Understand the Bible

Some of you may have noticed that there was no sermon uploaded last week. This was intentional. I wanted to share with you what’s going on, what I’ve been working on, and give you an update about the future of UTB. The series I refer to by Sinclair Ferguson is entitled Sojourners and Exiles . The Bible Uncancelled is here on Substack: I’d like to thank everyone for your support over the last few y...

We live in a society which is obsessed with the notion of ‘human rights’. In this world, it’s almost inconceivable that someone would actually choose to forego their rights — but that is exactly what Paul does in this passage. Why dud Paul find it necessary to give up his rights, and what does that teach us about how we should live as Christians today? Understand the Bible is a reader-supported pu...

Is the Christian life primarily about knowing information? The Corinthians seemed to make a lot of “knowledge,” but they hadn’t realised the most important thing. Knowledge, without love, means nothing. It needed to make a difference to the way they treated those they considered to be without knowledge — and everyone else. Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To receive new post...

A majority of young people still desire marriage as a ‘life goal’ — according to a 2022 YouGov survey, 60% of 18-34 year olds desire to get married. But is it right to desire marriage? Does marriage conflict with serving God? How should Christians think rightly about relationships? This passage from 1 Corinthians helps us to explore all these questions and more. Understand the Bible is a reader-su...

In this passage, Paul teaches the Corinthians how to deal with questions of marriage and sexuality with godly wisdom. This is a message we need to hear today in a world where we face the same kind of issues. What does it mean to be godly and wise and face questions such as sexual temptation, divorce, and unbelieving husbands or wives? Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To rece...

The sexual revolution of the 1960s promised freedom from the old, oppressive rules of Christianity. However, looking back over the last 60 years, it seems that freedom is the last thing that it has brought us. How should Christians think about the body and what it means to live rightly in this world? Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work,...

Sometimes we can learn as much by looking at the wrong way of doing things as we can from studying the right way. This is the case with the Corinthians: they had been dealing with sin in the church in completely the wrong way. We saw that last week, but this week we’re focussing on a particular case study in how they managed to get things wrong… My piece about safeguarding is here: Understand the...

Have you ever known anyone expelled from a church because of immoral behaviour? Perhaps that is because most churches simply gloss over Paul’s teaching here about how important it is to purify the church. If we don’t take this teaching seriously, then God will. Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscri...

One of the most off-putting things about people is hypocrisy: we hate it when people say they believe one thing, but then do something completely different. This is doubly the case for Christians, where our lives should reflect God. What does that mean for us, and how can we avoid hypocrisy? Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider...

Do we out-grow the gospel? Some Christians or churches give the impression that the gospel is there for the start of our lives but we move beyond it as we grow to maturity. But the truth is, we do not out-grow the gospel message of Christ crucified — in fact, it is how we grow. Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a fre...

Many people in the world have started to look for wisdom over the last few years. A lot of people have even turned to the Bible. But how do we really find wisdom? In this passage, Paul explains that there is a difference between godly wisdom and worldly wisdom — and he shows how we can get godly wisdom. The session I mention on the Trinity can be found here: Understand the Bible is a reader-suppor...

One of the things I see regularly in the New Year is Christians saying that they’re going to try and read the whole Bible in a year. In my opinion, trying to read the Bible in a year is (probably) a bad idea — there’s something much more helpful you can do instead. You can find the What is Christianity? (Bible overview) course here . Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To recei...

In this passage, we see that the message of the cross looks different from where we are standing: the world thinks it is foolishness, whereas Christians see it as the power and wisdom of God. This has implications for what we believe about God and how he relates to us, and how we should live in the light of it. Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and suppor...

We are living in a more divided time than ever — from the wider political realm to friendships and marriages. That makes this passage from 1 Corinthians 1 especially relevant to us: the message of unity through the gospel is one that we need to hear and take to heart. If you’d like to see the video I made about denominations, it is available here: Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publica...

The start of a new year is an opportunity to make plans for the coming months. But few people — perhaps even Christians — stop to think: “What does God want my plans to be this year?” In this first sermon on 1 Corinthians, we think about what God wants from us and what that means for how we should live as we face the new year. Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To receive new...

We human beings find it difficult to look below the surface. It’s easy to see someone who is attractive, rich, powerful or influential, and think they are successful in God’s eyes. But the truth is that God is able to look below the surface, to our hearts. What does God look for in us, and why is this one of the most important things we need to hear today? Understand the Bible is a reader-supporte...

Join me to read John Owen’s classic book “The Mortification of Sin in Believers”. This book is one of the best that have ever been written about how to live a holy life. This final chapter is about how we can put all the pieces together in our lives. Topics covered in this chapter: * Everything comes through faith in Christ * How Christ is sufficient * How we can be sure of expecting Christ to act...

When it comes to obeying God, we can’t pick and choose what we want to obey and what we don’t. Obeying God needs to be all or nothing. In this passage, we see what happened when Saul decided not to obey God fully, and what the consequences were. Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Get full ac...

Join me to read John Owen’s classic book “The Mortification of Sin in Believers”. This book is one of the best that have ever been written about how to live a holy life. This chapter is about how we can avoid a false sense of peace and instead seek the peace which is given by God. Topics covered in this chapter: * How we need God to speak peace to us, it is not something we can get ourselves * Pea...

Maybe you’ve asked questions recently about power and authority. In a world where everything seems to be going wrong, who is in charge? Who holds the power? And what does that look like? In this passage we see that true power and authority doesn’t look like what the world thinks it does. In God’s world, true power and authority looks very different — which is something we should embody as Christia...

Join me to read John Owen’s classic book “The Mortification of Sin in Believers”. This book is one of the best that have ever been written about how to live a holy life. This chapter is about how we need to get to know God better so we can have a right understanding of his majesty. Topics covered in this chapter: * How we should consider the excellence and majesty of God * How it is that we do not...

How much difference is it possible for one person to make? We tend to think that only a few, exceptional, people can really make a difference. But this passage teaches us that anyone can make a difference, even to the point of changing the course of a war. What does it mean for us today? Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider beco...

Join me to read John Owen’s classic book “The Mortification of Sin in Believers”. This book is one of the best that have ever been written about how to live a holy life. This chapter is about how we can use the Law to help us grow in understanding our own guilt and need for God to help us. Topics covered in this chapter: * Why Christians do not outgrow the Law. The Law helps us to understand the d...

‘Actions have consequences’ — words which are often said to children. But it applies to adults as well: things we do wrong will affect us — both in terms of natural consequences, and possible punishment. When it comes to God, both of these things are true. We need to learn to repent and to live by faith in God rather than fear. Understand the Bible is a reader-supported publication. To receive new...

Join me to read John Owen’s classic book “The Mortification of Sin in Believers”. This book is one of the best that have ever been written about how to live a holy life. This chapter is about the importance and even need of cultivating a true sense of the guilt of sin. Topics covered in this chapter: * How we can cultivate a right sense of the guilt for sin and how that helps us as Christians; * T...