Various people have been letting us know about the new NLT Blog (New Living Translation). Editor and contributor Keith Williams has posted on other blogs when translation issues come up and also has a blog called the NLT Study Bible Blog.
Other blogs that I know of are the ESV Bible Blog and TNIV Truth, an independent blog.
Updated:
NLT Study Bible Blog
NET Bible Revolution
Any others?
If you had to select only five or six verses you would pray every morning which ones would they be?
My choices as of now are:
Psalms 86:11 HCSB
Teach me Your way, Lord,
and I will live by Your truth.
Give me an undivided mind to fear Your name.
Luke 9:23 HCSB
If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
Luke 11:3 HCSB
Give us each day our daily bread.
Matthew 6:33 HCSB
seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness
Luke 22:42 HCSB
“…not My will, but Yours, be done.”
Colossians 1:11-12 NRSV
may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
Psalm 19:14 HCSB
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to You,
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
If you’d like to list your own, please do so here or make a new post on your blog and let us know.
John 1:1-14 HCSB
In the beginning was the Word; and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of men.
5 That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it. 6 There was a man named John who was sent from God. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. 9 The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. 12 But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God. 14 The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Philippians 2:5-11 HCSB
Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. 7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, 8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death–even to death on a cross. 9 For this reason God also highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow–of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth– 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Colossians 1:15-20 HCSB
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation; 16 because by Him everything was created, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities– all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together. 18 He is also the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He might come to have first place in everything. 19 Because all the fullness was pleased to dwell in Him, 20 and to reconcile everything to Himself through Him by making peace through the blood of His cross — whether things on earth or things in heaven.
Hebrews 1:2-3 HCSB
In these last days, He has spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things and through whom He made the universe. 3 He is the radiance of His glory, the exact expression of His nature, and He sustains all things by His powerful word. After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
How about memorizing all of them? I’m one for four so far.
“It is NOT supported by e-Sword at the present time because the Old Testament portion remains incomplete. We have tested this module, and except for a few cosmetic issues, the module appears to be functional…”
ISV v2.0 Preview Release E-sword Module
Most of the OT is there now.
Wordle has been getting popular among bibliobloggers. I thought I would do some smaller books of the Bible. Click on an image to see a larger one and use your browser’s Back button to come back.
Ephesians–TNIV on the left and HCSB on the right:
Malachi ESV:
Philippians ESV:
Titus ESV:
Philemon TNIV:
Jude ESV:
See:
The Bible, Wordled - ESV Blog
The Wordle New Testament - The Crazy Australian
Tag Cloud of My Colossians Translation - According to the Scriptures
Wordle - Make Your Own
Here are some posts related to a passage that doesn’t usually come up in comparisons.
Luke slips in predestination… - He Is Sufficient
Acts 13:48 - “Appointed” or “Disposed?” - I follow Christ
Acts 13:48: Arminian? Calvinistic? - Connecting
Acts 13:48 An Exegetical Study - Love Acceptance Forgiveness
For books related to this subject:
Arminianism and Calvinism Books: A Starter List
Arminianism:
Arminian Perspectives
Don’t Hate Me Because I’m Arminian - Roger E. Olson
Psalm 139:16 TNIV
your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Acts 13:48 HCSB
When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the message of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed.
Romans 8:29 HCSB
For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.
Romans 9:14-16 HCSB
What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! For He tells Moses: I will show mercy to whom I show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it does not depend on human will or effort, but on God who shows mercy.
and also:
Romans 10:9-10 HCSB
if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 With the heart one believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses, resulting in salvation.
Ephesians 1:11 HCSB
In Him we were also made His inheritance, predestined according to the purpose of the One who works out everything in agreement with the decision of His will,
2 Timothy 1:9 HCSB
who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
How these two sides of God’s truth—His sovereignty in choosing us (Rom. 9) and our responsibility to confess and believe (Rom. 10)—reconcile is impossible for us to understand fully. But Scripture declares both perspectives of salvation to be true (John 1:12-13). It’s our duty to acknowledge both and joyfully accept them by faith.
–John MacArthur
1 Timothy 2:4 HCSB
who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2 Peter 3:9 HCSB
The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.
Ezekiel 33:11 HCSB
Tell them: As I live”-the declaration of the Lord God-”I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked person should turn from his way and live. Repent, repent of your evil ways! Why will you die, house of Israel?
If you are interested in this translation here are some links for you:
Interview with Dr. Ed Blum, General Editor for the HCSB
HCSB links
HCSB at Better Bibles Blog
Choosing a modern Bible translation, part 3 - He Is Sufficient
Wretched translations! ESV vs. HCSB: Romans 7:13-25 - He Is Sufficient
HCSB at THIS LAMP - scroll through for relevant posts
Brief Thoughts on the Holman Christian Standard Bible
Search for a mediating translation: TNIV vs HCSB vs NAB – a conclusion
HCSB Collection
HCSB Apologetic Study Bible - Review
Holman Legacy CSB Bible
HCSB Apologetics Study Bible (review)
Any others?
Updated: 8/28/08
A 12 Point Cure for Complaining
See other good articles at this site.
HT: CAMPONTHIS
In case you would like a list of Scripture mentioned:
Philippians 2:14
1 Thessalonians 5:18
James 1:2
Luke 13:2-3
2 Corinthians 4:19
1 Peter 2:23
Genesis 18:25
Psalm 34:4
Romans 8:28
Hebrews 11:35-39
2 Corinthians 12:9
Romans 8:35-39
Ephesians 4:15
…speaking the truth in love…
I always thought of this as synonymous with “tough love”. Which would be something like pointing out someone’s fault(s)–something they might not want to hear, but doing it with an attitude of love. This is the only way I’ve heard anyone use this phrase.
Is that what Paul means here?
First, the immediate context:
Ephesians 4:14-15 NRSV
We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. 15 But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,
Paul is speaking about doctrine or teaching here.
Edit: Quotes from O’Brien’s commentary:
A sharp contrast…is drawn between the final words of v. 14 and this opening clause of v. 15. Over against the ‘crafty scheming’ stands the expression in love (a key phrase in the letter), while speaking the truth is set in opposition to the words ‘of error’. Thus, speaking the truth in love lays out a twofold contrast with the false teachers: the latter were presenting false doctrine in a deceptive manner, but over against this God’s people are to grow through proclaiming the truth in love.
…
…the apostle is not exhorting his readers to truthfulness in general or speaking honestly with one another, however appropriate or important this may be. Rather, he wants all of them to be members of a ‘confessing’ church, with the content of their testimony to be ‘the word of truth’, the gospel of their salvation.
What is the truth?
Colossians 1:5 NRSV
You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel
Galatians 2:5 NRSV
we did not submit to them even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might always remain with you.
Galatians 2:14 NRSV
But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, “If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Ephesians 1:13 NRSV
In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit;
A passage that is similar to Ephesians 4:14-15:
Philippians 1:15-17 NRSV
Some proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from goodwill. 16 These proclaim Christ out of love, knowing that I have been put here for the defense of the gospel; 17 the others proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but intending to increase my suffering in my imprisonment.
By proclaiming the truth and speaking sound doctrine (Titus 1:9, Titus 2:10) to each other “we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,”.
Normally I would stop there and smugly think that now I know that speaking the truth in love isn’t about rebuking someone (edit: related to their own personal faults unrelated to doctrine or the gospel), which is addressed elsewhere in Scripture (although an example noted in Galatians 2:14 above). But the in love part is important and shouldn’t be overlooked.
When talking about doctrine to a fellow brother or sister, or proclaiming the gospel, it should be out of love. I don’t think I would ever do these things deceitfully, but selfish ambition of some sort is definitely a possibility. I could try to get somebody to come over to “my side”, convince them to have the same doctrine as me, show them how much knowledge I think I have about something etc. My attitude should be to have their best interests in mind (Philippians 2:4, Ephesians 4:29) out of love for them and most of all to glorify God.
Romans 15:5-6 NRSV
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6 so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Sometimes we get a little cerebral and it’s nice to see some passion out there.
Don’t Waste Your Pulpit on Irish Calvinist’s blog (not just for pastors)
In Awe of What I Hold in my Hands on the blog I’ll call iFollowChrist
This blog’s name expresses how I feel about getting to hear from God through Scripture but it’s often difficult for me to put into words so I thought I would post a couple of links that I like a lot.
Psalms 19:7-11 HCSB
7 The instruction of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,
making the inexperienced wise.
8 The precepts of the Lord are right,
making the heart glad;
the commandment of the Lord is radiant,
making the eyes light up.
9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the Lord are reliable
and altogether righteous.
10 They are more desirable than gold-
than an abundance of pure gold;
and sweeter than honey-
than honey dripping from the comb.
11 In addition, Your servant is warned by them;
there is great reward in keeping them.
Photo © Scripture Zealot
There is plenty to be found on the Web about the ESV translation itself. This post is about all the other things that Crossway does with the translation. I can’t think of a Bible translation/publisher that offers anywhere near what’s available with the ESV.
I wish this blog had a wider readership and all Bible publishers would read it and follow suit to some degree.
If you’re unfamiliar with all it has to offer…
Regarding that last point–I know other Bible publishers probably have good reasons for doing what they do but I’m very thankful to have a good, modern translation of the whole Bible available without having to pay for it, especially when I already bought one that’s in book form and when it’s freely available on the Web. I think this model helps the publisher much more than hurts.
How well do you know the Bible?
There are plenty of blogs and message board posts of Christians criticizing each other. Some are legitimately pointing out false teachers who are knowingly or unknowingly leading others astray. Some are pointing out teachings that are unscriptural. But others are just Christians calling other Christians names and treating each other in a disrespectful way.
Sometimes we should just let it go:
Romans 14:8-10
For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;
Sometimes we need to act differently:
‘Think of people you consider fanatical. They’re overbearing, self-righteous, opinionated, insensitive and harsh,’ Mr. Keller says. ‘Why? It’s not because they are too Christian but because they are not Christian enough. They are fanatically zealous and courageous, but they are not fanatically humble, sensitive, loving, empathetic, forgiving, or understanding—as Christ was.’
–Tim Keller
By the way, he is one of the people who is often maligned among certain groups of people. I don’t know enough of him to have an opinion.
I thought I would get together just a few Scripture references specifically dealing with respect. This is a reminder to myself as much as anyone else.
Romans 12:10
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
Romans 12:16-18
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
Titus 3:2
to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
James 2:12-13
So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
1 Peter 3:8
Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.
I was sick this week and didn’t post yet (whine?). Today I’ll just mention an interesting post on another blog on the subject of wine:
Does God Drink Wine?
Deacons likewise must be dignified, not two-faced, not given to excessive drinking,
1 Timothy 3:8 NET
This is bound to offend many but I thought I would throw it out there.
Certainly, Scripture does not claim to be a thorough textbook on medicine, or physics, or any of the sciences. But psychology differs from these in two important regards. First, psychology is not a true science…. Second, and most significant, psychology, unlike medicine and physics, deals with matters that are fundamentally spiritual. In fact, the word psychology literally means, “study of the soul.” What are the deep psychological needs if they are not the spiritual issues the gospel is concerned with? And Scripture certainly does claim absolute sufficiency in addressing those needs: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17, emphasis added). “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul” (Ps. 19:7). Scripture itself promises believers the most comprehensive spiritual resources: “everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3).
–John MacArthur
In other words, while the Bible was never intended to be a textbook for disciplines such as math or physics, it does claim to be an all-sufficient guide for godly living. Therefore, if the goal of Christian counseling is godliness in the life of the counselee, the counselor need not look beyond the wisdom found in the pages of Scripture to be equipped for his task. For if the counselee’s problem is spiritual in nature, Scripture is sufficient to meet the demand. On the other hand, if the problem is the inability to bake tasty muffins, a cookbook might be a better place to look.
–Matt Waymeyer
From:
2+2=4 and the Sufficiency of Scripture
Jay Adams is an author of books that deal with true Christian counseling. If you look at the table of contents (PDF file) of his book A Theology of Christian Counseling among others you’ll find that it’s about spritual maturity through Biblical principles.
I like what I’ve seen so far of the HCSB translation. I bought an inexpensive one on Amazon to try out for a while. If I like it better than any other I want to wait for next year’s revision to buy one I really want. Otherwise I’ll stick with my NRSV.
I went to their site today and found a very useful feature. The translation is heavily footnoted. If you’re unfamiliar with the site, try it out and click on a footnote, which is a number inside brackets (as opposed to verse numbers). The footnote will expand. (This works for me on Windows XP using Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari but unfortunately not Firefox.) Some are explanations of a word, some are alternate translations and some are cross references.
http://hcsb.broadmanholman.com/crossmain.asp
Update: You can also hover over a bullet point word to see a definition.
This is an update to an earlier post.
New Testament Exegesis Bibliography - 2007
Annotated Old Testament Bibliography - 2007
Parable Man Commentary Reviews (follow the links)
Westminster Bookstore - Commentaries
Favorite NT Commentaries - Biblical Foundations
Commentary Set - LeStourgeon Online
What commentaries does DG recommend? - desiringGod
My Commentary Recommendations - wordandspirit
Building a biblical commentary library: commentary recommendations - New Epistles
NT Commentary Recommendations - CROSS-eyed
How to Begin a Commentary Collection - Challies.com
Five Rules for Choosing a Commentary - The Road To Emmaus
HT: Challies.com
If you would like free commentaries on the whole Bible and haven’t gotten a hold of them, I would recommend Matthew Henry, John Gill and John Calvin. One way of doing this is to download e-Sword and install Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible and John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible from the Commentaries download page. I can’t remember how I got Calvin’s commentary into e-Sword but it can be found online here.
Also see previous posts:
Bible Commentaries
Spurgeon In Defense of Commentaries
Photo © Scripture Zealot
Updated: 8/14/08
The most searched for terms that land on this blog are related to free will. Since this original post I added some additional resources in the comments.
Scripture Zealot
Supplements
Galatians
Please excuse this post for being like a rough draft. I spent too much time on it already. If you can make it to the end you will either be rewarded, frustrated or wonder why I’m writing about things you already know.
Galatians 2:16 NRSV yet we know that a person is justified not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.
Most of us believe that works (of the law) will not save us and it is by God’s grace through faith in/of Christ that we are saved. Longenecker defines Paul’s use of “the law” as:
Paul adds another dimension to this in his letter to the Galatians. He is also saying that the law can’t add anything to what Christ has done for us nor can it perfect our salvation. There is no supplement regarding our standing before God. If we “obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 5:9) and then try to perfect it by works of the law, we are going backwards:
Galatians 3:3 NRSV Are you so foolish? Having started with the Spirit, are you now ending with the flesh?
Longenecker says,
Longenecker quotes Betz,
Longenecker:
It’s interesting to note that whenever Paul mentions Abraham and the covenant, he never mentions circumcision, which is one of the ‘works of the law’ that the Judaizers where claiming the Galatians needed to perform. The promise of Abraham did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith (Rom 4:11-13; also see 1 Cor 7:19).
Galatians 3:6-18 NRSV Just as Abraham “believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” so, you see, those who believe are the descendants of Abraham. And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “All the Gentiles shall be blessed in you.” For this reason, those who believe are blessed with Abraham who believed. For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”— in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brothers and sisters, I give an example from daily life: once a person’s will has been ratified, no one adds to it or annuls it. Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say, “And to offsprings,” as of many; but it says, “And to your offspring,” that is, to one person, who is Christ. My point is this: the law, which came four hundred thirty years later, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. For if the inheritance comes from the law, it no longer comes from the promise; but God granted it to Abraham through the promise.
Galatians 5:18 NRSV But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law.
*According to Longenecker, nomism is “expressing their Christian convictions in their lifestyle in ways compatible with Jewish tradition” which was not to be foisted on the Gentile Galatians. Although, “To be a Jewish believer in Jesus did not mean turning one’s back on one’s own culture or nation. Yet no longer could it be argued that circumcision, Jewish dietary laws, following distinctly Jewish ethical precepts, or any other matter having to do with a Jewish lifestyle were requisite for the life of faith.”
Update: Please see the first comment by Bryan.