Bible Study
1 Samuel 17:50 says David killed Goliath, but 2 Samuel 21:19 says Elhanan killed him. So who was it?
In this video, I take a look at this supposed contradiction and explain how it's really not a contradiction at all. The key is in 1 Chronicles 20:5.
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
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In Galatians 5, Paul says that if you become circumcised, you're basically throwing Jesus under the bus, and you're a heretic. But then in Acts 21, he goes to the Temple and offers sacrifices for a Nazirite Vow in order to refute the misconception that he is telling Jews they need to give up circumcision. What gives?
This is a complicated subject, but it boils down to the question of "When does Torah say you are to circumcise someone?" Apart from the household of Abraham in Genesis 17, there are only two circumstances in which men are commanded to be circumcised: first, as an 8-day old boy, and second, if he wants to eat a Passover.
There is no requirement in the Law to be circumcised in order to become an Israelite or to gain salvation. That was a man-made rule. This isn't even really a Jew vs Gentile question, although it can certainly seem that way in Acts 21. Paul was telling the Galatians that if they circumcised themselves in order to be saved, they were wasting their time. Salvation is by faith, not by circumcision!
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
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Are circumcision, the Levitical priesthood, and sacrifices still relevant for believers today? These are massive, hot-button topics that have sparked debates for centuries. They are emotionally charged, baggage-laden questions, and they're not easy to answer!
It seems to me, though, that most of the confusion stems from a misunderstanding of covenants. In this series, I'm going to talk about what covenants are and aren't. How they are established, how they interact with each other, and how they end.
Part 1 will set the stage for the conversation and provide some helpful guidelines for studying and contemplating any difficult and emotional Biblical topic.
Part 2 will talk about the 8 basic elements of a divine covenant and introduce the covenants that God has made with Israel.
Part 3 will zoom in on some details about how covenants work. How do they start and end? How are covenants inherited and how do the covenants of Israel impact Gentile believers? How do God's covenants relate to his Law?
Part 4 returns to the three questions that sparked this study. What do circumcision, the Levitical (Aaronic) priesthood, and sacrifices have to do with us today and the New Covenant?
Part 5 pulls it all together, describing how all of God's Law infuses all of his covenants and how they work together to build the mature relationship that he wants with his people.
If you find yourself getting a little hot around the collar at any point, go back and rewatch video one. Don't let your emotions control your ability to evaluate an opinion that runs counter to what you've been taught before.
I'm not a professional video producer. I don't have a studio or any professional recording equipment. I hope you'll excuse any flaws in the presentation.
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
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I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.
Romans 16:22 ESV
By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you, exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it.
1 Peter 5:12 ESV
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV
Paul dictated some of his letters to a scribe (amenuensis) named Tertius who inserted a line of his own into Romans 16:22. It's possible that Peter's first letter was translated and edited by Silvanus. Does the use of a scribe or editor to help write a Bible book undermine the inspiration of that book?
Not necessarily. Paul and Peter would have reviewed the end result before it was sent, and other Bible editors, such as Ezra, were also prophets and apostles who were inspired by God in their own work.
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
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Romans 16:17-18 ESV
17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.
18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.
Religious people of all denominations are too quick to either label every different opinion as heresy or to quit one church for another as soon as the pastor says something they don't like. We really need better coping skills.
I have been thinking of common disagreements in three categories: Discordant, Divergent, and Academic. I've also been thinking of people who unintentionally create division in three categories: Sensationalists, Closed-minded, and Obsessive.
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
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Deuteronomy 29:29 ESV
The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
What are the "secret things" in this verse? I'd like to offer two possibilities, one focusing on love for God, and the other on love for your neighbor.
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
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When and How to Interpret Scripture
The bible is written in a style that us westerners aren’t familiar with. By learning a couple things about how scripture was written and expected to be received, we can glean a lot more truth even in our native languages. This message touches on the way first century believers would have interpreted the Old Testament and subsequently wrote the New. These tips will help you understand the scriptures closer to their original intent, when things are supposed to be taken literally, and when they aren’t. These are very big helps when trying to understand prophecy and the Apostle Paul.
At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
Romans 15:25-26 ESV
Paul explains that the Jewish believers in Jerusalem deserved the help of the new Gentile believers, but he doesn't explain why they needed help. In this video, I offer some possible reasons.
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
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For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”
Romans 15:18-21 ESV
Why was Paul so intent on preaching the Gospel where nobody else had been? To avoid building "on someone else's foundation"? This sounds like he's treating his ministry as a competition, but when you realize that he saw himself as fulfilling the prophecy he quotes in this passage, his statement takes on another character. It wasn't a competition, but a great blessing from God, and he wanted to honor that blessing with his whole being!
Thumbnail background image adapted from an original work by Cristiano64 at https://commons.wikimedia.org/....wiki/File:Claudio_41 under CC 3.0 license.
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
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Wild Branch Community read and discussed Exodus 7:19-8:19 and the first three plagues of Egypt.
God doesn't send plagues just to make people suffer. His discipline is always instructive and for our ultimate good. He sent plagues on Egypt to show Egypt, Israel, and the whole world just who he is, who they are in relation to him, and who their false gods really are.
Pharaoh could have saved Egypt at any point, but he valued his own pride and position more than his people. God disciplines those whom he loves, and that discipline almost always spills over onto the people around you, especially those for whom you are responsible. God's love language is obedience, but submission to God doesn't just show love for him. It shows love for your people.
Wild Branch Community is a home fellowship of Torah-observant believers in Texas between Houston and Austin. Find out more about us at https://WildBranchTX.org.
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:14-16 ESV
Paul says “able to instruct one another” for two reasons. First, the prophecies that he quoted just prior describe a priestly role of discipleship in which Israel instructs adoptees from the nations in the ways of YHWH. Second, the primary responsibility of a disciple is to become like his master, but the next is to make more disciples. As he has described elsewhere, this is one of the primary reasons we are instructed to gather together regularly as believers: to encourage and instruct each other.
Christianity has developed a "church culture" in which everyone expects one person to stand before the congregation and teach them everything. The rest of us are just supposed to sit in the pews and be "fed". This passage from Romans shows that this isn't what God intended. Certainly God has specially commissioned some people to be Teachers, but we are all supposed to be learning and becoming teachers of one another. Nobody has a monopoly on all knowledge. We all know some things better than the people around us, and we should be willing to teach when the need and opportunity arises.
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
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We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
Romans 15:1-3 ESV
Who are the strong and the weak? What does it mean for the strong to "bear with the failings" of the weak? It most definitely does not mean that those who have rejected the Law of Moses should be patient with those who are still trying to keep the commandments. That's exactly the opposite of Paul's meaning. Paul was not an antinomian nor even a metanomian.
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
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In Genesis 49, Jacob blesses his sons, but many of these blessings sound more like curses. What's really going on? By recognizing who each of his sons were and prophesying over them accordingly, Jacob set them on a course to reinforce each other's strengths and minimize each other's weaknesses.
This is how the body of Christ should be. A blessing for one of us should be a blessing to all of us, and a curse to one of us should be an opportunity to defend and encourage a brother, not to tear him down.
Wild Branch Community is a home fellowship of Torah-observant believers in Texas between Houston and Austin. Find out more about us at https://WildBranchTX.org.
Mainstream Christianity First Century Christianity
Go to church on Sunday or Keep the Sabbath
Sunday, Christmas, Easter or The Holy Days of the Bible
Dead people are now spirits or Dead people are dead awaiting resurrection
Trinity is mandatory or Accepting Yeshua as the Messiah and Son of God is the key to life
Works optional/not required or Repentance and change mandatory
Goal of life is going to heaven or Being in a better resurrection/the kingdom of God/ the Olam Haba
Old Testament for reference onlyor The Old Testament was the only bible they had for decades
Christianity is a different/new religion pr Christianity is the continuation of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
Romans 14:18-19 ESV
The one who is accepted by God isn't the one who serves himself, but who serves Christ and the body of Christ. Pursue peace with your fellow believers, not conflict. Build each other up; don't tear each other down.
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
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Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
Romans 14:13-14 ESV
Errant translations of this passage have created a lot of confusion and bad doctrine. Paul was not saying that God's rules about what is clean and unclean had changed or didn't matter. He was talking about man-made rules for what is "common", not God's rules. Akathartos vs Koinos.
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
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Jacob thought his son Joseph was dead and God's plan for his descendants in jeopardy. So when his other sons returned from Egypt and told him that Joseph was alive, it was almost like he was resurrected himself. Unfortunately, he also realized that God's promise to Abraham that his descendants would be slaves in a foreign land was about to come true.
Wild Branch Community is a home fellowship of Torah-observant believers in Texas between Houston and Austin. Find out more about us at https://WildBranchTX.org.
One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
Romans 14:5-6 ESV
These verses don't mean that we can choose what day we observe as a Sabbath or no day at all. It's possible that Paul was talking about arguments over ambiguous aspects of the calendar, such as when exactly a day begins and ends. He could also have been talking about days on which one might encounter meat that had been sacrificed to idols offered for sale in the market. However, the most likely explanation is that he was talking about controversies over which days of the week should be set aside for fasting. There are no commanded weekly fast days, so this would be entirely a matter of personal opinion, not obedience to God.
If Paul wasn't saying that God's commandments concerning the weekly Sabbath no longer apply, then how can we know exactly which day is the seventh day of the week? It's been thousands of years since Creation! This video addresses that question too.
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
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As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions.
Romans 14:1 ESV
Are the "weak in faith" those people who believe trying to obey the Law or in keeping those commandments that are distinctively "Jewish"? Or are they people who are so afraid of breaking an actual commandment that they add all kinds of new rules just to be safe?
From Jay Carper at Common Sense Bible Study (https://CommonSenseBibleStudy.com) and American Torah (https://www.AmericanTorah.com).
This content is free, but I accept contributions via Paypal at https://jaycarper.com/paypal.
Follow me on Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AmericanTorah
Send me a friend request on The Torah Network: https://social.ttn.place/jaycarper
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