Sermon: Jesus in the Old Testament

Here.

The Hope of the Gospel

"The hope we have in the gospel is that the fullness of God condescended to us in Jesus Christ. We don't have to wonder about the Father's disposition toward us; we don't have to speculate for one moment about our future. We can have a strong and sure hope, because we can see the invisible God by looking at the gospel."

-Elyse Fitzpatrick, Because He Loves Me, 189.

Piper on Romans 11

First, let me say I love John Piper. This week, he posted an article titled "Five Reasons I Believe Romans 11:26 Means a Future Conversion for Israel." I respect such a view, but must humbly disagree. I think this reading of Romans 11 is much better than the Dispensational view of the chapter. A future millennium, a future earthly Davidic Kingdom, restoration to Jerusalem, and/or a restoration of a geo-political state must be inserted from outside. These are nowhere to be found in this wonderful chapter. Piper's view (along with Schreiner's and Moo's) is different from the classic dispensational one in that these future Jews will be added to the church when Jesus returns.

Here are his reasons, followed by my two cents:

1. The term “Israel” in verses 25 and 26 most naturally refers to the same thing.

Not necessarily. Romans 9:6 is the thesis of Romans 9-11. There, Paul uses Israel in two different ways in the same verse: "For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel" (ESV).

2. The reference in verse 26 to banishing ungodliness from Jacob fits with the national view of “all Israel.”

A major difference I have with Piper is his view of the quotation of Isaiah 59:20-21 in Romans 11:26-27. He writes, "This seems most naturally to be a picture of the second coming," but Isaiah 59 is found in the "gospel of the Old Testament," namely chapters 40-66. These chapters are all about the new covenant. When Romans 11:27 quotes Isaiah 59 saying, "and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins," surely he has that same new covenant in mind. Jeremiah's famous new covenant promise similarly says, "For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Romans 11:26-27 is a new covenant promise, not a promise for some later period. In other words, "The Deliverer will come from Zion" refers to the first coming of Christ - not the second coming. Isaiah's new covenant is the same as Jeremiah's - and both are for the church - i.e. Jews or Gentiles who believe in Christ.

Romans 11 is all about Paul's 1st Century context - not thousands of years into the future. Notice the oft-neglected, but clear and important time indicators (my emphasis):

•  Romans 11:1 - "I ask, then, has God [currently] rejected his people? By no means! For I myself [currently] am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin" (cf. 11:13-14). 

•  Romans 11:5 - "So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace." 

•  Romans 11:30 - "For just as you were at one time disobedient to God but now have received mercy because of their disobedience," 

•  Romans 11:31 - "so they too have now been disobedient in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may now receive mercy." 

Paul seems pretty clear as to what time period he is referring to.

3. The parallel between the two halves of verse 28 point to all Israel as the nation as a whole.

I take Romans 11:28-29 differently. Paul is repeating what he said in 11:1 and 11: God has not completely rejected ethnic Israel. Then can still be saved if they believe in Christ (Rom 10:11).

Piper's view is that the nation as a whole will be converted. But can "all" mean "most?" Furthermore, that would only be a small fraction of the Jewish people. The conclusion of Piper's view is actually fairly anticlimactic if we take "all Israel" to be most Jews who are alive at the return of Christ. Also, to say that only most will be saved is to say that the period of their hardening remains in part. This doesn't seem to do justice to the flow of Paul's thought. If anything, it would probably be more consistent to say that every single Israelite alive at the return of Christ will be saved since the period of hardening would then be over for ethnic Israel.

4. The parallels in verse 12 point in the same direction.

5. The same thing is true about the parallels in verse 15.

Regarding verses 12 and 15, Piper is assuming that Paul is dealing with the future, but as we have seen from Paul's explicit time indicators, he is not dealing with the future but with the present. The "partial hardening" in 11:25 is not a temporary hardening, but a qualitative hardening. The "in this way" or "so" of 11:26 is speaking of manner - not time.

Another difficulty with this view is the emphasis of Romans 9-11. Paul has been pounding away at the fact that God never promised to save the whole nation of Israel - but only the elect (9:6-18, 11:4-7). Romans 10:12 says there is no distinction between Jew and Greek. In chapters 9 and 10, Paul rejects any notion that being an Israelite ethnically grants one a special privilege. In Piper's view - he ends up reinstating such a view at the end of the section. Contrary to such a view, "God shows no partiality" (Rom 2:11).

Paul has already defined what true Jewishness is in the letter to the Romans. In 2:28-29, he explicitly defines Jewishness inwardly - not outwardly (in other words, not ethnically). Circumcision is not outward and physical. In Romans 4:11-12 and16-19, we see that Abraham is the father of all who have faith. Paul is at pains to show that God is doing exactly what he promised Abraham he would do: bless the nations through his seed. His seed is Christ. All who are united to Christ are children of Abraham.

"All Israel," like "the Israel of God" in Galatians 6:16, consists of those who are in Christ. Israel has been hardened in part, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come [into Israel - into the root of the Olive tree] and in this manner, all Israel will be saved. All Israel is the whole tree consisting of elect Jews and Gentiles. Paul has redefined Israel in light of Jesus. He has argued that God has kept his promises to Israel by means of the salvation of Jews and Gentiles being united to Israel's Messiah through faith. This does not mean that God has altogether cast off ethnic Israel. No way. They can respond positively to the gospel just like Gentiles. They are not totally hardened. In this way, all Israel will be saved.

Furthermore, the rest of the New Testament is silent on such a future mass conversion. This doesn't mean it is not true, but one would expect other letters to mention it. The New Testament is very clear that it is those of faith who are the children of Abraham (i.e. Israelites):

Ephesians 2:11-22 is clear and powerful: Gentiles, who were once far off, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Jesus has made Jews and Gentiles one. He has created in himself one new humanity out of the two. Now, Gentiles are fellow citizens and members of the household of God along with the Jewish people. Consider several other passages that reinforce my view:


1 Thessalonians 2:14-16 - "For you, brothers, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea. For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved--so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But God's wrath has come upon them at last [eis telos]!"

 Matthew 21:43 - "Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruits."

 Acts 18:6 - "And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.""

 Acts 28:28 "Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen."

 Galatians 3:7 - "Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham."

 Galatians 3:28 - "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise."

 Galatians 6:15-16 - "For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God."

 Philippians 3:3 - "For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh"


The mystery mentioned in Romans 11 is not different than the mystery spoken of in Ephesians 3:1-6:

 "For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles--assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel."

Finally, I think Piper's view could hinder gospel urgency. If one held to Piper's view of Romans 11, one could change his evangelistic perspective. If a friend was absolutely opposed to the gospel, one could probably encourage them to consider Judaism since "all Israel" will be saved at his return. Such a person's unbelieving friend may die before Christ returns, but maybe not.

In conclusion, I think Lee Irons nails it when he says, "What, then, is Paul's theology of Israel's future? In a word, the church."



For similar views, see:

• N.T. Wright, "Christ, the Law and the People of God," in The Climax of the Covenant.
• Ben Merkle, "Romans 11 and the Future of Ethnic Israel."
• O. Palmer Robertson, The Israel of God (Ch. 6).
• O. Palmer Robertson, "Is there a Distinctive Future for Ethnic Israel in Romans 11? in Perspectives on Evangelical Theology ed. Kenneth Kantzer and Stanley N. Gundry.
• Lee Irons, "Paul's Theology of Israel's Future."
• Paul Williamson, "Covenant," in NSBT.

Beach Reach & the Power of God

            As I write this, I am praying and gearing up for Beach Reach. Beach Reach is a ministry started in 1980 by Buddy Young that consists of college students heading to South Padre Island in order to share the gospel with the thousands of college students who head south to party their cares away. The Christians provide free pancake breakfasts and free van rides to anyone who needs food and a ride. Each event is saturated with Christian college students whose main goal is to have conversations about Jesus Christ over breakfast or during a van ride. Each seat in each 15 passenger van will have at least one Christian on each row of the van.

I was able to go three times while in college, and this year I was asked to join the group that is being sent by the University of Houston Baptist Student Ministry. I immediately asked my fellow elders and sought to make it happen, and Lord-willing I will be joining them in March.

One of the trips in college (me & my boy A Skeezy)

I am extremely excited because evangelistic opportunities abound, as you can imagine. There will be many conversations about the gospel that week. As I go, I go with confidence. I go with confidence for five main reasons:

First, I go with confidence in the power of the gospel. God has promised to save through the proclamation of the gospel. Romans 1:16 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (NIV). This is good news for the evangelist! God doesn’t use our persuasiveness or Bible knowledge to save people. It is good to be persuasive, and great to know the Bible well, but God saves through people telling other people the gospel. This means one of the fundamental tasks of the evangelist is to be faithful to the gospel message.

Our temptation is to make it more “user-friendly,” but this is counter-productive. God saves through the gospel. We don’t write (or re-write) the message. We simply deliver it faithfully. "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” The prophet Isaiah assures us that God’s Word will accomplish what he purposes. It will not return to him void (Isa 55:10-11).

Second, I go with confidence in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who grants spiritual understanding (1 Cor 2:14). Try as I might, it is he who must intervene and bring conviction to the world (John 16:8-9). The Holy Spirit will bring God’s word to mind as we speak about the gospel Story and it is he who will work in the hearts of unbelievers. He will penetrate stony hearts and will give new eyes – eyes that no longer see Jesus as boring, but as the treasure worth selling everything to obtain.

Third, I go with confidence in the coherence of the Christian faith as opposed to all other worldviews. College students in particular think they are prepared to debate anyone on anything after having sat through Philosophy 101. Many will have intellectual objections to the Christian faith. I am comforted by the truth that without the Christian faith, one cannot make sense of anything. As a comprehensive worldview, the Christian faith is robustly coherent and contains much more explanatory and experiential power than other worldviews do.

To take one example, you cannot have ethical opinions without an objective moral standard by which to define good or bad. Atheists have no such standard. For them, all is simply matter in motion. For them, natural selection is necessary. The strong eat the weak. So their worldview does not have the capacity to define evil. Everything just is. They have no objective basis to call a thing evil. Christians say the character of God – revealed in his Word – is the standard of right and wrong. Without him, we are only left with opinion.

Fourth, I go with confidence that Jesus has all authority. In the Great Commission, Jesus says, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." He is the Lord. He is currently ruling and reigning at the right hand of God. I go out knowing that Jesus already owns the people I will be talking to. In John Dickson’s wonderful book on evangelism, he speaks of the mission equation: “If there is one Lord to whom all people belong and owe their allegiance, the people of that Lord must promote this reality everywhere.”[1]

I was converted in college, and quickly became burdened for my lost friends. I wanted all to know about Jesus so I turned my Ford Explorer into a gospel tract on wheels. On the back I had the Jesus fish, a bumper sticker that said “Real Men Love Jesus,” and a huge custom made cross decal on the back glass with the words “Eternally Secure” surrounding the cross. I am not finished. On the top front windshield, I placed the words “Bow Now or Bow Later (Rom 14)” in obnoxiously large font. Now I don’t think turning your car into a chick tract is a good idea, but the words are true. The Bible says that one day, every single knee will bow to the Lord Jesus and every tongue will acknowledge who he really is – Lord (Phil 2:10-11)! We urge people to willingly bow now, rather than in destruction then.

Fifth, I go with confidence knowing that salvation belongs to the Lord (Jonah 2:9). Jesus said that "no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them" (John 6:44). We go in the power of the Spirit, striving to faithfully tell the gospel, all the while knowing that God must draw people through the message. Ephesians chapter two describes our “pre-Christ” state as dead in sin (Eph 2:1, 5). Often you will hear preachers use an analogy of a lost person as a drowning victim. We must offer them Jesus (a life saving float) and they must grab hold of him, but Paul’s analogy is bleaker than that. A more biblical picture is that a lost person is already fish food – dead, lying at the bottom of the ocean. Jesus must go get us and give us new life. We were dead but God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love, made us alive (Eph 2:4-5).

I have always been encouraged in evangelism by Lydia’s story. As the Apostles were preaching the gospel, “the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul” (Acts 16:14). As we share Jesus with people, we should pray that the Lord would open their heart as we are speaking. I am confident in the fact that it is the Lord who opens hearts!

Though you probably won’t have the opportunity to go to Beach Reach, your opportunities are abundant. Just look down your street. Look around your work space. Look around your local grocery store. The harvest is plentiful (Matt 9:37). Go, and go with confidence.

---

[1] John Dickson, The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 115.

Douglas Moo & New Covenant Theology 3

"Our relationship with God is now found in Christ, not through the law; and our day-to-day behavior is to be guided primarily by the teaching of Christ and his apostles rather than by the law." (642-43)

"The Christian who loves, and who therefore does what the law requires. . . has brought the law to its culmination, its eschatological fulfillment." (817)

--from his Romans (NICNT).

My New Book: 'Abide in Him"

My new book, Abide in Him: A Theological Interpretation of John's First Letter (131 pp) is now available from Amazon ($13.95) and New Covenant Media ($11.16). In it I simply walk through the text of 1 John seeking to explain and apply it in an accessible manner.

Here are the endorsements:


“If I were to pick one section of this commentary that gives the heartbeat of both the commentary and of New Covenant Theology, it would be the following:
‘As should be clear by now, love for John is not an emotion but is always practical and active. Love of fellow Christians expresses itself with actions and in truth. Love and obedience go hand in hand. Jesus made this clear in the Upper Room Discourse. John 14:15 says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” In John 14:21, Jesus said that the one who has and keeps his commandments is the one who loves him. John is a faithful interpreter of the mind of Jesus.’”

--- John Reisinger, Author, Editor, Sovereign Grace New Covenant Ministries [from the Foreword]

"Most commentary-like books teach you about the text. This one teaches you about Christ. Blake White leads you to think about how John's letter should impact your love for the Savior and his people. He also gives clarity to some notoriously obscure statments. Bring this book alongside every reading and study of First John.

---Douglas Goodin, President, Cross to Crown Ministries



My other books can be found here.

Post SWBTS Anabaptist Conference Thoughts

Monday and Tuesday of last week, I attended a conference on the Anabaptist Movement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Forth Worth (audio can be found here). I went because I love the Anabaptists. I had very little exposure to them in seminary, but began reading from them and about them after graduation. I have only dipped in, but deeply resonate with their values and practices.

The conference was a good time, though I could have used a little less criticism of the Reformers. For example, at the conclusion of Dr. Malcolm Yarnell's paper, he said, "Baptists have before them two worldviews. Two different hermeneutical systems. Two different theological methods, vying for allegiance. Will there be a clear choice? Will we adopt a foundation characterized by specialist speculative language through which Scripture is read? Or will we recognize a foundation derived from a Christ-centered, Trinitarian reading of Scripture tightly integreating the faith believed and the faith lived?" Not the fairest statement in my opinion. I went to hear the strengths of the Anabaptists - not the weaknesses of the Magisterial Reformers. Thankfully, this only came through in a minority of the papers (really only sections of 2). I found Rick Warren's talk on Anabaptist and the Great Commission and Paige Patterson's talk on their legacy for contemporary baptists most helpful.

I came away appreciating the radical reformers all the more. In particular, here are several of the values that make them distinct:

Radical Discipleship

Jesus is Lord. They believed this most consistently in my opinion. They deeply understood the cost of discipleship and took the call of Christ with utmost seriousness. In the midst of persecution, many of them had undaunted courage.

Jesus centered Discipleship


The Evangelical Anabaptists emphasized the imitation of Jesus. This is a huge theme in the New Testament, but I rarely hear it expounded in my circles. We, like Jesus, are called to give of self for the good of others (I have a book that I hope will be ready this summer on this theme). They also emphasized the pattern of Christ as the paradigm for the pattern of our lives - namely, suffering then glory.


Empire Subversion 

Unlike the Magisterial Reformers, the Anabaptist got the church/state relationship right. Paul in particular uses imperial language to subvert its reality and significance. Anytime the church lays with the empire, citizenship confusion occurs.

Simplicity 

Tied to the last one is simplicity. Because we see the empire in a negative light, we are skeptical of its values. Our reading of the New Testament doesn't mesh with the American dream - to say the least. Jesus was quite clear that life does not consist in the abundance of stuff.

Jesus-Centered Interpretation


Anabaptists sought to interpret all of Scripture in light of Jesus Christ. They were some of the first to interpret Scripture progressively (the old in light of the new). They also saw a clear distinction between the old covenant and the new.


The Authority of Scripture


They truly practiced sola scriptura, even when it cost them. The Bible alone must inform all we as Christians say and do.


Believer's Baptism


The New Testament is silent regarding infant baptism, so for the, it had to go. Only believers are to be baptized.


Believer's church


Related to baptism, the Anabaptist believed that the church consists of believers only. The new covenant is radically new. In the new covenant, every member of the covenant community is indwelt by the Spirit and is fully forgiven.



Church Discipline


Because the Anabaptist believed the church should consist of believers only, they saw the need to exercise church discipline in order to protect the purity of the church.



Peacemaking


Because the teaching of Jesus was actually authoritative for the Anabaptists, there were committed to non-violence and enemy love.

Related Posts:
Anabaptists/Reformers
Radical Reformation
Anabaptist Core Convictions
Anabaptist Hermeneutics

End of the Old World

"Paul's conviction concerning the obliteration of one 'world' and its replacement by another lies at the very heart of his programme in Galatians, and is arguably fundamental to the whole of Pauline theology."

"In the death of Christ, God has performed a 'newly-creative act' in which a new sphere of existence is established; 'the cosmos in which he [Paul] previously lived met its end in God's apocalypse of Jesus Christ'."

"He envisages the establishment of a new realm of existence. It is a sphere of life wholly differentiated from the 'cosmos' that has been crucified to Paul, a domain where distinctive patterns of life are operative. As his comments in [Gal.] 6.14-15 highlight, Paul belongs to this new world, where different standards apply, different rules are followed, different habits formed, different ways of life practised, and a different ethos exists. The world in which he used to live was characterized by many things, one of which was a fundamental distinction between those who were circumcised and those who were not, those who observed the law of God and those who did not. But Paul has seen the death of that world and now lives in a world where that distinction is not applicable."

From Bruce Longenecker's The Triumph of Abraham's God, 3, 7 quoting J.Louis Martyn, 37