Bible Study Archives

Several years ago, I changed my view on election, predestination, and being chosen. I have written in various places about this, though I cannot think if I have ever written about it online.

But today I read a great quote over at Mark Woodward’s blog, EveryTongue. The quote is by Christopher J. H. Wright, from his book, The Mission of God’s People (p. 72):

Election [i.e., the choosing] of one is not rejection of the rest, but ultimately for their benefit. It is as if a group of trapped cave explorers choose one of their number to squeeze through a narrow flooded passage to get out to the surface and call for help. The point of the choice is not so that she alone gets saved, but that she is able to bring help and equipment to ensure the rest get rescued. “Election” in such a case is an instrumental choice of one for the sake of many. [Read more…]

Did Jesus Work?

By Jeremy Myers

49 Comments

I know we all say Jesus was a carpenter, and we all assume he learned the trade from his father, Joseph. We also assume that he worked as a carpenter up until he began his three years of ministry at about the age of thirty.

But did he continue to work as a carpenter even after he began his ministry? We never read about him working in the Gospels (that I can recall). Luke 8:3 indicates that Jesus had some followers who “provided for him from their substance.” Does this mean that he lived off of the donations of benefactors?

I really wish Jesus had worked during his ministry. I also wish he had gotten married and had kids. Yes, I know that this would have created lots of problems for the future of the church, especially in regard to leadership. But it would have given us married, working fathers who also want to teach a good model to follow. Jesus doesn’t fit. [Read more…]

The Traitor Church

By Jeremy Myers

3 Comments

Who do you definitely not want in your church? Have you ever thought that those are the ones Jesus would invite?

In Israel at the time of Jesus, some of the most despised people were the tax collectors. It is not just that nobody likes a tax collector. It was more than that. They were Jews who worked for the Roman Empire to collect money from their fellow Jews, and therefore, were viewed as traitors.

One day, when Jesus was teaching the crowds, a tax collector named Levi set up shop nearby, complete with his rich clothes and tax-enforcing bodyguards. Since the tax booths were movable, he probably came to tax the people as they arrived to hear Jesus teach.

Imagine showing up for church this Sunday, only to discover an IRS agent had put a table out front, and as everybody filed into church, was checking to make sure they had paid their taxes. [Read more…]

Say What?

By Jeremy Myers

2 Comments

Regarding teaching Scripture, I once heard a person say, “We need to exegete the culture so we can dialogue with people through the metanarrative of Scripture.”

I agree with what he’s saying, but I don’t think this guy should be the one to say it….

Keep Your Greek

By Jeremy Myers

5 Comments

I have taken first year Greek three times. I had to retake the class, not because I failed, but because I forgot everything I learned the first time, and the second time, and almost the third time.

The first time I took first-year Greek was at Moody Bible Institute. Then, when I entered the Master of Divinity Program at Denver Seminary, I barely missed the required 70% on the entrance exam, and so had to retake first year Greek again. A few years later, I decided to do a refresher course on Greek, and took first-year Greek from the Grace Evangelical School of Theology. Later, upon entering Dallas Theological Seminary, I studied first-year Greek for six months on my own so I could pass the entrance exam, which I did by the slimmest possible of margins. I needed a 70%, and got a 69.5%, which the professor graciously rounded up to 70%. [Read more…]

A New Direction on Election

Did Jesus Work?

The Traitor Church

Say What?

Keep Your Greek

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