Written by Thomas R. Schreiner |
Monday, September 30, 2024
Believers must ready themselves. Some are destined for captivity, and to captivity they will go. Others are destined to be killed by the sword, and so it will be (cf. Jer. 15:2; 43:11). Such events do not mean God has abandoned or forgotten about them; the power of the beast does not suggest God’s sovereign rule over the world has been surrendered, for the beast exercises authority only by God’s will. Hence, believers are called upon to persevere and remain faithful to their Lord.

Read the Passage
1And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority.
11Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.12It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed.13It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people,14and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived.15And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain.16Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead,17so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.18This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.—Revelation 13:1, 2; 11–18
A Great Beast
John sees a beast rising out of the sea, summoned by the dragon on the seashore (12:17). The sea was a place of chaos, danger, and evil for the Hebrews (cf. comment on 21:1). The vision draws on Daniel 7:3, where Daniel sees “four great beasts . . . out of the sea.” The beasts in Daniel represent great empires, and a great empire — almost certainly Rome — is in John’s mind as well. The kingdom rising out of the sea is not humane, civil, or supportive of its citizens. Instead, it is like a ravaging and ferocious beast, preying on its citizens.
The beast described here is probably the fourth beast seen by Daniel (Dan. 7:7, 19, 23). The beast in Revelation has extraordinary power, for it has ten horns, with ten diadems (Rev. 17:12; cf. Dan. 7:20, 24)—symbols of ruling authority—on its horns. It has seven heads, also signifying its authority and power. The dragon had seven heads and ten horns (Rev. 12:3), and he clearly has given his authority to the beast. The beast with its horns and diadems parodies the Christ (cf. 5:6; 19:12), just as the dragon does. The seven heads bear blasphemous names, which are perhaps Roman claims to deity, such as “Lord,” “son of God,” and “Savior” (cf. also 17:3), revealing again the divine pretensions of the beast. The beast is not confined to the Roman Empire; it refers to Rome but applies also to every manifestation of evil in all governments throughout history, and also to the final conflict to come at the end.
The beast coming out of the sea is like a leopard, with feet like a bear’s and a mouth like a lion’s. In Daniel’s vision of the four beasts, the first (Babylon) was like a lion with eagles’ wings (Dan. 7:4), the second (Medio-Persia) was like a bear (Dan. 7:5), and the third (probably Greece) was like a leopard (Dan. 7:6). John sees these beasts consummated in Daniel’s fourth beast, which is the beast he describes here (probably Rome; cf. Dan. 7:7, 19, 23). This beast is not autonomous but derives its totalitarian rule from the dragon, and thus its governing authority is demonic (cf. 2 Thess. 2:8–9).
One of the heads of the beast had a mortal wound, from which it recovered (cf. 17:8). Many understand this to refer to an individual, which is certainly possible. After Nero’s death in AD 68, a tradition arose that he would return (perhaps from Parthia) and rule again, and John might have had that tradition in mind. But if John wrote in the 90s, his most plausible date, it is quite unlikely this tradition would be in mind, since Nero was long gone. It is more probable, then, that the reference is to the empire as a whole. The deadly wound signifies the apparent demise of tyrannical rule. Rome’s dominion looks as if it has been dethroned and removed forever. And yet the empire is not destroyed; just when it seems that its tyranny has ended, its power is resumed. The so-called death-blow is ineffective. In response, the world is astonished with the beast and gives its allegiance to him, for the revival of a demonic empire is a kind of resurrection, and so once again the beast parodies the Christ.
Worship of the Beast
The staying power of the beast and its empire leads to worship of the dragon and the beast. The dragon is worshiped for giving authority to the beast. The beast is worshiped because of his so-called resurrection. He is considered incomparable and omnipotent, like God (cf. Ex. 15:11; Ps. 89:7). People worship the beast, believing he cannot be resisted or overcome. As has often been observed in history, people support a winner.
Twice in this verse we are told what “was given” to the beast: a mouth to utter proud, blasphemous words, and authority for forty-two months. The clause “it was given” (edothē) appears four other times in this chapter (13:7 [2x], 14, 15). In the comment on 9:1, I defended the notion that God is the implied subject of this passive construction. Although the dragon actively gives (edōken; 13:2, 4) his authority to the beast, God reigns and rules over what the beast carries out, allowing or permitting the beast to exercise his authority. Even though God ordains what the beast does, he does not have the same motivations or intent as Satan. God’s judgment is his “strange” work (Isa. 28:21), and he calls on the wicked to repent and live (Ezek. 18:23, 32), while Satan rejoices when people are destroyed. The “secret things” belong to the Lord (Deut. 29:29), and hence we cannot fully chart or explicate the logical relationship between divine sovereignty and human responsibility.
The Beast’s Opposition to God
The beast is full of himself, uttering “haughty and blasphemous words” against God, just as Antiochus IV Epiphanes did in his day, functioning as a type of the coming beast (cf. Dan. 7:8, 20; 11:36). Such activity fits also with the “man of lawlessness,” who exalts himself as divine (2 Thess. 2:3–4). The beast is allowed to exercise his authority for forty-two months. Some understand this to be a literal three and one-half years before Jesus returns. But John is more likely describing the entire period between Jesus’ first and second coming (cf. comment on Rev. 11:2); John wrote not of days far removed from his readers but of the impact of the Roman Empire on them. All totalitarian governments arrogating to themselves divine authority reveal that they too are the beast.
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Written by Thomas R. Schreiner |
Tuesday, September 24, 2024
The crucifixion of Paul and all believers to the world occurred when they were crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20). A radical disruption has taken place so that the love for the present world has been severed at the cross. Old polarities, such as whether one is circumcised or uncircumcised are fundamentally irrelevant. What matters is whether someone is part of the new creation that has dawned in Jesus Christ. Such a perspective accords with what Paul affirms in 2 Corinthians 5:17. The arrival of the new creation means that the old has passed away.

New Creation
Paul only uses the expression “new creation” once in his letter to the Galatians (Gal. 6:15), but the notion isn’t restricted to the phrase. Indeed, the new creation surfaces in the first verse, which affirms that God raised Jesus from the dead (Gal. 1:1). The resurrection in Jewish thought means that the new age has arrived and that the old age of evil and death has come to an end.1 Isaiah prophesies that the Lord “will swallow up death forever” and tears will be a distant memory (Isa. 25:8). Similarly, those who are raised from the dead will experience “everlasting life” and will shine “like the stars forever and ever” (Dan. 12:2–3; see also Isa. 26:19).
On the day of the resurrection the Lord’s promises to his people will be fulfilled, and the people of God will be restored and unified (Ezek. 37:1–14). The resurrection of Jesus means that the old age has ended, and thus Paul foreshadows the argument of the entire letter. Circumcision is no longer required because it was a permanent ordinance in the old era while the old creation persisted. Now that the new creation has come, the ordinances of the old age have passed away. Commands like circumcision only apply under the old covenant and in the old era, but the resurrection represents the apocalyptic irruption of the new age, and thus the regulations of the former age have expired.
Paul has died and now he lives to God (Gal. 2:19). In other words, he has “been crucified with Christ,” and now Christ “lives in” him (Gal. 2:20). Paul speaks representatively so that what is true of him applies to all believers in Jesus everywhere. They have died and come to life again. This is another way of describing an apocalyptic inbreaking through Christ Jesus. The new creation has come, and this is evident since Paul and all believers have died and come to life again. The power of the resurrection has, like a sneaker wave, washed up into the old age and taken over the shoreline of the beach. Now believers live in the new creation inaugurated by Christ’s resurrection. The new age has broken in and the old age is set aside. The arrival of the new creation in Christ’s resurrection affects every theme in Galatians, whether it is justification, the law, the people of God, or life in the Spirit.
The eschatological and apocalyptic dimensions of Paul’s gospel are apparent in Galatians 1:4 where Christ “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age.” The term “deliver” (exaireō) presents Jesus’s death as an exodus type of rescue (see Ex. 3:8; 18:4, 8, 9, 10 LXX). The same verb is used for the Lord’s promise to liberate his people in a second exodus foretold in the prophets (Isa. 31:5; 60:16; Ezek. 34:27 LXX).2 A distinction between this age and the age to come was common in Jewish thought (see 1 En. 71:15; 4 Ezra 4:27; 7:12–13, 50, 113–14; 8:1; 2 Bar. 14:13; 15:8; 44:8–15; CD 6.10–11, 14; 12.23; 1QpHab 5.7–8), and we find it fairly often in Jesus’s teaching as well (Matt. 12:32; Matt. 13:39, 40, 49; Matt. 24:3; Matt. 28:20; Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30; 20:35).
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Written by Thomas R. Schreiner |
Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Luke encourages us to pray always. We should not become practical atheists who cease to hope in God. If we stop praying, it is because we are beginning to think that God is not faithful, that he does not care, that he will not really help us out. But the real issue is not whether God is faithful but whether we are faithful.

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”—Luke 18:1–8
Is God Like an Unjust Judge?
In Luke 18 Jesus tells of a judge who does not fear God or respect human beings. Judges have authority and power and social status. The Torah calls upon them to rule justly: “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor” (Lev. 19:15). In addition, the fundamental requirement for all in Israel was to fear the Lord (Deut. 6:13, 24; 10:12, 20; 1 Sam. 12:24; Eccles. 12:13; Job 28:28; Prov. 1:7), for those who fear him worship him alone. Because he feared God, Nehemiah did not oppress the people financially (Neh. 5:15); in contrast, those who speak against the deaf or mistreat the blind do so because they do not fear the Lord (Lev. 19:14).
Since the judge does not fear God, he does not respect people, especially those who, like the widow, are poor and disadvantaged. As we read in Exodus 22:22, “You shall not mistreat any widow.” Indeed, the Lord “executes justice for…the widow” (Deut. 10:18). Deuteronomy 27:19 calls a curse upon those who pervert the justice that widows deserve (cf. Isa. 1:17, 23; 10:2; Jer. 7:6; 22:3; Zech. 7:10). The judge, however, since he does not fear God or respect people, does not care about what the Torah requires. The widow, however, is indefatigable, and she repeatedly petitions him for justice.
The judge, however, continues to refuse her request. He acknowledges what we saw in Luke 18:2: he neither fears God nor respects people. He does not care, therefore, about the widow’s rights or the justice of her case. Still, he eventually decides the case rightly on her behalf because the widow will not leave him alone; she keeps bothering him about the case until he gives her justice. Why does the judge finally do so (cf. Luke 11:8)? Because the widow will “beat [him] down” if she keeps coming to him. The verb translated “beat down” (Gk. hypōpiazō) is translated various ways: “wear me out” (CSB, NASB, NET, NRSV, RSV, ASV); “weary me” (KJV); “attack me” (NIV). Some understand the verb literally (the ESV and NIV could be taken this way); the judge fears that the widow will give him a black eye, that she will end up punching him in the face or resorting to some other physical violence. It seems unlikely, however, that the judge would fear physical violence from a widow. The verb, then, should be taken metaphorically—but metaphorically of what? Others say that the judge fears getting a “black eye” in the eyes of the community, of being shamed for his behavior. The problem with this reading is that we have already been told that the judge does not respect people; he does not care what they think of him. The best option, then, is represented by most translations: the judge is growing weary of his encounters with the widow. Her persistence day after day is wearing him out, and it is easier on him to grant her request than to keep dealing with her.1 He is tired of being bothered day after day.
Jesus proceeds to apply the parable to his hearers. He argues from lesser to greater: if the unrighteous judge who despised God and mistreated people granted justice when petitioned, then God will certainly grant justice to his elect who voice their concerns to him day and night (cf. Rev. 6:10). The reference to “day and night” fits with Luke 18:1 and the behavior of the widow. It fits with verse 1 because those who do not lose heart continue to pray “day and night”; it fits with the widow because she was not deterred despite the reluctance of the judge to grant her request.
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Written by Thomas R. Schreiner |
Friday, September 6, 2024
The most important question in life is how we are justified before God. In other words, what does it take for a person to be declared in the right before God at the final judgment? The answer is that righteousness before God doesn’t come by the works of the law. We are not right before God by our works since, as the one who is infinitely holy, God demands perfect obedience. Our works will only lead to judgment since we are all sinners, since we all fall short in many ways. 

The Gospel in Galatians
One way to think about Galatians is to sketch it in three movements. These three movements roughly map onto chapters so that chapters 1–2 are the first movement, chapters 3–4 the second, and chapters 5–6 the third. The three movements can be described as the 1) the truth of the gospel (chs. 1–2); 2) the content of the gospel (chs. 3–4); and 3) the result of the gospel (chs. 5–6).
The truth of the gospel takes center stage in chapters 1–2. Jewish teachers accused Paul of proclaiming a false gospel since the latter argued that one didn’t need to keep the law or be circumcised to be saved. Paul strikes back by emphasizing that the gospel of free grace that he preached was revealed to him by Jesus himself on the road to Damascus. Anyone who departs from the good news declared by Paul, whether it was an angel, an apostle, or even Peter himself, would be condemned (Gal. 1:8–9). We learn from this that the gospel found in Galatians is the very truth of God, and we depart from it to our eternal peril. No compromise can be accepted or tolerated when it comes to the gospel, and all teachings and teachers must be evaluated and measured by the gospel revealed to us by Jesus Christ himself.
In the second movement, chapters 3–4 of Galatians, the content of the gospel is unfolded. The most important question in life is how we are justified before God. In other words, what does it take for a person to be declared in the right before God at the final judgment? The answer is that righteousness before God doesn’t come by the works of the law. We are not right before God by our works since, as the one who is infinitely holy, God demands perfect obedience.
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Written by Thomas R. Schreiner |
Tuesday, May 28, 2024
God’s dazzling beauty and loveliness can’t allow sin to coexist with him; doing such would compromise his holiness, his very being. Isaiah 6 is rightly famous, and it casts more light on our theme. Yahweh sits transcendently and magnificently as the King in his temple. The seraphim stand around the Lord with their six wings. They cover their faces with two wings since the Lord is ever and always the Holy One, and thus they can’t look on his face. With two wings they cover their feet, which is another indication of their inferiority in the presence of the Creator and sovereign of all things.

God Is Holy
One answer—a fundamental and important answer—as to why God judges evil is that he is holy. Often in the Old Testament, especially in Isaiah, Yahweh is called “the Holy One of Israel” (Ps. 78:41; Isa. 1:4; 5:19, 24; 10:20; 12:6; 17:7; 29:19; 30:11, 12, 15; 31:1; 37:23; 41:14, 16, 20; 43:3, 14; 45:11; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7; 54:5; 55:5; 60:9, 14; Jer. 50:29; 51:5). We often read about Yahweh’s “holy name” (e.g., 1 Chron. 16:10, 35; Pss. 30:4; 33:21; 111:9; Ezek. 36:20, 21, 22; 39:7, 25; 43:7, 8; Amos 2:7), which means that holiness is the Lord’s very nature and being.
Holiness is often defined as being separated from evil, though others have said that it signifies what is consecrated and devoted.1 These two definitions may not be as far apart as we might think since what is consecrated and devoted is also separated from common use. For instance, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place are devoted to the sacrificial cult, but we could say that both places are separated from common use as well. So, too, the Sabbath is a consecrated day, a holy day (Ex. 20:8), but it is also separated from other days and, thus, special. We could say the same thing about holy garments (Ex. 28:2), holy offerings (Ex. 28:38), holy anointing oil (Ex. 30:25), and so on. They are separated from ordinary life and consecrated for special use.
We also receive further help by investigating other words associated with holiness. For instance, priests are to distinguish “between the holy and the common, and between the unclean and the clean” (Lev. 10:10; cf. Ezek. 22:26; 44:23). The holy is in the same category as that which is clean, while the unholy is unclean and defiled. Those from Aaron’s house can’t eat holy offerings until they are clean (Lev. 22:4). These texts refer to ritual defilement, which is not necessarily equated with sinfulness. Still, it seems that the reason uncleanness exists is because of the presence of sin in the world. Uncleanness, then, doesn’t necessarily point to personal sin, but it signifies a sickness in a world that is deformed and bent due to human evil. God stands apart from the world because of his holiness. “There is none holy like the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:2). Since the Lord is the “Holy One,” no one can be compared to him or is equal to him (Isa. 40:25).
The Lord is uniquely holy, and there is clearly a moral dimension to holiness. When the ark was returned from the Philistines to Israel in Beth-shemesh, some looked inside the ark and seventy people were struck dead (1 Sam. 6:19). They immediately responded, “Who is able to stand before the Lord, this holy God?” (1 Sam. 6:20). The author is clearly telling us that the sin of Israel is such that they were unable to live in God’s presence, since he is the Holy One—that is, he is beautiful and full of goodness in contrast to the sinfulness of human beings.
Nor is this an isolated thought. The psalmist asks,
O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?      Who shall dwell on your holy hill? (Ps. 15:1)
The answer reveals that holiness has to do with the Lord’s moral perfection and his blazing goodness, since those who can live on his holy mountain are those who live righteously, who refrain from slander, who do not injure their neighbors, who esteem the godly, who are true to their word, and who don’t take interest and deprive the poor of their income (Ps. 15:2–5). A similar question is asked in Psalm 24:
Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?      And who shall stand in his holy place? (Ps. 24:3)
The answer again has to do with goodness, since access to God is restricted to those who have “clean hands” and “a pure heart” and are characterized by honesty (Ps. 24:4).
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Written by Thomas R. Schreiner |
Sunday, December 25, 2022
Jesus shares the very nature and being of God, sharing the same divine essence. Thus, we are not surprised to read in his citation of Hebrews 1:8 that Jesus is identified as God, and since he is God the angels worship him (Heb. 1:6). We know that only God is to be worshiped (Rev. 19:10; 22:9), and thus the worship of Jesus also confirms his full deity.

While Christmas often directs our thoughts to the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke, we should not limit ourselves to the Gospels. In fact, the christology of Hebrews stands out for its beauty, power, and theological profundity. In this brief article I want to consider the christology of Hebrews and the way that book teaches us to see Christ as the fulfillment of the three key Psalms and the divine priest-king who deserves all true worship.
Jesus, Our Melchizedekian Priest-King: A Meditation on Psalm 110
The author unfolds for us in this first chapter both the deity and the humanity of Jesus Christ, though we should add immediately that the humanity of Jesus is tied particularly to his kingship and priesthood. Perhaps the best point of entry for our reflection is Hebrews 1:3, where the author declares that Jesus sat down at God’s right hand after he had made a full cleansing for sin.
In saying this he alludes to Psalm 110:1, and we know that this psalm is a favorite of the author since he cites or alludes to it often (see Heb. 1:13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2). David, in the first verse of the psalm, affirms that there is a Lord greater than he, declaring that this greater Lord will sit at Yahweh’s right hand. In Matthew 22:41–46 Jesus himself taught that this verse pointed to him, and the author of Hebrews, along with other New Testament writers, picks up on Jesus’s exposition of the psalm. We have already noticed in Hebrews 1:3 that the author alludes to Psalm 110:1, but in Hebrews 1:13 he doesn’t merely allude to the verse, he quotes it, which certifies afresh how important the psalm is.
Another allusion to Psalm 110:1 surfaces in Hebrews 8:1 where we are told that the main point (kephalaion) being established is that Jesus has sat down at the right hand of God. In saying that this is the main point he points back to Hebrews 7, where we find a substantive treatment of Jesus’s Melchizedekian priesthood. Such a priesthood fulfills Old Testament promises in a typological manner since Jesus fulfills Psalm 110:4, which declares that the Lord who is greater than David (Ps. 110:1) is also “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:4, ESV).
What we are told about Jesus’s Melchizedekian priesthood is tied to the cleansing of sins accomplished by Jesus (Heb. 1:3). In fact, we have another allusion to Psalm 110:1 in Hebrews 10:12 that makes this very point. Jesus, as our priest and king, has sat down at God’s right hand because his work is finished, because he has purified believers once for all. His one sacrifice has brought complete and final forgiveness forever.
We should pick up here the final allusion to Psalm 110:1 in the letter. Since Jesus has sat down at God’s right hand and since he ran the race faithfully, believers should also run the race to the end and look to Jesus as they do so (Heb. 12:1–2). Jesus atones for our sins as our priest and as our king—as our Melchizedekian priest and Davidic king. The christology of Hebrews has a pastoral purpose and soteriological aim; believers have confidence to enter the most holy place through the blood of Jesus (Heb. 10:19–22). Therefore it would be foolish and fatal to turn back to Jewish sacrifices and to abandon Jesus.
Jesus, Our Davidic King: A Meditation on Psalm 2
The kingship of Jesus isn’t restricted to the citation and allusions to Psalm 110 in the letter. The author also draws on Psalm 2, which is a messianic psalm that plays a vital role in the thinking of the writers of the New Testament, though here we must confine ourselves to Hebrews 1.
The psalm was originally written by David (see Acts 4:25), but it ultimately points to and is fulfilled in Jesus, in that David’s kingship functions as a type of the rule of Jesus.
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Written by Thomas R. Schreiner |
Friday, December 16, 2022
All that is evil and defiling in this world will vanish. There will be discontinuity and continuity with the world we live in now. We will still reside in a physical universe, but it will be a world cleansed and purified from all sin. Some have interpreted 2 Peter 3:10–13 as teaching that the present world will be annihilated and burned up and then God will create a new universe out of nothing. This interpretation is certainly possible, but it is more likely that we should understand the burning to denote purification instead of annihilation so that the present world is purified and cleansed and renovated.

What will our heavenly existence be like? Some have envisioned believers as having an ethereal disembodied existence in which we float on clouds and strum on harps, but this picture does not fit with the biblical witness. The Scriptures teach that believers will be raised from the dead (1 Cor. 15:12–19; 1 Thess. 4:13–18) and that we will have physical bodies forever. Resurrected bodies can’t exist without a place, however, and thus there must be a new world that we will inhabit. We are not surprised, then, to discover the promise that there will be a new creation (Isa. 65:17; 66:22; Rev. 21:1), a new world that is free from sin. “The first heaven and the first earth” will pass away, and “the sea [will be] no more” (Rev. 21:1), and then the new creation will come.

The removal of the sea doesn’t mean that there won’t be waters or seas in the new creation. The sea stands symbolically for chaos, for evil, for all that deforms and defaces the present world. The cleansing of the world from evil accords with Romans 8:18–25, where we find that in the present time the created world groans and is full of futility. We see such futility and groaning with tornadoes, tsunamis, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, and other natural evils. The world that God created is good (Gen. 1:1–31), but Romans 8:18–25 teaches that when Adam sinned, both the human race and the created world were marred by sin. Of course, creation itself didn’t sin, but the sin of Adam was not restricted to him. It also affected the world that he had been commissioned to care for and steward. When Adam fell, the world fell with him, and thorns and thistles sprang up (Gen. 3:18).

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Written by Thomas R. Schreiner |
Saturday, January 29, 2022
When we are thankful, we praise our great God that “every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). We recognize that there is no reason to boast about anything because everything we have is a gift (1 Cor. 4:8), that He is the One who supplies our every need (Phil. 4:19). Whether we are talking about prayer, repentance, or thanksgiving, we are saying in every instance that we are children and that we are dependent on our kind Father for everything, and that is the heart and soul of humility.

C.S. Lewis famously said, “If you don’t think you are conceited, you are very conceited indeed.” Certainly that applies to humility: if you think you are humble, you are probably suffused with pride. In this article, we will consider briefly how prayer, repentance, and thanksgiving are related to humility.
How does prayer relate to humility? We can answer that question by considering the nature of prayer. When we pray, we express our complete dependence on God. Prayer acknowledges what Jesus said in John 15:5: “You can do nothing without me” (CSB translation throughout).
When we pray and ask God for help, we are admitting that we are not “competent in ourselves to claim anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God” (2 Cor. 3:5). Prayer testifies that we are “poor in spirit” (Matt. 5:3), that we are not strong but weak, and that, as the hymn says, we “need thee every hour.” One of the most humble prayers in the world is “Help me, Lord.” We remember the simple prayer of the Canaanite woman when everything seemed to be against her. She cried out to Jesus, “Help me” (Matt. 15:25). Prayer is humble because when we pray, we are saying that God is merciful and mighty, that He is wise and sovereign, and that He knows far better than we do what is best for us.
Repentance and Humility
It isn’t difficult to understand that repentance—admitting that we were wrong and promising to live a new way—isn’t possible without humility. Pride rears its ugly head when we refuse to admit we are wrong, when we refuse to say we are sorry, when we refuse to repent. The best exemplar of this truth is the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector (Luke 18:9–14).
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Written by Thomas R. Schreiner |
Thursday, October 7, 2021
If family members turn against God or have never turned to him, and we side with them to please them, we are siding against Jesus. The Lord gives grace, for there is nothing sweeter and more delightful than knowing Jesus. We are not to make our families an object of idolatry. Families are wonderful, but we are prepared to meet Jesus only if he is first in our hearts.

I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law (Luke 12:49-53).
The need for faithfulness and obedience as disciples (12:35–48) is followed by the purpose of Jesus’ mission. In saying that he has come to cast fire on the earth that he wishes were kindled now, Jesus certainly refers to judgment. In the OT fire often designates judgment. For instance, Jeremiah’s words are as fire that consumes the people (Jer. 5:14; 23:29; cf. Sir. 48:1).
Amos warns Israel to seek the Lord, lest he “break out like fire” (Amos 5:6). On the other hand, in Luke fire also refers to the transforming work of the Spirit (Acts 2:3), and in Isaiah 4:4 the Spirit as fire both cleanses and purifies. Thus both ideas are likely present here. Jesus, as in the next verse, anticipates his death and resurrection, the consummation of his work. The final day of judgment will not come immediately, but judgment and salvation are inaugurated when Jesus’ work on earth is completed.
Jesus Came to Bring Together
The reference to baptism looks forward to the cross, to the great saving and judging event of Jesus’ ministry.
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