Romans chapter 9 is one of the most disputed chapters in the Bible. In it we find an allegory about the potter and the clay, which has been interpreted in different ways. The apostle Paul used this allegory consistent with how the Old Testament prophets used it. So, let’s find out what he meant by it.
Besides being the Son of God, Jesus was also a great teacher, probably the greatest of all time. But much of his teaching was by means of parables. So, why did he teach in a way that was sometimes difficult to understand? Was this intentional? And are there rules and standards we should follow to interpret Jesus’ parables?
Jesus’ parable of the wedding banquet illustrates some very important principles of God’s kingdom. He told it to Jewish people of the first century, but he also intended it to be for us today, as it speaks of the breadth and depth of God’s grace and the extent of Christ’s atoning sacrifice.
What is the New Covenant the Bible speaks of? And what is the difference between it and the Old Covenant? There is much confusion in the Christian church regarding this, so the goal of this article is to provide simple understandable descriptions for the non-scholar.
What is the Sinai Covenant in the Bible? Who was involved and what was its purpose? Is it the same as the Old Covenant that the Christian apostles allude to? And what is the difference between it and the New Covenant? In this article I provide a simple explanation for the non-scholar.
For every believer in Jesus today there are costs to following him. One possible cost is that of opposition from family members. How should believers respond when these conflicts occur and their love for the Savior is challenged by those they are closest to?
God has revealed many things to us, but there are also many things God has withheld that remain mysteries. But one mystery, that of the Messiah, has been fully revealed. So, if that’s true, what did Paul mean when he wrote about the “mystery of Christ?” And are there important truths about Christ in the Bible for which God intentionally withholds understanding?
Believers in Christ belong to each other as members of his body, with each member being interdependent on the others. They all share God’s love, and that love is expressed in many ways. How they relate to each other within the church is important to the Lord, and that’s why the apostles admonish us in every one of their letters on how to love our brothers and sisters. Many of these admonitions are expressed as “one another” or “each other” commands.
The early Christian church fathers all acknowledged that some sins were greater than others. But within the last half century a popular belief has developed among Christians, that God sees all sins the same. But is this biblical? And how did this belief come about?
God is transcendent and exists beyond the physical universe we live in. His ways are higher than ours and his thoughts are high above ours. But in what way are his thoughts and ways higher? Can we ever hope to understand him? Do his ways even make any sense to us? Or does he operate by a completely different logic as some Bible teachers claim?
