by admin | Aug 8, 2012 | Chapter 2, Romans, Section Two
The warning Paul gave those with stubborn and unrepentant hearts breaks quite naturally into two columns. He will reward each one according to his works: Romans 2:6 (NET) …eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality…...
by admin | Aug 7, 2012 | David's Forgiveness, Forgiveness, What Kind of Carpenter is Jesus?
I have some sympathy for Jephthah. I could be Jephthah. I have that same drive to be right, or righteous, that at times owes as much or more to my ego than my faith in the righteousness that comes from God. I have that same philosophical, or legalistic, bent of...
by admin | Aug 6, 2012 | Chapter 2, Romans, Section Two
Paul continued writing to those who do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance (μετάνοιαν, a form of μετάνοια).1 But because of your stubbornness (σκληρότητα, a form of σκληρότης) and your unrepentant (ἀμετανόητον, a form of ἀμετανόητος) heart, you are...
by admin | Aug 4, 2012 | Chapter 2, Romans, Section Two
What follows Paul’s history of sin is not the wholesale condemnation one might expect. In my opinion Paul learned something profound and difficult from his experience in Corinth, his judgment of the Corinthians in general, his specific judgment of the man who was...
by admin | Aug 3, 2012 | David's Forgiveness, Forgiveness, What Kind of Carpenter is Jesus?
The Social Construction of Reality helped me understand my own life in a new way. I didn’t take my Dad’s advice to avoid or watch out for women too much to heart. Though, now that I think about it, I’ve never had sex without the benefit of some form of birth...
by admin | Aug 2, 2012 | Chapter 1, Romans, Section Two
The children who came of age in a population where the worship of created things was firmly established know better than anyone that the worship of created things is a waste of time and effort. At that moment they have an opportunity to turn back to the worship of...
by admin | Aug 1, 2012 | Chapter 1, Romans, Section Two
I’m not homophobic in the sense that I find the idea so repugnant I can’t imagine it. In my twenties I was homophobic in the sense that I watched the guy I was most likely to have sex with change from slightly effeminate to flaming queer in a matter of weeks. I was...
by admin | Jul 31, 2012 | Chapter 1, Romans, Section Two
There is something important to remember about ἀσέβεια (ungodliness). If it is not overcome in people by the Spirit of God, the word of God, faith in the Lord Jesus, being born from above—it simply continues to function. That sounds so simple. But those plagued...
by admin | Jul 27, 2012 | David's Forgiveness, Forgiveness, What Kind of Carpenter is Jesus?
The irony wasn’t lost on me. I had a good laugh at myself as I realized I was frustrated with the Bible and complaining because God was too merciful. “If He would just follow the law, my life would be a whole lot simpler.” True enough, dead is a whole lot simpler...
by admin | Jul 26, 2012 | Chapter 1, Romans, Section Two
I want to consider παραδίδωμι as used by Paul in Romans and 1 Corinthians. The wrath of God…revealed from heaven against all ungodliness (ἀσέβειαν, a form of ἀσέβεια) and unrighteousness of people1 was revealed in three stages: 1) God gave them over (παρέδωκεν, a...