When Jesus is asked to sum up the law, he responds with two commands involving love: In both commands, the English translation “love” translates the Greek verb agapao. Partly because agape is one of those Greek words that many theologically literate...
Oh man. They give me these topics sometimes. I’m supposed to make responsible Bible word studies “easy.” Next week: Middle East Peace Negotiations for Beginners. But no—we can do this. We can. Because the key word is “responsible,” and that mainly...
I love writing for sharp readers; they keep me on my toes. Once, in my post “The Easy Way to Do a Responsible Bible Word Study,” after studying the word hilasterion, one of them presented me with a challenge: Can we do a high-quality Bible word...
Word studies are a treasure trove … and a minefield. Somehow you have to weave through the dangers to get the treasures. Think for a moment: if you were about to enter such a field, what would you want to know about first? The gold or the...
Word studies are a gold mine—and a minefield. Why? Because it’s tempting to derive too much significance from a single biblical word. (We’re looking at you, agape.) With that in mind, here are six steps that will help you mine the gold without...
Do you know what a ramification is? Yeah, you do; you’ve heard the word, and you’ve probably used it. It’s kind of hard to come up with a definition on the spot, though, so I will help you. My dictionary defines a ramification as “a consequence of...
What Bible study methods are the best? First, what’s important is not how you engage with the Bible but that you do it. Because the Word of God is “living and active” (Heb 4:12)—how God chose to communicate with the people he created—the simple act...
Dr. Steve Runge explains what to do when you see “for” in the Bible (0:10), and the Logos Pro team shows you how to create custom study Bibles in Logos (3:15). Keep learning how language works with Dr. Runge Our understanding of the Greek New...
Out of the inscrutable neuron maelstroms we know as “the brains of small children,” there often come what speech pathologists call “the darnedest things.” My kindergartener said yesterday—and I promise I have no idea where this came from—“What if...
When I first became a father, I desperately wanted to succeed at family devotions. I gave it all of the creative energy I could muster. The battle of Jericho became a rambunctious march around a toy city. For the story of Samson, I tested my skills...
If Revelation were the first book of the Bible you read, you’d be very confused. Chronologically, it comes last. But what about the other books of the Bible? They’re not in order by date. (Most scholars believe Mark was written before Matthew, for...
Orthodox Christianity makes the bold claim of being the original Christian Church and the original Christian faith. How does this shape how Orthodox approach Bible study? Orthodox Bible study sees itself as part of a flowing stream of Holy Tradition...
1. Isaiah 9:6–7 For a child has been born for us; a son has been given to us. And the dominion will be on his shoulder, and his name is called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His dominion will grow continually...
From the window of graduate student housing at Emory University, my mother recalls watching an older man carrying a heavy sack and placing a book at the doorstep of each of the apartments, one after the other. And then this St. Nicholas-like man...
Lutherans reflect their distinctive place within Christianity in how they study Scripture. On one hand, their high view of Scripture leads to a strong focus upon the text that would be appreciated by Protestants. On the other hand, Lutherans tie...
On the night of His betrayal, Jesus knew that the Father had given him all things into his hands. This biblical phrase signifies dominion and power, yet Jesus chose to use this authority not for revenge or domination, but for acts of...
I recently addressed a gathering of church leaders about the Everlasting Gospel for Gen Z. When I finished speaking, a long line of people formed to ask questions. That wasn’t strange or unusual. What was strange was that they all asked me versions...
This article was originally published in March 2023. Why is Logos so expensive? People out there kind of mock us for it, and I’m here to admit that we feel a little sensitive on this point. Babylon Bee, for example, had a headline a few years back:...
The Bible does speak of demons, and demonology is a proper subject of theology. If angels and demons exist and afflict God’s people as the Bible asserts, then their existence and methods are necessary for a Christian’s understanding of reality. The...
Who is Luke and why is he important? Luke was acquainted with and traveled with the apostle Paul. Not only did Luke travel with Paul outside the land of Israel, he also visited Israel and may have become personally acquainted with members of...
Evil is the corruption of creational and relational goodness. Evil consists of thoughts, actions, or forces that diminish life. Evil takes what God planned for the good of all his creation and distorts or defiles it. This essay addresses many of the...
As a Catholic, I’m delighted when non-Catholic Christians ask me about what Catholics believe and why. I find that many of those questions involve the relationship of the Catholic Church to the Bible. There are many misconceptions and caricatures...
Chekov's gun is a rule of stage drama named after the Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov. The rule states that if a gun appears in the first act, it must be fired by the end of the final act.
When anxiety hits, among the places we go for advice and comfort—e.g., family, friends, pastors, spiritual directors, or perhaps even to a counselor or therapist—we must not forget to go to God’s Word to calm our anxious hearts. The Bible...
When I joined Logos just over two years ago, I could not have predicted how quickly AI would become mainstream. For two decades, I served as a pastor. I carried out postgraduate research and lectured at a seminary—all while using Logos, of course...
So you’re in a relationship and want to start a Bible study with your significant other, but you have a lot of questions. What’s a good Bible study for couples? How should a couple begin reading the Bible? Which partner gets to pick what you study...
If you search your Bible for the phrase Bible study, you won't find it. A big part of the problem is that the word Bible never occurs in most English Bibles. Even if you search for just the word study, you won’t find quite what you’re looking for...
In my last piece we looked at some qualities that make for a good study Bible. Now it’s time to look at some things that I’d love to see Bible publishers stop doing when putting together a study Bible. Though it's no longer the hallowed season of...
When I first began teaching others how to use Bible software in the early 2000s, I actually had a stock joke that Logos was building a sermon generator that would produce both exegesis and illustrations. It wasn’t a very funny joke then; now it’s...
As I was considering how to move from in-person Bible teacher to online Bible nerd, it occurred to me that in my former role as discipleship pastor at a large church, a regular part of my job had been helping connect church members and small group...