Discipleship | A People for His Name

Carson on the Gospel: "The Gospel is Theological"

January 24, 2012

The gospel is theological. This is a short-hand way of affirming two things. First, as 1 Corinthians 15 repeatedly affirms, God raised Christ Jesus from the dead (e.g. [1]5:15). More broadly, New Testament documents insist that God sent the Son into the world, and the Son obediently went to the cross because this was his Father’s will. It makes no sense to pit the mission of the Son against the sovereign purpose of the Father. If the gospel is centrally Christological, it is no less centrally theological.

—D. A. Carson, <em>The Gospel of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1 — 19)</em>, 3

In Gospel, Quotes, Theology

The Value of Repeatedly Reading through the NT in Chronological Order

January 21, 2012

For several years now, I have not read through the NT in the order that most Bibles today have for the books of the NT: Gospels; Acts; Epistles; Revelation. Instead, I have been reading through the NT in the following order, which is likely the chronological order in which the books were first given to the Church by God:

James

Galatians

Matthew

1 & 2 Thessalonians; 1 & 2 Corinthians; Romans

Luke

Ephesians; Colossians; Philemon; Philippians

Acts

1Timothy

1 Peter

Titus

2 Peter

2 Timothy

Mark

Hebrews

Jude

John

1 & 2 & 3 John

Revelation

Reading the NT in chronological order repeatedly, I hope to have a better sense of how the early Church would have understood the relationship between various books of the NT. In particular, reading in this way has helped me, I believe, to have a greater understanding of the contemporary value of Acts and John.

For example, a strong contemporary emphasis on the current topical order of the NT books can easily lend itself to a flawed perspective that the Pauline Epistles somehow are more important than Acts for our understanding of what the actual gospel message was that the apostles preached. On the contrary, Acts was written after perhaps as many as ten of Paul’s Epistles had already been written and careful attention to this fact and the full content of Acts corrects some wrong notions about apostolic ministry of the gospel message that some have espoused through their placing undue emphasis on selected teachings of the Synoptics and the Pauline Epistles.

In a related manner, a lumping of John with the Synoptics lends itself to a lack of appreciation that John is a Gospel that was written many years after all the Pauline Epistles were written. We should then take care that our handling of the Gospel of John informs our understanding of apostolic ministry of the gospel at least as much as the Synoptics and the Pauline Epistles do.

In Bible reading, Interpretation, Theology

Seven Times a Day!

January 18, 2012

In Psalm 119:64, the Psalmist communicates his remarkable practice of praising the Lord in a statement that deserves closer attention to what it specifically says:

^KJVSeven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments.

^LXESeven times in a day have I praised thee because of the judgments of thy righteousness.

^NAUSeven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous ordinances.

^NETSeven times a day I praise you because of your just regulations.

^NKJSeven times a day I praise You, Because of Your righteous judgments.

^ESVSeven times a day I praise you for your righteous rules.

He thus praised God seven times a day for His Word because of His righteous judgments that it reveals.

An article in the New Open Bible: Study Edition helpfully explains the word used by the Psalmist here:

Judgment (mishpāt, v. 7) is derived from the verb shāphat, “judge” or “govern,” and occurs about four hundred times in the Old Testament, sixteen times in Psalm 119 alone. The general idea is one of justice, or specific ordinances to promote justice. There are many distinct usages of the noun in both secular and religious law. Each specific ordinance of the Pentateuch is called a mishpāt (Lev. 9:16; Deut. 33:21, e.g.).

“The LORD is a God judgment” (Is. 30:18) and “loveth judgment” (Ps. 37:28). His “judgments are a great deep” (Ps. 36:6). Because God is just in His judgments, so should we His people be.”

—The Word of the Lord, 690; bold words are in italics in the original

The Psalmist’s statement thus expresses that he would praise the Lord seven times a day for His righteous judgments, which point to His glory as the righteous Lawgiver and Judge. How often, by contrast, do we praise God in a day for His glorious revelation of His righteous judgments?

Let us praise God, the righteous Lawgiver and Judge, daily for His righteous judgments!

In Exhortation, Interpretation, Quotes

A Plea for Fervently Praying Against Voter Fraud

January 16, 2012

Recent news stories have called attention to the issue of dead people’s having voted in recent elections in S.C. Hearing of such contemptible fraud in my home state, I have become even more burdened that believers need to be praying fervently against voter fraud in upcoming elections.

Prayer is our premier resource in opposing the efforts of evil people to cheat in elections. Only God is able to expose and foil the schemes of those who seek positions of civil authority in unrighteous ways.

Scripture teaches, “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16). Let us pray specifically and fervently that God would mercifully intervene in every upcoming election to prevent voter fraud.

Let us also pray that He would yet expose all fraud that has taken place in recent elections and that those who have engaged in such activity would be dealt with properly (Rom. 13:4).

In Prayer

Jingles Bells Ensemble Music

January 13, 2012

Here is a fairly basic layout of Jingle Bells in 4 parts. It is suitable for individual and ensemble playing on the guitar.

In Music

Reflections on Learning to Read Biblical Greek Better in 2011 (Part I)

January 7, 2012

This past year, I forced myself to read through the LXX and the GNT. Although this project was very demanding at times, it yielded some valuable fruit.

I had several goals in mind when I began this major project to learn to read biblical Greek better. I praise God that He enabled me to succeed in meeting each of these goals, although not necessarily to the same extent for each one.

Greater discipline in reading Greek

I wanted to get to the place where I would be reading Greek every day. In the first half of 2011, I missed reading Greek on at least 53 days; in the second half, only six. So, I did become much more consistent as the year went on.

In spite of not reading any Greek on about 60 days (about 1/6 of the year), I was still able to finish by reading much more diligently on the other days.

Increased understanding and knowledge of Greek

Reading through the Bible in Greek resulted in advances in my understanding and knowledge of Greek vocabulary, forms, syntax, and semantics. Of the four areas, I probably increased the most in my grasp of Greek syntax.

Especially when I came to read the GNT this past year, I had a better grasp than before of how to connect words and phrases together that are arranged in ways that differ greatly from English word order. I did not notice this advance as much at first when I was reading the GNT, but as time went on, it became quite clear to me that I am now able to put together Greek sentences with more skill and with less effort!

Additional insights into NT use of the OT

I had hoped to find many more insights into NT use of the OT through this project, but such finds were not nearly as common as I had hoped. One major reason was my missing many days early in the year, which forced me to read much more than I would have liked on many days of the rest of the year. Had I been more consistent throughout the year, I would have had much more time to absorb more of what I was reading and would surely have seen more connections between the LXX and the GNT than I did.

Another factor that may have affected how much I saw this time around was my previous reading through the LXX and the GNT over a period of many years. Because in much of that previous reading, I have examined what I read much more thoroughly than I did this time around, I have already made numerous discoveries before this past year, which may have meant that I had already previously found a lot of what there is to find in this respect.

Progress toward thinking more in Greek and less in English

This is the hardest area to assess progress in, but I think that I did progress some. I hope that similar immersion in biblical Greek in the years ahead will result in my noticing plainly that my thinking in Greek has truly progressed.

I praise God for granting motivation and grace to finish this project and for the benefits that He has allowed me to receive as a result of completing this reading through the Bible in Greek!

(In Part II, I plan to give a number of examples of helpful things that I discovered this past year.)

In Biblical Greek, Biblical Languages

Helpful information about "the Angel of Jehovah" in the OT

January 6, 2012

In a section entitled, The Triunity of the Godhead, Fruchtenbaum, a believing Jewish scholar, brings out some helpful points concerning the OT teaching about the Angel of Jehovah:

The Expression Malach YHVH

The second divine personality is the Angel of Jehovah – but who is He? The Angel of Jehovah is not to be taken as a title, but, following Hebrew grammar, it always functions as a proper name. This individual is always considered distinct from all other angels and is unique. It never appears in the plural. Nowhere in Scripture are the phrases “the angels of Jehovah” or “the angels of the God,” but rather there are three, and only three, different expressions which are used:

the Angel of Jehovah – Malach YHVH, always singular.

the Angel of the God – Malach Ha-Elohim, always singular with the definite article.

the angels of God – Malachei Elohim, plural, and is never used with the definite article.

The third of these expressions is used in general terms of ordinary angels. The first two expressions are both used to describe a very special and distinct individual – the Angel of Jehovah. We can see this in Judges 6:20-21, where the same Person is described first, in verse 20, as “the Angel of the God” and then, in verse 21, as “the Angel of Jehovah.” This is also brought out in Judges chapter 13; in verse 3, there is a reference to “the Angel of Jehovah” and later, in verse 9, this same individual is called “the Angel of the God.”

Consistently, throughout the Hebrew text, there is a distinction made between ordinary angels and this unique Person referred to as both “the Angel of YHVH” and “the Angel of the God.” The Angel of Jehovah is clearly revealed as being different in stature, nature, person and essence from ordinary angels.

—Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Messianic Christology: A Study of Old Testament Prophecy Concerning the First Coming of the Messiah, 109-110; bold is in italics in the original

In Biblical Languages, Quotes

Addressing a Not Uncommon Contemporary Problem in Evangelism

January 4, 2012

Last semester, I observed another instance of a not uncommon problem in evangelism today. I hope that the following testimony concerning the incident will help others to avoid this practice.

On a Sunday afternoon, my visitation partner knocked on the door of a house. A man answered the door.

My partner introduced us to him and then proceeded to witness to him. After making some initial remarks, he proceeded to testify to him that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.

My partner ended our witness to the man shortly after sharing these important evangelistic ideas, which he testified to him from 1 Corinthians 15. We then walked toward the next house to witness to them.

While we walked there, I asked my partner what he thought the core meaning of the term Christ was and whether what he had testified to the previous person provided him with a clear understanding of that information. My partner gave several responses to me as we waited for a response at the next door.

As we moved on to the next house, I continued to probe his thinking. Finally, he asked me what I was trying to get him to see.

I pointed out that the term Christ essentially signifies someone who is an anointed person. I then explained that Scripture never speaks of the Christ as being a self-anointed One; the term intrinsically carries with it the concept that He is the One whom God the Father chose.

I then encouraged him never to take for granted that a lost person will attach this right meaning to the term. I further exhorted him that we should be certain to communicate the vital truth that the Father chose Jesus to be the Christ. Based on this key truth, I urged him to testify to both Jesus and the Father whenever he testifies to lost people about Christ.

My partner readily concurred that the term Christ essentially has this significance and agreed that he should not have taken for granted that the lost person whom he witnessed to would have attached that significance to the term. He thanked me for pointing out this important matter that he needed to be more careful to communicate in his evangelism.

In every evangelistic encounter, we must do all that we can so that the lost people to whom we witness understand clearly that Jesus was the One whom the Father chose and sent into the world. Taking such understanding for granted, especially with someone whom we have never witnessed to previously, unnecessarily risks not providing him with vital understanding.

In Evangelism, Testimony

"Fifty Hours of Eyewitnesses"

January 2, 2012

“Let’s take the more than 500 witnesses who saw Jesus alive after His death and burial and place them in a courtroom. Do you realize that if each of these 500 people were to testify only six minutes each, including cross-examination, you would have an amazing 50 hours of firsthand eyewitness testimony? Add to this the testimony of many other eyewitnesses and you could well have the largest and most lopsided trial in history.”

—Josh McDowell, The Resurrection Factor, 71-72

In Apologetics, Quotes

Through the Bible in Greek and English in 2011!

December 31, 2011

I praise the Lord that He has sustained me throughout this year and allowed me to make it through the Bible this year in both Greek and English!


Section	Greek	English
OT	929/929	929*/929
NT	260/260	260/260
Bible	1189/1189	1189/1189

*Includes listening to 410 chapters of the OT from the Bible on MP3

Counting these two times through the Bible, God has now allowed me to make it through the Bible in English 24 times and in Greek twice since I was saved in January of 1990!

There were many times when it seemed that there would be no way that I would make it through in either Greek or English this year. Two changes that I made late in the year helped me to catch up and finish:

(1) Listening to the KJV on CD, including many times at fast speed; and,

(2) Reading many chapters in the GNT one verse at a time using BibleWorks 7.

As God directs and grants grace, I hope to read through the Bible again in both Greek and English each year for the next several years.

In Bible reading, Testimony

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