Saint Paul’s Guide to Missions

Last updated on: July 30, 2024 at 4:55 pm By B. J. Oropeza

What can we learn about missions from Saint Paul? Dean Flemming provides us with a helpful guide in his perceptive studies.* Flemming distinguishes between a narrow and broad sense of mission in the Apostle Paul’s letters. In the narrow sense of gospel and church planting, the term involves initial activities and refers to a group of called individuals seeking to bring outsiders to faith in Jesus. This group also actively seeks to place converts into Christian communities (Rom 10:8–18; 1... Read more

Was there 400 years of Silence between Old & New Testaments?

Last updated on: July 18, 2024 at 11:05 pm By B. J. Oropeza

I hear occasionally over pulpits and on the internet that 400 years of silence persisted between the Old and New Testaments. This allegedly marks the time between Malachi’s prediction of the future coming of Elijah (Malachi 4:5–6) and the arrival of John the Baptist, interpreted as the coming of the new Elijah (Matt 11:13–14; Mark 9:11–13; Luke 1:17). However, nowhere in Scripture does the Bible clearly speak of a period of four hundred years of silence between Testaments, whether in... Read more

Is John the Baptist Elijah? Comparing Matt 11:14 & John 1:21

Last updated on: July 9, 2024 at 9:11 pm By B. J. Oropeza

Jesus claims that John the Baptist is Elijah who was to come in Matthew 11:13-14. But John himself denies that he is Elijah in John 1:21. So who is right? Can the two views be reconciled? Let’s examine these and other relevant biblical texts more closely. The Synoptic Gospels on John the Baptist as Elijah In the Synoptic Gospels John the Baptist is said to be Elijah. In Matthew 11:13–15, the text attributes to Jesus the following words: “for all... Read more

How is the Unpardonable Sin Committed?

Last updated on: June 24, 2024 at 7:25 am By B. J. Oropeza

There is one sin that is unpardonable according to Jesus—blaspheming the Holy Spirit. But under which circumstances is it committed according to Scripture? Let us look at the three biblical passages where the unpardonable sin appears: Matthew 12:31–32 In Matthew 12:31-32 those who are in danger of blaspheming the Holy Spirit are Jesus’s unbelieving religious opponents. Important for our purposes, these opponents are not identified as Christ’s followers. Matthew’s Gospel includes two separate incidents where the opponents claim that Jesus... Read more

Joanna & Chuza in ‘The Chosen’: A Bad Marriage in the Bible?

Last updated on: July 17, 2024 at 4:25 pm By B. J. Oropeza

If you follow Dallas Jenkins’s film series, The Chosen, you will notice Joanna, a wealthy and prominent woman, is a follower of John the Baptist and Jesus (played by Amy Bailey). Now in season four it is clear that she has a rocky marriage with her husband, Chuza (played by Nick Chinlund). In the first episode, we find him with another woman at Herod’s banquet, an evening that famously results in John the Baptist’s beheading. What does the Bible say... Read more

Participation in Christ: A Dying Art

Last updated on: March 8, 2025 at 11:35 pm By B. J. Oropeza

Since this blog site is named “in Christ,” I think it is prudent to discuss what being “in Christ” means. It is participation in Christ, which is also known as union with Christ. When people trust in Jesus as Messiah and Lord of their life, and trust that he died for their sins and rose again, they receive the Spirit of God and Christ. Christ now lives in them through the Spirit, and they in him. They are now “in... Read more

Are Those Who Fall Away Really Christians? Hebrews 6:4-6

Last updated on: June 6, 2024 at 11:31 am By B. J. Oropeza

Hebrews 6:4-6 speaks about falling away. It reads, “For it is impossible regarding those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted of the good word of God and powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying for themselves again the son of God, making a public mockery of him.” If such people... Read more

What does the Obedience of Faith mean in Romans?

Last updated on: June 2, 2024 at 1:07 pm By B. J. Oropeza

The obedience of faith—what does it mean? In Romans 1:5 we read that the reason Paul was specially selected by the Lord to become an apostle was for the purpose of bringing about the “obedience of faith” (ὑπακοήν πίστεως / hupakoên pisteôs) among all nations on behalf of Christ. The importance of the phrase is clearly evident. It reappears at the letter’s end in Romans 16:26, forming as it were bookends at the virtual beginning and ending of Romans—an inclusio.... Read more

Have You Read These Books? 10 Interviews with Bible Scholars

Last updated on: May 5, 2024 at 10:34 am By B. J. Oropeza

Here are the 10 most memorable books and interviews with biblical scholars I have conducted over the last several years. Have you read these books yet? 10 Interviews and Books You Should Read (actually more than that…) Atlas of the Biblical World (Fortress Press) – Mark Vitalis Hoffman and Robert A. Mullins Professor Robert Mullins, a top-rated archaeologist, shares his experience regarding digging expeditions and insights into the Hebrew Scriptures based on his recent book. This one is written in... Read more

What Christians Can Learn from Philo on Faith… or Trust?

Last updated on: May 21, 2024 at 7:14 am By B. J. Oropeza

Similar to the early Jesus believers, Philo of Alexandria valued the concept of faith in his writings (in Greek: πίστις/ pistis). In relation to God, he seems to have understood this term generally as trust, as we shall see. Philo was a Hellenistic Jew who lived during the time of Christ (c. 20–50 CE). Many of Philo’s writings survive including a number of treatises and commentaries related to Mosaic Law. He is also considered a Middle Platonist, a term used... Read more