Articles

Read Mt. 5:33-37 Christians, of all people, should be known as “eminent for fidelity” (Barclay) and that “whatever we say is firmer than an oath.” All of our language must have this character. Wasn’t our Lord’s speech and language like this? Can you think of an instance when his words were not...

“Hark! the herald angels sing, ‘Glory to the newborn King; peace on earth, and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled!’ Joyful, all ye nations rise, join the triumph of the skies; With th’ angelic host proclaim, ‘Christ is born in Bethlehem!" 1 With Christmas season upon us again, familiar angelic...

Interpretation is a difficult art, nearly as much so with a hermeneutic of history as with a hermeneutic of Scripture. Of course, the former both is governed by more certain principles and also is more rewarding. Still, many of the historic debates in ecclesiastical communions are in no small part...

We love lessons. As parents we wait for and even seek out teaching moments. But even more specifically, we love distilled instruction. We want the ideas boiled down. Give us three easy points and we are happy. You want proof for this mindset? Check out the endless series of books for Dummies and...

Read Matthew 5:33-37 Notice also what is happening in this process in which the Scribes seek to negotiate the value of words with Jesus. They try to buttress their words with authority greater than their own character. The reason for this is because their character was contradictory or deceptive...

The Mandate of Thanksgiving The Apostle Paul exhorts the church: “giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20). Ripped out of its theological context, such an appeal would clang like a hammer upon a steely heart. But Paul’s...

Read Matthew 5:33-37 At this stage in our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we are analyzing six illustrations of Jesus’ main principle asserted in Matthew 5:17-20. Remember his principle and posture toward the law: “I have not come to overturn the Law of God, but to fulfill it.” However, he had...

Read Matt. 5:31-32 Jesus’ second example concerns sexual faithfulness within marriage. Before I analyze this let me give two asides about our contemporary situation. Recently, the divorce rate reached its height in our nation. The divorce rate reached nearly 50% some time ago. The percentage of...

We come now to our final section in this six-part series, [1] in which we have asked the question, How Can I Know For Sure? [2] We conclude with a reminder of our opening questions. Rejecting the closed circle of human reason, we have exposed an entirely different Source for understanding ultimate...

Matthew 5:27-32 These verses provide an exercise in learning how error functions. I want you to note four things about Jesus’ correction of the Scribes’ interpretation of the law. First , “anyone” refers to both male and female. Jesus intentionally phrases this commandment in gender neutral...