Latest Blog Posts from Wednesday in the Word, the podcast about what the Bible means and how we know.
When studying the atonement, you’re likely to run across two technical words: expiation and propitiation. These terms tend to appear in a text without explanation. But since they are not in the Bible and they don’t often come up in daily conversation, it can be difficult to remember what they mean.
Being religious is no guarantee that you are genuinely following God. Whatever you define as obedience to God (being in full-time ministry, church attendance, praying, fasting, giving to the poor, adopting social justice causes), Jesus says: stop and ask yourself who are you doing it for?
ools and resources you need to do a word study on the Greek word for sin, hamartia.
Background, historical and cultural information to help you study the bible.
17 podcasts to cover Matthew 5. A new record! In November we’ll begin Matthew 6 which includes the Lord’s prayer. You say it. Do you know what it means?
Jesus commands us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. In one sense, loving your neighbor is a simple, practical guide to good conduct. But it is also a truth we have to embrace and choose to follow. In that sense, it is a test of faith.
Isaiah was a prophet to the Southern Kingdom (Judah) His ministry spans 50-60 years from approximately 740 – 680 BC during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah (kings of Judah).
Introductions to background, history, chronology and books of the Bible.
Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for applying instructions for the judges of Israel to their personal behavior. They claim they can be proportionally vindictive in the name of seeking retribution and still consider themselves blameless. Jesus says the guiding principle is not “an eye for an eye” but rather “turn the other cheek.”
How do we know the Bible is the Word of God? First, we can examine what the Bible claims about itself.
Since we rarely make oaths today, there doesn’t seem to be much to learn from Matthew 5:33-37. However, Jesus is speaking to a deeper issue than telling the truth or meaning what we say. He’s dealing with violating the 3rd commandment, taking the Lord’s name in vain.
How can God be one being and yet 3 persons? While not explained explicitly in any passage, the concept of the Trinity is progressively revealed in Scripture. The early church struggled for centuries to understand the doctrine of the Trinity before landing on 3 statements.
Both Moses and Jesus recognize that we sinners are going to fail in our marriages and so they allowed divorce with some regulations. Moses did not mean divorce was a righteous option. Divorce results from the fact that the parties involved are sinners. God intended marriage to be forever but divorce is a necessary evil because of our sin.
Tools and resources you need to do a word study on the Biblical Greek verb for daily, epiousios, G1967.
Without the proper tools, your ability to do great Bible study is limited. On this one page, you’ll find links to websites, maps, charts, overviews, outlines, timelines encyclopedias, concordances and tips on how to use them.
We can have all the knowledge in the universe, but if we don’t fear the Lord, the Bible calls us fools. The fear of the Lord is the necessary ingredient that turns knowledge into wisdom. In that way, our righteousness must surpass that of the scribes and the Pharisees.
The Pharisees consider themselves blameless before the law if they have refrained from physically committing adultery. But Jesus says righteousness requires more. It requires inward submission to the will of God and accepting the boundaries He has placed on your life, including your sexuality.
Wayne Grudem’s 10 rules for how to interpret the Bible. The first 3 rules are the most important.
If you’re building a bible study library, here are the basic tools you need to get started.
The Pharisees believed they were righteous because no court could convict them of murder. But Jesus countered that if courts were in charge of judging righteousness, then responding to others with unloving anger would get you arrested; and calling people insulting names would get you thrown into the fires of judgment.
Apocalyptic literature is a sub-category of prophecy. The name comes from the Greek word apocalypsis which means uncovering or unveiling.
Tools and resources you need to do a word study on the Greek verb for to sanctify or to make holy.
In the second section of this sermon Jesus warns that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. Unlike them, we must have a genuine commitment to the Scriptures and what they teach if we want to find life in the kingdom of God. We must seek to understand the full demands of the Law and want to obey it.
The canon of Scripture is the list of all the books that belong in the Bible. The Bible, the Apocrypha and history all testify to the historical development of the Old Testament canon.
Whenever you study Scripture, it’s important to know where your particular passage fits into biblical history. As Karl Barth said: “The Bible is not a philosophical book, but a history book, the book of God’s mighty acts, in which God becomes knowable to us.” Here’s a simple overview of biblical history.
The “so what” of being justified by faith is now we have a reason to boast. Paul explains the 3 things we boast about in Romans 5:1-11. The first is hope.
Tools and resources you need to do a word study on the Greek word for hypocrite, hupokrités.
The Wednesday in the Word podcast is on break to celebrate the arrival of my newest grandchild! We’ll return to the Gospel of Matthew in mid-September. We finished the beatitudes We’ll pick up with the “Antitheses.”
Saving faith is the permanent, ongoing trust in God that one day He will free me completely from all the consequences and effects of sin because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Saving faith itself is a gift from God and it involves 4 things.
Tools and resources you need to do a word study on the Greek word for word, logos
There are 2 consequences to our sin: 1) We experience death and futility. 2) Our rebellion is wrong and we now owe a debt to justice that must be paid. Justification is the payment of that debt.
Tools and resources you need to do a word study on the Greek adjective for perfect, teleios.
Understanding the gospel means we must understand the problem that the gospel solves. While the word gospel means “good news,” understanding the gospel begins with bad news: death.
Tools and resources you need to do a word study on the Greek noun for perfect, telos.
The podcast is on break to celebrate the arrival of my newest grandchild. We’ll return to the Gospel of Matthew and the Sermon on the Mount in mid-September.
The beatitude describe people who have saving faith and will inherit a place in the kingdom of God. Upon conversion, we don’t start perfectly, courageously and consistently displaying all these qualities of poor in spirit, meek, mourning and so forth. Rather as we grow in faith, we grow in these qualities.