Tag Archives: Bible verses

September 8, 2012

Matthew 23, Laying Down the Law

By John Paine
False Glory

False Glory by Odilon Redon, 1885

If you want to understand the New Testament you have to understand the Apostle Paul. And you can’t get very far into Paul’s writings before you come across one of his main themes—abuse of “the Law.”

Just what is or was the Law, and why does Paul devote so much energy and passion to it?  Before you get to Paul however, it is important to understand what Jesus himself actually said about the Law.  The identity of Jesus is tightly resolved if we understand the answer to this question.

Lee Strobel describes the prophesies that could only be fulfilled by Jesus. Mathematically, the odds that anyone who ever lived could fulfill only 48 of the Old Testament messianic prophesies were calculated by Dr. Peter Stoner to be one chance in ten to the 137th power—unimaginably small.  Add to that the Messiah had to color between the lines, so to speak, in fulfilling and not changing the Law, and you have what Lee Strobel would call the unmistakable “fingerprint of Christ.”

Continue reading

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in The Gospels, Topics

September 1, 2012

Mormon Doctrine

By John Paine

Aren’t Mormons Christians? Mormons indeed claim to be “Christians in a very real sense.”  But don’t let me or anyone else answer that question for you—check out the Mormon.org site and see what you think.

Here’s a short video that gets to the heart of the are-they-or-aren’t-they question.

For details, check out the Mormonism page from CARM.  And here’s an interesting post from Justin Taylor.

We recently had a Mormon family (with seven young children) stay overnight in our home.  Every one of the kids was loving, personable, well-mannered, empathetic, enthusiastic, and happy.  Strikingly so—these were precious children.  Their parents were very nice, and we enjoyed their visit.

So what’s that got to do with anything?  Just that these were loving, personable, well-mannered, empathetic, enthusiastic, and happy people.

Personally, I confess to hating conflict.  I wish we could just all get along.  But I love Jesus Christ more than I hate conflict.  Much more.  Christ did not teach that anything goes, or that we should all just accept each other’s doctrines.  Love each other?  Absolutely.  Accept apostasy?  Absolutely not.

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel–not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.  As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.  For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God?  Or am I trying to please man?  If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Apostle Paul, Galatians 1:6-10  (ESV)

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Topics

August 29, 2012

Heaven In Simple Terms

By John Paine

Some biblical illustrations are harder to understand than others, particularly in the 21st century.  Consider Jesus’ words in John, Chapter 10.  John noted in this passage that the disciples had difficulty with the sheep and shepherd metaphors.

When we asked Bill Warrick what he would say if he only had five minutes to tell someone about Heaven, Bill shared that he told his own father about Jesus representing himself as the great shepherd.  Bill’s video continues to get steady play on this blog, so obviously people are curious about Heaven.

Here’s a beautiful video short that illustrates Jesus’ metaphors about the way to Heaven.  It’s perfectly clear—there’s only one gate.

HT: Sourceflix.com

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in The Gospels, Topics

August 23, 2012

American Bible Challenge

By John Paine

So how well do you know the Bible?  The American Bible Challenge is a new game show debuting tonight on the GSN Network (channel 258 in Williamsburg, check your local listings).

Here’s a link to the show’s home page where you can get additional apps and information, and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the show.

I’m certain Veracity readers will do quite well.  Enjoy!

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Topics

August 19, 2012

Historicity of the Bible

By John Paine

Is the Bible a reliable historical document?  This is a huge topic—too ambitious for a blog post—but here’s an attempt to whet your curiosity to dig a little deeper.

Sometimes it takes quite a bit of investigation, discovery, and thinking to connect the dots.  (For example, Rick Larson’s work on the Star of Bethlehem.)  But there are examples that are right in our faces.  Consider the Arch of Titus in Rome.  Titus was the Roman commander in charge of the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., which destroyed Herod’s Temple.  The Roman army carried off the Temple treasures, including the Menorah, Table of the Showbread, and Temple Trumpets.  Recent research into the bas relief on the Arch of Titus has discovered that the Menorah in this frieze was originally painted gold.

Arch of Titus

Temple Plunder on the Arch of Titus, Rome

Here is an extra-biblical source showing the Menorah from the Hebrew Temple, carried off in the spoils of war, and sculpted into a Roman monument by the Roman people.  And it is identical to the lampstand prescribed by God to Moses in Exodus 25.  And it was described in detail by (non-Christian) first-century historian Flavius Josephus, and later rabbinical sources.  If you put that all together, we have extra-biblical evidence for the elements in the Holy of Holies, confirmation of a match between Scripture and what was found in the Temple, confirmation of the elements used in service by Hebrew priests, and a very big problem for those who deny that the Temple was ever on Mount Moriah.  It’s as close as we can get to an ancient photograph.  This particular sculpture was used to create an official seal for the modern State of Israel featuring the Menorah.  So there’s one small example of the historicity of the Bible.

Continue reading

5 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Apologetics, Archaeology