The golden calf…. It’s as epic an event as is found in scripture. The drama peaks when Moses comes down Mount Sinai and sees the Israelites worshiping the calf. Moses is so angry he *smashes* the stone tablets on which God wrote His commandments. You have to be pretty ticked–boiling, nuclear–to smash God’s commands. But…
Category: The Law
Image-Bearing
The idea of image (especially God’s image) runs throughout Genesis. In chaper 1, humans are created in God’s image. After the fall, God’s image in mankind was marred. God intended His image to fill the earth and subdue it (Gen. 1:28). But Adam brought forth after his own image and likeness (Gen. 5:3). By…
Love not Law
“Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1) Most Christians know that Christ has freed them somehow. What does freedom in Christ mean? In one sense, freedom is defined by what we are freed from. Galatians 5 helps us see the borders of…
Brothers and Covenants
Genesis chapter four discusses Cain and Abel, Adam and Eve’s first sons. Cain means, “Acquired,” as Eve says, “With the LORD’s help I have acquired a male” (Gen. 4:1). Abel is derived from a word meaning, “Son.” Cain “worked the ground” and offered the Lord produce (Gen. 4:2-3). Abel offered firstborn animals (especially their fat…
Random Thoughts on Galatians
Sketch by Patrick Murphy: inspiredsketch.blogspot.com “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Gal. 2:19-20, HCSB). This is one of the most…
Trees and Mountains
Early this morning, I lay awake for a short time. My mind wandered to Genesis. Two trees take center stage in the garden of Eden: The tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There was a commandment associated with the latter tree: “You must not eat from the tree…
Coming to Moriah
Originally posted on Bread for the Bride:
When Abraham laid his son Isaac on a sacrificial altar no witness was present but God. The Bible is silent on whether Abraham wept as he bound the boy to the firewood. The scriptures do not tell us whether he averted his eyes from Isaac’s frightened gaze. If…
More than Eden
Before the fall, Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden. They weren’t subject to sin or death. But they hadn’t eaten from the tree of life either. Had they eaten from that tree, the Lord wouldn’t have stopped them after the fall: “Since man has become like one of Us, knowing good from…
The Fullness of Every Message
When it comes to the Bible, I am passionate about one thing above all others—seeing Christ in every scripture (Luke 24:44-46). While I acknowledge other messages in scripture, Christ is the fullness of every other message. We must see that Christ is the end of old covenant laws. He is the substance of the commandments…
You Might Be a Legalist if…
You might be a legalist if: You’re trying to be a good spouse, parent, child, sibling, etc. Appearances are everything. You’re afraid of making mistakes. You might be a legalist if: A person is made unclean by what goes into them (Mark 7:18-23). You’re afraid to make decisions when the Holy Spirit gives no…
The Voice of One 