About
Romans 12:2:
“To
offer up our bodies in living sacrifice to God means conforming not longer to
the pattern of this world, but being transformed by the renewing of our minds
(12:2). In other words, what is at issue is not merely external behavior, while
inwardly we remain in the grip of carefully masked hate, lust, deceit, envy,
greed, fear, bitterness, and arrogance. What is at issue is the transformation
of the way we think, bringing our minds in line with the ways and Word of God.
That will produce all the change in behavior that is necessary and wise-and
that change will be radical. By this fundamental transformation, we shall be
enabled to test and approve in our own experience what God’s will is-and find
it “good, pleasing and perfect” (12:2). In the light of Romans 9:9, doubtless
the motivating power for this transformation is the Spirit of God. But that
magnificent truth does not absolve us of resolve, it empowers us.”
About
King Saul:
“Here
is a man who thinks of himself as the center of the universe; whatever gods
exist must serve him. If the covenant God of Israel does not help him as he
wishes, then Saul is prepared to find other gods. This is the black heart of
all idolatry.”
About
Paul:
“He
was very well aware of how easy it is the skew the Gospel, to trim it a little,
to get around the bits we think our hearers will find awkward or offensive. So
he knew that to preach the Gospel faithfully,
he would have to preach it fearlessly.
This does not reflect an “in your face style”. It means, rather, that Paul
wanted to speak without fearing what his hearers would think or say about him,
or what they might do to him, lest he compromise the Gospel he came to
announce.”
About
David:
“Here
is a man of faith who knows he must be grounded in the One who inhabits
eternity, or else he amounts to nothing.”
About
1 Peter 1:23:
“(2)
More precisely, Christians have been “born again, not of perishable see, but of
imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God” (1:23). That which
has transformed us and granted us new life from God himself has not been
physical impregnation, but spiritual new birth, brought about by the enduring
word of God.”
About
2 Chronicles 15:
“We
should not be embarrassed by the blessing of God on integrity and
righteousness. Righteousness exalts a nation: it lifts it up and strengthens
its hand. This is not merely sociological inference: it is the way God has
structured things, the way he providentially rules. Inversely, corruption
attracts the wrath of God, and sooner or later will bring a nation down.”
““They
overcame him by…the word of their testimony.” This does not mean that they
frequently gave their testimonies. It means, rather, that they constantly bore
testimony to Jesus Christ; in short, they constantly proclaimed the Gospel.
This is what spells Satan’s defeat. Keep silent, and Satan wins.”
-D.A.
Carson Theologian and Professor
1946-
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