Tag Archives: Christianity

Dec 17 2012

Hebrews 6 – The Certainty of God’s Promise

The Hebrew writer continues in this chapter after his rebuke to the recipients of the letter in chapter 5, stating that it is time to move from “the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity….” This does not mean that the first principles of Christianity to which he refers are unimportant, or that they should be forgotten.  Rather, it is time for them to grow into maturity spiritually;  and they will do that (as will we) by diligently studying the Scriptures and “by constant practice to distinguish good from evil” as stated in 5:14.

Jordan River, traditional site of Jesus' baptism

Jordan River, traditional site of Jesus’ baptism

Verses 4-8 do not refer to sin that is unforgivable by God.  As 1 John 1:7 says “the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”  But the text does make it plain that those who have been saved can fall away from the Lord, and we must be careful.  When he says that it is impossible to bring such a person who once “shared in the Holy Spirit” back to repentance, he means it is impossible for his fellow Christians to bring that person to repentance if his heart has been hardened.  Nothing is impossible for God, however, and He has and does bring some who have fallen into apostasy back.  But living a life of sin once one has known the truth can result in a condition of heart and spirit from which there is no return.

Verses 13-20 remind us of the promise God made to Abraham and his heirs – that He made it with an oath, and it is impossible for God to lie (Titus 1:1-2), promising the faithful heirs eternal life.  And as Christians, baptized into Christ, we are those heirs (Galatians 3:27-29).  As verses 19-20 conclude, we have that hope as a steadfast anchor through Jesus “having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Dec 16 2012

Sneak Preview of 2013! \ Week 49 summary posted

What a year it’s been pointing to the cross!  We started this blog in January with a Bible reading plan that caught our interest, and went from the creation in Genesis all the way to the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus the Christ – one chapter a day, five days per week.  As we finish the year with the Scriptures pointing the way to His return and our salvation, we hope you have grown and benefited as much as we have from God’s word this year!

Cross-003But, alas the year is soon ending; and the question of what this blog will be focused on in 2013 must now be answered.  Well, fortunately, we recently figured that out.  A very different reading plan has come to our attention that is just too hard to resist.  As of this writing, the designers of this plan (again, not us) are working on the finishing touches of the schedule – which will be ready by the end of the year.  What we can tell you right now is that next year’s reading schedule for this blog will be focused on what is commonly called “The Wisdom Literature,” or sometimes “The Poetry and Wisdom Books of the Bible!”

More details to come before January, but we are excited about a year of an in-depth look into Psalms, Proverbs, the Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, the Book of Job and, as an added bonus, the Book of James!  The latter is not included in the list of “Wisdom books” normally, but it is often called the “Proverbs of the New Testament;” and we think it is a fabulous choice to end the year with in 2013!

So that brings us to the subject of the approaching date of December 21, 2012 and that pesky Mayan calendar.  We were recently treated to a very well-written article on that very subject.  Please enjoy it at the following link in its title – “What does the Bible say about the Mayan Calendar and Doomsday on December 21?”

Summing Up

Each weekend, I am now posting a small PDF of one week of chapter summaries (on the website’s “Summaries” page), current to the beginning of the previous week.  I have posted the summary for Week 49 (December Week 1) of the schedule I am following.  This short PDF document contains condensed comments about Ephesians 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, with hyperlinks to the ESV version of each chapter for listening or reading, and joins the summaries for other weeks already posted there.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Dec 14 2012

Hebrews 5 – Warning Against Apostatsy

The Hebrew writer continues on the subject of Jesus as our high priest.  To understand the context of this writing, we should remember that many of the Christians this letter was written to were Jews or Gentiles that had first aspired to Judaism before becoming Christians.  Much of their persecution would not be happening to them if they had not become followers of Christ; and their lives would be much easier if they turned back to Judaism.  Secondly, the high priest was an attractive and important part of that faith they had previously known. Coffman’s summary as follows is well put:

Jewish high priest wearing a hoshen, and Levit...

Jewish high priest wearing a hoshen, and Levites in ancient Judah. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Without doubt, the earthly splendor of the Jewish high priest was a factor of seductive influence on Christians, especially those of Jewish background. His rich robes, the extravagantly ornate breastplate, the unique privilege of entering the Holy of Holies on the day of atonement, his status as judge and president of the Sanhedrin, his dramatic influence as the official representative of the Jewish nation, more especially at a time when they had no king, the traditional descent of the office from the sons of Aaron and reaching all the way back to the Exodus, and the grudging respect paid to the office, even by Roman conquerors – all these things and many others elevated the Jewish high priest to a position of isolated splendor in the eyes of the people.“

The writer is letting them know that they still have a high priest – but a better one now!  Jesus is their high priest and intercedes for us now, and he is fully qualified – and was appointed as such by God (verses 5-6)!  But they should know this by now, and the writer rebukes them, warning them not to fall back into their old ways.  By now, he says, they should be teaching others, but they need teaching again themselves.  They “…need milk, not solid food” (verse 12) – meaning they have to get back to the first principles of Christianity before they can move forward with maturity.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Dec 13 2012

Hebrews 4 – Jesus the Great High Priest

The Hebrew writer continues the theme he began in chapter 3 of the rest that was prepared by God for us – “his works were finished from the foundation of the world.”  “Rest” here for us is entrance into heaven.  They received “good news” in the old covenant, but the message did not benefit them because they were not faithful in their belief.  The point that the writer is making in the first few verses is that the promise is ours to forfeit – just as it was theirs (verse 11).  Verse 12’s reference to the word of God as “living” is not in the sense of John 1:1, but that of 1 Peter 1:23 and others that refer to it as such.

praying_handsCoffman says a lot about verse 12 that seems right on the mark: “The word ‘active’ shows that the word does not lie inert and dead but at all times carries within itself the mighty power of its divine author. Rather than trying to find subtle differences in the meaning of such words as ‘soul’ and ‘spirit,’ it is perhaps just as well to view this verse as a heaping together of powerful terms for the purpose of showing the utmost ability of the word of God to penetrate the complex inward nature of man, to convict him of sin, to expose his hidden motives, and to judge the very nature of life itself….The passage presents God’s word as totally different from the word of men, making it infinite in power, all-seeing in discernment, and able to pierce or penetrate any human subterfuge.”
And just so, verse 13 tells the reader that there is nobody that can hide from Him – we are all “naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

Verses 14-16 pick back up on Chapter 3’s reference to Jesus as our high priest – a subject to which the writer speaks much about in this epistle – and points out that he is not one that is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses.  The Lord experienced temptation “in every respect,” it says.  So we can approach our Father through Him with confidence (verse 16) “that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”  What a reassuring passage!  We often speak of someone “being there” for us.  Jesus truly is!

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Dec 12 2012

Hebrews 3 – Jesus Greater Than Moses

Mount Nebo, where Moses could see the Promised Land, but could not enter it.

Mount Nebo, where Moses could see the Promised Land, but could not enter it.

This chapter by the Hebrew writer is the only place in Scripture that Jesus is called an apostle.  Remember that an apostle is another word for a messenger, one who is sent (or more correctly, one who is commissioned, so that the messenger has the authority of the one who sent him).  Jesus said in John 12:49. “For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me ma commandment—what to say and what to speak.”  The writer continues that Jesus was faithful to Him that appointed Him, just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house.  But Moses was faithful as a servant.  Note that the writer says that Jesus is faithful over God’s house as a son – and we are that house.  But verse 6 reminds that we must persevere (hold fast) in the Christian life.

Verses 7-11 are quoted from Psalm 95:7-11,   We are warned as benefactors of the new covenant to not do as those who fell away in the old covenant.  We need the fellowship of our Christian brothers and sisters, so that we “…exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Dec 11 2012

1 Peter 2 – A Living Stone and a Holy People

Mediterranean Sea near Joppa. Joppa, today called Jaffa, was once the seaport for Jerusalem. Hiram sent cedar logs from Lebanon to King Solomon for the Temple, floating them to Joppa (2 Chronicles 2:15). From Joppa the prophet Jonah ran away from God ( Book of Jonah), sailing from there toward Tarshish. Here Peter raised Tabitha, or Dorcas, from the dead (Acts 9:36-42). Later he was staying here at the house of Simon the Tanner when he saw a vision of unclean animals, which led him to visit Cornelius' house in Caesarea and win him to Christ.

Mediterranean Sea near Joppa. Joppa, today called Jaffa, was once the seaport for Jerusalem. Hiram sent cedar logs from Lebanon to King Solomon for the Temple, floating them to Joppa (2 Chronicles 2:15). From Joppa the prophet Jonah ran away from God ( Book of Jonah), sailing from there toward Tarshish. Here Peter raised Tabitha, or Dorcas, from the dead (Acts 9:36-42). Later he was staying here at the house of Simon the Tanner when he saw a vision of unclean animals, which led him to visit Cornelius’ house in Caesarea and win him to Christ.

Peter continues his admonishment to be holy in this letter, beginning  by urging them to leave behind wickedness, thoughts and deeds of ill will toward others, and to study God’s word.  The reference to the Scriptures as spiritual milk is used in other passages such as Hebrews 5:12 and 1 Corinthians 3:2.  Verse 3’s reference to having “tasted” that the Lord is good, is quoted from Psalm 34:8 appropriately here, as the entire Psalm is about the Lord delivering the righteous who are suffering.  He then describes them as a living stone “rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,”  being built up as a spiritual house, with Jesus as the cornerstone (Isaiah 28:16, Psalm 118:22).

He addresses Christians in verse 9, referring to them with terms that were reserved for Jews in the past – “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” (Exodus 19:5-6, Deuteronomy 7:6, Isaiah 61:6).  Many of them were Gentiles.  Peter then tells them they must abstain from passions of the flesh, and keep their actions among the Gentiles honorable, referring to unbelievers as “Gentiles.”  Living as a holy people, they must submit to the authority of those who rule, and by doing good amid their suffering and persecution they honor Jesus who suffered, “but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.”

The last few verses of the chapter remind them of just how much Jesus suffered for us, and correspond to the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 as follows:

Verse 22 – Isaiah 53:9

Verse 23 – Isaiah 53:7

Verse 24 – Isaiah 53:12, 5

Verse 25 – Isaiah 53:6

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Dec 10 2012

1 Peter 1 – Called to Be Holy

Map of the route of Paul's second missionary journey. Here in the epistle, Peter writes to Christians to the north and east.

Map of the route of Paul’s second missionary journey. Here in the epistle, Peter writes to Christians to the north and east.

Peter opens this letter addressing Christians in the northern and eastern provinces of Turkey (such as Pontus,  Cappadocia, and Bithynia) who had scattered because of persecution – and indeed still suffered such.  It is notable that Peter now refers to Christians – Jew and Gentile – in terms formerly reserved only for the Jews (chosen, elect exiles of the dispersion, etc.).  Because of the blood of Jesus Christ, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, Christians were now the chosen ones, as Jesus made plain in John 15:16-19.  Peter is offering them comfort, as he reminds them that God in His mercy has caused us to be born again through the resurrection of His son, Jesus, for an imperishable inheritance of salvation.

Ruins in Cappadocia, the largest province of Asia Minor, located in what is today eastern Turkey. It became more easily accessible to points south, including Jerusalem, after the Romans constructed roads through the Cilician Gates in the Taurus range. Despite the Roman empire's disdain for Christians, these roads actually helped the Gospel to spread.

Ruins in Cappadocia, the largest province of Asia Minor, located in what is today eastern Turkey. It became more easily accessible to points south, including Jerusalem, after the Romans constructed roads through the Cilician Gates in the Taurus range. Despite the Roman empire’s disdain for Christians, these roads actually helped the Gospel to spread.

His words of comfort urge them to realize that the persecution they are enduring  will test the genuineness of their faith, but their love for Him and steadfastness will be rewarded by His grace.  He reminds them of the promise of the prophets concerning Christ, who was “foreknown before the foundation of the world” – that they were ransomed by His blood and by His victory over death.  Peter calls on them to not fall back on their old ways – the ways of their fathers – but to purify themselves in love for one another and to be holy.

This latter point is most important.  People often try to excuse their sinful behavior by saying “God wants me to be happy.”   Sure, God wants us to rejoice in  the hope that we have because of Jesus, but He is not nearly so focused on our personal happiness.  He wants us to be holy!  Peter reminds us in verses 15-16 (quoting Leviticus 11:44) “…as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy.'”  Verses 24-25 are cited from Isaiah 40:6-8, reminding us to trust in God , whose word endures forever.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Dec 9 2012

Let’s Hear From Peter \ Week 48 summary posted

Peter healed a crippled beggar at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple (Acts 3:1-11)

Peter healed a crippled beggar at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple (Acts 3:1-11)

Having finished the Book of Acts and Paul’s Epistle to the Ephesians, this week we will turn from Paul’s writing, first to a letter from Peter (1 Peter), then to the Book of Hebrews.  The former was probably written around 62-63 AD, before Nero’s persecution, but almost certainly during his reign.  As to the Hebrew letter, there has been much conjecture about the authorship, but as one writer put it, “Who actually wrote the epistle, only God knows.”

Summing Up

Each weekend, I am now posting a small PDF of one week of chapter summaries (on the website’s “Summaries” page), current to the beginning of the previous week.  I have posted the summary for Week 48 (November Week 4) of the schedule I am following.  This short PDF document contains condensed comments about Acts 25, 26, 27, 28, and Ephesians 1, with hyperlinks to the ESV version of each chapter for listening or reading, and joins the summaries for other weeks already posted there.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
image © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Dec 7 2012

Ephesians 6 – The Whole Armor of God

Paul closes his letter to the Ephesians in this chapter beginning with the admonition for children to “honor your father and mother,” referring to the fifth of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12) as being “the first commandment with a promise, ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.'”  It was the only one of those ten commandments to contain a promise; and the emphasis throughout the Bible on children being expected to obey their parents is nothing to be taken lightly.  Consider the opposite of the aforementioned promise, for example.  Verse 4, as with all of these “submission passages” reminds fathers of their duty to them – to love their children enough to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”  As Proverbs 22:6 teaches, such instruction will stay with them.

Paul was a prisoner in Rome, under house arrest, but he was free to preach the Gospel to many who came to listen (Acts 28:16-31).

Paul was a prisoner in Rome, under house arrest, but he was free to preach the Gospel to many who came to listen (Acts 28:16-31).

He continues the theme of Christians submitting one to another that he began in Chapter 5:21 with similar instructions for bondservants and their masters.  Verses 5-9 do not constitute an endorsement of slavery or servitude on the part of the Apostle.  Its applications then and today are relevant to the relationship of people to any lawfully established authority (and vice-versa, which is sometimes forgotten).

The “meat and potatoes” of this chapter come in verse 10 and following.  The “whole armor of God” described in these verses correlate to a fully armed soldier, and the descriptions would be familiar to people throughout the Roman Empire.  Verse 12 reminds us that the spiritual forces of evil – the devil himself – is a very real adversary, not some imagined foe, but the very real “roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8).  Christians arm themselves for this battle with a list of items he relates to this armor and weapons – truth, righteousness, and the readiness given by the gospel of peace.  Faith, he says, is our shield against “flaming darts of the evil one.”

As he encourages them to be strong in prayer, he asks also for their prayers for him to be strong, as he declares himself their “ambassador in  chains.”

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.

Dec 6 2012

Ephesians 5 – Walk In Love

As Paul opens in this chapter telling the Ephesians to be imitators of God, he tells them in verse 2 to “walk in love.”  The verb “walk” is used to mean “to live ones life, and exhibit the characteristics of.” This fits perfectly with 1 John 4:8, which says “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”  Paul refers to the expectation that Christians walk in love in other passages such as Romans 14:15, and says it is what “binds everything together in perfect harmony (Colossians 3:14).

Ruins at Ephesus

Ruins at Ephesus

Paul contrasts that by urging them to stay away from sexual immorality (which covers everything outside of relations between a husband and a wife), as well as all impurity and covetousness – which is idolatry – and even filthy talk, or crude joking.  Indeed, he says that such should not even be named of the people of God.  A Christian’s integrity and reputation matter, and public sins dishonor the Lord.  He makes it clear in verse 5 that those who are guilty of these things have “no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.”  Verse 8’s “children of light” remind us of Jesus’ words in John 12:35-36.

Verses 21-33 deal with the relationship of a husband and wife – not women and men in general.  Paul restates Genesis 3:16 in terms of the husband being the head of the wife, just as Jesus is the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22-23).  But that does not give the husband license to be a tyrant.  Rather, the husband is to love his wife as Jesus loved the church, and “gave himself up for her.”  A wife should be able to count on just such love from her husband.  Verse 31 quotes Genesis 2:24, as they become one flesh; and the husband should also love his wife as he loves himself.

Read or listen to audio of ESV version of this selection from this link.

/Bob’s boy
___________________
some images © V. Gilbert & Arlisle F. Beers

Please note: I did not design the reading plan that I am following in my blog.  All of my comments in this blog, however, are solely my responsibility.  When reading ANY commentary, you should ALWAYS refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word. Reading schedules, as well as a link to the site where you can get the reading plan that I’m currently following for yourself can be found on the “Bible Reading Schedules” page of my website at http://graceofourlord.com.  For questions and help, please see the “FAQ” and “Summaries” pages there.