But we need to remind ourselves to whom Paul’s great letter was sent. Looming up behind the various discussions of why Romans was written is an issue not usually noticed. Paul was coming to Rome with the gospel message of Jesus the Jewish...
Romans 1:1–6 reads: Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to...
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship (Rom 12:1). Service and sacrifice is a form of worship. This verse refers back to...
I mentioned in my last post that Jesus’ teaching was subtle. I chalked this up to the vastness of his teaching. I said that the reason he was so subtle is because what he was saying was so multi-faceted that one cannot grasp it all at first glance...
I’ve been known to point out that the resurrection of Jesus is not about dying and going to heaven, but about the new creation. This theme of new creation is crucial in the gospel accounts and we often times miss it, unfortunately. The goal of...
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believers, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. —Romans 1:16, emphasis added. Often times we overlook the fact that 99% of Jesus’ recorded words in the...
When God fulfills his World Renewal Plan through Jesus, his Son, he is not only setting up a government (Kingdom metaphor), but also creating a family. This, once again, means that our metaphors for God’s World Renewal Plan will often times flow...
This is a short excerpt from Holiness in Fresh Perspective: Covenant, Cross, and Kingdom. Wipf and Stock, 2014. All rights reserved. Consider Romans 1:1–4 for a moment. This is Paul’s salutation to the churches in Rome. In this salutation, Paul does...
This is a short excerpt from Holiness in Fresh Perspective: Covenant, Cross, and Kingdom. Wipf and Stock, 2014. All rights reserved. Too often we read the gospels against an empty backdrop. As modern readers we tend to be very illiterate of the Old...
Jesus redefines what power is. All over the New Testament Jesus is referred to as the Son of God. In our modern context, we interpret this to be the Bible’s way to attesting to the divinity of Jesus. This case certainly can be made, but there is...