Bible in Life

One of the really important things to remember when reading the Bible is that we're not the original audience. The Bible was written for us but not to us. And this is doubly so with the Old Testament Law.  The Law was God's covenant with Israel, to form them as His holy people - a "kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:5-6). It is Israel's national charter. So it's not God's covenant with us today. Our covenant with God is in Christ, not the Law. Nevertheless, the Law teaches us a ton about God's values, priorities, aims, and ambitions. It shows us how some of those worked out in a particular culture and context. And from that we can discern wisdom for today.    Want to get more out of your Bible reading? Free Resource: 7 Ways to Immediately Get More Out of the Bible  https://www.johnwhittaker.net/seven-ways   Support this ministry: Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with me: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Probably the most common thing Christ say about the Old Testament law is that it was a bunch rules that were all about works salvation. And since they couldn't keep all the rules it shows that no one can earn their salvation.  But that's a fundamental misunderstanding of the Old Testament law.  In fact, if you read it, you could never say that because that's not at all how the story goes. So to understand the Law, we need to recognize that it's part of a story, Israel's story. And we need to pay attention to the flow of that story and where the Law fits into it.  Want to get more out of your Bible reading? Free Resource: 7 Ways to Immediately Get More Out of the Bible  https://www.johnwhittaker.net/seven-ways   Support this ministry: Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with me: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net If you've been helped by this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Is the Old Testament Law a burden or a blessing?  Christians often denigrate the Old Testament as just a bunch of rules and rituals that people had to keep to try to earn their salvation, but they never could keep all those rules. So that's why Jesus came and set us free from the Law. Is that an accurate portrayal of what the Law was intended to do and be?  How should we approach the Old Testament Law?  If you've ever struggled to read books like Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy and wondered what all those rules and rituals were about then this episode (and series) is for you. Want to get more out of your Bible reading? Free Resource: 7 Ways to Immediately Get More Out of the Bible  https://www.johnwhittaker.net/seven-ways   Support this ministry: Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with me: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Resurrection.  If Jesus didn't rise from the dead then He's a fraud and Christianity is a sham. So does it make any sense to believe that Jesus rose from the dead? Is there any evidence? Want to get more out of your Bible reading? Free Resource: 7 Ways to Immediately Get More Out of the Bible  https://www.johnwhittaker.net/seven-ways   Support this ministry: Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with me: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net   As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

On this episode we explore several questions that challenge our faith in God and Jesus. Question #1 - Why does God seem so invisible, unknown and unresponsive? Question #2 - What makes belief in Jesus the exclusive way to true life, here, now, and after death? Questions #3 - If the church has often hurt its neighbors through violence, racism, sexism etc., what does that tell us about how we should trust what traditions and beliefs it has passed to us? In short, why should we believe in Christianity when the church sucks? These are real and important questions, so let's explore them together. Want to get more out of your Bible reading? Free Resource: 7 Ways to Immediately Get More Out of the Bible  https://www.johnwhittaker.net/seven-ways   Support this ministry (currently we are about 50-55% funded for bare minimum monthly need): Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with me: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net   As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

If Jesus is the Messiah, why don't Jews believe in Him? This has been a question since the days of the apostles … who were Jews by the way. In fact, this really is the question that lies behind Romans 9-11.  And how can a loving forgiving God condemn people for following the "wrong religion" with strong faith and morality? Are people actually condemned for "following the wrong religion"?    Book: The Case for Christ    Want to get more out of your Bible reading? Free Resource: 7 Ways to Immediately Get More Out of the Bible  https://www.johnwhittaker.net/seven-ways   Support this ministry: Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with me: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net   As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.   Note: some links are affiliate links

On Questions of Doubt, pt. 6 (More Questions about the Bible), one of the the things we touched on was inspiration meaning that God supervised the writing of the Bible. In response, one listener had several questions:  If the Bible is inspired or “supervised by God” then does He still do that?  Why is Scripture complete? Why are other works (both ancient and modern texts) not considered inspired scripture? What if they don’t contradict scripture? If God supervised scripture, does that have to mean it has no prescriptive errors that aren’t necessarily sinful but cultural? Would God have compelled the authors to edit those things out? These a good questions and at the heart of most of them lies the question of the canon - that is, the official books of the Bible. Why are there only these books of the Bible? Why do some Bibles have more books? How were the books decided upon?    Want to get more out of your Bible reading? Free Resource: 7 Ways to Immediately Get More Out of the Bible  https://www.johnwhittaker.net/seven-ways   Support this ministry: Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with me: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Prayer. If we're honest, prayer is a mixed bag. Sometimes wonderful ... incredible connection with God and God's goodness is poured out. Other times it's confusing, even frustrating. Where is God? Why doesn't He listen to me?  Miracles. It seems like they're all over the place in the Bible, but not any more. Why not? What happened?  These two topics can be very discouraging and troubling, so let's explore these together.    Want to get more out of your Bible reading? Free Resource: 7 Ways to Immediately Get More Out of the Bible  https://www.johnwhittaker.net/seven-ways   Support this ministry: Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with me: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

The Bible is central to the christian faith. Can we actually trust it? Isn't the Bible full of errors and mistakes? Has the Bible been edited and changed from when it was originally written?  Isn't the Bible written by imperfect men... so how can it be trustworthy? Can I really I trust a book that thousands of years old? These are some of the questions we explore on this episode of the Bible in Life.  Want to get more out of your Bible reading? Free Resource: 7 Ways to Immediately Get More Out of the Bible  https://www.johnwhittaker.net/seven-ways   Support this ministry: Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with me: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net   As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.

Can I actually trust the Bible? That's a fair and honest question. The bible is an old book. At times it can be an odd book. Or at least a foreign book. And there are things in it that don’t make sense.  So is it really trustworthy? Some of the reasons often expressed for doubting that the Bible is trustworthy are: Why should I trust a book that thousands of years old? It’s full of contradictions. It’s been changed and rewritten so many times. It’s full of errors and mistakes. it teaches hurtful, hateful things… In this episode, I encourage to focus on Jesus and thus explore if the witnesses to Jesus can be trusted. Next week, we'll get into some of the other questions.    Want to get more out of your Bible reading? Free Resource: 7 Ways to Immediately Get More Out of the Bible  https://www.johnwhittaker.net/seven-ways   Support this ministry: Set up a one-time or monthly donation at the link below. http://worldfamilymissions.org/john-whittaker/   The Listener’s Commentary - In-depth teaching through books of the Bible to help you learn the Bible for yourself:  https://www.listenerscommentary.com   Connect with me: Social Media- connect on facebook and instagram Email - john@johnwhittaker.net As always, if you appreciate this teaching leave a review and share freely - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, via email.