Category Archives: Opening the Bible

“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”

A God Honoring Choice

Chick-fil-A was in the news not long ago in connection with the new Mercedes Benz stadium in Atlanta that will be home to the football Falcons, Atlanta’s professional soccer team as well as other venues throughout the year. The story was about the fact that Chick-fil-A is a vendor there but would nonetheless be closedContinue reading “A God Honoring Choice”

Approaching Romans

The Louvre in Paris is home to the Mona Lisa—one of the most famous paintings of all time. It was done by Leonardo Da Vinci in the early sixteenth century. If you want to understand what went into the painting and why it is the way it is, the place to start would be with understandingContinue reading “Approaching Romans”

Exhausted Yet Keeping Up The Pursuit

After Gideon and his three hundred men have thrown the Midianite army into panic with their trumpets, jars, and torches (and the help of the Lord—Judges 7:22), they set out in pursuit of those who have survived and fled.  In 8:4, we’re told that they are “exhausted yet keeping up the pursuit”.  If there had been social mediaContinue reading “Exhausted Yet Keeping Up The Pursuit”

Perplexed By God

Anyone reading through the book of Judges will immediately notice a cycle that is repeated throughout in regard to Israel.  It goes like this:  God delivers Israel from their enemy, After a period of time, Israel falls into disobedience, God disciplines them by allowing their enemy to oppress them,   Israel turns from their sin to GodContinue reading “Perplexed By God”