The testimony of Scripture is clearly that Moses was an exemplary steward over God’s “house.” Christ, however, was not a steward over the possessions of another, but instead was a Son over His own house. So while Scripture teaches the comparison between the two great prophets, it unequivocally declares that Jesus is unique and superior because he was no mere mortal, but God in human flesh. This brief study will explore four of the ways in which Moses and Jesus are compared in John’s gospel.
The Upper Room Discourse is related to John’s first epistle just as belief is related to knowledge: whereas salvation is believing because one has come to know, assurance of salvation is knowing that one has truly come to believe.
As the two great apostles of the first generation of the Church, and hence, as the two greatest figures of the book of Acts, Peter and Paul not only encouraged prayer but evidenced it in their lives and ministry as Luke records in the Book of Acts. This brief study will first take a look at some prayer basics and then catalog the indispensability of prayer in the gospel outreach of the early church.
A sober exegesis of 1 Timothy 1:8-15 makes it clear that the Bible forbids women to teach or be in authority over men in an ecclesiastical setting. But while women are prohibited from pastoral office, they are invited along with men to the feet of Jesus to serve the Master. As the gospel of Mark stresses the servant/discipleship theme, it is natural to find in there a sketch of the significant role women fill as followers of Christ.
In the 1980’s, a debate erupted concerning the essence of the gospel and the nature of true belief. The controversy reduces to a debate over the nature of saving faith. The Scriptures seem to provide an example of faiththat could be considered paradigmatic for understanding true belief. The model believer, according to the Bible, is the patriarch Abraham. Our soteriology, therefore, especially our understanding of saving faith, should ultimately be rooted in a clear understanding of the Abrahamic model expounded by the Apostle Paul in Romans 4.
First Timothy is a spirited exhortation from the Apostle Paul to Timothy his “son in the faith,” calling on him to exercise strong, godly leadership in the church at Ephesus. Paul explicitly states that his primary purpose in writing the letter was so Timothy would “know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God” (3:15). An overall summary of Paul’s appeal to Timothy would be as follows: Despite any and all opposition, fight the good fight of faith through uncompromising, doctrinally-pure instruction of the brethren concerning the operation of the local church, in order that the administration of the gospel might be advanced to the glory of God, who has graciously provided for and desires the salvation of all men.
An often overlooked characteristic of the Bible is its rich and skillful use of different types of literature. Far from being a mere catalog of truth propositions, the Bible is a literary masterpiece that abounds in historical narrative, poetry, proverbs, prophecy, satire, oratory, biography, exposition, apocalyptic, and epistles. This paper will explore the nature of epistolary literature in general, highlight some aspects of epistolary literature in the Bible, and set forth basic rules for a proper interpretation of the New Testament epistles.
Antisupernaturalistic presuppositions that gained increasing favor in the sixteenth through nineteenth centuries eventually helped to pave the way for the negative views of the Bible that have been enshrined in liberal scholarship for the last 150 years. This paper will briefly trace the development of these presuppositions, show their influence on the Documentary Hypothesis popularized by Julius Wellhausen, then sketch some of the contemporary developments in biblical criticism.
The book of Revelation provides an exclamation point to the doxological purpose of God as He directs the course of human history. Like a good musical score, a dispensational premillennial interpretation of Revelation provides resolution to the conflict and chaos of human history. This is only possible, says Ryrie, because “underlying it all is the very nature of God Himself in that what He has plainly spoken He will do, and what He has assuredly promised He will perform. This is the basis of the premillennial faith.”
Though none of us will ever find ourselves in the historical setting of the history of Jacob, we can all relate to the sinfulness characteristic of Jacob and his sons and the need for the sovereign, immutable, faithfulness of the God who keeps His covenant even in the midst of extreme sin and failure among His people. The history of Jacob teaches every generation not only about God’s sovereign preservation of Israel through famine and trials, but also of His sovereignty over the evil choices of men.
The debate between “lordship” and “free-grace” theologians is, at the core, a debate about the nature of saving faith. Authors John MacArthur and Zane Hodges both defend their antithetical views as being faithful to Biblical and Protestant theology and excoriate each other for departing from both. The first half of this paper will provide a brief evaluation of each author’s view of saving faith and its relation to repentance, lordship, discipleship, works, perseverance, and assurance. The second half of the paper will give a response to the lordship debate, with special emphasis on providing a better overall model for characterizing the nature of true saving faith.