Paul Ellis's Blog, page 21

What Burdens Does Jesus Place On Us?

Thyatira is considered one of the bad churches in the Bible. You may recall they had allowed a woman called Jezebel to preach and she led some of the believers astray. So Jesus sent them a letter where he basically says, “I’m going to deal with this.” He ends his letter with this:

 I place no other burden on you. (Rev. 2:24b)

What burdens does Jesus place on us?

Only himself.

The image of Jesus burdening us seems at odds with his promise of a light and easy yoke (Matt. 11:30). But look carefull...

What burdens does Jesus place on us?

Thyatira is considered one of the bad churches in the Bible. You may recall they had allowed a woman called Jezebel to preach and she led some of the believers astray. So Jesus sent them a letter where he basically says, “I’m going to deal with this.” He ends his letter with this:  I place no other burden on you. (Rev. 2:24b) What burdens does Jesus place on us? Only himself. The image of Jesus burdening us seems at odds with his promise of a light and easy yoke (Matt. 11:30). But look carefully...

Good Friday Timeline

You probably know that Jesus was crucified on Good Friday. What you may not know was that Good Friday was one of the busiest days in Jesus’s life. As far as I can tell, no other day in the Bible receives more attention. To help you appreciate this, I drafted a timeline of the key events of the first Good Friday. There was a little bit of guesswork involved in this, but you can check my timeline against the scriptures. Some points to note before we start: Good Friday was the preparation day that ...

Introducing The Grace Commentary

Hi friends,

For years readers having been telling me, “Paul, why don’t you write a commentary?”

You’re wish is granted. Check out my brand new grace-based Bible commentary at:

www.thegracecommentary.com

This is a new project and there is a ton of work to do. But hopefully there is enough material on the new site to give you a taste of what is to come. If you’d like a glimpse of the finished product, check out the entries for 1 John.

I’ve been working quietly on this project for years. It’s time...

How Sexist is your Bible?

In my research for The Silent Queen, I was often amazed at how a single word in the Bible could be translated different ways leading to radically different conclusions. Here’s an example from 2 Timothy 2:2: The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. (NIV 1984) Note the word in bold: men. It sounds like Paul is saying that only men can be teach, but this is not what the apostle said at all. The wo...

What does the Bible say about Women Pastors?

Can women pastor? Feed this question into Google, and you’ll be led to a bunch of websites that say no, women cannot pastor or lead churches. Which goes to show you that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet. (Yes, I appreciate the irony.) Under the old covenant, only men could be priests, but gender distinctions have no place in the new creation. This is why so many prominent women are named in the New Testament. And this is why Saul locked them up along with the men. Christ...

What a Difference a Word Can Make

We Christians are very good at drawing bad conclusions from good scriptures.

This happens when we read a verse out of context. Sometimes it can happen because we miss one single word.

Misread the Bible and you’ll end up with all sorts of screwy ideas. You’ll think we cleanse ourselves by confessing sins or that God gives Satan permission to thrash us or sift us. You’ll believe that we can incur God’s divine wrath by doing communion wrong and that he occasionally kills some of us to keep the rest...

Equality is not the Goal

Rebekah at the Well, by Michael Deas

You probably know that I have written a book about women. You may be wondering about my agenda.

“What are Paul’s views on gender roles? Is he a complementarian or an egalitarian? Does he support traditional arrangements where the man is in charge or does he promote equality?”

Full disclosure: I believe in the equality of the new creation.

It is my conviction that if we are to return to God’s ways, and follow the example set by Jesus, equality and mutual respe...

It’s E2R’s 11th Birthday – Here’s Your Gift!

To celebrate Escape to Reality’s 11th anniversary and Chinese New Year and the invention of a vaccine and whatever else is worth celebrating in this wonderful days of hope, we’re repeating last year’s huge giveaway.

For the next three days you can get one, two, or seven of my books for a special pandemic pay-whatever-you-want price.

Which means you can get all these books for nothing!

Click on a book below to get this deal. You’ll get the book in 3 ebook formats to suit any and every device…

...

What is the Baptism that Saves?

If you wish to start an argument among a group of Christians, all you need to do is ask this question: “Is water baptism essential for salvation?”

Baptism has historically been one of the more controversial issues debated in the church. Is baptism essential? The scriptures are clear: You are saved by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8). You are not made right with God by water. Only the blood of Jesus makes us clean.

So why does Peter refer to the baptism that saves you?

Baptism now saves you… (1 Pet...