The Halloween Hustle

You are not going to believe this.

Someone bearing a strange resemblance to the Reverend Dr. Denny Burk does The Halloween Hustle.

Classic.

Imputation in a Nutshell

Anyone interested in a clearer understanding of

what the word Imputation means,

how it relates to Justification,

and what the key texts in the discussion are

(and I hope a lot of people are really interested in these things!),

must go read this interview with Dr. Brian Vickers (scroll down to page 2 for the Vickers interview).

Dr. Vickers’ book on the topic, Jesus Blood and Righteousness, has recently appeared. The nutshell referenced above is the interview. This book is like a life giving tree.

Vickers has a unique ability to turn a phrase, which makes this interview not only easy to read but even devotional. C. S. Lewis held that the serious books are the most helpful spiritually. Here is rich food for the soul. Enjoy!

Justin Johnston: More Than Songs

My friend and fellow elder Travis Cardwell hooked me up with a new cd by Justin Johnston called “More Than Songs.”

We don’t often love music on first hearing, but that was our reaction to these tunes! If you want to check out this cd, which I recommend, you can email Justin at justin@justinjohnston.org.

The Kingdom of Christ

Many people want to bring more balance to the narrow focus on the individualistic aspects of salvation so prominent in yesterday’s evangelicalism. In some emerging circles there is so much focus on the community and the big story of the Bible that one wonders if individuals are still part of the picture at all. Yes God is shaping a community that will bless those outside it, and yes God is renewing the cosmos, but we also have to confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead (Rom 10:9).

Some confessional evangelical pastors, such as Tim Keller and Mark Driscoll, strike a healthy balance between the big story of salvation and renewal and the individual soteriological truths that must be maintained. In his book, The Kingdom of Christ, Dr. Russell D. Moore provides a thoroughgoing foundation for this balance between public and private aspects of the Gospel. Moore writes,

“The Kingdom theology proposed by some in the postwar evangelical movement called for a broader, Kingdom-oriented understanding of soteriology, one that is able to tie personal regeneration to the broader cosmic purposes of God” (The Kingdom of Christ, 81).

Ironically, some who want to emphasize the Kingdom aspects of the cosmic purposes of God assume that in calling for such balance they are denouncing the likes of Moore. We should all take this reality as a call to understand those we would critique before we weigh in against an impression we have of someone that is based firmly in our own imagination.

Another impression that is sometimes bandied about is that when very theological people weigh in on social and political issues they illegitimately politicize the Gospel. It is clear that Moore, however, understands the relationship between Gospel and culture to be mediated through the church. He writes:

“If the Kingdom is to be understood as having a present reality, and that reality is essentially soteriological, then the Kingdom agenda of evangelical theology must focus on the biblical fulcrum of these eschatological, salvific blessings: the church” (The Kingdom of Christ, 129).

I see Moore’s work as foundational for the argument that the best way to engage the culture is to pour oneself into local church health. As born again people walk in holiness in solemn covenant with the Lord and one another, the broader society sees and is served by a display of God’s glory. Much more could be said, but anyone interested in pursuing these issues should avail themselves of Moore’s book, The Kingdom of Christ.

Why Do Teens Go To Church?

Check out what Time has to say. Surprisingly, they don’t seem to go because they want to be entertained.

HT: Justin Taylor

Reinventing Jesus

Reinventing Jesus: What The Da Vinci Code and other Novel Speculations Don’t Tell You, by J. Ed Komoszewski, M. James Sawyer, and Daniel B. Wallace. Kregel, 2006.

 

The subtitle of this volume might lead one to think it is mainly concerned with The Da Vinci Code, but that is not the case at all. The learned authors of this volume deconstruct the crazy things said about Jesus by pulling back the curtain on New Testament scholarship. This book is a robust introduction to a number of scholarly discussions. Targeted at the non-specialist, this is a straight arrow with full feathers and a biting tip. 

The book has five parts. Part one is an up-to-date introduction to scholarship on the Gospels. It presents what most scholars think about how and when the Gospels were written, why they look alike and yet have differences, and how the authenticity of what the Gospels record can be tested. Part two lays out New Testament textual criticism. As the likes of Bart Ehrman allege “orthodox corruption” of Scripture, readers will be well served by the authors of Reinventing Jesus. This expert presentation of text criticism will help everyone from the layman who wants to understand the footnotes in his English translation to the seminary student coming at text criticism for the first time to the pastor who needs a quick reminder of what he forgot from his days in seminary. Part three discusses the issue of the New Testament Canon. Ever wondered why the Gospel according to Matthew is in the New Testament and the Gospel of Judas isn’t? Here is a fine discussion of the issues. Part four takes up the divinity of Jesus, and part five considers the proposals that the ideas in the New Testament were actually adapted from ideas in other ancient systems of belief. 

This is a wide ranging book that sounds the note that those who believe the Bible have nothing to fear from the extravagant claims of unbelieving scholars. If you find yourself needing an answer to the claims of the critics (or if you know someone taking a New Testament course in college), this is the book for you. Buy it. Read it. Give it away. It is up to the challenges of our day, but—and this statement is not meant to detract at all from the value of Reinventing Jesus—never forget that the most powerful way to find the message of the Gospels authenticated is to read the Gospels themselves and taste the sweet honey of the word of God.  

Is John Piper Bad?

This is pretty funny.

HT: Eric Schumacher