Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: responsibility, obligation, commitment, obedience, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, respect, deference, reverence, homage, job, task, chore, assignment, commission, mission, function, charge, part, place, role, concern, requirement, tax, levy, tariff, excise, toll, fee, imposition, impost, exaction, tithe, payment, rate

Showing 1 to 25 of 62 results

1. Marriage

1 Corinthians 7:1-40

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... then quotes their own statement that Paul read in their letter to him, kalon anthrōpō gynaikos mē haptesthai (lit. “good to the man a woman not to touch”). For a thorough critique of the inadequacy of the NIV translation of this verse, see G. D. Fee, “1 Corinthians 7:1 in the NIV,” JETS 23 (1980), pp. 305–14; for a thorough critique of the use and misuse of archaeological data in assessing these verses and sections of chs. 8, 11, 12, see R. E. Oster, “Use, Misuse and Neglect of Archaeological ...

2. Apostles of Christ

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... looking back and looking forward at once. Paul did not write with a Gk. grammar in hand, worrying about the rules. Fee presses Paul’s language too hard here. The phrase the secret things of God lit. says, “God’s mysteries” (Gk. myst ... foregoing lines of this letter, so that no “unknown” factor needs to be identified to make sense of Paul’s remark. 4:7 Fee draws a helpful comparison between Paul’s digging rhetorical questions in this verse and “equally devastating questions in the OT in which ...

3. Christ the Wisdom and Power of God

1 Corinthians 1:18--2:5

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... not (Gk. ta mē onta) and the things that are (Gk. ta onta) sometimes provokes philosophical discussions of creation, but as Fee (Epistle, p. 83) correctly recognizes, Paul’s employment of the verb to nullify (cf. 2:6; 6:13; 13:8 [2×], ... Exod. 15:15; Ps. 2:11; 55:5; Jdt. 15:2; 2 Esd. 15:33; 4 Macc. 4:10; cf. 2 Cor. 7:15; Eph. 6:5; Phil. 2:12. Fee (Epistle, pp. 92–93) argues for translating egenomēn as “was with” by pointing to the occurrence of the same verb in 16:10 (there, NIV = “is with”) as ...

4. On Divisions in the Church

1 Corinthians 3:1-23

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... about salvation. But we remain responsible for our works before God (2 Cor 5:11); for the life of believers is service.” 3:16 As Fee (Epistle, p. 147) has pointed out, if Paul is still thinking eschatologically in this verse, as he clearly was in the preceding verses, he may ... ei tis dokei). It occurs here and at 1 Cor. 8:2; 11:16; 14:37; Gal. 6:3; and Phil. 3:4. As Fee (Epistle, p. 151 n. 5) observes, it consistently introduces the position of those whom he opposes, and in an ironic fashion Paul seeks to ...

5. Propriety in Worship

1 Corinthians 11:2-16

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... to denote a ruler, that is, the ruler of a community, but, when it is so used, the Greek translators of the LXX regularly render it by archōn or archēgos rather than by kephalē, the word they regularly use whenever the physical head is intended. Fee’s judgment is that out of 180 occurrences of the word kephalē in the LXX there are only six in which it clearly carries the meaning “ruler.” There is, however, a common idiomatic use of kephalē in Greek to denote source. If the word is understood in ...

6. Leaders and Prophets Rebuked

Micah 3:1-12

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... from God in Micah do not call its practice into question. Rather, it is its corruption that is condemned. The seers and the diviners and professional prophets have been given gifts from God, and they have misused them. It was customary in Israel for prophets to be given gifts and fees in return for their services (1 Sam. 9:8;1 Kgs.14:3; 2 Kgs. 4:42; 8:8–9; cf. Luke 10:7; 1 Cor. 9:4–12; 1 Tim. 5:18). The sin of these false prophets, however, is that they are letting the size of the ...

7. Balak to Hire Balaam

Numbers 22:1-20

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... . “Divination” (qesem) can be used metaphorically for the inspired verdict/decision of a king (Prov. 16:10), but occult divination is condemned by the law (Deut. 18:10). This fee is a retainer, the balance to be paid after the deed is done (see Num. 22:37; 24:11). The Hebrew text lacks “fee for,” though alternative renderings such as “instruments of divination” or “versed in divination” (NJPS) seem unlikely: Balaam surely has the tools of his own trade, and these elders are unlikely ...

8. Food Sacrificed to Idols

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... Once Again: An Interpretation of 1 Corinthians 8–10,” Bib 61 (1980), pp. 172–97; and the critical reply to that work by B. N. Fisk, “Eating Meat Offered to Idols: Corinthian Behavior and Pauline Response in 1 Corinthians 8–10 (A Response to Gordon Fee),” TJ 10 (1989), pp. 49–70. The seminal study on idol meat is the monograph by W. L. Willis, Idol Meat in Corinth: The Pauline Argument in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10 (SBLDS 68; Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press, 1985). Regarding 8:1–13, Willis contends ...

9. Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

1 Corinthians 14:1-25

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... the one speaking in tongues in a combined imperative and purpose clause, lit. “let him pray in order that he may interpret.” 14:14 Paul’s phrase, my spirit (Gk. to pneuma mou), generates discussion among interpreters concerning his point of reference. Fee (Epistle, pp. 669–70) notes and discusses this verse as “a very difficult sentence in the middle of this argument.” As Watson (First Epistle, p. 147) observes, “The expression … is sometimes used by Paul in an inclusive sense to refer to my ...

10. Balak Summons Balaam

Numbers 22:1-20

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... to summon Balaam. In his communication, the king notes the size of Israel and ironically prefigures the outcome of the narrative: Those you bless are blessed, and those you curse are cursed. The messengers, described in verse 7 as elders of Moab and Midian, take a fee for Balaam and relay Balak’s message to him. Balaam asks that they stay the night and promises a response. Balaam then consults God and informs God of Balak’s request. God responds with instructions not to go to Balak: You must not put a ...

11. Instructions on Worship

1 Timothy 2:1-15

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... it does, see D. J. Moo, “I Timothy 2:11–15: Meaning and Significance,” and J. B. Hurley, Man and Woman in Biblical Perspective. For the other side, see P. B. Payne, “Libertarian Women in Ephesus: A Response to Douglas J. Moo’s Article,” and G. D. Fee and D. Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp. 57–71. It is of some interest to note that those who think these verses are universally applicable, even though the rest of the NT suggests otherwise, do not feel the same urgency about ...

12. Overseers and Deacons

1 Timothy 3:1-16

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... reading eventually came to predominate in the Greek church (never in the West, since the translation into Latin happened before the variant arose). Hence the KJV translated “God was manifest in flesh.” See the discussion in Metzger, TCGNT, p. 641; and G. D. Fee, “The Majority Text and the Original Text of the New Testament,” esp. 117–18. The most common alternative to the view of the hymn presented here is to see it as having three sets of two lines, each alternately expressing humiliation and ...

13. Love of Money

1 Timothy 6:3-10

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... , see Stobaeus, Ecl. 3; Diogenes Laertius 6:50; Ps.-Phocylides 42; Polycarp, Philippians 4:1; cf. Test. Jud. 19:1; Diodorus Saeculus 21.1; Philo, On the Special Laws 4.65; Apollodorus Comicus, Philadelph. fragmenta 4. For the use and meaning of biblical proverbs, see Douglas Stuart, in G. D. Fee and D. Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, pp. 195–98.

14. The Sin and Doom of Godless Men

Jude 1:1-16

Understanding Series

Norman Hillyer

... claim to have visionary revelations to justify their teaching and actions. In verse 11 Jude implies that they even expect a fee for divulging their esoteric knowledge. Jude’s recognition that such men would be troubling the people of God is not a ... she likes, and Cain’s example misleads others: Cain is the archetypal false teacher. According to the OT account, Balaam first refused fees or bribes to curse Israel (Num. 22:7–18), but eventually the monetary lure proved too strong to be resisted (Deut. 23: ...

15. Blood: Right and Wrong Uses

Leviticus 17:1-16

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... 23:5). prostitute themselves. This could mean that Israel’s worship constitutes spiritual adultery against Yahweh, with Israel being the prostitute (cf. Jer. 2:20; 3:1). But the metaphor may go the opposite direction: Israelites give a fee for the god’s services, just as the people give a fee for a prostitute’s services. lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come. This more naturally applies to the whole law, though it could be limited to the prohibition against goat idols in verse 7a ...

16. Thanksgiving

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... reader can be easily and unfortunately misled by this rendering of Paul’s statement. Rather than having all speaking in Corinth in mind, Paul is concerned with God’s grace that manifests itself in inspired speech or spiritual utterance. In agreement see G. D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians (NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1987), p. 39. K. Grayston (“Not With a Rod,” ExpT 88 [1976], pp. 13–16) over-reads Paul’s phrases en panti logō kai pasē gnōsei when he asserts that they refer to ...

17. Divisions In the Church

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... been regarded by others as “Paul’s people.” Thus, Paul’s use of a report from them as trustworthy, authoritative witnesses would not have assisted him in the attempt to critique and correct the situation in Corinth. This suggestion is sensible, but it does not settle the matter, as Fee recognizes. The word translated quarrels in the NIV (Gk. eris) is referred to as a vice in Paul’s other uses of the term. Cf. Rom. 1:29; 13:13; 1 Cor. 3:3; 2 Cor. 12:20; Gal. 5:20; Phil. 1:15; 1 Tim. 6:4; Titus 3 ...

18. The Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... that each author brings to the individual accounts of the words. For two different attempts to do such comparison, see Fee, Epistle, pp. 545–47; and M. L. Soards, The Passion According to Luke: The Special Material of Luke 22 ( ... participation focuses on the Lord’s real presence and the real relationship that forms human existence as a result of his presence. Fee (Epistle, p. 564) is typical of commentators who, even after examining the complex theological character of Paul’s metaphors, then write, “To ...

19. Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... spirits” (cf. 12:1–3; see 14:29). Again, this reference has generated considerable discussion among interpreters. Among others, Fee (Epistle, pp. 596–97) notes the subsequent statement in 14:29 and the similar admonition to examine prophecies in ... David Aune (Prophecy in Early Christianity and the Ancient Mediterranean World [Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1983]) are thorough. See G. D. Fee (“Toward a Pauline Theology of Glossolalia,” Crux 31 [1995], pp. 22–23, 26–31) for an attempt to grasp the ...

20. Orderly Worship

1 Corinthians 14:26-40

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... that they should be “in submission, as the Law says,” is problematic. There is no such prescription or prohibition in the law, and no text is cited here from the OT as is the case in all other Pauline references to the law in his letters. As Fee (Epistle, p. 707) notes, the appeal by some interpreters to Genesis 3:16 is not persuasive, since that text does not say what is argued, even in the most indirect way, in verses 34–35. Other attempts to argue from either materials of later rabbinic Judaism or ...

21. Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... in verses 9-13 is over whether Jesus should associate with obvious sinners, the disreputable outcasts of proper Jewish society. The text begins with Jesus encountering Matthew, a customs official. Matthew's profession was a despised one. Not only were fee collectors suspected of taking more than they were due, strict Jews held that they and many other banking-type professionals were in violation of Torah laws. Thus, even if Matthew were "honest," he was deemed reprehensible. Jesus' behavior throughout these ...

22. Philippians 2:5-11

Philippians 2:5-11

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

A fair case can be made for considering Philippians 2:5-11 not as some imported Christological hymn, but as a genuine piece of Pauline exalted prose (not unlike 1 Corinthians 13). (See Gordon D. Fee, "Philippians 2:5-11, Hymn or Exalted Pauline Prose?" Bulletin for Biblical Research 2 (1992): 29-46.) Paul's intent here is not to debate the essence of Christ's nature fully human and fully divine but to offer his Philippian readers a most moving and miraculous example of genuine ...

23. John 2:13-22

John 2:12-25

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... a “temple tax,” and the money-changers offered the necessary Tyrian coins to pay that tax in exchange for other coinage. Like all “convenience” stores, however, the prices for the animals were higher. Like today’s “check-cashing” locations, a fee was added by the money-changers. Both the animal sales and the money-changing activities were definitely money making venues. Jesus’ radical reaction to this cacophony of commerce made a real commotion. His actions are threefold. First, Jesus drives ...

24. Matthew 22:15-22

Matthew 22:15-22

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... rule became the law and this poll tax was first levied. Their question is both a political and religious hot potato. The “lawfulness” of the tax is not a question about the legality of taxes. The Roman government could legally impose any taxes or fees they wished upon the conquered civilians they ruled. But the question does highlight the problem between being an obedient citizen and yet being an observant Jew, dedicated to the worship of the one true God and following the mandates of the Torah. The ...

25. Luke 3:7-18

Luke 3:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... rulers to collect the indirect taxes levied upon the populace — tolls, customs charges, duties upon goods and services. Obviously the profit margin for such collecting services increased exponentially if the values of goods and services were inflated, or if special fees were assessed to certain groups of individuals. John’s admonition to these newly baptized toll collectors is not to change jobs, but to change how they do their jobs — to only collect “the amount prescribed” by Roman law. They may ...

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