Does God Envy?

January 9, 2013 By 25 Comments
envy

A misunderstood God leads to a misguided faith. If you think God is insecure and constantly assessing you on your performance, you will be insecure yourself. You will be forever wondering whether you have done enough to please him. Some time ago I wrote that God loves us unconditionally, that contrary to what some scriptures say, God is not a jealous God. How dare I contradict the written word? Well, I’ve met the Living Word and I can tell you that Jesus is the very picture of love and grace. However, the concept of a jealous God is hard to shake. We’ve heard so many times that he … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bible puzzles, love of God Tagged With: , , ,

Exodus 4:24-25

November 29, 2012 By 22 Comments
bloody_knife

“Why did God try to kill Moses on the way to Egypt?” This question was recently put to me by a reader and it is based on the following passage: At a lodging place on the way, the LORD met Moses and was about to kill him. But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off her son’s foreskin and touched Moses’ feet with it. “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me,” she said. (Exo 4:24-25) This is a stunning interruption to the narrative. One moment God is calling Moses towards his destiny as Israel’s deliverer; the next moment God is trying to kill him because he neglected to “snip … [Read more...]

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Is 1 John 1 for Believers or Unbelievers?

June 14, 2012 By 60 Comments
QE2_not_amused

“Why do you assume that the first chapter of first John is addressed to unbelievers?” This question was put to me by a friend after reading my recent post on 1 John 1:9. Judging by some of the comments that have come up in various discussion threads, it’s a question many of you are asking: -    How can you say that an epistle clearly written for churches was meant for sinners? -    Aren’t you treading on thin ice when you carve up the Bible saying, “That bit’s not for me”? -    Aren’t we supposed to heed the whole counsel of God? These are all excellent questions … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bible puzzles

Do NIV Readers Have a Sinful Nature?

September 4, 2011 By 66 Comments
NIV_flesh_or_sinful_nature

Here are two verses that seem to say contradictory things about our sinful nature: 1. In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, (Col 2:11) 2. So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Rm 7:25b) Do you see the problem? In the first verse Paul says our sinful nature has been circumcised by Christ. His sinful nature is gone. But in the second verse he admits that he still has a sinful nature, one that … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bible puzzles, new nature, sin, walking after the flesh Tagged With: , , ,

What Happens to Unfruitful Branches?

June 5, 2011 By 63 Comments
the_gardener

Jesus said, “if you love me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). In the hands of a religious person this becomes a conditional statement: You have to keep the commands of Jesus to prove your love. The problem with that, however, is the commands of Jesus are impossible to keep. As we saw in our last post, Jesus said anyone who keeps His commands, “will do what I have been doing and even greater things.” Well Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead. Can you? On your own it’s impossible, but that’s okay because you know what? Jesus has a plan. In the very next verse He begins to tell … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bible puzzles, living under grace, love of God, supernatural, works of faith Tagged With: , , ,

Is God a Jealous God?

May 19, 2011 By 17 Comments
unconditional-love-with-conditions

“You shall not make for yourself an idol… You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Ex 20:4-6) In my last post I presented seven pieces of evidence proving that God’s love for us is unconditional. How, then, are we to account for those scriptures that say things like “God loves those who fear him” and “God loves those who keep his … [Read more...]

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Chop Off Your Hand?! Was Jesus Serious?

April 7, 2011 By 11 Comments
hands_in_hell

“If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” (Mt 5:29-30) I doubt there’s a Christian alive who hasn’t been troubled by this verse at some point in their lives. It’s one of those things you read that causes you to do a double-take. What?! Did Jesus really say that? Was He serious? I’d better … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bible puzzles, dead religion, grace vs law, Jesus, law Tagged With: , , ,

Who Killed Herod?

March 1, 2011 By 13 Comments
usual_suspects

In the past week numerous websites have sprung up declaring that Christchurch’s recent earthquake was God punishing the city for its sin. But as I explained in an earlier post, God’s remedy for sin is not earthquakes, hurricanes or terrorism. God dealt with all our sin at the cross. If God used natural disasters to judge cities, that would be like saying that the cross was an insufficient remedy for sin. Sin is destructive, but it won’t lead to a holy smiting. God is done with sin (1 Pe 4:1). The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him (Is 53:5). The only sin that’ll send you to … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Ananias and Sapphira, Bible puzzles, Elymas, Herod, judgment, Peter, sin Tagged With: , , ,

Does God Use Correction Fluid?

December 8, 2010 By 21 Comments
correction_fluid

Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? If so, are you worried that Jesus may blot out your name? It seems that many Christians are. They are afraid that they might do something that will cause Jesus to blot out their names from His Book of Life. It’s like Jesus is sitting in heaven with a pen in one hand and a bottle of correction fluid in the other. Get saved, name goes in. Fail a test, name goes out. Re-commit your life to God, name goes back in. Phew! With all the re-commitments going on, you’d think Jesus was in danger of repetitive stress injury! But seriously, do you … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bible puzzles, grace basics, new covenant, overcoming Tagged With: , , ,

Does God Kill Babies?

November 29, 2010 By 35 Comments
thinking-baby

“And the LORD struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill… Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died.” (2 Sam 12:15,18) Now there’s a troubling verse! Does God really kill babies? Some would say "Yes," because God is on the throne and nothing happens unless He allows it. Others would say "No," because He is a good God, everything He does is perfect, and He has no dark side (Deut 32:4, Jas 1:17). Still others might say "I don’t know," because God could stop bad things from happening yet He often doesn’t and only He knows … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bible puzzles, David, healing, parenting Tagged With: , , ,

What are the Works of Abraham? (And Why Should We Do Them?)

September 16, 2010 By 9 Comments
Abraham_sacrificing_Isaac

If we are saved by faith in Christ alone, why does James insist that our faith must be matched with works? How can you balance the grace of God with the works of man? You can’t! In Part 1 of this study we looked at how James appears to contradict much of what Paul teaches about faith. If you hold James 2 alongside Romans 4 you will see that both chapters use the same Old Testament examples to support apparently different conclusions. Both James and Paul refer to Abraham and they both quote Genesis 15:6. See for yourself: Paul: “If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Abraham, Bible puzzles, James, resting, works of faith, works of the flesh Tagged With: , , , ,

What About James? (Are We Really Justified by Works?)

September 14, 2010 By 16 Comments
batman_robin

Whenever you preach the 100% pure gospel of God’s grace, someone will inevitably ask, “What about James?” The gospel of grace that Paul preached declares that we are saved by faith alone. But James said that faith is not enough, that we need works as well. Consider the following sound bites from these two great apostles: Paul: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph 2:8-9) James: “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can … [Read more...]

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