Category: Bible

  • Burning coals

    I just don’t buy it. One common argument is given that the burning coals poured on someone’s head were actually a good thing. Allegedly the people at that time carried coal baskets on their heads. Putting burning coals into their basket was to keep them warm. I don’t buy it. How can this be anything…

  • The Sanders Revolution

    Our Debt to E. P. SandersWright’s book, What Saint Paul Really Said points out the debt that we owe to E. P. Sanders. The central point of Sanders was that “Judaism in Paul’s day was not, as has regularly been supposed, a religion of legalistic works-righteousness.” (pp 18-19). This is the key point in properly…

  • Lectionary Text Romans 12:9-21

    Let love be without hypocrisy.Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing…

  • Summary of the NPP Five Points

    These are directly from N. T. Wright’s paper New Perspectives in Paul. Stating the five points in the positive. Restating each of the five in the negative.

  • The NPP and Rom 10:6-7

    Romans 10:6-7 are admittedly tough verses. Testing them against the standard Reformed views of these passage is quite informative. Something is seriously wrong with the standard Reformed views of this passage. The problem posed by these passage is not the passage in and of itself, but in the passage that they are quotes from. They…

  • Lectionary Text – Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

    This week’s Lectionary Text is Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32: Rom 11:1 I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.Rom 11:2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknewRom 11:29 for the gifts and…

  • The Lectionary

    The Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) is a weekly selection of Biblical texts. Two of the texts are taken from the Old Testament and two come out of the New Testament. One of the Old Testament texts is from the Psalms. One of the New Testament texts is taken from the Gospels and the other text…

  • Test cases and proof texts

    Test cases are almost the reverse of proof texts. A test case is a passage that is run through a paradigm to see if the paradigm can work with the test cases. A set of proof tests is used to construct a paradigm. Theological systems are paradigms. My last BLOG entry consisted of one such…

  • Christians and the Law

    I have been a Christian for a over 25 years and have struggled in one way or another with one question above all other questions during my years. The question centers around the relationship of the Christian and the Law. Where the problem comes in is with the seemingly irreconcilable passages where Christ and Paul…

  • Sermon Manuscript for Romans 10:5-15

    Romans 10:5-15 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness, which is based on law, shall live by that righteousness. But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’…

  • Old Testament quotations in Rom 10:6-8

    The Old Testament quotations in Romans 10:6-8 are much tougher to make sense of. The text is: Rom 10:6 But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down),Rom 10:7 or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is,…

  • Old Testament quotation in Rom 10:5

    Rom 10:5-15 has a number of interesting quotes of the Old Testament. I am struggling to figure out exactly what Paul intends with these quotes. The first quote is an indirect quote Moses from Levitcus. Paul wrote: Rom 10:5 For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall…

  • Romans 10:5-15 Lectionary text for 8-7-2005

    For Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on law shall live by that righteousness. But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘WHO WILL DESCEND INTO THE ABYSS?’ (that is,…

  • The Church and Israel – Rom 9:1-5

    Few topics have caused as much controversy in the Evangelical churches as that of the relationship of the church and Israel. Much of this controversy comes from the popularity of End Times books by Tim LaHaye. Having failed to have a lasting effect in the scholarly community, modern Dispensationalists, like LaHaye, have taken up the…

  • The Lectionary

    The Lectionary is a weekly selection of Biblical texts. Two of the texts are taken from the Old Testament and two come out of the New Testament. One of the Old Testament texts is from the Psalms. One of the New Testament texts is taken from the Gospels and the other text is taken from…

  • No condemnation

    Lectionary Text – Rom 8:1-11 Series: Help for the helpless Message: No Condemnation <>Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not…

  • Hope for the future

    Series: Help for the Helpless Message: Hope for the future Romans 8:12-25 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh– for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the…

  • Love Holds On

    Series: Help for the Helpless Message: Love Holds On Rom 8:26-39 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind…

  • Three Temptations of Christ

    The first and last temptation of Christ have always made sense to me. In the first temptation, Jesus was hungry. The temptation was to fulfill an immediate need, His hunger. In the last temptation, Jesus would get what was His by right, but get it immediately. He would not have to go to the cross…

  • Why Should I Bother With Church?

    I’ve been asked often, “Why should I bother with church?” With dozens of religious TV stations, many feel that they can get their Bible teaching without attending church. This is a great question that deserves an answer. I’ll start with an admission. Church is a bother. You don’t get many days of the week when…

  • God thinks it is funny

    Psalm 2:4 is an interesting passage. In the passage it says that God laughs. Exactly what is God laughing at? The previous verse says that he laughs at the efforts of men to kill the Messiah. They think that by binding the Messiah to the cross with fetters and bands they can be free from…

  • Old Earth/Young Earth?

    I do think that there is a knock down falsification argument against the most common young earth argument. Let me give it a shot on you and see what you think. Young earthers often say that Adam was created to look a particular age, say 21 for the sake of argument. This makes sense. Further,…

  • Free Bible software

    There are a couple of good sources of free Bible software for Windows. The price really is right. One of these is On Line Bible. It has some pretty good reviews. I haven’t tried it in a long time so I can’t comment on how good it might be (comments appreciated). Note it has a…

  • Two Things are Needful

    Who is my Christian Brother? There are two criteria for what makes a person a Christian. One is belief that Jesus is the Messiah. The other is belief that Jesus is the Son of God. What this all means is where the rub comes in.