Biblical References
Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages are from the NIVArchives
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Tag Archives: Matthew 5
Did Jesus Confirm the Inerrancy and Historicity of the Old Testament?
While 2 Timothy 3:16-17 is the queen of all ‘proofs’ of biblical inerrancy, I would say that certain words of Jesus come in second. And, since Jesus is central to all believers, how can we ignore his words if they … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, inerrancy, Jesus, Old Testament
Tagged 2 Timothy 3:16, Book of Enoch, Book of Jude, Isaiah 61, John 10, Jonah, Jot and Tittle, Luke 4, Matthew 5, Psalm 82, Scripture cannot be broken, Tom Sawyer
33 Comments
Belief in Angry God is Perhaps the Most Damaging, Misguided Christian Belief of All
What is more central to our religious experience than our relationship with God? But some believers understand their relationships with God much differently than others do. Most of us believe God loves us and cares about us. We even talk … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, fear, hell, Jesus, legalism, love, love your enemies, Old Testament, The Father
Tagged angry God, Deuteronomy 28, harmful beliefs, Hebrews 10, Matthew 5, sermon on the mount
44 Comments
3 Possible Reasons Jesus Told His Followers to Carry Swords
Whenever we talk of Jesus being nonviolent there are always those who protest that Jesus was indeed violent. Often they embrace violence and use Jesus for justification. We have discussed other inadequate ‘proofs’ of Jesus’ ‘violent’ side, such as his cleansing … Continue reading
Posted in Jesus, Kingdom of God, love your enemies
Tagged Christian violence, Jesus and violence, John 18, Luke 22, Mark 6, Matthew 5
51 Comments
The Bible is not Magically Inerrant: Exposing Inerrancy Proof-Texts
Inerrancy is perhaps the most obvious example of what the Bible is NOT, and I have written about it many times. But today I approach it from a different angle by examining common inerrancy proof-texts. I begin with the most … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, inerrancy, Jesus, New Testament, Old Testament, Paul
Tagged 2 Timothy 3:16, inerrancy proof-texts, John 10, Matthew 5, Romans 15
35 Comments
Are ‘Sins’ Primarily Sins against God or against Other People?
Some believers think all sins are primarily sins against God. Stephen Witmer makes that very statement: All sin is primarily sin against God. Where sin is understood as merely a moral concept rather than mainly a religious one, where it … Continue reading
Posted in alienation, behavior, God, Jesus, legalism, love, love your enemies, sin, sinners, The Father
Tagged Matthew 5
43 Comments
Do You Still Feel Guilt and Fear because You Fall Short of what God Demands?
Recently I published a post titled God’s Love for Us Takes Away Our Fear, Guilt, and Self-Condemnation. Two responses represented what I am sure many people felt after reading the article—they still felt guilty and fearful. The post was not … Continue reading
Posted in fear, God, hell, Jesus, Kingdom of God, legalism, love, the Good News
Tagged divorce, guilt, Matthew 5
38 Comments
How Legalism Stunts Our Spiritual Growth
When I was young I read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. It took place during the Jewish holocaust in Europe, and the Ten Boom family (who were Christians) protected Jews from the Germans by building a secret compartment … Continue reading
Posted in judgment, legalism, love
Tagged Corrie Ten Boom, Matthew 5, religious rules, sermon on the mount, spiritual growth, The Hiding Place
44 Comments
Jesus, the Buddha, and the Good News
Recently, I received a series of comments and questions from a Buddhist who had been a Catholic previously. After some initial dialog, I responded more comprehensively with this comment; it is edited slightly for a wider audience. Hi GB, You shared … Continue reading
Posted in Buddha, Jesus, the Good News
Tagged Buddhism, Matthew 22, Matthew 5, Matthew 7
31 Comments
Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is Liberty
During the entire year of 1976 (the bicentennial), my denomination used a special logo in its publications. Recently, I came across a book mark from that campaign while cleaning out a storage space. It depicts George Washington crossing the Delaware and … Continue reading
Posted in legalism, Paul, the invitation
Tagged 2 Corinthians 3, Constantine, Matthew 11, Matthew 5, politics, Washington crossing the Delaware
22 Comments
Jesus Obliterates Legalism
I belonged to a legalistic church in the 1970’s. Males had to wear their hair very short; females couldn’t cut their hair at all, or use makeup, or wear pants of any kind. And males and females couldn’t swim together. … Continue reading
Hating Our Enemies
Years ago, I was a manager in one of the departments of my denomination’s General Offices. The management culture was extremely heavy-handed, though not all supervisors were that way. One day I got a new supervisor who seemed to deliberately … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, hate, Jesus, legalism, love
Tagged be perfect, be ye perfect, love your enemies, Matthew 5
17 Comments
3 Ways to Respond to People Who Hurt Us
In elementary school my neighbor Robert and I were good friends and played together a lot. One day while we were playing in the grass between our houses we decided to run around the perimeter of the area in opposite … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, Jesus, legalism, love
Tagged Exodus 21, government resistance, insults, Matthew 5, retaliation, the poor
34 Comments
I Swear to God!
Hearing these words used to make me cringe because Jesus told us to ‘Swear not at all’ (KJV), yet when I was a child people swore all around me: I swear to God! As God is my witness! So help … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, Jesus, legalism
Tagged Exodus 20, Matthew 5, oaths, swearing an oath, Ten Commandments
26 Comments
Adultery!
When I was a fundamentalist, we took a hard line against adultery and divorce. My father, a fundamentalist pastor, refused to perform weddings for people who were divorced. We took this hard line by understanding Jesus’ words in a legalistic … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, Jesus, legalism, love
Tagged adultery, divorce, lust, Matthew 5, relationships, Ten Commandments
29 Comments
Murder!
We hear it in the news nearly every day—Murder! Yet no one asks What’s so bad about murder? because it doesn’t take a genius to realize murder is wrong. No society can thrive while allowing people to murder each other, … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, Jesus, legalism, love
Tagged Matthew 5, murder, reconciliation, Ten Commandments
18 Comments
Jesus and Legalism
Jesus replaced legalism with the greater principle of love, and in doing so he destroyed the Law as it was understood in his day. The scribes and Pharisees were known for meticulous observation of the detailed commandments found in the … Continue reading
Jesus and the Principle of Love
When Jesus began teaching, many Jews were very absorbed in keeping religious laws and they discussed them frequently. The idea of serving God by observing laws or rules is called legalism. Jesus was not a legalist. In the next few … Continue reading
Posted in behavior, Jesus, legalism, love
Tagged good works, Let Your Light Shine, Love your neighbor as yourself, Matthew 22, Matthew 5
64 Comments
Schadenfreude!
Usually I don’t use big words, but Schadenfreude says something no other word expresses. I have seen the word in my readings, and its meaning is easy to grasp from the contexts, but I never heard it pronounced until recently. You can … Continue reading
Posted in hate, love
Tagged 9/11, love your enemies, Matthew 5, Osama bin Laden, Schadenfreude
61 Comments
Jesus Without Baggage 