Dr Paul Allen

Matthew Evangelist. The text also says - Abraham and David (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) MATTHEW. 9:9–13 After years of counting out coins, writing out customs receipts, and collecting Roman taxes from his Jewish countrymen, Matthew finally heard an offer he could not refuse. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, and “he left all, rose up, and followed Him” ( Luke 5:28). Matthew left everything. The taxes. The extorted excess. The receipts. He left it all—except, praise God, his gift of accurate record-keeping! Before his conversion, his name had been Levi , the son of Alphaeus (Mark 2:14). But after he came to Christ , he received a new name, Matthew (“Gift of the Lord”). When Luke and Mark refer to Matthew, they call him Levi. But in Matthew 10:3 , he refers to himself as “Matthew the tax collector”—a pointed reminder of a past he had given up. What “old life” did you leave behind in order to fully follow the Son of God ? Author: Stanley, C. F. (2005). The Charles F. Stanley life prin...

T he term amen was used in the corporate worship of ancient Israel in two distinct ways. It served first as a response to praise given to God and second as a response to prayer.  Those same usages of the term are still in vogue among Christians. The term itself is rooted in a Semitic word that means "truth," and the utterance of "amen" is an acknowledgment that the word that has been heard, whether a word of praise, a word of prayer, or a sermonic exhortation, is valid, that is, sure and binding. Even in antiquity, the word amen was used in order to express a pledge to fulfill the terms of a vow. So, this little word is one that is centered on the idea of the truth of God. The truth of God is such a remarkable element of Christian faith that it cannot be overlooked. There are those who think that truth is negotiable or, even worse, divisive, and it therefore should not be a matter of passionate concern among believers. But if we are not concerned about tr...

“Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.” ( Jude 1:24-25 ) This beautiful benediction is quoted at the end of many worship times because it summarizes both the core promises and the foundational authority of “the only wise God our Saviour.” He is able! The precision of the Holy Spirit ’s inspired words is always perfect. The ability of the only wise God is not only omnipotent but omniscient as well. The Greek word dunamis signifies not only sufficient innate power to accomplish the task, but also the knowledge to perform the job correctly. The leper said, “ Lord , if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean” ( Matthew 8:2 ). He is able to “keep you from falling.” Again, the word choices are absolutely wonderful. God’s ability is used to provide a place of safe custody sufficient to stop any e...

Ovrios, the tradition of burning the Jude (who betrayed Jesus Christ), in Kondariotissa. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear , pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.” ( Jude 1:22-23 ) In the context of this passage, Jude has been exhorting us to “build up” ourselves in the “most holy faith,” keeping ourselves in God’s love and looking forward to “the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ ” ( Jude 1:20-21 ). The instructions that follow may apply to us and our fellow believers. If so, then these categories would fit the “vessels of . . . dishonor” that Paul alludes to that are in a “great house” ( 2 Timothy 2:20 ). “Of some have compassion, making a difference.” Some of those in our circle of influence need our “pity.” The word choices imply a desperate need that we must attempt to remedy. Many of the Lord’s healing miracles were done because of compassion. We are encouraged to “mak...

Map of the Land of Israel as defined in Numbers 34 and Ezekiel 47 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.” ( Jude 1:16 ) Jude’s book cites several incidents in the early history of Israel right after they were wonderfully delivered from slavery in Egypt . Within a very short time, they had come through the Red Sea , had bitter water made sweet, seen water come out of a rock, and been fed with “angels’ food” from heaven. Yet when the 12 spies came back from the land of Canaan that had been promised to them, there was a widespread revolt against God and against Moses ’ leadership. The ten spies who “murmured” against God “died by the plague before the LORD” ( Numbers 14:37 ). Some who had previously sided with the defeatist words of the spies tried to take matters into their own hands and “presumed to go up” to fight against ...

Raging Sea3 (Photo credit: Fearofrevolt ) “[They are] raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame .” ( Jude 1:13 ) Jude connects together a string of 21 illustrations to describe the character of ungodly men who are attacking “the faith once delivered to the saints” (v. 3). This very poignant letter literally sizzles with scathing imagery for those who dare to stir up dissention and disobedience among God’s people. The particular image in verse 13 is of roiling billows surging ashore after a storm, spitting out “shame” from amidst the foam. The physical picture is disgusting enough. As the energy of the storm increases the waves’ height and frequency, the detritus in and on the ocean is picked up and carried along. As the waves rise up toward the shore, they break and the foam begins to collect and then spew out the “shame” previously covered by the depths. Isaiah’s comparison is most apt: “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cas...

English: Peresopnytsia Gospels. 1556-1561. Miniature of Saint Matthew. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear.” ( Jude 1:12 ) The “spots” that the translators chose for this description by Jude may be better understood as “hidden rocks” just below a lake’s surface or covered over by shallow sand in a pathway. Spilas is the Greek word, not used elsewhere in the New Testament . The feasts that Jude refers to are somewhat difficult to describe biblically since this is the only time the word agape is used in the plural. There is some evidence that the early churches were extending the time of celebration of the Lord’s Supper improperly ( 1 Corinthians 11:20-21 ), and it is probable that his warning would apply to churches who are indifferent to maintaining purity ( 1 Corinthians 11:27-29 ). But the imagery also appears to express the danger that the “spots” present amidst the loving en...

Elijah and Enoch (ancestor of Noah) - an icon 17th cent., Historic Museum in Sanok, Poland (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Anyone who’s ever played Bible trivia knows that Methuselah lived longer than anyone else. He died at the ripe old age of 969. But have you ever wondered why? Putting aside all of the environmental factors of a pre-Flood world (where lifetimes lasted a lot longer than they do today), I’m convinced the answer has more to do with the character of God than the physical constitution or health consciousness of Methuselah. When Methuselah was born, the text of Genesis 5 indicates that his father Enoch began to walk with God in earnest (Gen. 5:21–22). Many commentators believe that it was during the time of Methuselah’s birth that God revealed to Enoch the reality of the coming Flood—which is why Enoch spent the next three centuries warning the world around him of God’s impending retribution ( Jude 14-15). Methuselah’s name can be translated as either “man of the jave...

English: Peresopnytsia Gospels. 1556-1561. Miniature of Saint Matthew. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.” ( Jude 1:10 ) Both Jude and Peter use essentially the same terms when they speak of people who are like “brute beasts” ( 2 Peter 2:12 ). Both use the qualifying adjective “natural” to draw a precise distinction between those who are only alive physically and those who have been given eternal life by the Spirit of God . Prior to being twice-born, all men are “by nature the children of wrath” ( Ephesians 2:3 ) and have not yet been given “the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” ( 2 Peter 1:4 ). Such “natural” people are “sensual, having not the Spirit” ( Jude 1:19 ) and therefore cannot receive “the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because...

Sodom and Gomorrha, Alte Pinakothek, Room 23 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.” ( Jude 1:8 ) The King James translators supplied the term “filthy” for the dreamers that Jude denounces because of the “likewise” that introduces their condemnation. The prior verses had condemned certain angels and the populations of Sodom and Gomorrha because of their perversion of God ’s sexual design. These dreamers not only “stain” the flesh but have become so arrogant that they give “no standing” to any authority and “blaspheme” those who have any “glory.” Not even Michael the archangel had that kind of attitude; Jude notes in the next verse that Michael didn’t rebuke Lucifer when he was carrying out God’s mission for Moses ’ body. Some people are way out of line! Jude’s whole message is focused on those who are attempting to resist, undo, damage, distort, or otherwise disrupt the work of God’s peop...

“For there are certain men crept in unawares . . . ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ .” ( Jude 1:4 ) The special word chosen by the Holy Spirit is most helpful in understanding this warning. The Greek term translated “crept in unawares” is pareisduno, a uniquely compounded word meaning to “sink down in alongside.” What could be more descriptive? These kinds of sneaky people have been written about before, Jude says, and are prime examples of those who transpose the grace of God into uncontrolled lust. Paul uses a similar word in his letter to Timothy to warn him about the ungodly men of the last days who “creep into houses” and undermine the lifestyles of “silly women” ( 2 Timothy 3:6-7 ). The imagery implies the subtlety and cleverness of these “ungodly men,” but there is a horrible consequence of this replacement of God’s grace with “lasciviousness.” Jude lists the terrible judgment on the peop...