Salvation

Serpent in the Wilderness

Monday: A Strange Story: Numbers 21:4-9

Numbers 20, which records the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, as well as Moses’ sin of striking the rock, which resulted in God’s punishment of not being allowed to enter the promised land, was a chapter of almost unremitting gloom. But in chapter 21 this mood begins to change because here we have the beginning of the actual march upon Canaan and the first victory, leading up to the full possession of the promised land.

Keep Reading
Serpent in the Wilderness

Tuesday: God’s Judgment and Mercy: Numbers 21:4-9

Here we learn where this pattern of complaining leads. You may begin by complaining in a mild way, but when you get into a complaining frame of mind, there is a tendency to exaggerate the difficulties, which get worse and worse every time you mention them. And the more you complain, the more and more vehement you become in what you say. (That’s a bad way to pray, by the way.)

Keep Reading
Serpent in the Wilderness

Wednesday: Salvation by Faith Only: Numbers 21:4-9

Paul recognized the difficulty when he wrote to the Corinthians, “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Cor. 1:18a). The cross was seen as an offense to some, but he knew that Christ crucified is still the power and the wisdom of God, which is what the story in Numbers 21 illustrates. 

Keep Reading
Serpent in the Wilderness

Thursday: Knowledge and True Belief: Numbers 21:4-9

The last point is that relics are useless. People weren’t commanded to buy some relic of the serpent or possess some fragment of the pole upon which the snake had been erected. One of the most bizarre ideas that’s ever entered the history of the Christian Church is that people get saved by relics.

Keep Reading
No Other Name

Monday: Opposition

In the fourth chapter of Acts we have a record of the first persecution. I do not know if, on this occasion, Peter remembered what the Lord Jesus Christ had said about persecution. But it might be that when he was dragged before the Sanhedrin he recalled that Jesus had prophesied persecution for all who followed Him.

Keep Reading
No Other Name

Tuesday: The Apostles’ Teaching

In opposition to the early Christians we know that the priests and their families, the police force, and the Sadducees were all part of the opposition. But it is not only these who were involved. In verse 5, Luke lists other people as well, three more categories: 1) “the rulers,” 2) “the elders,” and 3) “the teachers of the law.”

Keep Reading
No Other Name

Wednesday: The World’s Methods

It is interesting to notice the methods the authorities used in their offensive against the disciples. They used the world’s methods. That is, they used force or power, because naked power is the only weapon the world really has.

Keep Reading
No Other Name

Friday: Jesus, the Only Way

As we have already seen, at Peter’s arrest he did not merely try to defend himself. He used the opportunity to witness to Jesus Christ. There were four points to his sermon. We have already looked in detail at the first two points: 1) their guilt in crucifying Jesus, and 2) the fact of Jesus’ resurrection. In today’s study we continue with the second two.

Keep Reading

Subscribe to the Think & Act Biblically Devotional

Alliance of Confessional Evangelicals

About the Alliance

The Alliance is a coalition of believers who hold to the historic creeds and confessions of the Reformed faith and proclaim biblical doctrine in order to foster a Reformed awakening in today’s Church.

Follow Us

Canadian Donors

Canadian Committee of The Bible Study Hour
PO Box 24087, RPO Josephine
North Bay, ON, P1B 0C7