An often overlooked but significant passage in Acts speaks of the Apostle Paul in the “hall of Tyrannus” when staying in Ephesus. After boldly proclaiming the kingdom of God in the synagogue for three months, some became hardened and spoke against the followers of Christ. In response, Paul “having departed from them, he took away his disciples, reasoning every day in the lecture hall (school) of Tyrannus. And this took place for two years so that all those dwelling in... Read more
How did the Romans first hear about Jesus Christ and become believers? It is clear from Romans 1:1–15 that Paul had not yet met them, but their faith was already well known to others in the Empire. So how did they turn to trusting in Jesus without having Paul bring them the gospel? Roman Travelers Unlike his own congregations in other cities, the Roman Christ-community was not relatively new when Paul first writes to them. Paul tells this congregation that... Read more
John Wesley presents his viewpoint on water baptism and its relationship to the new birth, which he discusses in his sermon entitled, “The New Birth” (Sermon 45 in Wesley’s Works, vol. 6, pp. 65–77). Baptism and the New Birth Wesley brings up that baptism is not the new birth mentioned as the born again experience in texts like John 3:3–6. Although baptism is a sacrament that Christ ordained, it is “a sign and seal of regeneration by his Spirit. Here... Read more
The most famous biblical monster is Leviathan—that is, if we are talking about earthly creatures. Job 41 provides us with the most-prolonged description of this creature. Questions still come up on whether this is a crocodile or some sort of dragon. And if the latter, is it real, mythological, or descriptive of a dinosaur? I think it’s a good idea to revisit this monster with some new information. Descriptions of Leviathan In other biblical texts where Leviathan appears, it does... Read more
Paul, known as Saul of Tarsus, meets Jesus for the first time on the road to Damascus. His Damascus road experience includes seeing a bright light, falling to the ground, and hearing a heavenly voice telling him that he has been persecuting Jesus by persecuting those who follow Jesus. Actually, there are three different versions of this encounter in Acts. In Acts 9 the author of Acts, traditionally Luke, provides the first narrative. In Acts 22 Paul’s own testimony is... Read more
John Wesley, the famous eighteenth-century preacher, wrote a sermon on being born again entitled, “The New Birth.”* In this sermon he brings up perceptive insights regarding the new birth. This is what he says in summary: Wesley on the New Birth There are two essential doctrines in Christianity, which are justification and the new birth. The former is something God does for us by forgiving human beings of their sin. The latter God does in us by renewing human nature... Read more
One of the most perplexing verses in the Bible is 1 Corinthians 15:29: “Otherwise, what will they do who are baptized for the dead? If actually the dead are not raised, why even be baptized for them?” What does this verse mean? The passage has a long history of interpretation beginning with patristic writers who find its original meaning evasive, though they attribute its malpractice to heretical sects. John Chrysostom, for example, says that Marcionite heresy does such a practice,... Read more
Paul’s omission of Jesus’s empty tomb, found in the Gospels, is a peculiarity sometimes pointed out regarding his resurrection statements. One of Paul’s clearest statements on his gospel and the resurrection of Jesus is 1 Cor 15:3–4. Here he writes, “For I delivered to you among first things what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried and that he rose on the third day according to the scriptures.” The... Read more
If you’ve been a Christian for a while, you have probably heard this question many times: “Can a believer lose his or her salvation?” This usually leads to endless debates between well-meaning Christians on both sides of the issue. The “Calvinist” props up John 10:28-30 and the “Arminian” Hebrews 6:4-6.* No one is able to pluck the believer out of Jesus’s hand vs. it is not possible for those who fall away to renew again to repentance. Okay, round two:... Read more
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Beverly Roberts Gaventa on Romans: An Interview
I have the privilege of interviewing Beverly Roberts Gaventa on her new commentary on Romans. As many already know, Dr. Gaventa is one of the foremost authorities on Romans and the apocalyptic Paul. She is Helen H. P. Manson Professor Emerita of New Testament Literature and Exegesis, Princeton Theological Seminary. She also held the position of president of the Society of Biblical Literature (2016), and she received the Burkitt Medal for Biblical Studies from the British Academy, due to her... Read more