Don't Dumb Down the Bible

"Let me be frank: I have no patience for suggestions that preachers need to dumb it down. Preachers need to be clear, and they need to be able to explain things in understandable ways. But human beings do not need the Bible to be dumbed down. If you think that, what you really think is that God the Holy Spirit did not know what He was doing when He inspired the Bible to be the way it is. Not only does the suggestion that the Bible is more than God’s people can handle blaspheme God’s wisdom; it also blasphemes His image bearers. People are made in the image of God. Human beings are endowed with brains and sensibilities of astonishing capacity.

Do you want people to think that everything that is interesting or artistic or brilliant comes from the world? Dumb down the Bible.

Do you want them to see the complexity and simplicity of God? The sheer genius of the Spirit-inspired biblical authors? The beauty of a world-encompassing metanarrative of cosmic scope? Teach them biblical theology.

Do not discount the capacities of God’s people. They may be stupid and uninformed when their hearts are awakened, but do not punish them by leaving them there. Show them literary artistry. Show them the subtle power of carefully constructed narratives. Show them the force of truth in arguments that unfold with inexorable logic. If they are genuine believers, they will want to understand the Bible. Show them the shouts and songs, the clamor and the clarity, the book of books. Let their hearts sing with the psalmist, weep with Lamentations, and ponder Proverbs. Give them the messianic wisdom of the beautiful mind that wrote Ecclesiastes. Preach the word!

Unleash it in all its fullness and fury. Let it go. Tie it together. Show connections that are there in the texts from end to end. Tell them the whole story. Give them the whole picture. Paint the whole landscape for them, not just the blade of grass. (pp. 216–17)."
-Jim Hamilton, in Text-Driven Preaching

New Covenant Ecclesiology

"Jeremiah 31:34 is important since it shows that the Presbyterian understanding is flawed. There are no covenant members who are not believers. This challenge to the Presbyterians must be given in humility since, by and large, they have had a much better grasp of the meaning and role of the covenants than Baptists."

Wellum and Gentry, Kingdom Through Covenant, 510.

The Church has become the true Israel of God

Grudem on 1 Peter 2:4-10:

"God has bestowed on the church almost all the blessings promised to Israel in the Old Testament. The dwelling place of God is no longer the Jerusalem Temple, for Christians are the new 'temple' of God. . . The priesthood able to offer acceptable sacrifices to God is no longer descended from Aaron, for Christians are now the true 'royal priesthood' with access before God's throne (vv. 4-5, 9). God's chosen people are no longer said to be the people of God, for Christians - both Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians - are now 'God's people' (v. 10a) and those who have 'received mercy' (v. 10b). Moreover, Peter takes these quotations from contexts which repeatedly warn that God will reject his people who persist in rebellion against him, who reject the precious 'cornerstone' which he has established. What more could be needed in order to say with assurance that the church has now become the true Israel of God."

Trueman's What If's

I think Carl Trueman's recent post on "What If Life Was Complex" deserves a wide reading. Some excerpts:

"The key books on pastoral ministry would be written by men who either have no real experience of anything approaching normal pastoral ministry or have not had such for decades. Students at seminaries would rarely, if ever, name their own pastors as the most influential preachers in their lives. Multi-site video churches would spring up, as the desire to be connected to success and to the Top Men, rather than to serve as part a local body, would become a significant factor in church life. The pastors held up as models of ministry would have little personal contact with most people in their churches. "

"Leaders would gradually and sometimes self-consciously become brands. The instruments of fostering that intimacy of strangers which is such a part of celebrity culture - for example, the faux-chumminess of all those tweeted exchanges and retweets, lives lived as soap operas mediated by the internet - would feed smoothly, humbly, and imperceptibly into the building of one's brand. Another sign of this branding would be that publishers and conferences would recruit writers and speakers not on the basis of competence but of market appeal. Some writers would thus write the same book over and over again (using different titles, of course). Some topics would not be considered sufficiently or definitively addressed until the Complex's own brand names had had their say. Few, if any, thoughts or sermons of the brand names would pass unpublished."

"Character, personal orthodoxy, a transparent, stable, loving family life embedded in a particular congregation, prioritisation of hard work in the local church setting (evidenced by far more Sundays serving in your home church than anywhere else), ability to teach the local church, accountability to a local session, elder board or presbytery - these things would be at a discount. One might even come across key leaders who had left their local calling precisely to further their 'ministries.' Paul's list of elder qualifications in the Pastorals would be of secondary interest compared to the ability to handle communications media, to attend board meetings, to attract a crowd, to sell a title, and to network. And the average age of the key movers and shakers would slowly but surely decrease."

Zwingli on the Novelty of Separating Faith & Baptism

“In this matter of baptism – if I may be pardoned for saying it – I can only conclude that all the doctors have been in error from the time of the apostles. This is a serious and weighty assertion, and I make it with such reluctance that had I not been compelled to do so by contentious spirits, I would have preferred to keep silence. . . . At many points we shall have to tread a different path from that taken either by ancient or more modern writers or by our own contemporaries.” 

Ulrich Zwingli, Of Baptism, in Zwingli and Bullinger, Library of Christian Classics, vol. 24, trans. G.W. Bromiley (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1953), 130.

Weakness

Weakness is the Way by J. I. Packer from Crossway on Vimeo.

Optimism

From Douglas Sweeney's The American Evangelical Story:

If Pentecostals and charismatics are counted as Evangelicals, then there are currently around 812 million. Just  one hundred years ago, the number of Christians of any kind was smaller than this.

Ron Swanson's Best Friend

1st Annual Kainos Conference on "The Mission of the New Covenant"

Registration is now open for the first annual Kainos Conference on June 21-23 in West Michigan. The theme

is "The Mission of the New Covenant." Here are the specs:


Speakers 

A. Blake White – Blake is a regular contributor to Sound of Grace and has written many articles. He is a leading apologist for New Covenant Theology and the author of five books, including the recently released “Theological Foundations for New Covenant Ethics”, his well-known “What is New Covenant Theology: An Introduction”, “The Law of Christ: A Theological Proposal”, and “The Newness of the New Covenant”.

Chad Richard Bresson – Chad is the new Assistant Director of The Center for Pioneer Church Planting with To Every Tribes in LosFresnos, Texas. He has been the Pastor for Adult Bible Education at Clearcreek Chapel in Springboro, Ohio, and is relocating to Los Fresnos this summer.

Steve Best – Steve serves as the Director the Center for Pioneer Church Planting. His love for Christ and the gospel has been evident through his passion for expository preaching and encouragement for intentional shepherding through the family of families.

Grace Bible Church
3715 Wilson Avenue
Grandville, Michigan 49418
www.kainosconference.com

Schedule:

Friday, June 21
6:30 PM 7:30 PM Session 1 – Blake: “The Genesis of Missions”
8:00 PM 9:00 PM Panel Q&A: “What is New Covenant Theology”

Saturday, June 22
9:00 AM 10:00 AM Session 2 – Steve: “A Light to the Gentiles”
10:15 AM 11:15 AM Session 3 – Chad: “Jonah and Old Covenant Missions”
11:30 AM 12:00 PM Panel Q&A
12:00 PM 1:30 PM Lunch
1:30 PM 2:30 PM Session 4 – Blake: “Christ’s Mission in the New Covenant”
2:30 PM 3:30 PM Session 5 – Steve: “The Great Commission and the New Covenant
4:00 PM 5:00 PM Panel Q&A
5:00 PM 6:00 PM Dinner
6:30 PM 7:30 PM Session 6 – Blake: “The Ministry of the New Covenant”
7:45 PM 9:00 PM Session 7 – Chad: “The Equipping of the New Covenant Member”

Sunday, June 23
9:00 AM
10:00 AM Adult Bible Hour
10:15 AM - 11:45 AM Pr. Todd – Morning Worship
12:15 PM - 2:00 PM Lunch - Provided (TBD)

Speaker Bios here. Flyer here.

Christians & Violence by Preston Sprinkle

Preston Sprinkle has some more sane posts regarding Christians and Violence. I would highly encourage you to read the entire series. I personally think far too few Christians are thinking through this important issue. The Scripture is clear.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 5.5
Part 6
Part 7

Some excerpts to wet your appetite:

"Fundamental to the Christian faith is that we love—not kill—our enemies, since Christ loved his enemies (i.e., us) and was unjustly killed for them (Rom 5:8-11). He served his enemies, loved his enemies, died for his enemies. The point seems very clear: love,and not violence, should be the church’s posture."

"Moreover, the sermon is the first of five speeches in Matthew (chs. 5-7, 10, 13, 18, 23-25), which constitute the content of the phrase “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” of the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20). The point: non-violent love of one’s enemies is fundamental to the church’s discipleship and its mission to disciple the nations. Somehow that’s been lost in the post-Constantinian church."

"For now, it’s fitting to end with two points that as far as I can see aren’t subject to much debate: (1) Jesus reacted non-violently, which lays down a pattern for his followers, and (2) violence is everywhere prohibited and never commanded for the church in the New Testament. All arguments that support the use of violence by Christians must wiggle it out of indirect implications from the text in the face of clear, direct commands of the text."

"Violence for the early Church was viewed as contrary to the cross of Christ, and there really wasn’t much of a debate about it."

"For pre-Constantine Christianity, non-violence was a fundamental Christian ethic."

"And we see this in Revelation 17-18—follow me here—where God ruthlessly condemns and pronounced judgment upon the same Roman Government that he told the church to submit to in Romans 13. The
apostle John would be quite shocked, I think, at the contemporary Church’s affectionate love for and unconditional allegiance to the Babylons of their day."

"The church is never commanded or even allowed (explicitly) to act violently, but to “love our enemies,” “turn the other cheek,” “never repay evil for evil,” “overcome evil with good,” and to “never avenge yourself” (Matt 5 and Rom 12). So the difference between Israel as a theocracy and the church as a dispersed group among many nations necessitates that we viewnational warfare differently."

"Vengeance by Christians is everywhere prohibited and nowhere allowed in the New Testament. That’s God’s business, not ours."

"Situations regarding uncle Bob who served in Nam and was a good man who fought for our freedom must be considered after the words of the King have been considered, meditated on, and digested. If you haven’t been stunned by the radicalness of Jesus’ ethic in Matthew 5, and by Paul’s counterintuitive demands of Romans 12, and the shameful road we are to follow according to 1 Peter 2, and if you haven’t begged God for waterfalls of grace to be able to love your local rapist who is also your enemy and desperately needs Jesus just as much as you do, if you haven’t been bewildered by the outrageousness of turning the other cheek and never retaliating evil for evil—against all human logic, against all cultural norms, against our innate sense of justice—then I would dare to suggest that you have not meditated on the scandal of the cross long enough. Calvary and the Garden Tomb are the hermeneutical lenses through which followers of the slaughtered Lamb must view violence."

"(I’m still quite shocked when Bible believing Christians immediately dismiss Pacifism as weird and unbiblical, using only the “killer at the door” argument devoid of any scriptural backing.) "

"Such discontinuity between the Old Covenant and the New can already be found in Jeremiah 31:31-34, where the New is “not like” the Old (not that it’s completely different, but that there will be some discontinuity). Ezekiel 16:61-63 hints at this as well, and Galatians 3, 2 Corinthians 3, and many other statements in Paul (Rom 6; 10:4; and others) suggest that there is discontinuity between the Old Covenant and the New. In short, the biblical drama unfolds as a dynamic, not a static, story."

"Now, what about the Just War theory? The problem with this view is immediately exposed when you look at their own criteria and ask the question: has there ever been a just war? Has there ever been a war that has adhered to non-combatant immunity? The answer is no, by the way."
"So when we talk in terms of “us” invading “them,” which citizenship are we referring to with the pronouns?"

"I believe that we should love our enemies and not kill them."

" I believe that Jesus established a non-violent kingdom, and his followers should be known as being against violence in the same way that they are against homosexuality, fornication, and drugs."

"At the end of the day, I would love it if Christians would stop having a knee-jerk reaction against non-violence (cough, cough, “pacifism”) and would be honest with that fact—and I do think it’s a fact—that the promotion of non-violence and peace has a good deal of New Testament support."

(most of these pics are from his posts)

Good Lookin' Out: Imitating God in Christ

Jason Hood's new book, Imitating God in Christ, is set to release in June of this year. I am more excited about this book than any other book releasing in 2013. Its gon' be good! It is also much needed. There is a great neglect of the theme of imitation in Evangelical circles, especially Reformed ones, but this teaching is all over the place in the New Testament.

To get a taste of Hood's writing and to get a feel for the neglect of this aspect of New Testament teaching, read his fantastic article, "The Cross in the New Testament," here.

Here is some info from the publisher:

Should we imitate Jesus?

Some Christians answer with a cheerful "Yes," seeing it as the sum of the Christian life. Others believe we should rely on the work of Christ alone, throwing off any hint of the moralism or "works righteousness" they associate with imitating Jesus.

Jason Hood takes us on a tour of what the Bible has to say about imitating Jesus. He draws our attention to what Paul told the Corinthians he taught "everywhere in every church." And after following the theme throughout the New Testament, he looks at it from a historical and contemporary perspective.

The result is the recovery of a biblical pattern for life—one that challenges the assumptions of those who excessively fear moralism as much as it challenges the assumptions of those who embrace it. Here is a reliable theological foundation for imitating Jesus today, a crucial first step toward the renewal of biblical discipleship.

Table of Contents:

Introduction

Part I: What Paul Taught Everywhere
1. Idols of God
2. Imitators of God
3. Priests of God
4. Participating in the Work of God

Part II: Imitating Jesus
5. The True Human, the Gospel, and the Gospels
6. Ambassadors, Apprentices, and Agents
7. Family Resemblance and Paternity Tests
8. Resurrection and Imitation
9. The Holy Spirit
10. The Apostle of Imitation
11. The Jesus Mirrors

Part III: Imitating the Saints
12. A Community of Imitation
13. Objections, Obstacles, and Presuppositions for Imitation

Part IV: Imitation Yesterday and Today
14. Imitation for Today's Left, Right, and Center
15. A History of Imitation
Conclusion

Endorsements:

"Jason Hood has given the Reformed and evangelical communities--and indeed all Christians--an extraordinary gift in this book on imitation as a practice that is at the heart of Christian existence. It is well researched but highly readable, theologically deep as well as spiritually uplifting, prophetic without being preachy. It seeks to overcome the unfortunate divides in certain circles between Jesus as Savior and Jesus as example, and between imitation and participation. I recommend it strongly both for its biblical theology and for its spirituality."
—Michael J. Gorman, Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology, St. Mary's Seminary & University, Baltimore

"The long lost discipline of the imitatio Christi is persuasively and poignantly recaptured here by Jason Hood. Through a panoramic survey of Scripture, Hood shows us that imitation is the highest form of adoration. He challenges Christians to truly live as Jesus, not with cheesy clichés or with theological shallowness, but in cruciformed likeness to the Lord Jesus. But beware! This book will disturb folks from the lethargy of a mediocre spirituality, and rightly so!"
—Michael Bird, Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia

"Radical grace cannot be reductive grace. Jason Hood reminds us that any account of the new creation in Christ must attend to the call to imitate God in Christ. Jesus was the faithful one--the true human who trusted his Father to the bitter end, who ministered in the power of the Spirit and who gave himself sacrificially for the life and flourishing of others, even his enemies--and we are called to follow him in all these ways. Jesus is not only our substitute, but he is also the shape of the human in the new creation. Imitating God in Christaddresses these issues with clarity, insight and faithfulness."
—Michael Allen, Kennedy Associate Professor of Systematic Theology, Knox Theological Seminary, Fort Lauderdale, Florida

"In an accessible and engaging book, Hood invites us to reconsider an important biblical theme--imitation of God in Christ. Focusing on three spheres--imitation of the God of Israel, imitation of the incarnate Christ and imitation of the saints--Hood demonstrates that imitation is not limited to a handful of passages in the Gospels and Paul. To the contrary, it represents a pervasive theme in Scripture.Imitating God in Christ is not merely an exercise in biblical theology. One of the great strengths of this book is the way Hood draws attention to contemporary distortion of Scriptural teaching on imitation (e.g., a false dichotomy between Jesus as example and Jesus as savior) and offers helpful correctives."
—Keith E. Johnson, director of theological education, Campus Crusade for Christ, author of Rethinking the Trinity and Religious Pluralism

"Jason Hood has that rare ability to combine scholarly thinking with clear and approachable writing. The footnotes are rich and the dialogue is fresh and compelling. Imitating God in Christ is a message we desperately need to hear today! The pendulum of knowing and obeying is swinging wildly across the Christian spectrum, but Hood has found the plumb line by taking seriously the Word of God. I am excited to see the fruit of this book in the kingdom of God."
—David Arthur, CEO of Precept Ministries

"In this very readable and accessible book Jason Hood provides not only an introduction but even more, a biblical theology of imitation. Hood situates his discussion thoughtfully in the context of the broader themes of the image of God, sanctification and discipleship, while rightly calling us to rediscover the key biblical idea of following the example of Jesus and his disciples. I hope this book will continue to stimulate this important discussion."
—Jonathan T. Pennington, associate professor of New Testament, Southern Seminary

"Jason Hood, in this well-written and well-crafted volume, has presented readers with a powerful and persuasive call to reconsider what it truly means for Christians to be imitators of God in Christ. Hood calls for the church to recover the important and oft-neglected scriptural teaching regarding the historical practice of imitation in order to bring about authentic Christ-centered discipleship and cross-shaped sanctification. In doing so, he winsomely points his readers toward renewal, faithfulness, Christlikeness and godliness, not as a grueling duty, but as a delightful destiny. I am hopeful for and enthusiastic about Hood's proposal and pray that it receives the wide readership and response it deserves."
—David S. Dockery, president, Union University

Matisyahu Explains his 'Conversion'

Here is an interesting interview with former reggae/rapper Matisyahu where he explains his conversion from a bearded Hasidic Jew to a blonde-haired, clean-shaven Postmodern Pluralist.

He claims he now teaches his children "real Jewish values: not to judge people, believe in unity and oneness, and also to know who they are." Real according to who?!

5 Reasons Pastors Should Reconsider the Altar Call

I think (and hope) that the vast majority of pastors who practice the "altar call" do so from right motives. They want to see people come to Christ. That's fantastic. I'm all for evangelistic preaching. I think unbelievers should be addressed weekly. I do not wish to call that motive into question, but the method. I realize by calling altar calls into question, I am tampering with the "sacred cows" of some. But in my reading of Scripture, sacred cows are to be destroyed, not fed, polished, or left alone. So here are five theological reasons to reconsider the beloved altar call:

1) Ecclesiology - The altar call betrays the New Testament teaching on the church. The church is a people - not a place. The building where the church gathers is not "the house of the Lord." The front of the building is no more sacred than the bathroom in the back. The front steps do not have a monopoly on the presence of God. God's presence is not found at the front of a building, but in his people.

2) Soteriology - An altar call can muddle the congregation's thinking about how a person gets saved. Salvation is not about coming to the front. There is no efficacy in the aisle. The message of salvation is not "Come forward" but "Believe in the Lord Jesus and repent of your sins." Atonement doesn't take place down the aisle. That happened at Golgotha.

3) Christology - Jesus is the final sacrifice. After his definitive death, there no longer remains a need for an altar. For Roman Catholics, it makes perfect sense to have an altar up front. Not so for Protestants. Once for all time.

4) Access to God - As mentioned, the glory cloud doesn't rest below the pulpit. The altar is an old covenant reality.The pastor up front is not a priest. There is one mediator between God and men - Jesus Christ.

5) Assurance - I think the main practical danger of altar calls is causing false assurance. A person walks an aisle, holds the priest's pastor's hands, prays a prayer, signs the card, and is typically assured that once they are saved, so they shall always be. Five years later when a person is willfully living in sin, they recall walking that aisle and signing the card. They recall the well-meaning words of their trusted pastor. They have false assurance because of a faulty practice. This is my own experience. I walked an aisle my freshman year of high school but lived in sin for the next four years before repenting of sin in college. I am sure I caused great harm to the cause of Christ during those years, as I claimed his as Lord but did not submit to his Lordship. I know this to be the experience of many.

So for these reasons and more, I encourage pastors to get rid of the altar call. Just preach Christ. Preach his gospel. Preach repentance. Call and summon unbelievers to trust in Christ. God can save his people without an altar call. He has been doing it for 2000 years.

(If interested in more, see Iain Murray's "The Invitation System," available here for free)

Preach a big God

"The design of the universe is very magnificent and should not be taken for granted. In fact, I believe that is why Einstein had so little use for organized religions, although he struck me as basically a very religious man. Einstein must have looked at what the preacher said about God and felt that they were blaspheming! He had seen more majesty than he had ever imagined in the creation of the universe and felt that the God they were talking about couldn't have been the real thing. My guess is that he simply felt that the churches he had run across did not have proper respect for the Author of the Universe."

-Charles Misner, one of Einstein's students

Cohesion in the book of Acts

"The inauguration of the kingdom of God therefore provides cohesion to the emphases in Acts on

(1) the sovereign plan of God,

(2) the reign of the Davidic King Jesus,

(3) the spread of the word and the strengthening of local churches in the midst of opposition,

(4) the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the offer of God's end-time blessings on the basis of his death and resurrection,

(5) the fulfilment of God's saving promises in the restoration of God's people,

(6) the pouring out of the Holy Spirit from the risen and reigning Lord Jesus,

(7) the replacement and fulfilment of the temple in Jesus, and

(8) the salvation-historical shift to the teaching of the apostles as the guiding authority for God's people."

-Alan J. Thompson, The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus, 195

'Real' Church

"The [church] gathering remains a set of proceedings led from the front. More informal interactions happen before or after 'real' church. It is striking how evangelicals routinely refer to the formal proceedings in which they are almost entirely passive as church and to their interactions with one another before and after as something other than church."

Mark Strom, Reframing Paul, 221.

Hodge on the difficulty of Infant Baptism

"In order to justify the baptism of infants, we must attain and authenticate such an ideal of the church as that it shall include the children of believing parents."

Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, vol. 3, 546-47

Jordan's Top 50 Plays

D.A. Carson on the Nature of the New Covenant Community

"In the sixth century B.C. the prophet Jeremiah, speaking for the LORD, foresees a time when people will no longer repeat the proverb, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge" (Jer. 31 :30). The history of Israel under the Mosaic covenant has been characterized by the outworking of this
proverb. The covenantal structure was profoundly racial and tribal. Designated leaders - prophets, priests, king, and occasionally other leaders such as the seventy elders or Bezaleel - were endued with the Spirit, and spoke for God to the people and for the people to God (cj. Exod. 20:19). Thus when the leaders sinned, the entire nation was contaminated, and ultimately faced divine wrath. But the time is coming, Jeremiah says, when this proverb will be abandoned. "Instead," God promises, "everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes - his own teeth will be set on edge" (Jer. 31 :30). This could be true only if the entire covenantal structure associated with Moses' name is replaced by another. That is precisely what the LORD promises: he will make "a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" that "will not be like the covenant" he made with their forefathers at the time of the Exodus. The nature of the promised new covenant is carefully recorded: God will put his law in the hearts and on the minds of his people. Instead of having a mediated knowledge of God, "they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," and therefore "no longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD'" (31:3lff.). This does not foresee a time of no teachers; in the context, it foresees a time of no mediators, because the entire covenant community under this new covenant will have a personal knowledge of God, a knowledge characterized by the forgiveness of sin (31 :34) and by the law of God written on the heart (31 :33). "I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me" (Jer. 32:39-40)."

-Carson, "Evangelicals, Ecumenicism, and the Church," 359-60

Wellum Reviews Peterson's "Transformed by God"

Pretty much anything David Peterson writes is worth reading. This is a great little book on the new covenant full of crisp exegesis and biblical-theological connections.

Steve Wellum reviews it here.

American Evangelicals & Militarism

Sane posts here by Preston Sprinkle:

• Are American Evangelicals Seduced by Militarism?
  
• Old Testament, Militarism, and Idolatry
  
• Evangelicals, Militarism, and Romans 13

A couple excerpts:

"the American Evangelical church is largely (not completely) seduced by military might."

"In fact, Romans 13; being ubiquitously cited throughout Grudem’s book, is given a near-John 3:16 status: the definitive lens through which Christians should think about war. The assumption, of course, is that America is the good nation and Iraq and Afghanistan are the bad nations. Maybe they are, but who gets to determine who is good and who is bad? Were it flipped around and Romans 13 was used to validated Pakistan’s or Iraq’s invasion of America as punishment for horrific drone strikes killing civilians and children, or wholesale slaughter of women and children in, for instance, southern Kandaharor Haditha, most would see this as a mis-reading of Romans 13."

2013 John Bunyan Conference

Here are the details for the 2013 John Bunyan Conference:

The 2013 John Bunyan Conference is scheduled for April 22-24 at Reformed Baptist Church in Lewisburg, PA. Speakers and topics are:

Gary George - New Covenant Theology and Pastoral Ministry – 2 Messages

James M. Hamilton, Jr. - Biblical Theology – 3 Messages

David Robinson - Preaching Sovereignty in the Old Testament – 2 Messages

Kirk Wellum - Jesus Christ: the Architect and Apex of the Church & The Wisdom of God

A. Blake White - Towards a Missional Ecclesiology – 2 Messages & The Abrahamic Covenant in Galatians

Speaker Bios:

Gary George is a life-long resident of Worcester County, Massachusetts in the heart of New England. He has been the pastor of Sovereign Grace Chapel in Southbridge, MA since 1992. Gary and his wife Michelle have five grown children.

Jim Hamilton is Associate Professor of Biblical Theology at Southern Seminary and Preaching Pastor at Kenwood Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. He previously taught at the Houston Campus of Southwestern Seminary and is the author of God’s Indwelling Presence: The Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments (B&H 2006), God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology (Crossway 2010), and Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches (Crossway 2012).

David Robinson is pastor of Grace Bible Church in Cambridge Ontario. He has been pastor for the last eighteen years and recently planted a church (Redeemer Bible Church) in nearby Kitchener. David is married to Eva and they have three children.

Kirk Wellum is the Principal of Toronto Baptist Seminary and Bible College where he also teaches Systematic and Pastoral Theology. Before coming to TBS Kirk served as a pastor for a total of 24 years in three churches in Southern Ontario. He has written numerous articles for a variety of Christian magazines and has spoken at conferences in Canada, the United States, the UK, and Africa. Kirk is married and has four children.

A. Blake White is currently working on a PhD in Systematic and Biblical Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He has authored seven books and is married to Alicia. They have two boys, Josiah and Asher.

Here is the schedule. Here is the registration info.

Gathered to Build Up

"Why did the ekklesia gather? Most evangelicals, and indeed Christians of nearly all persuasions, traditionally answer that churches meet for worship. Paul's consistent answer was 'to build each other up.' The members met to use their personal endowments from the Spirit for the common good. They prayed, read Scripture, encouraged, sang, taught, and prophesied to one another as the Spirit enabled them. Paul never defined ekklesia in terms of a vertical relationship of worship. The meeting was for one another."

Mark Strom, Reframing Paul, 174.

Conquering Love

Thoughts from a witty postmillennialist:

"Now the Bible says that Jesus died in order that the world would not be condemned. Modern evangelicals say that the world, when all is said and done, will be condemned. The Bible says that He is the Savior of the world. We say that He is the potential Savior for a world which won't let Him be its Savior. The Bible says that Abraham and his heirs would inherit the world through faith. We say that Abraham and his heirs can go to heaven when they die. . . Such triumphalism frightens us. The task frightens us, and so we feel the need to get away from what the Bible says. But unlike liberals, modern evangelicals do not feel the freedom to reject the words of the Bible . . . at least overtly. And so we prod and squeeze, and exegete, and lop off, and hermeneut, and shape, and form, and publish journals, and tell one another what the Greek word for this is, and figure out what already/not yet is supposed to mean, and settle into our eschatologies.
Boiled down, our problem is that we are slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken."

Doug Wilson, "Conquering Love."

Blessing in Christ

"As far as Paul is now concerned, however, Christ's cross has inaugurated the age of the Spirit, in which Jews and Gentiles alike inherit Abraham's blessing and are justified by believing the gospel of Christ crucified and thereby being incorporated into the covenant people who exist now in Christ."

Michael Gorman, Apostle of the Crucified Lord, 208

Filthiness

Top Ten Reads of 2012

Continuing the tradition, here are my favorite reads from the year:

• Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ in All the Scriptures by Dennis Johnson - Substantial book on Christ-Centered preaching. More hermeneutics than preaching principles.
  
• A Theology for the Church edited by Danny Akin - This is a contemporary systematic theology by Southern Baptist theologians. As with any edited work, some chapters are better than others. Mark Dever has a great chapter on the church and Russell Moore's chapter is worth the price of the book.
  Here is a review essay and here is Craig Blaising's review of Moore's chapter.
  
• The Israel of God in Prophecy by Hans LaRondelle - More hermeneutics, specifically with how Christians should approach Israel and the land. Lots of insight here. This won't make the top ten lists of any dispensationalists.
  
• Young, Restless, and Reformed by Collin Hansen - I think this little book should be read by all evangelicals who have the slightest bit of interest and what all this Calvinism is about. Really well written.
  
• Introducing Paul by Michael Bird - It is hard to find good introductions to Paul that aren't overly technical or massive. At less than 200 pages, this is now the book I recommend first to people trying to get a hold of Paul's thought. Really enjoyed this one.
  
• Apostle of the Crucified Lord by Michael Gorman - At 600 plus pages, this is one of those massive introductions to Paul, but can be used as a great reference for each letter if one didn't want to read it straight through. Gorman is one of my favorite interpreters of Paul. He also has a good, short introduction called Reading Paul.
  
• A Place at the Table: George Eldon Ladd and the Rehabilitation of Evangelical Scholarship in America by John D'Elia - This was probably my most enjoyable read of the year. It is sort of a theological biography. Ladd has been hugely influential in evangelical theology and knowing his place in our history is important. Ladd was a gifted scholar, but led a strange and dark life. As one of the blurbs says, "although he wrote extensively of the presence of the kingdom, he struggled to taste its fruits in his own life."
  
• Transformed by God: New Covenant Life and Ministry by David Peterson - Peterson is always a steady exegetical guide and here he works through Jeremiah 31 and the major NT texts dealing with the new covenant. Here is a review by Stephen Wellum.
  
• Kingdom Through Covenant by Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum - This is the book I was most excited about reading this year. It is a feast of biblical and systematic theology. They argue for a via media between Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology: Progressive Covenantalism, a species of New Covenant Theology. The is the major academic work that New Covenant folks have been waiting on. Here are all sorts of links. They did not have room to deal with many NT passages, so grabbing Peterson's work would be a great supplement (as if 900 pages needs supplement??). If you don't want to wade through it all, read ch. 16 which is a 61 page summary of the book. If you can't afford the book, here is a chapter by Dr. Wellum that is also a good summary of the argument of the book.
  
• Abraham's Four Seeds by John Reisinger - This was the first New Covenant literature I read back in 2004. I have referenced it on occasion, but re-read it a couple of weeks ago because I had the students of a class I taught on New Covenant Theology read it and wanted to be refreshed. Refreshed I was. This is such an important book. I was also struck by how much Kingdom Through Covenant builds on this work (e.g. the fact that CT and DT are ironically hermeneutical bedfellows re: the Abrahamic Covenant, the church is Israel via union with Christ, etc). Praise God for John Reisinger.

Top 10 in 2006
Top 10 in 2007
Top 10 in 2008
Top 10 in 2009
Top 10 in 2010
Top 10 in 2011

A Comparison of the HCSB, ESV, & NIV

A Comparison of the ESV, HCSB, & NIV

True Jews!

"The circumcising of the heart by the Spirit was considered to be an eschatological work that would occur in the days when redemptive history was being fulfilled. The circumcision of the heart by the Holy Spirit signifies the inauguration of redemptive history. God is now fulfilling his saving promises. That which physical circumcision anticipated, the circumcision of the heart, is now a reality through the Holy Spirit. Since true circumcision and genuine Jewishness are not external matters but the result of the Spirit's work, it follows that Gentiles are part of God's people - true Jews! God's saving promises made to Abraham are now becoming a reality."

-Thomas Schreiner, Paul, Apostle of God's Glory in Christ, 81.

15 Important Articles for New Covenant Theology

This week I have been preparing for a three day class on New Covenant Theology I am teaching at the Center for Pioneer Church Planting (of TETM) and came across several online version of important articles and wanted to post them here. If you have no idea what NCT is, here is a short article on its essentials. Most of the following are academic articles:

• The Law of Moses or the Law of Christ by Douglas Moo

• Jesus and the Authority of the Mosaic Law by Douglas Moo

• Paul and the Law in the Last Ten Years by Douglas Moo

• 'Law,' 'Works of the Law,' and Legalism in Paul by Douglas Moo

• Is There A Covenant of Grace by Jon Zens

• Baptism and the Relationship Between the Covenants by Stephen Wellum

• The Law of Moses and the Christian by David Dorsey

• Evangelicals, Ecumenicism, and the Church by D.A. Carson

• An Argument Against Theologically Constructed Covenants by Jeffrey Niehaus

• Anabaptists and the New Covenant by David Moffitt

• The Seed of the Woman and the Blessing of Abraham by James Hamilton

• The Pedagogical Nature of the Law in Galatians 3:19-4:7 by Richard Longenecker

• Thomas Schreiner's Review of New Covenant Theology

• The Abolition and Fulfillment of the Law in Paul by Thomas Schreiner

• What is This Thing Called the New Covenant by Tom Wells

One never knows when these links will break, so I'd print a copy or save it to your computer if you are interested. You can access several of my articles here.

Another Review of Kingdom Through Covenant

Here.

My favorite part: 

"If any editors from Crossway happen upon this review, I would like to make a suggestion: perhaps the most effective way to get this book into the hands of pastors in a readable and accessible way would be through publishing a condensation along the lines of the summary of Thomas Schreiner's Magnifying God in Christ: A Summary of New Testament Theology."

Craig Blaising's Review of Russell Moore's Eschatology

Here is a good review of Russell Moore's fantastic chapter, "Personal and Cosmic Eschatology" in A Theology for the Church edited by Danny Akin:

"Many of today’s students of theology are ambivalent about eschatology. The topic is placed at the end of the loci of theological topics in both published volumes, such as the one under consideration, and in the order of themes in the typical survey course on systematic theology. In the latter, it is sometimes barely treated at all since there is so much to cover in such surveys. Furthermore, the tendency is to focus on controversial issues in eschatology, often for the purpose of downplaying them, leaving the student with the impression that eschatology deals with matters that are only of secondary importance, a collection of issues that can be ignored in the primary task of building up the body of Christ.

Russell Moore’s essay, “Personal and Cosmic Eschatology,” in A Theology for the Church, indicates why this ambivalence must cease. Aside from the very practical matter that funerals are inevitable in the ministry and that death confronts us in our familial, social, and personal experiences, making “personal eschatology” immediately relevant, the fact is the topics of “personal eschatology” are themselves part of a greater revelation of the plan of God in which all of the loci of theology are integrated. Eschatology is the study of this plan of God seen in terms of its fulfillment. Moore’s essay, although understandably brief, demonstrates this fact as he masterfully highlights the interconnection of personal hope in Christ with the divine plan for the recreation of all things.

Like (most) other chapters in the volume, Moore follows a given structure, answering four questions: What does the Bible say? What has the church believed? How does it all fit together? and, How does the doctrine impact the church today? His essay is well written, demonstrating familiarity with the breadth of relevant topics and issues, presented in a clear, cogent, and engaging style. He begins with a funeral service and ends in a graveyard. In between, his answers to the four questions place the particularity of individual death with its threat of emptiness, meaninglessness, and forgetfulness into the overall plan of God in which the particular is redeemed.

The section on the Bible is divided logically between Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament sets the basic parameters of the divine plan as cosmic in scope, covenantal in form, and kingdom in terms of its actual order and structure. From the very beginning, Moore develops the Bible’s “new creation” eschatology, which stands in contrast to spiritualist interpretations that are common in the history of Christian thought and that degrade the substance of Christian hope. The kingdom of God is the integrating order in which the cosmic renewal will be manifest and in which the covenant promises will be fulfilled. New Testament eschatology is presented in terms of kingdom fulfillment—both as present, or “already,” in the ministry of Jesus prior to his coming in glory, and as future, or “not yet,” which will be ushered in through that coming. The “already/not yet” structure is key to New Testament theology and forms a logical division for the section. Throughout, the biblical foundation is laid for one of Moore’s primary points: eschatology is inherently Christological.

The section on what the church has believed offers a historical grid in which to place a number of eschatological topics, such as millennialism, the nature of the intermediate and eternal states, the eternality of the judgment, and the Roman Catholic doctrines of purgatory and limbo. Moore also provides some historical background to the question of Israel’s identity and future in the divine plan. The historical survey begins with four writers from the patristic period: Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Origen, and Augustine. Aquinas and Dante are briefly noted from the medieval era. The Reformation survey primarily focuses on Calvin’s dispute with Anabaptists and moves quickly to note the rise of Covenant theology and postmillennialism in the post-Reformation period. Moore notes the rise of liberalism, neo-orthodoxy, and revisionist/liberationist theologies in the modern era and then moves to modern evangelicalism highlighting the rise of dispensationalism, the neo-evangelical emphasis on social ministry, and the erosion of eschatological orthodoxy in left-wing evangelicalism. This is followed by a helpful excursus tracing the history of eschatological thought among Baptists, primarily Southern Baptists.

A theologian faces a challenge in the systematic arrangement of theological topics. In the section on how it all fits together, Moore chooses his thematic structure from Revelation 11:15: The kingdoms of the world become the kingdom of Christ. Under the heading, “kingdom of the world,” Moore arranges the topics of tribulation, Antichrist, and hell. Under “kingdom of Christ,” he treats the matters of heaven, the second coming, the restoration of Israel, the millennium, and the new earth. The length of this review does not allow for a point by point examination of these doctrinal topics. Some are treated more extensively than others. While Moore’s essay style does not always yield clear doctrinal definitions, the survey does serve as a helpful introduction to the topics covered. A student of theology should be motivated by the reading to pursue further study on the topics, adding to the reading a good theological dictionary and then pursuing the issues by comparative readings in other systematics and in theological monographs.

There are, however, a couple of issues which this reviewer will note. Moore’s own eschatological position is a variant of what he terms “historic premillennialism,” which, as he notes, is a non-dispensational form of premillennialism. He sees the rapture as posttribulational, but he believes one should not be dogmatic on that point. He does note that imminency in 1 Thessalonians 5 is a strong argument for pretribulationism. His weakness, in the opinion of this reviewer, is that he does not consider the tribulation as an extended cohesive pattern in biblical theology, seen in the themes of the day of the Lord and Daniel’s seventieth week. The tendency of many posttribulationists, including Moore, is to divide the tribulational pattern historically, assigning part to the history of the church and part, usually only the last part, to the future coming of Christ. The contention of most pretribulationists is that the tribulational pattern functions typologically in the history of the church while the pattern as a cohesive whole unfolds as the context for the future coming of Christ. The imminency of the rapture with respect to the day of the Lord in 1 Thessalonians 4-5 would then more clearly favor pretribulationism. G.E. Ladd understood this and consequently attempted to redefine imminency as “nearness.” Although many posttribulationists like Moore identify with Ladd’s “historical premillennialism,” they are not futurists like Ladd—that is, they do not expect the future fulfillment of the entire tribulational pattern. Consequently, they do not appreciate the full import of the imminency argument.

Another concern for this reviewer has to do with Moore’s view of Israel. Moore repeatedly draws attention to the typology of Israel applied to Christ in the Gospels. However, he interprets this typology along with Paul’s statements concerning the seed of Abraham and inheritance “in Christ” in a radical way. In Moore’s view, Christ himself has replaced corporate Israel in the plan of God. He alone is Israel—a remnant consisting of one Jewish man—and consequently, the promises of Israel are fulfilled to him alone. However, Christ in turn grants the status and privileges of Israel in a derivative sense to Jews and Gentiles who by faith are “in him.” In this derivative sense, the entire body of the redeemed—both Jews and Gentiles—fulfill the corporate meaning of the term Israel. Since the body of the redeemed is the church, this is simply another way of saying that the church, albeit in a derivative sense only, has replaced Israel, understood in its ethnic and national sense. The crucial point is that there is, for Moore, no other sense, subsequent to the appearing of Christ, in which a corporate Israel exists.

The application of Israel typology to Christ is an important feature of New Testament theology. Moore is correct to note that the New Testament sees the fulfillment of the biblical covenants taking place in and through Christ. However, it is not necessary to conclude from this that the Christ, considered as a single individual, is the sole fulfillment of the national and political promises to ethnic Israel. The consistent pattern of kingdom prediction in Old Testament prophecy is a ruler from the house of David who rules Israel (considered corporately and nationally) and also Gentile nations. Even when the ruler is designated with the name “Israel,” as in the servant song of Isaiah 49, that “Israel” will bring Israel (not himself, but the corporate Israel) back to God. He will then also gather in the Gentiles. The picture is the same: the King, then Israel (not another name for the king, but the corporate body, the nation, over which the king rules), then Gentile nations. Within the structure of the covenants, the Davidic covenant functions as the means to the fulfillment of the other covenant promises to corporate Israel and as the means of extending covenant blessing to the Gentiles.

Moore’s restrictive view of Israel creates problems in a number of New Testament texts. The corporate meaning of the term, Israel, cannot be eliminated from the Gospels without creating textual incoherence. Moore’s reading of Romans 11 ignores the use of “Israel” in that chapter which is not the olive tree, but a [covenantly] “beloved” enemy whose restoration is illustrated in the regrafting of natural olive branches, bringing riches to the world. When the disciples asked Jesus in Acts 1, prior to His ascending, whether He at that time would restore the kingdom to Israel, they were not asking, after 40 days of instruction on the kingdom, whether He would restore Himself, but whether He—considered singularly as the king—would restore the kingdom to Israel—considered corporately, consistently with the pattern of biblical prophecy. Jesus’s answer, that the time has been fixed by the Father, is elaborated on by Peter in Acts 3, when He speaks of “the time for restoring all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago.” Without doubt, the restoration of Israel corporately, nationally, and politically, is a key feature among “the things about which God spoke by the mouth of the holy prophets.” And, it is consistent with this that Peter in Acts 2 calls upon all the house of Israel (undoubtedly corporate) to know Jesus as Lord and Christ.

Finally, one should note the irony that Moore’s view of future Israel creates for his new creation eschatology. Certainly, Moore expects and explicitly asserts that the redeemed in the millennium and in the everlasting order of the new earth will be sub-grouped and gathered as nations. This of course fulfills the corporate dimension of anthropology as it is taken up into redemption. Moore also notes that the redeemed will include both Jews and Gentiles. However, he is quite clear that there will be no national Israel among those nations receiving as an inheritance the covenantally promised land. The inescapable conclusion, and ironic in light of the whole thrust of restoration prophecy, is that the Jewish redeemed are permanently dispersed among the Gentile nations. Leaving aside the whole question of who exactly occupies the promised land in this realistic millennial or new earth scenario, do we really think that a redefinition of “Israel” to mean either Christ alone or, in a derivative sense, this whole dispersed condition satisfies the prophetic hope?

We come now to the last section of Moore’s essay in which he addresses the relevance of eschatology for the life and practice of the church today. This is especially important since so many consider eschatology irrelevant to present-day concerns. Moore’s extrapolation of new creation hope to the matters of grief, burial, and aging is excellent. The topics listed under “personal ethics” include some surprises. One might not think of “parenting” as an obvious inclusion. However, Moore makes the connection clear and the application compelling. Following biblical emphases, one could add to the topics of eschatological ethics a number of other qualities, such as steadfastness and endurance in Christian faith and character. Once again, the reader is reminded of the limitations of space even in a volume of this size.

Moore has written elsewhere on the implications of eschatology for social ethics, and his choice of topics here addresses a number of major concerns—social welfare, care for creation, anti-semitism, respect for life, and a warning against modern utopianisms that drive social and political discourse. His comments here are very helpful. In the final section, “Eschatology and Corporate Witness,” Moore touches briefly on the theme of the church as itself a society set within the broader society/societies of the world. This is a theme that is particularly tied to the “already” aspect of New Testament teaching on the kingdom, and one that is rarely addressed in evangelicalism today.

I am grateful to Russell Moore for this fine essay expounding new creation eschatology. Not all will agree with every aspect of his presentation, but the new creation orientation is a major advance over a number of other theologies and affords a better framework in which to pursue the differences that yet remain. The reader will appreciate the clear, inviting literary style that offers up a rich feast of biblical, theological, and cultural considerations. This is characteristic of the writings of Russell Moore, to which, it is hoped, there will be many more additions in the years to come."

About Me Page

Zaspel Reviews Kingdom Through Covenant

Check it out here.

Interesting Documentary: Prince of Peace - God of War

The Preparatory Role of Jerusalem

"Jerusalem and its Temple were always destined to be eclipsed by the revelation of the Messiah and his inauguration of the new covenant. Just as Paul saw the Torah as designed to point the way towards Christ (Gal. 3:24), so too Jerusalem's role was inherently preparatory. When the one came who would offer himself outside its walls as a sacrifice for sin, its sacrificial system would not be required. When the one came who would embody the incarnate presence of God, the true shekinah presence, then the Temple as the previous focused location of the divine name would need to be laid aside. When the Spirit came, Jerusalem's role as witnessing to the presence of God in the midst of his people would no longer be necessary. When the time came that the gospel could go out 'to all nations', then the previous particularity associated with Jerusalem would need to give way. When Gentiles could at last enter  the 'people of God', then the necessary distinction between Jew and Gentile emblazoned within the Temple would have to be 'broken down'. Finally, when the full revelation of God in Christ was made known and the glories of his heavenly Jerusalem could be glimpsed, then the previous symbolic role of Jerusalem as encapsulating God's final purpose for his world could be seen to have truly fulfilled its purpose."

-P.W.L. Walker, Jesus and the Holy City, 314-15

Christianity and Non-Violence

It seems to me that Christians – perhaps especially Texan Christians – would do well to meditate on the New Testament’s univocal call for a life of non-violence. The implications are broad:

§  John 18:36 – “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world’."

§  Matthew 5:38-39 - "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. "

§  Matthew 5:9 - "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

§  Matthew 5:43-45 - "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. "

§  Matthew 26:52 – “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword’."

§  Romans 12:14 – “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them."

§  Romans 12:17 Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all."

§  Romans 12:19 – “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord’."

§  Romans 12:21 – “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

§  Luke 6:27-30 - "But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back."

§  Luke 6:35 – “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil."

§  Hebrews 10:32-34 – “But recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one."

§  1 Peter 2:21 – “For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly."

New Covenant Ethics Bibliography

Here. I put a link on the sidebar under "Book Lists" for future reference.

My "What is New Covenant Theology" book is now on Kindle

Here.

Premillennialism is not Premillennialism

I recently had the privilege of attending Criswell College’s conference on the millennium called “Future Kingdom.” The title of the conference shows the host’s cards right off the bat. Add to that, three of the six presenters were some form of premillenniallism. I drove down to Dallas because of who they brought in. One couldn't ask for much better representatives for each position. Blomberg, Blaising, and House for premillennialism. Beale for amillennialism and Gentry for Postmillennialism. Hats off to Criswell for bringing in the “big guns.”

Anyway, I have noticed on more than one occasion lately Dispensationalists simply calling themselves “premillennialists.” I am calling all dispensationalists to academic honesty here. It is not true that “Premillennialism is premillenialism.” The fact that Criswell invited three different “brands” of premillenialism demonstrates this fact.

One’s particular view of the millennium is not that important to me. What is important for me is one’s underlying biblical-theological system. In other words, I am concerned with the foundational hermeneutic that leads to a particular view of the millennium. In this regard, there can be a world of difference between two premillennialists.

For example, consider a Covenant Theologian who believes that Israel = the church and the church = Israel, and that Christ is currently reigning on the throne in heaven as Davidic King, but happens to believe that one section of one chapter in the Bible teaches a “literal” one thousand year reign. This thousand years has nothing to do with Judaism or Jerusalem. It is just a one thousand year interim time before the eternal state.

                On the other hand, consider a staunch dispensationalist who not only believes that that one section of one chapter of the Bible teaches a “literal” one thousand year reign, but also believes there must be a millennium because it is during this time that Christ will finally reign as Davidic King and God will fulfill his promises to ancient Israel once the parenthetical church age is over.

                I hope it is clear that these are two very different versions of premillennialism. One is one expression of “classical” or “historic” premillennialism while the other is clearly dispensational premillennialism. A historical example of this is the way Charles Ryrie (a Dispensational Premillennialist) treats George Ladd’s work (a historic premillennialist). Clearly they are not on the same “eschatological team.” Dr. Blomberg (a historic premillennialist) mentioned that he wants to leave "Left Behind" behind. Interestingly, Ryrie thinks that “Progressive Dispensationalism” is guilty of drinking too deeply from the Ladd well.

                The hermeneutic of classical premillennialism and amillennialism are often very close.They “put the Bible together” in a very similar way, but just happen to read one section of one chapter differently (which – admittedly - is usually rooted in reading the whole book differently, but not always). The only major difference is their exegesis of Revelation 20. Take for example classical or historic premillennialists like Doug Moo, Don Carson, and Tom Schreiner. Their hermeneutic is very similar to that of Greg Beale, Kim Riddlebarger, and Anthony Hoekema. One cannot say the same for Charles Ryrie, John Walvoord, or Darrell Bock. Their millennium is distinctly Jewish and is tied to their reading of other passages. Indeed it is necessitated by their larger biblical-theological system.

                So when someone says they are premillennial, it is helpful to ask, “What kind?” If you are dispensational, please do us all a favor and don’t merely call yourself a “premillennialist;” Be honest. You hold to dispensational premillennialism. There's a difference.

Atkerson on New Covenant Theology

A while back I listened to Steve Atkerson do a teaching series on New Covenant Theology and commend it to you. Here you go (scroll down to relevant section)!

My Kingdom is Not of this World

Spurgeon's Calvinism

"To me, Calvinism means the placing of the eternal God at the head of all things. I look at everything through its relation to God's glory. I see God first, and man far down in the list ... Brethren, if we live in sympathy with God, we delight to hear Him say, 'I am God, and there is none else'."


C.H. Spurgeon

An All Round Ministry, p. 337.

The Practicality of Meticulous Sovereignty

God's sovereignty means much to me. It is huge. It shouldn't be denied and debated. It should be embraced like a warm blanket on a cold winter day. What a comfort it is.

I was reminded of this recently when seeing the family's response to Dianne Schreiner's recent bike accident. Read her son Patrick's post "Trusting Christ Through Trauma." Go read the updates on Facebook by Tom Schreiner. This is where theology meets the road and it is beautiful. God is in control and God is to be trusted. He is good.

Listen to how Charles Spurgeon expresses this truth:

"It would be a very sharp and trying experience to me to think that I have an affliction which God never sent me, that the bitter cup was never filled by his hand, that my trials were never measured out by him, nor sent to me by his arrangement of their weight and quantity"

(C.H. Spurgeon, "The Anguish and Agonies of Charles Spurgeon," p. 25)

SWBTS PhD Reading Seminar in Systematic Theology

In case you had an ounce of curiosity about what students read at SWBTS, here is what we are reading in one of my classes. This list of books is for the PhD reading seminar in systematic theology led by Dr. Malcolm Yarnell and Dr. John Massey:

Aug. 29 - Orientation (Read Yarnell, “To the End of Glorifying Jesus”)

Sep. 5 - Paul L. Allen, Theological Method: A Guide for the Perplexed (Survey of Theological Method)

Sept. 12 - David K. Clark, To Know and Love God, chs. 1-7 (Reformed Method)

Sept. 19 - George A. Lindbeck, The Nature of Doctrine (Postliberal Method)

Sept. 26 - Malcolm Yarnell, The Formation of Christian Doctrine (Free Church Method)

Oct. 10 - Carl F.H. Henry, God, Revelation and Authority, Vol. 1, chs. 1-4, 11-14; vol. 2, pp. 7-16 (Revelation)

Oct. 17 - John Webster, Holy Scripture: A Dogmatic Sketch; Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, I/1, pp. 1-124 (Revelation)

Oct. 24 - Augustine, De Trinitate, Book 15 only; Karl Rahner, The Trinity (Trinity)

Oct. 31 - Herbert Butterfield, Christianity and History (Providence)

Nov. 7 - Marc Cortez, Theological Anthropology: A Guide for the Perplexed (Survey of Anthropology)

Nov 14 - Nonna Verna Harrison, God's Many-Splendored Image: Theological Anthropology for Christian Formation (Orthodox Anthropology)

Nov. 28 - Gerald O’Collins, Christology, chs. 1-9; Richard Bauckham, God Crucified, original essay only (Christology)

Jan. 30 - Leon Morris, The Cross in the New Testament (Atonement)

Feb. 6 - Paige Patterson, “The Atonement,” in Akin, A Theology for the Church (Atonement)

Feb. 13 - Yves Congar, I Believe in the Holy Spirit, Vol I, Part I and Vol III, Part I (Pneumatology)

Feb. 20 - Malcolm Yarnell, “The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit,” in Akin, A Theology for the Church (Pneumatology)

Feb. 27 - Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification; John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book III (Soteriology)

Mar. 6 - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Discipleship (Soteriology)

Mar. 20 - Franklin H. Littell, The Anabaptist View of the Church; Malcolm Yarnell, “Article VI: The Church,” in Blount and Wooddell, The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (Ecclesiology)

Mar. 27 - Hans Kung, The Church (Ecclesiology)

Apr. 3 - George Beasley-Murray, Baptism in the New Testament (Ecclesiology)

Apr. 10 - George Eldon Ladd, The Blessed Hope (Eschatology)

Apr. 17 - Craig A. Blaising and Darrell Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism (Eschatology)

Apr. 24 - John D. Zizoulas, Lectures in Christian Dogmatics (Greek Orthodox/Contempory Theology)

May 1 To Be Determined

Thoughts?

Kingdom Through Covenant by Gentry and Wellum

Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum's new and much-awaited book Kingdom Through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants (Crossway, 2012) has only been out for a couple of months, but it has already generated quite a bit of discussion.

Though I do not currently have the time to review it in full, I'd like to make a few comments and provide more links than one could want if you are interested.

I loved the book. It is a treasure trove of systematic theology that is informed by clear exegesis and biblical theology. The introductory sections are very helpful. They clearly lay out the definitions of biblical theology, systematics, their relation, then they cover the distinctives of Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism, before turning to hermeneutical issues such as the nature of Scripture, progressive revelation, and typology. Part Two is long and rigorous. It contains 12 chapters unpacking each divine/human covenant in its own context and shows the continuities and discontinuities with what went before and with what lay ahead. Chapter 16 is a nice 60 page summary of the 12 dense chapters that preceded it. In chapter 17, they apply their proposal to the person of Christ, the work of Christ (if you are curious as to how Dr. Wellum argues for definite atonement, you really ought to listen to his recent faculty address "What does the Extent of the Atonement have to do with Baptist Ecclesiology: an Experience of Doing Theology"), the nature of the church, baptism, and the land promise. Quite ambitious, huh?

I highly recommend this much needed book. They do a superb job demonstrating all sorts of theological truths important to the current discussion over biblical-theological systems: the importance of covenants for the biblical story-line  the New Testament use of the Old, typology, the conditional/unconditional nature of the covenants, the temporal nature of the old covenant, the newness of the new covenant, the fourfold nature of the seed of Abraham, the unified nature of the Mosaic law, the relationship between Israel and the church, and much more.

I realize that most folks won't read 800 pages though, so at least read Parts 1 and 3. And if that is too much, then read the summary in chapter 16. I think this book will be a key player in years to come. It is the first thorough academic work from a "new covenant theology" perspective published by a major publisher. The authors call their view a species of new covenant theology, opting for progressive covenantalism (24) or simply for kingdom through covenant.

I think Kingdom Through Covenant, much like Blaising and Bock's Progressive Dispensationalism, will be a theological game-changer. I frequently encounter students who are not Reformed Baptists, are not Dispensational, but are not quite sure where they land theologically. I think this book will help people, particularly Baptists, think through the other main option. I hope it will cause Covenant Theologians and Dispensationalists to reexamine their systems in light of Scripture as well.

On to the links:

A Review by Douglas Moo

A Review by Darrell Bock

A Review by Michael Horton

The authors respond.

A Review by Fred Zaspel

Andy Naselli asks 4 questions of the book.

A Review by Matthew Sims

Kingdom Through Covenant: A Biblical Middle Way? (interview with Gentry and Wellum)

Credo Magazine interviews Stephen Wellum here.

Credo Magazine interview Peter Gentry here.

The Towers interviews the authors here.

Crossway has made chapters 1 (The Importance of Covenants in Biblical and Systematic Theology) and 2 (Covenants in Biblical-Theological Systems: Dispensational and Covenant Theology) available here.

A fantastic 65 page essay by Stephen Wellum on the relation of baptism and the covenants from Believer's Baptism ed. by Thomas Schreiner and Shawn Wright.

Justin Taylor interviews Stephen Wellum about baptism and the covenants.

Andy Naselli outlines Dr. Wellum's essay on baptism and the covenants.

Monergism's take on the book. Ian from the City of God blog responds. As does Alpha and Omega ministries.

Here are a few of the endorsements:

“What do you get when you cross a world class Bible scholar and a first rate systematic theologian? You get 800-plus pages of power-packed biblical goodness. You get the forest and quite a few of the trees. This is not the first volume that has attempted to mediate the dispensational/covenant theology divide, but it may be the culminating presentation of that discussion—just as Bach was not the first Baroque composer but its highest moment. Gentry and Wellum’s proposal of Kingdom through Covenant should be read by all parties, but I won’t be surprised to learn in 20 years that this volume provided the foundation for how a generation of anyone who advocates regenerate church membership puts their Bible together.”
-Jonathan Leeman, Editorial Director, 9Marks; author, Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love

“Gentry and Wellum offer a third way, a via media, between covenant theology and dispensationalism, arguing that both of these theological systems are not informed sufficiently by biblical theology. Certainly we cannot understand the scriptures without comprehending ‘the whole counsel of God,’ and here we find incisive exegesis and biblical theology at its best. This book is a must read and will be part of the conversation for many years to come.”
—Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Kingdom through Covenant is hermeneutically sensitive, exegetically rigorous, and theologically rich—a first rate biblical theology that addresses both the message and structure of the whole Bible from the ground up. Gentry and Wellum have produced what will become one of the standard texts in the field. For anyone who wishes to tread the path of biblical revelation, this text is a faithful guide.”
—Miles V. Van Pelt, Alan Belcher Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages and Director, Summer Institute for Biblical Languages, Reformed Theological Seminary

“Gentry and Wellum have provided a welcome addition to the current number of books on biblical theology. What makes their contribution unique is the marriage of historical exegesis, biblical theology, and systematic theology. Kingdom through Covenant brims with exegetical insights, biblical theological drama, and sound systematic theological conclusions. Particularly important is the viable alternative they offer to the covenantal and dispensational hermeneutical frameworks. I enthusiastically recommend this book!”
—Stephen Dempster, Stuart E. Murray Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Atlantic Baptist University

In sum, get this book!!