November 19
Ezekiel 39:1-40:27; James 2:18-3:18; Psalm 118:1-18; Proverbs 28:2
A critical skill in reading the Bible is correlation. Correlation is what allows us to take the pieces of the Bible and put them together into one seamless puzzle. Since all of the Bible is true and God-breathed, it never contradicts itself and all fits together.
In Ezekiel, we read about the destruction of the armies of Gog and Magog. The complete destruction of these armies fits with the battle of Armageddon described in Revelation. In fact, a search of the word “Gog” reveals its use in the Bible 10 times, with 8 of those in Ezekiel and one each in 1 Chronicles and Revelation. Ezekiel describes the return of Israel from exile to the ultimate restoration of all things in the future. The work of correlation helps us to put these pieces together and brings light to a passage that may seem confusing.
James 2 introduces us to a description of saving faith. Many people struggle to see how this passage doesn’t contradict Ephesians 2:8-9. So, we need to think through how to correlate these two passages. There are many ways of doing it, but one is to see Paul in Ephesians focusing on what brings about salvation (faith) and James focusing on what that faith looks like (something that produces works). They are not contradicting each other but describing two different sides of the same coin. Faith alone saves, but faith that is alone and does not bring about changes is not the kind of faith that saves.
I would encourage you as you continue to read the Bible to be willing to stop and correlate. When you don't understand what a passage means think about how it fits into the Bible as a whole.
Father God, thank you that your whole Bible is true and fits together. May your Spirit enlighten me to see how the Bible fits together. Amen.
Question: What is a topic you would like to study and see what the whole Bible says about it?
A critical skill in reading the Bible is correlation. Correlation is what allows us to take the pieces of the Bible and put them together into one seamless puzzle. Since all of the Bible is true and God-breathed, it never contradicts itself and all fits together.
In Ezekiel, we read about the destruction of the armies of Gog and Magog. The complete destruction of these armies fits with the battle of Armageddon described in Revelation. In fact, a search of the word “Gog” reveals its use in the Bible 10 times, with 8 of those in Ezekiel and one each in 1 Chronicles and Revelation. Ezekiel describes the return of Israel from exile to the ultimate restoration of all things in the future. The work of correlation helps us to put these pieces together and brings light to a passage that may seem confusing.
James 2 introduces us to a description of saving faith. Many people struggle to see how this passage doesn’t contradict Ephesians 2:8-9. So, we need to think through how to correlate these two passages. There are many ways of doing it, but one is to see Paul in Ephesians focusing on what brings about salvation (faith) and James focusing on what that faith looks like (something that produces works). They are not contradicting each other but describing two different sides of the same coin. Faith alone saves, but faith that is alone and does not bring about changes is not the kind of faith that saves.
I would encourage you as you continue to read the Bible to be willing to stop and correlate. When you don't understand what a passage means think about how it fits into the Bible as a whole.
Father God, thank you that your whole Bible is true and fits together. May your Spirit enlighten me to see how the Bible fits together. Amen.
Question: What is a topic you would like to study and see what the whole Bible says about it?
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