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A Brief Explanation Why Believers’ Behavior, No Matter How Sinful, Plays No Role In Determining Their Eternal Destiny, Which Is Eternal Salvation, But Why It Is Still A Very Good Idea To Obey Christ’s Commands
Read more: A Brief Explanation Why Believers’ Behavior, No Matter How Sinful, Plays No Role In Determining Their Eternal Destiny, Which Is Eternal Salvation, But Why It Is Still A Very Good Idea To Obey Christ’s CommandsPhoto Credit: “[Mother and children reading bible]” by Library of Congress is marked with CC0 1.0. A review of the scholarly literature reveals that most scholars believe that one’s earthly conduct, that is, one’s deeds while one is here on earth, to some extent play a role in determining whether or not one is saved for…
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Judgment Seat of Christ—In Rebuttal
Read more: Judgment Seat of Christ—In RebuttalPhoto Credit: “Court Gavel – Judge’s Gavel – Courtroom” by weiss_paarz_photos is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. I have received various well-meaning criticisms and objections to the series of articles that I have posted on this blog regarding the correct translation of 2 Cor. 5:10, a passage generally referred to as the Judgment Seat of Christ. To refresh…
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The Bottom Line: What does a correct understanding of 2 Cor. 5:10 mean for each of us in particular, and for the spread of the Good News of the Gospel generally?
Read more: The Bottom Line: What does a correct understanding of 2 Cor. 5:10 mean for each of us in particular, and for the spread of the Good News of the Gospel generally?Psalm 143:10 (ESV): Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! Has the Gospel message over the years been delivered on smooth and level ground? In other words, has the message been simple, understandable, and direct? I would suggest that it has become overly complicated and jumbled, full of unnecessary twists and turns and rough…
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A Suggestion for Future Commentators on 2 Corinthians
Read more: A Suggestion for Future Commentators on 2 CorinthiansPhoto credit: “inside the library (1)” by Joelk75 is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Some scholars currently working on new commentaries to 2 Corinthians and others updating older ones have expressed some interest in the series of articles I have posted on this blog concerning the proper translation of 2 Cor. 5:10, namely the subordinate clause. Since the…
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A Quick Summary in Plain English Why the Conventional Translation of 2 Cor. 5:10 is So Wrong, and Possible Reasons Why It Has Nonetheless Held Up For So Long
Read more: A Quick Summary in Plain English Why the Conventional Translation of 2 Cor. 5:10 is So Wrong, and Possible Reasons Why It Has Nonetheless Held Up For So LongPhoto Credit: “Courtroom” by ☺ Lee J Haywood is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Here is the Greek text of this verse, with the crucial subordinate clause in italics. Don’t worry if you don’t know Greek. You’ll be able to follow along anyway. The key words are in bold print. τοὺς γὰρ πάντας ἡμᾶς φανερωθῆναι δεῖ ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ…
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A Modest Critique of N. T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope from the Perspective of Paradise and the Final Judgment
Read more: A Modest Critique of N. T. Wright’s Surprised by Hope from the Perspective of Paradise and the Final JudgmentProfessor Wright has given us all a precious gift by “reminding” us and, more importantly, by explaining to us in persuasive detail that Jesus on Easter did not pass into some vague spiritual netherworld, but rather rose bodily from the dead. The resurrection, Dr. Wright correctly proclaims, represents the defeat of death and the inauguration…
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Do Near-Death Experiences Conflict with the Biblical Notion of the Final Judgment?
Read more: Do Near-Death Experiences Conflict with the Biblical Notion of the Final Judgment?A near-death experience (NDE) is generally defined as what people experience after they have been pronounced clinically dead, that is, with no brain waves or heart function, and who are later resuscitated. It is important to note here that Jesus did not resuscitate, but resurrected. He is the only one in human history to have…
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Postscript to an Article on the Judgment Seat of Christ in 2 Cor. 5:10
Read more: Postscript to an Article on the Judgment Seat of Christ in 2 Cor. 5:10In response to my full article on a new reading of 2 Corinthians 5.10 (which you can read here in full), Dr. Garland wrote: “Tom rightly points [out] that one’s unexamined presuppositions about what the text says tends to predetermine the reading of the Greek grammar. If one assumes the interpretation is correct, one is…
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Jeannine K. Brown, Embedded Genres in the New Testament: Understanding Their Impact for Interpretation (Reflections for 2 Corinthians 5:10)
Read more: Jeannine K. Brown, Embedded Genres in the New Testament: Understanding Their Impact for Interpretation (Reflections for 2 Corinthians 5:10)Dr. Jeannine Brown’s new book, Embedded Genres in the New Testament: Understanding Their Impact for Interpretation (Baker), was a delight to read and should benefit both scholar and lay Christian alike. What intrigued me the most was the preliminary matter of attempting to identify and sort through various subgenres within larger works, and then how…
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The Judgment Seat of Christ Revisited (2 Corinthians 5.10) – Full Exegetical Article
Read more: The Judgment Seat of Christ Revisited (2 Corinthians 5.10) – Full Exegetical ArticleABSTRACT: This paper argues that the subordinate clause in 2 Corinthians 5:10 should be translated “so that each of us may receive through the body what is due us for what we have done,” instead of the traditional translation: “so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while…