Koinonia

Biblical Greek Award Winners, 2013-2014. Plus an Invitation to Instructors.

(Photo: Granville Sharp, from Memoirs of Granville Sharp, esq., by Prince Hoare)

Did you know Zondervan Academic partners with colleges, universities, and seminaries to recognize students for outstanding achievement in the study of biblical Greek?  

To find out how your school can participate in the Zondervan Biblical Greek Award program, please contact Joshua Kessler ([email protected]).

And please join us in congratulating the 2013-2014 winners.

Biblical Greek Award Winners, 2013-2014

Asbury Theological Seminary — Brian Isaacs
Asbury Theological Seminary (Orlando Campus) — Paul S. Suich
Baptist Bible Seminary — Stuart Green
Barton College — Kevin Toth
Bethel College — Jon Nicoletti
Bethel Seminary (San Diego) — John Darrow
Bethel Seminary (St. Paul) — Tim Haas
Bradford Christian Academy — Stephen David Munley
Brite Divinity School — Michael Yandell
Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary — Robert Martin
Calvary Bible College — Paul M. Snyder
Calvary Chapel Bible College — Tuukka Oksanen
Calvin College — Andrew Wade
Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary — Celeste Sharkey
Capital Bible Seminary — Sherri L. Tolson
Carson-Newman College — Caleb Gibson
Cedarville University — Andrew B. Gutberlet
Central Baptist Theological Seminary — Jared Matthew
Central Bible College — Erin Biggerstaff
Central Christian College of the Bible — Emilee Southam
Clear Creek Baptist Bible College — Jonathan Carter
Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary — Ana Georghe
Concordia Theological Seminary — David Bochs
Concordia University of Wisconsin — Ryan Anderson
Cornerstone University — Matthew Williams
Crossroads College — Austin J. Stumvoll
Crown College — Aaron Keller
Denver Seminary — Fan Zhas
Emmanuel College — Benjamin Crisp
Emmaus Bible College — Albin Jacobsen
Faulkner University — Christopher Smith
Freed-Hardeman University — G. Clay Leonard
Fresno Pacific University Biblical Seminary — Andrew Lynch
Geneva College — Hayden Crow
Grand Rapids Theological Seminary — Matthew Williams
Great Lakes Christian College — Margaryton Teslina
Hope International University — Jeff R. Schlieder
John Brown University — Jonathan Marks
Johnson University — Andrew Emrick
Lee University — William Simmons
Louisiana College — Kathrynn Duberville
Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary — Danieal Carl Ferritto II and Laura Gallagher
Milligan College — Kaitlyn Harville
Moody Theological Seminary (Chicago) — Shane Deane
Nazarene Theological Seminary — Cody Ellis
New England Bible College — Thomas Trask
New Hope Christian College — Christie Sinclair
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary — Scott Minear
North Central University — Melissa Kirk
Northwest Christian University — Emily Helt
Oklahoma Baptist University — Davey Billings
Oklahoma Christan University — Ryder Dale Walton
Oral Roberts University — Joshua K. Wagner
Ouachita Baptist University — Collin Battaglin
Palm Beach Atlantic University — Alaihna Liloia
Patten University — Edward Ahn
Piedmont International Univeristy — Joshua McDonald
Piedmont International Univeristy — Ron Bresett
Point University — Timothy Mitchell
Prairie Bible College — Gary Wiebe
Simpson University — Christina Molina
Southern Nazarene University — Joseph Blissett
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary — Robert Lane
Talbot School of Theology — Patrick McDonald
Taylor University — Joshua Kiers
Toccoa Falls College — Noah Smith
Trinity Western University — Daniel Wall and Louise Wall
University of Northwestern (St. Paul) — Wade Weeldreyer
Valley Forge Christian College — Johnathan Norris
Whitworth University — Vanessa Curless

Mounce Archive 6 — One More Reason to Learn Greek: Play on Words

Everyone needs a sabbatical once in a while, and Bill Mounce is taking one from Koinonia blog until September. Meanwhile, we’ve hand-picked some of our favorite and most popular posts for your summer reading and Greek-studying pleasure.

A few years ago, Bill Mounce revealed that he had always considered John 15:3 to be a strange verse. While he thought it could appear parenthetical at best, "[his] default is to assume a comment is not parenthetical and to look for connections."

That connection is provided in a so-called "play on words"—which you won't fully grasp unless you know the original Greek. "The connection [between vv 2 and 3] will be lost, or its strength diminished, if you don’t see how strongly the Greek is tying vv 2-3 together."

In another illuminating post from his archives, Mounce explores one of the more difficult aspects of bringing Greek into modern english—providing yet another reason why learning and knowing Greek is important to exegetical teaching and ministry.

I suspect that there is nothing harder to bring into English than a play on words. When that play on words branches (pun intended) into metaphors (and the question of how hard to push the imagery), and into the relationship between justification and sanctification, it moves from "hard" to "almost impossible." Then add in John’s use of double meanings and nuances, and many translators go screaming into the night.

As a follow-up on a previous post, in which I was asked about the relationship between "prunes" (John 15:2) and "clean" (v 3), here are the two verses; pay special attention to the Greek. "Every branch (klema) of mine that does not bear fruit he takes away (airo) , and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes (kathairo), that it may bear more fruit. Already you are clean (katharos) because of the word that I have spoken to you" (ESV).

Okay, there are lots of things going on here...

(Continue reading the entire post, here)

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William D. [Bill] Mounce posts about the Greek language, exegesis, and related topics at Koinonia. He is the author of numerous works including the recent Basics of Biblical Greek Video Lectures and the bestselling Basics of Biblical Greek. He is the general editor of Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of the Old and New Testament Words. He served as the New Testament chair of the English Standard Version Bible translation, and is currently on the Committee for Bible Translation for the NIV.

Learn more about Bill's Greek resources at Teknia.com and visit his blog on spiritual growth at BiblicalTraining.org/blog/life-journey.

Extracurricular Activities 8.23.14 — 2nd-Temple Divine Names, Mistreating Creation, & Feeling African-American Pain

Joel Willitts Shares a Solution to the Problem of the Historical Origins of the Bible and Jesus

I found this very interesting passage in Martin Kähler’s The So-Called Historical Jesus and the Historic Biblical Christ. Kähler offers his solution to the knotty problem of the historical origins of both the Bible and Jesus. Kähler places supreme value on the history of the effects of Jesus and the Bible as evidence for its reliability and credibility:

Larry Hurtado on Writing & Pronouncing the Divine Name in 2nd-Temple Jewish Tradition

Several comments prompted by my earlier postings have raised questions about how the Hebrew divine name (YHWH) was rendered in written form and how God was referred to orally in the time of Jesus. In addition to interest in these questions for their own sake, there is also the related question of how these matters may relate to the designation of Jesus as “Kyrios” in the NT.

So, there are three distinguishable issues involved. (1) How was the name YHWH treated in ancient Jewish manuscripts, both Hebrew and Greek ones? (2) How did ancient Jews refer to YHWH orally (i.e., did they use verbal/oral substitute words)? (3) How might data relating to the preceding questions relate to the use of “Kyrios” to designate Jesus in the NT?

Justin Holcomb Explains Why It’s Wrong for Christians to Mistreat Creation

What It Means to “Have Dominion” Over Creation

One reason Christians have been particularly weak in dealing with ecological issues and the deterioration of the natural environment is a misunderstanding of what it means to “have dominion” over creation.

Dominion does not mean destruction, but responsibility. It is important to avoid flawed convictions about the right and power of humankind in relation to the rest of the natural world. Francis Schaeffer elaborates:

We Need More Than Liturgy: 3 Concerns with Liturgical Evangelicalism

A growing number of evangelicals view failures of faithfulness as lapses in liturgical formation—or claim that participating in liturgical worship is key to transforming our character...

I applaud a great deal here, so much so that I consider myself a dedicated member of this broader endeavor. Yet three assumptions made by champions of the evangelical liturgy cause have left me with major concerns—especially as I reflect on the students in my former community. Their formation clearly failed despite the liturgical ethos of their institution. What lessons can evangelicals learn from struggles that persist despite liturgical involvement?

Bryan Loritts Explains Importance of Feeling the Pain of African-American Brothers & Sisters

The slain corpse of Michael Brown’s body has decimated the myth that racism is no longer festering in our hearts. In the aftermath of his demise, there have been riots in his hometown and on social media. In the Christian community, the commentary has likewise been combustible, as one side has appealed to the “facts” of the case—Michael Brown had just stolen some cigars, and could very well have been the aggressor—while the other side has spoken out of a deep well of hurt, dug for over four hundred years with the shovel of racism and institutionalized segregation, where the value of a black life was on par with that of a horse. It’s more than understandable when African Americans begin to wonder, what exactly is the value of a black life?

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Extra-Curricular Activities is a weekly roundup of stories on biblical interpretation, theology, and issues where faith and culture meet. We found each story interesting, thought-provoking, challenging, or useful in some way – but we don't necessarily agree with or endorse every point in every story.

If you have any comments on these stories, we welcome you to share them here. We hope you enjoy!

–The Editors of Koinonia Blog

Knowing God Rests on Knowing the Biblical Languages — An Excerpt from "Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar"

Consider this: God chose to reveal and incarnate Himself to humanity through the specific languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek as much as He revealed and incarnated Himself in first century Judea under Roman occupation.

This aspect of God’s revealing act is an overlooked yet important facet of Scripture, one Bruce Waltke exposes and expounds upon in an inspiring insight selected from Gary Pratico’s and Miles Van Pelt’s Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar.

Here is what Waltke concludes in the excerpt below:

The logic of this Christian theology, that God revealed himself through the Scripture, inescapably led me to the conclusion that the authenticity of that knowledge rested on a precise understanding of the biblical languages.

Knowing God rests on knowing the biblical languages.

Remember this the next time you need to run through your Hebrew flashcards for the third time. Remember this, too, the next time you’re preparing a sermon to help your people know God more deeply.

-Jeremy Bouma, Th.M. (@bouma)

Biblical Hebrew Award Winners, 2013-2014. Plus an Invitation to Instructors.

(Photo: Moses with the Tablets of the Law, painted by Guido Reni c. 1624.)

Did you know Zondervan Academic partners with colleges, universities, and seminaries to recognize students for outstanding achievement in the study of biblical Hebrew? 

To find out how your school can participate in the Zondervan Biblical Hebrew Award program, please contact Joshua Kessler ([email protected]).

And please join us in congratulating the 2013-2014 winners.

Biblical Hebrew Award Winners, 2013-2014

Asbury Theological Seminary — Alison Hawanchak
Baptist Bible Seminary — Chungwon Eric Suh
Bethel College — Thomas McPhail
Bethel Seminary — Joe Budish
Brite Divinity School — Simeiqi He
California Baptist University — Henry Zietlow
Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary — Joshua Steinmetz and Stephen DeWalt
Calvary Bible College (Kansas City, MO) — Steven T. Williams
Calvary Chapel Bible College — Gavin Lau
Calvin Seminary — Yohan Song
Carson-Newman College — Jake Stidham
Central Baptist Theological Seminary (Minneapolis) — Daniel W. Burrus
Central Bible College — Yoshinobu Fukumori
Central Christian College of the Bible — Elizabeth C. Biery
Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary — Jeremy Richter
Concordia University of Wisconsin — Erik Sorenson
Cornerstone University — Justin Duff
Eastern New Mexico University — Andrea Gerhart
Emmaus Bible College — Aaron Joe Covington
Erskine Theological Seminary — Eric Wenger
Florida College — Stephen Dvorak
Freed-Hardeman University — Justin S. B. Guin
Fresno Pacific University Biblical Seminary — Jason Hildebrandt
George W. Truett Theological Seminary — Wyatt S. Miles
Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary — Anna Westfall
Grace Bible College — Tyler Cook
Great Lakes Christian College — Tommy Machlum
Hannibal-LaGrange College — Brett Lunn
Lee University — Katelyn Parent
The Master's College — Stephen Noch
Moody Theological Seminary (Chicago) — Kristian Chelstrom
New England Bible College — Jenny Lamberton
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary — Cory Barnes
North Central University — Michelle Taylor
Northwestern College of Iowa — Ross Hoekstra
Oklahoma Baptist University — Brandon Melton
Oklahoma Christian University — Ryder Dale Walton
Piedmont International University — Ron Smith
Sioux Falls Seminary — Kate Rhody
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary — Michael Perry
Sterling College — Stephanie Smith
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor — Nathan Adams
University of Mobile — Nicole Oakley
Western Seminary — Anna Quarum
Whitworth University — Michael Bouterse

Philippians with Lynn Cohick 4 — The Most Encouraging Ideas in Philippians: Support & Joy

(Can't see the video? Watch it here)

What is the most encouraging idea you find in Philippians?

Perhaps it’s that God will continue his good work in his people until Christ’s return. Maybe it's that even someone like Paul hadn’t already arrived at the goal of Christ-likeness. (That’s my pick!)

For Lynn Cohick, author of the Philippians commentary in the ground-breaking Story of God Bible Commentary series, she finds two ideas compelling:

1. “This church from its very inception was very supportive of Paul.” Considering how often churches change pastors and people move around, she finds their deep commitment a wonderful encouragement.
2. “And then I would say Paul’s continued encouragement to rejoice, over and over again in the letter.” 

This summer we’ve been exploring key questions and themes surrounding Paul's letter with guide Cohick. Listen to her expound on these two encouraging ideas, and then share what you find most encouraging about Paul’s letter.

Why Study Biblical Hebrew? Neglect the Languages, Lose the Gospel, Says Luther!

In a week Hebrew and Greek professors will be confronted with that perennial one word question:

Why?

Why study the original biblical languages?

The Reformation reminds us why. “Ad fontes!”—To the fountains, or sources!—was their battle cry for a reason. For it was when Reformation Europe rediscovered the ancient languages that the Bible's impact as a shaping force accelerated.

In fact, after his conversion, Martin Luther was convinced that “we will not long preserve the gospel without the languages.” He goes on:

The languages are the sheath in which this sword of the Spirit is contained; they are the casket in which this jewel is enshrined; they are the vessel in which this wine is held; they are the larder in which this food is stored; and, as the gospel itself points out, they are the baskets in which are kept these loaves and fishes and fragments. If through our neglect we let the languages go (which God forbid!), we shall…lose the gospel… (emphasis added, 120)

Gary Pratico and Miles Van Pelt highlight Luther’s convictions in Basics of Biblical Hebrew Grammar. In addition to teaching the language itself, they provide inspiring insights in the importance of studying the biblical language.

I often need to be reminded how crucial this is for my vocation. Today brother Luther provides five insights into why the languages are vital, not only for our profession, but for the gospel itself.

Mounce Archive 6 — "Go!" or "As You Are Going" Make Disciples? The Participle as Imperative

Everyone needs a sabbatical once in a while, and Bill Mounce is taking one from Koinonia blog until September. Meanwhile, we’ve hand-picked some of our favorite and most popular posts for your summer reading and Greek-studying pleasure.

We are pleased to offer another post from the "Mondays with Mounce" archive featuring Mounce senior, Robert Mounce. He addresses an aspect of Greek translation I must admit I've mistakenly failed to follow myself, using the exact example he gives!

The rule Mounce addresses relates to translating participles as imperatives. And the example text he uses is Matthew 28:19 where Jesus is quoted as saying, "Therefore, go and make disciples..." Or is it "as you are going, make disciples"? In today's archive post Mounce clears up the confusion.

Read the excerpt below, then click over to read the entire post so that you translate certain participles in their proper imperative voice. 

On a recent Sunday morning I attended a church where the pastor said that the typical translation of Matthew 28:19 (“Therefore, go and make disciples”) is incorrect because the Greek word for “go” (poreuthentes) is a participle and therefore should be translated “going/ as you go.” Makes a reasonable homiletical point (day by day as you go through life, make disciples), but is that what Jesus said? I don’t think so.

The pastor’s misunderstanding stems from an inadequate knowledge of Koine Greek. While it is true that poreuthentes is a Greek participle it is not true that it should be translated like an English gerund (a form that is derived from a verb but functions like a noun: e.g, asking, thinking, etc.).

(Continue reading the entire post, here)

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William D. [Bill] Mounce posts about the Greek language, exegesis, and related topics at Koinonia. He is the author of numerous works including the recent Basics of Biblical Greek Video Lectures and the bestselling Basics of Biblical Greek. He is the general editor of Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of the Old and New Testament Words. He served as the New Testament chair of the English Standard Version Bible translation, and is currently on the Committee for Bible Translation for the NIV.

Learn more about Bill's Greek resources at Teknia.com and visit his blog on spiritual growth at BiblicalTraining.org/blog/life-journey.

Extracurricular Activities 8.15.14 — Cultural Disintegration, Mike Bird's Inerrancy, and Septuagint Explained

Tim Gombis Reflects on Salvation as Gift and Obligation

Many Christians have trouble with the paradox in Paul whereby salvation is both a gift and involves obligations. Salvation as divine gift makes sense, but the demand for human response raises the specter of “works righteousness”...

I suspect that this is an ongoing theological problem because of the conceptual frames in which we wrestle with the tension between divine and human action (e.g., human action must in some way marginalize divine action).

Larry Hurtado Explains The Septuagint and Shares Some Scholarly Resources

In response to an earlier posting, a couple of commenters referred to the “Septuagint” (the name commonly given to the Greek translations of the Jewish scriptures, the “Old Testament”), raising questions about what it represented in its original setting.  There were also questions about how the divine name was handled.  I’ll mention here a few points about the topic and offer a few suggestions for those who would like to know more.

Scot McKnight Engages with Michael Bird's View of Inerrancy 

America exports its goods giving it a worldwide influence, including its sports — basketball and (American) football and baseball. Of course baseball is played elsewhere, and baseball in the Dominican is special, but these are American-shaped sports. But would a Dominican say baseball is an American sport? (Not on your life.)

Is inerrancy a game American evangelicals play? Mike Bird, in his essay “Inerrancy is not necessary for evangelicalism outside the USA” in the book Five Views of Biblical Inerrancy, thinks so.

Peter Enns on Evangelicals, Evolution, the Bible and Facts

A recent article in the NYT talks about the collision between “beliefs and facts.” It struck a chord...

Applying this to the question of Christianity and evolution, it’s not enough to “show people the facts” of the fossil record or genetics, even if in doing so some change of thinking results.

If anyone wants to re-educate evangelicalism about evolution, they need to do more than “re-educate” evangelicals–it takes more than slides and YouTube videos explaining the compelling evidence.

Joseph Rigney on Cultural Disintegration and the Revival of a Moral Imagination

We live in a time of cultural disintegration. Not just America, but the entire Western world is jettisoning the wisdom of the ages and striving to remake the world after our own image. And, unsurprisingly, the fundamental arena in which this cultural unraveling is playing out is that of sexuality...apart from a revival of a moral (and specifically biblical) imagination, political efforts can only be a part of a slow retreat. Laws and policies play a crucial role in shaping culture (for good and for ill), but they are insufficient for preserving and promoting the godliness and health of society. For that, the imagination must be converted.

Such a conversion and revival of the moral imagination must begin with the church of Jesus Christ. As Peter reminds us, judgment always begins at the household of God. So what would such a revival of a robustly Christian moral imagination look like?

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Extra-Curricular Activities is a weekly roundup of stories on biblical interpretation, theology, and issues where faith and culture meet. We found each story interesting, thought-provoking, challenging, or useful in some way – but we don't necessarily agree with or endorse every point in every story.

If you have any comments on these stories, we welcome you to share them here. We hope you enjoy!

–The Editors of Koinonia Blog

The Perfect Illustration for God's Outrageous Grace — An Excerpt from “PROOF”

Sometimes it’s hard being a teacher, particularly when you’re looking for that one story to illustrate your main idea.

That’s why we’ve gifted you your next illustration!

The next time you’re teaching on grace, here’s the perfect object lesson. It’s an excerpt from PROOF, a paradigm-shifting book on God’s outrageous, irresistible grace.

Below co-author Timothy Paul Jones tells the story of taking his adopted daughter to Disney World. I won’t ruin it for you, but for years she was denied going by her original adoptive parents. When she finally experienced the Magic Kingdom, here was her response:

“Daddy, I finally got to go to Disney World. But it wasn’t because I was good; it’s because I’m yours.” (83)

Read the rest of the story to fully grasp this poignant response, and why it’s the prefect illustration for your next teaching on grace.

Oh, and you’re welcome!

-Jeremy Bouma, Th.M. (@bouma)

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“Because I’m Yours”

I never dreamed that taking a child to Disney World could be so difficult — or that such a trip could teach me so much about God’s outrageous grace.

Our middle daughter had been previously adopted by another family. I [Timothy] am sure this couple had the best of intentions, but they never quite integrated the adopted child into their family of biological children. After a couple of rough years, they dissolved the adoption, and we ended up welcoming an eight-year-old girl into our home. 

For one reason or another, whenever our daughter’s previous family vacationed at Disney World, they took their biological children with them, but they left their adopted daughter with a family friend. Usually — at least in the child’s mind — this happened because she did something wrong that precluded her presence on the trip.

And so, by the time we adopted our daughter, she had seen many pictures of Disney World and she had heard about the rides and the characters and the parades. But when it came to passing through the gates of the Magic Kingdom, she had always been the one left on the outside. Once I found out about this history, I made plans to take her to Disney World the next time a speaking engagement took our family to the southeastern United States.

I thought I had mastered the Disney World drill. I knew from previous experiences that the prospect of seeing cast members in freakishly oversized mouse and duck costumes somehow turns children into squirming bundles of emotional instability. What I didn’t expect was that the prospect of visiting this dreamworld would produce a stream of downright devilish behavior in our newest daughter. In the month leading up to our trip to the Magic Kingdom, she stole food when a simple request would have gained her a snack. She lied when it would have been easier to tell the truth. She whispered insults that were carefully crafted to hurt her older sister as deeply as possible — and, as the days on the calendar moved closer to the trip, her mutinies multiplied.

A couple of days before our family headed to Florida, I pulled our daughter into my lap to talk through her latest escapade. “I know what you’re going to do,” she stated flatly. “You’re not going to take me to Disney World, are you?” The thought hadn’t actually crossed my mind, but her downward spiral suddenly started to make some sense. She knew she couldn’t earn her way into the Magic Kingdom — she had tried and failed that test several times before — so she was living in a way that placed her as far as possible from the most magical place on earth.

In retrospect, I’m embarrassed to admit that, in that moment, I was tempted to turn her fear to my own advantage. The easiest response would have been, “If you don’t start behaving better, you’re right, we won’t take you” — but, by God’s grace, I didn’t. Instead, I asked her, “Is this trip something we’re doing as a family?”

She nodded, brown eyes wide and tear-rimmed.

“Are you part of this family?”

She nodded again.

“Then you’re going with us. Sure, there may be some consequences to help you remember what’s right and what’s wrong — but you’re part of our family, and we’re not leaving you behind.”

I’d like to say that her behaviors grew better after that moment. They didn’t. Her choices pretty much spiraled out of control at every hotel and rest stop all the way to Lake Buena Vista. Still, we headed to Disney World on the day we had promised, and it was a typical Disney day. Overpriced tickets, overpriced meals, and lots of lines, mingled with just enough manufactured magic to consider maybe going again someday.

In our hotel room that evening, a very different child emerged. She was exhausted, pensive, and a little weepy at times, but her month-long facade of rebellion had faded. When bedtime rolled around, I prayed with her, held her, and asked, “So how was your first day at Disney World?”

She closed her eyes and snuggled down into her stuffed unicorn. After a few moments, she opened her eyes ever so slightly. “Daddy,” she said, “I finally got to go to Disney World. But it wasn’t because I was good; it’s because I’m yours.”

It wasn’t because I was good; it’s because I’m yours.

That’s the message of outrageous grace.

Outrageous grace isn’t a favor you can achieve by being good; it’s the gift you receive by being God’s. Outrageous grace is God’s goodness that comes looking for you when you have nothing but a middle finger flipped in the face of God to offer in return. It’s a farmer paying a full day’s wages to a crew of deadbeat day laborers with only a single hour punched on their time cards (Matthew 20:1 – 16). It’s a man marrying an abandoned woman and then refusing to forsake his covenant with her when she turns out to be a whore (Ezekiel 16:8 – 63; Hosea 1:1 — 3:5). It’s the insanity of a shepherd who puts ninety-nine sheep at risk to rescue the single lamb that’s too stupid to stay with the flock (Luke 15:1 – 7). It’s the love of a father who hands over his finest rings and robes to a young man who has squandered his inheritance on drunken binges with his fair-weather friends (Luke 15:11 – 32)…It’s one-way love that calls you into the kingdom not because you’ve been good but because God has chosen you and made you his own. And now he is chasing you to the ends of the earth to keep you as his child, and nothing in heaven or hell can ever stop him…

But here’s what’s amazing about God’s outrageous grace: This isn’t merely what God the Father would do; it’s what he did do. God could have chosen to save anyone, everyone, or no one from Adam’s fallen race. But what God did was to choose a multi-hued multitude of “someones,” and — if you are a believer in Jesus Christ — one of those “someones” was you. God in Christ has declared over you, “I could have chosen anyone in the whole world as my child, and I chose you. No matter what you say or do, neither my love nor my choice will ever change.” That’s grace that’s truly amazing. (Pgs. 81-84)

PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace By Daniel Montgomery and Timothy Paul Jones Buy it Today: Amazon Barnes & Noble ChristianBook.com Find More Retailers