Sermons, Articles, and Other Things

Paul is reminding his readers about some of the blessings that are certain and sure and about which Christians need to think in order to enjoy spiritual comfort. He uses the method of question and answer and such a method would have been a very helpful one for them to use themselves when thinking about biblical doctrines. The doctrines that he mentions in verses 33 and 34 are familiar ones, so they are not difficult for Christians to reflect on as far as information is concerned, although they may have aspects that require more concentration in order for believers to get maximum profit. Moreover Paul here is using language from law courts about guilty persons being accused of wrongdoing. We are used to the concept of innocent until proved guilty when a person is on trial. Here the evidence means the individuals accused are all guilty and the accusers have no doubts about their claims. The accused deserved to be punished severely by the judges. The judges here are God the Father and ...

Sometimes we wonder how we would respond in a crisis if something unexpected happened. The female followers of Jesus were facing a crisis brought about by his arrest and death, and they had made plans for what they would do for his buried body once the Sabbath was over. Obviously the preparation made by Nicodemus and Joseph was temporary. Yet the female followers were to discover that their plans could not be fulfilled because his body had disappeared. The response of Mary We know from the other Gospel accounts that other women accompanied Mary Magdalene to the tomb. They had observed his hurried burial and had decided to complete the usual tasks connected to a burial. Why did Mary run to tell Peter and John? We are not told why she did so; therefore all we can do is suggest two possible reasons. One might be that Mary had gone ahead of the other women and reached the tomb by herself. They had been concerned about who would move the stone and perhaps she had gone ahead to see if...

The first verse of chapter 9 is difficult to understand exactly. What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power.’ Was he referring to what would take place a few months later on the Day of Pentecost or was he referring to what would take place on the Mount of Transfiguration a few days later? The one detail that is found in both events is that the three disciples, Peter, James and John, were involved. We have been considering the incidents recorded in the Gospel of Mark as discipleship classrooms in which the pupils learned a variety of truths about their Master. Sometimes a teacher can decide to give special instruction to some pupils, and here we see Jesus giving a unique class to Peter, James and John. Why did he do this? Several answers have been given to this question. One is that they were the favourite disciples of Jesus, that he gave them special in...

As has been observed when considering the matters discussed by John in the first chapter of this letter, the problem affecting the churches to which he wrote was the influence of false teachers who were denying the reality of sin, a message that would have had some degree of popularity in a society that paid little attention to how a person used his body because it was said by many that all that mattered was the human spirit. It is instructive to note how gently the aged John deals with those of his flock who have been affected with the wrong teaching when he addresses them as ‘my little children’. His words convey the same outlook as Paul did when writing to the Galatians (6:1): ‘Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.’ Even John’s words of address remind us of the gentleness of Jesus because he too spoke to his erring disciples as ‘little children’ (John 1...

Introduction Paul is about to come to the end of a section of his letter in which he has explained several elements in the salvation God has provided for sinners. That salvation involves an eternal plan, as we have seen, and is full of amazing features that enable those who experience it to rejoice in God. As the apostle comes to the end of this section he asks a series of questions. Yet he is not acting as a teacher giving out exam questions because he also provides the answers to his own questions. He could be perceived as a lawyer putting the final arguments into his case. Yet he is probably preaching to the converted, so the image of a lawyer addressing the unconvinced seems unlikely. Maybe it is best to view him as a guide who summarises for his group the various places they have visited on a busy day. We have already noted the illustration that regards Romans 8 as describing the Alps of Christian experience, with Paul as the guide leading us to various viewpoints in order to s...