Archive for category: Exegesis

I preached at Anchorage Grace Church on Sunday morning, from Romans 12:1-2. Here’s the sermon.

Greetings! I somehow managed to get this partial video uploaded. My battery died, so, this is only half of the sermon, but, it cut out at a fairly decent place, so I offer it anyway. Due to differences in how my Mac handles video, my head is cut off in this view (I’m learning, I’m learning), but that’s almost a

   John Beckman, who is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell and a PhD student at Harvard has recently revised and expanded Ronald Williams’ Hebrew grammar into a 3rd edition previously titled, Hebrew Syntax: An Outline. This is the grammar that I used when I studied Hebrew syntax with Douglas Stuart who requires his students to learn all 598 Hebrew syntactical categories during

The most valuable tool that I use when I study the gospels as a whole or just a single passage (“pericope”) is a synopsis. It is truly at arm’s reach from my desk. The concept of a synopsis is very simple. It is a format that arranges the gospel parallel stories, teachings, parables, etc. in parallel columns (hence, sun ‘together,’

   This is the Greek phrase found in Peter’s first epistle exhorting all believers (not just elders, not just “professionals,” but all believers) to always be ready to give a defense, an answer, when asked concerning the hope that is within us. It should strike us that these words were addressed to people who were, by and large, of the lower-class

   “For the Scripture says to Pharaoh,” (and then we have another citation of another Old Testament text) “‘For this very purpose,'” (God had a purpose, it wasn’t Pharaoh’s purpose) “‘For this very purpose I raised you up,'” – I did this. “oh but Pharaoh had all these choices. Yes. And “For this very purpose I raised you up.'”

   One of our regular DL listeners, justrozie, transcribed my exegesis of Romans 9, and Algo proof-read it, so I am providing it here. Here is the audio. As this is a bit longer than our current blog software allows for a single post, I have broken this up into two sections.    But, let’s look at Romans chapter 9 and let’s

   As I noted yesterday, we have had an unusually positive and excited response to yesterday’s DL, so I am posting only the portion of the program in which I worked through Romans 9 itself. The mp3 file runs just over 45 minutes. Here is the discussion. Feel free to share it with others if you wish.

   except there are those who are troubling you Nowhere will Paul directly address the false teachers who are troubling the Galatians. He addresses only the believers, and refers to these others in the third person. In fact, it seems clear that Paul desired no friendly contact or ecumenical discussions with the teachers in Galatia. He was not going to come

   One of the more prominent denizens of the theological blogosphere is a man named Perry Robinson. Today he posted the following comment on the Parchment and Pen blog (referred to above). Since I have seen him argue this point before, I felt it would be useful to use it as an example of another common error in reading John 6

   Many moons ago, before the advent of the worldwide web, etc., believe it or not, folks still wrote stuff. It just didn’t get as large an audience, which, in most instances, is probably a good thing. Anyway, back when I was skinny and had hair, I wrote a commentary on Galatians. It was for an extended Bible study I was

   Learning New Testament Greek comes by hard work and consistency. For those who know Greek, the following two links are guides, not just to stay on top of your Greek, but to improve it as well. The 3 steps may seem at first like a mechanical process, but that is because they should be. But don’t fret because after some

5:1 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Alternates: Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (NIV) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (NASB) NA27 Text: Dikaiwqevnte”

   One of the dangers of studying and practicing exegesis is getting so caught up in the minutiae of grammar and vocabulary that you don’t see the forest for the trees. In other words, it is easy to become so consumed with eliciting the meaning of words and phrases that you can forget to place these words and phrases within their

“And she will bear a son, and you shall call His name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins.”    This angelic proclamation to Joseph is possibly one of the most culturally incorrect statements within the Gospel birth narratives. In this one sentence, the angel sent from God delivers to Joseph a message that runs contrary to most

   Recall that in Acts 10:42 Peter spoke of Jesus as the judge of the living and the dead, and that this was a definitional portion of the proclamation the Lord Himself commands from His servants. Clearly, this aspect of the biblical message was vital to the first generations of the faithful, but it has fallen out of the consciousness of

   Here are some notes I wrote up on Acts 10:42 for the book. Now the trick is converting notes to final text. Acts 10:42    And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.    Let’s consider what we

   But the strongest argument I know regarding the biblical nature of church membership is probably the most obvious. What are the duties of elders? We can find their qualifications listed by Paul in writing to Timothy and Titus (1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-11)and from these glean much about their duties. And we have the plain statement of Peter, Therefore, I

   I have mentioned on the Dividing Line the work of a great Christian scholar here in the States, Don Hartley. I mentioned an article he did recently in an apologetics journal on 2 Cor. 4:4 and the “God of this age” in that text (a view I’m leaning more toward myself these days, but haven’t had as much time as

   Last week I received a note chiding me for not responding to a man named Tim Warner, a “progressive dispensationalist” who is likewise anti-Reformed. I had noted his attempts to deal with key texts quite a while back. He replied, and the writer was chiding me for noting Hunt’s unwillingness to debate while I had not replied to Warner. Of

   I spoke last evening at PRBC on Jude 1-4, just drawing out some thoughts and making application. And I was struck by a phrase that once again pressed upon my mind in a new and fresh way. I noted that one could (and someone probably has, I honestly do not know) with benefit write a book solely upon the greetings

   I was listening to a future debate opponent (I’ll let you guess which one) while riding yesterday. I was on a steep descent with lots of curves, the kind where you out run cars behind you no matter what–the kind of descent you really have to concentrate on–when I heard this gentleman assert that scribes had deliberately altered the text

This morning I got the following question through our website regarding this week’s memory verse and my comments on John 6:44-45: Why does your exegesis stop at 45b? Isn’t there room for a descriptive understanding of 45b that wraps things up in this section by stating that those who chose (implicit but a natural understanding from the previous verses, context,

“Every reading ever occurring in the New Testament textual tradition is stubbornly preserved, even if the result is nonsense…any reading ever occurring in the New Testament textual tradition, from the original reading onward, has been preserved in the tradition and needs only to be identified.” (Kurt and Barbara Aland, The Text of the New Testament: An Introduction to the Critical

I am so very thankful that in the interview on Issues Etc., Todd Wilken asked the perfect question of Bart Ehrman. I will be playing it on Thursday’s Dividing Line, but briefly, Wilken asked him what kind of conditions would have to prevail for him to believe the Bible was inspired and inerrant. This was similar to a question I

Titus 2:7-8 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Teaching marked by integrity, dignity, and now, “sound speech.” Literally, “whole, healthy, sound” in

Titus 2:7-8 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. There is another aspect of in our teaching showing dignity that should be brought

Titus 2:7-8 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. Just as we noted when we looked at 1 Cor. 1:17 a number of

Titus 2:7-8 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. I was reading through this text sort of “on my way” to verse 11