Provocative Bible Verses: Cutting Off Limbs for Jesus

7“Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than [...]

Should you really be afraid of God?

For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. 1st Chronicles 15:25 That verse from 1st Chronicles is one of more than fifty times in the Bible when fearing God is viewed as a virtue. Yet for all that frequency it may be one of the [...]

Provocative Bible Verses: When Submission is a Bad Thing

A recent post on the topic of submission in the Bible has received a fair amount of response in the way of readers and comments. A couple of those readers pointed out a missing piece in what I said. Put simply the question would be, is there ever a time when a Christian should refuse [...]

Provocative Bible Verses: Is Jesus God?

It seems that in the past few weeks I have come across a number of people who claim to be Christians but do not think Jesus was God. The real question I suppose is, “Did Jesus think that he was God?”. The short answer to that question is clearly yes. In fact, that is the [...]

Provocative Bible Verses: Is Jesus the Only Way to Heaven?

In an era that promotes tolerance as the highest of virtues and the idea that truth is relative, it is considered outrageous to claim that Jesus is the one and only, exclusive way, for people to attain eternal life. I have heard it more often than I can count; “What about all the people in [...]

Provocative Bible Verses: The Fellowship of Suffering

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” Philippians 3:10 We met the first week of sixth grade. I was the new kid in the class and as it turned out we lived two streets apart. In one [...]

Provocative Bible Verses: Jesus Came to Divide People

“Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law” Matthew 10:34-35 There is a clear impression [...]

Provocative Bible Verses: Nobody is Perfect, But They Should Be!

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48 Nobody is perfect is one of the few remaining truisms that has nearly universal agreement among people of every cultural milieu, philosophical system, or religious ideology. It is the standard way of accounting for our short comings both major and minor. We may want [...]

Provocative Bible Verses: Mom and Dad; I Love Jesus but I Hate You!

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26 What in the world are we supposed to make of these words from Jesus? It seems to be a pretty clear and simple statement [...]

Provocative Bible Verses: Rejoice in the Lord Always

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice” Philippians 4:4 How in the world does the Apostle Paul expect us to always be joyful? Does he really intend that we are to be like some Christians and walk around life as if we are on some spiritual cloud nine, totally oblivious to [...]