Showing titles in Commentaries

Who is Allah? What does he ask of those who submit to his teachings? Pulitzer Prize-winner Jack Miles gives us a deeply probing, revelatory portrait of the world’s second largest, fastest-growing, and perhaps most tragically misunderstood religion. In doing so, Miles illuminates what is unique about Allah, his teachings, and his resolutely merciful temperament, and he thereby reveals that which is false, distorted, or simply absent from the popular conception of the heart of Islam.

When looking around at the world, it is easy to see that all is not as it should be. This brokenness within the world and humanity finds its roots in mankind’s rebellion against God. The fall, as recorded in Genesis 3, sets the stage for creation’s need for redemption―ultimately found in Jesus Christ. In this book, pastor and professor Mitchell Chase argues that in order to understand the fall and recognize its profound impact on later Scripture and the world today, Christians must first understand Genesis 3.

The heart of the biblical understanding of idolatry, argues Gregory Beale, is that we take on the characteristics of what we worship. Employing Isaiah 6 as his interpretive lens, Beale demonstrates that this understanding of idolatry permeates the whole canon, from Genesis to Revelation. Beale concludes with an application of the biblical notion of idolatry to the challenges of contemporary life.

In this powerful and timely book, one of the most admired and authoritative religious leaders of our time tackles the phenomenon of religious extremism and violence committed in the name of God. If religion is perceived as being part of the problem, Rabbi Sacks argues, then it must also form part of the solution. When religion becomes a zero-sum conceit and individuals are motivated by what Rabbi Sacks calls "altruistic evil", violence between peoples of different beliefs appears to be the only natural outcome.

A well-known commentary used by Christians to further understand the Holy Scriptures. Truly an extensive piece of work, this commentary should help you in your pursuit of the Lord when used correctly. This specific book covers Matthew Henry's commentary on the book of Ephesians.

“Torah”, the Hebrew word for instruction or law, is the collective name for the first five Books of the Tanakh, or Jewish Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. They first appeared widely in written form among English-speaking Christians with the Geneva Bibles of the 16th century. This 21st century modernization of that text is called the Revised Geneva Translation. It is intended to make the Received Text as actionable as possible to a modern audience.

Life-Study of Genesis presents the book of Genesis in a completely new light. Strictly speaking, Genesis is neither a book of creation nor a book of biographies. It is a book of life. God uses the record of creation to show the matter of life. God uses the biographies of eight persons to show how he needs a life to fulfill his purpose.

Tucked away in the pages of the Old Testament is the beautiful story of love and redemption between a wealthy landowner and a poor widow. Walk beneath the shadows of despair as Ruth and her mother-in-law attempt to live off leftover grain in the fields of Bethlehem. Feel the emotion of Boaz as he carefully protects Ruth, while secretly yearning for her affections. Watch in amazement as the sovereign hand of God is revealed in making this fairytale actually come true. The story of Ruth and Boaz will dazzle the imagination and ignite genuine worship as we discover new depths of the love of ...

In a book that took eight years to research and write, leading Bible scholar Bart D. Ehrman explores how an apocalyptic prophet from the backwaters of rural Galilee crucified for crimes against the state came to be thought of as equal with the one God Almighty Creator of all things. Ehrman sketches Jesus's transformation from a human prophet to the Son of God exalted to divine status at his resurrection. Only when some of Jesus's followers had visions of him after his death - alive again - did anyone come to think that he, the prophet from Galilee, had become God.

In Commentary on Galatians, Martin Luther expounds Paul's epistle with an insight, power, and depth of emotion which is sorely lacking in modern commentaries. From the very first minute of this book, Luther cuts to the heart of the epistle - the doctrine of justification - in the way that only he can. His bold words and plain-sense interpretations result in a work filled with much of the same force and passion that characterized the epistle itself.

Matthew's gospel focuses on the Kingship of Christ—that Jesus is Lord of Lords, the Messiah, the One promised by the prophets of old. But a king is not born in a manger, to a virgin peasant, and a king is definitely not executed on a Roman cross, is he? Actually, that's exactly the type of King God sent to the world.

This is Leo Tolstoy's integration of the four biblical gospels into a single account of the life of Jesus. The Gospel in Brief is an intriguing fusion of biblical texts and Tolstoy's own religious views. Tolstoy explains that his goal is a “solution to the problem of life," not a theological or historical statement. He therefore ignores issues like Jesus' genealogy and divinity, focusing instead on the words and teachings of Jesus, stripped of what he regarded as the Church's distortions and focus on dogma and ritual.

The early church in Corinth was falling apart. Sin was rampant, divisions were growing, and the congregation was living no differently than the world around them. What had corrupted this once vibrant church? The apostle Paul immediately understood the symptoms: The people had traded God's perfect wisdom for faulty human knowledge. Be Wise guides us through Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, where he encourages his fellow believers to embrace a life of wisdom and truth.

This book is an insider's critique of the evangelicals' misuse of the Bible. By revealing evangelical distortions of the Bible, this book seeks to restore the dignity of the Christian faith and to renew public interest in Jesus, while calling evangelicals back to his teaching.

Most people try to read the Old Testament but never complete it. Nor do they understand it. They get frustrated and confused and literally give up. But H.K. provides a solution to all that in this book. He holds your hand and walks you through the entire Old Testament in an easy to understand language, giving you a thorough Biblical understanding of all the 39 books. The books have been re-arranged, their literally designs broken down and outlines provided, acting as a road-map for the big picture view of the entire Old Testament, leading to the New Testament. The book is written for the ...

A vast readership wants better access to the ancient words and ideas of the Bible. In The Bible Doesn't Say That, Dr. Joel M. Hoffman walks the listener through dozens of instances of mistranslations, misconceptions, and other misunderstandings about the Bible. In 40 short chapters, Hoffman covers fundamental theology, morality, lifestyle, and biblical imagery.

When The Universe Next Door was first introduced nearly 30 years ago, it set the standard for a clear, readable introduction to worldviews. In concise, easily understood prose, James W. Sire explained the basics of theism, deism, naturalism, nihilism, existentialism, Eastern monism, and the new consciousness.

The Old Testament is a most valuable book of scripture. It teaches the mercy and willingness of Jehovah, the premortal Jesus Christ, to forgive. It teaches and illustrates time and again what kinds of thinking and actions we need to avoid if we desire to remain firmly on the covenant path. And it teaches how to repent and return to Christ, whose arms of mercy are extended all the day long (Isaiah 65:2), inviting us to repent. In this third edition, noted teacher and gospel scholar David J. Ridges brings the Old Testament to life with his well-known teaching skills.

Pause for a moment and ask yourself what your life would be like if it were completely without fear? If you did not fear death. If you did not fear life and what it might bring. If you did not fear any man, or woman, or any living creature. Would you live differently? In this unique work of never-before-published teaching, Dallas Willard revolutionizes our understanding of Psalm 23 by taking this comfortably familiar passage and revealing its extraordinary promises: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.... I will fear no evil."

King's Cross is Timothy Keller's revelatory look at the life of Christ as told in the Gospel of Mark. There have been many biographies of Jesus, but few will be as anticipated as this one by Keller, the man Newsweek calls "a C. S. Lewis for the 21st century". In it, Keller shows how the story of Jesus is at once cosmic, historical, and personal, calling each of us to look anew at our relationship with God.