“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Matthew 6:24 NIV Serve – The world is preoccupied with freedom these days. It is current political coinage. In the…
For the LORD listens to the needy, and His captives He has not despised. Psalm 69:34 [Hebrew Bible] Robert Alter Captives – Paul often introduces himself as doúlos christóu which is typically translated “bond-servant.” But that’s not what it really means. A doúlos is a slave—compulsory, bound service. In the Greek world, this designation was…
Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time revealed His word in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior; Titus 1:1-3 NASB…
no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. Philemon 1:16 NASB More than – We often read this verse with Pollyanna eyes. That is to say, we think that Philemon won’t view Onesimus as a…
Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian slave named Hagar; Genesis 16:1 NIV Hagar – Who was Hagar? The question seems innocent enough until you consider Abraham’s relationship (or relations) with her. That leads to the propensity to enhance her status and character in order to squelch what might be…
So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free. John 8:36 NASB Free – Freedom is an important idea in the modern world, so important that there’s a blessing about it in one version of the Siddur. Here’s the blessing from a Siddur: But here’s the same blessing in the orthodox Siddur Ashkenaz:…
Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, Romans 1:1 NASB Apostle – One time at a gathering of believers I was presented with a business card that gave the man’s name followed by “prophet.” I am sure he had that card printed in good faith, but I shuddered when…
Christ paid the price to free us from the curse that the laws in Moses’ Teachings bring by becoming cursed instead of us. Scripture says, “Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed.” Galatians 3:13 (God’s Word translation, 1995, God’s Word to the Nations) Paid the price– THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO GO OUT ON MAY…
So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. John 8:36 NASB Free – The world is preoccupied with freedom these days. It is current political coinage. In the West, our conception of freedom has been extended to include a doctrine of entitlements and rights no prior civilization could have imagined. Freedom is…
Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, Titus 1:1 NASB Bond-servant/apostle – No doubt by now you know that the translation “bond-servant” is softened to make it more palatable to our ears. The word is doulos, the…
