Bible Commentaries

Genesis 7:1 — thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation." It is stated in Genesis 7:4 that this event occurred a full week prior to the beginning of the Deluge; and it must be reckoned as a stupendous act of faith that Noah obeyed this injunction implicitly. It was one thing to build the ark, and quite another to enter it and live there a week without any sign whatever of the necessity for it. We are not told how his fellow mortals reacted to this, but human

Exodus 7:13 — "And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them,' as Jehovah had spoken." Faith is always a moral decision, and, in keeping with that principle, God has provided a nail in every episode of the whole Bible where Satan may hang his hat.

Psalms 13:5-6 — salvation. I will sing unto Jehovah, because he hath dealt bountifully with me." Here, "The storm has rolled away."Alexander Maclaren, op. cit., p. 121. What ever thoughts of fear, doubt and depression had lain him low, he is now back in the land of faith and confidence in the Lord. What a joyful change! Such is always the result of prayer; and in that light, one cannot help wondering why the children of the loving Father are sometimes negligent of the precious privilege of prayer.

Psalms 146:3-4 — powerful or well-known, to instruct you in matters of salvation." Let God be true, and every man a liar. What a shame it is that so many of earth's fine religious souls are trusting "the words of men" instead of the Word of God regarding matters of faith. "Nor in the son of man" This is not a reference to the Son of Man, who is Christ. "The Prayer-book paraphrase, `nor in any child of man,' brings out the sense."The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8-C, p. 390. McCaw cautioned us that, "These verses should

Matthew 14:16 — But Jesus said unto them, They have no need to go away; give ye them to eat. Christ knew what he was about to do, but this commandment tested the faith of the Twelve. Their first objection was to the effect that they did not possess sufficient resources for such a task; but Christ asked them to produce what they did have! Andrew had found a lad with five loaves and two little fishes, and these

Matthew 26:35 — that they would forsake him; and yet it was Peter who took the lead, involving the others in his contradiction of Christ's words, and therefore he is the more to blame. Thus, attention focuses upon him in the narrative. That Peter meant it all in good faith does not extenuate his presumption in contradicting his Lord.

Deuteronomy 9:1-5 — example, Scott wrote: "All is due to God's grace alone."D. R. Scott, Abingdon Bible Commentary, Deuteronomy (New York: Abingdon Press, 1929), p. 327. It is the word alone which is incorrect and improper. Not even the salvation of the N.T. is by grace or faith only (James 2:24). It is true, of course, that both here and in the N.T. God's grace and mercy are exalted above any human merit, but there simply has to be some factor of difference between the saved and the unsaved, and if that is not true, the

Luke 7:7 — Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say the word, and my servant shall be healed. Such faith as that shown by the centurion is remarkable indeed. Say the word … It is an attribute of God that his word alone is sufficient unto all things. "He spake, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created" (Psalms 148:5).

John 13:38 — thrice. This was the second bombshell detonated in that small company on the dark betrayal night. Not only Judas — but Peter would deny the Lord! The reason for so painful disclosures was given (John 13:19); and Jesus stressed such things to prevent the faith of the whole group from utter collapse under the sledge hammer blows that would fall during that tragic night. For extended study of Peter's denial, see my Commentary on Matthew, Matthew 26:58.

John 17:25 — the importance of such knowledge. Really to know the origin of Christ in God is to find salvation possible. This is not, actually, such a knowledge as can be objectively proved and demonstrated; but it is the kind of knowledge that follows obedient faith in Christ, as when Peter said, "We believe and know" (John 6:69).

John 20:8 — Then entered in therefore the other disciple also, who came first to the tomb, and he saw, and believed. This is the climax of the whole paragraph regarding fine cloths. It resulted in John's everlasting faith that Jesus had risen from the dead. There were three elements of this convincing sign: the open grave, the absence of the body, and the undisturbed linen cloths. As for the reason why the stone was removed (supernaturally), it cannot be viewed as

Acts 13:31 — upon one occasion, he was seen of over five hundred brethren at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6). It was the absolute certainty of the first-century Christians that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead which motivated the apostolic preachers and gave the faith of our Lord Jesus a sweeping victory throughout the world of that era.

Acts 21:39 — well as for trade, shipbuilding, and commerce. The amazing character of Paul is seen in this, that he desired to address a multitude which only a few moments before had been illustrated in their efforts to beat him to death. Amazing fortitude, amazing faith, amazing power!

Acts 4:17 — think of, at the moment, was to threaten them. In view of the weakness of the apostles during the Passion, they might have supposed they could intimidate them. That failing, they were prepared to use methods of violence; but the popularity of the new faith made the murder of the Twelve inexpedient at the moment.

Romans 3:24 — of their having achieved any degree of moral perfection, or even excellence, and not upon the basis of their fulfilling any kind of law whatever, except that of meeting the terms upon which God provided it. True, those terms are called "a law of faith," a "perfect law of liberty," and a "royal law"; but such "law" is not in view here. Freely … is appropriate, because nothing that man could ever do in a million years of righteous living could ever earn

1 Corinthians 9:26 — vindication of Paul's self-denial," T. Teignmouth Shore, op. cit., p. 291. the object of it being the persuasion of the Corinthian boasters of their "liberty" to follow Paul's example by denying themselves all indulgence at the expense of the faith of their weaker brethren. Beating the air … is a reference to boxers who missed with their punches and so lost the fight. "Uncertainly …" has reference to contestants in a race who, through lack of training, wobbled to defeat,

2 Thessalonians 1:12 — according, to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. In you and ye in him … For discussion of this expression and six other similar concepts in the New Testament, see my comments on Galatians 5:23. The reference to the "work of faith," above, and the emphasis here upon the indwelling Christ, show that, although the Second Coming is not out of mind in these verses, nevertheless, "The primary emphasis here would seem to be on the quality of life produced in the Thessalonians

Hebrews 10:23 — Let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not; for he is faithful that promised. The "confession" mentioned here is not to be identified with the formal subscription to any creed or catechism, not even the oldest and best of them; but it must be understood as a reference to the whole body of Christian

Hebrews 11:3 — By faith we understand that the worlds have been framed by the word of God, so that what is seen hath not been made out of things which appear. As was noted by Barmby, Commentators who perceive here a reference either to the formless void (Genesis 1:2) out

Hebrews 3:12 — away and be lost, how could the author of this epistle have introduced such a subject, and how could he have warned them to "take heed" against a non-existent danger? An evil heart of unbelief contains another intimation of the moral basis of faith. Unbelief does not exist apart from antecedent evil in people's hearts. Christ said, "And this is the judgment, that light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their works were evil" (John 3:19).