Tag Archives: Proverbs 21:28-29

August 23, 2015 Bible Study — The Material Is Not All That There Is

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 21:28-29

    Once you have a reputation for lying no one will listen to what you say, no matter what evidence you provide. On the other hand, those with a reputation for telling the truth will be listened to carefully, no matter how unlikely the story they tell. The wicked think they can fake their way through everything. The virtuous make a plan before taking action.

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Psalm 38

    The beginning of this psalm represents how we should feel after we have sinned. The ending of this psalm should be how we face those who oppose us. We should act so that they do not have reason to hate us, knowing they will do so anyway. It is for God to answer their attacks. We do not need to strike them down for their evil. Let us turn to God, remembering that if we repent from our sins, He will defend us from the attacks of those who hate us.

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1 Corinthians 15:1-28

    There are two aspects to this passage. First, Paul makes the argument as to why it is not ridiculous to believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead. Paul tells us that our risen Lord was seen by a large number of people, including himself. It is an argument for why it is rational to believe the New Testament account of Jesus. I will not go into a lot of detail on that today, a much better job is done elsewhere (“The Case for Christ” by Lee Strobel being one of my favorites). However, one of the arguments I want to address. I am often asked why there are no accounts of Jesus’ life from non-believers. My answer to that is this; if you witnessed what Jesus did and recognized the significance of His actions, how could you remain a non-believer? Or, looking at it from the other side, if you were a non-believer, why would you think His actions were of any significance?
    Paul goes on to argue against those who say that there is no resurrection of the dead, that the Gospel message is about this life and nothing more. Paul points out that if there is no resurrection of the dead, than Christ did not rise from the dead. If Christ did not rise from the dead, than all of Paul’s teachings (and the teachings of the rest of the Church) were based on lies. Which would mean that the Gospel itself is based on a lie and thus a lie. Either Christ rose from the dead, and those who follow Him will be raised from the dead, or the entirety of Christian teaching is worthless. Either there is more to this world than the material, or nothing has any meaning whatsoever.

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Job 8-11

    Reading the book of Job is always a struggle. Job’s friends say some things which resonate with us as true. Yet, in the end God tells them they were wrong. In today’s passage both Bildad and Zophar assume that Job must have sinned because he is suffering. They assume that because he is suffering, he must be guilty. While it is true that if we are suffering we should examine our lives to see if we have done anything to cause that suffering, it is also true that we should not assume that because someone is suffering they must have done something to bring that suffering about.
    Job’s speech in this passage is an important one to take note of. Job tells us that while God carefully formed us for a purpose, this life is hard, even if we do the right things. There is punishment for doing wrong, but the reward for doing right is more work. When we look at this life from the perspective of this world, with the idea that the material is all that there is, it is depressing. What is the point?

August 23, 2014 Bible Study –Without Resurrection, the Gospel Is Tragedy

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 21:28-29

    These two parables are more closely linked than they at first appear. Those who rely on the word of the wicked will believe and testify to things which are not true, but those who listen carefully will be able to distinguish between the bravado of the wicked and the confidence of the righteous. The wicked will put up a false front while the righteous will think carefully before assessing a problem.

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Psalm 38:1-22

    The psalmist recognizes that he is suffering because he sinned against God, but has turned back to God and begged His forgiveness. The wicked will seize upon our every misstep and attempt to use it against us in order to discredit whatever good we have done. If we confess our sins and turn to God, He will come to our rescue and aid us in accomplishing His will.

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1 Corinthians 15:1-28

    In this passage Paul gives us the core of the Gospel message, without which everything else is worthless. Jesus died, was buried, and rose from the dead on the third day. If there is no resurrection from the dead than the Gospel message is null and void. If no one rises from the dead, than Jesus did not rise from the dead. If those who preached the Gospel from the beginning were lying about the resurrection, than they are liars, not teachers of a great moral philosophy. Moreover, while the message being taught by Paul and the Christian Church today has value to us in this life, if this life is all there is, it is a terrible tragedy to accept suffering in order to be faithful to the message.
    However, Jesus did indeed rise from the dead. As a result, all of those who worship and follow Him will be raised from the dead when He returns. When the time is fulfilled and everything has been made subject to Christ, He will make entropy (which is, in a way, another word for death) no more.

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Job 8-11:20

    The book of Job is a great example of the importance of reading the Bible through regularly. Job’s friends say some things which have the ring of truth. Job’s friends repeatedly tell him that if only he would confess his sins and get right with God, all would be well. Certainly, it is good advice to tell someone to confess their sins and get right with God. However, Job repeatedly asks them to point out what sins he had committed. Job goes further and tells us that it is not possible for anyone to be truly righteous before God. Job asks the question that we all ask at some point, to one degree or another, wouldn’t we be better off if we were never born if we are going to suffer this much? This part of Job is the perfect counterpoint to the point which Paul was making about resurrection in today’s passage. Life is truly not worth living if this life is all that there is.

August 23, 2013 Bible Study — Christ Has Indeed Been Raised From the Dead

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

Panzenella
Panzenella

Job 8-11:20

     Bildad is the next of Job’s friends to reply to him. Bildad starts by saying that Job’s children must have sinned and thus deserved to die. He then goes on to state some truths about this life. He says that those who forget God are like marsh grass without water, they quickly wither. In addition, he tells Job that the hopes of the godless soon evaporate. They cling to things which will not last for security, but those things will not hold. Finally, he tells Job that God will not reject a person of integrity.
     Job responds that he accepts what Bildad has said is true, but how does that help him? Job complains that he has no way to make his case before God. Job says that God is so much greater than any human that we cannot help but be in terror of God when we come into His presence. He wishes for a mediator between God and man, so that we would not need to speak before God in our own strength. The message of the Gospel is that there is such a mediator, Jesus Christ. Job then accuses God of creating him in order to find him guilty of some sin. Job begins to complain against God.
     It is now Zophar’s turn to answer Job. Zophar begins by telling Job that God is surely punishing him less than he deserves. Zophar tells Job that he must surely be guilty of some great sin to be suffering as he is. He then goes on to make a good point. God is so much greater than we are that it is impossible for us to ever fully comprehend why God is doing the things that He does. Our finite minds do not have the capacity to understand the reasons that motivate an infinite God. There comes a point where we must take it on faith that what God does is good.

Eating wine berries after work
Eating wine berries after work

1 Corinthians 15:1-28

     Paul now moves on to his next topic. He starts the topic by reminding them what he taught them as the Gospel from the beginning. That Gospel was that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised from the dead. Included in that was a list of people who had seen Him after He had had risen. At the end of that list was Paul himself,. Paul stated that he was not worthy of such an honor because of the way he had persecuted the Church. Despite the fact that he was unworthy, he preached the same message as the other apostles and that was the message which the Corinthian Church had believed.
     Paul now asks, since a basic element of the Gospel itself is that Jesus rose from the dead, how can some be teaching that there is no resurrection from the dead? If there is no resurrection from the dead, than Christ Himself could not have risen. If Christ has not risen from the dead, then those who have been preaching the Gospel are liars. If they are liars then nothing they have preached is of any value. If Christ was not raised, then the faith which the Corinthian Church had was useless. If our hope in Christ is only for this life, then those who rely on it are to be pitied more than any others.

***

     Every now and again I come upon someone who that if it was proved to them that Jesus never rose from the dead, it would not effect their faith. They always phrase it in such a manner as to imply that their faith is strong enough to withstand even such a challenge. However, if you probe a bit, carefully so as to not reveal that you completely agree with Paul, what you discover is that they do not really believe in anything miraculous, let alone resurrection from the dead.
     The point Paul makes here is that if Christ did not rise from the dead, then those who originally preached the Gospel were either liars, frauds, and con-men, or they were delusional. In either case, there is no way that the message they preached was of any value, since the heart of their message was that Jesus had risen from the dead. Everything else hung on that one fact. That was not the whole of the Gospel, but without it, none of the rest fits together.

Baked ziti
Baked ziti

Psalm 38:1-22

     The psalmist admits that he is suffering because of the wrong he has done. He calls out to God for redemption. God knows what he desires. His enemies are attempting to use his failings to undo all of the good he has done, but he will not give in to their desires. He has confessed his sin before God and regrets doing wrong. He will wait for the Lord to answer his cries and follow the instructions he receives from the Lord.

Pepper plant in bloom
Pepper plant in bloom

Proverbs 21:28-29

     A false witness will soon be found out, but those who listen to the truth a relay it to others will always be able to gain a hearing. The wicked attempt to make things up as they go along, but the virtuous are careful to plan to do what is right.

August 23, 2012 Bible Study

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

Tabby kitten with mother

Job 8-11:20

     Job’s friend Bildad now replies to Job. Bildad starts off with a circular logic argument. He says that Job’s children must have been guilty of some sin, since they died in the natural disaster. Therefore their punishment (death in the natural disaster) was well-deserved. Bildad’s argument can be summed up this way, “They died, therefore they deserved to die.” Bildad then tells Job that if he would only turn to God his troubles would all go away. Bildad says that the wicked seem to flourish, but they soon wither and disappear. He argues that on the other hand, those who have integrity before God will enjoy untroubled lives. Bildad’s argument rests on the assumption that Job has turned away from God and/or rejected God, when Job has already said that such is not the case.
     Job responds that he agrees with Bildad in principle, but asks how anyone can be innocent in God’s sight? Job tells us that God is so mighty that none dare challenge Him. In addition, God is so wise that none can win a debate against Him. Job cries out that what he needs is a mediator between himself and God because he cannot stand before God in his own strength. Job makes an absolutely valid point, we cannot stand before God in our own strength and wisdom. Thankfully, God has provided us with a mediator between us and Him, Jesus Christ. Job goes on to cry out the question that all people ask when they suffer, “Why are You doing this? Why me?”
     Job’s third friend, Zophar, now speaks up. He continues the line of argument made by the first two. He declares that Job must be guilty of some sin deserving of this punishment. Zophar goes further and says that Job’s sin probably deserves even worse punishment than he is currently suffering. Zophar notes that no mortal can possibly comprehend all there is to know about God. But Zophar goes on to say that all of Job’s troubles are the result of his sin and if Job would only confess it and turn from it his troubles would go away.

Tabby kitten gets ready to go exploring

1 Corinthians 15:1-28

     Paul now addresses the issue of the resurrection of the dead. He begins by basically saying, “OK, let me go over the basics of what I first taught you.” He tells them that if they do not hold to this teaching all of what they believed about what he taught is in vain. He then goes on to sum up the Gospel. He tells them that Jesus died for our sins and then was raised from the dead. That there are still those alive who witnessed all of this, including seeing the resurrected Christ. He points out that he and the other apostles preach the same message.
     Paul then asks them how some of them can say that there is no resurrection from the dead if Jesus was raised from the dead? He then makes two points. The first point is that if Jesus was not raised from the dead, then faith in Him is useless. Second, he points out that if there is no resurrection of the dead than all of the apostles are lying about God and nothing they have said can be trusted. However, Paul says that Jesus has been raised from the dead. Jesus is the first of many to be raised from the dead for eternal life. Those who believe in Him will be raised when He comes back. When Christ returns He will have destroyed every ruler and power and authority such that everything is subject to Him. Death will be the last such authority to be destroyed. I know people who argue that they are Christians but do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Paul argues that there is no value in faith in Christ if there is no resurrection of the dead. Further he argues that if there is no resurrection of the dead, than the teachers of Christianity are liars and all of their teachings are lies.

Gray kitten goes exploring

Psalm 38:1-22

     The psalmist cries out from his suffering and confesses his sin before God. He makes no defense of his actions, but begs God for forgiveness. He is sorry for what he has done and resolves to change his ways. He chooses to wait upon God to either defend him or punish him. That is my wish to always lay my life before God and wait for Him to act.

Tabby kitten comes out to play

Proverbs 21:28-29

     The first proverb contrasts those who bear false witness with those who listen carefully. I had to read this several times in several different translations before that connection made sense to me. It then hit me that this was talking about how sometimes we think people meant one thing, and we tell others that that is what they said, when if we had listened carefully we would have realized they meant something very different. Even further I think it was talking about people who intentionally distort part of what someone said to make the original speaker look bad over against people who listen carefully to what the original speaker said and relay their meaning accurately.
     I had a similar problem with the second proverb. Most translations said something along the lines of wicked people bluff their way through but the godly think before they act. I had trouble seeing what it was getting at. Then I read the New Century Version which translates this as:

“Wicked people are stubborn,
but good people think carefully about what they do.”

Looked at from that perspective I could see how it made sense. I have known people who always try to bull their way through even when it turns out that things will not work out like they planned. These are usually people who do so either because they selfishly want what they will get out of it, no matter what the cost to others or because they are unwilling to admit that they were wrong.