There is a point in the synoptic gospels where some scribes from Jerusalem alleged that Jesus cast out demons by the prince of demons, Beelzebub. Jesus replies to them that they shouldn’t have said that because they are committing blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.

Mark 3:28-29:

Truly I tell...

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Changes in tenses are important to note. Even if it is subtle, there is always a reason. Take the parable of the “Good Samaritan” (or as I liked to say when teaching at Azusa Pacific University, the “Good Biola Student”).

The...

Romans 8:28 is one of the best known verses in Romans and probably one of the best known verses in the whole Bible.

Here is what it says: “For God works all things together for good to those who love him and are called according to his purpose.”

There’s a good reason people like...

With our tongues, we can speak truth or we can speak lies. We can build people up or we can tear them down. Sometimes we say the wrong thing. Or we fail to say the right thing.

Everyone has experienced times when they’ve said something they didn’t mean to. When the words came out before...

“The Suffering Servant” is a famous passage from Isaiah 53, which Christians claim is a messianic prophecy about Jesus. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus quotes from this passage and suggests it’s about him:

“‘It is written: “And he was numbered with the...

Martin Luther, the celebrated catalyst of the Protestant Reformation, famously took issue with the book of James. He didn’t think it expressed the “nature of the Gospel,” it appeared to contradict Paul’s statements about justification by faith, and it didn’t directly...

Today’s post is adapted from Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World. In addition to the book, you can also take the online course, or watch a series of video lectures on creation care by Jonathan and Douglas Moo.

Our world is full of problems and issues. As I write these...

There isn’t one, single, original, preserved copy of the New Testament. So how can you trust the text of the New Testament when all the earliest copies disagree with each other?

In this video, Daniel B. Wallace, Executive Director of The Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts,...

Nicholas Perrin recently sat down with us to talk about the Kingdom of God. Take a look at some highlights from our conversation:

The kingdom of God is this compelling vision that Jesus shares with us.  It’s rooted in a much longer story—a story shaped by great books like Daniel,...

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The following post is adapted from Robert H. Gundry’s online course,New Testament Survey.

According to church tradition, Luke wrote the book of Acts. If he did, the book is a sequel to the Gospel of Luke. Evidence within Acts supports authorship by Luke:

• Just as his Gospel opens with a...

One of the reasons why Paul wrote Philippians was to thank them for supporting his ministry—not just in prayer, but with a financial gift. He specifically mentions their gift towards the end of his letter, in Philippians 4:15–18:

“Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early...

The very first verse in Philippians attributes the letter to the Apostle Paul. Right from the beginning, it says who it’s from and who it’s to:

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and...

Abortion is a controversial topic. While it’s been settled in the Supreme Court for decades, it remains an actively debated moral issue, packed with difficult questions.

Does a woman have full autonomy over her body, even if another human is dependent on her body?

Is a fetus a person, and...

Like Philippians 4:13, Philippians 4:19 is a popular verse that’s often misused. After thanking the Philippians for generously supporting him, the Apostle Paul writes, “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”

Some have used this...

I am going to interrupt my normal Greek blogs to share some thoughts about my dad, funerals, and death.

Dad passed away due to complications from two surgeries, broken hip, shoulder, and elbow, all from falling. He was 97. His obituary is on his blog site, Shout4Joy.net.

It is expected to be...

Philippians 4:13 is one of the most well-known New Testament verses, but it’s also notoriously misused. After telling his audience that he’s experienced both poverty and affluence, the Apostle Paul writes these well-known words: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens...

Philippians is a letter about joy. Writing from prison, Paul describes the joys of following Christ and persevering for the gospel, and the secret to being content in any situation. We know from the letter that the Philippians were facing a lot of hardship (and Paul wasn’t exactly living the...

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In Evangelism in a Skeptical World, Sam Chan combines the theological and biblical insights of classic evangelistic training with the latest insights from missiology, illustrating his insights with real-world examples drawn from over fifteen years of evangelistic ministry.

Re...

Language is imprecise. It would be great if all of us said exactly what we meant, and meant exactly what we said, but that is neither human nature or the nature of language.

That’s why context is king. That’s why a “verse of the day” is the worst exegetical tool there is...

Opponents of Christianity will often suggest that the Bible has a low view of women. It’s a patriarchal book with a patriarchal worldview. In many cases though, Scripture reveals that while that may have been true of ancient Judaism (like many other ancient cultures), God–and...

Rarely do I find a translation that makes no sense to me, and since this particular one is replicated in all the translations, I am assuming I am missing something, but I have no idea what it could be. Can you help?

Jesus has just announced his public ministry, and in Mark 1:16 Mark writes,...