May my heart be [ag]blameless in Your statutes, so that I will not be ashamed. Psalm 119:80 NASB Blameless – Martin Luther would have rejected the psalmist’s plea outright. A blameless heart was simply a human impossibility. Calvin would have had the same reaction. In fact, virtually all the Catholic theologians of the past followed the philosophical…
There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 1 John 4:18 NASB Perfect love – We have a serious problem with perfect. Since Parmenides, our idea of perfect has been a negative concept, that is, freedom from any defect…
After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. 1 Peter 5:10 NASB Perfect, confirm, strengthen, establish – What is the by-product of suffering a little while? Notice that I did not write “the product of.” Why? Because it is not God’s purpose…
As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30 NIV Perfect – Perfection is one of God’s attributes listed by Thomas Aquinas. The list also includes omniscience, omnipotence, eternal, immutable, etc. I’m sure you’re familiar with the ideas even if you don’t know the theological…
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 1 John 4:18 NASB Perfect love – “Perfect” is a terrifying word. It’s not so ominous when it comes to things like true and false exams or Lego constructions, but try…
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.1 John 4:18 NASB Is not perfected– teleióō. That’s the Greek term here. The verb is a perfect passive. ESV translates it as “has not been perfected.” The NASB translation could give us the…
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.1 John 4:18 NASB Perfect love – What does “perfect love” mean to you? Not Hollywood’s version, I’m sure. Maybe you think of the ideal bliss of complete vulnerability (or maybe that seems…
Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48 NASB Be perfect – What a terrible translation! No, it isn’t that the words aren’t correct. The Greek esesthe teleioi does mean, “you are to be perfect.” That’s not the problem. The problem is that no one can be perfect! As…
For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6 NASB Will perfect it – How long will God have to work on us before we arrive at His intended destination? How long will it be before…
Ransom me from human oppression, that I may observe Your statutes. Psalm 119:134 (Robert Alter translation) Human Oppression – What is human oppression? The Hebrew is ‘oseq ‘adam. We easily recognize the second common noun, ‘adam, but what about the first, ‘oseq? Don’t spiritualize this. The word is “concerned with acts of abuse of power…
