Justin Taylor's Blog, page 220

A Different Kind of Systematic Theology

From Matt Smethurst's interview with Gerald Bray:

What are the unique contributions of God Is Love  among other evangelical biblical and systematic theologies?

God Is Love  is very different from any other systematic theology on the market today because it takes the Reformation principle of sola Scriptura seriously. It is not just a question of backing up everything from the Bible but of trying to convey God's self-revelation in the Bible in a biblical way. That God is love seems to me to be the most fundamental principle of Scripture, but it has so far not been the basis of any systematic presentation! Why not? I start with God as love in himself, then discuss the creation as an act of love, sin as rejection of God's love, and salvation as a revelation of God's deeper love. This is the gospel message, so it should be our theology too.

In other ways, the book aims to reach the kind of people who cannot or who will not read systematic theology, because to them it is too technical and confusing. I have written for ordinary, educated non-specialists. I have also aimed to reach people in developing countries and to deal with issues like demon possession, astrology, and polygamy that most people in the West tend to ignore, even though they are issues for us too. God Is Love is itself an act of love, reaching out to those of God's people who have been left behind in the current theological debates and who do not know where to turn for guidance.

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You can read the table of contents, preface, and first chapter here.

Free Audio from T4G 2012

Sessions will be added as available on this page.

T4G Panel 1: Complementarianism

John Piper, Greg Gilbert, and Russell Moore; moderated by Ligon Duncan.

Piper and Grudem were part of writing the Danver's Statement. The term "complementarian" was coined at a breakfast meeting in 1986.

Piper was teaching at Bethel College between 1974 and 1980. Speakers coming to chapel were increasingly aggressive; Virginia Mollenkott called their view "obscene."

Moore is concerned that "complementarian" can be a box to be checked, but still conforming to the pattern of this age. We have to deal with things like gender reassignment surgery—something that someone like Martin Luther never had to deal with!

Gilbert sees a lot of functional egalitarianism.

Why include this issue at a conference called "Together for the Gospel?" Why highlight it when it divides us?

Piper: A really good question. You don't have to be a complementarian to be saved; it's not essential at that level. But what are the implications of not following through with what Ephesians 5 or 1 Timothy 2 seem to see? The issues hermeneutically for the gospel are significant. You have to do hermeneutical gymnastics, and sooner or later you'll get the gospel wrong. If you say "there is no head" and "there is no submission" you cancel out the visible gospel in marriage. If you deny that men should be the leaders, it's going to malfunction in the church. It's written on the heart to malfunction longterm when complementarianism is not put into practice.

Gilbert: In order to get to an egalitarian conclusion you have to bring in some bad DNA that corrodes the authority of Scripture until you get to the heart of the gospel.

Moore: Ephesians 5 says marriage is a mystery designed to show you Christ and the church. God creates Adam to have someone taken like him who is different from him and they become one flesh. To strike at that, you tear apart the image of the gospel. The question is not male headship—but what kind of male headship we will have. When we have a male headship unhinged from the gospel, women and children are going to be hurt. If we don't show self-sacrificial male headship, then it will be satanic to the core.

Duncan: (1) Some guys lean into complementarianism; (2) other guys backburner this; (3) others question the issue itself, wondering if we have baptized something traditional.

Moore: There's another category: (4) hyper-masculinity—more Nimrod than Jesus of Nazareth or Joseph.

When people embrace this issue, they become counter-cultural. It looks gloriously strange. We need to stop mimicking the culture—even in the kind of pictures we put in our publications ("the supermodels shall inherit the earth").

Gilbert: When you're the pastor of a local church it's almost impossible to backburner the issue—who is going to teach? You better have some well-formulated thoughts. It's possible to mess up by framing it purely in terms of negatives (what we can't do). We should talk about women serving in every way in the church that the Bible commends—though there are certain roles God has reserved for men in God's wisdom.

Duncan: Where do you see the receptiveness of this message?

Piper: I talk to pretty conservative places. It amazes me the difference between the 20s/30s crowd today vs. what he saw in the late 80s. Now you have guys here (like Chandler, Platt, DeYoung) who embrace this and have thousands of gifted women who love this.

The question egalitarians have never satisfactorily answered for me is: If you're raising an 8 year old girl, and she asks, "What does it mean to be a woman and not a man?" or a boy says "to be a man and not a woman?" You can't just speak instead of plumbing (that's not personhood), and you can't just speak about virtues (because that doesn't differentiate). They can't answer this. Piper tried to answer this question in What's the Difference?

Duncan: Not everyone who comes to T4G is complementarian. Some are willing to be persuaded that this is biblical and important.

Moore: You have to wrestle with texts like Ephesians 5, 1 Peter 3, 1 Timothy 2. You also have to deal with complementarianism—what it is, and not just its caricature. It's not "woman, get me my chips." But "what is in the best interest of my bride and my children, dying daily to self?" Jesus in washing his disciples' feet leads lovingly and gently with words, not in passivity or total sovereignty.

Gilbert: I want to demonstrate biblical masculinity and use words if necessary—so I want to yield my time to Dr. Piper!

Difference of role does not denigrate dignity.

Piper: I'd start with Ephesians—that's the clearest. A woman should submit to her husband; a husband should be the head. Whether kephale means head or source, the meaning is clear and the same. It's what every woman wants: to be loved and respected.

Then I'd go to 1 Timothy 2: teaching and having authority are the two things that distinguish between elders and deacons. They should be men. And Paul grounds it in creation.

Then go back to Genesis 1 and 2. Why does God set things up this way with given directions to Adam? Why is Adam so passive instead of protecting her from the tempter?

T4G 2: Albert Mohler, "The Power of the Articulated Gospel" (Romans 10:15-17)

Romans 10:5-17:

For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. But the righteousness based on faith says, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) or 'Who will descend into the abyss?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame." For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

The gospel has enemies; but sometimes it is underestimated by its friends.

In the T4G affirmations and denials (2006), they wrote:

We affirm that salvation is all of grace, and that the Gospel is revealed to us in doctrines that most faithfully exalt God's sovereign purpose to save sinners and in His determination to save his redeemed people by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to His glory alone.

We deny that any teaching, theological system, or means of presenting the Gospel that denies the centrality of God's grace as His gift of unmerited favor to sinners in Christ can be considered true doctrine.

We affirm that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is God's means of bringing salvation to His people, that sinners are commanded to believe the Gospel, and that the Church is commissioned to preach and teach the Gospel to all nations.

We deny that evangelism can be reduced to any program, technique, or marketing approach. We further deny that salvation can be separated from repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We affirm that salvation comes to those who truly believe and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

We deny that there is salvation in any other name, or that saving faith can take any form other than conscious belief in the Lord Jesus Christ and His saving acts.

These issues remain. Our churches must begin to look like gospel people. But first it has to be heard. And first it has to be articulated. And we dare not underestimate the power of the articulated gospel.

In Romans Paul makes the centrality of Christ and the universality of the gospel clear, revealed in both the OT and the NT. Christ's death satisfies the wrath of God to demonstrate the justice of God. There's no condemnation. In Romans 10, Paul is following Romans 9, quintessentially displaying the sovereignty of God. In Romans 10 we find the "machinery of salvation" (Spurgeon).

The Word Is Brought Near

We come to faith in Christ because the Word is brought near to us. He has spoken to us in his Son (Heb 1). First, it was brought near to Israel; they did not go to find the Torah—it was given to them. Now it is near to us. Life is in obedience; death is in disobedience. He's writing to both Jews and Gentiles to whom the gospel has come near. It is now our sacred responsibility to bring it near to others. It is a Words that is words. The point is not the proximity of the gospel, but the hearing of the gospel, which requires articulation. Without articulation there is no salvation.

Rom. 10:8: it is a word of (i.e., leads to) faith. Hearing they believe, believing they confess, confessing they are saved.

The Power of the Gospel to Save

Here is the "well-meant offer of the gospel." We are to preach the gospel to all persons everywhere; if they believe and confess they will be saved. Rom. 10:9-13: there is no footnote or asterisks or hypothetical. This is an unconditional, infallible promise, and it's an unmistakable command. How do we know the elect? It's because they believe and confess and are saved—and that requires the preaching of the gospel. The content of the gospel is in Rom. 10:9: confess with the lips that Jesus is Lord; believe in the heart that he was raised from the death. We should be promiscuous and undiscriminating in our preaching of the gospel. We are in the "sowing business"—not "soil management." God bless the sowers who don't get to see the harvest but are confident in the power of the gospel to save.

Rom 9:12—Paul makes the revolutionary statement that there is no distinction in terms of our need for the Savior and in the Savior's provision. In the mystery of the sovereign purposes of God the word was brought near to us, we were called, we believed the gospel, we repented and confessed.

The Necessity of Articulating the Gospel

It is not brought near without words. It is multi-faceted, but most essentially it is verbal. The supposed comment of St. Francis of Assisi (preach the gospel at all times, use words if necessary) sounds like we can bring the gospel near by being there, by being kind, being righteous, and being loving. These are signs of the gospel, but the gospel requires articulation. Whatever you're doing when you're not using words, you're not preaching the gospel. You may be giving evidence of and witness to the gospel, but it still has to be taught and explained. The NT is replete with verbs showing the verbal nature of the gospel.

We certainly don't want to reverse the Assisi-comment: we don't want to preach the gospel without looking like gospel people. We must demonstrate the gospel. But we really can't do much of importance without words. Most of what we do that is most important in like is dependent on words. Imagine trying to communicate the most important things of life without words. At least in part, the image of God involves reflecting the Creator in the use of words. Meaning requires orality.

See the important, soon-to-be-released study from Duane Litfin: Word versus Deed: Resetting the Scales to a Biblical Balance (Crossway, 2012). Gestures are important but words are required. We are saved as we hear the pattern of right words and confess that Jesus is Lord.

1 Thessalonians 2:13:

"And we also thank God constantly1 for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men2 but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers."

1 Corinthians 15:1-11:

"Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed."

Without the preaching, there is no believing. God intended the power of the gospel to be demonstrated through the word of faith produces faith and confession.

We are also to persuade. We should be unapologetically conversionist.

The Berlin World Congress on Evangelism put forward this definition in 1966: "Evangelism is the proclamation of the gospel of the crucified and risen Christ, the only redeemer of men, according to the Scriptures, with the purpose of persuading condemned and lost sinners to put their trust in God by receiving and accepting Christ as Savior through the power of the Holy Spirit, and to serve Christ as Lord in every calling of life and in the fellowship of His Church, looking toward the day of His coming in glory."

The gospel requires exclusivity and profession.

1974 Lausanne Congress: " To evangelize is to spread the good news that Jesus Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead according to the Scriptures, and that as the reigning Lord he now offers the forgiveness of sins and the liberating gift of the Spirit to all who repent and believe. Our Christian presence in the world is indispensable to evangelism, and so is that kind of dialogue whose purpose is to listen sensitively in order to understand. But evangelism itself is the proclamation of the historical, biblical Christ as Saviour and Lord, with a view to persuading people to come to him personally and so be reconciled to God. In issuing the gospel invitation we have no liberty to conceal the cost of discipleship. Jesus still calls all who would follow him to deny themselves, take up their cross, and identify themselves with his new community. The results of evangelism include obedience to Christ, incorporation into his Church and responsible service in the world.

Christopher Wright says "the whole gospel" must be:

a Christ-centred story to be told
a hope-filled message to be proclaimed
a revealed truth to be defended
a new status to be received
a transformed life to be lived
a divine power to be celebrated.

We cannot teach or tell the gospel without words.

T4G 1: C.J. Mahaney, "When a Pastor Loses Heart" (2 Corinthians 4)

2 Corinthians 4:

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.

Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, "I believed, and so I spoke," we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

(2 Corinthians 4 ESV)

This letter was written by the quintessential pastor. Murray Harris: it's a "profound autobiographical letter."

In chapter 4 there is the temptation to lose heart when serving in pastoral ministry. Paul was familiar with this temptation. Ch. 11 concludes with Paul's daily pressure of the anxiety of all the churches—and undoubtedly with the Corinthian church in particular. Here we encounter Paul's resolve not to lose heart, which frames this chapter (see vv. 1 and 16).

These are remarkable statements. What informed his resolve? How can our resolve be similarly informed and inspired in light of this common, predictable temptation? No pastor is exempt from this temptation. Sometimes it happens gradually and imperceptibly.

Here are heart-protecting and heart-strengthening realities against this temptation to lose heart:

1. The Call of Christian Ministry (vv. 1-6)

"This ministry" is a call to proclaim the gospel of Jesus and him crucified, where the glory of God is uniquely revealed and proclaimed. This vision sustained Paul in ministry. Pastoral ministry is a sacrificial ministry attended with unique challenges: proclaiming the light to blind eyes, and to those who see but whose hearts are prone to wonder. We do not lose heart because we have "this ministry." We must not tamper with this message. We are not innovators but proclaimers. We proclaim not ourselves but him. Once we have been captured and captivated by the light of the gospel of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ—who would want to draw attention to himself (v. 5)? Paul never ceased to marvel at the mercy of his ministry calling. He never go over it. Have we gotten over it? Are we acclimated to it, or are we amazed by it? When we preach the gospel, sinners see the face of the Savior, they hear the cries of Calvary.

Keep this ministry in view, and you won't lose heart. Also keep in view your congregation.

2. The Context and Conditions of Christian Ministry (vv. 7-15)

Paul was under no illusions that this ministry would be easy. It's not only to proclaim, but also to suffer and to serve. It takes place in the context of personal weakness and the harsh realities of ministry in a fallen world (vv. 8-9). It involves trials and tribulation. Young, aspiring pastor: this is what you have to look forward to. You need to be prepared for vv. 7-12 prior to your experience of vv. 8-9 or you will be blindsided.

It is a comfort to know that Paul was perplexed and bewildered—that he had an "I don't know" in his pastoral toolbox.

The most common form of being "struck down" for pastors is depression. Every pastor should run to buy Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students and especially read "The Minister's Fainting Fits."

The lesson of wisdom is, be not dismayed by soul-trouble. Count it no strange thing, but a part of ordinary ministerial experience. Should the power of depression be more than ordinary, think not that all is over with your usefulness. Cast not away your confidence, for it hath great recompense of reward. Even if the enemy's foot be on your neck, expect to rise amid overthrow him. Cast the burden of the present, along with the sin of the past and the fear of the future, upon the Lord, who forsaketh not his saints. Live by the day—ay, by the hour. Put no trust in frames and feelings. Care more for a grain of faith than a ton of excitement. Trust in God alone, and lean not on the reeds of human help. Be not surprised when friends fail you: it is a failing world. Never count upon immutability in man: inconstancy you may reckon upon without fear of disappointment. The disciples of Jesus forsook him; be not amazed if your adherents wander away to other teachers: as they were not your all when with you, all is not gone from you with their departure. Serve God with all your might while the candle is burning, and then when it goes out for a season, you will have the less to regret. Be content to be nothing, for that is what you are. When your own emptiness is painfully forced upon your consciousness, chide yourself that you ever dreamed of being full, except in the Lord. Set small store by present rewards; be grateful for earnests by the way, but look for the recompensing joy hereafter. Continue, with double earnestness to serve your Lord when no visible result is before you. Any simpleton can follow the narrow path in the light: faith?s rare wisdom enables us to march on in the dark with infallible accuracy, since she places her hand in that of her Great Guide. Between this and heaven there may be rougher weather yet, but it is all provided for by our covenant Head. In nothing let us be turned aside from the path which the divine call has urged us to pursue. Come fair or come foul, the pulpit is our watch-tower, and the ministry our warfare; be it ours, when we cannot see the face of our God, to trust under THE SHADOW OF HIS WINGS.

The surpassing power of God's grace belongs to God, not to us. God is wonderfully at work, and so does our congregation. It's about God's sustaining grace, not our resolve. Left to myself, we would be forsaken and destroyed. BUT NOT!

Paul acknowledges the harsh realities, but the accent is on the phrase "but not" (vv. 8-9). This should be great strength to our souls. "But not" is a banner over our lives when the grace of God is active.

3. The Paradox of Ministry (vv. 10-12)

Murray Harris: "Always dying, never lifeless." This ministry involves the sanctifying work of the gospel in our lives—the ministry of dying daily. Weak and dependent pastors, dying to themselves. Death is at work in us, but life in your congregation. Behind every biblically fruitful church you will find dying pastors.

4. The Hope of Christian Ministry (vv. 16-18)

The absence of eternal perspective will cause you to lose heart. We are all wasting away as we seek to advance the gospel, but there's no comparing present suffering with future glory. If Paul's extensive sufferings are "light and momentary," what are ours? Paul learned how to look into the unseen and into the future. The older we get, the more we need to learn how to do this. When we do, there is inner renewal and our resolve is strengthened.

Why Leviticus Can Be Boring

Vern Poythress:

They are the means for cleansing and removing defilement of the people and of the tabernacle itself. Thus they are a central means for maintaining the holiness of the people and the tabernacle, and thus ensuring that the earthly things continue to reflect the holiness of God. Special sacrifices must be presented when individual Israelites have sinned, even unknowingly, and when the priest or the whole community has sinned (Lev. 4). The animals must be without blemish or defect, signifying that God requires perfection.1 The worshiper places his hand on the animal, signifying his identification with the animal, and then the animal dies in his place (note the parallel with Gen. 22:13-14). The blood represents the life of the animal (Lev. 17:14). Blood is placed on the horns of the altar, and once a year on the atonement cover in the most holy place (Lev. 16). The blood has power to cleanse the tabernacle from defilement. Since the blood signifies the life of the slain animal, it testifies that the animal has been slain and that the value of the death is applied to the designated object. The fat of the animal, representing the sweetest and best part, is burned on the altar to signify its being given to the Lord. The rest of the animal may be burned or eaten by the priests or partially eaten by the worshiper, as the case may be.

But animal sacrifices are ultimately inadequate. Israel goes on sinning year by year, and new animals must be presented year after year in the same repetitious ceremonies (Heb. 10:1-4). Are you bored by the repetitious descriptions in Lev. 1-9 of how each animal is sacrificed or the descriptions in Num. 7 of the offerings of the tribes? There is more food for thought in these passages than we suspect, but in a sense we are meant to be bored. It goes on and on. The process never suffices. Animals could never be an adequate substitute for human beings made in the image of God. The very inadequacy of these sacrifices confirms the inadequacy associated with the tabernacle structure. They are only copies of the heavenly realities.

Their inadequacies have only one remedy. God must provide the ultimate sacrifice (Gen. 22:8). The guilt of the whole land will be removed in one day by the Branch, the son of David, who is simultaneously high priest (Zech. 3:8-9; cf. Isa. 11:1). A fountain–a permanent supply of bubbling up water–will be opened to cleanse them from sin and iniquity (Zech. 13:1). A man will die like a sheep, as a guilt offering for the iniquity of the people (Isa. 53:4-8, 10). But afterwards he will be satisfied with new life (Isa. 53:10-12).

The Old Testament thus reaches out in longing for Christ who brings an end to its frustrations and brings to accomplishment its promises. Christ is the final offering to which all the animals sacrifices look forward. As the Bible puts it, you were redeemed "with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake" (1 Pet. 1:20). "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls" (1 Pet. 2:24-25).

—Vern S. Poythress, The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 1991), 43.

You can read this whole book online for free. It contains the best discussion I know of regarding the symbolism of the tabernacle.

A Review of Trip Lee's New Album, "The Good Life"

The other day Lecrae wrote: "This is one of my fav albums of 2012 that you haven't heard."

Owen Strachan has a substantial review of the album here. He concludes:

The Good Life showcases a rapper in full command of his flow, his beats, and his message. It has several tracks to wake the neighbors up if need be; young Mr. Barefield knows how to bang, in other words. Much of the album, though, is more mellow and contemplative. The cinematic sound meshes elegantly with Trip's smooth style, causing me to play the album many times more than I needed to review it. His lyrics are clear, understandable, and robustly biblical. As he continues to build his audience, he will likely explore different rhyme patterns and concepts in building off of this strong effort.

The Good Life offers a rich spirituality of pleasure, one grounded in a great and saving God. It is an edifying and enjoyable album, one that will bless listeners of all ages and backgrounds. Parents looking for excellent rap can fully trust and give this CD to their kids; believers trying to mature in Christ can find a rich presentation of Godward pleasure; and the aforementioned pastor who buys this album "for the kids" will find abundant reasons to "slip out to the grocery store" in order to put the windows down, turn the speakers up, and shake the back window of the car.

Yes, the rappers have taken over. The minivans, my friends, have much to fear.

Listen:

I'm Good and Robot

You can read the whole review here.

At Trip's blog you can read an explanation of the title track: "I'm Good Explained." He walks through some of the lyrics, showing that this song is "an anthem that communicated our security in Christ. I wanted to encourage Christians to stop living in fear and start living in Romans 8."

Trip and Lecrae did a video together for Voice of the Martyrs using the song "I'm Good" to raise awareness about the persecuted church:

For those who want to learn more about Trip Lee—his background, music, and vision for the future—I have done interviews with him here and here.

Attacks on Scriptural Perspecuity and the Failure of the Papacy

Carl Trueman responds to the arguments of Brad Gregory's new book The Unintended Reformation: How a Religious Revolution Secularized Society. Here's a snippet:

A key part of the book's argument is the apparent anarchy created by the Protestant emphasis on the perspicuity [i.e., clarity] of scripture. In this, Dr. Gregory stands with his Notre Dame colleague, Christian Smith, as seeing this as perhaps the single weakest point of Protestantism. He also rejects any attempt to restrict Protestantism to the major confessional traditions (Reformed, Anglican and Lutheran) as he argues that such a restriction would create an artificial delimitation of Protestant diversity. Instead, he insists on also including those groups which scholars typically call radical reformers (essentially all other non-Roman Christian sects which have their origins in the turn to scripture of the Reformation). This creates a very diverse and indeed chaotic picture of Protestantism such that no unifying doctrinal synthesis is possible as a means of categorizing the whole.

I wonder if I am alone in finding the more stridently confident comments of some Roman Catholics over the issue of perspicuity to be somewhat tiresome and rather overblown. Perspicuity was, after all, a response to a position that had proved to be a failure: the Papacy.  Thus, to criticize it while proposing nothing better than a return to that which had proved so inadequate is scarcely a compelling argument.

Yes, it is true that Protestant interpretive diversity is an empirical fact; but when it comes to selectivity in historical reading as a means of creating a false impression of stability, Roman Catholic approaches to the Papacy provide some excellent examples of such fallacious method.  The ability to ignore or simply dismiss as irrelevant the empirical facts of papal history is quite an impressive feat of historical and theological selectivity. Thus, as all sides need to face empirical facts and the challenges they raise, here are a few we might want to consider, along with what seem to me (as a Protestant outsider) to be the usual Roman Catholic responses:

Empirical fact: The Papacy as an authoritative institution was not there in the early centuries. 

Never mind.  Put together a doctrine of development whereby Christians—or at least some of them, those of whom we choose to approve in retrospect on the grounds we agree with what they say—eventually come to see the Pope as uniquely authoritative.

Empirical fact: The Papacy was corrupt in the later Middle Ages, building its power and status on political antics, forged documents and other similar scams. 

Ignore it, excuse it as a momentary aberration and perhaps, if pressed, even offer a quick apology. Then move swiftly on to assure everyone it is all sorted out now and start talking about John Paul II or Benedict XVI.  Whatever you do, there is no need to allow this fact to have any significance for how one understands the theory of papal power in the abstract or in the present.

Empirical fact: The Papacy was in such a mess at the beginning of the fifteenth century that it needed a council to decide who of the multiple claimants to Peter's seat was the legitimate pope.

Again, this was merely a momentary aberration but it has no significance for the understanding of papal authority.  After all, it was so long ago and so far away.

Empirical fact: The church failed (once again) to put its administrative, pastoral, moral and doctrinal house in order at the Fifth Lateran Council at the start of the sixteenth century.  

Forget it.  Emphasise instead the vibrant piety of the late medieval church and then blame the ungodly Protestants for their inexplicable protests and thus for the collapse of the medieval social, political and theological structure of Europe.

Perhaps it is somewhat aggressive to pose these points in such a blunt form. Again, I intend no disrespect but am simply responding with the same forthrightness with which certain writers speak of Protestantism. The problem here is that the context for the Reformation—the failure of the papal system to reform itself, a failure in itself lethal to notions of papal power and authority—seems to have been forgotten in all of the recent aggressive attacks on scriptural perspicuity.  These are all empirical facts and they are all routinely excused, dismissed or simply ignored by Roman Catholic writers. Perspicuity was not the original problem; it was intended as the answer.   One can believe it to be an incorrect, incoherent, inadequate answer; but then one must come up with something better—not simply act as if shouting the original problem louder will make everything all right. Such an approach to history and theology is what I call the Emerald City protocol: when defending the great and powerful Oz, one must simply pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

Read the whole thing here, where Trueman looks at the Papacy, persecution, and the role of the printing press.

Here is his conclusion:

Thanks to the death of medieval Christendom and to the havoc caused by the Reformation and beyond, Dr Gregory is today free to believe (or not) that Protestantism is an utter failure.

Thanks to the printing press, he is also free to express this in a public form.

Thanks to the modern world which grew as a response to the failure of Roman Catholicism, he is also free to choose his own solution to the problems of modernity without fear of rack or rope.

Yet, having said all that, I for one find it strange indeed that someone would choose as the solution that which was actually the problem in the first place.

Trueman has also provided a separate entry of a more technical nature, responding to some of Gregory's points on late medieval metaphysics. Here's the conclusion to that piece:

This brings us to the real culprits for the problems of the modern world (though, as the reader may have guessed, I myself would rather live now than at any earlier point in history, given our access to, among other things, non-Aristotelian medicine). The culprits are human beings.

If you want to know why the world has problems, do not look at the Canons of Trent, testimony to failure though they be.

Do not look at the Protestant confessions, responses to failure though they be.

Do not even look at Dawkins and all the other dull apostles of shrill-voiced secularism, symptoms of failure though they be.

Just look in the mirror.

Interestingly enough, it was Augustine who pointed that out long ago. And he was a Roman Catholic. Or was he?

Echoes of the Sermon on the Mount in the Book of James

I tend to have a suspicion of charts showing extensive parallels between biblical passages. Fifty years ago Samuel Sandmel complained of the extravagance and exaggeration of  "parallelomania."

One valid example of parallels, in my opinion, can be found in the book of James, echoing the Sermon on the Mount. The parallels potentially become more poignant when we remember that the author of the epistle is James the Just, the younger brother of Jesus (Matt. 13:55).

Thanks to the ESV Study Bible for first suggesting to me the following parallels.

Rejoice and be glad in your trials.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:10-12)

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds." (James 1:2)

Be perfect and complete.

"You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)

"And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:4)

Ask your good and wise God who loves to give good things.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:7-11)

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. . . . Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." (James 1:5, 17)

Avoid sinful anger before a righteous God.

"But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." (Matt. 5:22)

". . . the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God." (James 1:20)

Be doers, not just hearers, of the word.

"Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it." (Matt. 7:24-27)

". . . be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." (James 1:22)

God's heart for the poor in the kingdom.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. . . . Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:3, 5)

"Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?" (James 2:5)

The necessity of righteousness.

". . . I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:20)

". . . whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it." (James 2:10)

Mercy to the merciful.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." (Matthew 5:7)

". . . judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." (James 2:13)

Recognize them by their fruits.

"You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?" (Matthew 7:16)

"Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water." (James 3:12)

Blessed are the peacemakers.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." (Matthew 5:9)

"And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace." (James 3:18)

Ask and receive.

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)

"You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions." (James 4:2-3)

You cannot serve God and be friends with the world.

"No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money." (Matt. 6:24)

"You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." (James 4:4)

Blessed are the mourners.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)

"Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you." (James 4:9-10)

Be slow to judge.

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5)

"Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?" (James 4:11-12)

God's provision for tomorrow.

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34)

"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit'—yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes." (James 4:13-14)

Do not lay up treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal." (Matthew 6:19)

"Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter." (James 5:2-5)

The example of the prophets.

"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:12)

"As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord." (James 5:10)

Do not swear oaths.

"Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.' But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let what you say be simply 'Yes' or 'No'; anything more than this comes from evil." (Matthew 5:33-37)

"But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your 'yes' be yes and your 'no' be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation." (James 5:12)

Holy Week: What Happened on Easter Sunday?

With help from Craig Blomberg's excellent Jesus and the Gospels, here's a reconstruction of events on Easter Sunday. This is my final installment in the Holy Week series.

Some women arrive at Jesus' tomb near dawn, probably with Mary Magdalene arriving first.

Matthew 28:1

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.

Mark 16:1-3

When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. And they were saying to one another,

"Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?"

Luke 24:1

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.

John 20:1

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

Mary and the other women, instead of finding Jesus' body, are met by two young men who are angels; one of them announces Jesus' resurrection.

Matthew 28:2-7

And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women,

"Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you."

Mark 16:4-7

And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them,

"Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you."

Luke 24:2-7

And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them,

"Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise."

The women, fearful and joyful, leave the garden—at first unwilling to say anything to anyone about this but then changing their mind and going to tell the Eleven.

Mark 16:18

And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

Matthew 28:8

So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

Mary Magdalene likely rushes ahead and tells Peter and John before the other women arrive.

John 20:2

So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them,

"They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him."

The other women, still en route to tell the disciples, are met by Jesus, who confirms their decision to tell the Eleven and promises to meet them in Galilee.

Matthew 28:9-10

And behold, Jesus met them and said,

"Greetings!"

And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.

Then Jesus said to them,

"Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

The women arrive and tell the disciples that Jesus is risen.

Luke 24:8-11

And they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.

Peter and John rush to the tomb (based on Mary Magdalene's report) and discover it empty.

John 20:3-10

So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. Then the disciples went back to their homes.

Luke 24:12

But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.

That afternoon Jesus appears to Cleopas and a friend on the road to Emmaus; later Jesus appears to Peter

Luke 24:13-35

That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them,

"What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?"

And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him,

"Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?"

And he said to them,

"What things?"

And they said to him,

"Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened. Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning, and when they did not find his body, they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. Some of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see."

And he said to them,

"O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?"

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He acted as if he were going farther, but they urged him strongly, saying,

"Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent."

So he went in to stay with them. When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight. They said to each other,

"Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?"

And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying,

"The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"

Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

That evening Jesus appears to the Ten (minus Thomas) in a house (with locked doors) in Jerusalem

Luke 24:36-43

As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them,

"Peace to you!"

But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit.

And he said to them,

"Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have."

And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them,

"Have you anything here to eat?"

They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

John 20:19-23

On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them,

"Peace be with you."

When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again,

"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you."

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,

"Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."