Christ Covenant Church

The goal of all biblical interpretation is to discover the timeless, moral principle being established (“What’s the point?” [WTP]). The reason every Christian should be striving to do this is because this is how we grow in our relationship with God. We do it by discovering Who He is through the principles He has established in His Word (by discovering WTP?). The bible is God’s self-disclosure: the means to understanding Him – or getting to know Him, so that we will trust Him, obey Him – and be passionate about following Him. Learning how to interpret the bible is therefore not a hobby –or something that only those who like reading books or studying grammar and history do for fun. It is again, essential to every Christian to grow in their relationship w/God. Hence the reason a person’s lack of trust (or obedience) to God is often (if not always) proportional to their neglect in attempting to discover WTP? (e.g. Mat 22:29 = Sadducees’ distrust/disobedience directly tied to their failure to “understand” WTP? whe

The goal of all biblical interpretation is to discover the timeless, moral principle being established (“What’s the point?” [WTP]). The reason every Christian should be striving to do this is that this is how we gain or grow in our relationship with God. We do it by discovering Who He is through the principles He has established in His Word (by discovering WTP?). The bible is God’s self-disclosure: the means to understanding Him – or getting to know Him, so that we will trust Him, obey Him – and be passionate about following Him). Learning how to interpret the bible is therefore not a hobby –or something that only those who like reading books or studying grammar and history do for fun. It is again, essential to every Christian to gain and grow in their relationship w/God. Hence the reason a person’s lack of trust (or obedience) to God is often (if not always) proportional to their neglect in attempting to discover WTP? (e.g. Mat 22:29 = Sadducees’ distrust/disobedience directly tied to their failure to “under

The goal of all biblical interpretation is to discover the timeless, moral principle being established (“What’s the point?”) (1Co 9:7-11). To do that, however, requires we (first) determine the context (“What’s going on?”). The following represents what must be among our most basic considerations:Who was the original audience? (it’s not you or me)What was the culture or their cultural biases? (e.g. their view of children [as cheap labor and security] or women working outside of the home [not acceptable])How is the word/phrase being used (or what is it associated w/) in the book? (“works of the law” [a reference to the OT clean laws versus earning our way to heaven])How is this action or idea used elsewhere that might give additional insight into its meaning? (e.g. belief [baptism] and love [loyalty])4.3. Wisdom in contrast to trusting one’s own mind (Pro 28:26) = According to Pro 2:1-7, “wisdom” is the product of two things (or God gives it to the person who): 1) patiently and consistently seeking to understa

The goal of all biblical interpretation is to discover the timeless, moral principle being established (“What’s the point?”) (1Co 9:7-11). To do that, however, first requires we determine the context (“What’s going on?”). The following represents what must be among our most basic considerations:Who was the original audience?(For example)1.1. The word, “you”The “you” in Scripture refers to the original recipients/audience (not the current reader) (e.g. Jer 29:11)1.2. The Jew and JesusUnless otherwise indicated, Jesus’ audience was always Jewish and already in covenant relationship w/God. This means the issue He is most concerned with addressing is covenant maintenance (not entrance) (Mat 15:24 w/Mat 19:16-17; Luk 10:25-28).What Evangelicals do bc they miss this: they interpret Mat 19 and Luk 10 as men trying to earn their way to heaven and Jesus is playing along [as the means to discouraging them] and so that they will eventually look to Him in faith).What was the culture or their cultural biases?(For example)

The common denominator between hospitality and charity (and the reason I am discussing them together) is that both refer to the generous sharing of our wealth w/others: hospitality is what it is called when it is in regard to entertaining others – most especially God’s people, and charity it is what I am calling it when such sharing is in relation to the God (i.e. His church). God expects His people to practice both: hospitality and charity (Rom 12:13; 1Pe 4:9; Luk 12:21 – we are to be “rich toward God” – most specifically, His church/covenant community or house – Deu 16:9-17 = At the center of two of Israel’s most important Sabbatical Feasts was the giving of a free-will offering from each family’s wealth to the church/covenant community. This is the context of 2Co 8-9. As it re: to God’s house, see Hag 1:3-4, 9; 2Sa 24:24). The word to describe those who fail to be generous w/their wealth (who are neither hospitable or charitable) is “stingy” (Pro 23:6 = Literally, “evil eye”. Hebrew idiom referring to a pe

1. Image bearing was God’s PURPOSE in creating us.2. Image bearing is, therefore, how we WORSHIP God.3. Being God’s image-bearers is an immense and rare PRIVILEGE.4. Image bearing is why God SAVES people.5. Image bearing is, therefore, what will determine where we spend ETERNITY.6. To be made in the image of God is to reflect, imitate, and copy Him in FUNCTION, not form.7. Attempts to reflect God in FORM are the basis of history’s first two sins.What being an image-bearer of God looks like:1. Like God, we put all things under our care, in their proper order.2. Like God, we develop or cultivate the raw materials we possess.3. Like God, be most committed to the church.4. Like God, we respond in kind.5. Like God, mercy/forgiveness/grace never negates justice.6. Like God, we view the apostate as a spouse who left for another lover and murdered our children.7. Like God, we are only willing to have relationships with those who seek Him.8. Like God, we don’t care what the wicked thinks of us.9. Like God, we make his

In Mark 8:33-38, Jesus gives us an ultimatum: die to self – or being controlled by our feelings/emotions or we cannot “come after [Him]” for salvation[1]. The reason Jesus possessed such a negative view in relation to self or our feelings, is because He knew them to be severely compromised by sin and easily manipulated by Satan and the world. To be controlled by them will therefore result in us becoming no better than Satan, led astray by the world, denied by Jesus, and losing our souls in hell forever (Pro 25:28). Self – or once more, being controlled by our feelings/emotions is, therefore, sin and humanity’s biggest problem (not Satan, not God, but self). The end of history will see humanity divided into two categories: 1) those who lived controlled by their feelings (and are now in hell), (and) 2) those who crucified their feelings and were instead controlled by God/Christ (and are now in heaven) (2Co 5:15 [“for themselves” = Self/the flesh/controlled by their feelings]; Gal 5:24).The power to do that (to

God’s exhaustive sovereignty (rule/control) and supreme power is experienced by all creatures in heaven and on earth (25:1-3). God’s transcendence has caused some to believe that God’s view of things is different (qualitatively) to ours (even Scripture presents a condescension of what is actually true or accurate) (25:4-6; “One of the fundamental postulates of [liberal] theory, is the claim that God cannot reveal truth to us. And even if God could speak, humans are considered incapable of understanding whatever God might be attempting to say. [According to Protestant Liberalism], God’s inability to speak is [due to] His transcendence. This radical otherness of God means, among other things, that the human mind is incapable of comprehending the divine mind. Once this point is granted, it follows that the word of God can never be the communication of truth; divine revelation can never contain a cognitive content that can be apprehended by the human mind [qualitatively]. [As such] no revelation is propositional

In Mark 8:33-38, Jesus gives us an ultimatum: die to self – or being controlled by our feelings/emotions or we cannot “come after [Him]” for salvation. The reason is that self – or again our feelings/emotions, are severely compromised by sin and easily manipulated by Satan and the world. To be controlled by them will therefore result in us becoming no better than Satan, being led astray by the world, denied by Jesus, and losing our souls in hell forever. Self – or once more, being controlled by our feelings/emotions is, therefore, our greatest enemy and humanity’s biggest problem. All people can be separated into two categories: 1) the lost = those living according to their feelings, 2) the saved = those who have crucified their feelings and are living for Christ (2Co 5:15 [“for themselves” = Self/the flesh/controlled by their feelings]; Gal 5:24). The power to do that (to live crucified to our feelings as that which controls us and follow Christ) was granted at our baptism. In those waters, we were set free

Righteous arguments allow all parties involved to respond/be heard (21:1-3 = Allow for my response, then you can continue with your mocking of me; Consider this applies even to God – 38:1-2, 40:1-2, 6-8). It is “empty nothings” (“delusion” = A belief that contradicts reality; Jer 10:3 [NAS]) or “falsehood” to counsel or “comfort” (21:34) those who follow God (most especially those who are suffering – 21:5-6) with the idea that “the wicked” or “evil man”(21:7, 16-17, 28, 30; i.e. those who “say to God” [21:14-15]) : 1) never experiences health, happiness, safety and prosperity (21:7, 9-10, 12-13, 17-18, 20-21 = When they do suffer, they don’t seem to mind or be bothered by it; 21:16, 22 “the counsel of the wicked is far from me…Will any teach God knowledge seeing that He judges those who are on high?” = I do not understand God’s knowledge/wisdom it is beyond me -especially as it relates to the wicked), 2) never produces offspring or descendants who are healthy, happy, safe and prospering (21:8, 11, 19), 3) can

In Mark 8:33-38, Jesus gives us an ultimatum: die to self (i.e. being controlled by/listening to our feelings) or we cannot “come after [Him]” for salvation[1]. This ultimatum is based on both loyalty (we can’t serve two masters) and ability: self – or again our feelings, are severely compromised by sin and easily manipulated by Satan and the world. To be controlled by them will therefore result in not only failing to live for Christ but also behaving no better than Satan and being led astray by the world. It will guarantee losing our souls in hell forever[2]. Self – or once more, being controlled by our feelings is, therefore, our greatest enemy and humanity’s biggest problem.The good news, however, is that for genuine Christians (those baptized in a legit/biblical church), the tools (or power) to be free, to take control away from our feelings has already been granted to us. We no longer must function as its slaves (Rom 6:1-7). That being said, we must still do the work of applying that power or using those

These verses are some of the most important in all of Scripture. That because they make clear that our greatest enemy is not Satan and the world, or God and His laws. It is instead ourselves (or self). Learning then what that means, why it is so dangerous and how to conquer it, should be of first importance.WHAT THESE VERSES (31-34) TEACH US ABOUT SELF = Living for self (or “setting your mind on the things of man”) means you are a person controlled by your feelings. Being controlled by feelings is a big problem for many people. Hence the reason Jesus expanded His words to Peter to include the rest of the “disciples” and the “crowd” (vv33-34 “seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter… And calling the crowd to him with his disciples he said to them” in contrast to v32 “And Peter took him aside…”). Modern advertising knows this to still be a problem today and exploits it on a regular basis. (e.g. 1) FOMO; Displaying “low stock” or “limited supplies” is a part of most/all marketing strategies, 2) Fb “likes”; Wheneve

Slander (Def. = false accusations that damage another’s reputation): 1) can cause its victim to lose hope for living (if he “dwells” on it) (17:1-2, 11-16), 2) can retard/inhibit justice (17:3-4), 3) will bring a curse on the children of those who do it (17:5), 4) can make other people despise us (17:6), 5) can severely affect the physical health of its victims (17:7), 6) will incite the “upright” (or “righteous”) to take action (17:8-9), 7) reveals the stupidity/foolishness of those who do it (17:10 w/18:3). The curse of stupidity is: 1) you don’t think you are stupid (18:1-4), 2) you lack precision or the ability to see other possible explanations (18:5-10, 20 [“west…east” = Everybody sees you are guilty/evil], 21 = No other explanation than you are unrighteous/do not know God), 3) you think you know what you don’t have the evidence/witnesses to know/prove (19:4 “my error remains with myself” = No witnesses; Bildad’s evidence is circumstantial yet he remains confident in his condemnation – 18:11-19 [All par

These verses are some of the most important in all of Scripture. That because they make clear that our greatest enemy is not Satan and the world, or God and His laws. It is instead ourselves (or self). Learning then what that means, why it is so dangerous and how to conquer it, should be of first importance.WHAT THESE VERSES (31-34) TEACH US ABOUT SELF:1.1. “Setting your mind on (i.e. being committed to) the things of man” (v33) is the same thing as living for self (hence v34).1.2. Living for self (or “setting you mind on the things of man”) means YOU ARE A PERSON CONTROLLED BY YOUR FEELINGS. What you are committed to – or what determines what you do, are those things which are agreeable to your feelings, those things that make a man feel good (v34 – the “things of man”).(Support):1.2.1. The context of Jesus’ chastisement of Peter (vv31-32) = Peter’s “rebuke” of Jesus is an emotional response – a response based on how Jesus’ prediction of coming suffering and rejection made him feel. As a person controlled by

How can we be certain that what we believe as Christians is correct? How can we know that we have interpreted the Scriptures in a way that will lead to salvation? What assurance do we have that we possess the truth? The answer according to the author of Hebrews is consistency. That the ministry of Jesus we subscribe to (or practice) today, is consistent (or the “same”) with what Jesus established in the past (or “yesterday”) – i.e. in the Old Testament (Jud 1:5) (v8). This most especially as it relates to salvation. We should expect continuity (or again consistency) between the system of salvation in the past and the system of salvation in the present (2Ti 3:15 = Paul can’t say this unless consistency existed between the system of salvation in the past and the present). Equally important in our quest for certainty is the rejection of those teachings that pose as Christian but are “diverse” (i.e. different and inconsistent) or “strange” (i.e. unknown to what has already been established) (v9a). This then is t

How can we be certain that what we believe as Christians is correct? How can we know that we have interpreted the Scriptures in a way that will lead to salvation? What assurance do we have that we possess the truth? The answer according to the author of Hebrews is consistency. That the ministry of Jesus we subscribe to (or practice) today, is consistent (or the “same”) with what Jesus established in the past (or “yesterday”) – i.e. in the Old Testament (Jud 1:5) (v8). This most especially as it relates to salvation. We should expect continuity (or again consistency) between the system of salvation in the past and the system of salvation in the present (2Ti 3:15 = Paul can’t say this unless consistency existed between the system of salvation in the past and the present). Equally important in our quest for certainty is the rejection of those teachings that pose as Christian but are “diverse” (i.e. different and inconsistent) or “strange” (i.e. unknown to what has already been established) (v9a). This then is th

How can we be certain that what we believe as Christians is correct? How can we know that we have interpreted the Scriptures in a way that will lead to salvation? What assurance do we have that we possess the truth? The answer according to the author of Hebrews is consistency. That the ministry of Jesus we subscribe to (or practice) today, is consistent (or the “same”) with what Jesus established in the past (or “yesterday”) – i.e. in the Old Testament (Jud 1:5) (v8). This most especially as it relates to salvation. We should expect continuity (or again consistency) between the system of salvation in the past and the system of salvation in the present (2Ti 3:15 = Paul can’t say this unless consistency existed between the system of salvation in the past and the present). Equally important in our quest for certainty is the rejection of those teachings that pose as Christian but are “diverse” (i.e. different and inconsistent) or “strange” (i.e. unknown to what has already been established) (v9a). This then is t

How can we be certain that what we believe as Christians is correct? How can we know that we have interpreted the Scriptures in a way that will lead to salvation? What assurance do we have that we possess the truth? The answer according to the author of Hebrews is consistency. That the ministry of Jesus we subscribe to (or practice) today, is consistent (or the “same”) with what Jesus established in the past (or “yesterday”) – i.e. in the Old Testament (Jud 1:5) (v8). This most especially as it relates to salvation. We should expect continuity (or again consistency) between the system of salvation in the past and the system of salvation in the present (2Ti 3:15 = Paul can’t say this unless consistency existed between the system of salvation in the past and the present). Equally important in our quest for certainty is the rejection of those teachings that pose as Christian but are “diverse” (i.e. different and inconsistent) or “strange” (i.e. unknown to what has already been established) (v9a). This then is t

How can we be certain that what we believe as Christians is correct? How can we know that we have interpreted the Scriptures in a way that will lead to salvation? What assurance do we have that we possess the truth? The answer according to the author of Hebrews is consistency. That the ministry of Jesus we subscribe to (or practice) today, is consistent (or the “same”) with what Jesus established in the past (or “yesterday”) – i.e. in the Old Testament (Jud 1:5) (v8). This most especially as it relates to salvation. We should expect continuity (or again consistency) between the system of salvation in the past and the system of salvation in the present (2Ti 3:15 = Paul can’t say this unless consistency existed between the system of salvation in the past and the present). Equally important in our quest for certainty is the rejection of those teachings that pose as Christian but are “diverse” (i.e. different and inconsistent) or “strange” (i.e. unknown to what has already been established) (v9a). This then is t

If we want to “speak” as God’s “physicians” or counselors to others then we need: 1) to understand more of God’s truth than them (13:1-3), 2) a right application of God’s truth and a right diagnosis of the person we are dealing w/ (13:4), 3) to realize the wisdom of silence (or saying nothing when we are not sure what to say) (13:5), 4) to avoid speaking false or deceitful words (13:6-7), 5) to never be partial in our judgment (13:8-11; how Job’s friends were being partial = They were accusing him of wrong w/o the necessary evidence. It was instead based on assumption), 6) to present legitimate support for what we say (13:12; Deu 19:15). If we are going to complain to God then: 1) we need to be ready to accept the possibility of his rebuke and additional consequences (13:13), 2) we had better be sure we are not the “godless” but those “in the right” (13:14-18), 3) that means we have already successfully defended our position (or had our position vetted) w/others (13:19), 4) we should seek not only a reprieve