Monday, August 10, 2015
Chronological New Testament Study Day 68
Acts 20:1-3; Romans 1; Romans 2; Romans 3
1 When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples
and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia. 2 He
traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people,
and finally arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed three months.
Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for
Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle
and set apart for the gospel of God-- 2 the gospel he promised
beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures 3 regarding
his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, 4 and
who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God
by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. 5Through
him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people
from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. 6 And
you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 To
all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace and peace to
you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. 8 First,
I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being
reported all over the world. 9 God, whom I serve with my whole
heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I
remember you10 in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at
last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you. 11 I
long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you
strong--12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by
each other's faith. 13 I do not want you to be unaware,
brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented
from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just
as I have had among the other Gentiles.14 I am obligated both to
Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. 15 That
is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. 16 I
am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation
of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For
in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by
faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live
by faith." 18 The wrath of God is being revealed from
heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth
by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is
plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For
since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power
and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been
made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they
knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their
thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although
they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged
the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds
and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in
the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of
their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of
God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the
Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God
gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations
for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned
natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men
committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due
penalty for their perversion. 28 Furthermore, since they did
not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a
depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have
become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They
are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers,
God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil;
they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless,
heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God's righteous
decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to
do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on
someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning
yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2Now we
know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on
truth. 3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and
yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4 Or
do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience,
not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? 5 But
because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up
wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment
will be revealed. 6 God "will give to each person
according to what he has done." 7 To those who by
persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give
eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who
reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There
will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the
Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for
everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For
God does not show favoritism. 12 All who sin apart from the
law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be
judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who
are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be
declared righteous. 14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have
the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for
themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since
they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their
consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even
defending them.) 16 This will take place on the day when God
will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. 17 Now
you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your
relationship to God; 18 if you know his will and approve of
what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if
you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are
in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of
infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and
truth-- 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach
yourself ? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You
who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who
abhor idols, do you rob temples?23 You who brag about the law, do
you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written:
"God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." 25 Circumcision
has value if you observe the law, but if you break the law, you have become as
though you had not been circumcised. 26 If those who are not
circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though
they were circumcised? 27 The one who is not circumcised
physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the
written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. 28 A man is
not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and
physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision
is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a
man's praise is not from men, but from God.
1 What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what
value is there in circumcision? 2 Much in every way! First of
all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God. 3 What
if some did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's
faithfulness? 4 Not at all! Let God be true, and every man a
liar. As it is written: "So that you may be proved right when you speak
and prevail when you judge." 5 But if our unrighteousness
brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is
unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6 Certainly
not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? 7 Someone
might argue, "If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases
his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?" 8 Why
not say--as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that
we say--"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is
deserved. 9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better ?
Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are
all under sin. 10 As it is written: "There is no one
righteous, not even one; 11 there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God. 12 All have turned away, they have
together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even
one." 13 "Their throats are open graves; their
tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their
lips." 14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." 15 "Their
feet are swift to shed blood; 16 ruin and misery mark their
ways, 17 and the way of peace they do not know." 18"There
is no fear of God before their eyes." 19 Now we know that
whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every
mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore
no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather,
through the law we become conscious of sin. 21 But now a
righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law
and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes
through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are
justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ
Jesus. 25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,
through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in
his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- 26 he
did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the
one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. 27 Where,
then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the
law? No, but on that of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man
is justified by faith apart from observing the law. 29 Is God
the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles
too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised
by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do
we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
Ecclesiastes 7
Ecclesiastes 7 (New International Version)
Ecclesiastes 7
Wisdom
1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.
7 Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
10 Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.
12 Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
13 Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
14 When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.
15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
16 Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise— why destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool— why die before your time?
18 It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes . [a]
19 Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city.
20 There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.
21 Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you-
22 for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said, "I am determined to be wise"— but this was beyond me.
24 Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound— who can discover it?
25 So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.
26 I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.
27 "Look," says the Teacher, [b] "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things-
28 while I was still searching but not finding— I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all.
29 This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes."
Ecclesiastes 7
Wisdom
1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to heed a wise man's rebuke than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless.
7 Extortion turns a wise man into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
10 Do not say, "Why were the old days better than these?" For it is not wise to ask such questions.
11 Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun.
12 Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: that wisdom preserves the life of its possessor.
13 Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked?
14 When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.
15 In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.
16 Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise— why destroy yourself?
17 Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool— why die before your time?
18 It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes . [a]
19 Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city.
20 There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.
21 Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you-
22 for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.
23 All this I tested by wisdom and I said, "I am determined to be wise"— but this was beyond me.
24 Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound— who can discover it?
25 So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.
26 I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.
27 "Look," says the Teacher, [b] "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things-
28 while I was still searching but not finding— I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all.
29 This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes."
Revelation 17
Revelation 17 (New International Version, ©2010)
Revelation 17
Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast
1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."
3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery: BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God's holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7 Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
9 "This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
12 "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."
15 Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God's words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."
Revelation 17
Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast
1 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits by many waters. 2 With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries."
3 Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries. 5 The name written on her forehead was a mystery: BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God's holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. 7 Then the angel said to me: "Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns. 8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
9 "This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
12 "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."
15 Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages. 16 The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. 17 For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God's words are fulfilled. 18 The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth."
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