Biblical Studies

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4 ESV) In the previous posts I gave excerpts from Francis Schaeffer's talks with students in Lausanne in the 1960s. Crossway published these in 1998 as The Finished Work of Christ . I have been very enriched by reading through the Epistle to the Romans, using Schaeffer's easy-to-follow commentary. In chapter 6 of Romans, he shows how we must reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God through Jesus Christ. In chapter 7 he shows that trying to live up to the moral law -- no matter ...

"What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness." (Romans 6:15-18) In the previous post I gave some excerpts from Francis Schaeffer's talks with students in Lausanne in the 1960s. Crossway published these in 1998 as The Finished Work of Christ . I have enjoyed reading through the Epistle to the Romans, using this easy-to-read commentary. Here are a few more excerpts from his discussion on Romans 6:15-18...  The believers in Rome had been slaves of sin, but then they had obeyed God "from the heart." Theirs wa...

"What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness." (Romans 6:15-18 ESV) I have been so enriched reading through Paul's Epistle to the Romans, using Francis Schaeffer's commentary, verse by verse. His words were recorded as he met with university students for lunch at Lausanne, Switzerland, in the 1960s, and later published by Crossway as The Finished Work of Christ (1998).  Here are some excerpts from his discussion on Romans 6:15-18...  Each of us has great significance, as Christians and also as human beings. Eac...

A couple of years ago, I posted online, and via email, brief thoughts regarding nearly every chapter of the Bible. It was a two-year project in which I followed the Robert Murray M’Cheyne reading schedule in two parts. Upon the suggestion of others, I’ve decided to sort and gather these posts into documents covering each book of the Bible.  My goal was to summarize each chapter, to make some observations on the text, and to state why we have this passage in Scripture, or at least what we are meant to do with it. For many years in ministry in our university community I would meet with young adults in a coffee shop, reading and discussing a passage, and asking, what’s with this chapter? what do we do with it? With that in mind, most of these posts were written rather quickly, thinking back on those conversations, as well as on messages I may have given on the passage in church. Unfortunately, not every chapter of the Bible is included, but most are. All of this has been lightly ...