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Is Saying, ‘Oh My God’ A Sin?

I think I first learn about this and gain some conviction about this topic after I read what Douglas Jacoby wrote about this. This is the link –http://www.douglasjacoby.com/view_article.php?ID=2505

In short, what I learn from Douglas Jacoby is, I shouldn’t use those words / phrase. Reading about this topic again help me to understand why those words / phrase should be avoided.

Another author, Tony Warren, put it this way

But the fact is, saying “Oh My God” (OMG) this way, references God in vain. i.e., it is evoking God without a serious reason, reducing His value and dishonoring the title. In fact this devaluing is inherently part of the very definition of the word vain. Using the name without real purpose.

The word vain essentially means empty, or void of any real value. To take God’s name in vain is to evoke it in a hollow or meaningless way, without real significance or purpose to Him. It is essentially to treat the word God in a valueless way. So it really doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that “Oh My God,” used in this frivolous way, isn’t really a call for God the father, it is simply used by habit or as an purposeless exclamation. Certainly it isn’t an act of Christians agreeing with, evoking, praising or petitioning God. The truth is, this phrase is almost always little more than a bad cultural or social habit.

(Source)

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ZBible Study

Bible Interpretation

This morning, I reviewed back some of the text I underline last time from the book “How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth” and managed to convert them into this flowchart. Enjoy doing that. 😀

bible_interpretation

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ZBible Study

Jewish character in the book of Matthew

The Jewish character of this Gospel is evident in many ways. There are many indications that Matthew expected that his readers would be familiar with Jewish culture.

  • Matthew doesn’t translate Aramaic terms such as raca in Matthew 5:22. Mark translates Aramic term, Corban in Mark 7: 11
  • Matthew refers to Jewish customs without explanation (i.e. Matthew 15:2. But, Mark explains the same custom at Mark 7:3-4; see also Matthew 23:5).
  • Matthew starts his genealogy with Abraham (Matthew 1:1).
  • Matthew frequently refers to Jesus as the “Son of David.”
  • Matthew uses the more Jewish phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” instead of “Kingdom of God.”

Reference: http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/4001.htm

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ZBible Study

Why Matthew is first in the gospel when book of Mark is oldest?

Here are some reasons I got after listening from a sermon:

  • In the early days of Christianity, many people thought that the Gospel of Matthew was the first written.
  • The early Christians rightly saw the Gospel of Matthew as important, because it has some significant portions of Jesus’ teaching that are not included in other gospels, such as a fuller version of the Sermon on the Mount.
  • It was the only one of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) to have an apostolic author – Matthew.
  • “Matthew’s Gospel was in fact far more quoted in Christian writings of the second Christian century than any other.”(France)
  • The Jewish flavor of the Gospel of Matthew makes for a logical transition between the Old and New Testaments. For these reasons, the early church placed it first in order among the four gospel accounts.

Reference:

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ZBible Study

Proverbs 27: 21 Diagram

I did this many years back based on Proverbs 27: 21

proverbs2721