Some Reasons Why We Are Not Holy 1. Our attitude toward sin is more self-centered than God-centered. Often we are more concerned about our own victory over sin than we are about the fact that our sins grieve the heart of God. Many times the only reason we are upset about sin is because we are success-oriented, and not because we know that we have done something offensive to God. I believe W.S. Plummer said it well, “We never see sin aright…
Holiness Is Only Defined By The Lord Every culture has some form of holiness which it keeps. Certain actions are considered taboo and improper in a society, while other actions are considered good and acceptable. But this is not the holiness that God is speaking about. Society does not dictate what is holy and what is common. Holiness has high standards. I cannot simply say that I dedicate this paper to God and it is no longer part of my common…
I am going to write a few posts on the topic of holiness. Holiness is a characteristic that is often talked about but hardly understood as to how it can be obtained. Too often holiness is considered an attribute of God that is not attainable to man. Holiness is considered something impossible. However, 1 Peter 1:15-16 reads, “As the One who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, be holy,…
I have been enjoying the latest arrival to my Bible collection: the NIV Thinline Reference Bible, large print, ebony cowhide edition. This is a beautiful Bible and worth every penny. I love the print and I love the size. The cowhide leather feels and looks amazing. It is the black letter edition and I am thankful for that. If we could rid the world of red letter editions I would be thrilled. Trying to read pink letters is not fun,…
I just received an email that the NIV Thinline Reference Bible, Large print edition in ebony cowhide is on its way. I was lucky and found a website with this $129 Bible listed for $52. So I quickly jumped on that deal. The website no longer has this Bible at $52 but now at $90. Otherwise I would tell you where you also could get this great deal. I only wish that this edition was a single column layout rather…
It is nice to get back on the Christian Monthly Standard. After some health problems, I have not been able to post with the frequency and vigor that I was doing. Currently my time has been occupied with studying the book of Revelation. I have just begun preaching through the book of Revelation and have spent the last couple of months reading more than a dozen commentaries. I do hope and plan to return to this site and post more…
The NET Bible continues to be one of the most under utilized and unknown English translations of the scriptures. This is unfortunate because it really is a gem. It is readable, but does not dumb down key terms. It is accurate and does not sacrifice literalness for readability. It even has a wealth of translation notes to learn about textual difficulties and decisions. How does one draw more attention to a great translation when the translation does not market itself…
From the third and up to the tenth century, all of the identified Greek manuscripts of the New Testament were called uncials as they had been copied using capital letters. The characters were written one letter at a time with each letter unconnected to the adjacent ones, and without punctuation or separating marks. By the 1990's there had been approximately two hundred fifty such manuscripts identified. From the ninth century onward through to the advent of movable type other manuscripts…
In the latter half of the nineteenth century, a man by the name of Constantin Tischendorf identified a papyrus fragment as containing a portion of the Apostle Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church. The fragment (later cataloged by scholars as p11) was estimated to have been from a document copied between the fifth and seventh centuries. This was the first fragment to come to be mentioned in translation notes in a modern published version of that time. Only Codex…
The Expanded Bible New Testament is a recent work from Thomas Nelson Publishers. The goal of The Expanded Bible is to help with all the problems inherent in translation. “It allows the reader to see multiple possibilities for words, phrases, and interpretations. Rather than opting for one choice, it shows many.” The introduction further states The Expanded Bible’s purpose: “In many ways this is not another translation. Instead, it offers additional information that allows readers to see how translation communicates…