Did Paul Contradict Himself? — 1 Corinthians 11:5 and 14:34
Some authors point out that Paul’s prohibition against women speaking in church (1 Cor 14:34) must not mean exactly that, because earlier in 1 Corinthians (11:5) Paul had said that when women pray or prophesy, they should have their heads covered. Obviously, women can’t be silent if they are praying or prophesying. Ben Witherington wrote […]
The Beauty of Peace (Mark 5:34)
In our church, we are going thru the Gospel of Mark. In Mark 5 there is the wonderful account of a woman who had an issue of blood for 12 years. According to Lev 15, this meant that this woman had spent those 12 years in an experience of walking death. Everyone she touched became […]
Will Every Believer Be Praised by Jesus at the Bema? — 1 Corinthians 4:5i
I attended a conference in which a main session speaker said that the statement by Paul, “then each one’s praise will come from God” (1 Cor 4:5), shows that every believer will have some good works and will receive at least some praise at the Judgment Seat of Christ (Bema). I’ve heard that claim on […]
Jesus Said It First (Rom 3:8)
Years ago, there was a popular country song called “I Loved Her First.” It was about a young woman getting married. The song is from the perspective of the woman’s father. He reminds the groom that the father loved the girl first. I also remember years ago that someone in a Bible study said everything […]
Another Look at 1 Timothy 2:11-15
Recently (see here) I wrote a blog addressing Ben Witherington’s defense of Evangelical feminism. One of the comments to that blog asked about feminist explanations of 1 Tim 2:11-15 and mentioned some articles which could be read. I did not find the explanations given to be persuasive. However, rather than interact with those articles, which […]
Grace in Ministry (Galatians 6:13-14)
Paul’s letter to the Galatians contrasts law-religion and grace-religion. The contrast applies not only to how you are justified before God, but also to how you live the Christian life. One of the differences between law-religion and grace-religion shows itself in the pressures to have a “successful” ministry. What usually counts as a successful ministry? […]
“False Brethren” in the New Testament
The expression false brethren (pseudadelphoi) only occurs twice in the NT. One of those uses is in Gal 2:1-5: Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, […]
Burden Bearing (Galatians 6:1-6)
I believe that Christian “spirituality” boils down to loving Jesus and loving your neighbor. There are some other elements, to be sure, but that’s the master theme. And this isn’t an emotional-sentimental love. It’s a practical, get-your-hands-dirty kind of love. It’s a give a hungry person a sandwich, or better yet, give him a job, […]
Unless You Repent You Will All Likewise Perish (Luke 13:3, 5)
I’ve been working on a book on repentance. I wrote my doctoral dissertation on this subject over thirty years ago. Then about a dozen years later, I changed my understanding of repentance, and of the passage we discuss in this blog. This chapter is drawn from one of the proposed chapters for this upcoming book. […]
No More Scarlet Letters (Galatians 6:1)
Have you ever read Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter or seen one of the film adaptations? The story is set in Puritan Boston. The protagonist is a woman named Hester Prynne. She was sent to live in colonial America by her husband, who was supposed to follow her but was captured by the Indians. As […]