2 Thessalonians

Chapter 1

Greetings of Grace and Thanksgiving

[2Th 1:3-4 LSB] We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers, as is [only] fitting, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another increases [all the more], so that we ourselves boast about you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecutions and afflictions which you endure.

God’s Righteous Judgment

[2Th 1:11-12 LSB] To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill all [your] good pleasure for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and [the] Lord Jesus Christ.

The Man of Lawlessness

[2Th 2:13-14 LSB] But we should always give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Disobedient Brothers

Job

Chapter 1

Job Was Greatest of the Sons of the East

[Job 1:5 LSB] Now it happened when the days of feasting had completed their cycle, that Job would send and set them apart as holy. And he would rise up early in the morning and offer burnt offerings [according to] the number of them all; for Job said, "Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did continually.

All Job Has Is in Satan’s Hand

Messengers Speak of the Fire of God

[Job 1:20-22 LSB] Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away. Blessed be the name of Yahweh." Through all this Job did not sin, nor did he give offense to God.

Chapter 2

Satan Strikes Job’s Flesh

[Job 2:10 LSB] But he said to her, "You speak as one of the wickedly foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept calamity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

Job’s Three Friends

Chapter 3

Job Curses the Day of His Birth

[Job 3:1 LSB] Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his [birth].

[Jhn 9:2-3 LSB] And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?" Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but [this was] so that the works of God might be manifested in him.

Chapter 4

Eliphaz Says the Innocent Do Not Suffer

The Discipline of the Almighty

Chapter 6

Job Answers Eliphaz

[Job 6:14 LSB] "For the despairing man lovingkindness [should be] from his friend; But he forsakes the fear of the Almighty.

Bildad Claims God Rewards the Good

Chapter 9

Job Replies There Is No Adjudicator

[Job 9:32-33 LSB] "For [He is] not a man as I am that I may answer Him, That we may go to court [for judgment] together. "There is no adjudicator between us, Who may lay his hand upon us both.

Chapter 10

Job Cries Out to God

[Job 10:8-12 LSB] 'Your hands fashioned and made me altogether, And would You swallow me up? 'Remember now, that You have made me as clay; And would You turn me into dust again? 'Did You not pour me out like milk And curdle me like cheese, Clothe me with skin and flesh, And knit me together with bones and sinews? 'You have made alongside me life and lovingkindness; And Your care has kept my spirit.

Zophar Asks, Can You Find the Depths of God?

Chapter 12 

Job Answers

Job Speaks of God’s Strength

[Job 12:13 LSB] "With Him are wisdom and might; To Him belong counsel and discernment.

[Job 12:22 LSB] "He reveals mysteries from the darkness And brings out the shadows of death into light.

Chapter 13

I Will Be Declared Righteous

[Job 13:3 LSB] "But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to argue with God.

[Job 13:15-16 LSB] "Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him. "This also will be my salvation, For a godless man may not come before His presence.

If a Man Dies, Will He Live Again?

[Job 14:14 LSB] "If a man dies, will he live [again]? All the days of my labor I will wait Until my change comes.

Eliphaz Says Job’s Lips Answer Against Him

Chapter 16

Troublesome Comforters

[Job 16:19-20 LSB] "Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, And my advocate is on high. "My friends are my scoffers; My eye weeps to God.

Chapter 17

Job Seeks Hope

Bildad Speaks of the Downfall of the Wicked

Chapter 19 

My Redeemer Lives

[Job 19:25-27 LSB] "As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, And at the last He will rise up over the dust [of this world]. "Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall behold God, Whom I myself shall behold, And whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!

Of the State of Man After Death, and of the Resurrection of the Dead - The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith

Zophar Says the Joy of the Wicked Is Short

God Does Not Punish the Wicked

Chapter 28 

Where Can Wisdom Be Found?

[Job 28:20 LSB] "Where then does wisdom come from? And where is the place of understanding?

[Job 28:23, 28 LSB] "God understands its way, And He knows its place. ... "So He said to man, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to turn away from evil is understanding.'"

Chapter 29 

Job Continues His Discourse

[Job 30:30-31 LSB] "My skin turns black on me, And my bones burn with fever. "Therefore my harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the sound of those who weep.

[Job 31:1 LSB] "I have cut a covenant with my eyes; How then could I gaze at a virgin?

[Pro 6:25 LSB] Do not desire her beauty in your heart, Nor let her capture you with her eyelids.

[Mat 5:28 LSB] but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Chapter 32

Elihu Answers in Anger

[Job 32:2 LSB] But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned; against Job his anger burned because he was proving himself righteous before God.

Elihu Asks Job to Hear and Respond

Elihu Answers That God Will Be Just

Elihu Answers Job

Elihu Says God Gives the Afflicted Justice

[Job 36:15 LSB] "He delivers the afflicted in their affliction, And opens their ear in [time of] oppression.

Chapter 37 

Elihu Speaks of God’s Voice

[Job 37:13-14 LSB] "Whether for correction, or for His world, Or for lovingkindness, He causes it to happen. "Give ear to this, O Job, Stand and carefully consider the wondrous deeds of God.

Yahweh Answers Job

[Job 38:7 LSB] When the morning stars sang together And all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Yahweh Answers Job, 'Have You?'

[Job 38:36 LSB] "Who has given wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind?

[Job 38:12-14 LSB] "Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, [And] caused the dawn to know its place, That it might seize the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it? "It is changed like clay [under] the seal; And they stand forth like clothing.

hāp̄aḵ to turn, turn about, turn over, turn around

[Job 38:36 LSB] "Who has given wisdom in the innermost being Or given understanding to the mind?

Yahweh Answers Job, 'Where Were You?'

[Job 39:13-17 LSB] "The ostriches' wings flap joyously [But] are they the pinion and plumage of a stork? For she leaves her eggs to the earth And warms them in the dust, And she forgets that a foot may crush them, Or that a beast of the field may trample them. "She treats her children cruelly, as if [they] were not hers; Though her labor be empty, [she] is without dread, Because God has made her forget wisdom, And has not given her a share of understanding.

Chapter 40

Job Places His Hand Over His Mouth

[Job 40:3-4 LSB] Then Job answered Yahweh and said, "Behold, I am insignificant; what can I respond to You? I place my hand over my mouth.

Yahweh Will Ask Job

[Job 40:8 LSB] "Will you really annul My judgment? Will you condemn Me that you may be justified?

Behold the Behemoth

Can You Draw Out Leviathan?

[Job 41:11 LSB] "Who has given to Me that I should repay [him]? [Whatever] is under the whole heaven is Mine.

Job Repents in Dust and Ashes

[Job 42:1-6 LSB] Then Job answered Yahweh and said, "I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. 'Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too marvelous for me, which I did not know. 'Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You make me know.' "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I reject [myself], And I repent in dust and ashes."

Yahweh’s Anger Towards Job’s Friends

Yahweh Restores Job’s Fortunes

[Job 42:10 LSB] And Yahweh restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and Yahweh increased all that Job had twofold.

1 Thessalonians

Thanksgiving

1 Thessalonians 1:2-5 LSB — We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ before our God and Father, knowing, brothers beloved by God, your election, for our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full assurance; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.

Entrusted with the Gospel

1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 LSB — For who is our hope or joy or crown of boasting? Is it not even you, before our Lord Jesus at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.

Timothy’s Good Report

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 LSB — and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you, so that He may strengthen your hearts blameless in holiness, before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.

Sanctification and Love

1 Thessalonians 4:3 LSB — For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality;

1 Thessalonians 4:8 LSB — Consequently, he who sets this aside is not setting aside man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you.

The Dead in Christ Will Rise

[1Th 4:15 LSB] 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

[1Th 4:16-17 LSB] For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet (apantēsis) the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

ἀπάντησις (apantēsis)

[Mat 25:6 LSB] 6 "But at midnight there was a shout, 'Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'

[Act 28:15 LSB] 15 And the brothers, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the Market of Appius and Three Inns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

https://kingdomstudies.blogspot.com/2009/07/apantesis.html

What to Say to the Grieving

When Will the Dead Be Raised?

Did Paul Expect to See the Second Coming?

The Day of the Lord

1 Thessalonians 5:9-11 LSB — For God has not appointed us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore, comfort one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing.

Admonishment and Instruction

1 Thessalonians 5:23 LSB — Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hebrews 4:12 LSB — For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

The London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 - Foreword

THE BAPTIST CONFESSION OF FAITH OF 1689 WITH SCRIPTURE PROOFS

Put forth by the Elders and Brethren of many Congregations of Christians (baptized upon profession of their faith) in London and the Country.

"...for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." – Romans 10:10

FOREWORD

‘I have thought it right to reprint in a cheap form this excellent list of doctrines, which were subscribed to by the Baptist Ministers in the year 1689. We need a banner because of the truth; it may be that this small volume may aid the cause of the glorious gospel by testifying plainly what are its leading doctrines . . . May the Lord soon restore unto His Zion a pure language, and may her watchmen see eye to eye.’ So wrote the young C.H. Spurgeon, then in the second year of his ministry at New Park Street Chapel, Southwark, in a preface addressed to All the Household of Faith, who rejoice in the glorious doctrines of Free Grace with which he prefixed this Confession when he published it in October, 1855.

The Confession itself was first compiled by the Elders and Brethren of many congregations of Christians, baptized upon their profession of faith, in London and the country (as they then described themselves) in the year 1677. It was based upon, and drew its inspiration from the Confession

drawn up by the Westminster Assembly of Divines a generation earlier, and indeed differs only from it in its teaching upon those matters, such as baptism, the Lord's Supper, and church government, upon which among the Reformed churches the Baptists differ from the Presbyterians. For fear of persecution, the compilers of the 1677 Confession did not subscribe their names to it, but when, in September, 1689, following the Revolution of the previous year, the Ministers and Messengers of the churches were

able to meet in more peaceful times, thirty-seven of them, including all the most eminent Baptist ministers of the day, set their names to the recommendation with which it was circulated among the churches. Thereafter for between 150 and 200 years it remained the definitive Confession of Faith of the Particular (or Calvinistic) Baptist churches of England and Wales.

Mr. Spurgeon did not, however, when he republished this Confession, merely preface it with certain words of general commendation. He also addressed to his own church at New Park Street some practical words of advice as to how they should use the Confession. These are still relevant today.

‘This little volume,’ he wrote, ‘is not issued as an authoritative rule, or code of faith, whereby you are to be fettered, but as an assistance to you in controversy, a confirmation in faith, and a means of edification in righteousness. Here the younger members of our church will have a body of divinity in small compass, and by means of the scriptural proofs, will be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in them.

Be not ashamed of your faith; remember it is the ancient gospel of the martyrs, confessors, reformers, and saints. Above all, it is the truth of God, against which all the gates of Hell cannot prevail. Let your lives adorn your faith, let your example adorn your creed. Above all live in Christ Jesus, and walk in Him, giving credence to no teaching but that which is manifestly approved of Him, and owned by the Holy Spirit. Cleave fast to the Word of God which is here mapped out for you.’ This new edition of the Confession is sent out as a private venture by a small group of Baptists who are convinced that it has a message for this generation and believe its publication to be long overdue. They hope it will achieve a wide circulation among the churches, and receive the close study which they believe it will richly repay.

In England during the 1630’s and the 1640’s Congregationalists and Baptists of Calvinistic persuasion emerged from the Church of England. Their early existence was marked by repeated cycles of persecution at the hands of the established religion of crown and Parliament. The infamous

Clarendon Code was adopted in the 1660’s to crush all dissent from the official religion of the state. Periods of rigorous application and intervals of relaxation of these coercive acts haunted Presbyterians,

Congregationalists, and Baptists alike. 

Presbyterians and Congregationalists suffered less than did Baptists under this harassment. No little reason for their relative success in resisting government tyranny was their united front of doctrinal

agreement. All Presbyterians stood by their Westminster Confession of 1646. Congregationalists adopted virtually the same articles of faith in the Savoy Confession of 1658. Feeling their substantial unity with paedobaptists suffering under the same cruel injustice, Calvinistic Baptists met to publish their substantial harmony with them in doctrine.

A circular letter was sent to particular Baptist churches in England and Wales asking each assembly to send representatives to a meeting in London in 1677. A confession consciously modeled after the Westminster Confession of Faith was approved and published. It has ever since born the name of the Second London Confession. The First London Confession had been issued by seven Baptist congregations of London in 1644. That first document had been drawn up to distinguish newly organized Calvinistic Baptists from the Arminian Baptists and the Anabaptists. Because this second London Confession was drawn up in dark hours of oppression, it was issued anonymously.

A preface to the original publication of 1677 says in part: “. . . It is now many years since diverse of us . . . did conceive ourselves under a necessity of publishing a Confession of our Faith, for the information and satisfaction of those that did not thoroughly understand what our principles were, of had entertained prejudices against our profession . . . This was first put forth about the year 1643, in the name of seven congregations then gathered in London . . .” (These early Baptists were conscious that the 1644 Calvinistic Baptist Confession predated the 1646 Presbyterian Confession and the 1658 Congregationalist Confession).

“Forasmuch as this confession is not now commonly to be had; and also that many others have since embraced the same truth which is owned therein; it was judged necessary by us to join together in giving a testimony to the world of our firm adhering to those wholesome principles . . .”

Philippians

Chapter 1 

Thanksgiving

[Phl 1:3-6 LSB] I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, because of your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. [For I am] confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

[Phl 1:9 LSB] And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in full knowledge and all discernment,

The Progress of the Gospel

To Live Is Christ

[Phl 1:21 LSB] For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

[Phl 1:29 LSB] For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,

Chapter 2

Christ’s Humility and Exaltation

[Phl 2:5-8 LSB] Have this [way of] thinking in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, by taking the form of a slave, by being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

[Phl 2:9-11 LSB] Therefore, God also highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that EVERY TONGUE WILL CONFESS that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.

[Phl 2:12-13 LSB] So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for [His] good pleasure.

[Phl 2:14-16 LSB] Do all things without grumbling or disputing, so that you will be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to boast because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.

Timothy and Epaphroditus Sent

Chapter 3

Righteousness Through Faith in Christ

[Phl 3:8-11 LSB] More than that, I count all things to be loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own which is from [the] Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which [is] from God upon faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Pressing On Toward the Goal

[Phl 3:13-14 LSB] Brothers, I do not consider myself as having laid hold of [it] yet, but one thing [I do]: forgetting what [lies] behind and reaching forward to what [lies] ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

[Phl 3:20-21 LSB] For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by His working through which He is able to even subject all things to Himself.

Chapter 4

Rejoice in the Lord Always

[Phl 4:4-5 LSB] Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your considerate [spirit] be known to all men. The Lord is near.

[Phl 4:6-7 LSB] Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God Will Fill Your Needs

[Phl 4:11 LSB] Not that I speak from want, for I learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.

[Phl 4:13 LSB] I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Deuteronomy

Israel from Seir to Kadesh-barnea

[Deu 1:30-31 LSB] 30 'Yahweh your God, who goes before you, will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness where you saw how Yahweh your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.'

[Deu 1:32-33 LSB] 32 "But for all this, you did not believe Yahweh your God, 33 who goes before you on [your] way, to spy out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go.

Wanderings in the Wilderness

Israel Takes Possession of the Land

Moses Pleads to Cross the Jordan

Keep the Commandments of Yahweh

[Deu 4:4 LSB] 4 "But you who clung to Yahweh your God are alive today, every one of you.

[Psa 63:8 LSB] 8 My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.

Deuteronomy 4:7 LSB — “For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is Yahweh our God whenever we call on Him?

[Deu 4:10 LSB] 10 "[Remember] the day you stood before Yahweh your God at Horeb, when Yahweh said to me, 'Assemble the people to Me, that I may cause them to hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.'

[Deu 4:24 LSB] 24 "For Yahweh your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

[Isa 42:8 LSB] 8 "I am Yahweh, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.

The Ten Commandments Repeated

[Deu 5:24 LSB] 24 "And you said, 'Behold, Yahweh our God has shown us His glory and His greatness, and we have heard His voice from the midst of the fire; we have seen today that God speaks with man, yet he lives.

[1Jo 1:1 LSB] 1 What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life--

The Commandment to Love Yahweh

[Deu 6:5 LSB] 5 "You shall love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.