Sovereign distinguishing grace

Romans 9:14-33 (ESV)

14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!  15 For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” 16  So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. 17  For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” 18  So then he has mercy on whomever he wills, and he hardens whomever he wills.

19  You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” 20 But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?” 21 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honored use and another for dishonorable use? 22  What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, 23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory– 24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? 25  As indeed he says in Hosea,

   “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’
   and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
26″And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’
   there they will be called ’sons of the living God.’”

27  And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, 28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.” 29  And as Isaiah predicted,

   “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring,
   we would have been like Sodom
   and become like Gomorrah.”

30 What shall we say, then? That Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith; 31 but that Israel who pursued a law that would lead to righteousness did not succeed in reaching that law.  32  Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as if it were based on works. They have stumbled over the stumbling stone, 33 as it is written,

   “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense;
   and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

ESV to issue new Literary Study Bible

This new offering is edited by Leland Ryken and Philip Graham Ryken — available in September. The following is extracted from promotional material HERE: 

The ESV Literary Study Bible approaches the Bible as literature and shows how the application of literary tools of analysis helps tremendously in reading and understanding the Bible. Readers are introduced to the literary features of each book of the Bible and to each section within each book.

“Any piece of writing needs to be assimilated and interpreted in terms of the kind of writing that it is,” write the coeditors. “The Bible is a literary book in which theology and history are usually embodied in literary forms. Those forms include genres, the expression of human experience in concrete form, stylistic and rhetorical techniques, and artistry. . . . [The use of these forms] has been inspired by God and [they] need to be granted an importance in keeping with that inspiration.”

The Literary Study Bible is two Bibles in one. It is a reader’s Bible by virtue of its format, designed to facilitate reading through the Bible. An important feature of that format is the division of the biblical text into units of a length that invites devotional reading day by day, each unit preceded by helpful tips for reading the passage that follows. The Literary Study Bible is also a study Bible. The commentary that appears before each passage contains tips, not only for reading, but also for analysis. Furthermore, the format and commentary make this Bible ideal for use in group Bible studies. Study leaders can use the commentary to help organize their thoughts about a passage and formulate a series of discussion questions.

Download a 16-page brochure (1.3MB PDF) with sample pages from The Literary Study Bible.

The Sermon on the Mount, part 5

Concluding remarks in this overview of the Sermon on the Mount:

Not a code of ethics – It is extremely important to remember that the Sermon on the Mount is a description of character and not a code of ethics or morals. It is not to be regarded as a law — a kind of new ‘Ten Commandments’ or a set of rules and regulations which are to be carried out by us –  but rather a description of what we as Christians are meant to be, illustrated in certain particular respects.^19  Jesus is not laying down a new code of legal regulations but communicating great ethical principles and how they affect the lives of those within the kingdom. “It would be a great point gained if people would only consider that it was a Sermon, and was preached, not an act which was passed.”^20 
 
All kinds of approaches to this sermon can be found in the Church.  Some have seen it as a message calculated to produce the greatest possible guilt in the fewest possible chapters!  It has often been presented that way: “Here is the standard.  Look how miserably you have failed.  Get your act together and do better.”

The Sermon on the Mount, part 4

This mini-series overview of the Sermon on the Mount continues looking at the remaining sections of the text itself. 

Second Section – Precepts of the Kingdom (5:17-5:48 )

After the brief exposition about the members of the kingdom, the Lord now gives truths about the nature of the kingdom itself (5:17-48). This section is characterized by the repeated phrase, “you have heard it said, . . . but I say.”  Jesus is going to do some interpretation of the O.T Law for his listeners, and He prefaces this by first stating He came not to abolish, but to fulfill the Law.  Then he emphasizes the fact that “not one jot or tittle of the law will pass away until all is fulfilled.”  Now, he makes this clear at the outset because he knows what he is about to say is going to shock his listeners.  He wants them to listen carefully and not take what he is about to say as negating the Law in any sense.
 
Some have said that Jesus here contrasts the letter of the Law with the spirit of the Law.  But I don’t think that’s the case. The key, I believe is the phrase you have heard it said.  In virtually every other place where Jesus refers to the Law (or O.T), he uses the phrase “It is written” (e.g. Matt. 4:4, 7, 10; 21:13, 26:31).  Here he uses the phrase “You have heard.”   I would suggest that this is not a contrast between the letter of the law and the spirit of the Law.  This is a contrast between a perversion of the law — the oral tradition perpetuated by the scribes and Pharisees — and the true letter and true spirit of the Law.  So here, in six masterful strokes, Jesus says, “you have heard it said, . . . but I say,” thereby rejecting the scribal interpretations of the Law.

Although Jesus essentially quotes the O.T in some instances, it is clear from his arguments that he is dealing with abuses of the Law encouraged by the Pharisaic tradition.

The Sermon on the Mount, part 3

I will continue this mini-series today with an overview of the setting of the Sermon on the Mount and the first section which I take as Matthew 5:3-16.

The Setting

I am primarily looking at Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount, but we should note the parallel account in Luke chapter 6 which should be read in conjunction.  I don’t have time here to harmonize the accounts.  Let me simply suggest that there is strong internal evidence that the two accounts are describing the same event in spite of the differences one may note ^14  and in spite of what some scholars say.   This is at least my assumption.  I’m just not going to get into the details here.

I mention this because I want us to pause just long enough to get clear on who the audience is for Jesus’ sermon.  In Matthew 5:1 where we are told that he sat down and his disciples came to him, we must not think this is referring only to the twelve – for we see in Luke 6:13 that early that morning He called his disciples to himself and chose the twelve from among them.  So there were other disciples — apparently a large number of them according to Luke 6:17.  Therefore, we must understand that it was the twelve along with many other disciples who came to sit around him.

The Sermon on the Mount, part 2

Continuing my overview of the Sermon on the Mount, we will look next at the context and theme of the passage and then consider the nature of this Kingdom of God that Matthew introduces.

Context and Theme

The events leading up to the sermon are described by Matthew in chapter 4.   Key statements are made in verses 12, 17, and 23.  In verse 12, we read: “Now when He heard that John had been taken into custody, He withdrew into Galilee; 13  and leaving Nazareth, He came and settled in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.”

Dropping down to 4:17, we read, “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

There are two things to notice here:  First, the phrase From that time refers to the arrest of John the Baptist.  This is apparently the event Jesus chose to launch his public ministry. Secondly, Matthew wants us to see that Jesus’ message is linked directly to John’s message (3:1-2). There is a continuity made explicit by Jesus’ use of the same phrase John had used, and we are right to see Jesus as essentially picking up where John left off.

The Sermon on the Mount, part 1

This is the beginning of a series on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.^1  We will be looking primarily at Matthew’s account of this discourse as given in chapters 5 through 7 of his gospel.  It will be an overview in what I intend to be “bite-size” chunks that are not too long.

I’m sure all are at least somewhat familiar with the Sermon on the Mount.  This is probably the best known part of Jesus’ teaching, not only among Christians but among people in general.  Sayings from the Sermon on the Mount have become part of our everyday language; sayings such as do unto others . . . ,  judge not,  turn the other cheek, and so on.  But I would suggest it is also one of the least understood parts of our Lord’s teaching, and certainly the least obeyed.  In this day and age, when we in the church seem to be looking more and more like the society around us, there may be no better medicine than the Sermon on the Mount.  It describes what human life and human community look like when they come under the gracious rule of God.^2  And in a word, what should it look like?  Different . . .  i.e. not the same as the secular society around us.