Because exegetical detail is worse than meaningless apart from well-ordered inference.
Case in point: The doctrine of the Trinity
Christ & Creation
Here’s the blurb for the next Sunday School series I’ll be teaching at St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church. If you’re in the Orlando area we’d love to have you join us this Sunday at 9:30am!
Christ & Creation
It’s no mistake that the Bible begins with the story of creation in Genesis and ends with a vision of new creation in Revelation. “Our end” as the English poet T.S. Elliot famously put it, “is in our beginning.” This class will be an exploration of the doctrine of creation in three parts: (1) Telling the story, (2) interpreting the story and (3) applying the story of Christ and creation. Throughout the course of this class special attention will be given to the person and work of Christ as the one through whom and for whom all things were created (Colossians 1:15-18)
Sanders Inteviews Kapic on Generosity
Fred Sanders was kind to enough to do a short interview with Kelly Kapic on our book, God So Loved He Gave. You can check it out HERE.
Advent According to Mark
For those familiar with his Gospel, it may seem strange to turn to Mark for teaching on Advent. For unlike the other two synoptic Gospels, Mark doesn’t include an infancy narrative in his record of Jesus’ story. No Mary. No Joseph. No shepherds. No angels. No Wise Men. No star. No Bethlehem. No gifts of frankincense, gold and myrrh. No census from Caesar Augustus. No donkey. No inn without room. No newborn baby Jesus wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. In fact, the whole story of Jesus’ birth and the events surrounding his young life are conspicuously absent from Mark’s Gospel in which Jesus arrives on the scene as a full grown man on a mission. So what can Mark possibly teach us about Advent?
Although we don’t tend to turn here at Christmastime, I think Mark’s Gospel highlights at least two crucial aspects of Advent: (1) Jesus was born to die and (2) he’s bound to come again.
Born to Die
The great English poet and priest, John Donne (1572-1631) once wrote, “The whole life of Christ was a continual Passion; others die martyrs but Christ was born a martyr… His birth and death were but one continual act, and his Christmas day and his Good Friday are but the morning and the evening of the same day.” No one can read Mark’s Gospel without coming to a similar conclusion. For no other Gospel writer does more to remind us that Christmas is about the cross than Mark.
Three times Mark records Jesus explicitly predicting his own suffering and death (8:31; 9:30-32; 10:45; cf. 2:20; 3:6), and the last of these predictions sums up the essence of Advent as well as any other verse in the Bible. “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) That’s why Jesus came according to Mark’s Gospel and that’s why there can be no celebration of Christmas apart from the cross. Unlike McDonald’s advertizing campaign which encourages us to “Celebrate the Season’s Cravings” this Christmas, Mark calls us to celebrate the Son who denied himself for us even as he calls us to pick up our cross and follow him.
Bound to Come Again
But Jesus isn’t just born to die in Mark’s Gospel. He’s also bound to come again as the world’s one true Lord. And it’s actually common liturgical practice to celebrate the beginning of the season of Advent by reading a passage like Mark 13:32-37 which speak of Christ’s Second Coming on the Last Day. Passages like this remind us that Jesus won’t be found wrapped in swaddling clothes or lying in a manger when he comes again. Accordingly we are told to “Stay awake!” (Mark 13:37). Don’t be found doing things that you wouldn’t want Jesus to find you doing when he shows up for the last time. Run to the gift of the cross which is able to supply what you need this Christmas. And then live in light of Jesus’ example. Above all: Stay alert this Advent as we celebrate Jesus First Advent and anticipate his Second.
This is the good news of Advent according to Mark’s Gospel: Jesus was born to die and he bound to come again.
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
The Central Theme of Matthew’s Gospel
The central theme of Matthew’s Gospel is fulfillment. In it redemptive history comes rushing to Jesus like rivers run to the sea.
That’s why the Gospel of Matthew opens with a genealogy that’s designed to identify Jesus as Israel’s long promised Messiah (1:1-17). That’s why Jesus is called by so many OT names and why Matthew works with so many OT themes. That’s why there are over fifty quotations of the OT in Matthew’s Gospel, almost as many as the other three Gospels combined. (Not to mention hundreds of allusions and OT echoes.)
I agree with James Montgomery Boice’s description of Matthew as a “Bridge Book.” That’s a great way to think of Matthew’s Gospel because of the way it links the OT with the New.
Matthew wants us to see that Jesus is the very climax of Israel’s story. He wants us to see that the sweeping significance of the good news he shares cannot be fully appreciated apart from the surprising scope much larger story—a story that reaches all the way back into the very deepest recesses of Israel history while pointing forward to the very end of the age (Mathew 28:20).
That’s why Jesus’ baptism is presented as the fulfillment of all righteousness (3:15). That’s why his teaching in the Sermon on the Mount is presented as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (5:17). That’s why to be in Jesus’ presence is to behold something greater than Solomon (12:42), something even greater than the temple (26:61). It’s all about fulfillment.
Every Old Testament theme flows like a stream into the the deep sea of Jesus’ significance.
Promote Generosity
Check it out, folks. The Global Generosity Movement (GGM) has just been launched! This is a new initiative designed to support the growing movement of organizations and individuals championing biblical generosity around the world.
Anyone interested in promoting biblically based generosity should definitely check out this new website, an exciting new platform designed to bring together the global community of generosity champions and organizations. You can download free resources and share resources you have found helpful with the rest of the community. If you want to incorporate biblical generosity into your small group, your family, your church or your ministry – this site is designed to connect you to the right groups and materials.
Here are a few more resources worth highlighting:
- Why Generosity – retells the story of God’s generosity and explains the motivation behind the movement.
- Key Verses – provides easy access to some of the Bible’s most profound passages on generosity in sixteen different categories.
- Media – provides short video stories about generosity around the world
- Community – provides oppotunities for individuals, church and organizations to connect, access and share generosity resources from all around the world
If you think this new initiative has some merit, why not consider sharing it with others via word of mouth, Facebook, Twitter and other outlets? The good news is not only that God has made us to be recipients of his grace but also called us as participants in the movement of his divine generosity.
The Jubal Factor
“In the Bible, the story line of redemption is carried through the line of Adam and Eve’s third child, Seth; but musical craftsmanship emerges first among the children of Cain, murderer of Abel and the first builder of cities (Gen. 4:17). Jubal, representing the unbelieving line of his father Cain, is father of “all those who play the lyre and pipe” (Gen. 4:21 NASB). Concludes theologian William Edgar: “Cain’s descendents invent culture, while Seth’s invent worship.”
God has placed us in a symbiotic relationship with nonbelieving musicians. I call this the Jubal factor. They have a bravery we need while we have a story they are lost without. I suspect that God himself prompts the children of Jubal, the mad geniuses outside the believing community–the Beethovens, the Wagners–to push the musical frontiers further out so the church can follow and learn new textures, tone colors, rhythms, harmonic combinations, and melodic possibilities…”
- Reggie Kidd, With One Voice: Discovering Christ’s Song in Our Worship
The Kingdom in Every Sphere?
Here’s an interesting juxtaposition: Two mutually exclusive statements on the Kingdom of God in human life from two well-known Reformed Systematicians. I’d be very interested to know what people think about these quotations. Who do you think represents the better side of Reformed theology on this issue? More importantly, which perspective would you say is more biblical?
“Christian school societies, voluntary organizations of younger and older people for the study of Christian principles and their application in life, Christian labor unions, and Christian political organizations… are manifestations of the Kingdom of God, in which groups of Christians seek to apply the principles of the Kingdom to every domain of life…The Kingdom… represents the dominion of God in every sphere of human endeavor.”
- L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology, 569-570
“[W]e should question popular statements like, “All of life is kingdom work.” No, proclaiming the Word, administering baptism and the Supper, caring for the spiritual and physical well-being of the saints, and bringing in the lost are kingdom work. Building bridges, delivering medical supplies to hospitals, installing water heaters, defending clients in court, holding public office, and having friends over for dinner are “creation work,” given a pledge of safe conduct ever since Cain under God’s regime of common grace. In this work, Christians serve beside non-Christians, as both are endowed with natural gifts and learned skills for their common life together.”
- Michael Horton, “Transforming Culture with a Messiah Complex“
Take Her in Your Arms
Have you ever noticed how radically affectionate Wisdom is in the Bible? 
I’m always struck by this whenever I read the book of Proverbs where wisdom is associated with chasing after the right kind of woman. Seriously. The wise are those who “love” (4:6), “prize” and “embrace” Lady Wisdom (4:8). In other words, wisdom reorients not only our intellectual interests and cognitive machinery but our secret impulses and desires as well. At the beginning of the book two potential objects of our affection are presented with what OT scholar Tremper Longman refers to as “erotic overtones.” We can either chase after Lady Wisdom or Lady Folly, but not both (Proverbs 9:1-18). Sumptuous feasts are fixed on either side. Wisdom invites us to eat honey and spice out in the open while Folly tempts us with stolen water and hidden delicacies (9:17). Which one will we choose? I suppose the book of Proverbs could be understood as a father’s advice to sweep Lady Wisdom off her feet. For “She is a tree of life to those who embrace her, and those who lay hold of her will be blessed” (Proverbs 3:18).
Do Nothing Justice
What does it take for the average Christian to “do justice”? Not much according to Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert in their latest book, What is the Mission of the Church?
“Doing justice means not showing partiality, not stealing, not swindling, not taking advantage of the weak because they are too uninformed or unconnected to stop you. We dare say that most Christians in America are not guilty of these sorts of injustices, nor should they be made to feel that they are.” (p. 176)
You see what has just happened in the passage above? The negative idea of refraining from injustice has been substituted for the positive idea of doing justice, and this is of more than semantic significance. “Doing justice” according to DeYoung and Gilbert “means not… not… not… not…” But how can this series of negations be all there is to it? Granted that “doing justice” isn’t less than refraining from injustice, is it not more? Doesn’t doing justice biblically imply doing something positively?
Some readers may wonder if I am being unfair. Surely DeYoung and Gilbert say more about the positive meaning of justice than I have selectively indicated here. The answer to that reasonable concern is yes and no. Yes, DeYoung and Gilbert provide a slightly more nuanced and positive definition of doing justice but (and this is the important point) not for the average Christian.
“Justice in a fallen world” DeYoung and Gilbert go on to explain more fully “is not an equality of outcome, but is equal treatment under a fair law.” (P. 182). That’s it. There is no positive restorative meaning to justice in their opinion. That positive or restorative element that we naturally look for is, they explain, where love comes in.
Christians are called to be generous and compassionate to the poor and disadvantaged. But this is to be understood in terms of love, not as a matter of justice (p. 183). Justice is about fair process under a fair law, so unless you are a judge or someone with influence over legal proceedings, for example, doing justice doesn’t really mean doing anything, at least positively speaking.
Armed with this strikingly sharp distinction between justice and love, DeYoung and Gilbert even go so far as to conclude that we should probably stop talking about the former and focus our attention on the latter.
“In so many ways the social justice discussion would be less controversial and more profitable if we stopped talking about justice and started talking about love. Is it unjust for poverty to exist in the world alongside such wealth? … Doubtful. But should we love wildly, sacrificially, and creatively here, there, and everywhere? Absolutely.”
I’ll admit that every time I read that paragraph I’m tempted to depart from a tone of moderation. Such a division of justice and love is a far cry from the portrait of justice as love that we find in the book of Job which opens with one of the most remarkable descriptions of any human being contained in the Bible: [T]hat man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3).
But what was it about Job that made him deserving of such inestimable praise from God? In Job 29:1-25 the man himself describes what his practice of doing justice actually looked like. And, above all, what we find is that Job’s life was characterized by a ceaseless concern for the needs of the poor and oppressed. According to Job, this is what it meant to “put on righteousness” as clothing and “justice… like a robe and a turban” (Job 29:14). Job says he was like eyes to the blind (29:15) and transportation for the disabled (29:15). This, he explains, was a matter of justice (29:14). He was a father to the poor and an advocate for the stranger (29:16). And he did not fail to vehemently opposed those who oppressed others, breaking “the fangs of the unrighteous” so that they would drop the victims “from his teeth” (29:17). Simply put, Job’s life provides us with a positive portrait of what doing justice actually looks like. I dare say that most Christians in America have a lot to learn from him.
The King Jesus Gospel: Review
Summary
In his latest book, The King Jesus Gospel: The Original Gospel Revisited, Scot McKnight explains why he thinks “evangelicals” no longer deserve to be called by that name. We are no longer true evangelicals, he argues but, more accurately, salvationists because we have mistakenly equated the gospel (Greek euangelion) with salvation (p. 29). For McKnight, the gospel is essentially “the Story of Jesus as the resolution of Israel’s Story” (p. 44). But this story has been “hijacked” by evangelicals near obsession with salvation—a problematic preoccupation McKnight traces back to the Reformation.
Throughout the course of his argument McKnight is careful to stress the unquestionable importance of salvation which he says “flows from” the gospel. Nevertheless, McKnight argues that equating the gospel with salvation has catastrophic consequences. Our evangelical identity, he insists, is broken and our equation of the good news with salvation broke it. The only solution is to learn to distinguish gospel from salvation which he says will afford the church the chance to “discover a whole different world” (p. 40).
Assessment
I have a great deal of respect for McKnight’s desire to make careful distinctions where the gospel is concerned. But here’s the real question this book raises: Do we lose the good news when we fail to make the sharp distinction McKnight calls for between the gospel and salvation? I don’t think so. Rather, I’d say we uphold the fundamental unity of our confession that Jesus is Israel’s Messiah and the world’s one true Lord. For, as McKnight himself points out, the profundity of Jesus’ name—Yahweh is Salvation—cannot be missed. Or maybe… it can.
In conclusion, I’d just say if the gospel really is the story of of Jesus then it cannot be distinguished from personal salvation any more sharply than it can be distinguished from Jesus’ personal name. Simply put, Jesus is the gospel. And his name means salvation.
***
My copy was provided by Zondervan as a part of their King Jesus Gospel
Expository Generosity
If you are committed to expository preaching and teaching you are committed radical generosity. Many churches have a time in the year when they focus on issues of stewardship and generosity. Preachers will, for example, occasionally teach a topical 
series on the subject of money or possessions or some other related topic in connection with “year-end giving” or a “stewardship month.” This, however, is a potentially self-defeating model for creating a culture of biblical generosity. This model assumes that giving is a “topic” to be addressed all at once before moving on to other topics. However, when we look at the Bible we find that issues of stewardship and generosity are integrated much more organically into every area and dimension of life (without exception). Regardless of what book of the Bible you are teaching or preaching from issues of stewardship and generosity always pop up. And the reason for this is simple. God is exceedingly generous. Generosity is intrinsic to the character of God and so it is equally intrinsic and pervasive in Scripture, which reveals his character. As a result of this hermeneutical assumption, we should not treat generosity as a topical element of Christian education but one that pervades every aspect of the Christian life. I call this “expository generosity” because it expresses a commitment to “bring out” of the Bible it’s own emphases, putting on display the exceedingly great generosity of God, and, by extension, calling the church to give with proportionally radical abandon.
