Bible study

[Gaberik]

my plan here for now is to start with romans and go from there, if you have a specific passage you want studied, put it up and we can delay the current study

Spoiler:

what are your thoughts on this verse?

[Gaberik]

i hate to double post, but it wouldn't look right in the same post,
it says he was called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, i know that it wasn't an accident, that little verse points to the sovereignty of God, he called Paul to be an apostle, i believe from the very beginning, and Paul answered Him

[Daisy]

I know a lot of people say he was really God's choice for the 12th apostle (you know, since Judas was no longer in their number...) but instead they were impatient and cast lots to choose someone who is pretty much not mentioned again. (This can be found in Acts 1)

[Gaberik]

i haven't studied that part of it yet, i am currently reading 1 John, so it has been a while since i have read it.

[Lady Carliss]

Are we currently anywhere specific in this study? I might join in...

[Gaberik]

Romans 1:1, i use the ESV, but i was going to move on to the next verse

[Lady Carliss]

I'll be using NKJV if I join in.

[Sir Dalton]

I think I use the MKJV... but I'm not sure

[Gaberik]

alrighty then, moving on

Spoiler:

i put 3 verses so we can better understand the context
Study and post away!

[Kelcin]

In my version of the bible, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ" is translated "Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ."
Which is the correct translation. And makes more sense.
I mean, Paul being a servant of Jesus brings up a picture of a guy that travels the Roman world, battling wizards and evil, boldly taking the Gospel where it has never been before, until 5 O'clock. At 5, Paul hangs up his shield of faith, sheaves the sword of the Spirit, punches his time clock, and goes off to be part of the rat race.

[Gaberik]

back then servants we only about a half step up from slaves, they were so close to being a slave that i don't see a big difference, some translations say "bond servant" which was basically a slave

[Sir Dalton]

Yeah, definitely not a big difference...

[Daisy]

I kinda think I agree with Kelcin on this one. Maybe not back then (actually, "Bible times" slavery is very interesting study topic because it was very different than how we think of slavery), but nowadays when you think of "servant" and "slave" ...I know I get two very different pictures.

When I think "servant", an essence of willingness or, as Kelcin said, part-time job kinda comes to mind. Like, there's my life with my employer, and then my life without. But when I think "slave", it's much more all or nothing.

I used to not like the picture of being God's slave. Maybe a servant or child, but slave? I dunno. Sounds pretty...rough. But as I came to realize more of God's character, and the fact that no matter what, you are a slave to something...I kinda love that I can be His slave. I want to be. I've learned that when I decide to choose my own path, I really screw up. So to have a master, as much as it made me cringe before, is now a beautiful thing to me.

Sorry, kind of started rambling there. Anyway, I like the idea of posting multiple verses at a time, Fasttune.

[Gaberik]

in my mind, a servant is a person, like a butler, that lives in quarters, either in, or out of the house, but still on the master's property, who's only life is serving his or her master, but still provided with the necessary stuff to live, not like a slave who had to care for themselves on their own time after they were done working for their master.

[Daisy]

That's a valid view, I can see that. I think because servitude and slavery have changed so much in the course of time, there can't be one set image of either. *shrug*

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