Bible Commentaries

Genesis 21:11-13 — make a nation, because he is thy seed." Abraham and Sarah were then reaping the bitterness created by themselves when they chose to introduce a slave girl into Abraham's bedchamber as his wife. How far better it would have been if they had found the faith and strength to await the fulfillment of God's promise in His own good time! There can hardly be any doubt that Abraham would have avoided freeing the slave woman and sending her away had it not been for the direct command of God that he should

Genesis 34:30-31 — land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and, I being few in number, they will gather themselves against me and smite me; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. And they said, should he deal with our sister as with a harlot?" Jacob was a man of faith, but the fear and anxiety expressed here were not an expression of that faith. It was a moment of weakness, doubt, confusion and uncertainty in the life of the patriarch. Who can fail to sympathize with his grief and fear. Through his weakness in

Job 2:11-13 — and perhaps another one might also be considered. Job's epic sorrows and sufferings might have been designed by the Lord for the purpose of convincing Satan that hardships and sufferings do not constitute the best means for weakening and destroying faith. It is the opposite, namely, such things as popularity, wealth, power and worldly glory that are the most likely human conditions that lead to the loss of faith and rejection of God. This minister of God's Word has witnessed many examples of Christians

Psalms 16:5-8 — things concerning Jesus Christ the Messiah. Many of the errors on the part of commentators reluctant to find any reference here to someone other than David are due to one of the silly rules of radical critics who have postulated the proposition that faith in the resurrection from the dead does not appear in Israel at all until that nation's contact with Persia, following the Babylonian captivity. This false proposition is mentioned by Alexander Maclaren.Alexander Maclaren, The Psalms, Vol. I (New

Psalms 66:13-20 — out that this part of the Psalm is didactic, teaching that, `There is no way of salvation except that of well-doing.'"The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 8-B, p. 36. God's answer to the psalmist's prayer was the only proof needed that he indeed had asked in faith and integrity of heart. Such a truth was understood as axiomatic among the Hebrew people. As the man born blind stated it in the New Testament, "We know that God heareth not sinners" (John 9:31). "Blessed be God who hath not turned away my prayer,

Mark 2:26 — not so reply shows that they approved David's violation; thus their hypocrisy was open for all to see. "Human needs take precedence over ritual law"Earle McMillan, op. cit., p. 43. could be applied only to very few things in the Christian faith, because Christianity is not a ritual religion. Only two ceremonial ordinances distinguish the faith of Christ, namely, the Lord's Supper and baptism. To the extent that marriage and church attendance might be considered in any degree "ritual"

Luke 17:25 — land, capturing the whole world for Jesus, binding all the world, and laying it in golden chains at the blessed Redeemer's feet. Would to God it could be true. Jesus, however, did not look forward to any such results. "When he cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" (Luke 18:8). The next few verses tell how it really will be.

John 14:2 — University Press, 1965), p. 141. Speculations regarding the "many mansions" are fruitless. It is enough for us to know that they are indeed a reality, despite their existence beyond the perimeter of mortal vision. The souls which are of the faith of Jesus Christ shall truly inherit the upper and better habitations, and the Lord is even now preparing for the reception of the redeemed in the eternal world. Here in these beautiful words of Jesus lies the secret of the Christian's triumph over

John 9:34 — beggar had defeated them with a syllogism which they could not answer and which was strongly believed by some of their own number (John 3:2). Far from defeating the blind man, they had only aroused him to a vigorous and skillful advocacy of his growing faith in Christ. He no longer said, "Whether he is a sinner, I know not," but now hurled the challenge in their faces, "If this man were not of God, he could do nothing? But, as is ever true, when error is defeated on the intellectual level,

Acts 11:22-24 — they sent forth Barnabas as far as Antioch: who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad; and he exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord: for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. Barnabas … For comment on this remarkable man, see under Acts 4:36. He exhorted them all … This should have been expected of that man whose very name meant "Son of Exhortation." His

Acts 15:1 — by Luke." F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, Publishers, 1954), p. 303. Ye cannot be saved … It appears at this point that the greatest doctrinal threat in its whole history here confronted the young faith. James was the equivalent of the "leading elder" in Jerusalem, especially influential as the brother of the Lord; and, presumably, he was supported, or at least not opposed, by the apostles. Bruce thought that these men from James exceeded

Acts 20:34-35 — Nothing corrupts religion any more rapidly than the provision of rich emoluments for its teachers, the emoluments having a tendency to attract self-seekers who care not for the truth, but only for the emoluments and perquisites. Paul set an example of faith that shall live forever. This is not to deny faithful ministers of the word their right of maintenance, which Paul himself diligently defended, but to point out the undeniable danger. More blessed to give than to receive … How opposite to

Acts 8:36-37 — appears to be sufficient textual grounds, it has been included here because it is true, being valuable as commentary, whether or not it belongs in the sacred text. It was the custom from the very earliest Christian times for converts to confess their faith upon the occasion of their baptism, a fact referred to by Paul in Ephesians 5:26 (Goodspeed translation). This writer has never read of any commentator who denied the truth expressed in Acts 8:37.

Romans 14:1 — But him that is weak in faith receive ye, yet not for the decision of scruples. The sacred fellowship of Christians must not be broken over differences of opinion regarding things indifferent or secondary. Christ has received all Christians, and the least they can do is to receive

Romans 4:6-8 — God reckoneth righteousness apart from works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, And whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin. Having already shown that Abraham was justified by an obedient faith in God, rather than by perfect fulfillment of a law not even then in existence, Paul next introduced David's remarkable pronouncement, with apparent emphasis on the fact that David spoke of justification as something imputed or reckoned, rather

Romans 7:5 — rite of circumcision, which was a mark in the flesh, that Paul had in view. It should be noted that Paul was not here contrasting two methods of salvation in Christ, as sometimes alleged, but was contrasting life under the law of Moses with the life of faith in Jesus Christ. Regarding the unbearable nature of Moses' law, Peter said, Now therefore why make ye trial of God, that ye should put a yoke upon the necks of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear (Acts 15:10). The inability

Ephesians 1:22-23 — to enumerate steps of primary obedience, as when Peter said, "Save yourselves, etc.," nothing that a sinner can either believe or do "saves" him. He is saved, not by himself, but by Christ. When Paul says he is justified "by faith," it is not the sinner's faith, but Christ's which is meant. Paul reiterated the thought four times in the first letter that he ever wrote that people are saved by "the faith of Christ" (see notes on Galatians). In that other, and

1 Thessalonians 4:13 — 510. Paul was about to make an argument for the encouragement of the Thessalonians; but in doing so, he did not introduce the doctrine of the resurrection as anything new, but as something they already knew and believed in. "Paul assumes their faith and argues from it. Their vivid and naive belief in Christ's advent within their own lifetime was the very source of their distress." James Moffatt, op. cit., p. 36. Thus it is certain that faith in the resurrection existed from the very first

James 4:8 — nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye doubleminded. Draw nigh to God … The exact equivalent of this expression, "Let us draw near," as used in Hebrews 10:22 ff, has a marked application to conversion, faith, repentance and baptism, all three being specifically referred to. See full comment on that passage in my Commentary on Hebrews, pp. 229-232. It is of special importance that Hebrews was also written to Christians and yet contains this very pronounced

1 Peter 3:15 — they have accepted, as well as possessing a thorough knowledge of the great doctrines of the New Testament; for there will be countless occasions in every life when such knowledge and understanding can be made a vehicle for enlisting others in the holy faith. Concerning the hope … The primacy of hope in the motivation of Christians shines in this, there being a glorious sense in which "We are saved by hope" (Romans 8:24). The meaning here is exactly the same as "concerning the