Subscription Lists

God's People know True Riches (1 Peter 1.17-21)

"And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you who through Him…  ( Click for more )

God's People; A Life of Holiness (1 Peter 1.13-16)

"Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" (1 Peter 1.13-16). The expression "gird up the loins of your mind" is not one which would ordinarily mean much to someone of our…  ( Click for more )

God's People; The Grace of the Gospel (1 Peter 1.10-12)

"Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from…  ( Click for more )

God's People; A Living Joy (1 Peter 1.6-9)

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith——the salvation of your souls." (1 Peter…  ( Click for more )

God's People; A Living Hope (1 Peter 1.3-5; 1 of 1)

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1.3-5). Some hopes die. Sicknesses, accidents, old age, financial reversals, and similar calamities…  ( Click for more )

Salutation (1 Peter 1.1-2; 1 of 1)

Peter's first general epistle begins with these words: "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion..." (1Peter 1.1a). Just exactly to whom Peter wrote is a matter of discussion among Bible student. However, it is worthy of note that he wrote to "the pilgrims of the dispersion." Consider the significance of this phrase.

A pilgrim is a sojourner, someone who is only staying temporarily in a particular place. It is used only by Peter and by the Hebrews writer to speak of the faithful characters…  ( Click for more )

The Truth or Perversion: An Awesome Reality (Galatians 1.6-9)

"I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ." (Galatians 1.6-7).

A small word in the text cited can escape the reader's attention if great care is not exercised. Notice that Paul spoke of those who "… want to pervert the gospel of Christ." (emphasis mine; jb). Some might pervert the teachings of the scriptures inadvertently, but those…  ( Click for more )

The Resurrection: A Central Doctrine (1 Corinthians 15.3-4)

It is obvious from a cursory reading of 1 Corinthians 15 that the resurrection is an important, even central, doctrine of the Christian faith. However, is the Gospel comprised only of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus as some have alleged? Or does the Gospel consist of more than these fundamental facts?

"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 6 – Our Equal Rank One with Another (7/7) A closing commendation of grace (6.18) (1/1)

"Brethren, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." (Galatians 6.18). This type of closing was not unusual with Paul. He frequently commended the brethren to the grace available in Christ as he ended his letters. However, the closing to the Galatians should be viewed with a slightly different perspective in as much as there are specific warnings in the Galatian epistle regarding grace. Note some of these warnings especially as they relate to…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 6 – Our Equal Rank One with Another (6/7) Faith in Christ – the only Basis for Boasting (6.11-17) (2/2)

"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus." (Galatians 6.15-17). The great question that occupied the minds of the debaters of the region was circumcision. Should it be imposed upon all or was it…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 6 – Our Equal Rank One with Another (5/7) Faith in Christ – the only Basis for Boasting (6.11-17) (1/2)

"But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." (Galatians 6.14). The context of this statement is one which directly concerns the doctrines of the Judaizers as compared to the truth of the Gospel. The Judaizers zealously courted the Galatians but it was to no good end (Galatians 4.17). Paul on the other hand had boasted in the only legitimate source of…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 6 – Our Equal Rank One with Another (4/7) Mutual Responsibilities of all Christians (6.1-10) (4/4)

"And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith." (Galatians 6.9-10).

As we have opportunity" simply means as we have occasion, or as occasions present themselves to us. That is the frequency with which we are to do good. It is not a seasonal thing which comes and goes based on the calendar…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 6 – Our Equal Rank One with Another (3/7) Mutual Responsibilities of all Christians (6.1-10) (3/4)

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." (Galatians 6.7-9).

There is a list of things that fall under the heading of "doing good" in the first nine verses of Galatians 6.…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 6 – Our Equal Rank One with Another (2/7) Mutual Responsibilities of all Christians (6.1-10) (2/4)

"For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. For each one shall bear his own load." (Galatians 6.3-5).

Spiritual self-examination is one of the most difficult commandments contained in God's will. But, the effects of not doing it, or for doing it ineffectively, are totally unacceptable to the human mind.…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 6 – Our Equal Rank One with Another (1/7) Mutual Responsibilities of all Christians (6.1-10) (1/4)

While those who belong to Christ do not practice (engage habitually in) sin, that does not mean that they cannot be "overtaken in a trespass." In fact, that is the exact scenario which begins Paul's final chapter to the Galatian Christians. However, the point of the passages isn't to state such a possibility; it is to point out our mutual responsibilities when such an event occurs.

"Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 5 – Rank is Jeopardized by False Doctrine (6/7) The works of the flesh; the fruit of the Spirit (5.13-26) (3/4)

"Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.. (Galatians 5.19-21).

A key word in the…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 5 – Rank is Jeopardized by False Doctrine (5/7) The works of the flesh; the fruit of the Spirit (5.13-26) (2/4)

"I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5.16-18).

The primary lesson in this text has to do with the Law of Moses and the fact that it had ceased to exist as an authoritative…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 5 – Rank is Jeopardized by False Doctrine (4/7) The works of the flesh; the fruit of the Spirit (5.13-26) (1/4)

"For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!" (Galatians 5.13-15). The key thought in this text is "through love serve one another." We will examine this phrase in this…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 5 – Rank is Jeopardized by False Doctrine (3/7) Judaizers threaten Christian Liberty (5.1-11) 3/3

"A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased." (Galatians 5.9-11). The proverb of Galatians 5.9 needs no proof. The Corinthians had also been told through this proverb that sin is like a leavening…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 5 – Rank is Jeopardized by False Doctrine (2/7) Judaizers threaten Christian Liberty (5.1-11) 2/3

"For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love. You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you." (Galatians 5.5-8).

"The hope of righteousness" is the prize which righteousness makes available; it is eternal life with God and the redeemed of all ages. …  ( Click for more )

Chapter 5 – Rank is Jeopardized by False Doctrine (1/7) Judaizers threaten Christian Liberty (5.1-11) 1/3

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." (Galatians 5.1-4).

This passage…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 4 – Christians Rank as Sons (10/10) The symbology of Hagar and Sarah (4.19-31) 2/2

Paul writes, "…Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children —— but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all." (Galatians 4.25-26).

These words are in the midst of an extended symbolic passage which depicts two Jerusalems – one that was currently in earthly existence, and another that was "above." These two Jerusalems are further described as being "bondage" and "free,"…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 4 – Christians Rank as Sons (9/10) The symbology of Hagar and Sarah (4.19-31) 1/2

A gentle greeting and a stern rebuke form the introduction to the analogy of Hagar and Sarah contained in Galatians 4.19-20).

John, the Apostle of Love, used the phrase "my little children" some seven times in his first general epistle. Jesus used this same term in John 13.33 in comforting his disciples on the night He was to be betrayed. Paul referred to the Galatians as "dear children" because that is what they were; he had "birthed" them through tribulation and…  ( Click for more )

Chapter 4 – Christians Rank as Sons (8/10) Zeal must be directed by Truth (4.16-18) 2/2

The false teachers had an agenda in Galatia; they always do. The purveyors of error there were styled as Judaizers. They allowed Christians to hold to their faith in Christ but imposed the keeping of certain parts of the Law of Moses upon the believers. This concept was wrong because it was not of God's design. Their doctrines originated with uninspired men and not from a Divine source. Consider their agenda as you continue to read.

Hear Paul's explicit statement: "They…  ( Click for more )