Synonyms: renounce, relinquish, dispense with, forswear, disclaim, disown, disavow, discard, wash one's hands of, give up, stop, cease, drop, forgo, desist from, have done with, abjure, abstain from, discontinue, break off, refrain from, set/lay aside, desert, leave, leave high and dry, turn one's back on, cast aside, break (up) with, vacate, quit, evacuate, withdraw from, surrender, cede, yield, indulge in, give way to, give oneself up to, yield to, lose oneself to/in, uninhibitedness, recklessness, lack of restraint, lack of inhibition, unruliness, wildness, impulsiveness, impetuosity, immoderation, wantonness
Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on
Showing 1801 to 1825 of 2404 results
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... ’s words, with their strikingly contrasted themes of joy (2:29–32) and foreboding (2:34–35), offer a microcosm of the paradox of the gospel, which brings both joy and pain, and in which the triumphant fulfillment of God’s loving purpose is achieved through the rejection and death of his Son. Teaching the Text In some churches the events narrated in 2:22–38 are celebrated at the beginning of February in the festival traditionally known as Candlemas (the candles symbolize the “light to the nations ...
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... story therefore focuses on the testing of that filial relationship, as the repeated challenge “If you are the Son of God” reveals. Some interpreters have suggested that the spotlight falls on Jesus’s messianic agenda, with the devil suggesting shortcuts to achieving public acclamation. But nothing is said of feeding anyone but himself (and only a single loaf is mentioned), nor is there any indication of the presence of spectators for the jump from the temple. This is a personal transaction between the ...
1803. True and False Discipleship
Luke 6:46-49, Luke 6:43-45, Luke 6:37-42
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... . 6:40  The student is not above the teacher. As an observation on social status, this is true only as long as the relationship between teacher and pupil is in force; the pupil may subsequently not only equal but also surpass the teacher’s standing and achievement. Jesus, however, is not just a human rabbi, one link in a chain of tradition. His authority is unique because of who he is. So is it not presumptuous to speak of his pupils ever being “like their teacher”? But Jesus will in fact both ...
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... . 91:11–13, quoted in 4:10–11), but it was perhaps taken more literally in the later conclusion added to Mark’s Gospel (Mark 16:18). 10:20  rejoice that your names are written in heaven. A spirituality that focuses merely on earthly achievement, even if miraculous, has missed the main point of Christian salvation. Compare Matthew 7:21–23, where miracles and exorcisms are no guarantee of salvation. The idea of a heavenly register appears often in biblical and later Jewish literature (e.g., Exod. 32 ...
1805. God and Mammon
Luke 16:16-18, Luke 16:1-15
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... (see, e.g., 7:18–35). The parable of the manager is a puzzle to many. Is Jesus really approving dishonesty? Why does he introduce and apparently commend such a disreputable character? These questions raise the issue of what parables are intended to achieve: they are not necessarily models for imitation (though of course some are [see 10:37]). So what is it about the manager’s self-interested action that Jesus commends and calls us to emulate? While some may be tempted to skip this unusual parable ...
1806. Jesus Takes the Initiative
Luke 21:5-38, Luke 21:1-4, Luke 20:41-47
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... In your teaching you will want to discuss traditional Jewish expectations concerning the Messiah from David’s line (the “Son of David”) as a conquering king who would reestablish the glories of the Davidic dynasty. Discuss what Jesus was aiming to achieve by disputing this traditional “Son of David” language. How might the title have misled people in their understanding of Jesus, or have been misused by those who opposed him? What does the description of the Messiah as David’s “lord” imply ...
1807. On the Mount of Olives
Luke 22:47-53, Luke 22:39-46, Luke 22:7-38
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... that God’s will may be different from what we want? Should all specific petitions be qualified by “if it is your will”? Is it right to think of such prayer as a two-way conversation, and if so, how may this be achieved? Illustrating the Text Even the most well-intentioned disciples misunderstand and misapply some of Jesus’s more mysterious words. Comedy: Play a little bit of Abbott and Costello’s classic bit, “Who’s on First?” In this masterpiece of miscommunication, two men debate ...
1808. The Trials of Peter and of Jesus
Luke 22:66--23:25, Luke 22:63-65, Luke 22:54-62
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... of failure” (with Peter as its patron saint!)? Luke’s account of Jesus before the Sanhedrin is so brief as to be quite cryptic. In your teaching, tease out the unspoken assumptions behind the questions posed by Jesus’s examiners. What has Luke achieved by dividing the question into two? What might this tell us about the significance they found in the titles “Messiah” and “Son of God”? Why was Jesus so apparently evasive in Luke’s version? Compare the clear declaration of Mark 14:62a (though ...
1809. The Death of Jesus
Luke 23:44-49, Luke 23:26-43
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... the supreme suffering he experienced by taking on the penalty of the sins of the world. Another approach to the crucifixion is to analyze the different attitudes toward Jesus and his death set out in this section. What do you think Luke was aiming to achieve by this blending of negative and positive attitudes? Notice, for example, the irony in the mocking of Jesus to save himself if he is truly the Messiah. Ironically, it is by staying on the cross that Jesus confirms he is the Messiah and brings salvation ...
1810. The Commissioning of the Disciples
Luke 24:50-53, Luke 24:36-49
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... gospel message, see Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31. Although the word “faith,” often linked with “repentance,” is not used here, “in his name” makes it clear that it is through a relationship with the risen Jesus that this forgiveness can be achieved. to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. The same commission will be repeated in Acts 1:8, and it summarizes the geographical spread of the gospel that Luke will record in Acts. Both halves of the expression are important for Luke’s theology: the gospel ...
Teach the Text
C. Marvin Pate
... own righteousness, “zealously inculcated by the Mystic writers,” “beating the air” as it were.9 Biography/Film: In the accounts of Martin Luther’s life, he is seen as doing heavy penance, undergoing self-scourging, and lying on stone floors to achieve holiness. None of these acts bring him peace, which he finds only in being justified through faith. In the 1953 film biography Martin Luther (see the “Illustrating the Text” section for Rom. 1:16–17), starring Niall McGinnis, there is a scene ...
Teach the Text
C. Marvin Pate
... whose body was found near the end of the Civil War. In his poem he expresses the irony that in response to everything he asked from God he was given the opposite, which created in him compassion and growth and blessing. I asked God for strength, that I might achieve; I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health, that I might do greater things; I was given infirmity, that I might do better things. I asked for riches, that I might be happy; I was given poverty, that I might be wise ...
Teach the Text
C. Marvin Pate
... they wanted from God. That is why traditional religion always expects that the gods will be working through the successful, not through the outsider and the failures.10 Literature: The Idiot, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Ranked as one of Dostoevsky’s brilliant achievements in Russia’s golden age of literature, this novel (1869) presents us with Prince Myshkin, intended to be a picture of a good man, having a Christlikeness seen in his utter humility and goodness to people. He is countercultural, an irony ...
1814. Wisdom and Foolishness
1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5
Teach the Text
Preben Vang
... is the only one to consider. Contrary to the wisdom that cultivated the status- and honor-driven culture of Corinth, God redefines wisdom as righteousness, holiness, and redemption. These are gifts from God leading to gratitude; they are not achievements or exercised virtues giving boasting rights. Theological Insights Worldly wisdom is usually oriented practically toward giving advice on how to do well (or gain prominence) in a certain culture. God’s wisdom, on the other hand, focuses on his purposes ...
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Preben Vang
... wisdom in commanding us to use a form of confrontation that begins discreetly and directly without room for gossip, dragging others in prematurely and enflaming misunderstandings. It then escalates incrementally, involving witnesses and the church only if repentance is not achieved in earlier stages. It saves severance of fellowship as a last resort, only ejecting the sinning person if he or she rejects the wronged party, a witness, and the admonition of the church itself. Even in the end, there is ...
Teach the Text
Preben Vang
... should be. Instead of focusing on their rights, they should “run in such a way as to get the prize” (9:24). The specific examples function as personal illustrations designed to highlight the goal. They are not designed to highlight Paul’s achievements. He simply covers the fields of tension among the Corinthians—the areas that generated conflict between the “strong” who claimed rights and the “weak” whose faith was hurt or hindered because of those claims. To the Jews I became like a Jew ...
1817. Imitation and Role Modeling
1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1, 1 Corinthians 10:14-22
Teach the Text
Preben Vang
... the celebration of the Christ meal.1 If Paul has in mind a specific cup, of the four used in the Jewish Passover seder, the reference here is likely the third cup, which represents redemption. In the Christ meal, the cup then represents the redemption achieved through the blood of Christ (replacing the lamb in Jewish tradition).2 10:17  for we all share the one loaf. Paul’s repetition of “one” in verse 17 (one bread, one body, one bread)3not only accentuates the unity of the Christ community but ...
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J. Scott Duvall
... we could have imagined. He is God with us. (You can find a picture of the T-shirt online.) Spirit-led worship transforms us, motivating missions and ministry. Quote: Institutes of the Christian Religion, by John Calvin. Calvin once wrote that “man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself.”9In other words, when we see God, we come to understand ourselves better, opening the door to repentance ...
Teach the Text
J. Scott Duvall
... takes the scroll (5:7) Interpretive Insights 5:1  a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. The scroll represents God’s redemptive plan to defeat evil once and for all, to rescue his people, and to transform his creation through the victory achieved by Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. The scroll lies in God’s right hand, a picture conveying God’s power and authority (cf. Rev. 1:16–17, 20; 2:1). The background is Ezekiel 2:9–10, where Ezekiel is given a scroll with words of ...
Teach the Text
J. Scott Duvall
... the embodiment of the country’s highest ideals, appealed to him. When he evaded and rationalized, his admirers were frustrated and mystified; it felt like praying to a stone. The Virginia abolitionist Moncure Conway, noting Jefferson’s enduring reputation as a would-be emancipator, remarked scornfully, “Never did a man achieve more fame for what he did not do.”9
Teach the Text
J. Scott Duvall
... (cf. Isa. 63:1–3; Rev. 14:20; 19:15). Seventh, his name is the “Word of God,” pointing to Jesus as God’s powerful presence, his Word (John 1:1). As Mounce reminds us, “in Hebrew thought a word is not a lifeless sound but an active agent that achieves the intention of the one who speaks” (e.g., Gen. 1; Heb. 4:12).2Eighth, in verse 16 Jesus wears a title on the part of his robe that falls across his thigh: “king of kings and lord of lords.” This Old Testament title for God is now used of ...
1822. The Sin Offering
Leviticus 4:1--5:13
Teach the Text
Joe M. Sprinkle
... the sacrificial system is important because it foreshadows the shedding of Christ’s blood. But the Old Testament could allow a bloodless sacrifice for the very poor precisely because all the sacrifices were merely symbolic. The real sacrifice that achieves forgiveness is that of Jesus Christ. So, were the Old Testament sacrifices effective? Yes and no. They were effective in that the worshiper genuinely received and experienced forgiveness; but they were not effective intrinsically, for the sacrifice per ...
Teach the Text
Joe M. Sprinkle
... Pledge of Allegiance as the school day begins is a way of inculcating patriotism and loyalty to one’s country, as are flag-raising ceremonies and fireworks on the Fourth of July. Graduation ceremonies underscore the value placed on academic achievement. The common ritual of serving turkey at Thanksgiving is a way of highlighting the importance of family gatherings. The Bible’s rituals similarly serve to underscore important core values. The more elaborate the ritual, the more important the values. The ...
1824. Sabbath Year and Year of Jubilee
Leviticus 25:8-55, Leviticus 25:1-7
Teach the Text
Joe M. Sprinkle
... Likewise, Paul calls upon Christians to treat slaves decently (Eph. 6:5–9). Paul and the Jubilee rules together planted a seed that eventually led many Christians to advocate for the abolition of slavery in Christian cultures, a goal they ultimately achieved. 2. God wants his people to avoid the trap of permanent poverty. Leviticus 25 notes three stages of destitution. First, an Israelite is forced to sell some ancestral property (v. 25). Second, after becoming more impoverished, the seller loses all the ...
Teach the Text
Joe M. Sprinkle
... have concluded that the enemy is too powerful to conquer. The people are again in revolt and ready to go back to Egypt (Num. 14:1–9). This rebellion will come to be listed as pivotal in Israel’s failure to live up to its calling and achieve its goal of entering the land (Deut. 1:26–45). God threatens to annihilate Israel as he threatened previously during the incident of the golden calf (Exod. 32:10; Num. 14:12), for these two events represent the most egregious moral failures of Israel in the desert ...
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