Amos has finished his prophecies about the surrounding nations and now reaches his main message – his proclamations against Israel itself. Interestingly, his initial condemnations are similar to the charges made against the pagans. The people of Israel are no longer distinguishable from the people without the law. As noted before, Amos’ listeners could very […]
Amos has prophesied against the pagan nations around Israel. He began with those who are not related – Aram, Philistia, Phoenicia – and moved to the ones who share a blood relation to Israel – Edom, Ammon, Moab. Now he speaks against the closest nation both geographically and relationally – Judah. He is slowly coming […]
Amos proclaims judgment on seven nations surrounding Israel. He prophesies against Israel’s neighbors before finally working his way back to Israel itself. Six of the seven countries are pagan – the seventh is Judah. The purpose of these prophecies seems to be to show God as judge over all the earth, not just Israel. It […]
Jesus concludes His sermon with a final application comparing those who look saved with those who truly are. He already discussed people who go through the wide gate and travel the wide way versus those who go through the narrow gate and travel the narrow way. He explained that there are false teachers who bear […]
There are two ways to go about discussing the authenticity and trustworthiness of the Bible. There’s the apologetic view, which seeks to prove the reliability of the Bible through external proofs and historical evidence. Things like: Not one major doctrine of orthodox Christianity rests on a disputed or uncertain translation of the Bible’s original languages. […]
In this text Jesus takes a break from outlining the precepts of the Kingdom and encourages us to get help from the King to obey the King’s commands. He’s at a point in the sermon where He essentially says to His listeners, “If you’ve been paying attention you should realize by now that you stand […]
When a man is speaking to God he is at his very acme. It is the highest activity of the human soul, and therefore it is at the same time the ultimate test of a man’s true spiritual condition. There is nothing that tells the truth about us a Christian people so much as our […]
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God This Beatitude may perhaps seem less weighty than the others. It doesn’t seem to compare to being poor in spirit, or being meek and merciful. But peace between men in this world isn’t common or easy, and the believer who’s characterized by peace […]
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy Mercy is showing love to the helpless and hopeless (as opposed to grace which is showing love to the undeserving). The best definition of the two that I have ever encountered is this: ‘Grace is especially associated with men in their sins; mercy is especially associated […]
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth To be meek is to truly understand what I am and how that affects my interactions with others. I see others through the lens of my own sin. If I am poor in spirit to the extent that it causes me to mourn over sin, […]
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