How We Read Scripture Influences Our View of God and Our Relationship with Him In a prior post I said that not all Scripture is the same. I placed the books of the Bible into eight groups. This formed a hierarchy of importance, starting with the Gospels. Though this is a most helpful guide in […]
Though God Doesn’t Change, but the Way He Relates to Us Has We divide the Bible in two sections, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament focuses on the relationship of Father God to his people and looks forward to the coming Savior. The New Testament centers on Jesus and the work […]
Jesus does three things to complete what the Old Testament started Jesus draws people to him. The words he speaks and the hope he communicates attract them. Some people assume he had come to replace the Old Testament Law and the work of the prophets. Instead, Jesus fulfills it. Jesus doesn’t come to do away […]
Balance Old Testament Commands with New Testament Freedom Psalm 15 opens with one essential question, phrased in two ways, that most everyone asks, either out loud or to themselves. In this Psalm, David asks God, “What must I do to live with you?” The next four verses give us the answer. Actually, it’s a series […]
Pastor Compensation For the most part, the church of today is an institution. Institutions require structure and leadership; self-perpetuation is essential—regardless of cost. For an institution to work, it needs paid staff. That’s why local pastors receive a salary: to keep the institution of church functioning and viable. To pay your minister follows the Old […]
Don’t Do Church Wrong I think we’re doing church wrong. At first I assumed it was just me, but today’s church is stuck in a rut, an Old Testament rut. We follow an Old Testament model for church. Moses’s Method: The Old Testament Model When God gave Moses the Law, he established some key expectations […]
Consider Each Book’s Genre and Purpose When Reading the Bible Paul writes to his protégé Timothy that all Scripture comes from God. We can use it to teach, rebuke, correct, and train us in right living (2 Timothy 3:16). That is, everything in Scripture is useful. We must keep this in mind when reading the […]
Where Does the Law of God End and the Love of Jesus Begin in Scripture? The Bible divides Christian Scripture into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament looks at the rules God required to be right with him and anticipates a future when he will send us a Savior. […]
Jesus fulfills the Old Testament Law and Prophets when he gives new meaning to the old ways Jesus said he came to fulfill the Law and Prophets (Matthew 5:17). One way he did this, the most significant way, was to satisfy the anticipation found throughout the Old Testament for a coming savior, a Messiah, who […]
Father God Is the Star of the Old Testament; It Explains His Expectations and Shows His Care The story arc in the Bible is God’s relationship to us: the creator and his creation. Most people of faith—the Christian faith, that is—understand God as Trinity, as three persons in one: the Father, the Son, and the […]