Bible Commentaries

Genesis 15:6 — in Jehovah; and he reckoned it to him for righteousness." One may only be astounded at the amount of nonsense written about this verse, which is hailed as the plan of salvation for the sinners of all ages, some even claiming that Abram was "saved by faith only," and trying to find here a corroboration of the great Lutheran heresy. There is no truth whatever in such views. Morris even discovered (?) here "a new covenant,"Henry M. Morris, The Genesis Record (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976), p.

Psalms 37:1-2 — of the wicked following the Final Judgment. Of course, it must be admitted that Old Testament writers indeed had much less information than Christians about such things; but the psalmist's words as they appear in this chapter are fully adequate. "His faith that infinite love rules the universe, that righteousness is always gain, and that wickedness is always loss is grandly and eternally true."Alexander Maclaren, Vol. 1, p. 359. Also, it should be pointed out that faith in the resurrection of the

Proverbs 18:14 — "The spirit of a man will sustain his infirmity; But a broken spirit who can bear?" "Spirit in this passage is the inner being of a man, the seat of his vigor and courage."International Critical Commentary, Proverbs, p. 362. Men with a strong spirit are able to overcome misfortunes and even serious illness; but without such inner determination, faith and courage, it is much more difficult, or even impossible.

Proverbs 22:3 — "A prudent man seeth the evil, and hideth himself; But the simple pass on, and suffer for it." "The Bible gives blind optimism its right name. It is not faith but folly. This was mentioned in Proverbs 14:15-16, and will be repeated in even stronger language in Proverbs 27:12."The Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries, Vol. 15, p. 147.

Matthew 14:29-30 — just about everything else that has made history; and it is one thousand times more true in the realm of spiritual things! Was there something of the show-off in Peter's conduct here? Perhaps. It will be recalled that, later, he professed to have more faith than the others; and there may be some suggestion of the same attitude in his conduct on the occasion mentioned here. In any case, the Lord did not permit him utterly to fail, but only enough to strengthen his faith in the Lord.

Deuteronomy 30:11-14 — hear it, that we may do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." The apostle Paul utilized these words in the famed quotation of Romans 10:6-8, where it reads: "But the righteousness which is of faith saith thus: Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down): or Who shall descend into the abyss (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what saith it? The word is high thee, in thy mouth, and in thy

Mark 7:29-30 — And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way; the demon is gone out of thy daughter. And she went away unto her house, and found the child laid upon the bed, and the demon gone out. Matthew gave the words of Jesus, "O woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee even as thou wilt" (Matthew 15:28). Amen and amen!

Mark 8:24 — And he looked up, and said, I see men; for I behold them as trees, walking. This is a rare case of Jesus' performance of such a wonder in stages, which can only be attributed to the lack of faith in the blind man, a fact that appears certain in the light of Jesus' forbidding him to re-enter the village noted for unbelief.

Luke 8:22-25 — were filling with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to him and awoke him, saying, Master, master, we perish. And he awoke and rebuked the wind and the raging water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And being afraid they marvelled, saying one to another, Who then is this, that he commandeth even the winds and the water, and they obey him? STILLING THE TEMPEST The purpose of the Gospel authors in relating this wonder is apparent from the manner

John 20:29 — are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. It was absolutely necessary that Thomas' unbelief be removed, and the dramatic and sensational manner in which Jesus removed it had the desired effect; but Jesus thought of the future millions whose faith would have to depend upon the very word of those apostles whose testimony Thomas had refused. In the very nature of things, all men cannot put their fingers in the nail-prints and their hands in his side. Thus, their faith will be a moral judgment,

John 6:69 — that term, he shall never believe; but if with all his heart he shall "believe" in the fullest sense of the word, then he shall know with certainty and absolute assurance the great truths unfolded in the word of the Lord. "We walk by faith, and not by sight," an apostle said; and, as the soul of man would ascend into that eternal realm of the spirit and take hold of the inheritance of the saints in light, he will find faith a far better conveyance than mere knowledge. This derives

John 8:31-32 — "believers" depended then, as it does today, upon their obeying the gospel of Christ. If they had been among the three thousand baptized on Pentecost, then they would have been saved. Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free … Their faith had not made them free, nor does faith alone make people free today. Abiding in Jesus' word, knowing the truth and obeying it these also are prerequisites unto eternal life. So plainly are these truths evident in such a passage as this, that it

Acts 14:3 — for some time. It is of interest to note that each time miracles are mentioned they are associated with apostles, or persons on whom the apostles had laid hands. Never do we hear of the Christians in these towns working miracles through their great faith. Don De Welt, op. cit., p. 186. Some have vainly supposed that if modern Christians only had faith like the apostles they could perform miracles of healing; but such a view does not take account of the purpose for which miracles were given in the

Acts 25:22 — And Agrippa said unto Festus I also could wish to hear the man myself. Tomorrow saith he, thou shalt hear him. I also could wish to hear him … Agrippa and his sister must have heard many things about Jesus Christ and the faith regarding him, because it was their great-grandfather who had slaughtered the innocent children of Judaea in a vain attempt to murder the Lord in infancy; it was their father who restored the dominion of Herod the Great, seized and executed James

Romans 10:10 — is believing in the heart that makes a man righteous before God, and it is stating his belief by his own mouth that confirms his salvation. This so-called translation changes the meaning of the word of God by making a difference in the FUNCTIONS of faith and of confession, by ascribing to faith the function of making one righteous, and to confession the function of merely confirming what is already a fact. Any student may observe that this kind of translation is not a translation at all, but it

Galatians 3 overview — confrontation with the apostle Peter, to expound the central theme of Galatians, which is Justification by the Faith of Jesus Christ. This chapter is considered by many commentators and theologians to be the stronghold of their doctrine that the subjective faith only of Christians is the ground for justification, notwithstanding the truth that not a single word in the chapter may legitimately be construed as teaching such a proposition. Some prior knowledge of Almighty God and the nature of his dealings

Ephesians 6:23-24 — Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible. Hendriksen's noble comment on these verses is: The peace that passes all understanding, the love that is the greatest of

1 Timothy 1 overview — White considered this chapter, aside from the salutation (1 Timothy 1:1-2), as regarding a crisis in the Christian faith (1 Timothy 1:3-20). Newport J. D. White, Expositor's Greek Testament, Vol. IV (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967), p. 83. Historically, Paul was writing at some time subsequent to his release from the imprisonment

2 Timothy 1:15 — This thou knowest, that all that are in Asia turned away from me; of whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. All that are in Asia … This does not refer to any general desertion of the faith by Christians throughout Asia, but to the turning away from Paul of any who might have been of help to him in his trial before the imperial government of Nero. The two men named here are examples of those who refused to help Paul. No one knows anything

Hebrews 6:1-2 — Wherefore leaving the doctrine of the first principles of Christ, let us press on unto perfection; not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the teaching of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. Leaving … the first principles is not enjoined in the sense of departing from those fundamental things, but