📖 God's commands don't progress over time

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Like the newsletter, this show is designed to help you better understand the Bible and apply its wisdom to your life. New episodes release every Monday. Find it below.

I. God’s Word does not “progress” or “improve” over time. Here is why ideas like the ones below are unbiblical and wrong.

This shows a fundamental misunderstanding of Scripture and how to apply it. Run from teaching (and teachers) like this.

Progressive revelation means clarification and fulfillment, not that God’s earlier laws were ethically deficient.

Deuteronomy 22 functions as case law within Israel’s legal system, designed to restrain abuse and protect the vulnerable, not to offer an exhaustive definition of sexual harm.

When Jesus builds on the Law, he is deepening and clarifying its moral vision, not correcting immoral legislation (because God's Law is not immoral).

Jesus builds on the Law’s moral vision; He doesn’t correct it.

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II. A common phrase we say and hear today is that “Jesus died for you.”

And while that is absolutely true, it does frame our faith in very individual terms (which is not surprising, since we live in a very individualistic culture).

So yes, Jesus did die for you, but he did not just die for you.

Jesus came for the people of God, of which you and I get to be a part of.

When we read Scripture, we can be tempted to read it very personally: how it impacts me, what it means for me, and how it applies to me.

But the story of God’s redemption is much bigger than that.

Jesus died to redeem a people, of which you and I get to be a part of.

In Matthew 7:1, Jesus says, “Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged.”

One of modern society’s favorite verses to quote, without actually trying to understand what Jesus is saying.

Jesus is not, in fact, saying we (particularly God’s people) should not judge. Matthew 7:1–5 (which also includes the part about taking the plank out of your own eye before judging the speck in your neighbor’s eye) is not at all a prohibition against discerning right from wrong.

It’s a warning against hypocritical condemnation.

In fact, we are told explicitly to judge sin and wrong behavior in places like Galatians 6:1–2, John 7:21–24, and 2 Timothy 4:1–2.

Matthew 7:1–5 is a reminder that we should be a people who are honest about our own shortcomings, and loving and gracious toward the shortcomings of others (while still being willing to address issues).

This is not a call against speaking out against evil, wrongdoing, and sin, but to do so with love and humility.

The Dead Sea Scrolls confirmed the Old Testament with stunning accuracy.

When the Dead Sea Scrolls (copied roughly between 150 and 50 BC) were discovered in 1947, they included Old Testament manuscripts that were over 1,000 years older than the Hebrew manuscripts scholars previously relied on.

When scholars compared these ancient scrolls to later copies, they found that over 99% of the text was identical. The remaining differences were almost entirely minor spelling variations or small word-order changes that did not affect the meaning of the text or any Christian doctrine.

One of the most remarkable examples is the book of Isaiah. A complete Isaiah scroll dated to around 125 BC closely matches the Hebrew text used today, showing that the Scriptures were copied and preserved with extraordinary care for centuries.

Far from undermining the Bible, the Dead Sea Scrolls confirmed that the text we read today is essentially the same text God’s people were reading more than two thousand years ago.

10x Is Easier Than 2x by Dan Sullivan

A book about focusing on and doing the right things that actually bring growth to your business, organization, personal life, etc.

For me, if a book gives me a couple of nuggets I can take away and apply, it's a good book. And this book did that.

I thought this book could have been quite a bit shorter (and it wasn't long to begin with), as many of the principles were seemingly overtaught. Many times the point was made, but more illustrations or examples were given than necessary, or the examples had too many details.

The first half of the book was great, but the second half wasn't particularly helpful to me. I was glad to have read the book, and would have given it an even higher rating if some of the extras were cut out.

Still, I would recommend it if you're looking for something to practically help and challenge you to grow.

8/10

P.S. Ok but can you cook for a 6 year old?