Commentary Quotes Flashcards
Colossians 3:5 Greed
Greed is in short the expression of man’s inordinate ambition to hide his insecurity in nature, sheltering himself from the precariousness of life with power and an over abundance of goods, inevitably at the expense of other life. We fool ourselves if we think the more we have, the more secure we are, for greed provides no defense against the vicissitudes of life or death, and we become consumed by our consuming ways.
Colossians 3:5 Sexual immorality
If the orgasm replaces the cross as our focus of longing and image of fulfillment, we will experience a gaping void in our lives. God intends the sexual union to promote caring, giving, and intimacy, and permanence in a single relationship.
Genesis 16:15-17:18. When God’s will is unclear
On Abram’s 13 years thinking Ishmael was the child of the covenant:
Even though sometimes what we see as solutions turn out to be only more obstacles for God to deal with, that does not mean that God disapproves of the paths we seek out or that we should start feeling regrets for wasted time. With God there are no dead ends, only training grounds…
The point is that we need not think of digressions as failures or as unproductive. God in his sovereignty and providence does not waste our experiences. As long as we are not ignoring his signals or indulging our self-will, we can be sure he is shaping us for his service…What is most important about our faith is not where we are going but what we are becoming.
Genesis 18:14 Is anything too hard for God?
We must be cautious that as we accept by faith that nothing is too hard for God, we do not begin to dictate to him which hard thing he must do. He tends to have things in mind that go far beyond what we are able to ask or even think.
Is salvation the reason for our faith?
We must be defined not by our salvation but by our faith. The “Lordship Salvation” debate (on whether someone can be saved who professes a commitment to Christ but does not live a life of faith) is frustrating because sometimes proponents on both sides make it sound as if ”salvation” is the reason for our faith. That cannot be right. Salvation is a benefit of our faith gained by the grace of God; God is the reason for our faith. It is foolish to dwell on whether we have to live a life of faith in order to go to heaven. When will we realize how less important heaven is than God? How can we possibly feel good about gaining heaven if in the process we do not give ourselves to God?
2 Corinthians 3:18 Identity and Transformation
“Start every day by reminding yourself of God’s incalculable glory, his awesome power, his boundless love, and his amazing grace. And you need to tell yourself daily that God’s glory doesn’t just define him, but redefines who you are as his child.”
