The opening chapter of the book of Proverbs consists of a prologue, a warning against temptation, and a warning against rejecting wisdom. This verse helps to orient the warning against temptation. In many ways the opening chapter is a microcosm […]

In 1 John 5:4-5 John stresses the moral implications of our belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. If we truly believe that Jesus was who He claimed to be then our lives must be transformed by […]

This statement is the preface for the better-known portion of the Great Commission that follows in the next two verses. It took authority to initiate the disciples’ mission to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth, authority that […]

This verse summarizes the universal call of the Gospel, and provides the grounds for preaching and evangelism in the verses that follow. Salvation comes through faith, faith comes through hearing, hearing comes through proclaiming, and therefore the Gospel must be […]

Psalm 146 opens the five “Hallelujah Psalms” that close the psalter. Each of these psalms begins and closes with the word “Hallelujah” and focuses on giving praise to God. Psalm 146 encourages us to put our trust in God rather […]

These words were part of a letter that Jeremiah wrote to the people of Judah in exile. The letter encourages the people to accept God’s judgment and the exile as a consequence of their sin, and so prepare themselves to […]