-
Why do the Nations Rage? (Psalm 2)
What is it about the Bible and Christianity that gets people so rankled? And what is God's perspective on it?
-
The Sword is the Spirit
This article argues for an interpretation of the final metaphor (the sword of the Spirit) in Paul’s armor of God passage that deviates from the way it is most commonly understood. Based on parallels with the other metaphors in the same passage, the most natural pronoun-antecedent agreement of the original Greek, and the flow of the passage itself, the sword is identified with the Spirit himself, who is the Word of God.
-
Have They Not Heard? (Romans 10:14–21)
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent?
-
God hates sin … but loves the sinner? (Romans 5:1–11)
We’ve probably all heard at one point—or said ourselves—the saying, “God hates sin, but loves the sinner.” Is that a true or false statement?
-
Concerns in the Church Family (1 Timothy 5:1–16)
The primary metaphor in the Scripture for how we relate to one another is family. Not a business. Not an organization. Family. Certainly there are organizational and business-like aspects to what’s going on here, but the driving metaphor is that of family.
-
Watch Your Life and Doctrine Closely (1 Timothy 4:6–16)
In many areas, Christianity involves affirming truths that seem to be opposites or in competition but which, in fact, are complementary. The unfortunate tendency at times in churches is that we swing the pendulum back and forth from one extreme to the other, over-emphasizing one truth to the point where we deny another.
-
Christ Jesus came to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:12-17)
The passage today is autobiographical, but Paul’s a little less flattering about himself than some other authors. He calls himself “the worst of sinners” (which might have been the title of his autobiography), as well as “a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man”.
-
Do not be Deceived (1 Corinthians 6:9–12)
My favorite type of movie is the con artist genre. In these types of films, the good guys are trying to pull off some major feat, and the whole plot revolves around them tricking the other person—deceiving them—into believing something that isn’t true.
-
Why you probably shouldn’t be using Ephesians 2 (or Galatians 2) to argue against racial prejudice
Making this passage in Ephesians all about socioeconomic racial reconciliation unintentionally casts the God of the Old Testament as a repentant racist who “got woke” at the time of Jesus.
-
Ancient Wisdom and Modern Media (Proverbs 17)
Proverbs 17 provides us a chance to step back and consider a more ancient wisdom and to think through how our tools of social media may have shaped us without us even being aware that they are doing so.
-
Adultery and Lust (Proverbs 5)
The lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as gall, sharp as a double-edged sword.
-
You must be born again (John 3:1-17)
Jesus, knowing what’s in the heart of all men—including Nicodemus—cuts right to the chase and tells Nicodemus precisely what he needs to hear to have his worldview challenged.
-
The eternal state of the church (Revelation 21:9–11, 22–27; 22:1–5)
On October 30, 1938, listeners to the CBS radio network had their regular programming interrupted by a news report of strange explosions having been observed on Mars. The regular radio program resumed but was interrupted again with another news report of a strange object crashing into a farm in New Jersey.
-
The Gospel sets us free from the penalty and power of sin (Colossians 2:6–15)
There’s a false way of going about the Christian life that revolves around rules, ritual, and tradition. Paul doesn’t want us to be suckered in by these hollow philosophies. But we do get suckered in, don't we?
-
Sickness and Healing (James 5:13–20)
There is a spiritual, supernatural dimension to sickness and wellness. This passage is not trying to convince us that is true, it’s not making an argument to persuade us; rather, that is the assumption of the passage.
-
Faithful obedience and thoughtful discipleship (1 Corinthians 3:10–15)
Walls are what you build on top of a foundation. They define what the building looks like and how the space inside is utilized. And so, in our metaphorical usage, they represent what we build on top of our foundation in Jesus Christ—our faithful obedience and the ways we go about discipleship in our homes.
-
Do the Ends Justify the Means? (Daniel 6)
We are called to be faithful, and the results are up to God. And that can be hard.
-
The Corruption of Man & the Justice of God (Genesis 6:5-22; 9:1-11)
In the church, we tend to kind of sanitize what’s going with the flood. But if we’re dialed in to what’s going on here, the account can be really confusing and disturbing if we’re honest. God decreed the annihilation of the entire human population except for eight people. That should be—at some level—disturbing to all of us.
-
Life in the Spirit (Galatians 5:13-26)
This past fall, our son started experiencing acute pain in his abdominal area. At first we figured it was just cramps or growing pains or the beginnings of another stomach bug or something. But since it persisted, and given the location of the pain (sort of lower-right), we figured we’d better get it checked out.
-
Don’t be a Jonah (Jonah 1–4)
In one sense, Jonah is pretty familiar. People otherwise ignorant of the Bible know about “Jonah and the whale”. And yet what people usually know about Jonah stops after chapter 2, maybe through chapter 3. This is a shame, because the key to the entire book is in the ending.