Monthly Archives: December 2023

Daily Bible Study

December 12, 2023 Bible Study — The Man of Lawlessness and Christ’s Return

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Thessalonians 1-3.

Once again in writing to the Thessalonian Believers Paul writes about Christ’s return.  In his previous letter to them, Paul had written that Christ’s return would be like a thief in the night.  From what he writes here it appears that some were telling the Believers that they had missed it.  After all, if Christ would return like a thief in the night, then some might miss His coming.  Paul tells them that they should not let such teachers deceive them.  The day of Christ’s return will not come until the man of lawlessness is revealed.  Most people read what Paul writes here as referring to a specific singular individual, the Anti Christ.  However, every where in the New Testament where the term antichrist is used, it suggests that the antichrist is not specific individual, but instead is an attitude possessed by many people.  My personal opinion on this is that we should be watching for an individual who matches Paul’s description here, while at the same time applying this verse as if it refers to a more general attitude among people in general.

So, what does Paul tell us about the man of lawlessness who must be revealed before Christ’s return?  He writes that he is destined for destruction.  further, Paul writes that the man of lawlessness will oppose and exalt himself over everything which is worshiped or called God.  Indeed, the man of lawlessness will declare himself to be God.  On the one hand, as I read what Paul writes here, he seems to be speaking about a singular individual who will appear shortly before Christ’s return.  On the other hand, Paul’s description of the man of lawlessness sounds a lot like what our society today promotes.  Our culture today opposes everything which is called God, except in cases where people set themselves up as their own gods.  It certainly looks as if the one who holds back the man of lawlessness has been taken out of the way.  Does that mean that an individual will soon arise who will fulfill Paul’s prophecy?  Or, has his prophecy already been fulfilled by the rise of a society of lawlessness?  In either case, we should be prepared for Christ’s soon return.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 11, 2023 Bible Study — Living Lives of Pure Love for One Another

Today, I am reading and commenting on  1 Thessalonians 1-5.

Paul writes that it is God’s will that we be sanctified.  Paul’s next phrase suggests that part of being sanctified means avoiding sexual immorality by controlling our bodies in ways which are holy and honorable.  Paul writes that when we allow passionate lusts to control our bodies we end up wronging or taking advantage of our fellow humans, instead we should live holy, pure lives, with love for each other.   We should seek to love the people of God in ever increasing degree.

Paul goes on to reiterate that those who have already died in Christ will rise when Christ returns, while those of us still alive will join them to meet Christ in the air. I am unsure if Paul meant that literally or merely as a metaphor, but I am sure that those who died in their faith will meet the Lord first on the day of His return.  He further tells us not to concern ourselves with the date and time of Christ’s return.  However, we should live our lives prepared for His return so that we are not surprised when that day arrives.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 10, 2023 Bible Study — Whatever You Do, in Word and in Deed, Do to Bring Honor to Christ’s Name

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Colossians 1-4.

Paul warns the people of the Church in Colossae against allowing anyone to convince them into following hollow and deceptive philosophy.  So, what does Paul mean by “hollow and deceptive”?  Paul gives us some answers to that a little further on, but we can learn a little just from the words he chooses here.  Hollow suggests that the practices being taught are all for show and not really about what you do when no one is looking.  Deceptive tells us that the teachings really on misdirection and dishonesty.  An example of this would be: some religions teach that you must never lie, unless by doing so to outsiders you can advance the religion (it then goes on to define “outsiders” as those who do not follow the religion in the manner in which your group interprets it).  As I said, a little further on while expounding on this same teaching, Paul writes that we should let no one judge us by what we eat or drink, or by the religious rituals we follow, or don’t follow.  He exposes all such practices as having a surface appearance of wisdom and righteousness, but they lack any call to actually restrain our indulgence in sensual sin.

Paul teaches that, through our faith in Christ, we should have put to death our earthly nature.  Which he describes as sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed. As a side note I want to point out that on several occasions Paul tells us that greed is a form of idolatry, the worship of material possessions.  He goes on to tell us that we must put aside anger, malice, slander, and filthy language.  Instead we must not lie to one another as we are all being renewed and transformed into the image our Creator.  This means that in Christ we are all God’s people, not Gentiles and Jews, not slave and free, not black and white and Asian.   We are all together parts of the Body of Christ.  Paul calls on us to deal with each other in love.  Let us seek, with all of our hearts, to act with compassion, kindness, humility, and patience.  Let us bear with those who irritate us, and forgive those against whom we have a grievance.  If we do these things, truly do them, not just pay them lip service, God will transform us and we will experience joy.  I write this more out of having seen how it works in people whose faith I admire than out of personal experience.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 9, 2023 Bible Study — Rejoice in the Lord Always

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Philippians 1-4.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians contains some important ideas about how we should live our lives and what our attitudes should be.  He begins by telling us not to be concerned about why someone preaches the Gospel.  We should put our faith in the power of God.  We should rejoice when people preach about Christ, whether they do so with noble intentions or out of selfish ambition.  The Holy Spirit can and will use the words which they speak to reach those whom God has chosen.  The Spirit will even use those who misrepresent the Gospel.  So, while elsewhere Paul condemns those who lead people astray, here he reminds us that the Holy Spirit can use even the little bit of Truth that those who preach with false motives convey to bring people to know the Lord.

Having established that no matter what the motives of the speaker or the listener the Holy Spirit will use whatever bit of God’s Truth is conveyed to enter into people’s lives, he goes on talk about how we ought to approach such things.  He writes that those who serve God should be torn between continuing in this life and the death of our mortal bodies.  As long as we live, God has tasks for us to accomplish, but a much better life waits for us when we leave these mortal bodies.  The result of this means that we should neither fear death, nor should we seek it out.  The next point I want to make shows us what our attitude towards death should be.  We should humbly value others above ourselves.  So, while dying would be better for us, as long as we live we can serve others in some way.  No matter how we may suffer in this life, as long as we have life God has a purpose for us.  Let us seek to carry it out  by putting the interests of others ahead of our own without grumbling or arguing.

There is so much more in this passage, but I will stop here.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 8, 2023 Bible Study — God Gives Us Gifts in Order to Build Each Other Up

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ephesians 4-6.

Paul writes that Christ gave gifts to His people in order to equip them for works of service so that the Body of Christ, the Church, may be built up until we reach unity of faith and knowledge.  The gifts which Paul here lists as being given by Christ, he elsewhere describes as gifts of the Spirit.  This is not a contradiction as Paul makes clear a few sentences later.  Paul writes that Christ joins and holds together the entire Body as it builds itself up in love.  So, Paul tells us that the gifts of the Spirit are given to us in order that we may build up our fellow members of the Body of Christ in love.

Because we are building each other in love, we must no longer live as the worldly live.  We must no longer indulge in sensuality, impurity, and greed.  Such behaviors are neither loving, nor do they assist in building others up.  Rather than doing such things we must be made new in the attitude of our minds.  As the new mind takes root in us we will speak truthfully in love and not allow anger to lead us into sin.  We should avoid unwholesome talk, which breaks down or denigrates others.  Instead let us say only those things which will benefit those who hear us speak.  Let us spend our time doing useful things with our hands so that we have resources which we can use to help those in need.  Let us say and do only those things which are loving and help others become better.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 7, 2023 Bible Study — God Has Transformed Us by His Grace, Let Us Pray That He Transforms Others in the Same Way

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Ephesians 1-3.

Paul writes that all of us were by our very nature and actions deserving of wrath.  Note that he does not say deserving of God’s wrath, although we were indeed deserving of God’s wrath.  No, Paul says that we, including himself, were deserving of wrath.  It reminds me of the terrible things done by Hamas, things deserving of wrath from every decent human being.  Paul writes that we are all just as deserving of wrath as those who committed those horrible acts on October 7th, and he is right.  Paul writes that the difference between us and those who committed those horrible acts, if there is indeed a difference, is the grace of God.  We have no basis for boasting about such a difference, because God may yet extend His grace to them as well, transforming them as He did us.  So, we have been saved from the evil of this world through no action of our own, solely by the grace of God.  In no way did our actions separate us from those who have committed atrocities, so we have no basis for condemning them.  Then Paul writes to explain why God gave us this grace by which He saved us.  He did so in order that we might perform the good works which He prepared for us to do.  Our prayers should not be to thank God for making us better than those who commit atrocities, nor should it be that He bring destruction upon them.  Rather we should pray that He pour out His Spirit upon them and transform them in the same way in which He transformed us.  I believe that is part of what Paul is getting at when he writes at the end of chapter 3 that God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 6, 2023 Bible Study — The Fruit of the Spirit Is Love, Joy, Peace, Forbearance, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Galatians 1-6.

It seems clear to me that Paul wrote this letter in response to some who were teaching that followers of Christ needed to fully obey the Laws of Moses, almost certainly with an emphasis on circumcision and the Festivals laid out by Moses.  Paul makes the point that what he teaches could not have been made up by men because he began teaching it without being taught it by any other person.  He claims to have learned what he taught by Divine revelation.  There are those who claim this shows that Paul taught something different from what was taught by those who had walked with Jesus on this earth.    However, Paul points out here that those who had come to faith in Christ before him did not ask him to add, or remove, anything from what he taught.

Having established his “bonafides”, Paul makes his case.  He actually makes a very good case for something which people struggle with to this day.  He goes through and demolishes the idea that in order to be saved we must follow some set of rules, even the rules laid out in the Law of Moses.  He makes a solid case that those who are trying to convince us to follow some set of rules are doing so in order to get us to follow their set of rules in order to gain power over us.  Then, having established our freedom from a set of rules, Paul warns us of the importance of not succumbing to slavery to sinful desires.   He tells us that the desires of the flesh, sexual immorality, debauchery, selfish ambition, etc. will bind us once more.  Rather we should seek to behave according to the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, self-control, etc..  Let us live by the Spirit, which is eternal, not by the flesh, which is decaying.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 5, 2023 Bible Study — God Loves a Cheerful Giver

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Corinthians 9-13.

Paul writes today to encourage the Corinthian Church, and us, to give generously.  However, he stresses that no one should give if they are reluctant to do so, nor should anyone feel compelled to give.  Rather, we should give out of the joy it gives us.  In the context of giving to charity, Paul writes that whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly and whoever sows generously will reap generously.  Many people interpret that to mean that if I give to charity generously, God will reward me with wealth.  However, a sentence or two later, Paul writes that if we cheerfully good, God, who is able to bless us abundantly will cause us to abound in good works.  So, in part, Paul tells us that if we give of our assets cheerfully, God will give us the ability to work even harder for Him.  Paul follows that up by saying that God will enrich us in every way so that we can be generous on every occasion.  Which leads me to the conclusion that if we give generously and joyously God will provide us the means to do so more.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 4, 2023 Bible Study — Giving Generously and Ensuring No One Thinks the Funds Were Misused

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Corinthians 5-8.

I thought about covering several things in today’s passage, but then I came to what Paul wrote about giving in order to aid the Lord’s people who are in need.  First, he commends the Macedonian churches for giving as much as they were able, sometimes even going beyond that level.  Not only did they give willingly, but they plead with Paul for the opportunity to give.  Paul then goes on to commend the church in Corinth for being the first not only to give, but the first with a desire to give.  He encourages them to continue giving according to their ability, and makes special note that God does not call us to give beyond our means.  So, while Paul praised the Macedonian churches for giving beyond their means, he discourages others from doing likewise.

Paul then warns the Corinthian Church that Titus is on his way to them on his mission of collecting for the relief of Believers in need (from elsewhere I believe this to be Believers in Jerusalem who were suffering economic hardship).  This warning is not as a threat, but rather so that they will not be embarrassed by being unprepared to give when Titus gets there.  However, I want to point out the more important point Paul makes here.  He tells them that Titus is accompanied by men who were appointed by the churches which had given to the cause.  The men accompanying Titus were chosen so that no one could claim that Paul or Titus misappropriated the funds.  Paul makes it clear that he encouraged this arrangement so as to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Daily Bible Study

December 3, 2023 Bible Study — We Are Not Competent in Ourselves, Our Ability Comes From God

Today, I am reading and commenting on  2 Corinthians 1-4.

There is a lot of valuable stuff in this passage, but I am going to focus on what Paul writes in chapter three verses four and five.

Such confidence we have through Christ before God. Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.

First I want to point out that Paul tells us that we should have confidence.  We should not be timid as followers of Christ, but we also should not be arrogant.  We should have confidence that we will be able to accomplish whatever task God has given us.  This confidence does not derive from our own abilities.  So, we should not necessarily believe that we have better skills to perform a task than others.  God does not call us to do something because we are better than someone else.  God calls us to a particular task so that others can be shown His power (or, perhaps to show us His power).  Paul goes on in chapter four to expand on this point.  He tells us that he refused to use deception or distortion to bring people to faith in Christ and calls on us to do likewise.  Many will refuse to see the light of the Gospel, but that is not our problem.  He writes that we should allow Christ’s light to shine through us, not attempting to gain glory for ourselves but to allow people to see and glorify God through what they see in us.  Our competence to do the tasks which God has set before us does not come from ourselves.  Rather, we can confidently believe that we will accomplish the tasks God has given us because His Spirit will work through us.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.