There are some strange things going on with numbers in the Bible – especially in the Old Testament.
How do we make sense of them?
The biblical use of numbers should be understood in the same sorts of ways that we should understand other parts of God’s ancient revelation: in its historical and cultural context. It is unreasonable to expect number to be used with anything like the degree of precision that we expect nowadays.…
With tongue very firmly in cheek, Colin Adams offers vital advice for anyone who wants to make a train-wreck of sermon application.
1. Interpret the text wrong. The key question to ask is: ‘What do you want the text to say?’ This approach cuts out all the pointless hard work with the text and eliminates the need to reach for those stuffy commentaries.
2. Ignore application or minimise it. Application is hard work for both preacher and hearer. …
1. Garrulous
‘The mouth of the fool gushes folly’ (Proverbs 15:2)
2. Reckless
‘A fool is hotheaded and reckless’ (Proverbs 14:16)
3. Gullible
‘A simple man believes anything’ (Proverbs 14:15)
4. Trouble-maker
He ‘deceives his neighbour and says, “I was only joking!”‘ (Proverbs 26:19)
5. Always right (in his own eyes)
‘A fool…delights in airing his own opinions.’ (Proverbs 18:2)
6. Unteachable
‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline’ (Proverbs 1:7)
7.…
A student won first prize at a Science Fair.
He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or a total ban on the chemical “dihydrogen monoxide.”
And for plenty of good reasons, since:
According to the Calvin’s classic formulation, God’s law has a threefold use (Institutes, II.vii.6-12).
These are helpfully summarised in the Reformation Study Bible:
Scripture shows that God intends His law to function in three ways, which Calvin crystallized in classic form for the church’s benefit as the law’s threefold use.
Its first function is to be a mirror reflecting to us both the perfect righteousness of God and our own sinfulness and shortcomings.…
Robert Reymond writes:
The NT speaks explicitly of the obedience of Christ only three times: “through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous” (Rom. 5:19); “he humbled himself and became obedient to death” (Phil. 2:8); and “he learned obedience from what he suffered” (Heb. 5:8). But the concept these verses contain is clearly alluded to in many other places, e.g.,
(1) the several contexts in which Christ is called “servant” (Isa.…
The book of Proverbs has much to say about ‘the fool’ and his ways. The title does not belong to those of limited intelligence, but rather to those who choose and cultivate folly. Kidner: ‘the book has in mind a man’s chosen outlook, rather than his mental equipment.’ The fool returns to his folly as a dog returns to his own vomit (Prov 26:11).
In Proverbs, both wisdom (Prov 9:1-6) and folly (Prov 9:13-18) are personified as women inviting the young and impressionable to her banquet. …
I have found much to disagree with in Steve Chalke’s book The Lost Message of Paul.
Is there anything I can applaud? Actually, yes, there is.
I can see that he often attempts to support his arguments from Scripture. I recognise that he gives a central place to Christ. I think he’s correct to say that evangelicals have sometimes neglected the resurrection of Jesus in their presentation of the gospel. He emphasises that the gospel has corporate, as well as individual, elements. …
Murray Harris:
The final state of the saved may be characterized by six adjectives.
Colossians 1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son 1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace through the blood of his cross—through him, whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Steve Chalke (The Lost Message of Paul, ch. 19) argues that, if Paul’s words in Colossians 1:19f mean anything, ‘all’ must mean ‘all’, and that the ‘reconciliation of all things’ must include all people, without exception.…
