Category Archives: Opening the Bible

Justice In The Church (2)

By providing financial assistance to widows who were really in need, the church was fulfilling a vital part of its mission. The church as the body of Christ is to practice justice, mercy, and faithfulness (see Matthew 23:23). If the church is the expression of God’s kingdom’s coming, then our Father’s will should be doneContinue reading “Justice In The Church (2)”

Justice In The Church (1)

I suppose it’s easy to dismiss 1 Timothy 5:3-16 as the first century church at Ephesus dealing with some in-house matters we don’t fully understand and therefore it has little or nothing to say to us today. But if you’ve made it very far down the biblical road, there’s probably something stirring around the backContinue reading “Justice In The Church (1)”

Living The Gospel

One of Paul’s conclusions to his discussion in Romans 9-11 is that “God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that He may have mercy on them all” (v. 32). If you’ve been reading through Romans you’re not surprised by this statement because the letter is saturated with grace, mercy and forgiveness. Neither is itContinue reading “Living The Gospel”

Life Assurance

Checked your telomeres recently? Telomeres are the end caps of chromosomes. They protect them and have been likened to the plastic tips on shoelaces. When telomeres shorten, become frayed or thin out, it adversely effects cell development and accelerates the aging process. Therefore, the longer your telomeres are, the lower your biological age is—regardless ofContinue reading “Life Assurance”

“I’ve Never Seen That Before!”

I hope it hasn’t been too long since you said or thought these words. Part of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus is to live with our eyes wide open. Life isn’t boring. We don’t need to be dependent upon others to entertain us. There is wonder all around us if weContinue reading ““I’ve Never Seen That Before!””

Israel, The Torah, And The Flesh

Whatever else that might be said about it, the Torah was a covenant of the flesh. Those under the covenant were the fleshly descendants of Abraham through Jacob. The males received circumcision which was spoken of by God as “My covenant in your flesh” (Genesis 17:13). If a male wasn’t circumcised he would be cutContinue reading “Israel, The Torah, And The Flesh”

I Fought The Law And Sin Won

Romans 7 is as difficult to grasp as Romans 6 is easy to understand. It would have been fine with me if Paul had gone straight from chapter 6 to chapter 8. But of course had he done that the first four verses of chapter 8 wouldn’t mean nearly as much as they do. It’sContinue reading “I Fought The Law And Sin Won”

Good News And Gratitude

Romans 1:18ff is a downer in a book of good news. It is the longest list of sin in the Scripture and it ends with God giving the people mentioned over to self-destruction (v. 24, 26, 28). How does this descent into darkness begin? “Although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God norContinue reading “Good News And Gratitude”

Father Abraham

The theme of Romans is the righteousness (faithfulness) of God (1:16-17). Specifically, it is how God has been faithful to the world generally and the Jewish people specifically by fulfilling His promise to Abraham and bringing mankind together through Jesus. And the rub for many of the Jewish people of Paul’s time was that HeContinue reading “Father Abraham”

Creation, Rebellion, And Redemption

Paul’s discussion in Romans 1:18ff is about more than Gentile rebellion—it concerns Gentile rebellion as it related to creation. Man was made to rule over creation in a way that would glorify and image God (Genesis 1:26ff). Adam and Eve fell short of this by failing to honor Yahweh’s and sentence was pronounced upon them,Continue reading “Creation, Rebellion, And Redemption”