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'My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent. If they say,

“Come with us, let us lie in wait for blood; let us ambush the innocent without reason; like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit; we shall find all precious goods, we shall fill our houses with plunder; throw in your lot among us; we will all have one purse”—

my son, do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths, for their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. (Proverbs 1:10-16)

Don't walk with sinners

Solomon's…  ( Click for more )

'[8] Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching, [9] for they are a graceful garland for your head and pendants for your neck.'

Last week we looked at verse 8 and what it meant (effectively to listen to the instruction and experience of those who are more experienced), and this week we see the reason why we ought to do that.

Find out what it's there for

A cheesy phrase which someone told me when I first became a Christian, and which has stuck with me ever since, related to understanding the Bible. A guy called Jonty said, 'If you…  ( Click for more )

‘Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching,’ (Proverbs 1:8)

Mums and Dads

We’re still in the first chapter of Proverbs, and Solomon seems keen to mention a key theme that he will return to again and again: we should listen to our parents’ instruction and experience. I think this talks to three groups of people.

To those with parents

If your parents are still alive, regardless of your age, it’s important that we honour our parents by listening to them. We should obey their instructions (providing they…  ( Click for more )

For a while now I have used my own version of Professor Grant Horner's Bible Reading System. One aspect of this daily Bible reading plan is that you read a chapter of Proverbs every single day. It seems that every line is phenomenally challenging, yet at the same time I'm not sure that I often get (or take) the chance to take in what's written and allow it to significantly change my life. I've therefore decided that this week we will begin to work our way through the entire book of Proverbs. Some weeks we'll take a chunk of verses, whereas others we'll look at only one verse. I'm…  ( Click for more )

There are plenty of Bible bits which are difficult, and I have a feeling this series could continue forever...so I'm announcing that this week's is to be the last episode for the moment, and we're going to look at something which is absolutely pivotal to the Christian faith. This is perhaps the most important 'Difficult Bible Bit' of them all:

'You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.' (James 2:24)

'For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.'…  ( Click for more )

When it comes to the creation-evolution debate, there are a whole bunch of camps that Christians seem to find themselves, from fundamentalist creationists through to fundamentalist evolutionists. Where do you fall? I think there are a few key questions to ask, and I think the Bible points us in certain directions.

Six days, or six billion years?

The first question is, how long did it take the universe to get to the position it's now in? The Bible, at first glance, seems to say six days. The six days is important because it's mentioned not only in Genesis 1, but also in Exodus…  ( Click for more )

Every so often you come across something in the Bible which is controversial, but really shouldn't be. God's wrath is the perfect example of this.

Two Gods in two testaments

I had a conversation with someone recently who said they couldn't be a Christian because the God in the Old Testament was inconsistent with the God of the New Testament. Is the New Testament God of mercy consistent with the Old Testament God of wrath? Well, I disagree with my friend's thinking. I think the God of the New Testament is just as much a God of wrath as the God of the Old Testament. Everyone…  ( Click for more )

If we’re talking about bits of the Bible which divide the church, there are few which are as high up the list as baptism in the Spirit. Some churches and entire denominations are driven solely by their beliefs around this doctrine, so it’s important we understand it biblically. Like most articles this series I’m not pretending to give the answer here, but I hope this serves you well.

Separate to conversion

The word ‘baptism’ is a transliteration from a Greek word meaning to be plunged deeply into something. Water baptism based solely on the…  ( Click for more )

There's one verse in the Bible which, more than most others, has caused some heated discussions:

'Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.' (Matthew 12:31-32)

Right. So, despite many Bible promises for eternal life and forgiveness, there seems to be a clause in there. The question, of course, is: What is blasphemy…  ( Click for more )

There are all sorts of tricky, morally questionable passages in the Bible. Perhaps none more so than Abraham’s willingness to kill his own son because he heard a voice in his head. Let’s read the passage:

…God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey,…  ( Click for more )

If you’ve tried reading it, you’ll have noticed that the Bible is littered with lists of names. Take a look at Matthew 1 for example:

'Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse,…  ( Click for more )

Wow. Here's a way to guarantee that you're going to get hated by somebody. Probably better to just ignore it, and hope it goes away...or sit on the fence and hope Jesus understands...well, Jesus tells us that being lukewarm is pretty much the worst sin (Revelation 3:16), so we need to know what we believe about homosexuality, and not be ashamed to say it. There are a number of points to consider on this, and if we lose even one of these we'll be preaching our own message rather than God's, so see this out to the end.

Old Testament commandments

There are commands in the Old…  ( Click for more )

Let's start this series with an easy one. You may well have seen this text before, but have another read:

'Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven. For if a wife will not cover her head, then she should cut her hair short. But since it is disgraceful for a wife to cut off her hair or shave her head, let her cover her head...Judge for yourselves: is it proper for a wife to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does…  ( Click for more )

There are quite a few places in the Bible which are difficult. When I say difficult, I don't mean 'difficult to understand'. I mean difficult as in, when you read it all you can hear is a sharp intake of breath which means 'does the Bible really say that?'

This week we head out on a series entitled Difficult Bible Bits. Each week we're going to take a new difficult Bible passage and see if we can discern what its true meaning is. To give you a hint of what we'll be looking at here are a couple of the bits we'll be looking at: the command to Abraham to sacrifice his only…  ( Click for more )

We come to the end of our study through John's three letters with his closing comments:

'I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, every one of them.' (3 John 1:13-15)

We have actually looked at parts of this book in previous weeks so this week I'm only going to pick out these last few words: 'Greet the friends, every one of them.' This gives us only really one message, but it's desperately important.

The friends

Have…  ( Click for more )

This passage is a reminder of aspects of Christianity we will all face at some time - we would do well to read it intently and beg the Holy Spirit to speak to us clearly.

'Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.

I…  ( Click for more )

We begin our journey through John's third letter with a look at his initial greeting:

'The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.' (3 John 1:1-4)

...that all may go well...

The opening sentences here are fascinating. We so often pray over one another,…  ( Click for more )

A short passage this week to close John's second letter.

'Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete. The children of your elect sister greet you.' (2 John 1:12-13)

Paper and ink

I love this passage, because it betrays something of the heart of Christian culture. Despite the fact that John has plenty he could, and should, be writing to this church, he does not want to use paper and ink to do it with. I wonder what he would think of us in the current…  ( Click for more )

John’s second letter is not long, and this is the biggest and arguably most important chunk of the lot:

‘I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out…  ( Click for more )

So, one letter down, two to go. Here we have the opening lines from John’s second letter.

‘The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love.’ (2 John 1:1-3)

Who is the elect lady?

Let’s begin by asking who the mysterious lady is! Well, she’s a church. The letter’s written in the…  ( Click for more )

Those of us who know our Bibles will know that John explains why he wrote his Gospel: ‘so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.’ (John 20:31) The purpose for this first letter is different to that of his gospel but he seems keen to explain his intent to its audience:

‘I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he…  ( Click for more )

As we draw nearer to the end of John’s first letter we encounter a bit of a challenging passage.

‘This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony…  ( Click for more )

This week we enter into the final chapter of John’s first letter, and the content intensifies, hold on to your hats!

‘Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our…  ( Click for more )

We continue our journey through John’s letters with this wonderful passage.

‘Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one…  ( Click for more )