever Right to Judge?

What, then, do we make of our Lord's prohibition of judging? The statements that follow this prohibition actually make it quite clear that the Lord's point is to warn us against judging hypocritically. He reminds us that we will be judged by the same standards that we apply to others, so we are wise to make sure that we can live with that before we express judgment (vs. 2). What follows is the hyperbolic illustration about the person who spots the speck of sawdust in another's eye while ignoring the plank in his own eye (vss. 3-5). The point is to deal with one's own sin first before trying to deal with the sin of the other, but this does not amount to a prohibition against confronting the other. In fact, that is affirmed as the sequel to self-criticism (vs. 5).

Hypocritical judging is clearly a huge problem. I am writing this one week after the Ted Haggard debacle and the painful disclosure of his hypocrisy, pressing for a legal prohibition of same-sex marriage while privately involved for three years with a gay prostitute. We all need to examine ourselves and be alert to any personal tendencies toward self-deception and hypocrisy, because Christ obviously does not allow His followers any option other than integrity. But integrity does not mean that we let the pendulum swing in the direction of a refusal to ever criticize others. It does mean that we criticize ourselves first.

The Only Begotten Son

2008-04-13T09:41:00.003-04:00

Jesus is called "the only begotten Son" in several places, including John 3:16. David Wayne quotes Michael Heiser on the meaning of the phrase "only begotten":

“Only begotten” is an unfortunately confusing translation, especially for modern readers. It does sound to us as though the “only begotten” Son had a beginning because we aren’t used to the old English word. The confusion should never have happened, though, since monogenes actually doesn’t mean “only begotten.” The controversy extends from an old misunderstanding of the root of the Greek word. For many years monogenes was thought to have derived from two Greek terms, monos (“only”) and gennao (“to beget, bear”). Scholars of Greek linguistics have discovered, though, that the second part of the word monogenes does not come from the Greek verb gennao, but rather the noun genos (“class, kind”). The term literally means “one of a kind” or “unique” with no connotation of time or origin. The validity of this understanding is borne out by the New Testament itself. In Hebrews 11:17, Isaac is called Abraham’s monogenes—but it is crystal clear from the Old Testament that Isaac was not the only son Abraham had begotten, since he had also fathered Ishmael prior to Isaac. The term must mean that Isaac was Abraham’s “unique” son, for he was the son of the covenant promises and the line through which Messiah would come. Many of the more recent versions of the Bible have opted to translate monogenes as “only,” but this confuses readers when they come across references to other sons of God in the Old Testament.

"Did God Really Say..."

2008-04-05T18:17:00.003-04:00

In Genesis 3:1, we read of Satan coming to Adam and Eve to tempt them. Sinclair Ferguson says of that incident:

... what Satan did in the Garden of Eden was to introduce the notion of legalism into the nature of the relationship that Adam and Eve had with God. And although there is a dialogue in which Eve is defensive in Genesis 3, what Satan asks is, “Has God put you in this garden and said, ‘You are not to eat of any of the trees of this garden?’”

And I think you can see in the narrative from that point onward she struggles with the answer. “Well, now there is this one tree.” But there is no recognition that he has showered upon us these great things, these other trees.

I was reared in the notion that what Satan was doing there was questioning the authority of God’s word (which he does). But more important, in that context, he was really questioning the character of the God by saying, “Don’t you see he really isn’t generous?”

Satan is saying God is like a father who takes his child into some phenomenally wonderful children’s department store the week before Christmas, shows him everything, and says to him with a cynical laugh, “And none of this is going to be yours this Christmas.”

It is the distortion. I am no psychiatrist, but I think at the human level that inevitably produces a child who will either willfully rebel or find himself always feeling he has got to do something to earn his father’s love.

It may be speculative to ask what it is the deepest thing in Satan’s heart against God. But I think there clearly is that jealously to demean his character. And the demeaning of the character of God, I think, injects into all that lies behind what we call legalism.

God's Work and My Works

2008-03-30T09:04:00.002-04:00

I've been studying Ephesians with a couple of guys in the past few weeks. It's been another opportunity to be amazed by God's grace. I am a sinner. The fact that I am spared from the wrath of God and given all the blessings of God testifies to the immensity of God's grace. There is nothing good in me that merits any of God's goodness. What I've earned is judgment yet what I've received through Christ's work is joy. When people see me, they should say, "Look how gracious God is!"

But if there is nothing good in me to deserve salvation, does that mean I can be passive, selfish or even wicked in how I live as a believer in Jesus? Ephesians 2:10 gives a resounding NO! "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which he prepared in advance for us to do" (Ephesians 2:10).

My good works outside of Christ have no saving merit. But in union with Christ, I can truly do good works. In fact, one of the works of God in the believer is that we will do what is good. Robert Stein, in writing about “Saved by Faith [Alone]” in Paul Versus “Not Saved by Faith Alone,” says something that applies here:

The discussion concerning “good works” is all too often set purely in the framework of justification by faith. What is the relationship between the new standing of righteousness that a person possesses and Christian living? Is “justification” simply a legal fiction? The debate all too often loses sight of the fact that justification is not synonymous with Christian conversion. If, when a person is justified, he is also born again and made a new creation through the gift of the Spirit, the issue of whether faith must be accompanied by works is a moot one. Good works are not an option for the believer, but a necessary fruit. A “good tree bears good fruit” (Matt 7:17). A true faith, unlike mere intellectual assent, must bear good fruit. Such good fruit or works can never be the cause of salvation. Here the Reformation cry of “justification by faith alone” must be affirmed at all costs. But James’s warning that the faith that saves cannot be alone but will be accompanied by works must also be affirmed. This seems to be especially true at the present time.

Which Criminal Are You?

2008-03-21T15:24:00.007-04:00

I took a tutoring assignment this morning and didn't go to a Good Friday service. As part of the tutoring session, we read Luke 23:39-43 concerning the crucifixion of Jesus:

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!"

But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong."

Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."

Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

On the way home I turned on the radio and heard some preacher talking about "when God comes through for you." Is that how we see Jesus? Are we merely looking for him to "come through for us"? Are we waiting for Jesus, in the words of the first criminal, to "save ... us" from a bad situation? If so, the Bible has this to say about that kind of faith:

Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men (John2:23-24).

The second criminal, on the other hand, was commended for his faith:
- He recognized that he was deserving of judgment;
- He acknowledged Jesus as the King of God's kingdom;
- And he looked to Jesus for mercy.

Saved by Grace Through Faith

2008-03-09T14:41:00.002-04:00

In Ephesians 2, Paul has already said, "It is by grace you have been saved" (v. 5). As if to emphasize its importance, he says it again: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our salvation from sin and death and Satan and rebellion and wrath is fully the work of God, and is freely offered to undeserving sinners.

The means by which we enter into the benefits of God's work is through faith. But I take it that even faith is the gift of God (others take the "this" as referring to salvation in general). It is not a work that we do in order to earn salvation. Our hope is not in what we do, but in what Christ has already done. "When we accept the finished work of Christ on our behalf, we act by the faith supplied by God's grace. This the supreme act of human faith, the act which, though it is ours, is primarily God's - His gift to us out of His grace" (John MacArthur, Ephesians, p. 61).

Since salvation is not a matter of personal merit, there will be no place for pride before God, only humility. R. Kent Hughes observes:

If salvation came by works, eternity would spawn a fraternity of rung-dropping, chest thumping boasters - an endless line of celestial Pharisees: "God, I thank you that I am not like all other men - robbers, evildoers, adulterers" (Luke 18:11).

Thank God that we will have nothing to boast about before him. Instead we will be awed by God's grace. We will boast only in what Christ has done.

God's Grace on Display

2008-02-29T09:50:00.004-05:00

Why did God make us alive with Christ when we were dead in our sins? "In order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:7). God has saved us from the guilt and judgment of our sins by his grace and mercy (Ephesians 2:4-5) - it is totally undeserved favor. Now we see that this grace will be displayed in successive age after age. Furthermore, it will be shown to be incomparably rich - perhaps this means it will take eternity to show the full abundance of God's grace. And thirdly, it will point to the loving work of Jesus Christ - his life, death, resurrection and exaltation - as the supreme expression of grace.

The end of all this is as Paul said in Ephesians 1:6: All will be for "the praise of his glorious grace." God will be worshiped now and for eternity for his grace toward sinners.

This was God's publicity program for the whole of history - and beyond. He planned a continuing exhibition of his favor toward man to cover all the centuries between the ascension and the return of Christ, and after that through all eternity (A. Skevington Wood, "Ephesians" in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, vol. 11, p. 35).

Rejoice in the Lord

2008-02-27T13:42:00.002-05:00

Mark Roberts shares this comment from Gordon Fee on Rejoicing in the Lord:

He was dealing with Philippians 3:1, which says, “Finally, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.” Gordon explained that this is not a command to feel happy feelings. Paul is not saying, “Rev yourself up and be joyful.” Rather, this is a command to praise the Lord, to worship God. It may well be that when we do this, we will feel joy. But that’s not the main point. Paul is repeating in Philippians what can be found throughout the Psalms: calls to praise God through joyful expression.

Seated with God

2008-02-25T10:43:00.003-05:00

When Paul says in Ephesians 2:5 that Christians have been made alive with Christ, what does he mean? I think he goes on in the next verse to explain: "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6).

Just as Jesus Christ was raised up and seated in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 1:20), so also believers in Christ participate in his victory. There is a present aspect and future aspect to this ("already, but not yet"). In the future, we will be raised with resurrection bodies and rule with Christ forever. In the present, we share in Christ's triumph over sin and death and Satan. "That God has seated believers with Christ means therefore that they are part of the new dominion's superiority over the old, participating in its liberation from the powers and its restoration of harmony to the cosmos" (Lincoln, Ephesians, pp. 108-09). This is what it means to be made alive with Christ.

The Credentials of a Servant

2008-02-24T14:26:00.003-05:00

Glenn Penner reflects on the credentials of the apostle Paul as outlined in 2 Corinthians 11:21-30. He reminds us to ask Where Are the Nail Prints? when we look at those who claim to be messengers of Christ today.

When the apostle Paul needed to defend his ministry against his critics in Corinth who questioned whether his ministry was really from the Lord, how did he answer? Did he point to his conversion stats, the number of churches he planted, his baptism figures, or donation records? Did he strut around in expensive, tailor-made white suits with gold embroidered lettering on his breast?...

How I wish we could pull our eyes off of those whose lives and ministries are marked with success, riches and glory and look to those whose lives and service are marked by suffering, sacrifice, and shame. This is a temptation for believers wherever we live. I have seen persecuted believers seduced by the musical voices of those who promise much and deliver little (see Jude 12 and 2 Peter 2:17-19). Oh, that we as God's people would look away from the dazzling light, the fancy clothes, and the crowns, close our ears to the musical voice and look, instead, for the nail prints.

"And the Word Was God"

2008-02-21T09:39:00.002-05:00

Regarding the phrase "and the Word was God" in John 1:1, Paul Martin quotes from Don Carson's The Gospel According to John in the Pillar New Testament Commentary series.

But God ...

2008-02-19T10:47:00.003-05:00

I love coming across the phrase "But God" in the Bible. Everything may be hopeless, yet hope is restored when God steps into the situation. So it is in Ephesians 2:4-5. After giving a dark description of man's utter lostness, the apostle Paul goes on to write: "But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved." This is what God has done for believers in Christ:

We were once children of wrath (2:3), but God's rich mercy rescued us from his own righteous judgment. We deserved hell but God extended compassion.
We were once disobedient (2:2), following our own desires and Satan's schemes, but God in his great love reached down to us. Although we had not given God a second thought, he never stopped thinking of us (so to speak).
We were once dead in our transgressions, but God made us alive with Christ. As God raised Christ from the dead, so he freed us from the grave of sin and gave us new life.

All of this is the demonstration of God's grace to those who believe in Jesus Christ. It's not because of who we are, but because of who God is. For no other reason than his grace, God saved us from self and death and wrath.

But "by grace" does not mean at God's whim. It is only because of Christ and through Christ ("with Christ") that we receive the gifts of God's grace. He lived a life of perfect obedience - his righteousness for our disobedience. He died to suffer God's wrath for our sins - his propitiation for our punishment. He was resurrected - his life for our deadness in sin.

Living in Sin

2008-02-16T10:33:00.000-05:00

Those who are dead in their sins are those who live in their sins: "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath" (Ephesians 2:1-3).

How is our "living in sins" expressed? We follow the ways of this world. Our life is oriented to the present evil world-age. We live in accordance with standards and values that are hostile to God.

We are also energized in our disobedience by the ruler of the kingdom of the air (Satan). We are in rebellion against God, acting in accordance with the devil's work in us.

Furthermore, we gratify the cravings of our sinful nature. We indulge the desires of our "flesh" - the self-reliant, self-ruling dimension of who we are in opposition to God. We do what our sinful impulses prompt us to do.

The consequence of all this: We are under God's judgment. We deserve his just and fierce punishment. But that's not the whole story. Thank God that's not the whole story!