Author: Jim Cantelon

August 5, 2020

Matthew 5 A Summary Comment Many years ago I had the honour of interviewing John R. W. Stott for a television show. I brought my copy of his classic, “The Message of The Sermon on the Mount” to the studio. He graciously singed it. As we waited for the crew to make the final lighting adjustments, we talked about the “sermon”. I’ll never forget his summary of the beatitudes. I can’t quote him directly, but this is what I remember of what he said: The first four beatitudes are about our attitude towards God: We are poor in spirit, our bankrupt souls are dependent...

Read 1 John 5

Key Verse: 1 John 5:12 “He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God doesn’t not have life.” John says things as they are. He knew that the “whole world” for a period of time was “under the control of the evil one” (v.19). He also knew that “the evil one” can’t “touch” the believer who puts his trust in the “One [Christ] who was born of God” (v.18b). He knew that one sin could separate man from God eternally (the sin of unbelief — 16c), and only one act could forever unite man with God...

Read 1 John 4

Key Verse: 1 John 4:21 “And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” It was John, in his gospel, who gave us those immortal words of Jesus, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16). Now, in this chapter he says, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (v.10). “God is love”, says John (v.16b), and He loved us long before we loved Him (v.19). And because God loves us “we also ought to love one...

Read 1 John 3

Key Verse: 1 John 3: 19, 20 “This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in HIs presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything.” Before commenting on this key verse, allow me to make a few observations about two verses which can cause more than a measure of concern to the eager-to-please reader — consider verses 6 and 9. You read these verses and exclaim, “I’m in trouble here! Because I’m sinning every day.” Let me help you. In both verses, sin is described...

Read 1 John 2

Key Verse: 1 John 2:17 “The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” As stated in the introduction, John was concerned about the effect of heretical teaching on his “dear children” (v.1). These heretics (known as “Gnostics”) were spiritual “elitists” who saw the Gospel as being too simple, and they longed for the “depth’ of the mysteries of God. Some of them saw the biblical account of creation as inadequate; they believed in a king of spiritual evolution whereby the world arose through generation...

Read 1 John 1

Key Verse: 1 John 1:3 “We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father with His Son, Jesus Christ.” In the poet Browning’s “A death in the Desert”, the apostle John lies dying in the presence of some of his followers. When my ashes scatter, says John, “there is left on earth No one alive who knew (consider this!) –Saw with his eyes and handled with his hands That which was from the first the Word of Life. How will it be when none more saith, ‘I saw’? John...

July 29, 2020

Matthew 5 Persecuted because of Righteousness vv.10-12 Rather than do a word study on “righteousness” (which he could have done), Jesus qualifies its meaning as that which is done “on my account” or “because of me” (v. 11b). He is looking ahead and anticipates the push-back the disciples will suffer as they “go into all the world and preach the gospel.” In fact history tells us most of them died martyrs deaths “because of [him].” They became martyrs not just because of their radical rabbi, but also because of the worldview that he taught...

Read 2 Peter 3

Key Verse: 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” The subject of this concluding chapter is the return of Christ. Already in Peter’s day there were impatient believers and outright unbelieving scoffers who were saying, “Where is this ‘coming’ He promised (v.4). Only a few decades had passed since Jesus ‘ ascension, but already there were doubters about this much acclaimed “parousia” (second...

Read 2 Peter 2

Key Verse: 2 Peter 2:19b “…a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him.” Chapter 2 is rather gloomy reading. It describes false teachers in very explicit terms. Peter refers to them as shameful (v.2), greedy (v.3), corrupt (v.10a), arrogant (v.10b), blasphemous and ignorant (v.12a), beasts (v.12b), blots and blemishes (v.13), springs without water and mists driven by a storm (v.17a). They “mouth empty, boastful words” (v.18) but are, in fact, “dogs returned to their vomit” and “sows wallowing in the mud” (v.22). They are truly a destructive...

July 27, 2020

During this protracted Covid isolation I’ve been “redeeming the time”. Social media has been very useful in keeping in touch with our WOW partners overseas, and writing a couple of books has filled the gaps. Keep a lookout for “Cantelon’s Casual Commentary” (Matthew, Mark, Luke/Acts, John) in a single volume, and “Opening the Windows of Your Soul”(a book on the Lord’s Prayer) to be published in the next year. We’ve all been forced to take stock of our values, loves, and personal significance over these sheltering in place months. We don’t know when it will end. If you’re like me you’re...