Gospel Doctrine

Sin & its devastatingly wide range of effects

2012-02-16T13:33:00.003-06:00

When it comes to salvation, the way one defines the problem will determine how he defines the solution. Old Testament scholar Christopher Wright reveals sin's "devastatingly wide range of effects."

"Broadly the Old Testament portrays our predicament in terms of the following:

1. A relationship that has been broken: the relational aspect.

2. The disturbance of shalom: the social aspect.

3. Rebellion against authority: the covenantal aspect.

4. Guilt that necessitates punishment: the legal aspect.

5. Uncleanness and pollution: the ritual aspect.

6. Shame and disgrace on oneself and/or on God: the emotional aspect.

7. An accumulating burden: the historical aspect.

8. Death: the final aspect.

"Sin, then, in its broad Old Testament perspective, has a devastatingly wide range of effects. It breaks our relationship with God, one another and the earth; it disturbs our peace; it makes us rebels against God's authority; it makes us guilty in God's court; it makes us dirty in God's presence; it brings shame on ourselves and others; it blights us from the past and already poisons the future; it ultimately leads us to destruction and death."

Christopher Wright. “Atonement in the Old Testament.” In The Atonement Debate, edited by Derek Tidball, David Hilborn, and Justin Thacker, 69–82 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008) pgs. 69–71.

The Christian church stands or falls by...

2012-02-14T11:44:00.001-06:00

"The Christian church stands or falls by whether it proclaims and lives by the Gospel of the liberating grace of God, or whether its life degenerates into some form of self-salvation. For that reason, the doctrine of the atonement must continue to be at the heart of Christian theology, and the metaphor of the justice of God at the heart of the doctrine of the atonement, if Christianity's orientation to the action of God in re-establishing free human life is to be maintained and articulated."

Colin Gunton. The Actuality of Atonement: A Study of Metaphor, Rationality and the Christian Tradition (London: T&T Clark, 1988), p. 100-1.

Grace and Gratitude

2012-02-10T09:21:00.002-06:00

"Charis [grace] always demands the answer of eucharistia [gratitude]. Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth. Grace evokes gratitude like the voice an echo. Gratitude follows grace like thunder lightning. Not by virtue of any necessity of the concepts as such. But we are speaking of the grace of the God who is God for man, and of the gratitude of man as his response to this grace."

Karl Barth, CD IV.1, p. 41

Sacraments: The Gospel in Brief

2012-02-09T08:40:00.002-06:00

"From the New Testament point of view, the Sacraments contain the gospel in brief; they contain it in inseparable connection with the death of Jesus; and as long as they hold their place in the Church the saving significance of that death has a witness which it will not be easy to dispute."

James Denney. The Death of Christ: Its Place and Interpretation in the New Testament (New York: A. C. Armstrong and Son, 1904) p. 85.

CS Lewis: Chronological Snobbery & Reading Old Books

2012-02-03T08:25:00.003-06:00

CS Lewis defines "chronological snobbery" as

"the uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate common to our own age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that account discredited." (Surprised by Joy, 207)

He applies this logic to reading, defending the practice of reading old books.

"There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books.... Now this seems topsy-turvy. Naturally, since I myself am a writer, I do not wish the ordinary reader to read no modern books. But if he must read only the new or only the old, I would advise him to read the old.... A new book is still on its trial and the amateur is not in a position to judge it. It has to be tested against the great body of Christian thought down the ages, and all its hidden implications (often unsuspected by the author himself) have to be brought to light.... It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between.... The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books." ("Introduction" in On the Incarnation by Athanasisus, 3-5)

NBA Player Inked Up with Christian Acronyms

2012-02-01T08:20:00.006-06:00

Nate Robinson wears his faith on his sleeve, literally. The 5'9" two-time NBA slam dunk champion recently talked about some of his favorite tattoos.

Most of them have to do with God. I'm really religious. I have FROG — Fully Rely On God; PUSH — Pray Until Something Happens; JUMP — Jesus Understands My Pain. On the back of my neck I've got TNTL — Trust N The Lord. I got another one that says DOG — Depend On God. GAME TIME on my leg right here means God Answers Me Every Time.

Take that Tim Tebow.

Jesus: A Man with a Story

2012-01-31T08:27:00.004-06:00

Christopher Wright laments the fact that most Christians start the New Testament with Matt 1:18, the birth of Jesus. What they miss, or at least quickly skim, is the genealogy of Jesus. This, according to Wright, is essential, for it presents Jesus as a man with a story.

“What Matthew is saying to us by beginning in this way is that we will only understand Jesus properly if we see him in the light of this story which he completes and brings to its climax. So when we turn the page from the Old to the New Testament, we find a link between the two which is more important than the attention we usually give it. It is a central historical interface binding together the two great acts of God’s drama of salvation. The Old Testament tells the story which Jesus completes.”

Christopher J. H. Wright. Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1995) pg. 2.

Doctrine & Devotion

2012-01-30T15:56:00.005-06:00

"For my own part I tend to find the doctrinal books often more helpful in devotion than the devotional books, and I rather suspect that the same experience may await many others. I believe that many who find that 'nothing happens' when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand."

C. S. Lewis, “Introduction.” In On the Incarnation, by Athanasius, 3–10. (Crestwood, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press, 2002), 8.

What is Redemption?

2012-01-27T10:52:00.003-06:00

In popular and scholarly worlds the word "redemption" is most commonly used broadly as a general word for salvation. When we say "creation and redemption," "redemption history," or "Christ the Redeemer," we could just as easily plug in "salvation" or "savior" and it wouldn't change what we're talking about. Although there may be a place for this, the vague usage of the term has unfortunately led to the disregard of its actual unique meaning. While many know that redemption has something to do with being freed or delivered (usually from being a slave or a prisoner of war), Leon Morris demonstrated long ago that this word has an even richer meaning than this. Below, I've outlined Morris' 54 page word study on redemption from his book The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, but the gist of his research is this:

Redemption means not only deliverance in general, but more specifically, deliverance by payment of a ransom. Redemption, therefore, focuses not only on that which one is delivered from (slavery) or for (freedom), but the very means by which this was accomplished, the ransom-price. "Redemption terminology is concerned with the price-paying method of release.”

Leon Morris. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. Third Revised Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965) pgs. 11-64.

· Introduction: “Redemption”: General or Precise Meaning?

o “Redemption is a term which is employed very loosely in much modern theological writing…. This wide use of the term ‘redemption’ is a modern development….. As we shall see, it does not mean deliverance in general, but a particular kind of deliverance” (11).

· Etymological Considerations (extrabiblical background)

o lu/tron - ransom price

§ “The basic word in the word-group is lu/tron, ‘ransom’. This word is derived from lu/w, a verb with the general meaning of ‘to loose’” (11). “It’s meaning [lu/tron] accordingly is ‘payment for loosing’, ‘ransom price’. From lu/tron a complete new word-group developed…. It is important to realize that it is this idea of payment as the basis of release which is the reason for the existence of the whole word-group. Other words were available for to denote simple release…. Redemption terminology is concerned with the price-paying method of release” (12-13)

o lu/trow - to redeem

§ “The derivative verb lu/trow usually means in the active ‘to release on receipt of ransom’, or possibly ‘to hold to ransom’. In the middle the sense is rather ‘to secure release by payment of ransom’, i.e. ‘to redeem’. The meaning at bottom is the giving of a price in exchange, often for that which was one’s own and which has somehow found its way into someone else’s possession” (16).

o aÓpolu/trwsiß - redemption by ransom price

§ “In view of the frequent use aÓpolu/trwsiß of in the New Testament it is necessary to take notice of its use in non-biblical literature…. The word has a clear and consistent meaning. In every passage, without exception, there is the payment of a ransom price to secure the desired release” (17-18).

· The Jewish/Hebrew Background

§ There are three primary Hebrew words that translate in the LXX to the lu/tron word group. “lu/trow translates in the main two Hebrew verbs, g’l (45 times) and pdh (42 times). No other root is represented more than four or five times. lu/tron introduces another Hebrew root, since it translates kopher on six occasions”(19).

o lAaÎ…g

§ “The basic idea in this word-group has to do with family relationship”…. Thus in the Old Testament use of the word we find two distinct ideas. The primary thought is the general one of family obligation, and arising out of this is the narrower concept of the payment of price, of redemption” (19-20). “There are some very important passages wherein Yahweh is the subject of the verb g’l. In these we are to think of God as the great Kinsman of His people [Exodus and New Exodus]”(21).

o h∂dDÚp

§ “The ground meaning of this root is undoubtedly that of ‘ransom by the payment of a price’, indicating something in the nature of a commercial transaction… [The] idea of a substitute is basic to pdh”(22-23). The verb is used to describe the Exodus, but rarely of the New Exodus.

o rRpO;k

§ “The noun kopher means a ransom price…. In its biblical usage it refers to the sum paid to redeem a forfeited life”(24). “[T]he thought of substitution is plain” (26).

o Conclusion

§ “The investigation of the ideas conveyed by the three main word-groups which the lu/tron words translate in the LXX shows that redemption consistently signifies deliverance by payment of a price. There may be other ideas, like that of family obligation in g’l, or the element of grace in pdh, but as a stubborn substratum in every case there is the basic price-paying conception” (26).

· Redemption in Rabbinic Writings

o “All three Hebrew roots that we have seen employed in the Old Testament to express the idea of redemption are employed in much the same way in the Rabbinic literature” (27).

· The lu/tron Word-Group in the New Testament

o lu/tron

§ 2x (Mark 10:45; Matt 20:28)

§ “We have seen that lu/tron in the LXX consistently denotes the payment of a ransom price substitutionary in character…”(33) – this is the plain meaning of Mark 10:45.

o lu/trow

§ 3x (Luke 24:21; Titus 2:14; 1 Pet 1:18)

§ To redeem by substitutionary ransom price

o lu/trwsiß

§ 3x (Lk 1:68; 2:38; Heb 9:12)

§ To redeem by ransom price, with emphasis on the cost of redemption.

o aÓpolu/trwsiß

§ 10x (Luke 21:28; Rom 3:24; 8:23; 1 Cor 1:30; Eph 1:7, 14; 4:30; Col 1:14; Heb 9:15; 11:35). This is the “typical term for redemption” in the NT, where “it occurs ten times as against nine times for all the other words from the same root put together” (41).

§ Deliverance by ransom payment, with “‘ransoming’ rather than ‘deliverance’ to be the essential meaning of the word”(41).

o aÓnti÷lutron

§ 1x (1 Tim 2:6)

§ “In meaning it does not seem to differ greatly from the simple lu/tron, but the preposition emphasizes the thought of substitution; it is a ‘substitute-ransom’ that is signified”(51).

o Conclusion

§ “The position then appears to be that the words associated with lutron consistently express the ransom idea…. They did not intend ransom to be taken as a full and sufficient statement of what the atonement was and did, but as far as it goes it gives a picture of one aspect of that great work”(52-53).

· Theological Conclusion: Redemption Entails…

o “From the foregoing examination then we see that where the redemption category is employed there are three aspects of the process of atonement especially in view”(61).

§ “The state of sin out of which man is to be redeemed”

§ “The price which is paid”

§ “The resultant state of the believer”

Feasting in a Fast-Food World

2012-01-25T09:37:00.002-06:00

“The theme of eating and drinking in the presence of God is promised from Genesis to Revelation. Instead of waiting for their host to give them the fruit from the Tree of Life, Adam and Eve wanted their Happy Meal here and ordered from their own menu.” (232)

"God is at work, gathering a people for his feast in a fast-food world.... While our consumer culture offers instant gratification in drive-thru spiritualities, the gospel seats us at the table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as the Triune God serves us with his heavenly gifts." (12)

Michael Horton, The Gospel-Driven Life

The Cross is My Grave

2012-01-17T09:40:00.003-06:00

2200 years ago a Roman slave named Sceledrus summarized the inevitable end of his journey in the following manner:

“I know the cross will be my grave: that is where my ancestors are, my father, grandfathers, great-grandfathers, great-great-grandfathers.” (Quoted in Hengel, Crucifixion, 52)

Crucifixion was the most brutal, tortuous form of capital punishment in the Greco-Roman world, and Sceledrus knew it would be his end because it was reserved only for the lowest classes, and most commonly slaves.

I have nothing in common with Sceledrus – he was a slave in an empire dominated by slavery, I’m a free man in the Land of Freedom – but as I read this line etched into the pages of antiquity, it somehow resonated with my soul. The cross is my grave. I couldn’t get that line out of my head, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized how true it was for me as well, although in an entirely different way. For Sceledrus, the cross represents the end of his life and the pinnacle of his slavery. For me, the cross (of Christ) is the beginning of life and the apex of freedom. 200 years before Christ, the cross could be nothing but pain, shame, and the ugliness of death; the cross was bad news. On this side of Christ, however, the cross has been transformed into a symbol of love, hope, freedom, and life; it is good news.

I’m a slave to sin

Doomed to shackles all my days

But I’ve been set free by Christ

The cross is my grave

I’m dead in my sin

My only hope is to be saved

But there is life in his death

The cross is my grave

I daily battle with the flesh

But through his death he overcame

So I die daily to sin

The cross is my grave

One day I’ll die

In the ground my body will lay

But my end it will not be

The cross is my grave

Preach the Word!

2012-01-11T15:14:00.001-06:00

"Preach the Word!" (2 Timothy 4:2). This biblical command is at the heart of the pastor's task and the church's existence. So what does it mean to preach the Word? In my experience of preaching and studying preaching, I've come to these basic conclusions.

Preaching the Word includes...

Teaching the Text
Proclaiming the Gospel
Calling to Faith & Repentance

In other words, I think every sermon should include these three elements. Here are some further thoughts on each element.

Teaching the Text

Handle Well. Be faithful to the text
Big Idea. The main point of the text should be the main point of the sermon
Context. Locate the passage within the book and the entire history of redemption
Doctrine. Teach the doctrines that arise from the texts

Proclaiming the Gospel

Gospel-centrality. Don't merely tack the gospel onto the end, make it central
Contextual. Preach the gospel from your text, not the same general gospel presentation every week.
Christians & Non-Christians. The gospel is what both need to hear.

Calling to Faith and Repentance

Response. Preaching must call for a response.
Application. All application is a response to the gospel and flows from faith & repentance.
Confidence. Trust God's promise that He accomplishes His purposes when his Word is preached (Isa 55:10-11).

Living by Faith Means Living by the Gospel

2011-12-14T11:51:00.002-06:00

"Faith is never a vaguely defined thing for Paul. It is always defined by its object: Jesus Christ. Faith means implicit trust in the Christ of the gospel to save and sustain. To live by faith means to live by the gospel."

Graeme Goldsworthy, “The Gospel in Revelation.” In The Goldsworthy Trilogy, 149–328.
(Carlisle, UK: Paternoster, 2000), 177.

Paul on Doctrine and Life

2011-11-11T09:31:00.001-06:00

For the Apostle Paul, doctrine can't be contained by Sunday school, theology books, the pulpit, or the lectern. No, no, no. Doctrine is for life. Doctrine is essential for holy living. This is put on display in Paul's letter to the Colossians, which (like many of his other letters) is structured around the theological indicative (God has reconciled all things to himself, 1:20) and the practical imperative ("walk in him" 2:6). Three commentators on Colossians especially note this characteristic of Paul.

Mike Bird

“The two [doctrine and life] are inseparable for Paul as an outworking of the gospel. Adolf Schlatter pointed out that for Paul the Denkakt (though-act) and the Lebensakt (life-act) cannot be divorced from each other. For Paul, one’s thought life and practical life are necessarily intertwined. There is no room to accommodate a dry cerebral faith that does not issue for in action, and there is no place for a Christian lifestyle that is not at once rooted in theological reflection of the gospel. As the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said, ‘As you have lived so have you believed.’ What ultimately expresses one’s true beliefs is not words or statements, but actions (see Jas 2:1-26; 1 John 3:18).” Colossians and Philemon, 110

Doug Moo

“Paul could never talk about theology for long without application; nor could he speak for long about the Christian life without allusion to the theology that buttresses and gives shape to that life.” The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, 176

N. T. Wright

“Genuine Christian theology is the exploration of God’s character and actions, not in a spirit of mere speculation and curiosity, but out of gratitude and love, and with the intention of, and desire for, obedience.” The Epistles of Paul to the Colossians and to Philemon: An Introduction and Commentary, 61

The Story That Shapes Our Lives

2011-11-01T08:51:00.000-05:00

“To miss the grand narrative of Scripture is a serious matter; it is not simply a matter of misinterpreting parts of Scripture. It is a matter of being oblivious to which story is shaping our lives. Some story will shape our lives. When the Bible is broken up into little bits and chunks – theological, devotional, spiritual, moral, or worldview bits and bits and chunks – then these bits can be nicely fitted into the reigning story of our own culture with all its idols! One can be theologically orthodox, devotionally pious, morally upright, or maybe even have one’s worldview categories straight, and yet be shaped by the idolatrous Western story. The Bible loses its forceful and formative power by being absorbed into a more encompassing secular story.”

Wolters & Goheen, Creation Regained, 125

Josh Hamilton & Albert Pujols

2011-10-28T08:55:00.005-05:00

Game 6 of the World Series last night was one of the best games I've ever seen. What is especially encouraging about watching this series is that the best player on each team is a brother in Christ. Josh Hamilton has one of the wildest stories in the game of baseball: from being the number one pick in the draft, to getting kicked out of the league for drugs, to becoming the American League MVP. Albert Pujols has been steady and reliable, and he just might be the best player of all time. Here's a video of each of them sharing their testimonies.

Colossians on Resurrection, Rules, & Revelation

2011-10-25T08:39:00.004-05:00

A few gems from Moo's commentary on Colossians:

Christ's resurrection as the beginning of the New Creation

“Christ stands at the head of the new creation as the firstborn from the dead, the one who initiates the eschatological resurrection…. The resurrection of Christ initiates this end-time resurrection; his resurrection guarantees and, indeed, stimulates the resurrection of all who follow (1 Cor. 15:20; fc. Acts 26:23; Matt. 27:52-53). In this sense, he is not only the first one to experience resurrection; his the ‘founder’ of the new order of resurrection.” 129

A 'rules-oriented' lifestyle is not the means to true spiritual growth

"Christian living must be rooted in Christ.... It is by our existence 'in him,' the 'new self,' or 'new man,' that renewal in the image of God takes place (3:10).... One important implication of this focus on Christ is a negative one: a 'rules-oriented' lifestyle is not the means to true spiritual growth. It is this point that Paul [in Colossians] singles out in his references to the false teachers, who were apparently promising ultimate spiritual power through adherence to their rules (2:16, 20-23). Paul is clear about the poverty of these rules to deliver on what they promise: they have the 'appearance of wisdom,' 'but lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence' (2:23). Of course, Paul does not mean by this polemic to dismiss the value of all 'rules' from the conduct of the Christian life.... We may, then, formulate a theology of rules from Colossians 2 along these lines: Rules must never take the place of Christ as the source of spiritual nourishment and growth; and any rules that we propose to follow must be clearly rooted in and lead back to Christ." 70

God reveals himself in Christ

“All that human beings can know or experience of God is found in Christ, and so Christians, simply by virtue of being Christians, have access to all this knowledge and all these experiences. We need look nowhere else.” 184

Addition is subtraction

“But, for Paul, in this case, addition means subtraction: one cannot ‘add’ to Christ without, in effect, subtracting from his exclusive place in creation and in salvation history.” 193

Perverting the Gospel through Subtraction and Addition

2011-10-18T13:46:00.004-05:00

In his commentary on Colossians, Doug Moo explains the dangerous teaching that infested the Colossian church, and the reason for Paul's insistence on the sufficiency of Christ.

“For the false teachers were apparently suggesting that Christians needed to go ‘beyond’ the gospel that Epaphras had taught the Colossians in order to experience spiritual ‘fullness.’ And so it is often the case with false teachers, who err not always in subtracting from the gospel but in seeking to add to it. The gospel can be perverted through addition just as easily as through subtraction.” (67)

"[T]he false teachers were not so much contesting traditional Christian teaching about Christ as they were implicitly questioning Christ's adequacy to supply all their spiritual needs." (63)

Moo, Douglas J. The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008.

IF I saw a miracle, THEN I would believe

2011-10-03T12:16:00.003-05:00

No you wouldn't.

One would think that wherever Jesus did more miracles, there would be more belief and repentance. But somehow, the opposite was true. Matthew tells us that Jesus "began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent" (11:20). These spectators were looking for a magician not a master, but Jesus was bringing a kingdom, not a circus. The purpose of Jesus' miracles was not primarily to "ooo-aaahh" people to faith or eliminate intellectual doubt. Miracles were a glimpse and foretaste of the reality that God's kingdom was breaking into this broken world and a sign of the greater healing and restoration that were to come.

Bonhoeffer on Marriage

2011-09-27T06:50:00.008-05:00

Dietrich Bonhoeffer never married. But when he was hanged on April 5th, 1943 for opposing Hitler, not only did the world lose a great pastor and theologian, Maria von Wedemeyer lost her fiance. Below are some of Bonhoeffer's reflections on marriage, most of them written from a prison cell as he awaited execution.

Marriage is more than your love for each other

“Marriage is more than your love for each other. . . . In your love you see only the heaven of your own happiness, but in marriage you are placed at a post of responsibility towards the world and mankind. Your love is your own private possession, but marriage is more than something personal—it is a status, and office. Just as it is the crown, and not merely the will to rule, that makes the king, so it is marriage, and not merely your love for each other, that joins you together in the sight of God and man.” Letters and Papers from Prison, 27.

Marriage is for God’s glory

“‘Welcome one another . . . for the glory of God.’ That is God’s word for your marriage. Thank him for it; thank him for leading you thus far; ask him to establish your marriage, to confirm it, sanctify it, and preserve it. So your marriage will be 'for the praise of his glory.’” Letters and Papers from Prison, 32.

Marriage is from above

“As you gave the ring to one another and have now received it a second time from the hand of the pastor, so love comes from you, but marriage from above, from God. As high as God is above man, so high are the sanctity, the rights, and the promise of love. It is not your love that sustains the marriage, but from now on, the marriage that sustains your love.” Letters and Papers from Prison, 27–28

The effects of the fall on marriage

“Over the destiny of woman and of man lies the dark shadow of a word of God’s wrath, a burden from God, which they must carry. The woman must bear her children in pain, and in providing for his family the man must reap many thorns and thistles, and labor in the sweat of his brow. This burden should cause both man and wife to call on God, and should remind them of their eternal destiny in his kingdom. Earthly society is only the beginning of the heavenly society, the earthly home an image of the heavenly home, the earthly family a symbol of the fatherhood of God.” Letters and Papers from Prison, 31

Forgiveness in marriage

“In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive.” Letters and Papers from Prison, 31

Conflict resolution

“God gives you Christ as the foundation of your marriage. ‘Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God’ (Rom. 15:7). . . . Don’t insist on your rights, don’t blame each other, don’t judge or condemn each other, don’t find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts.” Letters and Papers from Prison, 31–32

Husband as head

“Now when the husband is called ‘the head of the wife,’ and it goes on to say ‘as Christ is the head of the church’ (Eph. 5:23), something of the divine splendor is reflected in our earthly relationships, and this reflection we should recognize and honor. The dignity that is here ascribed to the man lies, not in any capacities or qualities of his work but in the office conferred on him by his marriage. The wife should see her husband clothed in this dignity. But for him it is supreme responsibility." Letters and Papers from Prison, 30

“As the head, it is he who is responsible for his wife, for their marriage, and for their home. On him falls the care and protection of the family; he represents it to the outside world; he is its mainstay and comfort; he is the master of the house, who exhorts, punishes, helps, and comforts, and stands for it before God. It is a good thing, for it is a divine ordinance when the wife honors the husband for his office’s sake, and when the husband properly performs the duties of his office.” Letters and Papers from Prison, 30

The rule of marriage: love and submission

“God establishes a rule of life by which you can live together in wedlock: 'Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives' (Col. 3:18, 19). With your marriage you are founding a home. That needs a rule of life, and this rule of life is so important that God establishes it himself, because without it everything would be out of joint. You may order your home as you like, except in one thing: the wife is to be subject to her husband and the husband is to love his wife." Letters and Papers from Prison, 28

Marriage is part of God’s greater plan

“Marriage is more than your love for each other. It has a higher dignity and power, for it is God’s holy ordinance, through which he wills to perpetuate the human race till the end of time. In your love you see only your two selves in the world, but in marriage you are a link in the chain of the generations, which God causes to come and to pass away to his glory, and calls into his kingdom.” Letters and Papers from Prison, 27

Joining together in marriage is God’s act

God makes your marriage indissoluble. 'What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder' (Matt 19:6). God joins you together in marriage; it is his act, not yours." Letters and Papers from Prison, 28

God sustains marriage

“God makes your marriage indissoluble, and protects it from every danger that may threaten it from within and without; he will be the guarantor of its indissolubility. It is a blessed thing to know that no power on earth, no temptation, no human frailty can dissolve what God holds together; indeed, anyone who knows that may say confidently: What God has joined together, can no man put asunder. Free from all the anxiety that is always a characteristic of love, you can now say to each other with complete and confident assurance: We can never lose each other now; by the will of God we belong to each other till death." Letters and Papers from Prison, 28

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, ed. Eberhard Bethge (New York:Macmillan, 1967)

*Quotes taken from John Piper, This Momentary Marriage

The Anointed One

2011-09-13T06:53:00.004-05:00

In the days of old
To bridge the gap of sin
God anointed leaders
Prophets, priests, and kings
But in these last days
God sent his Son
To cure blindness, guilt, and bondage
The Messiah, the Anointed One

A prophet named Moses
God sent to reveal
The truth of His Word
For all to hear
"Thus sayeth the Lord"
But our eyes were still blind
So God spoke through His Son
For the renewal of our minds

A priest named Melchizedek
God sent to reconcile
His people who had become distant
And by sin defiled
The offerings were pleasing
But to sin they did not put an end
So God sent his Son
The Lamb who bore our sins

A king named David
God sent to reign
Over sheep without a shepherd
That they'd never be enslaved
The king of Israel prospered
But to sin he was prone
So God sent his Son
To reign forever on the throne

Plentiful Redemption

2011-09-06T08:50:00.005-05:00

The sufficiency of Christ is a glorious doctrine: Jesus is enough. But in rejoicing over God's sufficient provision, may we never forget the abundance of his grace: Jesus is more than enough. God is "rich in mercy" (Eph 2:4), so he gives "plentiful redemption" (Ps 130:7), "exceeding joy" (Ps 43:4), and "everlasting love" (Isa 54:8). He is "abounding in steadfast love" (Ex 34:6), so he offers "abundant goodness" (Ps 145:7), "abundant peace" (Ps 37:11), and "abundant mercy" (Ps 51:1). And God sent his Son, that we might "have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). God is not sitting in Heaven rationing his limited amount of grace so that he can give out just the right amount and no more. God is rich in mercy. He is abounding in steadfast love. He himself is a never-ending fountain of joy. His grace is not like a wet rag that if twisted hard enough can squeeze out one more drop. It's like a massive waterfall that pours an unimaginable amount of water, yet never runs dry.

Moo, The Old Testament in the Gospel Passion Narratives

2011-09-01T07:12:00.007-05:00

In The Old Testament in the Gospel Passion Narratives Doug Moo shows how the gospel writers were shaped by the OT and therefore understood and presented Christ's death in its terms and as its climax. Moo focuses on the Servant Songs of Isaiah, Zechariah 9-14, the Lament psalms, and sacrificial imagery. Here are a few of his conclusions:

The OT provides the categories for understanding Jesus' death

"It seems certain that the OT element was integral to the description of Jesus' passion from the beginning, implying an interpretative function. As soon as the early Christians began to think and preach about the significance of Jesus' death, they must have utilized categories provided by the OT-sacrifices, the atoning death of the Servant, the innocent sufferer. And... these images cannot be regarded as mere 'modes of expression,' for they have, from the earliest strata of gospel tradition to the latest NT book, provided the essential categories in which Jesus' death was understood." 393-94

The OT is the most important source for understanding Jesus' death

"Therefore, while it must be firmly maintained that the significance of Jesus' sufferings was not deduced solely on the authority of OT texts, it is unjustified to reject the role of the OT in the process of developing a soteriology. The belief that the same God who spoke in Jesus had also spoken in the OT was axiomatic for Jesus and the first Christians, and this conviction in the unity of God's revelation legitimized the OT as the most important resource in the task of explaining the meaning of Jesus' sufferings." 395

Conclusion: The meaning of Jesus' death

"In conclusion, it may be appropriate to summarize briefly this significance as revealed in the gospel passion texts.

Jesus' death was an eschatological occurrence. The extraordinary signs accompanying the crucifixion and the use of language from the 'apocalyptic' chapters of Zechariah's prophecy (9-14) reveal this most clearly. In the passion and death of Jesus, God was acting decisively, mediating both salvation (Jn. 19:36) and judgment (Jn 19:37).

Jesus death was a sacrifice, the fulfillment of the Paschal feast and its significance (Jn. 19:36) and the foundation for the new covenant of God with his people (Mk 14:24//).

Jesus died as the Davidic King (the lament psalms), persecuted though innocent, abandoned by God though righteous (Mk. 15:34/), committed to God despite all (Lk. 23:46).

Jesus' death was vicarious (Mk 14:24) and substitutionary, an ultimate giving of himself which secured the relates of 'the many' (Mk. 10:45)." 397

What is the Bible Primarily About?

2011-08-31T09:47:00.001-05:00

If you think the Bible is primarily about what YOU are to do then you will be driven by guilt. If you think the Bible is primarily about what GOD has done, then you will be driven by grace.

The Bible in Three Minutes

2011-08-17T07:13:00.002-05:00

In the beginning

God created the heavens and the earth

He made us to know him, love him,

And declare his great worth

Be fruitful and multiply!

Edenize the world!

He gave us this mission

To represent his great rule

But Adam rebelled

Though it wasn’t him alone

We all set out to live life

With “me” on the throne

The relationship with God was fractured

The world became corrupt

But the goodness of his creation

God would not give up

By his great mercy

He set out to restore

Those who'd continue to reject him

Just as before

So he chose a man named Abram

To reverse the curse

And he promised to make him a blessing

To the people of all the earth

God bound himself to these people

A covenant with those who’d be called the Jews

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Then 12 tribes that he would choose

They grew and they grew

But ended up in slavery to Egypt

But God would redeem them

Crushing his enemies and giving them freedom

On the way to the promised Land

He gave them the Law

That they would know their need for grace

And live a life pleasing to God

The Lord dwelt among them

Manifesting his presence in a tent

And gave them the sacrificial system

To deal with their sin and repent

They entered the promised land

Conquered and divided

But they needed a great king

To lead and to guide them

David was the anointed king

Who ruled over the nation

But he ultimately pointed forward

To the one who’d rule all creation

The kingdom of Israel

Was vast and powerful

But they betrayed their redeemer

So he sent them into exile

After 70 years

They returned to their land

But this restoration was partial

It fell short of God’s final plan

For 400 years

They longed for fulfillment

A king to the rule the people

And a place for them to dwell in

Then God sent his Son

Israel’s hope found its fulfillment

But while they looked for a king in power

The messiah came as a servant

He preached the kingdom of God

The time of salvation had drawn near

The blind see, the lame walk

Good news for all to hear

His mission was accomplished

With unexpected wisdom

His obedient life led to sacrificial death

Bringing about his kingdom

The battle against Satan

He was surely to win

He did so not through force

But by the forgiving of sin

He died on the cross

Atoning for our sins

He bore the wrath of God

That death might meet its end

He rose from the dead

Jesus is alive

He’s the beginning of the new creation

As are those who are in Christ

Ascending to Heaven

He sat down at the right hand of God

And sent the Holy Spirit

To continue the work he’d begun

He rules his church

Through his Spirit and the Word

That we might proclaim his glory

And make disciples in all the world

One day he will return

And wrap up what he’d begun

And all this has been revealed

That we might know God through his Son

The Bible in One Sentence

2011-08-15T10:50:00.004-05:00

The Bible is the story of a gracious God restoring his broken creation, initially through Israel and ultimately in Jesus.

While most people know several stories from the Bible, many would have a hard time articulating the one story of the Bible - the big picture of what God is doing with this thing we call life. There are, of course, many different ways to tell the one story (I offer a few more below), but the key is that there is one, united, God-inspired, Christ-centered, narrative that binds together the great diversity within Scripture. The Bible is clearly more than narrative (epistles, proverbs, poetry, etc.), but the narrative provides a framework within which we can understand the rest. Christianity isn't about general principles of morality but about a person, Jesus, who accomplished something in history that shapes all of eternity. Here are a few other ways of telling the greatest story ever told.

The Bible is the story of God reversing the curse of Adam and Eve by blessing the world through Abram and his seed.

From Creation (Gen 1-2) to New Creation (Rev 21-22), the Bible is the story of Jesus making all things new (Rev 21:5).

The Bible is the story of the people of God being ransomed into the kingdom of God by the Son of God for the glory of God.

The Bible is the story of God's glory in salvation through judgment.

Uz, Buz, & Other Funny Bible Names

2011-08-01T08:54:00.005-05:00

Nimrod - The first "mighty man" on earth. Go figure.

Gomer - Poor girl. At least they didn't have last names back then.

Uz & Buz - If only tag team wrestling had been invented earlier, or at least chainsaws.

Ham & Mash - There had to be some awkward moments at the dinner table.

Mahershalalhashbaz - Imagine sitting next to this guy when you've gotta introduce your partner to the group.

Dorcas - Her parents must have been operating on the "jocks-end-up-pumping-the-nerd's-gas" principle.

We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it

2011-07-31T20:13:00.001-05:00

"This life, therefore,

is not righteousness but growth in righteousness,

not health but healing,

not being but becoming,

not rest but exercise.

We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it.

The process is not yet ﬁnished, but it is going on.

This is not the end but it is the road.

All does not yet gleam in glory but all is being puriﬁed."

Martin Luther, “Defense and Explanation of All the Articles,” Second Article (1521).

What is a Covenant?

2011-07-28T08:41:00.003-05:00

"Covenant" is one of grandest themes in Scripture, and yet is often ignored or misunderstood. What is a covenant? At the broadest level, a covenant is a type of relationship – the type of relationship between God (the King) and his people (the servants). Here's a concise, one phrase, definition that captures the essence of “covenant”:

A covenant is a "bond in blood sovereignly administered."[1]

“A Bond.

The covenant speaks of a deeply personal relationship between God and his people, a relationship so close that God may be through of as binding or tying himself to them, and them to him. In later covenants with Israel, a favorite expression is, “I will be your God and you will be my people” (as in Jeremiah 7:23).

In Blood.

A covenant is a serious, legally established relationship, like a marriage (also described as a “covenant” in the Old Testament). The serious, public nature of a covenant is symbolized in rituals involving sacrifice and the shedding of blood (as in Genesis 8:20-22).

Sovereignly administered.

This covenant is not a relationship between equal partners who hammer out mutually agreeable terms. God is the sovereign Lord, and he alone can establish the terms of the covenant relationship.”[2] 50-51

[1] O. Palmer Robertson, Christ and the Covenants, 4.

[2] Bartholomew and Green, The Drama of Scripture, 50-51.

John Stott

2011-07-27T14:35:00.006-05:00

John Stott went to be with the Lord today. Stott was one of my greatest heroes as a Christian, theologian, and preacher. His The Cross of Christ kindled my passion for the doctrine of the atonement early in my education and he has always been a model of a man who has a keen mind which he uses to edify Christ’s church. I’m saddened by his death, excited for the unspeakable joy he now has in Christ, and thankful that I will continue to learn from him through his writings. Below are some of my favorite John Stott quotes:

On the atonement

“For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.” The Cross of Christ, 160

On Scripture

“We believe the Scriptures because of Christ. He endorsed the Old Testament, and he made provision for the writing of the New Testament by giving to the apostles his authority. We therefore receive the Bible from the hand of Jesus Christ. It is he who has invested it with his own authority. And since we are determined to submit to him, we are determined to submit to it. Our doctrine of Scripture is bound up with our loyalty to Jesus Christ. If he is our Teacher and our Lord, we have no liberty to disagree with him. Our view of Scripture must be his.” God's Book For God's People, 38.

On Preaching

"This is the age of the sermonette: and sermonettes make Christianettes. Much of the current uncertainty about the gospel and the mission of the church must be due to a generation of preacher which has lost confidence in the Word of God, and no longer takes the trouble to study it in depth and to proclaim it without fear or favour." Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today, 7.

On the Gospel

“The Good News is the Gospel of God, about Christ, according to Scripture, for the nations, unto the obedience of faith, and for the sake of the Name.”

1. The origin of the Gospel is God. – “The Gospel of God…” (Rom 1:1)
2. The attestation of the gospel is Scripture. – “which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures….” (1:2 )
3. The substance of the Gospel is Jesus Christ.– “concerning his Son…” (1:3)
4. The Scope of the gospel is all nations.– “among all the nations” (1:5)
5. The purpose of the Gospel is the obedience to faith.– “to bring about the obedience of faith” (1:5)
6. The goal of the Gospel is the honor of Christ’s name.– “for the sake of his name” (1:5) The Message of Romans, 54.

The One Who Remains Crucified

2011-07-27T09:11:00.004-05:00

"You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen." (Mark 16:6)

“It is significant that the Greek uses the perfective aspect in this description of Jesus, which conveys ‘the state or condition of the subject of the verb as a result of an action’. He is ho estauromenos, ‘the one who remains crucified’. The crucified one has risen. The risen one is the crucified one.”

Peter Bolt, The Cross from a Distance, 167–68.

All His Benefits

2011-07-22T09:07:00.003-05:00

It's easy for Christians to fixate on one aspect of God's gracious work in our lives. Some cling to justification, others healing. Some forgiveness, others justice. An emphasis, however, when removed from the broader scope of "all his benefits" becomes a narrow reduction. Psalm 103 is a great reminder to bless the Lord and "forget not ALL his benefits."

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,

who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good (Ps 103:2-5)

The Chief Purpose of Life

2011-07-21T09:25:00.003-05:00

"The chief purpose of life, for any one of us, is to increase according to our capacity our knowledge of God by all means we have, and to be moved by it to praise and thanks."

JR Tolkien

Creation / De-Creation / New Creation

2011-07-20T10:14:00.001-05:00

Creation: God reigns over the earth through people.

De-Creation: People attempt to reign over God, thereby corrupting the earth.

New Creation: God reigns over the renewed earth through his crucified-resurrected Son and his reconciled people.

I just had a face-to-face encounter with Jesus and Isaiah

2011-07-19T10:18:00.003-05:00

They delivered our new mattress. Thanks guys.

The God Who Spreads Out His Hands

2011-05-31T09:13:00.005-05:00

Hundreds of years before Jesus died on the cross, God said, "I spread out my hands all day to a rebellious people." Here's the passage from Isaiah 65:

I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me;
I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.
I said, 'Here am I,' to a nation that was not called by my name.
I spread out my hands all the day to a rebellious people. (Isa 65:1-2)

Roughly 700 years later, God became man and literally "spread out his hands" on a cross before a rebellious crowd outside of Jerusalem. Although Jesus' hands were physically stretched out by centurions and held fast by nails, this was a voluntary and intentional act that was the pinnacle and fulfillment of God's steadfast love from the beginning of time. Three centuries later, Athanasius explained why Christ had to die by crucifixion:

"For it is only on the cross that a man dies with his hands spread out. Whence it was fitting for the Lord to beat this also and to spread out His hands, that with the one He might draw the ancient people, and with the other those from the Gentiles, and unite both in Himself."

Oh the breadth of the love of God! How gracious is God who, from the moment of the first sin in Eden, has spread his hands out to his people, and ultimately saved them by becoming a man and spreading out his hands on the cross.

Lauryn Hope Treat: Born in a Civic, Delivered by Dad

2011-05-25T23:42:00.009-05:00

I sent the following text message to family on May 8, 2011 (Mother’s Day) at 9:54am:

Lauryn Hope Treat. 7 lbs 12 oz. Born in the front

seat of our Civic in front of our apt, delivered by Dad.

Mom and baby are healthy, I’ll call later.

The rest of our phone record summarizes the story nicely, which is then told in full below.

7:44am Tiff calls uncle Bob (who is an OB Doctor): “I can’t tell if I’m in labor or not”

8:17am Jeremy calls neighbor Alison: “Are you around today? I might

need to bring Ashlyn up at some point”

8:24am Jeremy calls neighbor Alison: “Tiff’s water just broke, I’m

bringing Ashlyn up right now!”

8:32am Alison calls 911: “Help! My friend is giving birth in her car!”

8:33am Lauryn Hope Treat is born

9:44am Jeremy calls Uncle Bob: “Bob, I just delivered my first baby!”

It started off a pretty normal Sunday morning. I was making Mother’s Day breakfast for Tiff, our 18 month-old daughter Ashlyn was eating at her high chair, and we were planning on being out the door to church pretty soon. Tiff started feeling some contractions, but couldn’t tell if it was “the real deal” because she’d had contractions (false labor) a couple days before. Tiff called her doctor and her uncle Bob (also a Dr.) trying to figure out if she was actually going into labor or not, all the while joking around and saying,

“There’s a chance we might not make it to church today.” The contractions were 12 or 10 minutes apart and the doctors had made it clear that we weren’t supposed to come in until they were consistently 5 minutes apart, so I kept making breakfast as Tiff paced back and forth, possibly getting ready for the long haul. I called our neighbor Alison to let her know that later on in the day we might need her to watch Ashlyn. But then Tiff had two contractions t

hat were really strong and before I knew it she was on the ground crying in pain. “Get me to the hospital!” She shouted at me. “Okay okay,” I said, as I got the bag together and got Ashlyn ready. Tiff went to the bathroom, and as I was gathering our stuff I heard the sound of gushing water, followed by Tiff shouting, “my water just broke!” I called Alison, ran Ashlyn upstairs and by the time I came back Tiff was literally running down the stairs to get to the car. “Tiff! Wait for me!” I said, having a hard time believing that my “ready to burst” wife was leaving without me. So I grabbed our bag, caught up to her, and we walked across the street together. But just as we walked around the back of our Honda Civic, Tiff started another contraction.

“The baby is here, Jeremy,” Tiff wimpered, as she braced herself by putting one hand on the car and one on me. Unbeknownst to me, at this point Tiff could literally feel the head coming out, so she did what only a woman being driven by pain could do – began to lay down on the sidewalk and pull her pants down. I tried to convince Tiff to let me carry her back ins ide but when she told me that we didn’t have time, I opened the door of the car and placed her in the front passenger seat. I leaned her seat back, put her feet on the dash, and shouted “don’t push!” You see, at this point I was still thinking we were going to the hospital. I had remained pretty calm and cool; lots of people rush to the hospital for delivery, right? But then I looked down, saw the head about 1/3 of the way out, and had my moment of realization. “We’re not going to the hospital. We’re gonna have this baby in broad daylight, right here on Polk St.,” I thought to myself. And just as I realized this I looked up and there were two people walking on the sidewalk for their Sunday stroll, and I thought, “I have to take her pants off.” There was no turning back. It was also at this point that our neighbor Alison, who was watching everything from the third floor window, saw the look of fear on my face and shouted, “should I call 911?” “Yes!” I shouted back, and then braced myself for what was to come, one foot on the sidewalk and one in the car.

The next few seconds were probably the scariest of my entire life. Tiff, screaming at the top of her lungs for as long as her breath would let her go, gave a big push and the head came all the way out. Here’s the scary part: as soon as I saw the head, I could see that the umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around the baby’s neck and her face was completely blue. The lifeless look on her face sent fear and adrenaline through every inch of my body I reached in to try to get the umbilical cord off her neck. I grabbed it but it wouldn’t budge. “If I pull on it too hard will it hurt the baby? I have to get it off.” So I wedged my hand inside of it, wiggled it off her head, and then yelled at Tiff like I never have before, “Push! Push! You have to get this baby out now!” Tiff could sense the urgency in my voice, gave a big push, and out came a slimy, bruised, and blue baby. When I caught her, I couldn’t tell if she was breathing or not, so in an instant (I didn’t have time to think throughout all of this, it was pure instincts) I did what I had heard before and spanked her to make her cry, so she would breath. It worked! She cried! Our little girl was breathing! I held her up for Tiff to see, saying, “Tiff you did it! She’s fine!” I then laid her down on the floorboard, wiped her off with Tiff’s pants and cradled her in my arms.

Picture this: I’m standing over Tiff, one foot in the car and one on the sidewalk, holding this tiny baby, with the umbilical cord still connected to Tiff – and all of this on a calm Sunday morning in our quiet neighborhood (with a small crowd by this point). Then I remembered what our doctor had done when Ashlyn was born, and I placed the baby on Tiff’s chest. Within two or three minutes the fire truck showed up. The EMT ran to the car and said, “the baby was already born?” He cut the umbilical cord, wrapped baby Lauryn up in a blanket and handed her to me, and then attended to Tiff. I held Lauryn on the sidewalk for about 5 minutes, until the ambulance arrived, and we all rode to the hospital, Tiff on a stretcher and Lauryn in my arms.

The first time Lauryn opened her eyes, the first thing she saw in this world was her Dad’s face in the back of an ambulance, riding through downtown Chicago. When we arrived at the hospital they took us to the ER, where Tiff delivered the placenta and the doctors made sure Lauryn was alright. Mom and baby were completely healthy. Before we knew it, it was just the three of us sitting in our hospital room overlooking Lake Michigan, hardly being able to believe what had just happened.

As I reflect back on that day I’m overwhelmed by the abundance of God’s grace in my life. My wife is amazing!!! I love Tiffany for who she is, and although this event certainly brought about a new and utterly unique circumstance, it did not bring about anything new with my wife’s character. It revealed, rather, who she is and has always been: an incredibly beautiful and strong woman. I’ve never loved my wife more than I do now, and I can’t imagine a greater woman to grow a family with. For her strength, compassion, beauty, and love for God – I adore her, and long for nothing more for our daughter Lauryn than to be just like her mom.

And how gracious is our great God? The author and sustainer of life, the giver of all good things, the King who providentially works all things in accordance with his will. From the minute that Lauryn was born we have given God all the glory for both this incredible story and the beautiful life that it resulted in. Before we ever picked Lauryn’s first name (a couple days before she was born), we had decided that we wanted her middle name to be Hope, and here’s why. Tiff and I have learned time and time again that in the midst of this broken world (evident from watching the news or just taking an honest look at your own heart), that our hope is ultimately in Jesus Christ and the good news that through Him, God has reconciled the world to himself. Our hope is not in our own ability, not in career, not in what others think of us, not even in having a great family – our Hope is in Jesus. And this story, the birth of Lauryn Hope, confirms that truth more than ever, to the glory of God.

A Few Common Questions

1) Is this for real?

Yep. On Lauryn’s birth certificate my name will be listed twice; once as the Father and also as the Doctor. The birth address will be our home address. We also have a few pretty funny stories from the neighbors. One guy approached us when we first came home from the hospital and said, “Are you the couple who had the baby on the street?” Turns out that he was sleeping, woke up to a woman screaming (thought maybe there was a mugging), then heard a man shouting “Push! Push!,” and then heard a baby cry. Tiff told him sorry for waking him up.

2) What about the car? How’s the resale value?

The front seat was not looking too good afterwards, but the detail guys did a pretty amazing job, and you can barely notice. I figure we’ll keep the car until Lauryn is 16 and tell all the boys in her school about her birth.

3) Do you want to deliver your other kids too?

No way. I’m one for one, which is a pretty good percentage last time I checked. I’ll retire while I’m on top. Ironically, Tiff asked me a couple weeks before Lauryn’s birth if I would ever want to be the one to catch the baby if the doctor would let me. I laughed and said, “not a chance, that’s his job. I’m content cutting the umbilical cord.” It’s especially ironic because with Ashlyn, the only thing I did was cut the umbilical cord. With Lauryn, the only thing I did not do was cut the umbilical cord.

The Essence of the Christian Religion

2011-05-17T10:57:00.002-05:00

"The essence of the Christian religion consists in the reality that the creation of the Father, ruined by sin, is restored in the death of the Son of God and re-created by the grace of the Holy Spirit in to a kingdom of God."

Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, V1, p. 112

Life Expectancy and the Defeat of Death

2011-05-16T08:45:00.004-05:00

The average life expectancy in the United States today is 79 years. In the 1st century Roman world it was 20-25 (Bolt, Jesus' Defeat of Death, p. 28). We live in an age today where people avoid the thought of death, do everything medically possible to postpone it and cosmetically possible to cover up its effects. In short, we live as if we'll never die. But Jesus was born into a world where death was as apparent as the dirt on their feet. As the ultimate penalty of sin, death was the great enemy that cut short all the blessings of a life lived for the glory of God. This dreaded "death expectancy" of 20-25 years provides a dark background upon which the glorious work of Christ shines brighter than ever. For Jesus "abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Tim 1:10). How did he abolish death? "That through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery" (Heb 2:14). Although death is a reality for us all, it has lost its sting and is swallowed up in victory (1 Cor 15:54-55). "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Cor 15:57)

Creation, Christ, and Canon

2011-05-05T11:58:00.003-05:00

"God makes himself known in three ways:

through creation,
through Christ, and
through the canon.

Note that though the canon comes last in the order of being, it comes first in the order of knowing, for without the canonical witness we would not be able to know God truly either through creation or through Christ."

Kevin Vanhoozer, Drama of Doctrine, 47.

Why the heck was John baptizing before Jesus came?

2011-04-25T12:01:00.003-05:00

You ever ask this question? It’s a good one. If baptism wasn’t practiced in the OT and Jesus had not yet instituted it as a Christian practice, then why was John baptizing? Joel Marcus gives a succinct answer:

“In the Old Testament period, priests washed themselves before taking part in sacrifices, and ordinary people did likewise if they had contracted some sorts of ritual impurity… This ritual washing was eventually extended to Gentile proselytes to Judaism, who thereby purged themselves of the uncleanness of their pagan life; immersion in a ritual bath therefore became requirement for conversion.”

Joel Marcus, Mark 1-8, p. 155

Kimyal Tribe Receiving the Bible

2011-04-21T14:31:00.001-05:00

G.O.S.P.E.L.

2011-04-21T14:25:00.001-05:00

G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.

(John) Webster’s Definition of Christian Theology

2011-04-04T10:59:00.001-05:00

“Christian theology is biblical reasoning. It is the redeemed intellect's reflective apprehension of God's gospel address through the embassy of Scripture, enabled and corrected by God's presence and having fellowship with him as its end.”

John Webster. “Biblical Reasoning.” Anglican Theological Review 90 (2008), 747.

Sun-Centered and the Science of Salvation

2011-03-24T14:08:00.003-05:00

I’ve heard this analogy a lot, but it’s always cooler when someone said it 400 years ago. Pierre de Bérulle, 17th century French mystic, said the following about Copernicus:

“An excellent mind of this age claimed that the sun and not the earth is at the centre of the universe. He maintained that it is stationary, and that the earth…moves in relation to the sun. This new opinion is useful and should be followed in the science of salvation.”

Quoted in Gerald O’Collins and Michael Keenan Jones, Jesus Our Priest, 184.

Who is the Temple?

2011-03-23T08:33:00.001-05:00

The function of the Temple in the OT as the dwelling place of God has been transferred in the NT to Christ and his people. It can be confusing, however, because the temple (no longer a what, but a who) is applied in a variety of ways. So who is the temple?

Jesus is the temple (John 2:19)
The individual Christian is the temple (1 Cor 6:19)
The local church is the temple (1 Cor 3:16)
The universal church is the temple (Eph 2:20-22)

So how do all these fit together? I think the concept of union with Christ can help. Ultimately, God dwells in Jesus, who is called Immanuel (God with us). But individual Christians are united with Christ by the Holy Spirit and therefore united to him also as an entire body. In sum, Jesus is the true temple, and as Christians are "in Christ," they (individually and corporately) are the dwelling place of God on earth.

The Story of the Temple

2011-03-21T07:44:00.004-05:00

Vaughn Roberts tells the story of how someone showed him the "big picture" of the Bible by giving him a "whistle-stop tour" of the Temple in the storyline of Scripture. It's a sweeping, yet concise, explanation of the temple that shows why it's not just about an old building far removed from Christians today.

"We began in the garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve did not need a temple because God's presence was everywhere; and traveled to the new creation, heaven, where once again there is no temple 'because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple' (Revelation 21:22). Along the way we made brief stops at the tabernacle in the wilderness; the temple in Jerusalem; the new-temple prophecies of Ezekiel; the Lord Jesus Christ, who 'tabernacled' among us' (John 1:14, literally); and the church ('a holy temple in the Lord', Ephesians 2:21)."

Vaughn Roberts, God's Big Picture, p. 9-10.

The Atonement in the Life of the Christian

2011-03-16T14:12:00.004-05:00

“So the atonement ... is for the believer
the foundation of faith,
the source of freedom,
the ground of justification,
the spur for sanctification,
the theme of witness,
the trigger for worship,
the warrant for hope and
the model for love.”

J. I. Packer, 2004. "The Atonement in the Life of the Christian," 415.

The Kingdom Story is a Glory Story

2011-03-10T07:27:00.001-06:00

“It is the glory of God, not the pre-eminence of the people, which is placed in the center both at the beginning and during the progress of the preaching of the kingdom…Everything in the announcement of the kingdom is concentrated on the divine “quant a moi” (his own glory)…The coming of the kingdom is first of all the display of the divine glory, the re-assertion and maintenance of God’s rights on earth in their full sense.”

Herman N. Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom. (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1962), 21-22.

The Bible's Promise Structure

2011-03-03T14:28:00.007-06:00

This is an amazing visual. Click to enlarge.

HT: Trent Hunter

Allen Yeh: Academics Serving the Church

2011-03-01T13:23:00.002-06:00

Great words in this video by Biola professor, Allen Yeh. I believe that academic theology exists to serve the church, and in this video Yeh discusses particularly how global theological education must now play a key role.

HT: Koinonia

Luther: God is Glorified in His Righteous Judgment Over Hell

2011-02-27T17:03:00.015-06:00

Most Christians believe in Hell, but are ashamed of it.

Rob Bell is dismissing Hell, and is unabashed about it.

Martin Luther would go crazy over both.

Humanity is created for God's glory (Isa 43:7). But God is glorified not only in graciously saving his people (Eph 1:3-14), but also in righteously judging the wicked (Ps 9). Martin Luther, whose passion for God was only matched by his political incorrectness, fought for God's glory in righteously sending the wicked to Hell. Luther argues that in the same way that Heaven is the outcome of God’s grace and love, Hell is the outcome of God’s righteous judgment and wrath. Both Heaven and Hell, therefore, contribute to God’s glory. In Luther’s letter to the Elector Frederick the Wise, he writes about how the punishments of Hell attest to God’s holiness, justice, and omnipotence:

“Since God is a just Judge, we must love and laud His justice and thus rejoice in God even when He miserably destroys the wicked in body and soul; for in all this his high and inexpressible justice shines forth. And so even hell, no less than heaven, is full of God and the highest Good. For the justice of God is God himself; and God is the highest Good. Therefore even as his mercy, so his justice or judgment must be loved, praised, and glorified above all things.”

For Luther, the doctrine of Hell is not a reason for embarrassment, but a rationale for praising God for his justice and holiness. The love of God need not shrink before the reality of Hell, but rather shine brighter in the darkness of humanity's rebellion.

This idea, that God is praised for his righteous judgment, is explicit in Scripture, and especially prevalent in the Psalms. One example of this Psalm 9.

[9:1] I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
[2] I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

[3] When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before your presence.
[4] For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

[5] You have rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
[6] The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
their cities you rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.

[7] But the LORD sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
[8] and he judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with uprightness.

[9] The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
[10] And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

[11] Sing praises to the LORD, who sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his deeds!

Reign of Grace

2011-02-25T11:18:00.009-06:00

This idea could change your life: If you're a Christian, trials and tribulations in this life are never punishment from God. Quite the opposite, because Jesus bore all our punishment on the cross, everything in this life (including trials and tribulations) is a gift of God's grace. A torrential downpour may appear to be devastating and destructive, but when the ground is parched from drought, a storm is an abundance of grace. Or as Hebrews 12 puts it, God is like a Father who does not remove a child from difficult situations because he knows they will produce character in the child. The word for this is "discipline," not in the sense of punishment, but as training in holiness. So next time a trial comes into your life, remember that it's not God punishing you. No, Christ bore your punishment and God is your Father who is ever gracious to you. The trial before you is a gracious gift from God so that you would press on to maturity (James 1:2-4) and continually trust in Christ as your rock. For when you understand that Christ bore all your punishment on the cross, you will see that the storms of life are ultimately the reign of grace.

This is no novel truth, but has been taught throughout church history, especially from those who went through much greater trials than most of us today.

Augustine

"What you suffer, what you complain about, is your medicine, not your penalty; your chastisement, not your condemnation. Do not put away the scourge if you do not want to be put away from the inheritance.... Know, brethren, that all this misery of humankind in which the world groans is medicinal pain and not a penal sentence."

Calvin

"While we as children of God are afflicted by the hand of the Heavenly Father, this is not a penalty to confound us, but only a chastisement to instruct us.... What would the children of God do if they believed the severity they fell is his vengeance? For he who, struck by the hand of God, thinks God a punishing Judge cannot conceive of him as other than wrathful and hostile; cannot but detest the very scourge of God as curse and damnation. In short, he who feels that God still intends to punish him can never be persuaded that he is loved by God. But he who in the end profits by God's scourges is the man who considers God angry at his vices, but merciful and kindly toward himself." Institutes, 3.4.33

Crucifixion or Decapitation?

2011-02-21T10:02:00.001-06:00

The claim to follow Christ apart from the church (his body) is an attempt to decapitate Jesus. He wasn’t decapitated for your individualistic spirituality, he was crucified because he “loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25).

The Church of the Triune God

2011-02-20T21:15:00.001-06:00

The church is the family of Father (Eph 4:6), the body of the Son (Eph 5:23), and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:3).

From Sinai to Zion

2011-02-18T11:33:00.005-06:00

"The transition from Sinai to Zion is the procession from shadow to reality, from the promise that is heard to the fulfillment that is fully seen and possessed as a living experience, and from a national blessing dependent on Israel's obedience to universal blessing dependent on the obedience of the faithful Israel, Jesus Christ, on behalf of his people."

Michael S. Horton, The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 720.

Don't Try to Patch Up the Gospel

2011-02-14T07:55:00.003-06:00

"All those, then, who not content with the gospel, patch it with something extraneous to it, detract from Christ's authority.... That is, outside Christ there is nothing worth knowing, and all who by faith perceive what he is like have grasped the whole immensity of heavenly benefits. For this reason, Paul writes in another passage: 'I decided to know nothing precious...except Jesus Christ and him crucified' This is very true, because it is not lawful to go beyond the simplicity of the gospel."

Calvin's Institutes, 2.15.2

The best argument for environmental concerns is love of neighbor

2011-02-12T13:50:00.003-06:00

Why should Christians care about the environment? Piper gives a unique perspective on this question that I think needs to be taken seriously in the conversation. Yes, we should care about the environment because God is sovereign over all things, he created all things good, and is renewing the heavens and the earth. But the greatest argument for environmental concerns is the love of neighbor. Why do we want clean water? Not for the earth’s sake, but for people’s sake. We want to provide clean water so our neighbors and our grandchildren can be healthy. It comes back to a fundamental distinction in Scripture: God greatly cares for all that he has made, but he uniquely and specially loves humans, those he made in his image, above all else. So should Christians care about the environment? Yes! God is renewing all things. But we should ultimately care for the environment because God has called us to love people.

Augustine: God Hardens the Hard

2011-01-21T08:59:00.003-06:00

“This ought to be the fixed and immobile conviction of your heart, that there is no unrighteousness with God. Therefore, whenever you read in the Scriptures of Truth, that men are led aside, or that their hearts are blunted and hardened by God, never doubt that some ill deserts of their own have first occurred, so that they justly suffer these things.”

On Grace and Free Will, ch. 43

Size of the Universe (God's Glory on Display)

2011-01-17T13:07:00.005-06:00

Watch this video...and the verses below will be more profound than ever.

"[Jesus] upholds the universe by the word of his power." (Heb 1:3)

"The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge." (Ps 19:1-2)

"O Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens....
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?" (Ps 8:1,3-4)

Christ Died Between Two Thieves - Not Two Candles

2011-01-02T13:39:00.003-06:00

"We would be altogether wrong were we to conclude that the essence of Christianity is to withdraw from the world into splendid isolation. God became involved with the pain of the world in Jesus Christ - even the pangs of death. The symbol of our faith - the cross - was not raised in a cathedral between two candles, but on a hill just outside of a city between two thieves. There was a road passed that cross, a road so cosmopolitan that Pilate had his inscription written above the head of our Lord in three languages: the Hebrew, the Latin, and the Greek. Below the cross, and around the cross were the kind of people God loves; the kind Christ died for. The cynics talked smut and the thieves cursed, and the soldiers gambled for his robe. That is where Jesus was. That is where he died."

Murray, Ralph L. Christ and the City. Nashville: Broadman, 1970, 17.

Satisfied by God, and yet Longing for More

2010-12-29T13:51:00.000-06:00

18th Century Missionary to the Native Americans, David Brainerd:

“God has been pleased to keep my soul hungry almost continually, so that I have been filled with a kind of pleasing pain. When I really enjoy God, I feel my desires of Him the more insatiable, and my thirstings after holiness the more unquenchable. And the Lord will not allow me to feel as though I were fully supplied and satisfied, but keeps me still reaching forward.”

David Brainerd, The Life and Diary of David Brainerd: With a Biographical Sketch of the Life and Work of Jonathan Edwards, ed. Jonathan Edwards (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1989), 103.

Whitefield on Scripture

2010-12-28T19:31:00.004-06:00

"If we once get above our Bibles, and cease making the written word of God our sole rule both as to faith and practice, we shall soon lie open to all manner of delusion, and be in great danger of making shipwreck of faith and a good conscience. Our blessed Lord, though He had the Spirit of God without measure, yet always was governed by, and fought the devil with, 'It is written.'"

George Whitefield, "Walking With God"

Classic Quotes on Law & Gospel

2010-12-23T08:06:00.005-06:00

Augustine

“The usefulness of the law lies in convicting man of his infirmity and moving him to call upon the remedy of grace which is in Christ.” (quoted in Calvin 2.7.9)

Martin Luther

"Virtually the whole of the Scriptures and the understanding of the whole of theology depends upon the true understanding of the law and the gospel."

“Therefore we do not abolish the Law; but we show its true function and use, namely, that it is a most useful servant impelling us to Christ. After the Law has humbled, terrified, and completely crushed you, so that you are on the brink of despair, then see to it that you know how to use the Law correctly; for its function and use is not only to disclose the sin and wrath of God but also to drive us to Christ.” (LW, 26:327)

John Calvin

“Moses had no other intention than to invite all men to go straight to Christ.”

“But the Gospel has not succeeded the whole Law in such a sense as to introduce a different method of salvation. It rather confirms the Law, and proves that every thing which it promised is fulfilled.” (2.9.4)

Charles H. Spurgeon

“As the sharp needle prepares the way for the thread, so the piercing law makes a way for the bright silver thread of divine grace.” (Parables and Miracles, 3:413)

J. Gresham Machen,

“A low view of law always brings legalism in religion; a high view of law makes a seeker after grace.” (What is Faith?, 1925, p. 152)

Samuel Bolton

“The law sends us to the gospel that we may be justified; and the gospel sends us to the law again to inquire what is our duty as those who are justified…. The law sends us to the gospel for our justification; the gospel sends us to the law to frame our way of life.”

Thomas Ascol

“The law was given to teach sinners their sin. When a sinner sees the law in all its strictness and spirituality, he thereby comes to understand the spiritual bankruptcy and grave danger of his condition. The law, able to condemn but unable to save, sends the convicted sinner looking for salvation in the only place it can be found. It sends him to Jesus Christ who, in His perfect law-fulfilling life and perfect law-fulfilling death, gave Himself to redeem helpless sinners. When Christ receives repentant, believing men and women, He forgives them, grants them His righteousness, and gives them His Spirit. He writes His law on their new hearts and empowers them to follow Him in obedient discipleship. As the One who perfectly kept the law Himself, He then leads His disciples to obey the commandments.”

John Bunyan

“The man who does not know the nature of the law cannot know the nature of sin. And he who does not know the nature of sin cannot know the nature of the Savior.”

Isaac Watts

The Law commands and makes us know
What duties to our God we owe
But ’tis the Gospel must reveal
Where lies our strength to do His will

The Law discovers guilt and sin
And shows how vile our hearts have been
The Gospel only can express
Forgiving love and cleansing grace

What curses doth the Law denounce
Against the man that fails but once!
But in the Gospel, Christ appears
Removing guilt of many years

My soul, no more attempt to draw
Thy life and comfort from the Law!
Fly to the hope the Gospel gives
That man that trusts the promise lives!

Ralph Erskine

The law supposing I have all,
Does ever for perfection call;
The gospel suits my total want,
And all the law can seek does grant.

The law could promise life to me,
If my obedience perfect be;
But grace does promise life upon
My Lord’s obedience alone.

The law says, Do, and life you’ll win;
But grace says, Live, for all is done;
The former cannot ease my grief,
The latter yields me full relief.

The law will not abate a mite,
The gospel all the sum will quit;
There God in thret’nings is array’d
But here in promises display’d.

The law excludes not boasting vain,
But rather feeds it to my bane;
But gospel grace allows no boasts,
Save in the King, the Lord of Hosts.

Lo! in the law Jehovah dwells,
But Jesus is conceal’d;
Whereas the gospel’s nothing else
But Jesus Christ reveal’d.

Why Doctrine Matters (1 Tim 4)

2010-12-01T08:13:00.002-06:00

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

This quote by A.W. Tozer is deeply profound, but why is it true? Because what you believe about God will directly shape the way you live your life. The biblical word for this (what you believe about who God is and what he’s done) is “doctrine,” and according to 1 Timothy 4, it is essential for every Christian. Paul explains to Timothy that in order to be “a good servant of Christ Jesus,” he must be trained in doctrine. But in today’s pragmatism-driven society, we have to ask why doctrine is even necessary. First, because just as in Timothy’s time, today there are plenty of “irreverent, silly myths” out there that are vying for our attention. The purpose of doctrine isn’t merely to sit around and theologically nit-pick ourselves to irrelevance. No! It is to rightly understand the teaching of Scripture and to distinguish it from false teaching of others. Secondly, being trained in doctrine is essential for every Christian because what you believe about God will greatly impact the way you act in your daily life. If you think God isn’t bothered by sin, you probably won’t live a holy life. If you think God is a cosmic moral policeman, you probably won’t have much fun in life. If you think “Jesus is my homeboy” then you probably won’t submit to him. Practical daily living is a great aim, but only truly happens when it is rooted in a biblical view of our great God and King. Lastly, and most importantly, doctrine is not a step that goes beyond the gospel. The purpose of doctrine is to help us further understand the gospel and walk in line with the gospel. As we are transformed by the good news of Jesus, we continually deepen our understanding of who God is and what he’s done for us, resulting in “sound doctrine, in accordance with the gospel” (1 Tim 1:10-11). It was imperative for Paul that Christians take seriously their beliefs about who God is and what he has done. May his charge resound in churches today: Keep a close watch on your doctrine! Love God with your mind! Grow in the knowledge of God! And ultimately, seek to understand what God has done in Christ and walk in line with the truth of his gospel.

Prophets of the Old Testament (Timeline & Chart)

2010-11-28T18:39:00.004-06:00

Here's a timeline and a chart that I made of the prophets of the Old Testament. It shows how each prophet fits into the storyline of Scripture. The dates are based on John Walton's Survey of the Old Testament. (Click to enlarge)

A Picture of the OT "Writings"

2010-11-12T10:22:00.005-06:00

In an age where theology and practice are often thought to be on opposite ends of the spectrum, the OT Writings provide a corrective to speculative theorizing and misguided pragmatism. The Writings (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes) are both radically God-centered and extremely practical.

The phrase used to describe this God-centeredness in the Writings is the "Fear of the LORD." Although this clearly includes the concept of a reverent fear (it's amazing how people find a way to not make this mean fear), it means much more than this. In the Writings this is a catch-all phrase that essentially acknowledges that God is God and we are his creation. When you rightfully see God as King and Lord, you have a reverent fear for Him that leads to a deep, yet asymmetrical relationship.

The practicality of the Writings is exemplified in the word "Wisdom." Although our culture usually pictures wisdom in terms of an old man with white hair sitting in a leather chair spouting aphorisms, Scripture's understanding of wisdom is quite different. Wisdom isn't merely having great knowledge, but applying that knowledge practically in everyday life. "Practical wisdom," you could call it, and the Writings are full of it. Friendships, work, sex, ethics, speech, marriage, health; the Writings discuss all these and more.

But how is this everyday practical advice any different than secular moral pithy sayings? It is precisely here that the connection between the God-centeredness and the everyday life come together. "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov 9:10). The everyday, practical wisdom of the Writings is rooted in the concept of the "fear of the Lord." As one lives in right relationship with their King, it will play out practically in every aspect of their lives.

Theology Exists to Serve the Church

2010-11-09T22:41:00.002-06:00

Here's a great video by the Society for the Advancement of Ecclesial Theology. Vanhoozer's words on how "theology exists to serve the church"are particularly insightful.

SAET from Gerald Hiestand on Vimeo.

What's the Difference Between the Church and the Kingdom?

2010-10-20T09:18:00.003-05:00

“The basileia [kingdom] is the great divine work of salvation in its fulfillment and consummation in Christ; the ekklesia [church] is the people elected and called by God and sharing in the bliss of the basilea. Logically, the basileia ranks first, and not the ekklesia. The former, therefore, has a much more comprehensive content. It represents the all-embracing perspective, it denotes the consummation of all history, brings both grace and judgment, has cosmic dimensions, fills time and eternity. The ekklesia in all this is the people who in this great drama have been placed on the side of God in Christ by virtue of the divine election and covenant.”

Herman Ridderbos, Coming of the Kingdom, 354

Stop Being What You Are Not!

2010-10-07T12:36:00.005-05:00

"Stop being what you are not!...We say to a man, Don’t be a baby! You are now an adult man, well then, do not behave as if you were a baby! Stop being what you are not! That is putting off the old man. Putting on the new man is the opposite of this. It is, be what you are! The trouble with us all is that we are not what we are. I am not trying to be paradoxical; this is Christianity! Be what you are!"

Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Darkness and Light: An Exposition of Ephesians 4:17-5:17 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1982), 170.

Carson - "What is the Gospel? - Revisited"

2010-10-05T11:52:00.005-05:00

While the word 'gospel' is being thrown around in all sorts of ways, Carson's new essay brings it back to how the Bible itself uses the word. You can read or download the whole essay here. Below are some of the highlights.

The Gospel…

“is the announcement of what God has done, and must not be confused with our responses.” (147)

“can be summarized in a number of ways, but is always deeply Christocentric.” (155)

“is the news of what God has done; it is not the stipulation that God requires.” (159)

“is what God has done in Jesus, supremely in his death and resurrection. Period.” (162)
"is the good news about what God has done.” (162)
"has an intrinsic demand to it, such that our rearticulation of the demand for repentance, faith, and obedience cannot be divorced from the gospel itself." (162)

Unity & Diversity of the Word/Concept ‘Gospel’ in the NT

“If the gospel word-group in the New Testament is taken to mean the (good) news of what God has done, supremely in Jesus, including his coming, death, and resurrection and all that he does that flows from this sacrifice, we have a category broad enough to embrace almost all the uses while allowing subtle refinements in individual passages.” (155)

The Gospel and Social Justice

“That the Bible says quite a lot of important things about justice is not in dispute. The question, rather, is whether it ever labels the demand for justice “gospel.” Frankly, it does not.” (159)

One Gospel, Broad And Narrow

“…although one can discern two foci in “gospel” texts—both having to do with the message of what God has done or is doing, but one more focused on Christ and his cross and how people are saved, the other taking in the broadest sweep of restoration in the new heaven and the new earth—these are not two separate and competing gospels, two distinguishable and complementary gospels. There is but one gospel of Jesus Christ. The narrower focus draws you to Jesus—his incarnation, his death and resurrection, his session and reign—as that from which all the elements of what God is doing are drawn. The broader focus sketches in the mighty dimensions of what Christ has secured.” (161-62)

The Gospel Is Not Just for Unbelievers, But Also for Believers

“The gospel is not a minor theme that deals with the point of entry into the Christian way, to be followed by a lot of material that actually brings about the life transformation… the gospel is regularly presented not only as truth to be received and believed, but the very power of God to transform (see 1 Corinthians 2; 1 Thess. 2:4).” (164-65)

Redefining the English Word “Evangelist”

“The problem is that in contemporary English “evangelist” calls to mind someone who preaches the “gospel” to unbelievers with the aim of seeing them converted…. I have come to suspect, however, that we are in danger of reading back into the Greek word εὐαγγελιστής what the English transliteration “evangelist” means. If instead we understand εὐαγγελιστής in terms of its cognates ευαγγέλιον and ευαγγελίζω, then a εὐαγγελιστής is simply someone who proclaims the ευαγγέλιον, the gospel…such an “evangelist” will still be proclaiming the gospel even when such proclamation is not directed toward outsiders with the aim of their conversion. In short, an “evangelist” in the New Testament sense is simply a gospel-preacher, an announcer of the gospel.” (166)

The ALL-Encompassing Implications of Christ’s Authority

2010-10-04T08:32:00.005-05:00

Gospel-Driven Sanctification

2010-09-30T15:19:00.001-05:00

“We must always keep focused on the gospel because it is in the nature of sanctification that as we grow, we see more and more of our sinfulness. Instead of driving us to discouragement, though, this should drive us to the gospel. It is the gospel believed every day that is the only enduring motivation to pursue progressive sanctification even in those times when we don't seem to see progress. That is why I use the expression "gospel-driven sanctification" and that is why we need to 'preach the gospel to ourselves every day.'"

Jerry Bridges, “Gospel-Driven Sanctification” Modern Reformation Magazine (May/June Issue, Vol. 12.3, 2003)

God's Word and the Structure of the Tanak

2010-09-25T09:26:00.002-05:00

“Tanak” is a Hebrew acronym (TNK) for the three main divisions of the Old Testament.

Torah (Law)

Nevi’im (Prophets)

Ketuvim (Writings)

Though the words of the Tanak themselves clearly claim to be the Word of God, even the very structure of the Tanak shows the emphasis on God’s word. As demonstrated below, each of the major sections of the Tanak begin by drawing attention to the priority of God’s Word.

Torah (Law)

Genesis 1-2: The Torah begins with God speaking creation into existence. As king over creation, he reigns through his word.

Nevi’im (Prophets)

Joshua 1:8: The Nevi’im begins with Joshua being commissioned to keep the Law of the LORD and to mediate on it day and night.

Ketuvim (Writings)

Psalm 1:2-3: The Psalms begin with the declaration that he who delights in the Law of the LORD is like a tree planted by streams of water.

Piper Copied Cyril of Jerusalm (4th century)...And So Should You

2010-09-23T12:01:00.004-05:00

I've always loved this quote from Piper about the cross.

"There was only one hope for me - that the infinite wisdom of God might make a way for the love of God to satisfy the wrath of God so that I might become a son of God."

But recently I read this quote from Cyril of Jerusalem, written over 1600 years ago!

“These things the Savior endured, and made peace through the Blood of His cross, for things in heaven and things in earth. For we were enemies of God through sin, and God had appointed the sinner to die. There must needs therefore have happened one of two things; either that God, in His truth, should destroy all men, or that in his loving-kindness he should cancel the sentence. But behold the wisdom of God; He preserved both the truth of his sentence, and the exercise of his loving-kindness. Christ took our sins in his body on the tree, that we by his death might die to sin, and live unto righteousness.”

Ahhh, how glorious is it that this amazing truth has been passed on throughout the generations of the church. May we continue to praise our infinitely wise God for his perfect display of holiness and love on the cross.

Luther: Christ as Gift and Example

2010-09-21T14:39:00.004-05:00

Martin Luther says we must understand “The twofold aspect of Christ: gift and example.”

Christ as Example

"First, as an example that is presented to you, which you should follow and imitate. As St. Peter says in 1 Peter 2, ‘Christ suffered for us, thereby leaving us an example.’ Thus when you see how he prays, fasts, helps people, and shows them love, so also you should do, both for yourself and for your neighbor. However, this is the smallest part of the gospel, on the basis of which it cannot yet even be called the gospel.”

Christ as Gift

“The chief article and foundation of the gospel is that before you take Christ as an example, you accept and recognize him as a gift, as a present that God has give you and that is your own… Romans 8:32, “How should [God] not give us all things with his Son?” See, when you lay hold of Christ as a gift which is given you for your very own and have no doubt about it, you are a Christian. Faith redeems you from sin, death, and hell and enables you to overcome all things. O no one can speak enough about this”

The Proper Order of Gift and Example

“Now when you have Christ as the foundation and chief blessing of your salvation, then the other part follows: that you take him as your example…”

Luther, Martin. “A Brief Instruction on What to Look for and Expect in the Gospels.” In Martin

Luther's Basic Theological Writings, edited by Timothy F. Lull and William R. Russel, 93–97. 2nd ed. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2005.

Spurgeon: Christ the Center of the Bible

2010-09-17T14:29:00.002-05:00

"Jesus Christ is the Alpha and Omega of the Bible.
He is the constant theme of its sacred pages;
from first to last they testify of him.
At the creation we at once discern him as one of the sacred Trinity;
we catch a glimpse of him in the promise of the woman's seed;
we see him typified in the ark of Noah;
we walk with Abraham, as he sees Messiah's day;
we dwell in the tents of Isaac and Jacob, feeding upon the gracious promise;
we hear the venerable Israel talking of Shiloh;
and in the numerous types of the law,
we find the Redeemer abundantly foreshadowed.
Prophets and kings, priests and preachers, all look one way-
they all stand as the cherubs did over the ark, desiring to look within,
and to read the mystery of God's great propitiation.
Still more manifestly in the New Testament
we find our Lord the one pervading subject.
It is not an ingot here and there, or dust of gold thinly scattered,
but here you stand upon a solid floor of gold;
for the whole substance of the New Testament is Jesus crucified,
and even its closing sentence is bejewelled with the Redeemer's name.
We should always read Scripture in this light;
we should consider the word to be as a mirror
into which Christ looks down from heaven; and then we, looking into it,
see his face reflected as in a glass--darkly, it is true,
but still in such a way as to be a blessed preparation for seeing him
as we shall see him face to face.
This volume contains Jesus Christ's letters to us, perfumed by his love.
These pages are the garments of our King,
and they all smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia.
Scripture is the royal chariot in which Jesus rides,
and it is paved with love for the daughters of Jerusalem.
The Scriptures are the swaddling bands of the holy child Jesus;
unroll them and you find your Saviour.
The quintessence of the word of God is Christ."

Spurgeon, "Morning and Evening"

Luther on the Gospel and the Church

2010-09-15T14:49:00.001-05:00

"It is through the gospel alone that the church is conceived, formed, nourished, born, trained, fed, clothed adorned, strengthened, armed and preserved."

Martin Luther

Cited in David W. Lotz, "Sola Scriptura: Luther on Biblical Authority" Interpretation 35 (1981): 262.

God's Book For God's People

2010-09-14T09:49:00.004-05:00

This quote is classic John Stott. Every phrase is pregnant with deep truths about Christ and Scripture. It's very much in line with John Wenham's Christ and the Bible.

“We believe the Scriptures because of Christ. He endorsed the Old Testament, and he made provision for the writing of the New Testament by giving to the apostles his authority. We therefore receive the Bible from the hand of Jesus Christ. It is he who has invested it with his own authority. And since we are determined to submit to him, we are determined to submit to it. Our doctrine of Scripture is bound up with our loyalty to Jesus Christ. If he is our Teacher and our Lord, we have no liberty to disagree with him. Our view of Scripture must be his.”

John Stott, God's Book For God's People, 38

Christ's View Of Scripture

2010-09-13T14:53:00.004-05:00

John Wenham's Christ and the Bible has become a standard not only for Christ's view of the Bible but for the doctrine of Scripture in general. His argument is essentially that Christians should view Scripture the same way Jesus did, and Jesus saw the OT, His own teaching, and the rest of the NT as the true, authoritative, and inspired Word of God. Here's an outline with a couple key Wenham quotes and Scripture references.

Thesis: “Christ’s view of Scripture can and should still be the Christian’s view of Scripture.”[1]

Structure: “Three such features [of Christ’s view of Scripture] are

[1] Jesus’ attitude to the Old Testament,

[2] his attitude to his own teaching and

[3] his attitude to the continuing witness of his disciples after his death.

He regarded the teaching of the Old Testament, his own teaching and the teaching of his apostles as the teaching of God, and therefore as wholly true and trustworthy. Thus belief in Christ as the supreme revelation of God leads to belief in scriptural inspiration – of the Old Testament by the direct testimony of Jesus and the New Testament by inference from his testimony.”[2]

Jesus’ View of the Old Testament

· The Truth of OT History (Matt 12:38-42)

· The Authority of OT Teaching (Matt 5:17-20; Luke 24:25-27,44-47)

· The Inspiration of the OT Writings (Matt 19:4-5; Mk 12:36; Luke 22:37; Jn 7:38)

· Jesus’ View of the OT Is the Foundation For the Apostles’ View of the OT (2 Pet 1:21; 1 Pet 1:12; Heb 3:7; 10:15-17; Acts 4:25; 28:25)

Jesus’ View Of His Own Teaching

· The Truth of Jesus’ Teaching (Matt 24:35; Jn 8:45; 18:37)

· The Authority of Jesus’ Teaching (Matt 5:21-22; 28:18-20; Mk 8:38)

· The Inspiration of Jesus’ Teaching (Jn 7:16; 8:26, 28, 40; 12:49; 14:10; 17:8)

· Jesus’ View of His Own Teaching Is the Foundation For His Apostles’ View of His Teaching (Jn 6:68; Luke 4:32; Col 3:16)

Jesus’ View Of The New Testament

· Jesus Delegates His Authority To the Apostles (Matt 10:14,15,40; 28:18-20)

· Jesus Promised To Send the Holy Spirit to Inspire the NT Authors and Guide Them To the Truth (Jn 15:26-27; 16:13-15; 14:26; Acts 1:4,8; Luke 12:12)

· Jesus’ View of the NT Is the Foundation For His Apostles’ view of the NT (2 Cor 13:10; 1 Cor 2:12-13; 1 Thess 2:13; 2 Pet 3:15-16; 1 Tim 5:18)

[1] John William Wenham, Christ & the Bible (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1973), 7.

[2] Ibid., 9.

Smoking Nurses, Speeding Cops, and Sinning Christians

2010-09-11T12:24:00.004-05:00

The other day, within about a 20 minute stretch, I saw a group of nurses smoking outside of a hospital and a speeding cop who was talking on his cell phone while changing lanes without his blinker. "Hypocrites!" I thought to myself. Then I talked to my friend who is a devout Christian and yet was struggling deeply with sin. "Hypocrite!" the world says. "Christians are sinners, and therefore hypocrites." Is there a difference between smoking nurses, speeding cops and "sinning Christians"?

Yes. Although everyone is a sinner, there are two kinds of sinners. We are either repentant sinners (continually confessing our sin, turning away from it, and turning to Jesus) or unrepentant sinners (disregarding God's standard and doing what we want). This distinction is crucial. Although Christians still sin, we are (as Martin Luther said) "simultaneously a saint and a sinner." "Saints" because because the penalty of sin has been paid for. "Sinners" because the presence of sin is still a reality. The key is repentance. Repentance isn't a one time thing that you do when you become a Christian. All of life is repentance. A Christian is one who is converted by the gospel of Jesus Christ and then continually (for the rest of his life) responds to the gospel with faith and repentance. In theological terms, sanctification is constantly applying the good news of justification to every aspect of life.

So what's the difference between smoking nurses, speeding cops, and sinning Christians? Repentance. True Christians (though struggling with sin until its presence is ultimately removed) are repentant sinners, constantly responding to the gospel of Jesus with faith and repentance.

Structure of the Bible

2010-09-10T10:15:00.002-05:00

Here's a visual I made to help people understand the structure of the Bible (click to enlarge).

Story of the Old Testament (Timeline)

2010-09-10T10:05:00.005-05:00

As a visual learner, I've searched and searched for a good "big picture" timeline of the Old Testament. Well, here it is (click to enlarge).

HT: Tyler F. Williams