I might have said collide, as sometimes seems to be the case, but let’s start with tangle. Here’s Paul in Romans 2: 12 All who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not…
One of the problems with understanding biblical talk about salvation is that we do not live with a sacrificial system. For many Christians, the whole idea of sacrifices is that someone sinned and a bloody sacrifice was required for atonement. Christians believe that because of one bloody sacrifice, that of Jesus on the cross, no…
Fair warning: I’ll probably be stuck on definitions. In fact, I’m in the process of writing a blog post about it right now. I’ll add a link to this one once the other is complete. (Here’s the link: Bloody Sacrifices and Salvation.) Here’s the viewer:
I’m embedding this interview with Dr. Herold Weiss, author of Meditations on the Letters of Paul, as it provides some background for understanding some of the discussion of the terminology that I’m doing right now in working through Paul. I find it very helpful in clarifying the issues.
This will continue the discussion, dealing more with definitions. In the area of soteriology (the study of salvation) we frequently make the same statements in terms of words and structure, yet mean something quite different by it. “Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins” means quite different things, depending on who…
We’re going to start our look at Paul’s soteriology by reading Galatians 2:15-3:18 and looking at Bruce Epperly’s fourth lesson in Galatians: A Participatory Study Guide, “The Dynamics of Grace.” Here’s a quote: Three key words are present in Galatians – grace, justification, and faith. Put simply, grace is God’s love embodied in the life,…
Because you have been graciously given this on behalf of Christ: not only in Him to believe, but also for Him to suffer. (Philippians 1:29, excessively literally) I’ve been meditating on two texts as the new year begins, Philippians 1:27-30, and Ephesians 5:1-2. I’ve been kind of ignoring this suffering thing so far. But last…
Last night for my perspectives on Paul series I reviewed what we’ve discussed so far and wrapped up my discussion of Paul’s claim to authority as an apostle. I can summarize this as follows: The Bible records religious experience, i.e., people’s experience of God in one way or another. (Even revelation, such as a vision,…
I’m resuming/continuing my study this evening, looking at Lesson Two from Galatians: A Participatory Study Guide by Dr. Bruce Epperly. I’ll be sticking closely with the lesson itself tonight, discussing how Paul was chosen and learned. I will doubtless discuss a number of these topics from related materials in other epistles. Here’s the viewer:
I will not be continuing my Bible study on Perspectives on Paul tonight, but will resume next Thursday night. A variety of things have come together to make it impossible to accomplish. Next week we will be starting lesson #2 of Dr. Bruce Epperly’s book Galatians: A Participatory Study Guide, “Chosen by God.” The Scripture…
