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Someone has said, "Blessed is the preacher who can get airborne without taking too much runway." If this statement is true, John and Jude were certainly blessed preachers. Both knew how to say much in a few words. Though postcards in length, these epistles contain a weighty message that embraces truth and exposes error. This commentary explores these often forgotten New Testament books and applies their message to the church today.
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It’s one of the ugliest, most damaging skeletons to come out of the closet—the unaddressed “elephant in the room” in Christian circles. The ever-growing presence and accessibility of obscene viewing has added to the strangle hold it’s taken on many lives. For many people, the battle rages daily. With all the shame and addiction surrounding pornography, where can someone truly searching for help turn to? In the book, Pay-Per-View, Jeff Amsbaugh not only address the real threat of pornography to Christianity, but shows relevant steps to win this critical war. The stakes are high—this shadowed enemy has scarred families, ended marriages, and mentally altered thousands! Please, count the cost and arm yourself against this lethal weapon of Satan today.
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The book of Philippians is a missionary prayer letter, yet few theologians have commented on the missiological aspects of this epistle. In Keeping the Mission in the Missionary, Jeff Amsbaugh comments on the book of Philippines as a missionary prayer letter. In so doing, he provides a valuable tool for local churches to evaluate missionaries the are considering for support and for missionary candidates to evaluate the ministries before they go to the field.
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Because many have recoiled from the fact that God would write a book about human sexuality, the Song of Solomon has often been allegorized as a book written to describe Christ’s love for the church. Does this mean that the book had to lay dormant for 900 years until the church was birthed? And how are we to explain God using Solomon, one of the worst husbands in history, to typify God’s love? Why is it that many who abhor allegorical interpretation are willing to accept it with regard to this Biblical work? In this commentary, we will discover that the Song needs no alteration or “deeper significance” to justify its place in the canon. To the contrary, this book will defend the fact that the proper use of human sexuality can turn a shepherd into a prince while its misuse can turn the world’s most celebrated sovereign into a beast. Indeed, God wrote the book of love.
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However we interpret the marriage of Hosea, it was obviously the most important event in his life. This event shaped both the man and his message. It was out of this experience that Hosea would proclaim and demonstrate his understanding of God. Through his marriage, Hosea would understand our rejection of God, His discipline of us, and the cost of reconciliation. Despite our wickedness, God has eternally committed Himself to us. This commentary on Hosea explores these themes of a God who loves us till death and beyond.
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Micah’s name means “Who is like God?” And the prophet goes to great lengths to present God’s incomparability. There are three sections in the book each beginning with an admonition to hear (1:2, 3:1, 6:1). The first shows that there is nobody like God in identifying sin. The second shows that there is nobody like God in judging sin. And the third shows that there is nobody like God in forgiving sin. This commentary helps you explore the book of Micah and discover God’s uniqueness. Indeed, there’s nobody like Him.
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All too often, pastoral candidates are merely asked to preach a couple of sermons to a local assembly before the vote is taken to call them to lead a church. Indeed, we often refer to our pastors as “preachers.” But is there more to pastoral leadership than pulpit communication? What does God require of the man who would shepherd the flock? This commentary explores the books of I Timothy, II Timothy, and Titus to discover God’s plan for pastoral ministry.
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In previous ages, Christians lived in great anticipation of the Lord’s return. A belief in the imminent rapture of the church led many Christians to embrace holy living and aggressive evangelism. Times, however, have changed. Now, anyone who speaks of the Lord’s return is viewed as being on the same level as someone who claims to have seen Elvis in Burger King. Prophecy is seldom preached, and when it is, the preacher is viewed as a kook. The New Testament in general, and the books of I and II Thessalonians in particular, repeatedly emphasize, however, the fact that the King is coming. Our hope is that the pages of this commentary will help you live in light of that day.
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If you have been saved for any length of time, you have probably seen some rift over Calvinism. Perhaps you feel uncomfortable believing that your lost relatives are unsaved because somehow God has not chosen them to salvation. That all having been said, however, you are not quite sure how this fits with the election passages of the Bible. In The Great Rift, Jeff Amsbaugh explores the roots of Calvinism and attempts to explain the five points of Calvin in light of God’s Word in order to help you the next time a rift over Calvinism comes your way.
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Job’s belief in the sovereignty of God did not allow him the luxury of attributing his successive and severe calamities to secondary sources. It never occurred to him to blame natural disasters, human agents, or even the devil for his suffering. The Lord had given, and the Lord had taken away. Why did God grant the devil permission to afflict Job so severely seeing Job lived so righteously? Job seeks answers, and those provided by his friends are wholly inadequate. When God finally arrives on the scene, He does so, not to answer questions, but to question answers. For example, God asks Job, “Where were you when I made behemoth?” The behemoth, a massive land animal, serves no apparent reason for existence. And if a man tries to get ahold of it in order to analyze it, he only ends up injuring himself. The point is that suffering is a behemoth. We often don’t know why God allows it, and if we attempt to understand it more fully, we only end up injuring ourselves. We trust that this commentary will assist you in trusting God even when His ways are inexplicable.
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We often think that trials are inappropriate for the Christian, and therefore we respond with bitterness and retaliation when they come. The Bible is clear, however, that trials are not foreign to the Christian life but a necessary component of it. Therefore, trials should not only be embraced but enlisted to serve God more effectively. This commentary explores the book of I Peter and develops concepts to help you submit the next time your Christian life is under fire.
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Life is filled with warnings. Various household products have warnings on their labels. We constantly have traffic warnings and weather warnings. Life would be dangerous indeed if we were never alerted to danger. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Bible contains very specific warnings. This is especially true in the books of Joel and Amos. Joel sounds the trumpet, and Amos roars like lion. Both are designed to alert us to the dangers ahead. This commentary is offered to help you understand the warnings of God and recognize when it is time to sound the alarm.
