Bible Commentaries

1 Kings 18:41-46 — was obviously friendly; and Ahab heeded it. "And he bowed himself down to the earth… put his face between his knees" This was the prophet's posture in prayer. God did not answer his prayer for rain instantly, but Elijah kept on praying, in full faith that God would hear. "That the rain stop thee not" All watercourses would soon be at flood stage. "And the hand of Jehovah was on Elijah" This is a reference to the sudden miraculous endowment of Elijah with the physical ability to run ahead of

Psalms 33:1-3 — to be God's Covenant people."The Layman's Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, p. 65. Some of God's enemies openly sneer at people who "only go to church"; but this is a good place to say that there is nothing that Christians can do as witness of their obedient faith that exceeds the importance of regular attendance at public worship. "Church attendance," despite all the derogatory things sometimes said about it, is still the grand "separator" between the wicked and the righteous. It was true of old; it is still

Psalms 52:5-7 — that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (1 Timothy 6:9-10). "Charge them that are rich in this present world, that they be not highminded, nor have their hope set on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who giveth us all things

Psalms 78:1-8 — we are going to let Johnny make up his own mind!" Indeed, indeed, that is exactly what the Devil would have Christian parents do. If only Satan would be so neutral! The Evil One will exert every pressure possible to persuade children to forsake the faith and wallow in licentiousness. If Christian parents will only stay out of the situation regarding their child's obedience of the gospel, Satan will almost certainly accomplish his purpose. As Kidner stated it, "The Scriptures have no room for parental

Ecclesiastes 12:1 — verse."Barnes' Notes on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, a 1989 reprint of the 1878 edition), Ecclesiastes, p. 111. This is a continuation of Remedy Three (Ecclesiastes 11:10) for the perplexities and vanities of life. The loving and faithful service of God our Creator is that third remedy. "It is a plea for a strong religious faith to be founded in youth as a safeguard against old age."Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1972), Vol. 5, p. 126. "Creator here is not

Ecclesiastes 8:6-8 — drafted into a war by some absolute monarch. Of course, this is only one of a thousand evil things that might happen to any person. The mention of God in Ecclesiastes 8:13, below, supports the view of Eaton that, "Solomon eventually turns to a position of faith as the only remedy for all the uncertainty."The Tyndale Commentaries, Vol. 16, p. 118.

Jeremiah 10:1-5 — denunciation of idolatry came right out of the experience of Jeremiah who was an eye-witness of the gross conduct of the Jews in that sector throughout his lifetime. "He had known it (the idolatry) first-hand, himself being held in awe only by the monotheistic faith cherished by the best of the people."The New Bible Commentary, Revised, p. 635. The special need for Jeremiah's warning against idolatry was mentioned by Halley. "It seems that the threat of Babylonian invasion had spurred the people of Judah into

Daniel 12:5-7 — 16 develops this very same idea, revealing a future time when the total spiritual environment on the whole earth shall be seriously if not indeed fatally polluted. It was of this period that Christ inquired, "When the Son of Man cometh shall he find faith on the earth" (Luke 18:8). Note the terminology here, "breaking in pieces the power of the holy people." What can this be if not indeed the utter fragmentation of Christendom by literally hundreds and hundreds of denominations, sects, cults, fads,

Zechariah 10:12 — bade me go with them (to the house of Cornelius the Gentile), making NO DISTINCTION" (Acts 11:12). "And God gave them the Holy Spirit, even as he did unto us; and he made NO DISTINCTION between us (Jews) and them (Gentiles), cleansing their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9)."For there is NO DISTINCTION between Jew and Greek: for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him" (Romans 10:12). How many times does God have to say it?" "They shalt walk up and down in his name" This

Matthew 14:34-36 — into him, to become a part of his mystical body, and to let his mind be in them. There is infinite danger. With all one's speaking of Christ and open profession of his service, it may be that he never touches Christ at all, or, touching, touches not in faith!

Mark 10:13-14 — this as if it said that the kingdom belongs to little children. Again from Clarke: He does not say that children are in his kingdom. Membership (in that kingdom) as Christ was preaching it, and as we must preach it, implies intelligence and personal faith. Here is no allusion to baptism; and here was his golden opportunity if he had ever wished baptism to be associated with infants. This is a place where we are justified in drawing a negative conclusion from the silence of the Scriptures.Ibid. Regarding

Luke 21:16-19 — thrones judging twelve tribes of (spiritual) Israel (Matthew 19:28). William Barclay had a beautiful understanding of this, thus: Jesus spoke of a safety that overpasses the threats of earth. In the days of the 1914-1918 war, Rupert Brooke, out of his faith and his ideal, wrote these lines: War knows no power, Safe shall be my going, Secretly armed against all death's endeavor: Safe though all safety's lost; safe where men fall; And if these poor limbs die, safest of all. The man who walks with Christ

Luke 8:50 — But Jesus hearing it, answered him, Fear not: only believe, and she shall be made whole. Only believe … has no bearing whatever upon the great heresy of salvation by "faith only," referring, in this context, to the only option left to Jairus. He could either believe in Jesus and trust his power to raise the dead, or go about the sad business of burying his only child. How dark was the alternative of turning away

John 16:33 — all that was about to happen. The betrayal by Judas, the denial by Peter, the scattering of all of them to their own homes, the hatred and rejoicing of the world at his death; and the exact fulfillment of all those prophecies would strengthen their faith AFTER IT WAS ALL OVER. That ye may have peace … Hendriksen is right in seeing this peace as a dual blessing: "It is both objective (reconciliation with God) and subjective (the quiet, and comforting assurance of justification and adoption)."

Acts 8:12 — excuse for diminishing the force of his commandments; but this is an incredible folly (Hebrews 2:2-3). "Whosoever shall break one of the least of these commandments" (Matthew 5; Matthew 19) shall be called least in God's kingdom. Not even faith can void the law of God (Romans 3:31). IV.    To preach Christ is to preach his church and kingdom. This blessed institution is called the bride of Christ, the vineyard of the Lord, the pillar and ground of the truth, the general

Romans 10:16 — in the KJV's forthright rendition, thus: That "disobedience" means unbelief is shown by the quotation that follows. C. K. Barrett, op. cit., p. 205. Thus, it is the undeniable reference to obedience which the advocates of salvation by "faith only" would like to edit out of this passage; and Barrett did it by the simple assertion that "disobedience" means unbelief, an assertion that is denied by every dictionary of the English language ever written! That "disobedience"

Romans 11:22 — followed by a blessed impossibility of sinning any more, is CONDITIONAL — in the very nature of things, so conditional, that the condition in every case must be assumed, whether stated or no; that condition being that the forgiven man CONTINUES in faith and obedience. Richard Trench, Notes on the Parables (Westwood, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1953), p. 164. Severity of God … is another of the divine attributes, but the minds of men are reluctant to dwell upon it. It was the loving

2 Corinthians 8:3-5 — following from Barclay, having no support from the Scriptures. He said: The Church of Jerusalem was the Mother Church of all Churches; and it was Paul's desire that all the Gentile Churches should remember and help that Church which was their mother in the faith. William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1954), p. 254. As a matter of fact, Antioch, a Gentile congregation, was "the mother church" of all the churches founded by Paul. It was Antioch, not

Hebrews 10:25 — apostles, honored by disciples in all ages, and fully recognized as a sacred obligation for all Christians by the author of Hebrews who penned this formal commandment regarding church attendance. The significance of this is that even prior to this epistle, faithful and regular church attendance was a distinctive characteristic of the faith in Christ. Pliny, a secular writer about 112 A.D., made a report to the emperor Trajan in which he unconsciously bore witness to certain vital aspects of Christianity.

Judges 5:24-27 — Peake Commentary, p. 262. The words here are very similar to Elizabeth's greeting of the Virgin Mary, "Blessed art thou among women" (Luke 1:42). Amerding has this regarding this event: "Jael, despite the vicious nature of her violent act, kept covenant-faith with the nation to which her people had been joined, and Heber's `peace with Jabin' (Judges 4:17) was a violation of his family's prior commitment to Yahweh."New Layman's Bible Commentary, p. 351. "She brought him butter in a lordly dish" The parallelism