Bible Commentaries

Psalms 32 overview — reckon sin" (Romans 4:7-8). A warning should be sounded here to the effect that many of the things written by commentators regarding this psalm are incorrect. This psalm is not "The Old Testament outcropping of the Pauline doctrine of salvation by `faith alone.'" As a matter of basic truth there is no New Testament doctrine of 'salvation by faith only,' either by Paul or any other New Testament writer. Despite the appearance in the ancient inscription of the word "Maschil," meaning "didactic," that

Proverbs 20:6 — "Most men will proclaim every one his own kindness; But a faithful man who can find?" "Many a man protests his loyalty, but where will you find one to keep faith."The New English Bible. The thought here is similar to Paul's remark that, "There is none righteous, no not one" (Romans 3:9).

Isaiah 54:1-3 — Jerusalem at all, but "The Jerusalem that is above, which is free, which is our mother." Thus, the metaphor of enlarging the dwelling places and of "spreading abroad" in all directions is a reference to the great growth and prosperity of the Christian faith. "Thy seed shall possess the nations" is a promise that the great heart of all the Gentile nations shall accept the principles of Christianity; and thus, in the sense of the value-judgments and guiding principles that shall control those nations,

Zechariah 8:16-17 — majority of modern clergymen have likewise overlooked it. The ancient Jews went right on preaching that nothing mattered except being a literal, fleshly son of Abraham; and the modern theologians have gone right on preaching that nothing matters except "faith in Christ," shouting to all who will listen that, "We are saved by faith alone!" The errors are one and the same in that both of them overlook the contingent nature of all of the blessings God ever promised anybody.

Matthew 9:25 — incident concerning the woman with the issue of blood, in reaching the home of Jairus. Thus, it might be said that Jairus' prayer for our Saviour's aid was answered after delay. Prayers are often answered, not at once, but after delay; and the child of faith should not despair during the interval when it appears that no answer is forthcoming. God in his own time will bless those who call upon Him in faith.

Mark 10:49 — And Jesus stood still, and said, Call ye him. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good cheer: rise, he calleth thee. Such faith as the blind man already had Jesus rewarded by demanding that he be brought into his presence. Even on the way to Calvary Jesus had time to minister to human need.

Mark 5:32 — And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. Jesus was not looking for "the person" but for "the woman" who had done it. He already knew not only the sex, but the history, the faith, and the intention of the one whom he had already consciously healed.

Mark 6:5-6 — could do no mighty work … This speaks not of physical but of moral impossibility."John D. Haley, Discrepancies of the Bible (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1970), p. 110. As Alford said, "It was our Lord's practice to require faith in the recipient of aid, and that being wanting, the help could not be given."Ibid., p. 111. The unbelief of Nazareth was so dense and malignant that Jesus "could not" in harmony with his divine principles do a mighty work among

John 1:12 — on his name" refer to the same persons, namely, to those who accepted the claims of Jesus Christ as the Son of God and believed the message that he delivered to mankind. Since the days of Martin Luther, many religious persons have believed that faith alone makes people children of God; but, in this verse, it is clear that believers are not sons of God merely because they are believers, but that believers have the right to become sons of God. As Johnson explained it: It is not declared that they

John 11:46 — But some of them went away to the Pharisees, and told them the things which Jesus had done. Those who went to the Pharisees must have gone in good faith, hoping that so convincing a sign as they had just witnessed would be sufficient to convince others in the Sanhedrin; but it was a vain hope.

John 17:17 — mention here of the truth as the instrument, or means, of their sanctification positively shows that whatever the Spirit accomplishes the means of it is sacred truth itself. Regarding alien sinners, it is certain that the only power capable of producing faith in them is the word of God. As J. D. Thomas said: We insist that the only power used to produce faith in the alien sinner is the word of God. Although denominationalists are slow to see this (perhaps due to inherited Calvinism), the teaching of

John 9:35 — Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and finding him, he said, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? Jesus had no doubt heard with joy of the man's triumphant defense of the truth before the Sanhedrin, and he moved at once to lead him to higher and higher levels of faith and obedience.

Romans 2:7-8 — punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might (2 Thessalonians 1:7-8). It should be noticed in the above reference that Paul did not set up a special category for "disobedient believers," who through faith and nothing but faith would be saved anyway! Nor yet was there provision made for another class of disobedient who had had God's forensic righteousness transferred to them through faith only.

Romans 4:4 — meant which outrages every careful student of God's word. Some of the false deductions that people have thought they derived from this verse are: That salvation does not depend upon any human effort. That there is nothing anyone can do to be saved. That faith and works are opposites. That obeying the gospel makes man his own Saviour. Etc. We shall note each of these. That salvation does not depend upon any human effort. If this were true, all people would be saved; and, if human effort as a precondition

1 Corinthians 15:14 — And if Christ hath not been raised, then is our preaching vain, your faith also is vain. The absolutely fundamental nature of the resurrection of Christ and the legitimate corollaries derived from it are affirmed here. So-called "modernists" who pretend to be Christians while denying the resurrection are not Christian at all in any New Testament sense.

2 Corinthians 5:10 — and mentions only one judgment, there can be no reconciliation of that truth with any opinion limiting the judgment scene in this verse to Christians only. The problem does not lie in what Paul taught here, but in the theory of justification by "faith only"; of which, as Tasker said, "Some commentators stress the seeming inconsistency between the doctrine of justification by faith alone and the doctrine of 2 Corinthians 5:10 that Christians no less than non-Christians will be finally

Galatians 6:10 — So then, as we have opportunity, let us work that which is good toward all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith. The badge of Christian behavior is that of positive good toward all on earth. "Work that which is good …" Strange that Paul should have mentioned this, especially if he had been advocating for five chapters that "works"

Hebrews 11:7 — By faith Noah, being warned of God concerning things not seen as yet, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; through which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. By faith Noah,

Hebrews 12:3 — his followers over "gainsayers" (Luke 21:15) derives from the knowledge of the scriptures (Titus 1:9) and was listed as one of the qualifications of an elder. Gainsaying is a verbal attack upon a believer for the purpose of destroying his faith, and it means "to oppose, contradict, deny, controvert, or dispute." Those who resort to gainsaying are among the most despicable of mankind; for, having no faith of their own, they resort to all kinds of pettiness, quibbling, murmuring,

James 2:25 — sinful, unless they were undertaken in direct consequence of being understood as the will of God. In the instance of Rahab, it is likewise clear that in her case also, she was justified as a consequence of what she did, and not upon the basis of "faith alone." Her case also is illuminating in that there is no excuse whatever for supposing that any great subjective trust/faith led to her justification before the reception of the messengers, there being no Scriptural basis whatever supporting