Category Archives: Bible

Rom 2:13 – ‘Those who do the law…will be declared righteous’

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Rom 2:12 For 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 It is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous.

These verses have generated considerable scholarly debate because they appear to teach justification by works.

So, how are we to understand the place of works (‘obedience to the law’) in relation to justification in this passage?…

Mt 9:18–26, Mk 5:22–43 – The healing of Jairus’ daughter

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The healing of Jairus’ daughter is recorded in Mt 9:18–26, Mk 5:22–43 and Lk 8:41–56.

Bart Ehrman sees a ‘clear contradiction’ between Mark’s account  and Matthew’s.  The former has the daughter on the point of death; the latter has her already dead.

In response: It is quite probable that Matthew’s version is a simple abridgement, with consequent telescoping of detail.  (Matthew’s account has 9 verses, Luke’s 17 and Mark’s 23).

Sometimes, in the Gospels,

‘a passage may be so abbreviated that it seems to contradict a fuller parallel.

…

1 Thessalonians 5:19 – ‘Do not extinguish the Spirit’

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1 Thessalonians 5:19 (NET) — Do not extinguish the Spirit.

Is the reference here primarily to the ethical fruit of the Spirit (see Gal 5:22f), or to the charismatic gifts of the Spirit (or neither, or both)?

Let’s consider the possibilities.

1. It refers to ethical behaviour (the ‘fruit’ of the Spirit)

In support of this interpretation, note that joy and thankfulness have just been mentioned, and these are closely linked with the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5.…

‘Texts of terror’: eight interpretative options

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Following Roger Olson, Matthew Lynch has outlined eight ways in which we might seek to understand the violence of the Old Testament.

I summarise.

1. Rejection.  Marcion and his followers rejected the Old Testament in its entirety.  Its wicked and violent God has been replaced by the kind and loving God of Jesus and the New Testament.

Objection: Fatal for this view is the fact that it rejects much of the New Testament as well.  For, (a) the New Testament endorses the Old Testament in its entirety; (b) the New Testament has its own share of problematic teaching. …

John 14:16 – ‘Another Advocate’

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Jn 14:16 – “Then I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—14:17 the Spirit of truth.”

Summary

There are two Greek words for ‘another’.  In classical Greek, ‘allos’ meant ‘another of the same kind’, whereas ‘heteros’ meant ‘another of a different kind’.  By NT times, however, the distinction had become less pronounced.  In the present passage, there are contextual reasons for concluding that the Holy Spirit is an Advocate of the same kind as Jesus.…

1 Kings 7:23; 2 Chron 4:2 – the dimensions of ‘The Sea’

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1 Kings 7:23 He also made the large bronze basin called “The Sea.” It measured 15 feet from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven-and-a-half feet high. Its circumference was 45 feet.

2 Chron 4:2 He also made the big bronze basin called “The Sea.” It measured 15 feet from rim to rim, was circular in shape, and stood seven and one-half feet high. Its circumference was 45 feet.

How precise are the dimensions given in these passages for the bronze basin (15 feet in diameter, 45 feet in circumference)?…

Mk 10:18 – “Why do you call me good?”

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10:17 Now as Jesus was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 10:18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”

See also Luke 18:19

At first sight, this appears to be a denial of ‘goodness’ on Jesus’ part, to undermine the doctrine of his sinlessness, and therefore to call into question his divinity.…

Gen 2:18 – ‘A suitable (same-sex) helper?’

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Gen 2:18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion for him who corresponds to him.”

Some advocates of same-sex sexual partnerships appeal to this text.

For example, Matthew Vines (author of God and the Gay Christian) says:

‘In Genesis 2:18, God says, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” And yes, the suitable helper or partner that God makes for Adam is Eve, a woman.

…

Mt 24:21; Rev 7:14 – ‘The great tribulation’

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Mt 24:21 — “For then there will be great suffering unlike anything that has happened from the beginning of the world until now, or ever will happen.”

Rev 7:13 ‘Then one of the elders asked me, “These dressed in long white robes—who are they and where have they come from?” 7:14 So I said to him, “My lord, you know the answer.” Then he said to me, “These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation.…

Jn 7:38 – “From within him will flow rivers of living water”

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John 7:37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day, Jesus stood up and shouted out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 7:38 let the one who believes in me drink. Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him will flow rivers of living water.’ ” 7:39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.)…