By Peter Krol
Stephen Kneale has a brief but provocative piece on “Three ways we might find our biases driving our biblical interpretation.” Of course, I don’t ever think I bring my biases to the study. But shouldn’t I take note when the fruit of my study matches one of Kneale’s signs?
This is worth your time to consider.
By Peter Krol
Romans 8 is one of the most beloved chapters of the New Testament, with many staggering promises and assurances for the people of God. But could it be that some of them tend to take on meanings Paul didn’t intend, when we cite them out of context?
Joshua Greever tackles 3 such verses from the chapter, employing the context of Paul’s argument to explain some familiar verses and phrases:
Greever’s work on these texts is worth considering and modeling how to answer such interpretive questions from a close examination of the train of thought.
By Peter Krol
Consider one of the most chilling statements Jesus ever made:
‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt 25:45-46)
It sounds as though the way a person treats “the least of these” is—if not the cause—at least the evidence of a person’s eternal fate. But do we understand who those people are whom Jesus wishes us to feed, clothe, welcome, and visit? It prevails on us to get this right.
Kevin DeYoung recently republished a helpful piece where he examines the phrase “least of these” from the context. He looks at Jesus’ usage not only in Matt 25:45 but also Matt 25:40, along with the logical flow of Jesus’ discourse and the literary connections back to Matthew 10.
I won’t quote his conclusion here, to entice you to go and read how he arrives at it.
By Peter Krol
J. Warner Wallace, a cold-case homicide detective, writes about why we should expect witnesses to disagree.
There are many factors that contribute to one’s perception of an event. Physical location, past experience, familiarity with a feature of the crime scene; a witness’ physical, emotional and psychological distinctives play a role in what they see and how they communicate this testimony after the fact. No two people are alike, so no two people experience an event in precisely the same way. If you’ve got three witnesses in a murder case, expect three slightly different versions of the event. Don’t panic, that’s normal. In fact, when three different witnesses tell me the exact same thing, I start to get suspicious.
He then traces out the implications of this fact (among others) on our reading of the Bible’s four gospels.
By Peter Krol
If you’d like a brief explanation and defense of the traditional Christian doctrine of dual authorship, check out this excellent piece by Robert Cara.
Who wrote the Bible? Yes, God did. He is the divine, ultimate, and primary author. But in His providence He used humans, the secondary authors.
By Peter Krol
The Lord gave us not one but four accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry. Steve Burchett wants to help you appreciate and understand them better. He explains that the stories of the gospels:
Burchett goes on to offer practical suggestions for reading and understanding these stories rightly.
By Peter Krol
Susan Tyner has a thoughtful piece wondering “Why Did Elisha Allow Naaman to Bow to an Idol?” Naaman the Syrian, cleansed of his leprosy, asks the prophet for the Lord’s pardon on his participation in the worship of the god Rimmon.
Elisha’s response? “Go in peace” (2 Kings 5:18-19).
Tyner explores the implications, comfort, and conviction offered to us through this narrative.
Living in today’s society can be a lot like the Israelites living in exile then. We struggle with various questions: Should I teach a school curriculum that goes against my beliefs? Should I quit a job that has LGBT+ stickers on its storefront window? Will my boss understand if I ask for the Lord’s Day off? In this story from the ancient world, we sense God’s compassion for us as we try to figure out how to be in the modern world but not of it (John 17:14, 15).
Tyner examines the story’s context, along with the contrast between Naaman and Elisha’s servant Gehazi to draw implications for true worship and obedience.
By Peter Krol
I found an older episode of Ask Pastor John with a really important question: Can I really trust my interpretation of the Bible?
John Piper addresses the question from two angles. First, he offers guidance to the person looking for guidance. Second, he addresses the inconsistency of an extreme skeptical perspective.
I could give, for example, five biblical pointers to how the Bible says we should handle the law. And a certain kind of person could say to me, “But how do I know that I’m reading those pointers correctly?” And I could give an explanation of the pointers and how they work. They could say, “But how do I know that I’m interpreting your explanation correctly?”
By Peter Krol
Have you wondered what to do with the genealogies of the Bible? In his piece “Why Genealogies?” Jacob Toman explains what role the Bible’s genealogies play, along with examples of some of the most significant genealogies in the Bible. Toman looks at Genesis 11, 1 Chronicles (with implications for Ezra-Nehemiah), and Matthew 1.
These lists give the reader of the Bible a historical account that shapes an overarching story worthy of reading, worthy of remembering, and worthy of our study.
By Peter Krol
My co-blogger Ryan has provided a very helpful explanation for why the Bible is not boring. Pastor Mitch Chase also recently wrote about 4 reasons you might think the Bible is boring. His reasons are:
Chase offers some excellent guidance for ways to pull out of each of these situations and find more delight in God’s word.
