Perrydox.com is devoted to the pursuit of truth, whether plain or paradoxical, whether simple or sublime, or simply absurd yet absolute.
PHall | August 15, 2012
“The gospel of the kingdom” means “the good news of the reign of God.” That the gospel is “good news” does not mean that everything in the gospel is what we want to hear. Jesus also preached “repent” which means we are sinners. But here is the point. The reason why the gospel is good […]
PHall | August 15, 2012
is the idea or purpose behind “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand?” Is it a plea? “Please repent, so you can enter the kingdom of heaven.” Is it a warning, “You better repent because the kingdom of heaven is coming!” The answer is, both. After studying the coming kingdom from an O.T. […]
PHall | August 15, 2012
Do we feel guilty when you read the Sermon on the Mount? Do we look at ourselves and think, “I just don’t measure up?” If we do, you are not alone. But maybe, and this is an important life-changing point, we are reading it totally wrong. May I suggest an alternative approach? There’s an old […]
PHall | August 9, 2012
The meaning of the gospel marks one of the greatest divides within modern Christian Theology, marked by both a Right and a Left. The truth, like in much of life, is found in the middle. The Religious Left looks at the righteousness of the Sermon on the Mount as a call to Social Justice. Earth, […]
PHall | August 8, 2012
Compared to the world in which Jesus walked, today’s displays all the same foibles and failures of yesteryear minus the benefit of “the assumptions.” With theoretical and scientific advancements increasing our opinions of ourselves, each advancing society continues to become less advanced in “the assumptions.” Our triumphs over the scientific and medical maladies of the […]
PHall | August 4, 2012
Do you feel guilty when you read the Sermon on the Mount? Do you look at yourself and think, “I just don’t measure up?” If you do, you are not alone. But maybe, and this is an important life-changing point, you are reading it totally wrong. Contrary to how it is commonly interpreted, the Sermon […]
PHall | August 3, 2012
Matthew 5:3 – “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit, as long as they wear a tie to serve the Lord’s Supper.” Matthew 5:4 – “Blessed are we who mourn, that others are not as holy and righteous and doctrinally perfect as we.” Matthew 5:5 – “Blessed are we who are meek, as long […]
PHall | August 3, 2012
Just as the Lord’s Prayer echoes the Temptation in the Wilderness, it foreshadows the temptation in Jesus’ final day before His crucifixion in the upper room, garden and trial. “Our Father in heaven (6:9) – “My Father” (26:39) “Hallowed/holy be Your name” (6:9) – “He has blasphemed” (26:65) “Your kingdom come (6:10) – “I will […]
PHall | August 2, 2012
The Beatitudes are not to be seen as moral achievements but the acknowledgement of the exact opposite – moral depravity, moral emptiness, and moral needs. The Beatitudes are not philosophical idealism but the idea that we are not spiritually ideal. Self-righteousness looks at the qualities of poor in spirit, moral mourning, and such as achievements […]
PHall | August 1, 2012
Matthew begins and ends with God’s presence. Matthew begins with Jesus being, “God with Us” (1:23); and closes with Jesus saying, “I am with you always” (28:20). In between Jesus fulfills the Law and Prophets (5:17). In fulfilling God came near, and when we fulfill the true meaning of the Sermon on the Mount (7:12), […]