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A Short Bible Study, 1 Cor. 6:9-20

04 Saturday Jan 2020

Posted by in 1 Corinthians, Uncategorized

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1 Corinthians 6:9–20 (ESV)

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived:

neither the sexually immoral,

nor idolaters,

nor adulterers,

nor men who practice homosexuality,

10 nor thieves,

nor the greedy,

nor drunkards,

nor revilers,

nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

11 And such were some of you.

But you were washed,

you were sanctified,

you were justified

in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ

and by the Spirit of our God.

Flee Sexual Immorality

12 “All things are lawful for me,”

but not all things are helpful.

“All things are lawful for me,”

but I will not be dominated by anything.

13 “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”

—and God will destroy both one and the other.

The body is not meant for sexual immorality,

but for the Lord,

and the Lord for the body.

14 And God raised the Lord

and will also raise us up by his power.

15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?

Shall I then take the members of Christ

and make them members of a prostitute?

Never!

16 Or do you not know

that he who is joined to a prostitute

becomes one body with her?

For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.”

17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

18 Flee from sexual immorality.

Every other sin a person commits is outside the body,

but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

19 Or do you not know

that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you,

whom you have from God?

You are not your own,

20 for you were bought with a price.

So glorify God in your body.

Questions Verses 9-11

What is the general rule stated in the beginning of verse 9?

What is the danger which Paul addresses in the second clause of verse 9?

The explanation of the deceit (do not be deceived) is apparently discussed verses 12 – 13a. These verses will be discussed, below.

Who will be denied entrance into the Kingdom of God?

Why should the Corinthians not be discouraged by the warning of verses 9-10?

What makes a person worthy to enter the Kingdom of God (v. 11)?

 

 

Verses 12-20

1 Corinthians 6:12–20 is widely acknowledged to be one of the most difficult passages in Paul’s letters. Commentators have described the unit as “disjointed,” “obscure,” “unfinished,”1 “imprecise,” “extravagant,” and even “incoherent.”

Roy E. Ciampa and Brian S. Rosner, The First Letter to the Corinthians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 245. In addition to what is immediately apparent in this passage, there are also questions about idolatry: food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality as part of pagan idol worship.

Since the phrase “food for the body” is hard to understand:

As Loader notes, the ancient world regularly linked sexual appetite and appetite for food.38 Further, if we ‘read between the lines’ it is not difficult to infer the logic of the Corinthian position. The stomach39 or belly, as “the organ of nourishment” (BDAG, 1), was associated, along with food, with that which is physical and therefore transient. The Corinthians probably also believed that just as food is meant for the stomach and vice versa, so also sexual activity is meant for the body and the body for sexual activity. The stomach and the body are useless unless we eat and have sex. Such natural bodily processes have no abiding significance and are thus of no moral consequence.

In a style typical of Greek dualistic thought, the Corinthians apparently reasoned that God is concerned only with those aspects of a person that survive death, that is, their soul or spirit.40 When Paul reports that some of the Corinthians believed that God will destroy both the stomach and food, the verb “to destroy”41 has eschatological connotations,42 as elsewhere in the letter (1:28; 2:6; 13:8, 10–11; 15:24, 26). However, he interrupts their reasoning and objects that the body is not like the belly and food in this regard: The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality (as you surmise) but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

[1] Roy E. Ciampa and Brian S. Rosner, The First Letter to the Corinthians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010), 254–255.

It was a saying of the Corinthians and it made sense in their world.

v 12

Paul gives two responses to the sayings that concerning the body and food? What are the two responses?

 

v 13:

What will God do to the body and food?

What is the body not meant for?

What is the body meant for?

 

v 14

What has God done already?

What is God going to do for the body?

Can you think of any connection between the resurrection of the Lord and our resurrection?

 

v 15

What connection does Paul draw between the body of a believer and the body of Christ?

 

v 16

What happens when a member of the body of Christ defiles himself in sexual immorality?

 

v 17

What happens to one who is joined to Christ? In what way is he joined?

 

v 18

What is the command?

What is reason for this command?

 

v 19

Why is the body of a believer so very important?

Reflect on the fact that the temple of God is the body of a believer and the body of all believers. Why then is sexual immorality such a grave sin?

 

v 19-20

Why does God have the right to make such commands about the use of our body?

Can a believer ever say, “it’s my life and I’ll do what I want?”

 

v

What is the final command issued by Paul?

Glorify God. From this conclusion, it appears that the Corinthians took a liberty to themselves in outward things, that it was necessary to restrain and bridle. The reproof therefore is this he allows that the body is subject to God no less than the soul, and that accordingly it is reasonable that both be devoted to his glory. “As it is befitting that the mind of a believer should be pure, so there must be a corresponding outward profession also before men, inasmuch as the power of both is in the hands of God, who has redeemed both.” With the same view he declared a little ago, that not only our souls but our bodies also are temples of the Holy Spirit, that we may not think that we discharge our duty to him aright, if we do not devote ourselves wholly and entirely to his service, that he may by his word regulate even the outward actions of our life.

John Calvin, 1 Corinthians, electronic ed., Calvin’s Commentaries (Albany, OR: Ages Software, 1998), 1 Co 6:20.

 

Application:

Rather than just say, here’s the application, it is more useful to make concrete applications. This passage means that we should avoid sexual immorality and should glorify God. The problem with just saying that is that it is easy for these things to just be a ‘fact’ like Washington crossed the Delaware or Argon is a noble gas. It might be true but also meaningless to most of life. Good application turns the passage into practice.

What verse from this passage would be useful to memorize?

Write a prayer which

1) Praises God: What reason does a believer have to praise God? Vv. 11 & 19

2) Repentance: What sins are here to repent of?

3) Prayer for deliverance: What sins here should one pray to be protected from?

4) Prayer for future life: What should we seek to do?

 

What is the chief end of man?

To glorify God and enjoy him forever.

A Short Bible Study: 1 Cor. 1:1-9

31 Tuesday Dec 2019

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1 Corinthians 1:1–9 (ESV)

Greeting

1 Paul,

            called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus,

and our brother Sosthenes,

2 To

the church of God that is in Corinth,

to those sanctified in Christ Jesus,

called to be saints

together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

both their Lord and ours:

3 Grace to you

and peace

from

God our Father

and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The editors of the ESV added the section breaks. Use them to understand the passage. The first two verses are a greeting. This is sort of like the address on an envelope. From what I understand, this part would be written on the outside of a scroll. The other side would have the letter itself.

Who wrote the letter?

How does Paul describe his status as one writing to them?

Why is he an apostle?

To whom does he write the letter (two, not one)? Why does that matter? Think carefully about the second recipient of the letter, what does that have to do with you?

Verse three is a prayer. What does Paul pray God will give them? Compare that with 1 Cor. 16:23 (the closing).

How is God described? Jesus?

 

 

 

Thanksgiving

4 I give thanks to my God always

for you

        because

                    of the grace of God that was given you

                                in Christ Jesus,

5 that in every way you were enriched

        in him

                    in all speech and all knowledge—

6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—

7 so that you are not lacking in any gift,

as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

        8 who will sustain you to the end,

                     guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

9 God is faithful,

by whom you were called

         into the fellowship of his Son,

                    Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

Paying attention to the structure of the sentence will help you see the points Paul is making.

What does Paul do (4)?

For whom?

Why?

Everything which follows “grace” given to them?

that in every way you were enriched

        in him

                    in all speech and all knowledge—

6 even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you—

7 so that you are not lacking in any gift,

as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ,

        8 who will sustain you to the end,

                     guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Notice that the grace of God was given to them “in him”. This is a critical point of Paul’s argument to the Corinthians: God’s relationship to the Corinthians is in Christ (alone). Pay attention to this theme throughout the letter. In the next section, Paul will begin to discuss the divisions among the Corinthians. If each of the Corinthians are in Christ; and if all of the grace they receive from God is in Christ and through Christ, how does that help you understand the wrongness of division?

Paul says they were “enriched”? With what were they enriched?

In v. 6 he writes that the testimony of Christ was confirmed among them. Look at v. 5 & 7, how was it “confirmed”? What did God do to confirm it.

Why do they need this grace? Verse 7, second clause: what are they doing?

What will happen before the  revealing? Verse 8a.

What will happen at the revealing? Verse 8b.

How is God described? V. 9a

What has God done? V 9b

Think again: People at Corinth have many divisions. Paul wants to develop their unity in Christ alone. In verse 4 they learn that all of God’s grace is given to them in Christ. In verse 9 they learn their fellowship is with the Son. That means that no one comes to the Father except through the Son and that all good from the Father comes through the Son. What is the relationship between the sinful divisions between the people and Paul’s instruction on how God relates to his people through Jesus? How does that knowledge act to combat their divisions?

How many times is Jesus called “Lord”? In these first nine verses?

Paul is going to give some serious and often sharp correction in this letter. He is going to detail some serious and open sin in the Church. But before he begins his correction, he gives them a great deal of encouragement: What exactly is the encouragement here in the introduction?

Think about how this particular encouragement will help them listen to his correction and be willing to change (repentance)? Think particularly about his prayer for them: that they would receive “grace” and “peace”.

Application: This letter is written in part to you (second part of verse 2).  How do these words encourage us to repent?

We always move in the direction of our hope: Our hope is our goal. The strength of that hope will depend upon (1) the value of the thing hoped for, and (2) a conviction that the hope is realistic.  We would not have much hope in something we did not particularly like, because it would stir no desire in us. No one hopes that they will have financial or physical problems. Second, there are things we could desire because they are desirable, but they do not inspire hope because they are completely unrealistic and not to be attained by us: I wanted to be a baseball player when I was a boy, but that hope did not persist because I was never that good. The hope was unrealistic.  How does Paul give them good ground for hope in this introduction? What is the hope which Paul is seeking to develop?

Wilderness Allusions in John 7

16 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by in John

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Rough notes:
John 7 comes immediately after the feeding in the wilderness of John 6, where Jesus claims for himself the status of the bread in the wilderness. He also says, 

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. http://esv.to/John6.35
Jesus is walking around in Galilee: there is not much direction indicated (though not pointlessly). He cannot go to the Feast of the Booths (a feast which signifies, in part, wilderness wandering). 
Like Moses, Jesus cannot go the capital lest he be killed.
Jesus performs miracles to those who will not believe it is God’s work (like the miracles of Moses which did not convince the Pharaoh). 
The people murmur about Jesus (and thus about God). 
Jesus is the water (just as Moses had to give them water). 
They do not do the Law which Moses gave (unlike Jesus who does the will of his Father). 
They ask if Jesus could be the Prophet foretold by Moses (Dt. 18).
Something to flesh out later.

Pearls, Rescue, Swords & Scoffers

31 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by in Bible Study, Jeremiah, Jude, Matthew

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Proverbs 24:11-12:

11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?

Proverbs 9:1-6:

1 Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn her seven pillars.
2 She has slaughtered her beasts; she has mixed her wine; she has also set her table.
3 She has sent out her young women to call from the highest places in the town,
4 “Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!” To him who lacks sense she says,
5 “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.
6 Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”
7 Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abuse, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.

Jeremiah 15:1-2:

1 Then the LORD said to me, “Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my heart would not turn toward this people. Send them out of my sight, and let them go!
2 And when they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: “‘Those who are for pestilence, to pestilence, and those who are for the sword, to the sword; those who are for famine, to famine, and those who are for captivity, to captivity.’

Matthew 7:1-6:

1 “Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye?
5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
6 “Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.

James 5:19-20:

19 My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back,
20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.

1 John 5:16-17:

16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life-to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.
17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.

Jude 22-23:

22 And have mercy on those who doubt;
23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

Daniel 9:3-19:

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.
4 I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, “O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments,
5 we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules.
6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7 To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery that they have committed against you.
8 To us, O LORD, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.
9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him
10 and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.
11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that are written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.
12 He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem.
13 As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our God, turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth.
14 Therefore the LORD has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice.
15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
16 “O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us.
17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate.
18 O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see our desolations, and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy.
19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

A Study on the the Hebrew(OT) verb to oppress/defraud and the related noun

28 Friday Sep 2012

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It is forbidden in the law and is given as a ground for God’s curse. The prophets and the wisdom literature condemn it.  Oppression results in later become oppressed.

Only God is ever seen as one who delivers from oppression.

Ecclesiastes 5:7 counsels, don’t be surprised when you see it.

 (English translation is NRSV):

Forbidden by law:

Lev 5:21

נֶ֚פֶשׁ כִּ֣י תֶחֱטָ֔א וּמָעֲלָ֥ה מַ֖עַל בַּיהוָ֑ה וְכִחֵ֨שׁ בַּעֲמִית֜וֹ בְּפִקָּד֗וֹן אֹֽו־בִתְשׂ֤וּמֶת יָד֙ א֣וֹ בְגָזֵ֔ל א֖וֹ עָשַׁ֥ק אֶת־עֲמִיתֽוֹ׃

When any of you sin and commit a trespass against the Lord by deceiving a neighbor in a matter of a deposit or a pledge, or by robbery, or if you have defrauded a neighbor,

Lev 5:23

וְהָיָה֮ כִּֽי־יֶחֱטָ֣א וְאָשֵׁם֒ וְהֵשִׁ֨יב אֶת־הַגְּזֵלָ֜ה אֲשֶׁ֣ר גָּזָ֗ל א֤וֹ אֶת־הָעֹ֙שֶׁק֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׁ֔ק א֚וֹ אֶת־הַפִּקָּד֔וֹן אֲשֶׁ֥ר הָפְקַ֖ד אִתּ֑וֹ א֥וֹ אֶת־הָאֲבֵדָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר מָצָֽא׃

when you have sinned and realize your guilt, and would restore what you took by robbery or by fraud or the deposit that was committed to you, or the lost thing that you found,

Lev 19:13

לֹֽא־תַעֲשֹׁ֥ק אֶת־רֵֽעֲךָ֖ וְלֹ֣א תִגְזֹ֑ל לֹֽא־תָלִ֞ין פְּעֻלַּ֥ת שָׂכִ֛יר אִתְּךָ֖ עַד־בֹּֽקֶר׃

You shall not defraud your neighbor; you shall not steal; and you shall not keep for yourself the wages of a laborer until morning.

Deut 24:14

לֹא־תַעֲשֹׁ֥ק שָׂכִ֖יר עָנִ֣י וְאֶבְי֑וֹן מֵאַחֶ֕יךָ א֧וֹ מִגֵּרְךָ֛ אֲשֶׁ֥ר בְּאַרְצְךָ֖ בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃

You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns.

Warned of as a curse of judgment:

Deut 28:29

וְהָיִ֜יתָ מְמַשֵּׁ֣שׁ בַּֽצָּהֳרַ֗יִם כַּאֲשֶׁ֨ר יְמַשֵּׁ֤שׁ הָעִוֵּר֙ בָּאֲפֵלָ֔ה וְלֹ֥א תַצְלִ֖יחַ אֶת־דְּרָכֶ֑יךָ וְהָיִ֜יתָ אַ֣ךְ עָשׁ֧וּק וְגָז֛וּל כָּל־הַיָּמִ֖ים וְאֵ֥ין מוֹשִֽׁיעַ׃

you shall grope about at noon as blind people grope in darkness, but you shall be unable to find your way; and you shall be continually abused and robbed, without anyone to help.

Deut 28:33

פְּרִ֤י אַדְמָֽתְךָ֙ וְכָל־יְגִ֣יעֲךָ֔ יֹאכַ֥ל עַ֖ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹא־יָדָ֑עְתָּ וְהָיִ֗יתָ רַ֛ק עָשׁ֥וּק וְרָצ֖וּץ כָּל־הַיָּמִֽים׃

A people whom you do not know shall eat up the fruit of your ground and of all your labors; you shall be continually abused and crushed,

Samuel did not:

1 Sam 12:3

הִנְנִ֣י עֲנ֣וּ בִי֩ נֶ֨גֶד יְהוָ֜ה וְנֶ֣גֶד מְשִׁיח֗וֹ אֶת־שׁוֹר֩׀ מִ֨י לָקַ֜חְתִּי וַחֲמ֧וֹר מִ֣י לָקַ֗חְתִּי וְאֶת־מִ֤י עָשַׁ֙קְתִּי֙ אֶת־מִ֣י רַצּ֔וֹתִי וּמִיַּד־מִי֙ לָקַ֣חְתִּי כֹ֔פֶר וְאַעְלִ֥ים עֵינַ֖י בּ֑וֹ וְאָשִׁ֖יב לָכֶֽם׃

Here I am; testify against me before the Lord and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? Or whose donkey have I taken? Or whom have I defrauded? Whom have I oppressed? Or from whose hand have I taken a bribe to blind my eyes with it? Testify against me and I will restore it to you.”

1 Sam 12:4

וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ לֹ֥א עֲשַׁקְתָּ֖נוּ וְלֹ֣א רַצּוֹתָ֑נוּ וְלֹֽא־לָקַ֥חְתָּ מִיַּד־אִ֖ישׁ מְאֽוּמָה׃

They said, “You have not defrauded us or oppressed us or taken anything from the hand of anyone.”

Condemned by the prophets

Isa 30:12

לָכֵ֗ן כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ קְד֣וֹשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל יַ֥עַן מָֽאָסְכֶ֖ם בַּדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֑ה וַֽתִּבְטְחוּ֙ בְּעֹ֣שֶׁקוְנָל֔וֹז וַתִּֽשָּׁעֲנ֖וּ עָלָֽיו׃

Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel: Because you reject this word, and put your trust in oppression and deceit, and rely on them;

Isa 54:14

בִּצְדָקָ֖ה תִּכּוֹנָ֑נִי רַחֲקִ֤י מֵעֹ֙שֶׁק֙כִּֽי־לֹ֣א תִירָ֔אִי וּמִ֨מְּחִתָּ֔ה כִּ֥י לֹֽא־תִקְרַ֖ב אֵלָֽיִךְ׃

In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

Isa 59:13

פָּשֹׁ֤עַ וְכַחֵשׁ֙ בַּֽיהוָ֔ה וְנָס֖וֹג מֵאַחַ֣ר אֱלֹהֵ֑ינוּ דַּבֶּר־עֹ֣שֶׁקוְסָרָ֔ה הֹר֧וֹ וְהֹג֛וֹ מִלֵּ֖ב דִּבְרֵי־שָֽׁקֶר׃

transgressing, and denying the Lord, and turning away from following our God, talking oppression and revolt, conceiving lying words and uttering them from the heart.

Jer 6:6

כִּ֣י כֹ֤ה אָמַר֙ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת כִּרְת֣וּ עֵצָ֔ה וְשִׁפְכ֥וּ עַל־יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם סֹלְלָ֑ה הִ֚יא הָעִ֣יר הָפְקַ֔ד כֻּלָּ֖הּ עֹ֥שֶׁקבְּקִרְבָּֽהּ׃

For thus says the Lord of hosts: Cut down her trees; cast up a siege ramp against Jerusalem. This is the city that must be punished; there is nothing but oppression within her.

Jer 22:17

כִּ֣י אֵ֤ין עֵינֶ֙יךָ֙ וְלִבְּךָ֔ כִּ֖י אִם־עַל־בִּצְעֶ֑ךָ וְעַ֤ל דַּֽם־הַנָּקִי֙ לִשְׁפּ֔וֹךְ וְעַל־הָעֹ֥שֶׁקוְעַל־הַמְּרוּצָ֖ה לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃ ס

But your eyes and heart are only on your dishonest gain, for shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence.

Jer 7:6

גֵּ֣ר יָת֤וֹם וְאַלְמָנָה֙ לֹ֣א תַֽעֲשֹׁ֔קוּ וְדָ֣ם נָקִ֔י אַֽל־תִּשְׁפְּכ֖וּ בַּמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וְאַחֲרֵ֨י אֱלֹהִ֧ים אֲחֵרִ֛ים לֹ֥א תֵלְכ֖וּ לְרַ֥ע לָכֶֽם׃

if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt,

Jer 21:12

בֵּ֣ית דָּוִ֗ד כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה דִּ֤ינוּ לַבֹּ֙קֶר֙ מִשְׁפָּ֔ט וְהַצִּ֥ילוּ גָז֖וּל מִיַּ֣ד עוֹשֵׁ֑ק פֶּן־תֵּצֵ֨א כָאֵ֜שׁ חֲמָתִ֗י וּבָעֲרָה֙ וְאֵ֣ין מְכַבֶּ֔ה מִפְּנֵ֖י רֹ֥עַ מַעַלְלֵ֯יהֶֽם׃

O house of David! Thus says the Lord: Execute justice in the morning, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed, or else my wrath will go forth like fire, and burn, with no one to quench it, because of your evil doings.

Ezek 18:18

אָבִ֞יו כִּֽי־עָ֣שַׁק עֹ֗שֶׁק גָּזַל֙ גֵּ֣זֶל אָ֔ח וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר לֹא־ט֛וֹב עָשָׂ֖ה בְּת֣וֹךְ עַמָּ֑יו וְהִנֵּה־מֵ֖ת בַּעֲוֹנֽוֹ׃

As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, he dies for his iniquity.

Ezek 22:29

עַ֤ם הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ עָ֣שְׁקוּ עֹ֔שֶׁק וְגָזְל֖וּ גָּזֵ֑ל וְעָנִ֤י וְאֶבְיוֹן֙ הוֹנ֔וּ וְאֶת־הַגֵּ֥ר עָשְׁק֖וּ בְּלֹ֥א מִשְׁפָּֽט׃

The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery; they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the alien without redress.

Ezek 22:7

אָ֤ב וָאֵם֙ הֵקַ֣לּוּ בָ֔ךְ לַגֵּ֛ר עָשׂ֥וּ בַעֹ֖שֶׁק בְּתוֹכֵ֑ךְ יָת֥וֹם וְאַלְמָנָ֖ה ה֥וֹנוּ בָֽךְ׃

Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the alien residing within you suffers extortion; the orphan and the widow are wronged in you.

Ezek 22:12

שֹׁ֥חַד לָֽקְחוּ־בָ֖ךְ לְמַ֣עַן שְׁפָךְ־דָּ֑ם נֶ֧שֶׁךְ וְתַרְבִּ֣ית לָקַ֗חַתְּ וַתְּבַצְּעִ֤י רֵעַ֙יִךְ֙ בַּעֹ֔שֶׁק וְאֹתִ֣י שָׁכַ֔חַתְּ נְאֻ֖ם אֲדֹנָ֥י יְהוִֽה׃

In you, they take bribes to shed blood; you take both advance interest and accrued interest, and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; and you have forgotten me, says the Lord God.

Hos 12:8

כְּנַ֗עַן בְּיָד֛וֹ מֹאזְנֵ֥י מִרְמָ֖ה לַעֲשֹׁ֥ק אָהֵֽב׃

A trader, in whose hands are false balances, he loves to oppress.

Amos 4:1

שִׁמְע֞וּ הַדָּבָ֣ר הַזֶּ֗ה פָּר֤וֹת הַבָּשָׁן֙ אֲשֶׁר֙ בְּהַ֣ר שֹֽׁמְר֔וֹן הָעֹשְׁק֣וֹת דַּלִּ֔ים הָרֹצְצ֖וֹת אֶבְיוֹנִ֑ים הָאֹמְרֹ֥ת לַאֲדֹֽנֵיהֶ֖ם הָבִ֥יאָה וְנִשְׁתֶּֽה׃

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on Mount Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to their husbands, “Bring something to drink!”

Micah 2:2

וְחָמְד֤וּ שָׂדוֹת֙ וְגָזָ֔לוּ וּבָתִּ֖ים וְנָשָׂ֑אוּ וְעָֽשְׁקוּ֙ גֶּ֣בֶר וּבֵית֔וֹ וְאִ֖ישׁ וְנַחֲלָתֽוֹ׃ פ

They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and take them away; they oppress householder and house, people and their inheritance.

Zech 7:10

וְאַלְמָנָ֧ה וְיָת֛וֹם גֵּ֥ר וְעָנִ֖י אַֽל־תַּעֲשֹׁ֑קוּ וְרָעַת֙ אִ֣ישׁ אָחִ֔יו אַֽל־תַּחְשְׁב֖וּ בִּלְבַבְכֶֽם׃

do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.

Mal 3:5

וְקָרַבְתִּ֣י אֲלֵיכֶם֮ לַמִּשְׁפָּט֒ וְהָיִ֣יתִי׀ עֵ֣ד מְמַהֵ֗ר בַּֽמְכַשְּׁפִים֙ וּבַמְנָ֣אֲפִ֔ים וּבַנִּשְׁבָּעִ֖ים לַשָּׁ֑קֶר וּבְעֹשְׁקֵ֣י שְׂכַר־שָׂ֠כִיר אַלְמָנָ֨ה וְיָת֤וֹם וּמַטֵּי־גֵר֙ וְלֹ֣א יְרֵא֔וּנִי אָמַ֖ר יְהוָ֥ה צְבָאֽוֹת׃

Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Condemned in Wisdom:

Ps 62:11

אַל־תִּבְטְח֣וּ בְעֹשֶׁק֮ וּבְגָזֵ֪ל אַל־תֶּ֫הְבָּ֥לוּ חַ֤יִל׀ כִּֽי־יָנ֑וּב אַל־תָּשִׁ֥יתוּ לֵֽב׃

Put no confidence in extortion, and set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

Ps 73:8

יָמִ֤יקוּ׀ וִידַבְּר֣וּ בְרָ֣ע עֹ֑שֶׁקמִמָּר֥וֹם יְדַבֵּֽרוּ׃

They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.

Job 10:3

הֲט֤וֹב לְךָ֨׀ כִּֽי־תַעֲשֹׁ֗ק כִּֽי־תִ֭מְאַס יְגִ֣יעַ כַּפֶּ֑יךָ וְעַל־עֲצַ֖ת רְשָׁעִ֣ים הוֹפָֽעְתָּ׃

Does it seem good to you to oppress, to despise the work of your hands and favor the schemes of the wicked?

Prov 14:31

עֹ֣שֵֽׁק־דָּ֭ל חֵרֵ֣ף עֹשֵׂ֑הוּ וּ֝מְכַבְּד֗וֹ חֹנֵ֥ן אֶבְיֽוֹן׃

Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who are kind to the needy honor him.

Prov 22:16

עֹ֣שֵֽׁק דָּ֭ל לְהַרְבּ֣וֹת ל֑וֹ נֹתֵ֥ן לְ֝עָשִׁ֗יר אַךְ־לְמַחְסֽוֹר׃

Oppressing the poor in order to enrich oneself, and giving to the rich, will lead only to loss.

Prov 28:3

גֶּ֣בֶר רָ֭שׁ וְעֹשֵׁ֣ק דַּלִּ֑ים מָטָ֥ר סֹ֝חֵ֗ף וְאֵ֣ין לָֽחֶם׃

A ruler who oppresses the poor is a beating rain that leaves no food.

Prov 28:17

אָ֭דָם עָשֻׁ֣ק בְּדַם־נָ֑פֶשׁ עַד־בּ֥וֹר יָ֝נ֗וּס אַל־יִתְמְכוּ־בֽוֹ׃

If someone is burdened with the blood of another, let that killer be a fugitive until death; let no one offer assistance.

Eccles 4:1

וְשַׁ֣בְתִּֽי אֲנִ֗י וָאֶרְאֶה֙ אֶת־כָּל־הָ֣עֲשֻׁקִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֥ר נַעֲשִׂ֖ים תַּ֣חַת הַשָּׁ֑מֶשׁ וְהִנֵּ֣ה׀ דִּמְעַ֣ת הָעֲשֻׁקִ֗ים וְאֵ֤ין לָהֶם֙ מְנַחֵ֔ם וּמִיַּ֤ד עֹֽשְׁקֵיהֶם֙ כֹּ֔חַ וְאֵ֥ין לָהֶ֖ם מְנַחֵֽם׃

Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed—with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power—with no one to comfort them.

Eccles 5:7

אִם־עֹ֣שֶׁק רָ֠שׁ וְגֵ֨זֶל מִשְׁפָּ֤ט וָצֶ֙דֶק֙ תִּרְאֶ֣ה בַמְּדִינָ֔ה אַל־תִּתְמַ֖הּ עַל־הַחֵ֑פֶץ כִּ֣י גָבֹ֜הַּ מֵעַ֤ל גָּבֹ֙הַּ֙ שֹׁמֵ֔ר וּגְבֹהִ֖ים עֲלֵיהֶֽם׃

If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and right, do not be amazed at the matter; for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them.

Eccles 7:7

כִּ֥י הָעֹ֖שֶׁק יְהוֹלֵ֣ל חָכָ֑ם וִֽיאַבֵּ֥ד אֶת־לֵ֖ב מַתָּנָֽה׃

Surely oppression makes the wise foolish, and a bribe corrupts the heart.

God delivers from (and prayers for):

Ps 72:4

יִשְׁפֹּ֤ט׀ עֲֽנִיֵּי־עָ֗ם י֭וֹשִׁיעַ לִבְנֵ֣י אֶבְי֑וֹן וִֽידַכֵּ֣א עוֹשֵֽׁק׃

May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.

Ps 103:6

עֹשֵׂ֣ה צְדָק֣וֹת יְהוָ֑ה וּ֝מִשְׁפָּטִ֗ים לְכָל־עֲשׁוּקִֽים׃

The Lord works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.

Ps 105:14

לֹֽא־הִנִּ֣יחַ אָדָ֣ם לְעָשְׁקָ֑ם וַיּ֖וֹכַח עֲלֵיהֶ֣ם מְלָכִֽים׃

he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,

Ps 119:121

עָ֭שִׂיתִי מִשְׁפָּ֣ט וָצֶ֑דֶק בַּל־תַּ֝נִּיחֵ֗נִי לְעֹֽשְׁקָֽי׃

I have done what is just and right; do not leave me to my oppressors.

Ps 119:122

עֲרֹ֣ב עַבְדְּךָ֣ לְט֑וֹב אַֽל־יַעַשְׁקֻ֥נִי זֵדִֽים׃

Guarantee your servant’s well-being; do not let the godless oppress me.

Ps 146:7

עֹשֶׂ֤ה מִשְׁפָּ֨ט׀ לָעֲשׁוּקִ֗ים נֹתֵ֣ן לֶ֭חֶם לָרְעֵבִ֑ים יְ֝הוָ֗ה מַתִּ֥יר אֲסוּרִֽים׃

who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free;

Ps 119:134

פְּ֭דֵנִי מֵעֹ֣שֶׁקאָדָ֑ם וְ֝אֶשְׁמְרָ֗ה פִּקּוּדֶֽיךָ׃

Redeem me from human oppression, that I may keep your precepts.

1 Chron 16:21

לֹא־הִנִּ֤יחַ לְאִישׁ֙ לְעָשְׁקָ֔ם וַיּ֥וֹכַח עֲלֵיהֶ֖ם מְלָכִֽים׃

he allowed no one to oppress them; he rebuked kings on their account,

Judgment

Isa 23:12

וַיֹּ֕אמֶר לֹֽא־תוֹסִ֥יפִי ע֖וֹד לַעְל֑וֹז הַֽמְעֻשָּׁקָ֞ה בְּתוּלַ֣ת בַּת־צִיד֗וֹן כִּתִ֯יים֮ ק֣וּמִי עֲבֹ֔רִי גַּם־שָׁ֖ם לֹא־יָנ֥וּחַֽ לָֽךְ׃

He said: You will exult no longer, O oppressed virgin daughter Sidon; rise, cross over to Cyprus— even there you will have no rest.

Isa 52:4

כִּ֣י כֹ֤ה אָמַר֙ אֲדֹנָ֣י יְהוִ֔ה מִצְרַ֛יִם יָֽרַד־עַמִּ֥י בָרִֽאשֹׁנָ֖ה לָג֣וּר שָׁ֑ם וְאַשּׁ֖וּר בְּאֶ֥פֶס עֲשָׁקֽוֹ׃

For thus says the Lord God: Long ago, my people went down into Egypt to reside there as aliens; the Assyrian, too, has oppressed them without cause.

Jer 50:33

כֹּ֤ה אָמַר֙ יְהוָ֣ה צְבָא֔וֹת עֲשׁוּקִ֛ים בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֥ל וּבְנֵי־יְהוּדָ֖ה יַחְדָּ֑ו וְכָל־שֹֽׁבֵיהֶם֙ הֶחֱזִ֣יקוּ בָ֔ם מֵאֲנ֖וּ שַׁלְּחָֽם׃

Thus says the Lord of hosts: The people of Israel are oppressed, and so too are the people of Judah; all their captors have held them fast and refuse to let them go.

Hos 5:11

עָשׁ֥וּק אֶפְרַ֖יִם רְצ֣וּץ מִשְׁפָּ֑ט כִּ֣י הוֹאִ֔יל הָלַ֖ךְ אַחֲרֵי־צָֽו׃

Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, because he was determined to go after vanity.

Note translation of “vanity” NASB: follow man’s command; margin: follow nothingness. Uncertain was sar means. LXX has mataion

What is the Mission of the Church.1

07 Thursday Jun 2012

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In What is the Mission of the Church? DeYoung and Gilbert examine what the Bible the gives as the mission for the church. First, they work through two OT texts and one NT text which are sometimes offered as alternatives to the commissioning texts of the post-resurrection Jesus.

The first text examined is Genesis 12:1-3.  Christopher J. Wright is quoted as saying that this text functions as a “Great Commission” that the church “go … and be a blessing” (31).  DeYoung and Gilbert reject this understanding on the grounds that (1) while “blessing” is in the form of an imperative in Genesis 12:2, the verb should be understood as a result of Abram’s going;  (2) Abram shows no evidence of having left Ur “intent on blessing the Canaanites” (33); and (3) “the New Testament does not understand the call of Abram as a missional charge”(33).

I would add, there is nothing in the text which demonstrates that God was speaking to anyone other than Abram. It is silly to take a command given to one man now 4,000 years dead and say that what God specifically commanded him somehow applies universally to all believers in the same God. By that logic we would be required to perform every individual command given in the Bible irrespective of the one to whom it was given.

The second text is Exodus 19:5-6 which has been understood to mean that God “created a people to serve as his ongoing incarnational presence on the earth” (34).  Again, to transform this into a command to the church is to miss the context and the party addressed.  DeYoung and Gilbert offer five arguments as to why this passage cannot be applied to the church as a mandate: (1) the Levitical priests functioned by offering sacrifices to God, not by “incarnating God’s presence”; (2) the call is a call to be holy before God; (3) the Law contains no specific directions as to being such an incarnation; (4) the Israelites did not act as an incarnational presence to the people of Canaan; and (5) the prophets never rebuked the people for failing in this regard.

With respect to these first two OT passages, I would add that the movement of Gospel to the Nations takes place only after and as a result of the ascension and enthronement of Jesus following his resurrection.  By lifting these passages from their context and applying them to the church directly, there is a tendency to see some sort of relationship between God and the church which somehow passes by Jesus. While I am not attributing such a heresy to the proponents, the discussion of “incarnational” when not speaking about Jesus always makes me feel a bit uncomfortable.

Finally, Luke 4:16-21 is taken as a social justice or a social action text, thus making social liberation a primary task of Jesus and the church. They likewise demonstrate how such an interpretation is not warranted by the text.

This again has a tendency to sidestep Jesus and his work: which was ultimately about removing sin. The reason why oppression and injustice exists is that sin exists. The best thing for the people of the world is not that their material needs are directly met but rather that they are reconciled to God in Jesus Christ. Hunger, sickness, oppression, et cetera are true and great evils. Moreover, it is good to alleviate human suffering. But such suffering can never be fully remedied until sin is utterly done away and the curse completely lifted. To see social justice as a parallel and equally important task to the work of the reconciliation with God is to make too little of sin – – and too little of Jesus.

Having examined the texts of the NT in which Jesus commissions and sends out the apostles to begin the establishment and expansion of the church (Matt. 28:16-20; Mark 13:10 & 14:9; Luke 24:44-49; Acts 1:8 & 26:16-18; and John 20:21), DeYoung and Gilbert summarize the mission of the church as follows:

The mission of the church is to go into the world and make disciples, declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship the Lord and obey his commands now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father.

The Heart of Sin

03 Sunday Jun 2012

Posted by in Bible Study, Biblical Counseling, Thomas Schreiner, Uncategorized

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The heart of sin is the self-worship that exalts the self over the one and only true God. The rejection of God’s Lordship manifests itself in sin, that poll also emphasizes that’s sin manifested itself in relation to the law. Of course, sit exist without the laws well. As we noted above, all people, even if they have not heard the law, the one true God used honor him is (Rom. 1:18-21). Sin is a belief, faith gives glory to God in everything to trust his promises (Romans 4:20), but whatever human beings do apart from faith is sin (Rom.14:23), the faithless to God is the one who will be every need.

Thomas Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 524.

Schreiner on the “Natural Person

02 Saturday Jun 2012

Posted by in Bible Study, Biblical Counseling, Thomas Schreiner

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The impotence of human beings with regard to spiritual reality is communicated in a variety of ways by Paul. The natural person — that is, the person without the Spirit — does not welcome the truths of the Spirit and indeed has no capacity for such understanding (1 Cor. 2:14). The unregenerate push the truth of the Gospel away from themselves, for they find their pleasure in evil rather than embracing the truth (2 Thess. 2:10-12). Unbeknownst to them, Saints it is their God, and he has spun a veil over the minds of unbelievers so they fail to see the beauty of Christ (2 Cor. 4:3-4; cf. 3:14). They have been ensnared by the devil, and he holds them as prisoners, so they invariably do his will (2 Tim. 2:26) even as they trumpet their own freedom. The state of unbelievers to spiritual death, a consequence of that data sent (Ephesians 2:1, five; cf. Romans 5:12). Unbelievers live under the thrall of the world, the devil, and the flesh (Ephesians 2:1-3). We could say that the captivity is sociological, spiritual, psychological. It is sociological and that unbelievers follow the dictates of fashions of the world. It is spiritual and that the devil works in their hearts to bring about disobedience. This psychological and that the unregenerate follow the desires of the flesh. Unbelievers, whatever possible, follow the desires of their hearts, and yet the so called freedom to indulge in desires is nothing other than slavery (535-536).

Thomas Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008, 535-536