November-December 9Marks eJournal

Fascinating discussion on the church’s role in the world here.

Subscribe here.

My recommendation of the new Commentary on the New Testament use of the Old Testament here.

Amend ETS?

The annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society meets next week in San Diego. One of the issues facing the Society will be a proposal to amend the Society’s doctrinal basis.

My friends Denny Burk and Ray Van Neste are leading the charge on this one, and Denny has a post up on an essay that just came out in the most recent issue of the Criswell Theological Review.

If you’re going to be in San Diego for the meetings, you might want to check out the article or the website.

Dever Cautions against the Rush to Relevance

Great piece summarizing Mark Dever’s wise words about relevance here.

Redeemer Institute Seminar on Saturday

This Saturday, November 10, from 9am to Noon, Baptist Church of the Redeemer will be hosting a Redeemer Institute Seminar on The Local Church: God’s Program for Evangelism and Discipleship.

Hope to see you there!

Pierced for Our Transgressions

It finally made it across the Atlantic.

Some time back there was, in Jonathan Leeman’s phrase, “quite a hullabaloo over the gospel.” That hullabaloo was largely occasioned by N. T. Wright’s response to Pierced for Our Transgressions, which has finally made it across the water and is now available from Crossway Books.

N. T. Wright may not like the book, but the significant scholars who provide 10 pages of endorsements attest to its quality and importance. If the significance of a doctrine can be measured by those endorsing a book defending that doctrine, this book on Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution is one of the most important books to be published in a long time.

The book has its own website,  where you can find links to ancient texts, sermons on the topic, and some great music.

Pierced for Our Transgressions unfolds the heart of the gospel. Those who love the gospel will praise God for this book.

Forum on the Local Church

What if you could sit down and pose key questions on the church to Drs. Russell D. Moore, Donald Whitney, Gregory A. Wills, and Jim Orrick?

Most of us don’t have access to these guys, and even if we did, it would be difficult to get them all in the same room at the same time. Even if we pulled that off, what questions would be best to ask?

Southern Seminary’s magazine, The Tie, has done the hard work for us. Thanks to The Tie, we can all read a fascinating “forum” with Drs. Moore, Whitney, Wills, and Orrick on the question “Is the Doctrine of the Church Really That Important?” A PDF of The Tie is available here, and the forum is on pages 4-5.

Anyone interested in the church will benefit from this forum.

My dear friend Barry Joslin also has a helpful article on Church Discipline in this issue of The Tie on pages 14-15, and for those in the Houston area who want to think further about these issues, the Redeemer Institute Seminar on The Local Church is on November 10.