1 Peter 3:9 9Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing. On the practical side of backwards theology is how Christians are to respond to the various evils in the world. Jesus was our ultimate example of this, who blessed others while being persecuted and executed. Unfortunately, some have turned even this notion into moralistic religion, assuming that the means to achieving our approval before God is to simply follow Jesus’ example of backwards living. This is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that we are to place our faith in Christ and receive a purified heart through the Holy Spirit. As a result, we can obey this verse. But if Jesus is merely a moral model, then he is no greater than Ghandi. Ghandi was quite impressed with…

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The book of 1 Peter has several backwards commands for us. The gospel reverses our suffering; turning it from a moment of shame and pain into an opportunity for rejoicing. When we suffer unjustly, we share uniquely in the unjust sufferings of Christ. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 1 Peter 2:20…

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Paul talks a great deal about “boasting.” Boasting for Paul though usually entails a sense of self-reliance before God, not a braggadocious spiritual arrogance. When Paul boasts, then, he wants to boast in the things that honor God and not himself. But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.–Galatians 6:14 Paul is not concerned about looking good. He loves to make God look good. So he boasts in God at the one place where Paul’s sin and need look the worst and God’s goodness looks the best: the cross.

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This text changed my life. 2 Cor 12:7-10. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. My Christian life, for many years, was comprised of performance: trying to be as good a Christian as I can be. The problem was,…

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This backwards Bible verse is none other than the gospel in sum; Christ took our sins and become “poor” and we receive his righteousness and become “rich.” 2 Corinthains 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

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I know a guy who seems to feel ashamed as a Christian because his marriage ended in divorce. While healthy marriages certainly can attest to the gracious work of Christ in two people’s lives, so can broken relationships and divorce. My friend seems to think that his Christian “witness” is lost and thus has not told any of his co-workers about the divorce (which occurred in 2006). How can one maintain a Christian witness in such a circumstance? According to 2 Cor 4, our brokenness, frailty, and failures are opportunities for the light of Christ to shine through our cracks. Healthy marriages can say that God’s grace works itself out in real life (The Kingdom of God has come!) Broken marriages say that God’s grace has not yet worked itself out fully in all areas (Let your Kingdom come!) Â But we have this treasure in jars of clay [earthen…

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1 Corinthians 12:22-2: the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, 24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, 25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

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1 Corinthians 3:18 Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise.

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What Does the Name of This Blog Mean? Everything is Backwards, the name of this blog, refers to how in God’s economy things are reversed from what humans typically value. For example, “blessed are the poor,” or “the meek shall inherit the earth.” This principle first started to crystallize for me when studying the Sermon on the Mount, but now I see it everywhere. For this reason, I am going to catalog these verses here when I stumble across them in my bible reading. Backward verse of the day today:  1 Cor 1:27-29 God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the…

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