This verse is part of the opening prologue of John’s Gospel. Jesus is the word made flesh, the light shining in the darkness. This contrast between light and darkness represents both the struggle between truth and falsehood and belief and […]

This verse comes at the front end of a long litany of Old Testament examples of faith. This “hall of faith” emphasizes God’s faithfulness to his covenant promises, and the author of Hebrews offers it to us as a demonstration […]

Jesus made this statement after he ate with Matthew at his house and called him to be a disciple. At that time, tax collectors were viewed with extreme skepticism as a result of their dubious collection practices. As a result, […]

Paul makes a series of emphatic points about salvation in the opening chapters of the book of Romans. All are naturally guilty of sin and worthy of God’s eternal judgment, and yet all who have faith are rightly saved through […]

In James 3:13-4:7, James contrasts the ‘wisdom’ that comes from the world with the true wisdom that comes from God. Here he employs the Old Testament language of worship (“Submit yourselves…Resist…” and in the following verse “Come near…Wash…and purify”) in […]

This verse highlights the theme of confidence in one’s salvation that runs throughout John’s letter (especially 2:1 and 5:13). For John, not only can we be confident in our salvation, but here he makes it clear that we can be […]