Tag Archives: Sin

From Gilgal to Bokim: a squandered opportunity to walk by faith

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Judges 2 opens with a statement that the angel of the Lord went from Gilgal to Bokim. Throughout the book of Joshua, Gilgal served as Israel’s headquarters, the location of the tent of meeting. Think of it! God had to follow his people to a place of woe because they no longer followed him.

The story of Judges represents a recurring theme of the apparent victory of sin and rebellion that made it necessary for Jesus to come and die.

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Ask for the ancient paths, the good way

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mountain landscape. ancient paths

Highway construction is big business in this country. I love it when a new stretch of highway makes it easier to get where I’m going, and sometimes, I’ll drive on a new road just to see where it goes, whether I’ll ever use it or not. Sometimes, new construction completely obliterates an old road. The Bible says to ask for the ancient paths. What does it mean for the church today?

Thus says the Lord:
“Stand by the roads, and look,
and ask for the ancient paths,
where the good way is; and walk in it,
and find rest for your souls.

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God’s grace towards the sins of the patriarchs

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God introduced himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These three names appear together throughout the books of Moses, later in the Old Testament, and nine times in the New Testament. Along with Jacob’s sons, they are the patriarchs who received the Abrahamic covenant. That covenant, more than the other Old Testament covenants, is a covenant of grace.

It is easy to regard major characters in the Bible as either heroes or villains. The patriarchs were neither. They were great men of faith in their own ways, but we see God’s grace most clearly when we look at it against the backdrop of their persistent sin.… Read the rest

The leaven of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herod

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beware of the leaven of pharisees sadducees herodIn Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus warned the disciples of leaven. Each passage is a little different, indicating that Jesus issued the warning more than once. Each passage warns of the leaven of the Pharisees. Matthew adds the Sadducees and Mark adds Herod. What were the disciples supposed to learn from the warnings? And what do they mean to us today, when the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herod are all ancient history?

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All things are lawful. Does that mean anything goes?

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Sin. all things are lawful
Nowadays, sin seems like a good thing. / Corey Balazowich via Flickr

In our experience, some things are lawful and others illegal. In that regard, 1 Corinthians 6 has a very odd juxtaposition of ideas. 

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

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The fall of man: what happened when the serpent tempted Adam?

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Some people might be thinking, “No. The serpent tempted Eve.” Not quite. Adam and Eve in Genesis represent the entire human race. They started in a perfect place, the Garden of Eden. It took both the man and the woman to forfeit that position in what we know as the fall of man.

Genesis begins with three momentous events:

  • God created the heavens and the heavens and the earth, culminating with the creation of a man.
  • God planted the Garden of Eden, and while it grew, he gave the man the dignity of naming the beasts and looking for a suitable helper.
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What does it mean that Jesus will winnow and burn chaff?

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John the Baptist burst on the scene with such power that people wondered if he could be the Messiah. He identified Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah.

In explaining what the Messiah would do, he didn’t refer to anything Jesus did in his earthly ministry. He pointed to Jesus’ post-resurrection work and used an agricultural image to do so. The message was plain to those who heard John, but it’s obscure to us today.

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Immanuel: God’s presence we don’t deserve

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After Matthew described how Joseph decided to go through with his marriage to apparently unfaithful Mary, he added a comment: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel’ (which means God with us).”—Matthew 1:22-23 NIV

We might be tempted to think that, of course God is with us. Naturally. God is everywhere. But that’s too hasty. The standard warning in such cases is that we shouldn’t take it for granted. Actually, however, we should take it for granted: God granted us his presence by grace.… Read the rest

Remembering history, forgetting God

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Does the Bible contradict itself? Isaiah 43:18 says, “Do not remember the past events; pay no attention to things of old” (HCSB). But plenty of other scriptures tell us to remember, including Isaiah 46:8-9, which says, “Remember this and be brave; take it to heart, you transgressors! Remember what happened long ago, for I am God, and there is none other.”

Of course, carefully examining the verses in context show what God wants us to forget and remember—and why.

Familiar rituals surrounding Christmas and Easter help illustrate the problem. They can draw our attention to God’s work. Or they can substitute for thinking about it.… Read the rest

Nicodemus at night: the reluctant Pharisee

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Nicodemus plays a small but important role in the New Testament. He appears in three chapters in John’s gospel. His exchange with Jesus in John 3 includes probably the best-known verse in all Scripture, John 3:16.

What do we know about Nicodemus and his background?

  • He was a Pharisee. Therefore, he may have been educated as a rabbi.
  • He was a ruler of the Jews.
  • His parents gave him a Greek name.
  • Jesus fascinated him.


Let’s take a closer look at him, and then his relationship with Jesus.

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