Most of what we know about the Old Testament can feel like a grab bag of people, books, events, and ideas, and usually, it’s hard for us make sense of it and see how it connects to God’s bigger story at all. In this 12-week video & discussion Bible study, Sandra Richter weaves the story together like never before.
Knowing historical background related to the Bible makes the book come alive for contemporary Christians and also helps us understand it as the original audience would have. Andrew Dragos highlights 4 images from the book of Revelation that are brought to light by historical background.
Bible promise cards, memorizing verses, and KJV translations have all led us to mistakenly believe that every verse is independent from the rest. In this primer on reading the Bible in context, Timothy J. Jenney reminds us that the paragraph, not the verse, is the fundamental unit of interpretation in the Bible.
Some point to Romans 7 as the proof-text for the saint-sinner paradox, suggesting that if even the apostle Paul struggled with his unrelenting flesh, Christians must face defeat in certain areas of their Christian life. On the contrary, Ben Witherington suggests that ancient rhetoric illuminates the passage in a way that eliminates Paul as the subject of this passage and paints a more optimistic picture of God’s sanctifying grace.
The sacrificial system of the Old Testament was a means of grace by which the relationship between God and humanity begins to be restored. Ultimately, the sacrificial system was inadequate, which is why Jesus came to earth. But the 5 main Old Testament sacrifices are worth knowing, and Jeremiah Garrett provides some basic information here.
There are many places where you can interact with Seedbed; they include our hard copy books and all of the resources we have on our website. But did you know we’re also on iTunes University? Check out today’s post for links to 3 resources you may not have known about. They include NT666, N. T. Wright lectures, and our Psalter.
Christians are very familiar with the “Roman Road” way of explaining salvation and doing evangelism. But what if it leads you down the wrong way? In this article, Ken Roach argues that this reading of Romans misunderstands the point Paul is making and ultimately obscures the vision of salvation presented in the New Testament.
What is the meaning of the Tower of Babel and why was God displeased with the project? Dr. John Walton sets the story straight by suggesting that it be read in its ancient context, which reveals that the tower built was an ancient structure known as a ziggurat. Watch this Seven Minute Seminary for more insight into this famous biblical story.
Ben Witherington maintains that behind Paul’s theologizing in Romans and other letters is not abstract ideas like God’s sovereignty, grace, nor even some order of salvation. Rather, it is stories—including that of Adam, Moses, and Jesus. This is what we might call Paul’s narrative thought world.
What is covenant according to the Bible? In this Seven Minute Seminary, Dr. John Walton explains that a covenant is more than a political agreement, administrative concept, or a promise. In the Old Testament, the covenant is God’s initiative to reveal himself so that by knowing God, they might have a relationship with him.
Who wrote the Gospels? Higher criticism of the Bible challenges the traditional attributions of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In this Seven Minute Seminary, Ben Witherington explains how authority and authorship worked in the ancient world and how this relates to the four Gospels.
Paul wrote a letter to the Romans, but what did this church look like, and where did it originate from? In this helpful article, Jason Myers shares the internal evidence and important historical information that gives us insightful clues to help us understand this all-important work of literature.
