30 Comments
  1. Hi Dr. Brown,

    I really like your answer to the question concerning soul sleeping and your answer on Matthew 23.

    Can you expand on your thoughts on the Complete Jewish Bible, David Stern’s translation.

    Is it secondary? How close is it to the original languages?

    Thanks so much!

    God bless.

  2. in my opinion, pornography and masturbation are very dangerous and where adultery begins. When lust stirs the imagination in the theatre of the mind, and is acted upon/pretended/believed, it becomes an interior and exterior betrayal.

    It may be so very commonplace today, and even winked at on television, but this is sinful and it leads to more and more exploration of the carnal appetite. I do think it is a form of infidelity in a marriage. It is damaging to the individual as well as the marriage partner. Even if not married, it is fornication.

    It is contrary to the desire of the Spirit, which considers it a fallen state.

    Since God is seeking those who will worship Him “in spirit and in truth” how offensive might it be were we to knowingly pollute the temple of the Holy Spirit (our minds, hearts and bodies) with the degradation of inner harlotry and whoremongering…?

    Fortunately, where there is genuine remorse, and deep repentance, there can be washing and healing and forgiveness is possible from the Lord.

    I do think one has to place the Father and Son above all else in order to allow God’s Spirit to live inside. When He is far more important to us than our lusts, His presence just banishes them…

    He offers Life. But serving the flesh becomes such a dead-end.

  3. Re: ESV. The following links are to an article by Mark Strauss and links to articles by Mark Strauss on the ESV. Enjoy if you are interested. Peace.

    Strauss likes the ESV, but considers it “to be overly literal—full of archaisms, awkward language, obscure idioms, irregular word order, and a great deal of ‘Biblish.'”

    http://betterbibles.com/2008/11/21/why-the-english-standard-version-esv-should-not-become-the-standard-english-version-by-mark-strauss/

    http://sunestauromai.wordpress.com/2008/11/21/mark-strauss-on-the-esv/

  4. Hello dr. Brown,
    you said in the show that Strong´s hebrew dictionary is unreliable. Please could you give some further informations about the unreability (links or literature)? What lexicon for in-depth hebrew study would you recomend? Is TDOT the best in the field? Thanks a lot for the show.

  5. For those interested I was an avid NASB user then an ESV user but have found the HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible) to be a very good translation. It’s very readable like the NIV but in my opinion more accurate. I still use the NASB, ESV, NKJV, and NIV when I study as well as the NET and other translations online, but the HCSB has become my Bible of choice. Not that my opinion should carry any weight I just thought I’d give a plug for the translation I’m currently using.

  6. Martin,

    TDOT is excellent for comparative material but often very liberal in its approach to the OT (excluding my article on rapa’ in TDOT). 🙂 NIDOTTE is an excellent conservative resource for in-depth study, along with TDOT. For a simple lexicon, Holladay is still reliable or the new concise dictionary of Clines (an abbreviated version of the multi-volume work).

  7. If you are married and you look with lust in your heart it is adultery! Yet whether you are married or not lust is a sin. Looking at porn is wrong for that very reason and leads to other perverted sins…

    As far as the best Bible translation, I would say, the one you read is the one that is best! If you don’t read it then it doesn’t do you any good to debate which one is best…

    I personally favor the majority text of the Greek though. Most of your Bibles that say that a verse is not in the oldest manuscripts is misleading! It leaves one to think that it may have not been in the originals then… When you can look to the early Church writings and find the verses quoted by the early Church fathers. Proving that they are just as old as the minority text. So then I have the question, if the early Church fathers quoted it why is it missing in the minority text of the Greek?

    But that is my understanding of it, so that is how I lean. I AM NOT KING JAMES ONLY either. I use all translation except paraphrase translations. I prefer the majority text, a word-for-word translation, and will consult dynamic equivalent translations.

    Maybe someone has a better understanding of this than I do. But at this point this is how I am seeing it…

    Blessings,
    John Gamon

  8. Thanks for speaking on Matthew 23:8-11.. I also would prefer that we didn’t use those titles if we didn’t have to, but since they are used in the bible where apostles are identified as spiritual fathers, and how Nicodemus is identified as “A teacher of Israel” by Jesus Himself, doesn’t that imply that titles can be used with a right purpose? In other words can’t I call you “Dr.” or “Pastor” with the knowledge that God alone is my “Pastor”/”Dr.” and at the same time recognize his servants, who are my brothers and equals, as His representatives of His authority as they reflect Him rightly?

    It seems that the right interpretation for Matthew 23:8-11 cannot lead to simply ‘not’ verbally calling people on earth “Father” etc. Which brings me to the point I brought up earlier of how there really is no biblical censure to having leaders called “Priests” since it’s simply a tool of recogntition of God’s representative servant-leader in a given assembly of believers within the Eastern Orthodox Church(no different than Pastor so and so, Evangelist so and so, Teacher so and so etc.)

    In light of church history, it seems that the Eastern Orthodox have it right in the sense that they have preserved this tradition of calling their elders “Priest” or “Father” (please hear me out). It seems to come down to which tradition is closer to the church of the first few centuries. The tradition we have of calling leaders “Pastor” or the tradition of the early Church (calling their elders “Priest” while recognizing that Christ is the Hight Priest and His children are all priests as well).

    I think if we line ourselves up with the early church which existed before the new testament was compiled in 386 (which, as you may know, the church compiled btw), their would be far less confusion and division as far as which tradition is the apostolic tradition(‘apostolic’ meaning: passed down from the Apostles and disciples of the Apostles). Because if we take time to study some of the early church father’s writings they will often mention the tradition entrusted to them which entails the sacraments of Baptism and Communion and the way they are to be practiced and understood. Today there are many divisions with regard to these things and as a result we are not fulfilling the prayer of Jesus for unity in John 17. The bible cannot be the only way to understand God rightly since the bible itself tells us to “stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us” 2 Thes. 2:15 According to this passage there is a tradition passed down by word of mouth as well as by letter. We as protestants have traditions of which christian books to read or which legitimate commentaries to buy or how to interpret such and such a passage etc. Tradition in and of itself is not bad but necessary and obviously used by all of us whether we admit it or not.

    We say very often that the bible is all we need, but many sincere individuals seek God from a “Sola Scriptura” mentality but come to different conclusions. Am I to judge the sincerity of the one who came to a different conclusion than me? That would be very subjective. Rather it seems that the church Father’s and the early church would be the measuring rod to see who is right. The Eastern Orthodox church claims to have preserved this Apostolic Tradition and interpretation with much evidence to back the claim(unlike catholics). Is it possible that they are right, and if so could the church as we see it become more unified by recognizing their Apostolic authenticity of maintaing this tradtion? As we know, “they will know we are Christians by our love” not by the 20,000 plus denominations of “christianity”.

    I’d love to hear your thoughts/objections and comments? I’m not immune to being wrong.

    If your’e interested, here’s a simple timeline of church history which helped me at least understand where all the denominations came from (not that you don’t know already, but in light of the unified early church history before the reformation of Martin Luther):
    http://orthodoxinfo.com/general/gen_histdoc.aspx

    Humbly,
    John

    P.S. My intentions are to see the church unified in truth, not to argue for the sake of arguing.

  9. John,

    Let me center in on one point. It is very destructive to call a leader “priest” because it undermines a MAJOR revelation of the NT that ALL believers have become priests to God, with all that this implies. It is a glorious truth, one affirmed in many different ways through the NT, and unless you want to call every believer a priest, it is best not to use this title for anyone.

    For me, this error alone undermines any claim for the Roman Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox Church to be “the true” Church. Certainly not!

  10. Dear brother, they don’t ‘call’ the leader “Priest” but they call him “Father”- they simply have priests who serve the elements of communion.

    I agree 100%! It is a glorious truth that we are all preists! They would agree. Isn’t it also a glorious truth that JESUS is the good Shepherd? Why in the world would we call anyone “Pastor” then, which as you know means ‘shepherd’? The basis for your argument goes against you.

  11. Thanks for responding btw.. I’m not sure if your argument works though.

    I hope I didn’t come off arrogant- please forgive me if I did.

    Just a clarification: they wouldn’t necessarily say they are the “true church” but that they are the true visible church.

    To quote them if I may:

    Saint Irenaeus said where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church. We believe there is only one earthly Church (“I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church” – the Nicene Creed). We know where the visible Church is, but we cannot know for assurance where the Spirit of God may or may not be outside ‘the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church’! Orthodox Christians must not therefore presume to pass judgment on non-Orthodox Christians or their communities, think or speak triumphalisticaly about the Orthodox Church, but rather strive to live out their faith without compromise, in humility and repentance.

    Sincerely,
    John

  12. I just want to know what would be the best Bible version to read for just daily reading. I read through the article in the AskDrBrown section about Which Bible Version is best. However, I still didn’t come away with a conclusion as to which one is best for everyday devotional reading. Can anyone help out with that? Thanks!

  13. Dr. Brown I would like to know why messianic brothers such as yourself have not spoken against the gentile usage of Jesus as opposed to the exulated name Yahuah’shua and or Yah’shua. Yeah souce,Iesous, Iesus Iesu and Jesus wack. I have a book coming out on this matter. Jesus is Greek/Roman. Salvation Yeshuah is of Yahudah. Shalom in yah’shua.

  14. Brother Brown will you comment on the name Yeshu. Isn’t Iesus is a direct by-product of Yeshu. What does Yeshu mean Dr. Brown? My original KJB 1611 version spells Jesus as Iesus. What up with that Sir?

  15. Dear Dr. Brown,Please UnderstandPrimarily, at the “outset” of my initial contact to you that ONLY UNTIL WE MEET FACE TO FACE (ie. or some veritable emissary of Your choosing) Will I convey my “mission” inre to establishing a “line of inquiry and Professional Support deigned to grant and ‘promotion’ of my personally manifested and unparalleled medium or “foray” into the “SOUL OF EVERY MAN WOMAN OR CHILD, Whomever they maybe! Prior to a near-death automobile accident, April 13..14,1973 I was preparing to Student Teach, in Lexington, Massachusetts,having earned my Bachelor of Science Elementary Education from NorthEastern University, Boston Massachusetts,1975! I had a wonderful “internship” working as a Teachers’ Aid for a Fifth Grade Science Teacher named Arthur Fundeklian at the Memorial School, Burlington, Mass 01803 It was during my last term of Education Classes and finishing my Idyllic(ie. IT WAS THAT FORTUNACY BEING ABLED TO AID CHILDREN IN MY PROFESSIONAL EDUCATIONAL AIM) Experience as a Teacher’s Aide, That as a passenger in my Friend’s MGB Sportscar with the optional “rollbar” attached which, in the End was almost the cause of my End! As Ricky, The Driver of his sportscar negotiated a corner on a “winding Country Road, Sandy Pond Road, Lincoln, Mass location of The World Wide known “DeCordava Museum” The MGB SLAMMED INTO A Fire Hydrant which caused my Head to slam into the Roll Bar causing a Blow to my brainstem( this neurological piece of the Brain’s Autonomic Center for Automatic Muscle Coordination be they be “HEART BEAT,BREATHING,EVERY FUNCTION THAT LIFE DEPENDS ON (IN)VOLUNTARY AND OR VOLUNTARY IN BEHAVING! HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR A MOST SKILLED NEUROSURGEON, DOCTOR ROBERT C. CANTU OFFICES AT MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS AND EMERSON HOSPITAL, CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS…WHO CAREFULLY USED PHARMACEUTICAL MEANS DESIGNED TO LESSEN THE SWELLING OF MY BRAIN IN MY CRANIUM THAT SAVED ME! HAD THE SWELLING CONTINUED (UN) ABATED, THE SWELLING COULD HAVE RENDERED ME PARALYZED FOR LIFE! MY DEAR AUNT MARY WHO STOOD BESIDE MY FATHER, AS MY MOTHER WAS RECOVERING FROM A “GLAUCOMA” OPERATION, WERE TOLD BY DOCTOR ROBERT C. CANTU; AS HE PIN_PRICKED THE TOE ON MY RIGHT TOE THE REACTION GAVE HIM THE CHOICED AND EVENTUAL REQASON TO SAY, “HE(Me) WILL WALK!” I THANK GOD EACH AND EVERY DAY THAT I LIVE! AS MY TIME IS ALMOST OVER ON THE BELMONT MEMORIAL PUBLIC LIBRARY I WILL CLOSE FOR NOW UNTIL TOMORROW (continued)

  16. Occasionally i ponder about why society has become like this. It really is just depressing :(. I’m gonna go drink a beer and relax now! I am sorry if i got everybody down.

  17. I find myself not liking titles or calling certain persons pastor at times wishing rather we could simply use names, yet it seems customary to do so, giving honor or recognition to one who is in charge as a minister.

    So what is adultery when one violation of the law is an offence against it all? I suppose then that adultery is lying, coveting, not honoring father and mother, stealing, and whatever else is contrary to the commandments of God.

  18. Wasn’t the Lord Jesus in the Spirit with God from everlasting? I also take it that he was in the form of God in the Spirit long before he ever came to this earth in the womb of a virgin to be born as we all have been born into this world.

    Now in the Spirit of God wasn’t Jesus clothed in the sense of having some form? I take it that he was and that he was with the Father who both as one maker did make man after their image and likness.

    So it seems to me that Jesus had a form in the Spirit during the Old Testament times long before he came to be born in the flesh.

    In such a condition, in the Spirit of God and by the same Spirit, he was seen by men at times in visions and such.

    That’s what it seems like to me. I trust that some had seen him in visions and such and that he appeared in likeness as mankind, similar in appearance, as one of us, but in a glory that far exceeds men as we have known men in this world.

    I trust that believers in Christ who have died have been taken into the presence of God by the Spirit and that is where they are as believers in Christ, for as Romans 8:9 says that we are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit…

    Now once a beliver has “passed on” as we say, he is clothed by the Spirit of God though he has not yet received the fullness of the resurrection of a new body for the resurrections have not yet happened.

    That’s what it looks like to me. Yet they are in the presence of God the Father and in the presence of the Lord Jesus in heaven where he is, and Hebrews calls this place the holiest of all. (Hebrews 10:19)

    And by the way, If we wish to enter into heaven, the holiest, Hebrews 10:19 says this: Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,

    Though they don’t yet have a physical resurrected body as Jesus showed his disciples after his resurrection, they (it seems to me) have a form of it to some extent, being not unclothed (II Cor 5:4) There that word tablernacle is again which is made mention of in Heberews also.

    About sleep, When I sleep I am not in contact with anyone in this world that I can interact with. They can not reach me, nor can I reach them, yet I am not dead, though I could seem dead I suppose. I can dream.

    Heaven may be something like that except heaven is real and my dreams are not, unless my dreams should be something of God where he is interacting with me. My dreams thus far have tended to be something other than that.

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  21. Methinks this discussion string is getting spammed. Some very bizarre posts there!

    I’m sure the webmaster must be on it.

    On the subject of titles amongst believers;

    My concern is that titles convey a given POSITION, whereas Jesus told us plainly that we are to avoid those things and live before Him under the Holy Spirit as servants. Yes the apostles often begin letters or new lines of teaching by pointing out their authority as apostles. I cannot imagine them wanting to be, or even tolerating being called “Apostle Paul” or “Father Peter” etc. Anathema to our humble service to the Lord and to one-another.

    Elders/pastors/presbyter all mean the same thing, and are duties and ministries as God has raised them. Priests in the NT always refer to our High Priest Jesus, or to the universal (and no less glorious or authoritative within our mission) priesthood of all who have received the Holy Spirit as believers.

    I think the system of a single “Pastor” is also flawed, though pervasive in the western churches. There should be a plurality of leadership whenever possible. Clearly some are raised to greater ministries (hence service and sacrifice). Still none should be lifted up as the sole focus of ministry within a church, or certainly not within a group of churches. Yet the Lord in His grace still works within flawed organizations, though I believe that He is changing these things and purifying His work. We can trust the Holy Spirit to do it- and we must always and daily have the attitude to submit as it is all His, and we are His.

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