Lord, the God of my salvation, I have cried out by day and in the night before You. Psalm 88:1 (English) NASB Lord, the God – Make sure you realize why both of these words are found at the beginning of this poem. YHVH, of course, and ʾĕlōhîm. Today we consider both of these as designations of…
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, Titus 2:11-12 NASB Has appeared – Why do you suppose Paul chooses this verb (epiphaínō) rather than the related but more common verb, phaínō? The common verb means almost…
Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. Ephesians 6:11 NIV Full armor – In my dream I’m covered with some kind of black plastic tarry substance. It tries to hold me down to the ground. I try to fight it off, but no matter what…
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. Philippians 2:12-13 NASB Work out your salvation – If you’re saved by…
You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3 NASB Shall have – In May of 2014 we looked at the important difference between Greek thought and Hebrew thought in this verse. Usually translated “you shall not have,” the Hebrew verb plus negative, lo-yihye’, reveals an important characteristic of Hebrew thought. The translation, “shall…
for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. Romans 10:10 NASB (1963) Resulting – You’ll need to read a few other English translations of this verse to see the issue. “For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one…
It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:26 NASB Salvation – The goal of silence is freedom. Really? Do you experience silence that way? Or is silence a fearful thing, a place where you just don’t have any answer to your puzzles, a place where God was jailed for vagrancy and…
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 ESV Takes away – We continue. Luke is the only writer who suggests John’s preaching is connected to forgiveness. “And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance…
The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29 ESV Takes away– A few days ago (April 22) we examined the Greek and Hebrew roots of this idea. We noted, “Whether the sense in Jn. 1:29 is ‘to take up and carry,’…
Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Acts 16:30 ESV Must I do– How do you read this question? If you’re like most Western believers, you will read this as a personal need for salvation. You will identify with the trauma of the jailer, and think of this question as if you were…
