The title “the Holy One of God” not only recalls the divine Sonship of Jesus’ baptism (1:11), but apparently likens Jesus to Samson, the mighty vanquisher of the Philistines, who is the only other person in the Bible to be called “Holy One of God” (Judg. 16:17). There may be an added correlation between Samson’s... Continue Reading

Diligent, thoughtful planning leads to “abundance” (21:5). Planning involves being realistic about your financial situation. Idle talk (14:23) and wishful thinking (28:19) lead only to poverty and want. The wise plan ahead to avoid dangers into which the simple keep going (22:3). Since “riches do not last forever,” careful thought and attention are required to... Continue Reading

Christ is building his church at this very moment by the power of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 16:18; John 3:5-8; 16:5-15), and the kingdom of God will mercifully continue to grow until Christ’s second coming: The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing... Continue Reading

Whether an amazing change to our circumstances happens or not, be it in terms of miraculous healing or whatever, the main thing is that we bring glory to God in all that we do – whether by life or by death. And for Paul, it was his weakness that he gloried in, not the “power... Continue Reading

Jesus continues His use of the foil technique in the second scene of the parable. Both characters have died, and their positions begin to invert. The Rich Man is “buried” while the Lazarus is “carried by angels” (22). The Rich man, who once enjoyed a life of comfort, is in Hades in torment. Whereas Lazarus... Continue Reading

We are called to love the church, but also the specific people in the church that he has given us to enjoy closer relationship with. When that gets hard, we need to remember the God dwells among us. We were each saved by the blood of Christ, given faith by the Father, and have been... Continue Reading

They love these people in front of them who bear the image of the true God, and so they want them to turn from idols to the true God. Paul and Barnabas love the God who has made, saved, and kept them, and so they wants others to know, love and worship him too. And it... Continue Reading

True love means proclaiming the truth. True love means proclaiming the gospel. True love means proclaiming the love of God and the wrath of God, and the most unloving thing we could possibly do is withhold the truth from those who are perishing without Christ—the truth about God’s love, holiness, justice, and grace; the truth... Continue Reading

He allows us to go through thousands of experiences to show us the worthlessness of trusting in anything else. We can look to hundreds of other sources. If we are fortunate to have a caring discipler beside us, they will gently take the Scriptures and remind us of the faithfulness of God and the value... Continue Reading

The brilliant sun of God’s love rises against the pitch black of His just wrath that engulfs us as sinners. It is that wrath of which John speaks when he uses the term “propitiation.” For Jesus to be the propitiation for our sins means that the wrath of God due us fell upon Him, fully, fiercely,... Continue Reading