By Peter Krol
M.R. Conrad wants you to know the Bible is “one grand narrative,” and he gives 8 pieces of evidence. Included on the list are the one author, the one main character, the anticipation of Christ at every point, and the overall tension leading to a final conclusion.
I won’t list all 8 of Conrad’s proofs. You’ll have to click over to see the full description.
By Peter Krol
Matthew Boffey has some important things worth considering as you seek to reinforce consistent Bible study habits.
I especially appreciate that last point, as even the best-laid plans need constant revision. As boxer Mike Tyson famously said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” I’m grateful for Boffey’s reflections.
By Peter Krol
I really appreciate Brian Key’s reflection on “What to Do Before You Read the Bible.” He decribes his request to God to comfort me, confront me, and conform me. We would all do well to consider such prayers.
By Peter Krol
I appreciate Daniel Timmer’s summary of the message of Zephaniah in his piece “Why We Need Zephaniah.” He boils it down to three aspects:
This brief Old Testament book packs quite a punch, exhibiting to goods new God’s grace in vibrant color.
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.
