Bible Commentaries

Genesis 20:17-18 — Abraham, like all men, required deliverance and forgiveness from his sins, and such a precious blessing as that could only come, in time, through the salvation and redemption to be revealed in the Christ of the Ages. Abraham would continue to grow in faith and the knowledge of God, and God would not fail to bless and protect him until the divine purpose should be fully realized according to the infinite wisdom of God.

Genesis 43:14 — before the man, that he may release unto you your older brother and Benjamin. And if I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." In this, Jacob rested his hope on the blessing of God, agreeing to accept whatever consequences came of the situation with faith and resignation. We cannot leave this record of the preparations for that second journey without recalling the words of Morris: "These brothers had sold their brother into Egypt for twenty pieces of silver; and now they were having to pay into the

Psalms 128 overview — whereas in Psalms 128 they are seen as a reward. Psalms 127 stresses the gifts of God's grace, `while his beloved sleeps,' as contrasted with the fruitless `day and night' activities of wicked men; and here God's blessings are seen as a reward of a faith that works through love. Barnes gives the following summary of what the psalm says. It states in general (Psalms 128:1) the blessedness of those who fear the Lord. This blessedness is seen in: (a) their success in life; (b) a numerous, happy family

Psalms 69:5-6 — seek thee be brought to dishonor, O God of Israel." "My sins are not hid from thee" Statements of this kind forbid the application of the psalm in its entirety to the sinless Christ. "Them that wait for thee… those that seek thee" These were the faithful Israelites, the "true seed of Abraham" as distinguished from the great majority of the people. Such devout souls, of course, were praying for David's survival, but as the partisans of Saul closed in upon the fugitive, David recognized that, if

Ezekiel 38:7-9 — apostasy of the New Israel shall give Satan the opportunity to enter the holy Church itself. Gog (in whom Satan dwelt) is said to enter the land, which in the language of Ezekiel, meant God's people. Note the land was "covered," an indication that the true faith was almost extinguished. That was the appropriate time for "The End" to come; and this prophecy indicates that that is indeed when it will come (Ezekiel 38:16).

Matthew 15:23 — hoping that the disciples might, through human love and kindness, say a word on her behalf. It was a vain hope. Christ's first reply only confirmed the Twelve in their attitude but served the double purpose of giving the woman a chance to demonstrate her faith and prompting the disciples to express their feelings openly.

Matthew 6:30-31 — But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed? This entire, rather extended, passage continues to stress man's need for utter trust and dependence upon God who cares for the grasses

Mark 10:35 — (Matthew 20:24). Of course, this request was childish in that they supposed Jesus would agree to their request even before they had stated it. The request itself, stated immediately afterward, had all kinds of things wrong with it: (1) It showed a lack of faith in what Jesus had just said regarding his being raised "after three days." (2) It was founded in human vanity and conceit. (3) It represented an effort on their part to gain ascendancy over the other apostles. (4) It showed a fundamental

Luke 15:26-27 — it is a small incident that shows the broken fellowship. Through the passage of time, the elder son had not maintained communication with the father; and, in this, he became a type of the Christian who, while attending to all of the outward duties of faith, nevertheless drifts away from the love of it. The vital prayer line becomes neglected; the heart grows cold, indifferent, and proud; and, at last, such a Christian becomes as much estranged from the heavenly Father as was this elder son from his

Luke 7:22-24 — synoptic Gospels were written, John recorded the raising of Lazarus; and there may have been many others whom the Lord raised to life from the dead. Blessed is he … The clause introduced by these words shows that Jesus expected John to continue in faith; and the passage immediately afterward indicates that Jesus knew he would continue.

Acts 4:12 — 72. Wherein we must be saved … Concerning this clause Boles pointed out that: In the Greek, the "we" is the last word of the Greek sentence; it means, "we priests, elders, scribes, fishermen — all of us" must be saved by faith and obedience in the Christ. H. Leo Boles, op. cit., p. 68. Thus, Peter included his wicked judges in those invited to participate in the new life in Christ. The priests, however, rejected the way of salvation taught by Jesus. They were among those

Romans 8:30 — grand operation the whole of time and temporal things. The predestined include all people, although many refuse their destiny: the called include all people, although many shall not heed it; the justified are they alone who through the obedience of faith are transferred into Christ, in whom alone justification is possible; and the glorified are those finally redeemed above. In view of these considerations, the mysterious doctrines of predestination, calling, election, etc., dissolve into this: God's

Ephesians 2:20 — Being built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the chief corner stone. The foundation of the apostles and prophets … There are five foundations of the Christian faith mentioned in the New Testament: (1) The foundational teaching is composed of the teachings of Christ delivered through the apostles and prophets of the new dispensation (Matthew 7:24-26). (2) The foundational fact is that Jesus Christ is the Son

1 Timothy 4:12 — Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an ensample to them that believe, in word, in manner of life, in love, in faith, in purity. White's paraphrase of the meaning here is as follows: Assert the dignity of your office even though men may think you young to hold it. Let no one push you aside as a boy. Newport J. D. White, op. cit., p. 126. It should not be inferred

Hebrews 13:14 — It is the vision of the eternal things that provides the only safe antidote for the prevailing virus of materialism; and the spread of Communist ideology during the current century may be accounted for only upon the basis that people have a lack of faith in God and the things "unseen as yet." Communism is primarily a manifestation of that blind materialism which is the philosophical heart of their system, which reduces man to the level of a turnip, or a pig, makes him as expendable as

Hebrews 3:18 — against the laws of God, such actions being of themselves fatal to the receiving of God's approval, no matter if founded in unbelief, as Israel's were, or not. One of the great heresies of the Reformation appeared in the doctrine of salvation by "faith alone" and the attendant notion that the only sin, actually, is unbelief. See more on this under Hebrews 11:6.

1 Peter 1:20 — means `before Creation.'" Archibald M. Hunter, op. cit., p. 103. God chose us in Christ "before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 4:16). There is no full understanding of such a thing as this by finite intelligence; but the heart of faith believes it without reservation or doubt. The Christian dispensation, the point and period in history of Christ's coming, is here regarded as the climax and consummation of previous ages (see Hebrews 1:1-2; Hebrews 9:26). Alan M. Stibbs, Tyndale

1 Peter 1:6 — Paine, Wycliffe New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1971), p. 970. Later in the letter, Peter will give a number of glimpses of the hatred, vilification, and evil speakings which, even then, were an increasing storm of opposition to the faith.

Jude 1:21 — "keeping oneself in the love of God" being one and the same thing with obeying God's commandments, as extensively taught in the Johannine literature, above. Summarizing the admonitions of these verses, what Jude commanded, or rather pleaded that the faithful should do, we have this: (1) work at your faith; (2) give constant attention to prayer; (3) receive, cultivate and cherish the indwelling Spirit; (4) keep yourselves in God's love through strict obedience to his will; and (5) wherein one is frustrated

Revelation 3:15 — "lukewarmness" here has reference solely to the spiritual temperature of the people, then he could have meant that he could prefer them to be cold, "because a lukewarm Christian can do the church more harm than an outright enemy of the faith." John T. Hinds, op. cit., p. 62. Others have explained the possible meaning thus, "An honest atheist is more acceptable to the Lord than a self satisfied religious man." G. R. Beasley-Murray, op. cit., p. 105. Whatever, exactly,