Likely by now, you have seen the marketing campaign known as “He Gets Us.” Much to my surprise, critical reviews are coming in from all sides. Secular critiques include this one from CNN.com. As I read through their assessment of the campaign it came across to me as though they didn’t like the campaign and were fishing for reasons to be critical. They did find one: their primary criticism was that those behind the campaign are evangelicals: “While ‘He... Read more
Monday: Read James 1:1-4; John 7:1-5; Acts 15:13-29 The book of James was written by James (1), but which one? The most likely answer is James the brother of Jesus. The writer of this letter certainly has authority over and the respect of the community to whom the letter was written. And it is evident from the account of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 that James the brother of Jesus was the leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13-29).... Read more
Monday: Read Hebrews 12:1-3 The writer of Hebrews now challenges his/her readers to look towards the “great cloud of witnesses” (1) as examples of running with perseverance. The context of their perseverance is their present sufferings. The author’s exhortation is simple: persevere as they did. The author sets the Christian life in the context of a sporting event (1). That the event calls for perseverance suggests that it is not a sprint but a long-distance run. The author then transitions... Read more
Monday: Read Hebrews 9:1-10 Hebrews 9 begins what may come across as boring and irrelevant. What the author says at the opening of this chapter, however, leads to the discussion of the person and work of Christ at the end of the chapter. The primary focus of this chapter is a contrast between the old covenant and the new. The author begins by noting two features of the old covenant: “regulations of divine worship and the earthly sanctuary” (1). The... Read more
I often hear Christians these days disparaging the notion of “social justice.” And I wonder if they know what they are criticizing. Sure, I recognize that historically the “social justice” movement was largely connected with biblical liberalism, which in many ways sought to seriously undermine elements of the biblical story. But what is not seemingly understood by conservatives who lambast social justice today is that many evangelicals and other conservatives have seen the good (and even biblical) elements of social... Read more
Monday: Read Hebrews 6:9-20 In contrast to those who have fallen away (6:1-8), the author of Hebrews now turns to his audience and asserts that he is confident that they have indeed been faithful (9) and, consequently, is “convinced of better things concerning you” (9). After all, he continues, God is not unjust and He will not forget “your work and the love which you have shown toward His name” (10). He then issues them a word of exhortation, “And... Read more
It is very common among modern, western Protestants to describe the biblical story in terms of four parts: Creation (Gen 1-2), Fall (Gen 3), Redemption (NT), and Restoration/New Creation (Rev 21-22). And although I will work with this schema (though I prefer a slight modification by using “failure” instead of “fall”), it should be noted that there are some significant problems with it. One of the problems is that it is assumed that all Christians adhere to this fourfold formula.... Read more
Monday: Read Heb 2:1-4; 6:1-8 Today’s reading is from two passages in Hebrews. They are among the most difficult passages in the NT.[2] The controversy is over whether or not one can lose their salvation. Needless to say, those who advocate that one can lose their salvation appeal to texts like these.[3] It is likely that the author is writing (or speaking: remember that Hebrews was likely a sermon that was written down later) to those who have remained in... Read more
Humanity made to rule! I finished the last post by noting that humanity was made to rule (Gen 1:26). God, as an act of love, gives His sovereign power to humanity and empowers them to rule in his stead! NB: Gen 1:28 adds that in addition to ruling humanity was also to “subdue” the earth; which likely indicates the task of agriculture. Subduing the earth, however, does not indicate that they were given the authority to do as they wish.... Read more
Monday: Read Titus 3:1-15 Paul concludes his letter to Titus with a list of exhortations that Titus is to “remind” those in his churches (1-2). Although the items in the list may come across as basic Christian duties, we must remember that Paul was speaking into the Roman world. In that world, and to a lesser extent even today, it was reasonable to “malign” (2; or “speak evil”) others in order to defend one’s social standing. One’s place in the... Read more
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