Since the Messiah was expected to establish his kingdom on earth and that would involve a moral cleansing, why isn’t Jesus judging Gentiles and evildoers? The Parable of the Wheat & the Tares explains why Jesus’ ministry is not meeting this expectation.
Since just what you would expect to happen in the Parable of the Sower & the Seed happens, this story must have sounded pointless to those who heard it without explanation. Why would Jesus tell it?
Parables are serious theology. But they are metaphorical theology. They teach through metaphor, simile, and dramatic action rather than through logic or reasoning, drawing us into the story.
Parables are serious theology. But they are metaphorical theology. They teach through metaphor, simile, and dramatic action rather than through logic or reasoning,drawing us into the story.
Can I resist the working of God’s grace in my life to the point where I am no longer saved?
You may never have thought this question through. You may be inconsistent in how you live it out. But how you answer some basic theological questions makes a world of difference in daily life.
Commentaries can kick-start your thinking when you hit a dead end but should not be a substitute for your own work. Here’s my two rules of thumb.
What happens when pastors start looking at their congregation as a means to an end instead of a flock to shepherd? Consider these real-life examples of the ways 3 different churches went about seeking volunteers.
Multi-volume encyclopedias are good sources for historical and biblical themes. But background information does not impose meaning.
Lexicons & dictionaries can reveal what might be “lost in translation” but they also tempt us to fall into the trap of “I learned a fact about a word and I must use it.”
Are we to believe NT Wright, like Dr. Bramwell, is the first to get it right? Should we so easily brush away “centuries of theological tradition”? Chronological snobbery cuts both ways.
A concordance is an organized list of all the biblical texts which contain a given word. Concordances allow you to broaden your understanding of how a word is used and its range of meanings.
Krisan Marotta is a Bible teacher and host of Wednesday in the Word, the podcast about what the Bible means and how we know.