The Gospel is the good news that everything required for us to be made acceptable to and compatible with God (righteous) has been accomplished in Jesus Christ.

Some people find the Bible confusing because in places such as Ezekiel 18:24 it says that a righteous person who turns from righteousness and sins will die. This confusion comes from a failure to account for what covenant was in force when these things were said.

In Hebrew thought, this passage was sometimes taken to mean that not only do the dead remember nothing, but that they are even forgotten by God. However, when we are faced with a question like this, we need to read a larger portion of the book and keep in mind what the rest of the Scriptures say.

First, we don’t know whether every prayer recorded in the Scriptures was spoken audibly or not. Some of Paul’s prayers, for example, are written down. We may presume that he spoke them aloud, but we simply do not know.

At each gate stands an angel, or messenger. Each gate carries the name of a tribe of Israel. Similarly, each foundation stone bears the name of an Apostle.

Everything about this place is regulated by the rule of law. Here, people get what they pay for. Here they expect to get what they deserve. Here they only have what they earn. Here laws must be obeyed or else. Life is chasing a carrot while being threatened with a stick.

You may be very tiny relative to the world, but Christ in you is irritatingly noticeable and cannot be ignored.

When we read “to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.” We might be tempted to wonder whether our actions are what determine our future destination.

The world defines peace as the absence of conflict.
Father's peace is much more profound than that.

If you want to tell Father you’re sorry or express regret over things you wish you had not said or done, go right ahead. But do so knowing with certainty that no further forgiveness will be forthcoming. No more forgiveness can be provided because…

It’s all about encryption securely keeping our valuable assets away from would-be enemies. That’s why I love this verse so much. It tells me that my life is now hidden with Christ in God. The Greek word we translate to English as “hidden” is κρύπτω krypto. It means to keep from being seen, to hide in a safe place.

You may be familiar with the record of a tiny shepherd boy named David defeating an enormous and fearsome giant named Goliath. As we read in 1 Samuel 17, David did not come to the fight in his own strength. He carried no usual weapons of war. Instead, he had the weapon of a boy. Just a slingshot against an enemy so great that the entire Hebrew army was afraid to fight him.

Now we come to the last segment of the letter. Here we are told how to stand in all this truth. How to hold this godly existence and conduct in a world that opposes all that is good and righteous.

Sit, Walk, Stand. Let’s learn what it is to stand.

I always knew I needed to treat my dad with respect. He was powerful and I was but a boy. I had a healthy respect for my dad. I wasn’t afraid of him, but I knew that he had power over me, so I willingly subjected myself to him. I tried to do things as he expected.

Central to these verses is the idea of mutual respect and proper use of positional roles. Children should respect their parents, but parents should not abuse the power they have. Instead, they are to help children grow in the Lord, just as the Spirit of our heavenly Father does for us.

Now our passage brings our focus back to the way this all plays out in our walk, our manner of living. It simply directs husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husbands.

Many have pointed out the difference in the directive to husbands (to Love) and the directive to wives (to respect) saying that women respond to, or need, Love and men respond to, or need, respect. I can sure affirm that respect is a primary way in which I perceive Love.

Jesus is the representative man. Just as Adam represented all people when he chose to sin against God, so in Christ we are re-created, reborn, and made righteous when we choose to believe Him for it.

When Jesus was crucified, we were crucified with Him.When Jesus was raised, we who have agreed to be reconciled to God by Him were raised as well.

Christ, we are told, gave Himself up so that His bride would be set apart, made perfectly clean (as 1 John 1:9 puts it, cleansed from all unrighteousness, which leaves her righteous), glorious, spotless, youthfully beautiful, pure, and perfect.

He did it all for His bride. He did it for her benefit so that she would be all that she was designed by God to be.

I bet there isn’t a husband here who doesn’t want that for his wife. I bet there isn’t a wife here who doesn’t want that for her husband. And that is the point of submission.

Some of us have heard the comment, meant to be humorous, “I told her I loved her when we got married. If anything changes, I’ll let her know.” Many of us who share the typical male proclivities may almost naturally think that if we provide for our wives and protect them, we are demonstrating love. But there is a far greater depth of meaning here.

There’s this one word that causes great discomfort to many. It’s the word “head.” To ears sensitized to any hint of subservience and always on the lookout for signs of possible abuse, the idea that one member of the marital union is called “the head” to which the other is to subject themself can seem off-putting, even offensive. It can feel risky in the extreme.