Abraham, The Father of Faith, Part 2: Righteousness Imputed/Put on his Account as well as on Ours:
Volume 5, Number 9Our last study brought us to Romans 4:12. Today, we step back and consider the Greek word “logizomai” (G3049) in the fourth chapter of Romans and what it teaches us. It occurs 41 times in the New Testament (NT). The King James (KJV) translates it with 13 different English words: 9 times it is “think,” 8 as “impute,” 6 as “reckon,” 5 “count,” 4 “account,” twice as “suppose,” and once each as “reason,” “number,” “despise,” “conclude,” “esteem,” “think on” and “lay to (one’s) charge.” The Greek Lexicon defines it: “to occupy one’s self with reckonings or calculations. To reckon or... Continue reading →
Romans 4: Abraham, The Father of Faith: Part 1:
Volume 5, Number 8Both Muslims and Jews reverence Abraham as their father. Unfortunately, all Muslims and I dare say the majority of Jews reverence him after the flesh only, which does not make them righteous before God. They fail to recognize him as the father of Faith - the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all that believe.Our last study examined the 9 occasions of the word “faith” in the 3rd chapter of Romans, which teaches that no one can be justified by the works of the law, Romans 3:20, and the only way anyone,... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans, Part 6: Righteousness Through the Faith of Jesus Christ; the Righteousness of God by Faith - His Wonderful Christmas Gift to Us:
Volume 5, Number 7Shortly before he was martyred, the Apostle Paul wrote the Philippians from his Roman prison cell: “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” Philippians 3:8 - 9. Many years before writing this, Paul wrote... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans, Part 5: Two Sides of Faith: God’s and Man’s:
Volume 5, Number 6The word “faith” is found 9 times in the third chapter of Romans, the first being our text for today; “For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?” Romans 3:3. To understand this verse, we first need to understand the essence of faith. It’s often said that the Bible is the best commentary on itself and Scripture is very clear about faith: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1. The word “substance” is translated from the Greek “hupostasis”* (G5187) found 5... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans, Part 4: The Faith and to Whom it is Attributed:
Volume 5, Number 5The word “faith” occurs 9 times in the third chapter of Romans but before going there, this is a good time to review to whom faith is attributed. Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, Hebrews 11:1, and at this time, I see it attributed in Acts and the Scripture following: 1) as the name of a Gospel as a body of truth, i.e., “the faith;” 2) Jesus Christ’s faith, thus it is referred to as “the faith of Jesus Christ;” 3) the faith of individual members of the Body of Christ.1 -... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans, Part 3: The Gospel of Grace: Salvation for Believers but Judgment for Unbelievers:
Volume 5, Number 4The last two studies covered Romans 1:1 - 17 wherein the word “faith” occurs six times, teaching, among other things, the Gospel of Christ that the Lord Jesus Christ revealed to the Apostle Paul “is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek,” Romans 1:16. That same Gospel also reveals the righteousness of God throughout history, i.e., from faith to faith: because for anyone at any time in history to be just or righteous before God required faith, Romans 1:17. That’s not faith for faith’s sake; that is faith... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans, Part 2: The Gospel revealed to Paul reveals the Righteousness of God and by which believers are saved and unbelievers are judged:
Volume 5, Number 3Today, we’ll revisit two significant verses from the last study: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Romans 1:16 “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, the just shall live by faith.” Romans 1:17.The word “gospel” in verse 16 is translated from the Greek “euanggelion” (G2098) found 77 times in the New Testament (NT), meaning “good or glad news.” In the NT it is used in... Continue reading →
Faith in Romans, Part 1 - The Obedience of Faith among all Gentile Nations:
Volume 5, Number 2This is the first in a series examining the use of the Greek word pistis, (G4002) usually translated “faith” in Romans where it occurs 40 times, the most frequent in any New Testament (NT) book. Today, we’ll compare the first and last occurrences of faith and then the 2nd through the 6th in the first chapter:• First occurrence; “By whom (the Lord Jesus Christ) we (Paul and his fellow apostles) have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:” Romans 1:5,• Fortieth and last occurrence; “Now to him that is of power to... Continue reading →
Introduction to the Pauline Epistles: The Perfect Design of Scripture: The Gospel of the Grace of God - through Faith:
Volume 5, Number 1In Volume 5, I hope to cover all words relating to faith in the thirteen epistles identified as the Apostle Paul’s. This includes Romans through Philemon as well as Hebrews, as there are a number of indications that Paul also wrote Hebrews. If so, we have fourteen epistles wherein Paul reveals the Gospel of the Grace of God he received directly from the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven. The number fourteen is significant since seven in Scripture signifies Spiritual perfection and therefore fourteen implies a measure of double Spiritual perfection. *Paul wrote: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God,... Continue reading →
39th & Last Occasion in Acts of the Greek word pisteuo, i.e., believe: The Kingdom Gospel to Israel set aside with the preaching of the Gospel of God’s Grace to Gentiles and Jews alike:
Volume 4, Number 50Our last study closed with King Agrippa telling Governor Festus that if Paul had not appealed to Caesar, he would have been set free because he had done nothing wrong, Acts 26:31 - 32. But Paul didn’t make a mistake in doing so because the Lord had a plan for him, and Paul’s appeal got him an armed escort voyage to Rome. The Lord Jesus Christ had appeared to Paul more than 2 years prior and told him that just as he had testified about Him in Jerusalem, he would do so in Rome, Acts 23:10 - 11. A Centurion... Continue reading →