Redeeming Theology Archives - Page 55 of 74

[This post is based on the Grace Commentary on Jonah. Make sure you sign up for the email newsletter to get a free digital copy of this commentary when it is released.]

Many people wonder what God is like. This is not a new question, and throughout history, different people have approached the question in different ways. Some turn to nature to see what God is like, and others turn to Scripture. The Bible, of course, does teach that nature reveals the character of God. Yet what is it that nature reveals?

In 1850, Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote a poem called “In Memorium A.H.H” in which he said that man:

…Trusted God was love indeed,
And love Creation’s final law;
Tho’ Nature, red in tooth and claw,
With ravine, shriek’d against his creed.

In other words, people believe God is love, and also claim that nature reveals the character of God to us. But nature is full of death and blood, which contradicts the idea that God is love. So which is right? What is God like? Is nature right, or is Scripture?

Of course, if we are honest, nature is an inconsistent witness… and so is Scripture. Nature has just as much beauty, order, love, and wonder as it does death, blood, suffering, and murder, and Scripture has hundreds of dark and disturbing passages which seems to paint a different picture of God than we read about in the Gospels or in 1 John 4:8.

So what is God like? How can we know Him?

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Is Confession to a Priest Necessary for Forgiveness?

By Jeremy Myers

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[The following is a question sent in by one of the readers of this blog. If you have a Bible or Theology question, you would like to ask, send it to me through the contact form on my About page.]

I’ve been doing a bit of thinking regarding the concept of confession during my research on multiple different aspects of Christianity, and I’ve come across the Catholic concept that requires confession to a priest. However, my beliefs have never required it but then again I don’t recall ever having researched the subject! The question is, how do you view the concept of confession, and is there any Biblical support for that view? Once again, sorry to bother you with this question. Keep well!

The practice of confessing sins to a priest is not explicitly commanded anywhere in Scripture, though it is derived from various passages. For example, 1 John 1:9 tell us to confess our sins, and James 5:16 tells us to confess our sins to one another. The context of James 5:16 talks about how a person who is sick should call the elders of the church to pray over him, and if this person has committed sin, he should confess it. Therefore, this confession is in the context of having the elders pray over him, and so some see this as an instruction for people to confess their sin to priests, who somewhat function as “elders” or spiritual “overseers” in their church.

The Catholic Church also uses John 20:23 to defend the practice of confessing sins to priests. In this text, Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to His apostles and tells them that if they forgive people their sins, they will be forgiven, and if they do not forgive people, they will not be forgiven. Since the Catholic Church believes in apostolic succession, they argue that the authority to forgive sins was passed down from the apostles through the Pope to the priests.

So is the Catholic Church right in requiring people to confess sins to a priest?

Well, I agree that confession of sins to one another is a valuable spiritual practice. There is something beneficial and helpful about telling other Christian brothers and sisters where you have wronged them, and asking for their forgiveness. Also, bringing your hidden sins into the light so that others can keep you accountable and give you help in overcoming such temptations is also extremely valuable.

But Scripture does not limit our confession just to a priestly class. Even if it did, 1 Peter 2:5-9 reveals that we are all “priests.” Every believer in Jesus is a member of the holy priesthood. Revelation 1:6 and 5:10 also describes the church as a Kingdom of Priests. Each one of us is functions in a priestly role within the rule and reign of God.

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Introducing Jonah

By Jeremy Myers

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I finished the rough draft of the Introduction to Jonah today.

The introduction is a little over 6000 words, which is longer than some full commentaries on Jonah… I hope I am not overdoing it… The final version of the full-length commentary will probably be about 50,000 words.

But I am really excited about some of the things I am learning from Jonah, and I think you will be as well. It is going to forever change how you read Jonah.

I will be posting all the sections of the Introduction over on the Grace Commentary site over the next two weeks, and then we will move into studying Jonah 1.

And don’t forget, everyone who subscribes to my free email newsletter will get a free digital copy of this commentary when it comes out. It is just my way of saying “Thank you for reading!”

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My Big Announcement

By Jeremy Myers

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Donald Trump came out with a big announcement today (which I think was pretty silly… though to be honest, I am curious what is on the President’s college transcripts and passport application), and so I decided it was a good day to make my own big announcement.

I hinted at it a few weeks ago when I said it was time to begin my life’s work.

So here it is:

I have decided to get serious about writing a free, online commentary on the entire Bible.

This is something I have long dreamed about, ever since I was around ten years old. Looking back now, I believe that most of my education, training, and life experiences have been leading me to attempt this project.

Maybe no one else will ever want to read it, but I feel compelled to write it.

When I first started this “Till He Comes” website back in 2000, it was for the purpose of providing free, online Bible teaching to anyone who wanted to access it. Over the past several years, the site has become a place for me to write about my musings on theology and my criticisms of church.

But frankly, I am a little tired of some of that stuff and have pretty much run out of things to say.

So I have decided to return to the original purpose of this website, and focus my writing on the inexhaustible content found within the pages of Scripture. Will I still write about church and theology? Sure. As much as I am able. But the majority of my writing will focus on freely passing on to others what I have learned within the pages of God’s Word, and how to live God’s Word in our daily lives.

The slogan of my blog is “Bringing Scripture and Theology to Life” and that is what I intend to do. I not only want to help others see exhilarating truths of Scripture, but also show people the importance of Scripture for daily living.

Here is how I plan on proceeding.

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