I. 1. The whole world Romans 1:8 - I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. Paul is not claiming a literal, globe-spanning reach in the modern sense. He is using a well-understood first-century rhetorical and
Preamble I want to explore connections between having a form of godliness (and all the wickedness described) and having to be trained to distinguish good from evil. There is a quiet irony embedded in those two ideas, and Scripture seems content to let it sit there uncomfortably rather than resolve
I. 1. Fear and Hardened Hearts: The Same Root Problem Fear in Scripture is rarely just an emotional state; it is a relational rupture. * “Do not fear, for I am with you” (Isa. 41:10; Josh. 1:9; Matt. 28:20) assumes a temptation to act as though God is
I. 1. God’s Sight: Reality as It Truly Is Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31 “And God saw that it was good … very good.” God’s seeing is evaluative, authoritative, and creative. Key characteristics of God’s sight: * God sees before He declares * God’s sight
I. 1. The Manipulation of Life and Death Genesis 2:17 - "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” God establishes a clear moral boundary: obedience leads to life; transgression leads to
I. 1. Ezekiel 3:20–22 — Who Is the “Righteous Man”? “If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits injustice…” My first thought when reading Ezekiel 3:20-22 was "Judas!" Revisiting that thought I had to ask: Do the gospel passages regarding Judas address loss of
Looking carefully at Matthew 24:37-39, Matthew 7:24-27, Genesis 6:11-13, Acts 2:17, and Joel 2:28-32—there’s a coherent thematic thread. I. 1. Matthew 24:37-39 “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
I. 1. The Master and His Household (Matthew 24:45) Jesus, as risen Lord and true Master of the household, defines both authority and responsibility for those who serve under Him. Read together, the following Scriptures clarify what kind of authority He delegates, to whom, and for what purpose. “Who
I. 1. A Living Hope Is Rooted in Resurrection Life The phrase “a living hope” (1 Peter 1:3) is carefully chosen: Scripture uses life-language intentionally. If something is living, it is not static. It grows, adapts, bears fruit, and—crucially—reproduces after its kind. When Peter calls hope living,
I. 1. Immediate Literary Context: Counterfeit Prophecy Ezekiel 13:18 sits inside a very specific polemic, and the “veils” only make sense when read against that wider context rather than through later, generic ideas of veiling. “Woe to the women who sew magic bands on all wrists and make veils
I. 1. Context: A Crisis of Trust in the Word of YHWH Ezekiel is prophesying to a people who have learned how to talk about God without listening to Him. The exile has not silenced prophecy; it has multiplied it. The problem is not a lack of spiritual language, but
I. 1. From Denial to Disruption: “Am I My Brother’s Keeper?” (Genesis 4:9) Cain’s question is not ignorance; it is abdication. * Cain refuses relational accountability. * He treats sin as a private matter rather than a communal rupture. * His question implicitly denies vocation: to be human is to