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I knew a man who returned to Christ after decades of drugs and dealing, trafficking girls, violence, theft, and homelessness. Raised in church, he came back on fire for Jesus, witnessing openly and boldly everywhere he went. His life choices had a body count. He was diminished in...
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August 1, 2024 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses
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John 8:7 is especially popular with non-Christians who resent any suggestion within Christianity that they are sinners in need of salvation. It is usually paraphrased, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.”[1] Sounds good doesn’t it?— Don’t judge me! John 8:7 is a “Get-out-of-Jail-free card” for...
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October 8, 2019 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
As a constant advocate for Biblical Theology, some imagine that I want Biblical Theology instead of Systematic Theology. I don’t. Systematic Theology does not hold as much interest for me as for others who are more naturally inclined to that type of theological conversation, but Systematic Theology is...
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September 26, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Theology, Theology
Grammar stinks…. just kidding; I love grammar, but I’m hoping that by pretending not to that you will suck it up and actually read all the way to the bottom of my 800 or so words on “OF” in Mark 1:1. Prepositions are those funny little words that...
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April 26, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Studies, Inductive Study Methods, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies
Some have suggested that the “OF” case in Mark 1:1 in the phrase “Gospel of Jesus” is objective… meaning that Jesus is the gospel and not merely the preacher of a Gospel, though Mark 1:14-15 will show that he does preach a gospel as well. Here, in Mark...
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April 25, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies
“I’m a New Testament Christian!” A common boast by those little interested in the Old Testament… I mean… Doesn’t that just sound defunct… OLD… Good old things get the label antique, which is cool, but other old things just get OLD… rhymes with MOLD and for good reason. ...
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April 24, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Meeting the Jesus of Mark, NT's Use of the OT
In our last episode, we introduced the bare bones essence of water baptism as an ancient covenant ratification act saturated with typical death imagery and corresponding OT interests in ordeal (the divinely ordained safe passage through the maws of death, representing divine election and/or divine decrees of innocence). ...
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April 18, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Intertestamental History & Literature, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT
So you read the whole Old Testament. You read it several times. Having immersed yourself in the literature that your Bible, by its basic structure, seems to promise as the precursor to the rest, you finally turn to the New Testament. This is how it always goes isn’t...
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April 16, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
I will never forget my first Master’s paper at Regent University. I called it, “How They Got This Out of That.” I worked hard in my undergraduate programs (Yes, programs plural… I had a sordid flirtation with more than one Bible College before beginning my graduate studies.) but...
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April 15, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Inductive Study Methods, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies, Text Criticism Issues
One of the benefits of a being raised in a blue collar environment and receiving academic training is that I tend to experience the full force of learning. This means that no matter how much I succeeded in my education, writing and research, I labored hard for it…...
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April 12, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, Inductive Study Methods
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The resurrection of Jesus is not just one grand miracle amid a ministry filled with grand miracles. It stands alone among all the works of Jesus for the magnitude of its significance in the lives of the followers of Jesus, the Christ. It is a unique event not...
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April 10, 2019 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Theology, New Testament Studies, Theology
To the Hebrews context mattered a good deal. Our own struggles to understand the use to which some New Testament writers put certain Old Testament texts may make us doubt that they cared about the Historical Grammatical and Literary context of a passage but we would be wrong....
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May 28, 2018 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, HAGALAH, Inductive Study Methods, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
There are many bingo phrases that Christian’s throw around at church that I am convinced they barely understand. If you ask them what their favorite terms mean, you will, more than likely, get a rather short answer which misses the mark if, for nothing else, its very brevity....
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May 25, 2018 Andrew Sargent
Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Language Issues, Biblical Studies, Inductive Study Methods, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT
I had a professor once, gifted in languages, but not in relationships. He could not only read more than his fair share of languages even for a scholar, but he was also a fluent conversationalist in several. He decided that he wanted his wife to learn to speak...
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May 21, 2018 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, Inductive Study Methods, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT
One of the things that separates us from the animals, other than our smashing good looks, is the ability to use sound to form words and to use words to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. This combination is often called grammar or syntax. A friend once quipped, “Don’t...
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April 27, 2018 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Studies, Inductive Study Methods, Meeting the Jesus of Mark
Look at Mark 1:1… look reeeeeaaaaal close and careful. It reads in the ESV, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” Seems simple enough. A literalist rendering of the Greek is, “Beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ son of God. The three of words aren’t actually...
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April 18, 2018 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Studies, Inductive Study Methods, Meeting the Jesus of Mark, New Testament Studies
Okay, as promised, this is the last post on the popular type-scene “Foreigner at the Well.” I hope it will be rewarding enough to warrant a gander. No, you don’t have to pay a goose to read it, just take a curious poke into it to check it...
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April 11, 2018 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT
When I passed inspection for receiving my ministerial license, the individual responsible for my review spread out, like a row of piano keys, the many pages of answers I gave to the theological questions I was asked to address in the process. He ummm-ed a bit, scratched his...
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June 21, 2017 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Theology, Theology
I love puzzles, always have. Growing up, I saw puzzles of all kinds as a natural exercise of my desire to be a detective someday, tracing out subtle clues to help me zero in on bad guys. Becoming a biblical scholar, then, has always seemed right on target...
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January 18, 2017 Andrew Sargent
101 Most Misunderstood Verses, Bible Backgrounds, Biblical Studies, Biblical Theology, HAGALAH, New Testament Studies, NT's Use of the OT, Old Testament Studies
Joseph Bonham, M.A. is today’s guest blogger. Joseph has his own blog called the Biblical Bean, linked below. In addition to a Bachelors in Biblical Studies, he holds a master of arts from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Biblical Languages / Hebrew Bible. ·He has agreed to address a question I...
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April 18, 2016 Andrew Sargent
Biblical Theology, Meeting the Jesus of Mark
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