'Bible' Tagged Posts
Praise God for Chapters and Verses
If you have ever read theological writings from the sixteenth century (or before), you will notice something about the Scripture references used in the writings. For example, in Luther’s masterpiece, The Freedom of a Christian (1520), arguing for the Spirit’s role in freedom, he says: “As Christ says in John 4[:14], it is a ‘spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” The reason verse 14 is in brackets is because verse 14 was not what Luther wrote. An editor…
Why Is Preaching A Big Deal?
Henry Bullinger (1504-1575) is not a common household name. Many readers of this blog have never heard of him. But Bullinger is a name Christians should be familiar with. He played a key role when the church was in desperate need of reformation in the sixteenth century. We could write many blogs on how God used Bullinger to reform the church in a more biblical direction. But I want to focus on one way God used him. Bullinger was one…
What is the Bible About?
I am convinced that many Christians functionally read their Bible as if it is about them. For example, the temptation of Jesus by the devil in the wilderness is a well-known event. What many Christians do (I have done this in the past) is they read Matt 4:1-11 and ask the question, “How does this passage apply to me?” What they take away many times is this: Jesus memorized the Scriptures; during his hour of temptation he quoted Scripture to…
Meditation in a Distracting World
I remember a day when my print version Bible sat on my nightstand. I would read it before bed. Now, instead of my Bible on my nightstand, I have something “better”—my smart phone. With my smart phone, I have access not only to a Bible in multiple translations, but I also have access to blogs, calendar, email, to do lists, and my alarm. And, oh, did I mention, a notepad to draft a blog post about meditating in a distracting…
The First Commandment in the First Petition
Christians of previous generations have considered the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer to be very important portions of Scripture. For example, in the 17th century Westminster Shorter Catechism, a summary of the Christian faith, roughly fifty percent is dedicated to the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer. This is a relatively high percentage if you consider all the other important doctrines (e.g., Trinity, Jesus Christ, salvation, the church, etc.) the Catechism must contain to be a summary of the…
The Bible – the Greatest Literary Paradox
I love the Bible. I believe the Bible is the word of the Creator of the Universe to humankind. Because I believe the Bible is the very words of God, I believe it is inspired and inerrant without contradiction. I also believe the Bible is the greatest literary paradox known to man. Why is the Bible the greatest literary paradox? Because it has the greatest author—God himself. Here are a few paradoxes we find in the…