Category: Rightly Dividing

Working to correctly handle God’s Word, per 2 Timothy 2:15. These might also be interpretive issues that didn’t make it into a sermon.

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Rightly Dividing

QTCs on the Lord’s Day

By QTC I mean Questions to Consider.

I recently worked through how the Lord’s Day should spin the entire week and yet also why the Lord’s Day is not the Sabbath proper. Those messages provided some of the principles, but what of the practices? Can we say more about the good, better, and bests of Sunday activity? Here are some questions to consider, and comments are open if you’d add (or ask) more.

Should I work on Sunday?

  • Not if you can avoid it.

Should our kids play team sports on Sunday?

  • Probably not, and definitely not if the priority is assembling for the game rather than assembling for worship.

Should I do chores on Sunday?

  • Is that how you are prioritizing the principle?

Should we count the Lord’s Day from sundown to sundown?

  • Well, you could, and, that is not how we really do it these days.

Should I travel on Sunday?

  • Well, why? For what? Is it to maximize vacation days due to placing the real priority on your work schedule?

Should I attend a church in person if on vacation on Sunday?

  • You certainly would get a lot from it, one way or another. That said, our church’s livestream would allow you a partial connection with the home body.

Should I watch sports/movies on Sunday? Or am I only allowed to read the Bible and theology books? (What about the Super Bowl parties Christians have?)

  • Depends, doesn’t it? On one hand, diversions not only distract us from our responsibilities, but even from divine realities. On the other hand, can you give thanks to God, not be put out if you miss a play, receive the rest and/or fellowship as a blessing?

Should I shop on Sunday? How about eating out? (How about buying donuts for church)?

  • Again, is there a need? Is there an emergency? Could preparations be made otherwise? Are there opportunities that are good, even if might be ideal for all (or almost all) stores to be closed?

Should I tell my neighbor what to do on Sunday?

  • Of your neighbor is your kids, duh, show them the way. If your neighbor is actually your brother in Christ or lives next door, you have the opportunity to exhort and encourage just as you do for many issues. Remember Romans 14:4-5.

Should I start getting ready on Saturday for Sunday?

  • The more little kids you have, for sure. Limiting pre-service stress can only make the service, and day itself, more sweet.
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Rightly Dividing

Blessing Grammar

Trying again, and trying some different things than last week’s video. But I’m still looking at the grammar in Romans 12, and the application of this content is way harder than the observation of it.

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Rightly Dividing

Participles Are Your Friend

I dusted off the old YouTube channel today. I started posting videos there in 2007 (it could drive now if it wanted to, or at least have a permit). And, you know, one of my videos has almost 8,000 views, so it’s pretty serious. But I’ve been toying with how to share some of my love of diagramming, and a friend suggested that I try an app called Explain Everything. EE has its own cloud service to host finished videos, but the shortened link it produces doesn’t produce a preview image in the social media sites I tried. Hence dusting off the YouTube and posting there. This is a first, rough attempt, and, amusingly, there is not really any diagramming (but there is great grammar talk, so stick around!). I’ve turned on comments for any feedback.

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Rightly Dividing

Peace Is Prominent

I’m sharing my work a little differently this time. Instead of making the Greek line diagram prominent, you can view it for Romans 5:1-2 here. For the main action, here’s a block outline in English.

Though the paragraph probably includes the first five verses of the chapter, I’m finding plenty about peace to keep me occupied.

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Rightly Dividing

Against Hope

I didn’t get an actual line diagram done this week for Romans 4:18-25, but it’s the English block diagram/outline that most probably care about anyway. So, here it is.

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Rightly Dividing

You Can Be Wrong If You Want To

It seemed like I was drowning at the time, but perhaps the single course that has had the deepest influence on me was a Greek class at Liberty University. It was my third year of college and my fourth semester of Greek. Dr. Paul Fink not only took us verse-by-verse through 1 Peter, he introduced us to Diagrammatical Analysis. Diagramming paragraphs is still my favorite method for studying and meditating on the Word.

The final project for that class required that we put together all the work we’d done into a completed commentary, along with our diagrams and outline of the book.

I happen to be taking my current class of Comeford College students, who happen to be in their fourth semester of Greek, through 1 Peter as well (though I have not assigned them any diagramming).

Our elders are teaching through 1 Peter during our evening services, and I’m up next this coming Sunday night. I assigned myself 1 Peter 3:18-22, and we just talked about it at our last Greek class. It is regularly regarded as the most difficult passage in the New Testament to interpret. While the main point is unmistakably clear and comforting, a lot of the details are debated.

It brought to mind the only comment written by a teacher/professor on any of my tests or papers that I remember. In 1995 I took a position in my commentary that (I think) I no longer hold. Dr. Fink wrote: “You can be wrong if you want to.” Ha!

Of course, that doesn’t apply to the nature of Christ or the way of salvation; some truths must be defended not disputed. When it comes to 1 Peter 3:19, well, there are reasonable disagreements. Take heart, you too can be wrong if you want to.

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Rightly Dividing

Believing vs Boasting

Here’s my diagram for Romans 3:27-31. The words in grey are grammatically assumed, meaning that they are not actually in the Greek text, and most English translations also reflect the sentence fragments. But when all the expected words are included, especially in verse 27, it really seems to be making a point about boasting (spoiler: boasting is right out).

And the English block/outline (also with grey as inserted for sake of complete sentences):

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Rightly Dividing

The Sola Fide Paragraph

This is it.

If you had to pick just one paragraph from the New Testament, it would be hard to do better than Romans 3:21-26. Here is the righteousness of God manifested, not by works but by faith (alone), as God justifies sinners through the redemption and propitiation of Jesus Christ.

And for the ones who prefer da English:

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Rightly Dividing

Types of Treasures

I’m here for your grammatical-meditation-edification again with a block diagram in English as well as a line-diagram in Greek for Romans 2:5-11. This is another one of those not whether but which issues, and the storehouses are eternal.

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Rightly Dividing

I’ll Be the Judge of That

I really do get that not only does not everyone judge line-diagramming to be as fun and fruitful as I do, most grok even less with the Greek. So last week I went back and added a block diagram in English, and this week I’m leading with it. There’s even some overlap with colors, which, might help show the connections, but you can judge for yourself.