Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, 2 Timothy 2:15a NASB Approved to God– If you’re as old as I am, then you learned this verse in the King James version, i.e., “Study to shew thyself approved unto God . . “ Unfortunately, that translation led to…
For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. 1 Corinthians 4:20 NIV Power – Does Paul’s declaration seem right to you? Is the Kingdom really about power? If I look around the religious environment today, I don’t see much of Paul’s standard displayed. I hear lots of talk, but I see very little dynamis (power). …
who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, 2 Timothy 1:9 NASB Our works– Luther established a concrete barricade between faith and works. He was wrong. Because he thought of faith as cognitive agreement to certain doctrines,…
Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, 2 Timothy 1:8 NASB Prisoner– Imagine the life of a prisoner in the Roman Empire. Don’t import modern ideas about the horrible prisons we see around the world today. “Roman Law…
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 NASB New creature– It’s easy to be confused about the covenants. For centuries the Church has taught that the coming of the Christ meant a replacement of Israel, and as a…
He said, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid myself.” Genesis 3:10 NASB Was naked–The Genesis narrative tells us why we are filled with fears, regrets, anxieties and hope. It is ancient psychological diagnosis, complete with the appropriate prescription. But we will miss…
If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself. 2 Timothy 2:13 NASB Faithless– You’re doing great. You’re learning more and more about the depths of the Bible. You’re drawing closer to YHVH. Your actions are more consistent. You feel a greater sense of responsibility and dedication. And then you fall. You didn’t expect…
Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; Exodus 34:6 NASB Abounding in lovingkindness– Let’s consider the big picture. In order to do that, we must first step away from the narrower perspective. So let’s move back from the idea that the…
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 NASB Faith– James’ letter has always been a problem. In fact, it is such a serious problem that early church councils weren’t sure it should even be included in the canon. Why? Because James says crazy things like “What use is it, my…
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. Colossians 3:2 NASB The things above– First, the priorities. Greek is a language without punctuation. Therefore, the author must use other techniques to provide what we translate as periods, commas, exclamation points and quotation marks. What comes first in the sentence…
