Tag: Jesus

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Bible

How Does Salvation “Work”?

In one of Paul’s letters, he says something that is quite curious and strange.  He tells readers to “work out your salvation.” [Philippians 2:12]

Ugh?  Didn’t Paul also write that we are saved through faith and not by our “work” (that is, not of our own doing or striving)?  [Ephesians 2:8-9]

So, if we can’t earn our salvation, why do we need to work it out?  Is Paul confused?  Is he schizophrenic?  Is this a paradox?

Actually, I think it’s a matter of timing.

First, we need to follow Jesus — by faith.  We don’t need to do anything else to get God’s attention or earn his affection.  There is no working involved in being made right with God.  That means it’s a gift — we didn’t buy it and can’t earn it; it was given.

The second part is our response.  Out of sheer gratitude for the gift, we can opt to respond by behaving differently.  I think this is what it means to “work out our salvation,” that is, to cultivate it or complete it.

Consider what if I gave you a million dollars.  Would your attitude towards me change?  I think so.  You might want to find out more about me, learn why I did it, and maybe help me in my future philanthropic efforts.

In essence you might be working out my gift to you.  It’s still a gift, but one that evokes a grand response.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Pouring Out the Drink Offering

During a time of war, there is a curious story of King David.  He mentions that he is thirsty for water from a specific well.  Three of his mighty warriors break through enemy lines, draw water from that well, and return to David with it.

However, instead of drinking it with gratitude, David pours it out on the ground as an offering to God.  [1 Chronicles 11:17-19 and 2 Samuel 23:13-17]

Apparently, he felt that the risk the men took was so great that he was not worthy to taste the water, offering it to God instead.

This action may have parallels to the Old Testament instruction to give a “drink offering” to God.  The drink offering was a libation of wine that was poured over the altar or used with meat offerings as part of the Jewish worship rituals.

Instructions for its use occur over 45 times in the Jewish law, with 19 other references in the Old Testament.

Since Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament worship practices, it is not surprising for there to only be two mentions of drink offerings in the New Testament.  Both were made by Paul, referring to his willingly pouring out his life as a drink-offering to God.  [Philippians 2:17 and 2 Timothy 4:6]

It is important to understand that while the Old Testament believers presented their drink offerings ritualistically out of obligation and compulsion, Paul — being freed from the law by Jesus — willing and gladly presented his own life as a drink-offering to God.

It was his intentional act of sacrifice and service.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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The Armor of God

In the Bible, there is the instruction to “put on the full armor of God.”

To the casual reader, this might seem like a call to arms or a provocation for military action.

Yet I don’t see this as a militant statement, but merely a memory aid to help people remember key items needed to prevail in spiritual conflict, namely: truth, righteousness, sharing the gospel, faith, salvation, and the word of God (the only offensive tool of the group).

Paul, in Ephesians 6:11-17, seems to be painting a word picture using the soldier of the day (which readers would have been most familiar with) connecting his essential gear with these key spiritual elements.

Then, to recall Paul’s list of six items, readers needed only to envision a soldier in uniform and associate each spiritual element with its physical counterpart.  For example:

  • Belt: truth
  • Breastplate: righteousness (that is, right living)
  • Shoes: a readiness to share the gospel of peace
  • Shield: faith
  • Helmet: salvation
  • Sword: the word of God (the spoken word of God)

It’s not about a physical fight (which many people have missed throughout the ages), but instead a spiritual conflict for which followers of Jesus must be prepared to engage in using: truth, righteousness, sharing the gospel, faith, salvation, and the Bible. 

This is what is meant by the metaphor of the armor of God.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

A Little Bit of Yeast

I did a word study on the usage of yeast in the Bible.  Here is what I found:

Yeast is used symbolically to represent influence, usually negatively.  Just as a little bit of yeast, permeates dough and produces a noticeable result, so to does influence, be it good or bad.

  • The Bible contains many references to not using yeast in various religious practices, which symbolically shows the removal of sin.
  • Paul compares false teaching to yeast.
  • Another negative connotation is when Jesus says, beware of the yeast of the Pharisees (which is hypocrisy) and also the Sadducees and Herod.
  • In seemingly the only positive usage of yeast in the Bible, Jesus says that the Kingdom of God (that is, the Kingdom of Heaven) is like yeast.
  • In a final reference to yeast Paul uses it as a metaphor for boasting.  Paul talks about getting rid of bread with old yeast (malice and wickedness) and using new bread without yeast (sincerity and truth).

[Check out where these references to yeast are found.]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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By Law or By Faith

In what initially seems to be shocking statement, Jesus says that if we want to have eternal life, we must follow the commandments in the Old Testament (Matthew 19:17).

Of course, this is impossible, because if we break even one law, one time, we are found guilty and therefore separated from God.  Clearly, following rules is not the solution.

So what is?  The realistic answer is that we need to turn from our wrong-doing and follow Jesus by faith, who took the hit for our law-breaking, making us right with God.  Even Abraham, was made right with God through his faith, not by following a bunch of rules (Galatians 3:6).

For further contemplation, this contrast between the law (following rules) and faith (following Jesus) is expanded upon and explained in greater detail in Galatians 3, especially verses 10-11,19, and 21-22.  Also see Ephesians 2:8.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Raised From the Dead

When Jesus died, many dead people can to life.  This is a literal, physical event that Matthew documented (Matthew 27:52-53).

This can also be understood and applied on a figurative or symbolic basis, in that for all who follow Jesus: We came alive when Jesus died.  This is a new, spiritual, eternal life.

In short, Jesus died so that we may live.

[Read more about Jesus.]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

A Different Prescription For Prayer

In Matthew 20, Jesus shares a parable, predicts his death, teaches about serving, and heals two blind men.  Nowhere does he mention prayer, yet in this chapter I see two insights about prayer.

First, the mother of James and John makes a request of Jesus (Matthew 20:20-22). She asks if her sons can be given places of honor, sitting on Jesus’ left and right.  Jesus’ response is, “You don’t know what you are asking!”

I suspect that many of our prayers evoke the same response, “You don’t know what you are asking.” 

Just as James and John’s mother did not have a right understanding of Jesus’ purpose and intent, missing God’s perspective, so to, we often miss God’s intent and fail to see his perspective.  As such our prayers are off base, asking for the wrong things, which are inconsequential.

In the account of the blind men being healed (Matthew 20:29-34), the men boldly call out for Jesus to have mercy on them.  When Jesus hears them, he asks, “What do you want?” 

They have already asked for mercy, but Jesus wants them to be specific.  As soon as they ask to see, he gives them their sight.

How often do we make a general request for God’s blessing, mercy, or grace?  These are vague, non-expectant petitions.  When making such a plea, how can we ever realize the answers?  When our requests are specific, the answers become obvious — and praiseworthy.

So, when we pray, it should be specific and it should be with God’s perspective in mind.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

“Your Sins Are Forgiven”

There is an account of Jesus, when a paralyzed man seeks to be healed.  In a surprise move, Jesus confounds everybody by forgiving the man’s sins!  Jesus had realized that this man’s greatest need was not physical, but spiritual, so he addressed that first.

Knowing that it is much easier to say “your sins are forgiven” than to make a lame man walk, Jesus then healed the man (thereby proving he had the power to forgive sins) and addressed the man’s second greatest need.

In doing so, Jesus shows that he came not only to save (forgive our sins), but also to heal.

[Matthew 9:2-8, Mark 2:2-12, and Luke 5:18-26]

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

Traditions Have Their Place

In Matthew 15:3-7, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees for placing their traditions ahead of God’s commands.  From our perspective, in a different time and culture, it is easy for us to see their error.  However, we likely do the same type of thing and are blind to it.

What might some of those traditions be?

Certainly a lot of what happens at many church services today are based more on tradition than command. 

While many of those traditions have a solid basis or are good for us to follow, it is all too easy for our man-made traditions to take on more importance or priority than is wise or warranted.  If our traditions distract us from following and serving Jesus, then it is time to set them aside.

What traditions have you placed too high of emphasis?

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Bible

Praise God or Fear God?

After Jesus performs a miracle — healing a paralytic man (see Matthew 9:2-8) — the people were fearful of God, yet full of praise at the same time (this precise wording is not apparent in all translations — see the New Living Translation or the Amplified Bible).

Although it seems like a paradox to simultaneously fear God and praise him, perhaps this is a view we should adopt.

Yes, there are reasons to fear him, but they must be carefully balanced with praising him.  It may be in the midst of that balance that we are able to best connect with him.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.