By: Kevin L. Moore From earliest times, the Jews gave attention to the public reading of God’s Word (Exodus 24:1-7; Joshua 8:30-35; Nehemiah 8:1–9; etc.). In the first century A.D., public reading was a regular part of synagogue gatherings (Acts 13:15, 27; 15:21). Jesus customarily attended synagogue meetings and participated in the communal reading and exposition of the sacred writings (Luke 4:16–22). The prevalence of illiteracy in the first-century Mediterranean world made public reading indispensable. In the earliest New Testament document, James charged his audience to be doers of the implanted word and not just “hearers” (James 1:21-25). At the end of the New Testament, the apostle John pronounced a blessing on “the one reading and those hearing the words of the prophecy, and keeping the things having been written in it…” (Revelation 1:3, author’s own translation). Paul commended the Holy Scriptures to Timothy, charging him to “preach the word” (2 Timothy 3:16–4:2) and “to give attention to the public reading” (1 Timothy 4:13). At that time, in addition to the Old Testament, the writings of Luke were already regarded as “scripture” (1 Timothy 5:18), and within a comparable timeframe so were Paul’s epistles (2 Peter 3:15–16). In the apostle’s earliest writing, the directive was given, “I solemnly charge you in the Lord, that this letter be read to all the brethren” (1 Thessalonians 5:27). Paul intended for his writings to be circulated rather than to be kept isolated in their respective localities; “and when this letter shall be read

What is the Unpardonable Sin? Opponents of Jesus persistently disregarded, disrespected and condemned Him and His message.1 He thus warned against and rebuked the sinful attitudes and behaviors of these hypocritical, evil-hearted, murderous antagonists.2 As Jesus cast out demons “by the Spirit of God” (Matthew 12:28),3 he was falsely accused by hostile Pharisees of doing these supernatural works “by the ruler of the demons” (Matthew 9:34; 12:24). This prompted His stern response, “Truly I say to you, all the sins and the blasphemies will be forgiven the sons of men, as many as they may have blasphemed. But whoever may blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness but is guilty of everlasting sin” (Mark 3:28-29; cf. Matthew 12:31-32; Luke 12:10). The plural noun “blasphemies” (Mark 3:28) conveys the recurring actions of reviling with irreverence, slander and hostility. The aorist tense of the Greek verbal form (v. 29; cf., Luke 12:10) indicates a state of mind as long as it lasts, characteristic of conscious and deliberate opposition. It involves not only what is spoken but a corrupted heart from which the malicious words proceed (Matthew 15:18-19; Mark 7:21-23). On this particular occasion, the sinful mindset and speech that Christ condemned was the stubborn dismissal of the obvious working of God’s Spirit and attributing it to the power of Satan. It is not a mere slip of the tongue or unintentional lapse in judgment but is indicative of those who are constantly [present tense] against Christ (Matthew 12:30; Luke 11:23). It

Paul’s letter to the Romans has much to say about faith. The underlying Greek noun (pistis) and verb (pisteúō) are found throughout the book for a combined total of sixty-one times. Comprising nearly two thirds of these occurrences, the noun-form first emerges in Romans 1:5, and its final usage is in Romans 16:26, serving as bookends for the entire document. The bracketing texts read, in view of the apostolic mission: “Through whom we received grace and apostleship, unto obedience of faith among all the nationsfor his name’s sake” (1:5); “but now having been made manifest through the prophetic Scriptures and according to the commandment of the eternal God unto obedience of faith made known unto all the nations” (16:26).* In the letter’s opening-thanksgiving, Paul wrote, “First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all because your faith is being proclaimed in all the world” (1:8). Near the close of the letter, he observed, “For your obedience has reached (the attention) of all, therefore I rejoice over you” (16:19a). Half of Paul’s use of the noun “obedience” and verbal “obey” are found in Romans.** From beginning to end, faith clearly does not stand alone apart from obedience. Whenever Paul spoke of faith (e.g., 1:16-17; 3:22), it was not void of obedience. Whenever he spoke of obedience (e.g., 2:6; 6:17), it was not void of faith. The faith that appropriates justification, as explained in Romans, is always an obedient faith. Conclusion If we begin our examination of Romans in chapters 3-5 or 10, we will miss what has been

A brief and obscure episode in Moses’ life is recounted in Exodus 4:24-26. After forty years in the land of Midian, the Lord sent Moses back to Egypt to lead the Israelites out of bondage, initially taking his wife Zipporah and his two sons, Gershom and Eliezer (Exodus 2:11-4:20; 18:2-6; Acts 7:22-36). And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses’ feet, and said, “Surely you are a husband of blood to me!” So He let him go. Then she said, “You are a husband of blood!” – because of the circumcision. (Exodus 4:24-26 NKJV) Commentary Zipporah was a Midianite of the lineage of Abraham through his second wife Keturah (Genesis 25:1-4; Exodus 2:15-21). Presumably, the Midianites were also amenable to the covenant of circumcision that God had instituted with Abraham and his descendants (Genesis 17:1-14). Zipporah’s father was the “priest of Midian” (Exodus 2:16; 3:1; 18:1) who acknowledged and served the Lord (Exodus 18:10-12, 19-23). However, at some point the Midianites drifted away from the monotheistic faith of their ancestry and served other gods (Numbers 25:2). They became enemies of the people of Israel, luring them into sexual perversion and idolatry (Numbers 22:1-6; 25:1-18; 31:1-18; Judges 6:1-10, 14). The fact that Moses was in danger of being struck down by the Lord suggests he had been negligent in

Socialism is a political and economic philosophy that advocates community ownership and distribution of resources, typically controlled by the governing authorities. Does Acts 4:32-35 provide an example of socialism practiced in the early church, and does it set a precedent for all Christians to follow? The passage reads: Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need. (NKJV) Contextually, multiplied thousands of Jewish people from distant lands had traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate Pentecost (Acts 2:1, 5), a large percentage of whom had learned and obeyed the Gospel to mark the beginning of Christ’s church (vs. 41, 47; 4:4; 5:14). Rather than returning home, however, many remained in Jerusalem for continued instruction and fellowship (2:42), perhaps some until they were later forced to disperse (8:1-4). In the meantime, how were their physical needs to be met? A community spirit prevailed, coordinated first by the apostles and then by other godly men, which included selfless generosity and mutual

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6, NKJV). The book of Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings intended to convey general truths, and heeding these words of wisdom will surely help guide one’s life in a positive direction. However, the overabundant variables and uncertainties of this world preclude taking each proverb in an absolute sense as though the wise sayings were meant as inflexible rules with definitive outcomes and no possible exceptions. Note, for example, Proverbs 10:4, which states, “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, But the hand of the diligent makes rich.” While this principle is generally true, mitigating circumstances could result in a lazy person being rich (e.g., by way of inheritance) and a diligent person being poor (e.g., via drought or stock market crash). Nevertheless, potential exemptions do not discount the wisdom of the stated proverb. Proverbs 22:6 affirms a general truth that ought to be heeded, although the freewill choices of each individual child means there will almost certainly be exceptions (cf., Genesis 4:1-7; Isaiah 1:2). Remember that the Bible is comprised of a variety of literary categories (historical, instructional, legislative, poetic, etc.), and not all are meant to be read and applied the same way. The books of Proverbs and Leviticus, for instance, represent very different types of literature and, therefore, should be interpreted accordingly. Parents, let us ensure that the Lord’s ways are always upheld and