The creation of Adam in God’s image and likeness had no reference to God’s physical form because He is not a physical being. Again, He may have to power to display any physical form He desires, but He is a Spirit. Ironically, humans grapple with how Jesus could be fully God and man but do…
After God had created all things, verse 31 of the first chapter reads, “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.” It was given to man to rule the animal kingdom, to have dominion over all creatures. It was also given seed to plant vegetation. All of it was given to man’s…
It has always amazed me to hear people justify their practice of religion by quoting Hebrews 13:8 that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This is usually said when we want to continue any practice today that was condoned and/or authorized in the first century. The discernment seems rather lacking to make such…
The first rule of understanding the meaning of any passage is to explore its context. Matthew 7, which contains the teaching against “judging,” is the final section of Jesus’ sermon. Jesus contrasts the expectations of the Pharisees with the true standards of righteousness that He expects from those who are His disciples. Jesus’ does not…
Another word to add that adds to this description of judgment that is not commended by Jesus is the hypocritical judge. This is not to say that one must be perfect or flawless before using “righteous judgment.” But, we must humbly recognize and acknowledge our own faults and seek the removal of sin in our…
How do we identify who are the “dogs” and “pigs” and how do we know the false prophets? Ans: by exercising righteous judgment that Jesus commends and commands. John 7:24 reads, “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.” What is this “righteous judgment”? Fortunately, he explains the answer in this text….
“ Judge not, that you be not judged.” This phrase taken from Matthew 7:1 is often used in response to any comment that is thought to be an attack. Associated with the response would be some response like, “Who are you to judge me?” or “Jesus told us never to judge people, only to love…
When Jesus calls Himself “the Alpha and the Omega” in the opening chapter of Revelation, He is suggesting that all things begin and end with Him. John 1:1-18 and Colossians 1:15-23 show that the Word that later became flesh was creator as He executed the divine plan to prepare an abode for His creation. He…
When we consider God’s sending Jesus to be our Savior, we are reminded that “[His] thoughts are not [our] thoughts and [His] ways are not [our] ways” (Isaiah 55:8). The truth of the matter is that we have a difficult time with forgiveness. We are willing to be patient and forgive those we love, but…
It is real common for the Bible to use physical examples to illustrate spiritual realities. The subject of healing is one such example. As usual with all of these illustrations, many will apply them literally instead of spiritually. In the New Testament, we have examples of the deaf, blind, lame, demon-possessed, or lepers being healed….