Chapter 1

1:2 - Paul says that God, like George Washington, cannot tell a lie. But he managed to do so in 1 Kings (22:22-23) and Jeremiah (20:7).

* Paul is correct.

* 1 Kings 22:22-23 mentions a false prophet that receives a lying spirit.  This is part of the judgment on this pagan prophet.  God never lied.

* Jeremiah 20:7 mentions a prophet that gets a false prophecy because his life is full of sin.  This is his judgment.  God still never lied.

1:7-8 - Has there ever been a just person?

* Yes. There have been some just people.  The apparent confusion lies only in Ecclesiastes 7:20.  However, the writer is stating that there are no perfect people.  In his new "circle of friends," there surely weren't any godly people (and definitely nobody perfect).

1:10 - To Paul, Jews are unruly liars "whose mouths must be stopped."

* Paul says that there are many unruly, vain talkers and deceivers, especially among the non-Christian Jews.

1:12 - According to Paul, the people of Crete are "always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies."

* Yes, at this moment in time, Paul is calling the Cretians liars, evil beasts, and slow bellies.  They were a pagan people who had rejected God.

1:14 - Paul says to disregard Jewish fables. Like the entire Bible, maybe?

* Paul is warning the people that they should not stray from the truth of God.

Chapter 2

2:3, 5 - Even old women must be "obedient to their own husbands."

* Verse 4 mentions that these older women should love their husbands.

* Paul is telling these women to obey their husbands.  Their husbands were wise, godly men and they deserved respect and obedience from their wives.  Note that Paul never told wives to obey ungodly husbands who told them to disobey God.

2:9 - Paul tells slaves to obey their masters and "to please them well in all things ... showing all good fidelity." But Jesus (Mt.4:10, 23:10) said that his followers should have no masters.

* This Greek word for "slave" is better translated "servant."

* In Matthew 4:10, Jesus is responding to the Devil's command to worship him.  Jesus tells him that one is to worship only God and serve Him above all others.

* In Matthew 23:10, Jesus is teaching about titles.  He says that only One is our true Master, Teacher and Father.  Verse 11 sums it up nicely: "The greatest among you will be your servant."  This is a wonderful installation of servant leadership.

2:11 - "The grace of God ... hath appeared to all men." At the time this statement was written, only a very small minority had seen or heard about Jesus. And still today there are those who have never heard his name.

* A better translation of this passages is: "For the grace of God, that brings salvation, has appeared for all people."

Chapter 3

3:5 - Is salvation by faith alone?

* Yes.  Psalm 62:12, Jeremiah 17:10, Matthew 16:27, Romans 2:6, 2 Corinthians 5:10, and 1 Peter 1:17 are all referring to eternal rewards that are given to believers for their works.

* Matthew 12:37 is stating that a person is justified by their words: by trusting, accepting, and believing Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

* In Matthew 19:17, Jesus is contrasting the Old Covenant versus the new one.  He is telling this man that he must obey the entire law to be righteous.  When it is clear that he has merely kept a few of the commandments, Jesus tells him to follow Him (because He was the only way to Heaven).

* In Luke 10:26-28, the two, greatest commandments were mentioned.  Obeying these, two commandments involves trusting, believing, and accepting Jesus Christ as one's Lord and Savior.

* 2 Corinthians 11:15 is referring to fallen angels that will be judged according to their works.  They were created by God and lived in Heaven.  When they sinned, they were cast out of Heaven.  They will be judged for this sin.

* In James 2:14, only some rhetorical questions are being asked.  Verse 17 explains "dead faith." 

* In James 2:21-25, the importance of works is stressed.  However, this passage is founded by verse 18.  James 2:18 reads, ". . . you show me . . . I'll show you . . ."  This is clearly a passage about people proving they are saved by their works.  This is clearly not about God's requirement of faith for salvation.

3:9 - Paul instructs us to "avoid ... genealogies." Like Gen.10, 1 Chr.1-9, and Lk.3?

* Paul is telling the people to avoid worrying about their relatives and social status that should be endowed to them through their lineage.

* The genealogies were very important because they showed that Jesus Christ was the Messiah.  He was from the correct lineage: Abraham's, Isaac's, Jacob's, David's, etc.  Now, in the post-Christ era, genealogies were not important.  Furthermore, after 70 A.D. it was impossible to prove your genealogy because these records were destroyed (and the people were dispersed) when Jerusalem was conquered by the Romans.  Nobody will ever be able to prove they are the Messiah, now.  Incidentally, nobody needs to do this (or could) because Jesus did.