I wish I could say otherwise as a Christian, but if you’ve been faithful to Jesus for a while, you’ve probably discovered that following Jesus isn’t exactly a walk in the park. In fact, Jesus actually tells his followers that they will have trouble in this world (John 16:33), and the apostle Paul actually flatly states that if you want to follow Jesus, you will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12). These words are not exactly ringing endorsements to become a Christian!
And yet, many Christians still have a hard time dealing with disappointments. Yes, we know that the Scriptures are full of stories of people in deep pain and anguish, but somehow, we still believe that God is only with us when our pockets are overflowing, our stomachs are full, and all seems right and good in the world.
But ignoring disappointments actually misses a significant part of what Christians believe and inevitably go through. In fact, we often minimize a significant teaching in the Scripture when we don’t expect disappointment.
The truth is that everyone — Christian or not — experiences both beauty and disappointment in life. You know, good days and bad days, sunshine and rain, bliss and bumps befall us all.
If anything, though, Christians should be the most equipped people to face disappointment.
Why? Because Christian belief explains why disappointment exists while also giving us the resources to cope with it: grief.
Two Kinds of Pain — and How We Are to Grieve Them
A mentor of mine often talks about two kinds of pain: dirty pain and clean pain.
‘Dirty’ Pain
Dirty pain is the ache you feel after you haven’t really made the best choices in your life and are now dealing with the consequences. You know, eating milkshakes and burritos at 11:00 pm and hoping to have a good night’s rest as a middle-aged man — that kind of pain (I might be speaking from experience). Dirty pain can be immediate, or it can be a slow burn — either way, we all experience it because the Scriptures teach a couple of truths related to it: 1) we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), and 2) we reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7).
Dirty pain affects the entire world, including nature (e.g., pollution that harms the environment), culture (e.g., using technology for cruel ends like cyberbullying), and human relationships (e.g., when I say intentionally hurtful words to my wife when I’m upset). Much of our disappointment in life comes from dirty pain.
How to Grieve Dirty Pain
The way we “grieve” our dirty pain in the Scriptures is through confession and repentance. Confession and repentance require an admission of my guilt in the matter, which is no small feat. I grieve how I’ve contributed to the dirty pain, recognizing that I’m a sinner in need of forgiveness (Romans 3:23, Psalm 51:1-2, Matthew 6:9-15, Acts 2:38-39). Repentance entails turning in an opposite direction — owning my mistake but now aiming for a new trajectory toward God and a godly lifestyle.
Of course, confession and repentance are only possible if I humble myself (1 Peter 5:6, Colossians 3:12), getting off my own ego trip and recognizing my fallibility and culpability. Instead of blaming others for disappointments in life, I need to first own my own mistakes, admit my wrong to another (James 5:16), ask for forgiveness where appropriate, and attempt to chart a new path. The good news of confession and repentance is that God says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us (1 John 1:9) — a rather amazing offer considering how often we sin!
‘Clean’ Pain
And then there’s clean pain. Clean pain is the harm that comes to us when we have no reason why — we don’t deserve it, we don’t understand it, and it’s a mystery why we’re going through this hardship that we didn’t see coming. Clean pain is awfully disappointing because there seems to be no logic or explanation to it.
We simply turn to the fallenness of our world, the way our “flesh” (1 John 2:16), the “world” (Romans 12:2), and Satan (John 8:44) are realities that contribute to the brokenness of life. And we wonder why God would allow it all.
The book of Job is a story of visceral grief in the midst of hardship that God permits. In the end, there are no real answers, just the reality that God is God, we are not, and grief via clean pain has a way of humbling us and forming us like nothing else.
How to Grieve Clean Pain
If anything, that’s what clean pain does — it humbles us and invites us to vulnerable lament. Laments are replete throughout the Psalms (some scholars estimate 2/3s of the Psalms) — honest and bare sharing of people bringing their complaints to God.
Disappointment from clean pain is to elicit grief, a grieving that forms us into more humble, dependent, and resilient followers of God (James 1:2). Somehow, God uses our weakness and pain to mold us and shape us into the kinds of vessels that can continue to depend on Him (2 Corinthians 12:9) while being a people who can receive and give comfort to those who are suffering (2 Corinthians 1:3-7).
Indeed, grief does not solve our disappointment — but it helps absorb it to mold us into Christ-like people who share in Christ’s suffering.
And Yet, There’s Still Hope
And yet, there’s still hope. Yes, grieving is the Biblical antidote to disappointment — but thankfully, the Christian story does not end in a never-ending cosmic war between beauty and disappointment where we’re wondering who will be left standing after an exhausting contest between good and evil.
The Christian story ends with hope victorious — a living hope found in a resurrected Jesus (1 Peter 1:3)! We cling to this hope with all that we have.
Yes, we celebrate what is beautiful in life. And yes, we grieve what is disappointing. But we embrace both beauty and disappointment with an overarching hope in Jesus.
Jesus allows us to embrace disappointment without ever losing hope. Because even in death, which is the ultimate disappointment, we have a Savior who offers us a hope that the world cannot give, nor take away.
And so in the meantime, in this beautiful and disappointing life, we live with gratitude and grief, embracing it with hope and grace found in Jesus.
In his book Beautiful, Disappointing, Hopeful, Drew Hyun explains how the Christian faith provides a lens through which we can understand the beautiful and disappointing world we live in, while offering the kind of promising hope we long for.
“Look at the Book” is Bible Gateway’s series of short blog posts and infographics introducing you to the books of the Bible. The last book in the Old Testament, Malachi provides a final call to repentance ahead of the long wait for the Messiah and his messenger.
Scroll to the bottom if you’d prefer to see (and save) this article as an infographic. You’ll also find a handy 30-day reading guide. Or, for a challenge, you can do it in one week using the 7-day reading guide below.
Summary
Malachi’s aim is to rebuke the people for doubting God’s love and to call them to return to honoring the Lord. He states God is coming not only to judge his people but also to bless and restore them.
Category: Prophets
Theme: Responsibilities
Timeline: Written around 430 BC
Written: Attributed to Malachi
Key Verse
“…see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” — Malachi 3:10 (NIV)
Pointing the Way
After being back in the land for 100 years, the Jews’ religious routine led to hard- heartedness toward God’s great love and widespread departure from His law. Malachi rebuked and condemned these abuses, calling them to repentance.
At the end of Malachi’s prophecy, he points forward to a coming messenger who would both speak the word of God and minister “in the spirit and power of Elijah” and point the way to the Messiah.
7 Day Reading Guide
Here is a seven-day reading guide to Zechariah and Malachi.
The final prophecy of the Old Testament challenges Israel to remember the glorious nature of God’s love.
Access the rest of the series. Browse Bible studies for each book of the Bible. Or right-click on the infographic below to download and save the image for your reference.
I’m meeting Mark for the first time at a church event and find myself in a conversation about Christians and the news. He’s telling me about his love-hate relationship with the headlines — how he began listening to different sources during his 30-minute commute, how it started as a simple desire to be informed, and how it devolved into a habit that made him an angrier version of himself. How it changed him. And how he’s since gone cold turkey.
Why do politicians, wars, and the general off-kilter-ness of the world always come up when I first meet someone, you ask? Fair question. I’m a writer for The Pour Over, a news resource that’s helping people build a spiritually healthy relationship with the news.
I meet a lot of people like Mark (and used to be a news addict myself), and our inbox is full of stories of (mostly Christian) people whose news consumption has gone to one of two extremes: “I feel guilty because I have no idea what’s going on in the world,” or, “I have an obsessive relationship with the news, and it leaves me angry and anxious.”
Does it have to be this way?
You probably know my answer. But let me explain.
The Case for News Consumption
If the news is usually divisive, doomy and gloomy, or drivel (or some combination), why bother with it at all? I can think of at least three reasons:
Your neighbors care. Like a parent might suddenly gain an interest in FootGolf to connect with a teenager they love, learning about the things your neighbors care about will help you connect with them (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
You may need to respond. If there’s a hurricane coming your way, you want to prepare. If you’re about to vote, you need to know the issues on the ballot. If there’s an opportunity to meet an urgent need in your community, you want to hear about it. Believers are called to care for our temporary home, seeking the common good while we wait for our permanent home (Jeremiah 29:7; 1 Peter 2:11-12). We can’t effectively seek this home’s good if we don’t know what’s going on.
You have an opportunity to shape the conversation. Without Christians representing Christ in how we engage with the news and relate with our neighbors, we cede that arena to the world as if the gospel has nothing to do with it. No. Knowing Jesus transforms everything, including how we engage with the headlines. We can bless the world and highlight the excellence of Christ by walking in a better way.
A Better Way to Stay Informed
There’s a better way — a spiritually healthy, fruit-of-the-Spirit-bearing, God-honoring way for Christians to be informed. Here are the hallmarks of that way:
Brevity
Less news is better (unless you’re getting zero).
If you’re spending an hour every day consuming the news and only 10 minutes pursuing Christ, that’s off balance. If you’re listening to hours of CNN or Fox News or scrolling to find out what an influencer thinks and then maybe fitting in a 5-minute Bible reading, whose disciple are you?
We justify this attention imbalance by wanting to find the definitive Christian stance on everything. But God does not call us to that. He calls us to know him, not to know every issue. To seek him and recognize his voice, not to have all the answers. Jesus, our Shepherd, says, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27 NIV).
The Savior’s voice must be the loudest and most influential in your life, with the concerns of his kingdom — not this world’s — ranking highest (Colossians 3:1-2; Philippians 3:20-21).
Keep in mind the purpose of your news consumption, and then take the minimum amount of time needed to accomplish that goal. You can learn what’s on your neighbors’ minds, take necessary action, and point people to Christ with about 5-10 minutes of news every day. Sure, maybe there’s an issue that particularly tugs at your heart, and you take a deeper dive. But that’s the exception, not the rule.
Learn what you need to know from the media voices competing for your attention, then quiet them so you can listen to your Shepherd.
Levity
Believers can approach the day’s headlines with light-heartedness and peace because we have an unshakable hope.
Those who live without hope are grave and pessimistic about the news of the day, fearing a dark and uncertain future. The stakes are high because their only hope is a happy and comfortable life on earth. But believers in Jesus can approach even the darkest headlines with peace because we know how this story ends (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).
In our news consumption, believers must make an effort to keep the big things big and the small things small. The headlines that shake the world today will probably be forgotten next month. And when we’re with Christ 5,000 years from now, how much less will they matter? But the “small” things that don’t make the headlines — the mundane acts of loving God and our neighbors — will be the ones that matter into eternity.
Believers can find humor and joy even in the headlines, remembering that the things that seem so weighty today are just a passing mist (Ecclesiastes 2:24-26; James 4:13-15). Joy and peace are fruits of the Spirit; seriousness and fear are not.
Dignity
Every name in the headlines is an image-bearer of God.
The two-part command that sums up the mandate of believers is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37, 39 NIV). The radical part of this command is that your “neighbor” includes your enemies — whether ethnic, religious, political, or otherwise (Matthew 5:44; Luke 10:25-37).
This leaves no room for disrespecting or disparaging people in the news. By all means, use your discernment to judge between wisdom and foolishness, good and evil. But even as you pursue righteousness in your positions, believers do not have leeway to neglect love in our posture.
That politician pursuing policies you disagree with is a person made in God’s image whom God loves. Your neighbor displaying a different candidate’s yard sign is an individual motivated by their own fears and convictions, a broken person (like you and me) in need of mercy. Even that terrorist across the world — gulp — is not excluded from God’s love or ours.
Don’t immerse yourself in news that indulges in name-calling and shaming. Seek sources that steelman differing perspectives, seeking understanding with compassion.
Good News
A spiritually healthy relationship with the news starts with limited consumption, eternal perspective, and respect for others.
The Pour Over has been presenting the news with brevity, levity, and dignity for six years, striving to keep our subscribers informed and focused on Christ. This other way of doing news is resonating with frustrated believers who just want to learn the facts, remember the Lord, and move on with their mission.
The disciple’s goal is becoming more like Jesus and making him known. As Paul urges us, we seek to “be transformed by the renewing of [our] mind” rather than being “conformed to the pattern of this world” (Romans 12:2 ESV). So we don’t settle for consuming the news in worldly patterns: emotional manipulation, anxiety about things we can’t control, short-term focus, hatred toward those who threaten our comfort, and so on.
I hope you’ll join the 1 million+ people now reading along with The Pour Over so we can meet again in your inbox on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. But even more, I hope you’ll refuse to settle for worldly patterns of news consumption and run to Christ for the renewing of your mind.
A few years ago, I found myself in a place of exhaustion. I love what I do, but I found myself wondering what it would look like to just quit. I imagined a life of indefinite sabbatical, hanging out with my husband and family, relaxed and unburdened by the heavy weight of this call on my life. I asked God, “Is this the time? Do we close everything down?” Looking back, I was just so weary.
As I asked God what to do, a friend of mine prayed specifically for God to give me clarity. The very night of that prayer, I had a dream — a dream that Jesus was coming back in ten years. While I have no idea if Jesus will actually come back in ten years or tomorrow or generations from now, what I do know is that this dream changed me and I haven’t been the same since. I haven’t thought about quitting one time since, because I have resolved that in the small chance He is coming back soon, I am going to do my part.
What about you? Imagine if you knew with absolute certainty (reminder, we don’t) that Jesus is coming back in ten years. What would change about your life? What would change about what you’re thinking about and what you’re doing with your time?
Here’s what I know down deep in my core: if we as a Church knew this, it would change everything. We would become ablaze with single-mindedness, and we would fix our solely eyes on Jesus. More specifically, I believe that if we as a global Church knew that Jesus was coming back in ten years, we would know our mission, we would come together, and we would hate our sin.
We would know our mission.
Matthew 28:18-20 tells us Jesus’s last words to his disciples and is known by most of us as the Great Commission. “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age’” (ESV). Jesus couldn’t have been clearer: the mission of the Church is discipleship.
What is discipleship? It’s leading someone who doesn’t know God to the ways of Jesus. If we’re also discipling people who already know Jesus, then we should be discipling them to disciple people who don’t know Jesus to know Jesus! (Is that a tongue twister or what?!)
If we knew Jesus was coming back in ten years, we would be obsessed with helping the lost know Jesus. This mission to “go and make disciples” would feel crystal clear and incredibly urgent.
But many of us have found our mission out of a place of drive rather than calling. How can you know if you’re living driven or living called?
Driven people…
Need affirmation before they feel good about something.
Spend more time online than with Jesus.
Compare their results to others’.
Constantly look to arrive at an achievement.
Live frustrated at their lack of opportunities.
Get anxious when they aren’t performing.
Check numbers all the time.
Think of how others can elevate them.
Share their weakness publicly before they confess it privately.
But called people…
Have nothing to lose and nothing to prove.
Celebrate others’ successes easily.
Enjoy the work that God has for them no matter the results.
Are comfortable confessing weakness and sin.
Seek out and recognize others.
Enjoy Jesus.
Prioritize real life relationships over online significance.
Think about how they can elevate others.
“Driven vs. called” is one of the main ways that the enemy has hijacked the Church’s mission because we have been distracted by looking for significance rather than focused on kingdom impact. We have loved other things more than God and made things more complicated than Jesus intended. I believe that if the Church knew Jesus was coming back in ten years, we would live as called people on a mission to make disciples.
There are 2.5 billion Christians on Earth, and 5.5 billion people on earth who don’t know Jesus yet. How could the world be changed if each and every Jesus follower discovered, resolved and were commissioned into the cause of making Jesus known? This is what we will be doing at Gather25 — mobilizing the Church to participate in the mission of God and to “go and make disciples.”
We would come together.
When we’re all looking for significance, we tend to separate from each other. We live isolated and become lonely as we focus on our own drive. But when we lean into living called, we come together for the only thing that will last: the kingdom of God. Like the Avengers coming together (do you love the Marvel movies as much as I do?), when we work together as a team, unbelievable things are possible that we simply cannot do alone.
This idea of coming together is intrinsically tied to our vision for Gather25. Our dream is to gather the global Church — every man, woman, and child who follows Jesus. Leaders across many different streams of Christian faith share our vision to work together for the gospel.
Acts 2:42-47 (ESV) describes the early Church this way: “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
If we are living like Jesus is coming back in ten years, we as the Church will come together in a similar way; we will fellowship together, we will be devoted to the teaching of the Word, we will praise God together, and we will sacrificially love our neighbors.
A picture God gave me of this coming together is of a big boat with lots of small boats behind it. Believers all around the world, across different continents, languages, and denominations, have been rowing in their small boats. But the time has come for us to get on the big boat together. We need each other, and it’s time that we all set aside petty arguments and division and instead get caught up in the big story of God!
We have called Gather25 “the greatest group project ever,” and that is how we see it! Through technology that has only recently existed, we can gather the global Church to participate in the same livestream and instantly translate our content to 14 languages. We are bringing Christians around the world together so that we can send them back out to their local communities with a shared vision for the mission of making disciples.
We would hate our sin.
Hebrews 12:1-3 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
If we as a Church knew that Jesus was coming back in ten years, I believe that we would hate our sin. We would be renewed in the fight to, as Hebrews says, “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely” as we look to Jesus. We would fix our eyes on Jesus instead of the trivial pursuits that do nothing but distract us from our mission.
What would this look like? A few ideas…
We would not be consumed with materialism.
We would not numb out with entertainment.
We would not be in sexual sin.
We would not yell at our kids.
We would not lie or hide.
We would not gossip or be critical of others.
We would not be addicted to our phones, to food, or to the approval of others.
We would lay down self-loathing and insecurity.
We would lay down greed and discontentment.
Holiness is the way we will show people our God. It’s the way Israel showed people their God, and it’s the way Jesus called us to show people. The world doesn’t hate Christians because we are like Jesus; they hate us because we aren’t. The more we become like Jesus, with holiness, truth, grace and love coming together in our lives, the more we spread Jesus to our churches, communities, and the world.
Have you been afraid to name the sin that’s entangled you? Sin flees when it’s brought into the light. If we truly want to throw off the sin that so easily entangles us (Hebrews 12:1 NIV), we have to name that sin. We have to confess to one another.
When Jesus comes back — whenever that might be — let’s be the most single-minded, full-hearted, confessed people on earth. There is no condemnation (Romans 8:1)! Live your life in the light and help others live in the light. Be brave, and share the thing you’re scared to share with someone you trust.
Be ready.
At Gather25, believers will come together not only to worship and be inspired, but also to pray and repent.
Jesus is coming back. We don’t know for certain if it’s in ten years, but we don’t know for certain that it’s not.
He has called us, his beloved Church, to know our mission, come together, and hate our sin, all for the sake of making disciples of all nations. This is why Gather25 exists. Will you join us?
Get the exclusive Gather edition of the NIV Jesus Everywhere Bible at 30% off for a limited time at FaithGateway.
“Look at the Book” is Bible Gateway’s series of short blog posts and infographics introducing you to the books of the Bible. Like Haggai, Zechariah advocates for rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem — but where Haggai was “bad cop,” rebuking the people’s sin and unfaithfulness, Zechariah plays “good cop,” encouraging hope in the coming of the Messiah.
Scroll to the bottom if you’d prefer to see (and save) this article as an infographic. You’ll also find a handy 30-day reading guide. Or, for a challenge, you can do it in one week using the 7-day reading guide below.
Summary
Like Haggai, Zechariah’s main purpose for writing was to compel the exiles to complete the rebuilding of the temple. He also foretells Christ’s coming and emphasizes that God will be faithful to his people if they choose to return to him.
Category: Prophets
Theme: Forgiveness
Timeline: Written between 480-470 BC
Written: Attributed to Zechariah
Key Verse
“See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” — Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)
The Messiah Is Coming
Zechariah employed a number of images to refer to the coming Messiah:
Haggai’s purpose was to rebuild the temple; his preaching has a tone of rebuke for the people’s indifference, sin, and lack of trust in God. Zechariah sought to encourage the people to build the temple in view of the promise that someday Messiah would come to inhabit it.
7 Day Reading Guide
Here is a seven-day reading guide to Zechariah and Malachi.
The people were not just building for the present, but with the future hope of Messiah in mind. He encouraged the people that the Lord remembers His covenant promises and would restore and bless them.
Access the rest of the series. Browse Bible studies for each book of the Bible. Or right-click on the infographic below to download and save the image for your reference.
Here it is, your source for all the latest Bible-related and Bible-adjacent news from the month of February 2025 — from archaeological discoveries and academic research to cultural events and conversations, developments in the global church, and more.
Week of February 23
March 1 — After Pope Francis suffered a respiratory crisis on Friday and was placed on ventilation, his condition stabilized and he was able to have a peaceful night. He is reported to be in “good humor” and spent 20 minutes praying in the hospital chapel. Yet his “prognosis remains guarded” and continues to receive regular medical intervention for his condition. (RNS and Aleteia)
March 1 — In other church planting news, new churches are thriving in Northwestern states in the U.S. Organizations like Intermountain Church Planters and Evergreen are focused on multiplying churches to combat church closures and engage the largely religiously unaffiliated population in the region. LifeSpring Church in Idaho is one success story, growing to over 400 members and planning to spin off a new congregation. (Religion Unplugged, from MinistryWatch)
February 28 — The Haven, a small new church in Northern England, received 92 donated Bibles after an online appeal led by Rev. Jess Monopoli. The Bibles came mostly from two anonymous strangers in different parts of the country. Set to launch on March 9 at West Park Academy, The Haven is excited to begin ministering to the largely unchurched population of 20,000 in the parish community. (Christian Today)
February 26 — The big story this week is clearly the new Pew Research report suggesting the long-declining religious population in the U.S. has finally leveled off, remaining relatively stable since 2019. Christians today make up about 62% of U.S. adults — though only 45% pray daily and 33% attend church at least once a month. Even among the nonreligious, however, spiritual views remain strong, with 83% of American adults believing in “God or a universal spirit.”
February 26 — More from the Pew report: Women remain more religious than men overall, though the gap is closing. And the majority of immigrants are Christian. Despite the current stability, analysts expect the religious population to fall further for several reasons, including the huge gap in religiousness between older and young adults. There’s a lot more to dig into: read more in RNS, Christianity Today, The New York Times, Baptist Press, Religion Unplugged, or the report itself.
February 26 — Over 380 million Christians face persecution globally, with attacks ranging from physical violence to financial oppression. Despite these hardships, persecuted believers in places like China and Iran display remarkable resilience, focusing on God’s kingdom over their suffering. While grateful for prayers (and the opportunity to witness in Jesus’s name) some worry the love of Christians in the west has grown cold. (Lifeway and RELEVANT)
February 25 — There are many positive trends in global Christianity — but some negative trends as well. Though Christianity is growing, Islam is growing faster, and the Christian population is shrinking in Europe and North America. Martyrdom is no longer in decline, and worse, is projected to grow in coming years. And within the church, financial crimes like embezzlement have skyrocketed, both globally and in the U.S. (Lifeway Research)
February 24 — This month the editors of the ESV announced several adjustments, including reverting Genesis 3:16 from its 2016 edition back to the 2001 original, realigning it with traditional translation practices in the NIV, NASB, KJV, and more. Why did the ESV change that verse in the first place? It turns out it has to do with a controversial 1970s article about sin and women’s desire in response to second-wave feminism. (Christianity Today)
February 24 — Seventy Christians were killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo by the ADF, an Islamic extremist group linked to ISIS. Victims, including children and elderly, were taken from their homes, marched to a local church, and beheaded. Ongoing violence in the region has left communities devastated and churches empty. Church leaders and advocacy groups urge international intervention and prayer to protect civilians. (Baptist Press)
February 24 — Pope Francis introduced a unique indulgence for the 2025 Year of Jubilee: one for those who fast from social media as an act of penance and spiritual refocus. Papal indulgences are special pardons to minimize purgatorial suffering (and were a primary cause of the Protestant Reformation). Though Francis has embraced digital tools for evangelism, he has also highlighted their risks, such as fostering false ideas and negative interactions. (RNS)
February 24 — Thirty historic Black churches across the United States will share $8.5 million in grants from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. These funds will restore sites tied to Christian Civil Rights leaders like Fred Shuttlesworth and Andrew Young, and landmarks such as Detroit’s New Bethel Baptist Church, once central to Aretha Franklin’s career. (RNS)
Week of February 16
February 22 — A Lifeway Research study found that 93% of U.S. Protestant pastors have taken steps to address global Christian persecution over the past year, with larger evangelical church leading the way. Prayer is the most common response, with 86% encouraging congregations to pray or including prayer in services. However, other initiatives like events or videos are less frequent, presenting opportunities for further action. (Religion Unplugged)
February 21 — Filmmaker Jon Erwin has been transforming the Christian movie industry, earning critical and commercial success by raising storytelling and production standards in hits like I Can Only Imagine and Jesus Revolution and in collaborations with filmmakers like Dallas Jenkins. With his new series House of David, Erwin hopes to cement biblical narratives as captivating prestige entertainment. (RELEVANT)
February 21 — Scientists have discovered brine pools in the Red Sea’s Gulf of Aqaba, near the site traditionally linked to Moses (technically God) parting the waters in the Bible. These pools, highly saline and oxygen-deprived, create “death traps” for marine life while preserving sediment layers untouched for millions of years. The discovery offers a glimpse into early Earth’s conditions and may even help in the search for extraterrestrial life by mimicking potential conditions on water worlds beyond Earth. (New York Post)
February 20 — This season, witness the Last Supper as you’ve never seen it before… twice. That’s right, two separate projects with the same name are releasing within weeks of each other — and both dropped trailers today. The Last Supper, executive produced by praise musician Chris Tomlin, enters theaters March 14. Not to be outdone, Part 1 of The Chosen: The Last Supper, season 5 of the popular show, will hit theaters March 28. (RELEVANT and Catholic News Agency)
February 20 — Did you know Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have a Dream” phrase was first used by a 22-year-old woman named Prathia Hall? King was inspired to write his speech after hearing Hall repeat the phrase during a prayer meeting after her church was burnt down. She went on to become a Baptist pastor and seminary professor. Get to know her and four other lesser-known Christian leaders who shaped Black history. (RELEVANT)
February 20 — In the era of the multi-campus megachurch, it’s easy to forget that (pre-pandemic at least) nearly 50% of American congregations are in rural areas and small towns — compared to only 14% percent of the population. If you’re a small-town pastor, it’s important to reflect on your outsized role in the community no less than “celebrity” pastors, and approach issues with patience and compassion. (Lifeway; add’l research from FaithX)
February 19 — A Pew Research study revealed five key shifts in U.S. religious life since 2020. Roughly 30% of Americans reported the pandemic impacted their spiritual lives. In-person church attendance has declined, offset by a roughly equal growth in online worship. In general, religious participation grew or remained steady across every demographic, with the largest growth among Jews (by far), Catholics, and Gen Z. (Lifeway, from Pew Research)
February 19 — Historian Shannen Dee Williams shed light on the overlooked story of over 2,500 Black Catholic nuns in the U.S. — three of whom are on the road to sainthood. Key figures include Mother Mary Lange, founder of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, and Venerable Henriette DeLille, who created the Sisters of the Holy Family. They advanced Black education, antislavery, and desegregation, while championing obedience to Christ. (The Christian Century)
February 17 — It’s not hard to imagine why the people of Jesus’s Judaea disliked tax collectors — especially those serving their Roman rulers. But the discovery of a large Roman boundary stone in northern Israel adds context. Dating to the late 200s AD, the stone marked tax zones which were imposed on all lands, whether or not they were in use. This system likely strained small villages, leading to depopulation and abandonment of ancestral lands. (Biblical Archaeology Society)
February 17 — Pope Francis, 88, remains hospitalized in Rome due to a respiratory infection causing a “complex clinical picture,” after first being admitted for bronchitis on February 14. He is reportedly in stable condition with no fever, but his treatment has been adjusted, requiring extended hospitalization. He remains in good spirits, praying, working minimally, and expressing gratitude for the worldwide outpouring of support and well-wishes. (Various sources)
February 17 — Amazon MGM Studios secured exclusive U.S. streaming rights for all seasons of The Chosen on Prime, plus theatrical distribution for the final chapters. The partnership includes a first-look agreement for more faith-based content such as The Chosen in The Wild, a survival series with Bear Grylls. Season 5 of The Chosen premieres in theaters during Holy Week before streaming in June. Meanwhile, the family-friendly King of Kingsreleased its first full trailer. (RELEVANT and Variety)
February 16 — Archaeologists near Jerusalem uncovered the remains of a Byzantine-era female ascetic, challenging the belief that extreme religious practices in the ancient church were male-only. Found in chains at Khirbat el-Masani monastery, her burial was linked to severe penance. Dating from 350-650 CE, the find aligns with records of women practicing asceticism but reveals unprecedented physical self-denial. (Jerusalem Post)
Week of February 9
February 14 — The Sarum Master Bible, a 13th-century illuminated manuscript, has returned to Salisbury Cathedral after nearly 800 years in private hands. About the size of a mass-market paperback, this Vulgate Bible features a tiny font with intricate, colorful initials and was likely commissioned by a wealthy individual for private use. It will be displayed at the Cathedral from February 28 to March 20, 2025. (The Guardian)
February 14 — The ESV announced its first edits in nearly a decade, including 68 word changes, 57 footnote modifications, and 14 punctuation adjustments. One such change is reverting the ESV’s controversial change of Genesis 3:16 from its 2016 version (“Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you”) to its original 2001 translation (“Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you”). (Christian Today)
February 14 — Tyler Perry and DeVon Franklin are bringing a modern retelling of the biblical story of Ruth and Boaz to Netflix with their film “R&B.” Set in Tennessee, the story follows a young woman who leaves Atlanta’s competitive music scene to care for an elderly widow, discovering love and a maternal bond she never had. The film also features music from icons like Babyface, Jermaine Dupri, and Lecrae. (RELEVANT)
February 14 — UPDATE: The Rabbi of the Western Wall, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, demanded that the stone being shone at Ben-Gurion Airport’s History of Israel exhibit be returned to its rightful place on the Wall. “The stones of the Western Wall are sacred,” the Rabbi wrote in an open letter. “While showcasing Jewish history and heritage is important, the stones of the Wall should never be removed for this purpose.” (Jerusalem Post)
February 13 — A kayaker was swallowed by a whale off the coast of Joppa — no, wait, that was a different one — Patagonia, boat and all. Unlike Jonah, he was spat out within a matter of seconds — long enough, though, for him to fear that the creature “had eaten me, that it had swallowed me.” The ordeal was captured on video by the kayaker’s father. Both managed to return to shore (miraculously) unharmed. (The Guardian)
February 13 — There are no fewer than five Bible-based movies and TV shows coming out in the first half of this year alone — and most of them look pretty good! Amazon Prime has a Game of Thrones-style series about David; Oscar Isaac is voicing Jesus in an animated, family-friendly take on the Gospels; there’s an Office-style mockumentary about the Exodus; and of course The Chosen‘s season 5. (RELEVANT)
February 13 — If you find yourself traveling to Israel this year — even for a layover — you can enjoy a close look at the nation’s 3,000-year history without even leaving the airport. Ben-Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv is hosting an exhibit by the Israel Antiquities Authority and other groups throughout 2025. It will feature a variety of archaeological artifacts from Israel’s past, including an original, five-ton stone from the Western Wall. (Jerusalem Post)
February 12 — The rising popularity of the “social media priest” is creating new opportunities and challenges for Catholic clergy and other religious leaders. Father David Michael Moses, for example, is a millennial priest with nearly a million followers who uses humor and memes to share Catholic teachings. But he acknowledges the challenge of balancing the addictive nature of online influence with traditional pastoral duties. (RNS)
February 11 — Christianity is being embraced in Silicon Valley, led by controversial yet charismatic figures like Peter Thiel. Initiatives like the ACTS 17 Collective, founded by Michelle Stephens, are encouraging tech and entertainment leaders to explore faith in low-stakes, relatable ways such as professional networking events. Opinion remains divided on the sincerity of the trend, especially given the region’s history of secularism. (The New York Times)
February 10 — Why was pork banned in the Torah? First domesticated around 10,000 years ago (beating the sheep, below, by 2,000 years), pigs were initially a vital food source, due to their prolific breeding and adaptability. But they are largely stationary, which didn’t suit the mobile, pastoral lifestyle of the early Israelites. The ban also helped establish a unique cultural identity against neighboring cultures, such as the Philistines. (Archaeology)
February 10 — Pop quiz: which animal is mentioned more than any other in the Bible? The answer is the humble sheep. Researchers believe the sheep was first domesticated in the Cappadocian region of Turkey some 8,000 years BC. By Biblical times they were used for food, textiles, paper (including Torah scrolls), sacrifices, and more. So important were they to daily life that gods and kings were often referred to as shepherds. (Biblical Archaeology Society)
February 10 — Larry Sanger, who co-founded Wikipedia in 2001 and spent 35 years as a non-believer and skeptic, publicly confessed his Christian faith on his blog. The lengthy post details his Lutheran upbringing, loss of faith, systematic questioning, return to the Bible, and “quiet and uncomfortable” conversion back to Christianity. (Christian Today)
February 9 — A man suffering from “serious mental health issues” vandalized the altar of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, throwing candelabras to the ground and attempting to remove the altar cloth. Security quickly restrained and handed him over to Italian authorities. The basilica, a major pilgrimage site that has already seen over 1.3 million visitors this year, was previously attacked in a protest in June 2024 and a knife threat in 2019. (Aleteia)
Week of February 2
February 7 — A Stewardship report shows regular churchgoers in Britain donate nearly five times more to charity than the average person. Committed Christians, defined as those attending church and reading the Bible weekly, are especially generous, with younger Christians leading in giving. The study links faith, trust in Christian organizations, and generosity. (Christian Today)
February 7 — Tyler Staton, pastor and author, explores how Millennials and Gen Z are rediscovering the Holy Spirit. Many younger Christians seek authentic, experiential faith rather than intellectual arguments. Staton critiques extremes in how the Spirit is viewed—either ignored or sensationalized—and emphasizes the Spirit’s role in daily life, not just dramatic moments. (Relevant Magazine)
February 7 — The Super Bowl, with its rituals and traditions, is likened to a quasi-religious event by scholars. Some criticize the event for promoting values contrary to Christianity, but fans and churches alike embrace the game as a cultural moment, blending faith and football. Sociologist Matthew Vos critiques its contradictions but acknowledges its cultural significance.(Religion Unplugged)
February 6 — For the first time in 750 years, forensic science has reconstructed the face of St. Thomas Aquinas, offering a glimpse of the influential theologian. Using partial remains of his skull, researchers created a digital bust, revealing a “humble” face that reflects his character. Aquinas’ teachings, including his Summa Theologica, continue to shape Christian theology and philosophy. (Christian Today)
February 6 — St. Augustine of Hippo (354–430) offers wisdom that resonates deeply with today’s challenges. His Confessions chronicles a journey from a life of materialism and doubt to profound faith, mirroring struggles many face today. A photo gallery accompanying the article pairs Augustine’s timeless insights with masterpieces of modern art, illustrating the enduring relevance of his teachings. (Aleteia)
February 5 — Access to Braille Bibles remains a significant challenge for Zimbabwe’s 125,000 blind citizens, with costs reaching $600 per set. Advocates emphasize Braille as a tool for empowerment, but few churches or schools have full copies. While audio Bibles exist, many prefer the personal connection of reading. Stigma and limited resources often exclude the visually impaired from church life. (Religion Unplugged)
February 5 — Prison Fellowship International (PFI) is transforming prison ministry with a targeted approach inspired by the Pareto Principle. By focusing on 20% of inmates, programs like The Prisoner’s Journey have led to significant cultural shifts, reduced violence, and lower re-offending rates in prisons worldwide. Participants report spiritual renewal and prison staff also note improved behavior. (Christian Today)
February 5 — The Christian prayer app Hallow may face a ban in the EU due to strict regulations on religious apps, according to CEO Alex Jones. The EU’s Digital Services Act, which limits handling sensitive data like religious beliefs, is cited as a potential barrier. Hallow, downloaded over 22 million times globally, offers guided prayers and meditations. (Christian Today)
February 5 — Pope Francis emphasized “unlimited availability” to God as the only logical response to His plans. Reflecting on Mary’s faith in the “God of the impossible” and her journey to serve Elizabeth, the Pope highlighted her selflessness and trust. Quoting theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, he stressed that true faith requires total openness to God’s will. (Aleteia)
February 4 — The three oldest preserved Bibles offer invaluable insights into the process of canonization. The Ge’ez Ethiopian Bible (330–350 AD) includes 81 books, including Enoch and Jubilees. Codex Sinaiticus (330–360), found in an Egyptian monastery, contains the earliest complete New Testament and other early Christian writings. And Codex Vaticanus (300–325), housed in the Vatican Library, is a meticulously crafted Greek manuscript. (Aleteia)
February 4 — Faith-based travel is experiencing a significant resurgence, with the market projected to grow from $1.29 trillion in 2024 to $2.01 trillion by 2031. Pilgrimages and visits to sacred sites across all major religions are increasingly popular, with destinations like Notre Dame, the Camino de Santiago, and Mecca seeing record numbers of visitors, while new routes and virtual pilgrimages provide greater accessibility. (Religion Unplugged)
February 4 — UK theological schools face a crisis, with half of Bible colleges predicted to close within two years due to declining enrollment, financial struggles, and societal secularization. Institutions are adapting with nontraditional models like online hubs, microcredentials, and bivocational training to attract students. Leaders see this as a chance to revitalize faith in the UK. (Christianity Today)
February 3 — The self-improvement industry promises fulfillment through productivity hacks and external achievements, but Annie Eisner argues that true contentment comes only through Jesus. She critiques the church’s tendency to turn faith into another self-help plan and encourages Christians to live from a place of wholeness in Christ. (RELEVANT)
February 3 — A 13th-century fresco in Ferrara, Italy, depicts an Islamic tent used in a medieval church, revealing cultural exchanges between Islam and Christianity. Historian Dr. Federica Gigante identified the artwork, which highlights the influence of Islamic art on European religious practices. (Jerusalem Post)
February 3 — The word “church” originates from the Anglo-Saxon “chyrcan,” derived from the Greek “kyriakos” (house of the Lord), and translates the biblical “ekklesia,” meaning assembly. Initially referring to gatherings, it later encompassed buildings, services, and denominations. Over time, its meaning broadened, while some groups avoided the term entirely. Today, “church” reflects diverse uses. (Christian Today)
February 2 — A silver amulet discovered in a Roman graveyard near Frankfurt, Germany, dating to AD 230–270, is the earliest Christian artifact found north of the Alps. The artifact underscores the faith’s rapid expansion and historical significance. Meanwhile, Jordan’s “Dawn of Christianity” exhibition in Rome showcases over 90 artifacts from 34 archaeological sites, narrating Christianity’s history in Jordan. (Jerusalem Post)
February 1 — Bible sales and (some) Christian colleges are booming… but so is religious persecution. Churches helped out in the California fires, taught English to immigrants through Bible reading… and started getting taxed in Zimbabwe (and maybe Canada?). Open World celebrated 60 years and Anabaptism celebrated 500. Archaeologists uncovered ancient religious shrines and Medieval saints’ bones. Read the biggest, strangest, and most inspiring Bible and church news stories of January!
Note: This is part one of a two-part series on the Antilegomena, or “disputed” books of the Bible. This article examines the books that the rabbis and church fathers narrowly agreed were divinely inspired in the Old and New Testaments, respectively. Part Two takes a look at the books that rabbinic and church authorities narrowly rejected.
Everyone has favorite books of the Bible — and most people have least favorite books, too. So it should come as no surprise that the people who compiled the canons of the Old and New Testaments had their own opinions on the matter.
I’ve written before about how, for the most part, these canons formed organically, based on the most commonly used and agreed-upon books. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some contention.
In the long (centuries-long, in fact) process of discerning which texts were genuinely inspired by God; which were not inspired, but still spiritually edifying; and which were spurious and even dangerous, both the Old and New Testaments had some close calls. These are known as the antilegomena — Greek for “spoken against,” or “disputed” — and this is their story.
Or rather, the first half of the story — the books that ultimately got included, by the skin of their teeth. The other side of the story is the books that almost made it into the Bible, but were determined not to be divinely inspired.
The Establishment of Biblical Canon
The Bible didn’t spring out fully formed, plopped into the lap of the temple authorities or apostles. That’s not God’s way. (This is the God who made the universe gradually, over seven “days,” and who came to earth as a baby and lived and grew and wandered about for 30 years before he began his ministry.)
What we now know as the Bible developed gradually, over many centuries, and required faithful Jews and Christians to carefully analyze and determine which books qualified for inclusion in Holy Scripture — even, in some cases, when they wished they didn’t!
The Old Testament Canon
With a few exceptions, such as the five books of the Torah and Jeremiah/Lamentations, each book of the Old Testament was written by a different author (sometimes several authors), sometimes hundreds of years apart from one another (roughly 1400-400 BC, though many of these dates are disputed).
Over time these books (or scrolls) became unified into a canon: a widely agreed-upon collection of writings deemed to be inspired by God. In the case of the Old Testament, this matter had been largely settled by the time of Jesus, though in (at least) two different forms.
Outside of Judaea, Greek-speaking Jews across the Roman empire relied upon the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible that also contained a variety of books written in the intervening (“intertestamental”) period. These became known as the Apocrypha or Deuterocanon, and are included in Catholic, Orthodox, and some Lutheran and Anglican Bibles, but not used today by Jews or most Protestants.
The New Testament Canon
The books of the New Testament were compiled in a much shorter time frame than the Old Testament. The earliest books were written down around 50 AD, and they were mostly all completed by the early 2nd century.
In those early years after Jesus’s resurrection, most Christians passed on the Gospel orally, or occasionally through letters (many of which made their way into the New Testament). It wasn’t until later, as the first generation of apostles passed away, larger communities started to form, and believers began to realize it could be a long wait until Christ’s second coming, that they began compiling these stories and letters into books (or codexes) to preserve them for the long haul.
When deciding what to include, there were some disagreements (that lasted for decades or even centuries), but they ultimately played it safe, falling back on two primary criteria: 1) whether the book could be plausibly connected to a disciple of Jesus who knew him directly (even, in the case of Paul, post-resurrection); and 2) which books were most widely in use by church communities throughout Christendom. This wasn’t a simple popularity contest: if the Spirit was leading these communities, they reasoned, it would lead them generally to the same core texts.
There were, however, some texts that many Christians — bishops, priests, and theologians — did not want to include, for various reasons. And there were some they thought were very useful for personal study, even if they didn’t qualify for inclusion in the Bible — just as we believe today.
Books That Barely Made It Into the Old Testament
By the time of Jesus, the Old Testament was well established — but there were still a few books that that the rabbis were suspicious of, and only grudgingly included. These include Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and surprisingly, Ezekiel.
Esther
One of the most hotly contested books both by the rabbis and, much later, by the Protestant Reformers, Esther almost wasn’t included in the Old Testament for one reason above all: it is the only book in the entire Bible that never once mentions God. There was also some doubt about the historical veracity of the story, which didn’t line up with other historical records.
Despite these concerns, the rabbis of the Great Assembly of the Second Temple period (post-Babylonian exile) ultimately determined Esther was worth including as an undeniably powerful narrative of cultural unity in the face of injustice and oppression.
Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes paints a stark picture of reality as being fundamentally hevel — a Hebrew term usually translated as “vanity,” “futility,” or “meaningless,” but most literally meaning vapor or smoke. Some authorities worried this borderline-nihilistic perspective would confuse or corrupt readers.
In the end they chose to include it — perhaps because they saw in it, as in Job, an acknowledgment of the inscrutability of God’s will in the face of real human suffering. It remains a book that believers are both powerfully drawn to and sometimes disturbed by.
Song of Songs
Why is there an (at times shockingly explicit) erotic love poem in the middle of the Bible? Jewish and Christian interpreters have wrestled with that question in many different ways.
Some have found in the Song of Songs an allegory for God and Israel, or Christ and the Church, or the Spirit and our souls. More recent interpreters have chosen to interpret it more straightforwardly as an affirmation of romantic yearning and sexual union in human relationships.
It’s easy to see why rabbinical and church authorities were uncomfortable with it — but also easy to see how its rich layers of meaning demanded it finally be included.
Ezekiel
Although Ezekiel was less controversial than the other books in this section, some of the rabbis were suspicious of it because the temple rituals the prophet describes are sometimes at odds with Mosaic law.
There was also — among both Jewish and Christian authorities — some discomfort with the wildly strange imagery of burning wheels and many-eyed beasts. In what would become a pattern for these sorts of apocalypse books, they were concerned about the mystical speculation such outlandish themes might inspire. And not without justification: many apocalyptic sects drew on just these sorts of passages to justify their theologies.
Nevertheless, they acknowledged that Ezekiel’s visions were genuine, and that we would simply have to wait until the “Day of the Lord” to reconcile such concerns.
Books That Barely Made It Into the New Testament
Despite its shorter length and smaller collection of books, there was even greater dispute over what to include in the New Testament — perhaps because there wasn’t a unified authority to make such decisions until centuries after the Resurrection. Most of the “catholic epistles” (i.e., the ones not by Paul) were debated — and Revelation most of all.
Hebrews
As I mentioned above, one of the core criteria for canonical inclusion in the New Testament ended up being association with a named apostolic authority. Early church fathers were therefore hesitant to include Hebrews because of its anonymity.
There was an early tradition of Pauline authorship, but it was widely disputed from the beginning, and today almost no one believes Hebrews to have been written by Paul. Many other possibilities have been suggested, including Priscilla, Apollos, and Barnabas, but none have proved thoroughly convincing.
Nevertheless the letter’s carefully constructed and sound theology earned its inclusion by the fourth century AD.
James
The Epistle of James doesn’t appear in many of the earliest sources, and some of the later church fathers were skeptical of its authenticity. Still, enough believed its authenticity was possible — and were understandably concerned about leaving it out if was indeed by Jesus’s own brother — that it became increasingly accepted as time went on.
Jude
In some ways opposite to James, Jude was commonly accepted by early fathers like Clement, Tertullian, and the Muratorian fragment (the first full list of New Testament canon). But it garnered controversy due to a particular problem: its reliance on the Book of Enoch, which had been rejected from Old Testament canon and even from the Apocrypha.
Enoch described the fall of the angels and their coupling with human women, producing the Nephilim mentioned in Genesis. Despite its formal exclusion from canon, Enoch was immensely popular in the time of Jesus and informed some of the religious thought of the time; indeed, Paul seems to allude to it in 1 Corinthians 11:10. Jude, however, quotes it directly in verses 14-15 and references it throughout.
2 Peter
Second Peter is a curious case because it is stylistically quite different from 1 Peter and features a large amount of overlapping content with the Letter of Jude. Even so, it was never rejected by the fathers (even if some were a bit puzzled by it), and was formally included by Jerome in his Vulgate translation.
2 and 3 John
The first letter of John was never disputed, but there were some initial doubts in the Eastern Church about the second letter, and more about the third. The Latin West accepted them as being from the same apostle, however, so the Eastern Church soon followed suit.
Revelation
Of all the books in the New Testament, Revelation was by far the most contentious, and even to this day is rejected by some Eastern churches, at least for liturgical use. In general (which is to say, as an oversimplification), it caught on more quickly in the Latin West than in the Greek and Syriac East — but there appears to have been a lot of back-and-forth about it until at least the 5th century.
For example, Eusebius (the church historian who chronicled these matters in depth and was a major source for this article) said around 330 AD that Revelation was both accepted and disputed. Various church fathers, councils, and synods either listed or omitted it from their canons throughout the next few centuries.
The hesitation appears to have been caused by a combination of factors, including the vastly different writing styles of this John from the John of either the Gospel or the Epistles — suggesting this was not the apostle John and therefore not able to be trusted, at least as the Word of God (though many fathers who rejected it as canon still believed it was inspired).
There was also the concern, as with Enoch and even Ezekiel before it, that Revelation’s wild imagery and dense symbolism would cause dangerous theological error — as indeed it did, encouraging some such as Montanus to believe the age of prophecy was not yet ended and that individual revelations from the Holy Spirit could supersede Scripture.
Even today the meaning of Revelation and how it should be interpreted is hotly debated among Christians the world over.
Martin Luther’s Antilegomena: Books That Were Almost Removed from the New Testament
Although the New Testament canon had been almost universally established for a millennium before the Protestant Revolution, it was (perhaps amazingly) never formally codified by the Church until the Council of Trent in 1546 — as a direct response to the Reformation.
That gave the reformers an opportunity to reevaluate the authenticity of the canon.
The obvious result of that analysis was the removal of the Deuterocanonical books from most Protestant Bibles (or at least their relocation to the end of the Old Testament, rather than mixed in throughout), since they were not part of the Hebrew Bible affirmed by Rabbinical Judaism. Outside of that major change, they were much more cautious, accepting both the Hebrew Old Testament and Greek New Testament as they had been passed down.
Still, that doesn’t mean they had no opinion on the matter, and Martin Luther in particular — never one to mince words — was sure to make them clear.
There were four books Luther clearly wished he could remove from canon, even if he reluctantly admitted he could not. The list should look familiar:
Hebrews: Luther had relatively little to say about the Letter to the Hebrews, but was skeptical of its apostolic origins and theological value.
James: In this preface to the Epistle of James, Luther claimed the book was “rejected by the ancients” — not true, though it was disputed, as we have seen. Nevertheless he also claimed to consider it a “good book,” despite then going on to disparage it as “not apostolic” and declare that it “mangles the Scripture,” opposes Paul with its works-righteousness theology, and nowhere mentions the Passion. Later in life Luther went even farther in his antipathy, reportedly saying he would like to “throw Jimmy in the stove.”
Jude: Luther again claimed the fathers did not include Jude in Scripture, in this case because it was “undeniably” copied from 2 Peter and “speaks of the apostles like a disciple.” Today, most scholars believe Jude predates 2 Peter (though they do share much of their content).
Revelation: Luther notoriously despised Revelation. He wrote in his preface that the book was “neither apostolic nor prophetic.” He disdained its reliance on “images and visions,” found the book’s praise for itself (Rev. 22:18-19) suspicious — especially considering how difficult the book’s teachings are to follow — and ultimately decided that “Christ is neither taught nor known in it.”
Despite these characteristically strong and caustic opinions, Luther begrudgingly acknowledged the canonical status of all these books and did include them in his German New Testament — though he did in fact place them in a separate section at the end of his translation, just as he did with the Old Testament Apocrypha.
Conclusion: Wrestling With the Scriptures
As you can see, there was a lot of controversy around which books made it into the Bible in its final form — both the Old Testament and the New. In both cases, the main parts of these decisions took hundreds of years to establish with finality, not reaching fully consistent conclusions until nearly the time of Christ for the Old Testament, and the mid-4th century for the New Testament.
Even then, scholars of deep faith, such as Luther and Calvin, continued to consider and reconsider the canon, making major changes to long-established custom when they removed the Deuterocanon in the 16th century. In some ways those debates persist to this day.
What are we to make of this? Well, I’ll have some more thoughts in Part II of this look at the Antilegomena — but for now I’d like to reflect on just how much God wants to be in conversation and relationship with us — and us with each other. God could have sent the entire Bible all at once (or at least twice, once for each Testament) to one or two people, and there would never have been these centuries of arguments and anxiety around what authentically qualified as Scripture.
But he didn’t. Instead he gradually guided (and guides) not just the writers but the readers, translators, and compilers of the Scriptures, as though asking us to wrestle with them like Jacob in the wilderness and work them out, with fear and trembling, together. Perhaps that’s (in part) what it means for the Scriptures to be alive — because you can’t be in relationship with something static.
Read more about the Antilegomena in Part Two, “Books That Almost Made It Into the Bible.” If you want to learn more about the history and content of these and every other book of the Bible, you can try Bible Gateway Plus free and get access to dozens of top resources for studying the Bible and deepening your relationship with God’s Word.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. — 1 Peter 2:9–10 (NIV)
We believe the church of Jesus Christ is the dwelling place of Almighty God on planet Earth.
Therefore, all we believe to be true about the living God, we believe to be true about his people.
If the holy love, power, and presence of God are dwelling within God’s chosen people, God’s royal priesthood, God’s holy nation, God’s special possession, it means at least two things:
We have been granted extraordinary authority; and
We possess enormous responsibility.
Think of it as response-ability. We have the authority and responsibility to respond in a way no other organization or institution on planet Earth possesses.
The Facts on the Ground
We desperately need to grasp the real facts on the ground, not as reported by the news media but as informed by the revelation of the Word and Spirit, and to understand the rules of engagement. Given all we are exploring about the nature of the church Jesus is building, here are the facts on the ground:
The body of Christ is a global fellowship bonded together by the Holy Spirit. Remember, we are living stones being built together into a spiritual house. Our connection is not institutional in nature, but supernatural. We are quite literally part of each other — connected like a hand is to an arm. This has enormous implications for the church in regions where conflict continues without any end in sight (the conflict between Ukraine and Russia was on my mind when writing this): “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26 NIV).
Jesus Christ is the head of the body — the Lord of heaven and earth, resurrected and ascended, living and active, speaking and listening, guiding and directing. He leads the intercession of the church. We must lift our hearts to Jesus, set our minds on Jesus, fix our eyes on Jesus, and offer our bodies to Jesus. He is the commander of angel armies and Lord of the church.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of prayer who is praying without ceasing in words and in groans too deep for words. As we invite the Spirit to fill us with his own prayers, we will begin to sense the agony in this world, and our hearts will begin to attune to the Spirit’s praying. Prayer is not something we initiate; prayer is the initiative of the Holy Spirit. We do not initiate; we participate. Prayer is not ginning up more spiritual activity; prayer is getting low to the ground and cultivating receptivity.
The Call to Prayer
We must pray. And I’m not talking about prayer as the “when all else fails, do this” sentiment we see written on placards and Instagram posts every time something bad happens in the world. I am talking about prayer as battle strategy. Prayer as war.
The call to prayer is not a call to “say prayers” and then move on. Prayer is the call to a deep awareness of the presence of God; a surrendered attention to the Lord of the church, Jesus Christ; a keen attunement to the voice of the Spirit; and a bonded attachment to one another across the body of Christ. The call to prayer is the urgent admonition to lay aside the religious customs of casual prayer and enter into the zone of the kingdom of heaven, abiding together in the presence and person of Jesus Messiah for the sake of the world.
The New Testament Vision of Prayer
There is a common and almost prevailing mentality around prayer that centers its authority in its sincerity, fervency, and collectivist spirit (How many people can we get to join in?). This feels to me like religious activism, like a spiritual protest movement. If we can just get God’s attention, giving ourselves no rest and giving God no rest (marshaling the precedent of Isaiah 62:6–7), God will be forced to act.
Though this approach has a seductive allure to it, it just doesn’t strike me as the approach taken by the New Testament people of God. The New Testament vision of prayer at the center of the church Jesus is building looks like transcendent activity. It is the presence and power of God moving in lockstep with a community of people. Examine how Paul instructs the church concerning prayer:
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. — Ephesians 6:10–12 (NIV)
What are the implications of this text?
Prayer does not begin with a people in one place crying out to a God who is somewhere else, hoping God will do something in yet another place. Prayer is an active, direct, warlike engagement.
Prayer begins not with people but with God. Prayer is the initiative of God to share the burden of his love for the world with his image bearers — namely, us — and prayer is the Spirit-infused responsiveness of God’s people to share in and supernaturally carry this burden to the point where his kingdom manifests itself on earth as it is in heaven (that is, blind see, deaf hear, lame walk, lepers are cleansed, dead are raised, poor hear good news).
In prayer, we always come up against the kingdom of darkness and death, making prayer a very dangerous activity. In prayer, we are engaging with powers, authorities, rulers, and principalities — indeed the realms of darkness and evil — against which we are no match. Hence, we are instructed to “put on the full armor of God.”
Prayer is the mysterious and holy union of God with his people in a divine-human collaborative agency, inextricably bound together in an abiding fellowship coursing with an uncontainable strength and mighty power. Remember, the leader of this movement, the head of the church (not to mention the victorious Lord of heaven and earth), is fully God and fully human.
Prayer Is Not a Last Resort
Church, the time for casual prayer has passed. The age of prayer as “last resort” is over. The practice of prayer as expressing our anxieties is done. We are waking up to the sobering presence of Jesus Christ as our Great High Priest. We are beginning to sense the desperation of the Holy Spirit, who travails for the deliverance of the whole earth from the rogue and defeated powers of sin and death.
Prayer is not, nor can it ever be, reduced to religious or even spiritual activism. It is instead the transcendent activity of God in the midst of the church Jesus is building for the sake of the world.
Church, let us pray.
Adapted from 1 Peter: Surprised by the Church Jesus is Building by J.D. Walt — part of the Daily Seeds series of Bible commentaries. This book helps followers of Jesus see themselves as Jesus sees them — people indwelled with his Spirit being built up to impact the world.
Have you ever felt next to nothing in your faith? It’s not uncommon to feel despair and resignation in your relationship with God. I felt that deeply during my early adult years. The book of Psalms especially records emotions of God’s people feeling abandoned, left alone by God, full of restless anxiety.
If we live in the experience of feeling nothing from God for too long, however, we risk letting our lives slide into quiet desperation. We might become hypocrites talking about our love for God when we don’t experience it; or we might walk away altogether, saying this Christian thing doesn’t work, it’s all pretend.
So where do we go for help? The Holy Spirit. Very simply, what we want and need is personal, relational comfort from God, and the Holy Spirit is the Comforter (John 14:26).
Specifically, we need to meet the Holy Spirit in the Bible. Because the more we understand about the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Scripture, the more we can become like the child in Psalm 131: filled, confident, resting contentedly in our experienced relationship with God.
Our topic then is the Bible, the Holy Spirit, and our personal relationship with Christ — a triad, which has also been called a “three-fold encounter.”
What Is the Bible?
The first part of the triad is the Bible. We’ll do this briefly.
Very simply, the Bible is God’s Word. It’s God’s communication to us. It has authority because God has authority. It’s God’s revelation of who He is and what He’s done, is doing, and will do — it’s the story of creation, the Fall, of redemption in Christ, the church, and of the coming New Creation.
In other words, the Bible is about the Gospel, the true story of Christ, and it points to Christ (John 5:39). “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.”
What — or Who — Is the Holy Spirit?
The second part of the triad is the Holy Spirit. The first point I want to make about the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit is God, the third person of the Trinity.
The Holy Spirit Is God
In the Bible the Holy Spirit is described as God’s Spirit, as Christ’s Spirit (Romans 8:9). The Holy Spirit is fully God, worthy of praise Himself, but His primary responsibility in the Trinity is to point to Christ so that Christ gets our attention and glory.
The Holy Spirit shines a spotlight on Christ so we can be awestruck by Jesus, so we come to know, love, and follow Him.
Picture a large auditorium that is completely dark. In the back, up top, there’s a world class musician, and he’s pointing a spotlight down on his favorite world class musician on stage. The musician in the back is excited for everyone in the auditorium to meet, hear, and be blown away by the musician on the stage. That’s what the Holy Spirit wants to do for Christ, to shine the spotlight on Him (John 16:13-14). It gives Him the deepest joy to help us to see and hear Jesus.
The Holy Spirit Inspired Scripture
The second point about the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit inspired Scripture. “Inspired” comes from the Latin word inspirare, which literally means “breathe into.” The Holy Spirit breathed life into the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16).
The Holy Spirit is the source of the Bible. If we ignore the Bible, we’re ignoring the work of the Holy Spirit, and since the Holy Spirit is God, we’d be ignoring God. Scripture is an intentional communication from one Living Person (God) to another (you and me).
This is a parallel to God breathing His life into human beings in Genesis. In Genesis 2:7 Adam became a living being when God breathed into his nostrils. The Holy Spirit, God, has also breathed His life into the Scriptures. The Bible, in some amazing sense, is a living book (Hebrews 4:12).
To tell you the truth I don’t fully understand the idea of a book being alive, but I’ve experienced it. I hope you’ve experienced this too — the Holy Spirit using the words of the Bible to speak directly to your soul so that you knew it was God speaking to you. Maybe helping you catch glimpses of God’s holiness, power, or lovingkindness. Maybe convicting you of your sins and then comforting you after you’ve confessed them. Those are very real Holy Spirit experiences, and they remind us that God is active in our lives.
When you come to God’s inspired Word, in a very real way you’re coming to God. It’s an amazing biblical truth that we have access to God, through Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, through the words of the Bible.
The Holy Spirit Illuminates Scripture
The next point about the Holy Spirit is that the Holy Spirit illuminates Scripture (John 14:26).
I mentioned that the Holy Spirit’s role is to direct a spotlight at Christ to illuminate Him, so that we can be awestruck by Christ, so that we will know and love and follow Him. In this illustration, the spotlight that the Holy Spirit uses for us to see and experience Christ is the Bible that He inspired. The Holy Spirit inspired the Bible and then uses its light to point us into a relationship with Christ, making us more aware of Christ’s presence.
The Holy Spirit is our “Advocate” (John 14:26). The Greek word is “paraclete,” which also means “Comforter,” “Counselor,” or “one called to the side of another.” The Holy Spirit comes alongside of us in the Bible. He uses it to comfort, convince, and convict us. He uses it to help us to meet Christ. We’re reading the Bible with the Author of the Bible right there with us. Amazing!
The Holy Spirit is within us and helps us to read the Bible well. He is the catalyst for all spiritual transformation. By spiritual transformation I mean we’re growing in our love of God and others, growing in our reflecting the image of Christ, growing in our following Jesus. He shows us a world we wouldn’t begin to see without Him. He’s the Godly teacher in the heart of every believer.
Relational Reading
Reading Scripture rightly is never reading alone — it’s a relational process. God is relational, so reading the Bible is relational. The Bible is a relational book. When we engage Scripture, we engage God. Given that the Holy Spirit is using Scripture to point to Christ, reading Scripture can and should be a real-time experience of communion with Christ. He’s calling us into a relationship with Him through the Bible.
Reading relationally means I don’t look at the Bible like it’s a theory. Instead it’s a home, the place we come to love and be loved by Christ, the central subject of all Scripture. Think of Bible reading as a conversation with a beloved family member, a family member you know already but want to know better.
I remember a conversation I had with my grandmother, whom I loved very much, late in her life. It was a deep and real conversation, just the two of us, where I remember realizing at a much deeper level — because I was finally mature enough to have this conversation — how amazing she really was, how complicated her life had been and what an adventure she’d been on during her life. I remember lingering with her, enjoying her presence, wanting to know more about her, and her wanting me to know more about her.
She showered me with her love and wisdom during that conversation. Surely speaking with Christ, the Lord of the universe, should be as relationally interesting as that!
Transformational Reading
The author of the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, is within us, guiding us (Ephesians 1:17-18). The Holy Spirit is talking to us through the Scriptures. When the Holy Spirit talks to us, He isn’t revealing new doctrines, He’s speaking through what He’s already said in the Scriptures.
When we say that the Holy Spirit illuminates Scripture, we’re saying that He’s teaching us to acknowledge the truth in the Bible and how it bears on our lives. The inner witness of the Spirit authenticates God’s Word to us. The Spirit of God communicates by stimulating thoughts, feelings, and inclinations. The Spirit tells us “this in the Bible is true,” and “this has to do with you, so pay attention.”
A simple example of this is when we read about God’s love in the Bible, how Christ loves us and gave Himself for us. The Holy Spirit can take those words and help you to realize they’re actually true; God is a God of love and grace. But more importantly the Holy Spirit helps you to see and know that God loves you, right now, right where you are.
When we start to sense that truth in our souls, it transforms the way we see God and we grow in our love for and desire to be with God. Our view of the world is changed — our hearts are reprogrammed — which would not have happened apart from the Holy Spirit’s active illumination of the truths in the Bible. Just reading the words “God loves you” doesn’t transform us; we need the Holy Spirit to press that truth into our souls as we meditate on Scripture.
Sometimes I hear people talk like they have such close contact with the Holy Spirit that they don’t really need the Bible. It sounds holy, but its theologically unsound. The primary tool that the Holy Spirit uses to bring us into contact with God is the Bible He inspired and illuminates. To cut the Holy Spirit off from the use of the Scripture in our lives is like asking your doctor to do surgery on you with no medical equipment. It’s crazy.
How the Holy Spirit Guides Us to Christ Through Scripture
So far we’ve looked briefly at two parts of our three-fold encounter:
We’ve looked at the Bible; that it’s God’s Authoritative Word, God’s communication of the Gospel — the good news of Jesus Christ — and that it points to Christ.
We’ve also looked at the Holy Spirit; that He’s God, He inspired the Scriptures, and He illuminates them in our lives through relational and transformational Bible reading.
So, what’s our role, the third part in this three-fold encounter?
Scripture Engagement
One phrase that describes our role is “Scripture engagement.” Scripture engagement means meditating on the Bible with the guidance of the Holy Spirit so that we can be transformed by meeting Christ.
What do I mean by biblical meditation (Joshua 1:8)?
Have you ever noticed your mind so centered on something that it just won’t let go? Maybe something you wish you hadn’t said, or something you’re just worrying about, that repeats over and over. Or maybe it’s a positive thought, like you’re in love and can’t help thinking about that other person.
That’s meditation, and we all do it. It’s when our thoughts are on a slow simmer. In biblical meditation, you’re purposively choosing the thoughts you want to mull over instead of letting your thoughts run you (Philippians 4:8).
When we meditate on the Bible we slow down and savor the words, images, and truths of Scripture. We turn them over in our minds and, in the presence of the Holy Spirit, ask God to make them real to us. We keep in mind that we’re reading relationally, we’re reading to meet Christ. It’s right at this point, in the slowing down, that the Holy Spirit does His work. It’s when we choose to meditate that we give room for the Holy Spirit to work in our lives.
That’s why it’s so critical to slow down and soak in Scripture: it’s the tool the Holy Spirit uses in our lives to transform us. We don’t grow in a relationship with a friend who isn’t present with us, who’s always zipping away to someplace else. “Sorry, can’t talk, got to go do something more important than you. I’m busy, terribly busy.” Don’t do that to Christ either. “Dwell, don’t dash.”
How to Meditate on Scripture
Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Meditating on the Word says simply that “you should accept the Word of Scripture and ponder it in your heart as Mary did. That is all. That is meditation.”
Meditation is a middle ground between our time reading the Bible and prayer. Too often when we read the Bible we read for information only, we read quickly and in a shallow way, trying to get the task done, and then after we read we pray our requests to God.
I can’t tell you how many years I followed that exact pattern. Read some Bible, pray my same prayers, then walk away, often somewhat dissatisfied relationally, but feeling I was at least doing my duty as a Christian. The Bible was changing me, I don’t want you to think it was all bad — but I yearned for something more. It felt like the volume on my spiritual life was set at “low” and I wanted it turned up.
Learning about and practicing Scripture meditation, Scripture engagement, is what’s been deepening my relationship with God for the past 25 years. Scripture meditation personalizes what I’ve read and studied.
Here’s how I do it:
I start by asking the Holy Spirit to use God’s Word to speak to me. I come in a posture of listening, asking for help to obey whatever God’s calling me to think, feel, or do.
I then carefully and slowly read a passage and study what it says. I love the One who speaks the words in the Bible — I want to make sure I get His words right — so I study them. I can’t reflect rightly on what I don’t understand. Without study my spirituality can become shallow and self-indulgent.
As I ponder what I’m studying and reading, I find the Holy Spirit personalizes what’s in the Bible. It becomes a conversation between God and me in which I literally talk to God; in other words, I pray as I’m reading.
I praise Him, thank Him, confess to Him, and make requests of Him all as I read, all prompted by my reading and reflection.
Let the Spirit Lead You to Christ
Read, meditate, pray — all in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. It isn’t that complicated; it does take practice; there are lots of ways to do it; and — although I truly wish someone had taught me about all of this when I was much younger — it’s never too late to start. There’s absolutely nothing better than knowing, loving, and following Christ.
As we read, meditate, and pray the Bible our spirits are filled with a meaningful personal relationship with our Lord. We learn to trust and wait on His goodness, knowing that He has given everything we need to thrive in Him.
Open your heart to the Holy Spirit, be shaped by God’s Word, and grow in your relationship with Christ. It’s what your Father designed you for, and engaging Scripture is the primary means for you to experience the Lord.
If you’re new to Bible reading and not sure where to start — or if you want to challenge yourself with a Bible-in-a-year plan or simply renew your dedication — read our free guide. Or, if you’re already Bible-engaged and want to deepen your relationship with God’s Word, try Bible Gateway Plus free and get access to a host of amazing study resources.
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