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The Bereans Had No Bibles

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In response to a common appeal for Christians to search their Bibles and “be like Bereans,” Griffin Gulledge has a provocative piece entitled “The Bereans Had No Bibles.” In it, he makes some important points worth your consideration:

  1. Bereans receive the truth.
  2. Bereans learn in the context of the gathered church.
  3. Bereans believe the Christian faith from the Old Testament.

Gulledge concludes:

Being a Berean is a lost label for Christians. These days, most of the people who appeal to the term are bloggers on the internet, mostly engaged in heated polemics at best or vicious attacks on those they disagree with at worst. What we see here instead is that Bereans are those who receive the truth in the context of the church, and thereby together prove Christ is both Savior and Lord from the Scriptures. What is the end of all of this? It’s not to win debates or to fill our heads with knowledge for its own sake. The passage tells us: many believe.

The goal of emulating the Bereans is to bring about and strengthen faith. It is Christ’s work and who he is, preached from the Scriptures, that saves and sanctifies. The Bereans had no Bibles. But they did have Christ. We have the Bible. And together, we should seek to find Christ there, and thereby be transformed into his image (2 Cor 3:17-18)

Check it out!

The Difference Between Meaning and Application

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Here is a helpful devotional showcasing the difference between meaning and application. The author looks at Elisha’s “death in the pot” story in 2 Kings 4:38-41 to show how to both interpret (arriving at the author’s main point) and apply (connecting that truth to our own lives).

How many meanings does a passage of Scripture have? Sometimes we read a text and our minds race all over the Scripture with seemingly related texts and many possible meanings. Two of the challenges we can sometimes bring to our reading, interpretation, and subsequent understanding of Scripture are: 1) forgetting what Scripture principally teaches; and 2) confusing a text’s meaning with its application.

Check it out!

Psalms Book 2 Wrap-up—Someone Bigger Than David

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Psalms Book 2 Review Devotional

Psalms Book 2 Review Devotional

Posted by Grace Fellowship Church on Saturday, June 27, 2020

Or watch it here.

Book 2 Review

Moving beyond David, new poets join the roster

  • Sons of Korah (Psalms 42-49)
    • Life in and longing for Zion
  • Asaph (Psalm 50 – and more to come in Book 3)
    • Can’t take money with you
  • Back to David (Psalms 51-70)
    • Life in a fallen world
      • 51-59: Dealing with sin, from self to enemies to betrayal
      • 60-64: Fallen systems and structures 
      • 65-70: A clear view of God
  • 71: No known poet
    • We need old saints to remind us of everything we’ve covered in these many diverse poems
  • Solomon (Psalm 72)
    • Son of David, next king
    • Book 2 ends with a poem from Solomon about the coming King who would rule the world in justice and righteousness
  • Book 2 is not completely leaving David behind
    • But it is training us to start looking beyond David for something bigger
    • SomeONE bigger
      • Who will spare us, even from the deserved judgment or undeserved consequences of sin
      • Who will lead us in song and service before God
        • Getting us back to Zion, even from pain of exile
      • Who will remind us of all that God has done for us
      • Who will rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth
Image by ArtTower from Pixabay

Psalm 71—Churches Need Old Saints

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Psalm 71 Devotional

Psalm 71 Devotional

Posted by Grace Fellowship Church on Thursday, June 25, 2020

Or watch it here.

Psalm 71 – Churches need old saints

  • 1-6: Who cling steadfastly to Christ
    • Who haven’t become self-made and self-reliant
    • and haven’t allowed themselves to grow bitter from life’s miseries 
  • 7-14: Who prove that enemies are not all-powerful
    • and haven’t cowered in fear on all sides
  • 15-18: Who remember the deeds of God
    • and don’t just turn inward and trust themselves like young people do
  • 19-24: Who foresee a happy future
    • and don’t despair when they see what God has in store for us
Image by wurliburli from Pixabay

Psalm 69—Baseless Prosecution; Resounding Exoneration

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Psalm 69 Devotional

Psalm 69 Devotional

Posted by Grace Fellowship Church on Tuesday, June 23, 2020

Or watch it here.

Psalm 69 – Baseless prosecution; resounding exoneration

  • 1-4: Save me from lying attackers (A)
    • v.4 quoted in John 15:25
  • 5-12: You know my zeal and resulting dishonor (B)
    • v.9a quoted in John 2:17
    • v.9b quoted in Rom 15:3
  • 13-18: But my only hope and prayer is Yahweh (C)
  • 19-28: You know my reproach and need for vindication (B’)
    • v.21 quoted in John 19:28
    • vv.22-23 quoted in Rom 11:9-10
    • v.25 quoted in Acts 1:20
  • 29-36: But my pain will end in salvation for Zion (C’)
Image by Comfreak from Pixabay

Psalm 68—God’s Ark Finally Arrives

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Psalm 68 Devotional

Psalm 68 Devotional

Posted by Grace Fellowship Church on Monday, June 22, 2020

Or watch it here.

Psalm 68 – God’s ark finally arrives

  • 1-3: Departs Egypt
  • 4-6: Leads out the prisoners
  • 7-10: Leaves Sinai for Canaan
  • 11-14: Conquers Canaanite kings
  • 15-19: Settles on Zion
    • v.18 quoted in Eph 4:8
  • 20-23: Saves and destroys continuously
  • 24-27: Celebrated in procession
  • 28-31: Subdues remaining outposts
  • 32-35: Inspires all kingdoms to sing
Photo by Igor Rodrigues on Unsplash