Justin Taylor's Blog, page 64

Happy 97th Birthday, Billy Graham

This is the best documentary I have seen on Billy Graham, the most famous and signifiant evangelist since George Whitefield:

For students of American history—yes, it’s hagiographical (produced by the BGEA). But it contains some historical footage I haven’t seen elsewhere and is valuable as primary source material.

How Does the Bible Address the Question of Why God Allows His People to Suffer?

The Bible addresses the question of suffering, in one sense or another, in almost every book.

But two of the most interesting sources are the book of Ruth and the book of Job. With different characters and with different stories and in different styles—but with the same God—they demonstrate God’s power, presence, and purposes in the midst of perplexing pain.

I am a big fan of the Bible Project—which seeks to give compelling and concise overviews of books and themes of the Bible using animation. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a project that is as interesting to young kids as it is to seminary students. I’ve collected all of their videos and put it in one post here. The two latest videos are on Ruth and Job, and you can watch them below.

An Interview with Doug Sweeney on Jonathan Edwards the Exegete

It’s not every day that one finds a groundbreaking scholarly contribution that is also readable and enjoyable. But that’s the case with Douglas Sweeney’s long-awaited Edwards the Exegete Biblical Interpretation and Anglo-Protestant Culture on the Edge of the Enlightenment (Oxford University Press, 2015).

Dr. Sweeney is Professor of Church History and the History of Christian Thought, Chair of the Department, and Director of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has published widely on Edwards, early modern Protestant thought, and the history of evangelicalism.

He kindly answered some questions about his work, the world and methods of Edwards, and his hopes for what it will do both for Edwards scholarship and for the church today.

An immediate impression upon opening your new book is the sheer number of endnotes it contains. I couldn’t resist doing a calculation: 40% of the 382 pages are devoted to your bibliographic notes. Obviously this represents an enormous investment of reading and reflecting and writing. How long have you been working on this project?

I’ve been working on this book for 12 years. To readers who don’t like footnotes, I offer encouragement to skip them! Serious readers with an interest in Edwards’s thought and/or the Bible can read the text of this book without reference to the notes. I’ve worked hard to craft clear, crisp, fun-to-read sentences. Some contain Scripture quotations (and thus are a little long). But any good reader should be able to make it through the book and understand its contents.

Having said this, I hasten to add that this particular book is also an effort to change the way in which scholars think of Edwards and his historical significance. It develops and defends a major argument about the importance of Scripture to Edwards. And it seeks to pioneer a new subfield in Edwards studies, providing students with the bibliography and historiographical pointers needed to follow me into the study of Edwards’s biblical exegesis (and the biblical interpretation of many of Edwards’s peers as well). Whereas many books today largely rehash material one can find elsewhere, this one is different. In this one, I needed to offer thorough documentation and engagement with other scholars in the footnotes.

It seems that almost anything that can be written about Edwards has already been written about at this point, after the explosion of dissertations and monographs over the past few decades. But why has something so central to Edwards—his bibliology and biblical interpretation—been conspicuously absent in scholarship?

There are several reasons for this.

First, Edwards never wrote a standard commentary on Scripture. Nor did he publish a major treatise on the meaning of revelation, or the nature of the Bible, or his method of exegesis. He spoke at great length about interpreting the Bible. He understood his work in largely exegetical terms. But not once did he use the English word “hermeneutics” (it wasn’t common in his world), let alone offer a comprehensive theory of the task. In order to write this book I have had to glean from myriad leaves of manuscript material—mainly unpublished sermons and a variety of notebooks—making sense of Edwards’s manner of interpreting the Bible more coherently than he had time to do for himself. To accomplish this goal without misconstruing Edwards has required a lot of work.

Second, and relatedly, most of Edwards’ exegetical manuscripts have lain in the archives, untranscribed and unpublished, since his death. Only recently have they become part of the Yale edition of The Works of Jonathan Edwards.

Third, the renaissance of scholarship on Edwards in recent decades has been led by people working mainly in secular universities. Many of them have found Edwards fascinating. But in their day-to-day work, and especially in their effort to make Edwards more interesting to students in such settings, they have focused on Edwards’s ethical and philosophical works, works that trade more in what we call general revelation.

How would you describe the exegetical world in which Edwards was working?

It’s a lost world of preachers and their colleagues in the academy who worked in ancient history and philology. It also included a wide array of early modern theologians who engaged in detailed thinking about the Bible and its teachings. Edwards’s favorite exegetical conversation partners were commentators like Matthew Poole, Philip Doddridge, Matthew Henry, and John Owen; or ancient historians like Humphrey Prideaux, Samuel Shuckford, and Joseph Mede; or linguists like Johann Buxtorf, Erasmus Schmid, and the compilers of the early-modern polyglot Bibles (Benedictus Arias Montanus, most importantly); or theologians like Peter van Mastricht, Francis Turretin, and Johann Friedrich Stapfer.

It was also a world suffused with what historians now describe as an early-modern Protestant approach to the literal sense of Scripture. Whereas late-modern Protestants usually teach that the literal sense is found through careful study of the grammar of and history behind individual texts (asking how they would have been understood by those who first heard them), people in Edwards’s world more often taught that the literal sense is the one most plainly intended by the Spirit—and so their “literal” exegesis often included spiritual meanings that could only be defended by interpreting these texts with help from others parts of Scripture.

I want to ask you about Edwards’s actual methods of interpretation, but first I’d love to hear you talk about how Edwards viewed the Word itself. How important was the Bible in his theology and spirituality?

It was central to his life, pastoral ministry, and theology. It was the sun of his solar system—not the sole source of energy and light at his disposal but the one that helped him understand the rest in the right way. He devoted most of his waking life to thinking about the contents and teachings of the Bible. He was a minister of the Word, a fact that is all-too-easily lost on modern scholars.

Edwards held what will seem to even modern evangelicals an especially high view of the Bible’s inspiration and authority. He taught that God “indited” the Scriptures (i.e. proclaimed, pronounced, or composed them) through the Bible’s human authors and thus “dictated” to ministers the things they are to preach. He treated the prophets and apostles as the oracles of God. He taught that Scripture was “the Word of God,” “the epistle of Christ . . . to us,” an “emanation of [God’s] glory,” “a perfect rule” of faith and life, and a “guide to true happiness.”

Even though Edwards didn’t write a hermeneutics handbook, you argue that he primarily used four methods: (1) canonical exegesis, (2) Christological exegesis, (3) redemptive-historical exegesis, and (4) pedagogical exegesis. Could you explain what these are and how he used them in his quest to glorify God, understand divine revelation, and serve the church?

Sure, but, again, let me emphasize that Edwards did not write about this in a systematic way. This four-fold schema does not represent methods used intentionally by Edwards in an overall plan to interpret holy writ in a four-fold way. They simply organize and summarize the exegetical practices reflected in his writings.

Canonical exegesis (interpreting Scripture in light of Scripture in a pan-canonical way) showed him how the Bible cohered.

Christological exegesis (interpreting even the Old Testament in view of Jesus Christ and His work of redemption) showed him how it all centered on the love of God for the saints (the mystical bride of Christ).

Redemptive-historical exegesis provided a spiritual metanarrative that made sense of individual texts in light of the storyline that tied them all together.

Pedagogical exegesis gave him rules for faith and life, helping Christians play their parts in the story of redemption.

He thought that all four approaches should begin with a study of the text’s grammar and history (which he taught alongside them but did not often feature as an end in itself). He also thought they overlapped and even built upon each other to provide people of faith with a grand vision of God, His relation to the world, and the meaning of His Word. Taken together, these methods yielded a robust, thoroughgoing biblical theology that governed Edwards’ other, more occasional—and far more famous—publications.

For Edwards what was the role of tradition and theological system as he approached the text? Was he a “biblicist” in the sense we think of the term?

Edwards was a Calvinist who affirmed both the Westminster Standards and the Savoy Declaration. (The Savoy Declaration was the Congregationalist version of the Westminster Confession. Edwards was a Congregationalist pastor who waffled a bit on matters of church polity. He could have served well in a Presbyterian church, as he granted to a friend living in Scotland.) He interpreted the Bible with the help of these confessions. But he did not usually defend his exegesis by appealing to them, or even by appealing to other well-regarded doctors of the church. As he wrote in a private notebook, the Scriptures are sufficient to supply both our spiritual and exegetical needs. Careful students “have no need of joining unto them the writings of the fathers or church historians” to understand their meanings. “God would have our whole dependence be upon the Scriptures,” he wrote, “because the greater our dependence is on the Word of God, the more direct and immediate is our dependence on God himself.” So, yes, Edwards was a “biblicist.”

Most of us are tempted by “chronological snobbery,” assuming (as Packer once put it), that “the newer is the truer, only what is recent is decent, every shift of ground is a step forward, and every latest word must be hailed as the last word on its subject.” In what ways can Edwards the exegete—operating in a very different world than our own but with the same God and the same revelation and the same human needs and ends—serve as a positive role model for contemporary interpretation of the Bible?

Too often today preachers feel the need to side with either the proponents of “grammatical-historical” exegesis or the prophets of the “theological interpretation of Scripture.” And in the evangelical movement, the tension this produces is exacerbated by the fact most “theological” interpreters are Catholic, or Anglican, or Lutheran–not often evangelical. Edwards provides a good model of evangelical exegesis that is both grammatical-historical and robustly theological. He worked three centuries ago and got a lot of things wrong. But he shows us that Protestants can combine (and, in the olden days, usually did combine) careful work with Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic and ancient history and skill in interpreting the Bible theologically (with careful application to our faith and practice today). I’d love to see us find contemporary ways to rehabilitate this both-and approach to the interpretation of Scripture. The spiritual health of God’s people depends upon it.

My Foreword to the New Book, “The First Days of Jesus”

One New Testament scholar described the Gospel of Mark as a “passion narrative with an extended introduction.” This is why Andreas Köstenberger and I coauthored The Final Days of Jesus: if you want to understand who Jesus is, you have to understand the most important week of his earthly ministry. The Gospel writers, like Jesus himself, set their faces to Jerusalem and refused to look back (Luke 9:51, 53).

But Where Did It All Begin?

But something built into the human spirit wants to go back, to see how it all started. God himself, of course, begins the biblical storyline, “In the beginning” (Gen. 1:1). And the story of Jesus, as the preincarnate word, likewise starts, “In the beginning” (John 1:1).

Although we would never complain about how the Spirit of God chose to guide his inspired writers, we sometimes wish the narrative of Jesus’s first days would slow things down and add some more detail. Obviously we cannot add more chapters to the Bible. God has given us everything we need to worship him in a way that pleases and glorifies his great name and equips us for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). But we can slow down. And we can go deeper. This is where Köstenberger and Stewart, gifted biblical theologians and New Testament scholars, can help us.

Familiarity Breeds Laziness

People say that familiarity breeds contempt, but when it comes to Bible reading, I’ve found that familiarity is more likely to produce laziness. I tend to skim when I already know the story. How many times in my life have I read or heard preached the following familiar words?

In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. (Luke 2:1-7)

We’ve heard it so many times that we assume we know what it all means.

But then we start to ask questions.

Who was Caesar Augustus?
When did he rule?
Over what exact area did he rule?
Why did he want all the world to be registered?
Who was Quirinius?
Is the Syria in this passage the same as the modern country of Syria?
Don’t some Bible scholars say that Luke’s history about the timing of the census is inaccurate here?
Why did Joseph have to go to Bethlehem instead of registering in Nazareth?
How big was Bethlehem?
Why did Mary need to go with him?
And why doesn’t it say she rode on a donkey—is that in another account, or is that just what we’ve seen on TV?
How exactly is betrothal different from engagement?
Where is the innkeeper? A
nd what kind of an “inn” was this—a cave, a room in a house, or an ancient hotel?

These are fourteen questions off the top of my head, and we’ve only covered seven verses. As we keep reading, the questions keep coming. Even though we’ve read or heard it dozens of times, it is humbling to recognize just how much we still don’t know.

The book you hold in your hands has no gimmicks or clever sales pitches. It won’t reveal a “gospel” you never knew. (If it did, you should throw it away [Gal. 1:8].) It doesn’t purport to finally disclose the secrets of Jesus’s childhood or what he did in Egypt. Instead, it takes us back to Scripture, the only infallible source of how God became man and dwelt among us.

I think you will find several benefits in reading The First Days of Jesus:

1. This book can help you slow down.

The biblical narrative contains details that you probably haven’t noticed before. These details reflect historical realities you probably didn’t know before. And these biblical and historical realities have implications for your life that you probably haven’t thought of before. Köstenberger and Stewart guard us from racing through familiar words and guide us in seeing what we have not yet fully seen.

2. This book can help you go deeper.

The incarnation—God become man—is a deep mystery. Pastor-theologian Sam Storms poetically captures some of the paradoxes at play:

The Word became flesh!

God became human!

the invisible became visible!

the untouchable became touchable!

eternal life experienced temporal death!

the transcendent one descended and drew near!

the unlimited became limited!

the infinite became finite!

the immutable became mutable!

the unbreakable became fragile!

spirit became matter!

eternity entered time!

the independent became dependent!

the almighty became weak!

the loved became the hated!

the exalted was humbled!

glory was subjected to shame!

fame turned into obscurity!

from inexpressible joy to tears of unimaginable grief!

from a throne to a cross!

from ruler to being ruled!

from power to weakness!

The wonder of the incarnation deserves a lifetime of thought, and this book is a faithful resource to prompt deeper reflection on the foundation of our salvation.

3. This book can help you make connections.

Even though the Bible devotes only four and a half chapters (out of 1,189) to Jesus’s first days, Köstenberger and Stewart show us that the incarnation is the hinge of redemptive history—with the Old Testament leading up to it and the rest of the New Testament flowing from it. Reading this book will help you see how the whole story line fits together.

C. S. Lewis once confessed that in his own reading, “devotional books” did not produce in his mind and heart the results they promised. He suspected he was not alone: “I believe that many who find that ‘nothing happens’ when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hands.” You may want to contextualize away the pipe depending on your own preferences and convictions, but I think the advice is sound, and I found this to be the case when reading The First Days of Jesus.

This is not the dry-as-dust formula of dumping data and dates onto the pages of a book. This is not a book of theology void of history or a volume of history minus theology. It is a work of confessional theology rooted in historical investigation and devoted to a careful reading of Scripture, all designed to help us worship our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you find this book as meaningful and fruitful as I did.

Justin Taylor

Maundy Thursday, 2015

Martin Kähler, The So-Called Historical Jesus and the Historic, Biblical Christ (1892; repr., Philadelphia: Fortress, 1964), 80.

Andreas J. Köstenberger and Justin Taylor with Alexander Stewart, The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2014).

Sam Storms, “The Most Amazing Verse in the Bible,” February 20, 2010.

C. S. Lewis, “On the Reading of Old Books,” in God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics, ed. Walter Hooper (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1970), 205.

Endorsements

“This latest work on the incarnation and nativity is an excellent example of serious scholarship served up in a most readable manner. No birth in history had such prophetic preparation, which is a powerful, central theme in these pages that celebrate the start of the greatest life ever lived. This is a welcome antidote to the cheap sensationalism in recent books on Jesus that try to demolish every reason for regarding Christmas as ‘the most wonderful time of the year.'”

Paul Maier, Professor of Ancient History, Western Michigan University; author, In the Fullness of Time

“The First Days of Jesus is a revealing look at the earliest days of Jesus in Matthew, Luke, and John set against some of the skeptical takes on these passages. Add to this a taste of Jewish messianic expectation and you have a nice overview of the start of Jesus’s career and where it fits in God’s plan. Solid yet devotional, it is a great introduction to the first days of our Lord.”

Darrell L. Bock, Executive Director of Cultural Engagement, Howard G. Hendricks Center, and Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary

“The First Days of Jesus combines Scripture passages, historical background, scholarly insight, and practical application to cast Christ’s incarnation in fresh light. Few tasks are more urgent than for today’s Christians worldwide to rediscover and deepen their connections with their origins. This book is a valuable resource for achieving that aim. Like the star of Bethlehem itself, this volume leads those who seek God to find him afresh in the events of Jesus’s historical appearance, the prophecies that preceded, the apostolic testimony that accompanied, and the social world that God split wide open when he sent his Son.”

Robert W. Yarbrough, Professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary

“Köstenberger and Stewart admirably unpack the birth narratives of Matthew and Luke along with that beautiful first movement of John’s Gospel against both the grand sweep of biblical history and the nitty-gritty details of first-century events and culture. The result may dismantle a few of your nativity-scene notions about the Christmas story even while building up your faith in and commitment to the Word become flesh.”

George H. Guthrie, Benjamin W. Perry Professor of Bible, Union University

“Köstenberger and Stewart provide for us a faithful and useful guide to the early days of Jesus. This book should serve well those desiring to learn about the early chapters in the Gospels and those who desire to preach and teach these narratives.”

Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Written with exceptional clarity, The First Days of Jesus pays close attention to the key biblical texts on Christ’s nativity in an illuminating way. It deals briefly yet helpfully with critical scholarship and presents the events surrounding Jesus’s conception and birth in both a canonical and a chronological fashion. It addresses unashamedly the difficulties with these birth stories, tackling the problem of variant accounts, the use of sources, the nature of prophecy and typology, and much more. It challenges us readers to respond to the Word of God with the obedience of faith, like Mary did, and with praise, worship, and witness, as the shepherds did. I know of no other book that so masterfully weaves together these infancy narratives on so many fronts. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it!”

Gregg R. Allison, Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“There is more to Christmas than you may think. Cut through the layers of tradition and the fog of nostalgia, and discover the scandal of how it all started. The Bible has more to say about Jesus’s earliest days than you might expect, and this book is a reliable guide.The First Days of Jesus blends world-class scholarship with real-world concern for everyday Christians. Here attention to detail, in the text and in history, complements warm devotion and pastoral care.”

David Mathis, executive editor, desiringGod.org; pastor, Cities Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota

“In this accessible and reliable guide to how the Gospels present the early years of Jesus ‎Christ’s life, Köstenberger and Stewart provide an exceptionally helpful study, informed by ‎the best of modern scholarship. Drawing on what we know of the historical context, they ‎expound with clarity both the meaning of the biblical text and its relevance for modern ‎readers. In doing so, they enable us to grasp afresh how a detailed appreciation of Jesus’s first ‎days contribute significantly to a deeper understanding of his whole life.‎”

T. Desmond Alexander, Senior Lecturer in Biblical Studies, Union Theological College, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

Introduction: Separating Fact from Fiction

Part 1: Virgin-Born Messiah

The Long-Awaited Messiah: Son of Abraham, Son of David
God with Us, Born of a Virgin
Conflict between Two Kings and Two Kingdoms
Exile, Holocaust, and Nazareth: Prophecies Fulfilled

Part 2: Light of the Nations

Two Miraculous Conceptions
God at Work Again at Last! Deliverance for Israel
Israel’s Restoration
The Humble King Is Laid in a Manger
The First Witnesses: Shepherds
Light of Revelation for the Gentiles: Further Witnesses

Part 3: Incarnate Word

Preexistence: The Word Was God
Witness: A Man Named John
Incarnation: The Word Became Flesh
Culmination: The Law, Grace, and Truth
The King’s Rejection and Return

Epilogue

Appendix: Messiah Is Coming! Second Temple Jewish Messianic Expectations

Advent Reading Plan

Download an excerpt.

The 5 Distinguishing Marks of Evangelicalism

From Garth Rosell’s excellent insider-history on the rebirth of evangelicalism in mid-twentieth century America, entitled The Surprising Work of God:

At the center is the cross . . .

Around the cross, and flowing out from the historical teachings associated with it, are four additional convictions that more any others have characterized the evangelical movement throughout its history:

(1) a shared authority (the Bible);

(2) a shared experience (conversion);

(3) a shared mission (worldwide evangelization); and

(4) a shared vision (the spiritual renewal of church and society).

Taken together, these five distinguishing marks have provided the theological and practical glue that has held the constantly shifting coalition called evangelicalism together for nearly three centuries through many toils and snares and across many social, geographical, and political boundaries. . . .

Rosell goes on to enumerate some key movements that influenced American evangelicalism’s self understanding:

Although American Evangelicalism, as an identifiable historical movement, was born in the revivals of the Great Awakening, its core values were a legacy from many centuries of Christian history.

From Continental Pietism, the powerful seventeenth- and eighteenth-century renewal movement led by Philip Jacob Spener and August Francke, evangelicals drew

a passion for missionary outreach,
a new emphasis on holy living, and
an active concern for one’s neighbor.

From Count Zinzendorf and the Moravians they learned

the centrality of Christian community,
the importance of missions, and
a passion for Christian unity.

From Protestant reformers, including Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingi, John Calvin, and Menno Simons, they inherited

a love for the Bible,
a renewed understanding of the doctrine of justification by grace through faith,
a new boldness in reforming the church and preaching the Word, and
a fresh understanding of God’s majesty and sovereign power.

From the great martyr tradition of the Christian church they drew

an understanding of the enormous cost of discipleship and
the confidence that, by God’s grace, it was possible to endure suffering.

From contemporaries in the British Isles such as John and Charles Wesley, George Whitefield, and Howel Harris, America’s eighteenth-century evangelicals drew

a passion for righteousness,
a love for social justice,
some practical principles for making disciples, and
a fervent yearning for for genuine spiritual awakening.

From America’s African American congregations—what has often been called “the invisible church”—they came to learn

a love for the Bible,
a new power in preaching,
a fresh spontaneity in worship,
a renewed concern for the practical needs of the community, and
a willingness to take a stand against injustice.

All of these movements—and others that may be listed as well—helped shape and deepen American evangelicalism’s self understanding. Among its many predecessors, however, none left a deeper impact than the heritage of the English and American Puritans.

—Garth M. Rosell, The Surprising Work of God: Harold John Ockenga, Billy Graham, and the Rebirth of Evangelicalism (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic [a division of Baker Publishing Group], 2008), 26-27, 28 [my emphasis and formatting]. Used by permission.

The Writings of C.S. Lewis Like You’ve Never Seen Them Before

The internet is remarkable.

I recently came across a YouTube account I’d never heard of: C.S. Lewis Doodle. I don’t know who is behind it. But I simply cannot fathom the amount of time, creativity, and skill it takes to pull something like this off. It is a wonderful gift—and it’s free.

The Doodler (we’ll call him) essentially takes Lewis’s writings, adds audio, and then creates a sort of running visual commentary on them. Some people would dismiss such doodling (or even graphic novels) as too low of an art form, but to do something at this pace requires a very deep understanding of the subject matter.

And the research behind the doodling is significant. Note his comment on his doodles for The Abolition of Man:

In order to help you understand the meaning of the quotes, I have hunted down all of Lewis’ quotations and allusions including the notorious ‘Green Book’ itself. I have collated the original quotes, in their original context, and provided them as endnotes to a PDF document as a study aid.

Below are the introductory chapters to The Screwtape Letters and The Abolition of Man and one of the BBC talks that became a part of Mere Christianity:

 

 

You can watch the rest of the videos here.

Can You Summarize the Entire Storyline of the Bible in a Single Sentence?

No problem, says G.K. Beale, the J. Gresham Machen Chair of New Testament and professor of New Testament and biblical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary:

The OT storyline appears best to be summarized as:

the historical story of God

who progressively reestablishes his new creational kingdom

out of chaos

over a sinful people

by his word and Spirit

through

promise,
covenant, and
redemption,

resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to extend that new creation rule and

resulting in judgment for the unfaithful (defeat and exile),

all of which issues into his glory;

the NT storyline can be summarized as:

Jesus’ life of covenantal

obedience,
trials,
judgmental death for sinners, and
especially resurrection by the Spirit

has launched the fulfillment of the eschatological already-and-not-yet promised new creation reign,

bestowed by grace through faith and

resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to extend this new creation rule and

resulting in judgment for the unfaithful,

unto God’s glory.

For other (shorter!) attempts, go here.

“J. I. Packer in His Own Words”: A 20-Minute Documentary

It has been an honor for Crossway to publish Leland Ryken’s new biography, J. I. Packer: An Evangelical Life, and Sam Storms’s study, Packer on the Christian Life: Knowing God in Christ, Walking by the Spirit. 

We have also had the opportunity to publish several of his most recent books, including:

Finishing Our Course with Joy: Guidance from God for Engaging with Our Aging (2014)
Weakness Is the Way: Life with Christ Our Strength (2013)
Taking God Seriously: Vital Things We Need to Know (2013)

Who is J. I. Packer?

He once described himself as “English by birth, Canadian by choice, Christian by conversion, and Calvinist by conviction, I speak as an evangelical who finds his home in the worldwide Anglican church family.”

Sam Storms describes Packer as a  Puritan, theological exegete, and latter-day catechist—based on the following self-designations from Packer:

I would ask you to think of me as a Puritan: by which I mean, think of me as one who, like those great seventeenth-century leaders on both sides of the Atlantic, seeks to combine in himself the roles of scholar, preacher, and pastor, and speaks to you out of that purpose.

[My goal as a Christian theologian] is not adequately expressed by saying that I am to uphold an evangelical conservatism of generically Reformed or specifically Anglican or neo-Puritan or interdenominational pietist type, though I have been both applauded and booed on occasion for doing all these things, and I hope under God to continue to do them. But if I know myself I am first and foremost a theological exegete.

[I am] a latter-day catechist—not, indeed, a children’s catechist (I am not good with children), but what may be called an adult or higher catechist, one who builds on what children are supposed to be taught in order to spell out at adult level the truths we must live by and how we are to live by them.

My colleagues Jon Marshall and Josh Dennis have filmed a beautiful documentary of this gracious and Christocentric octogenarian, allowing a fascinating father in the faith to speak in his own words:

Note in particular Dr. Packer’s moving closing words, when asked how he would like to be remembered:

As I look back on the life that I have lived, I would like to be remembered as a voice, a voice that focused on

the authority of the Bible,
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the wonder of his substitutionary sacrifice and atonement for our sins.

I would like to be remembered as a voice calling Christian people to holiness and challenging lapses in Christian moral standards.

I should like to be remembered as someone who was always courteous in controversy, but without compromise.

I ask you to thank God with me for the way that he has led me and I wish, hope, pray that you will enjoy the same clear leading from him and the same help in doing the tasks that he sets you that I have enjoyed.

And if your joy matches my joy as we continue in our Christian lives, well, you will be blessed indeed.

J. I. Packer, “Inerrancy and the Divinity and Humanity of the Bible,” in Honouring the Written Word of God: The Collected Shorter Writings of J. I. Packer, Volume 3, 162 (emphasis added).

J. I. Packer, “In Quest of Canonical Interpretation,” in Honouring the Written Word of God, 223 (emphasis mine).

J. I. Packer, “Reflection and Response,” in J. I. Packer and the Evangelical Future, 174 (emphasis mine).

“J. I. Packer in His Own Words”: A 20-Minute Documentary on His Early Life, Theological Influences, and Enduring Legacy

It has been an honor for Crossway to publish Leland Ryken’s new biography, J. I. Packer: An Evangelical Life, and Sam Storms’s study, Packer on the Christian Life: Knowing God in Christ, Walking by the Spirit. 

We have also had the opportunity to publish several of his most recent books, including:

Finishing Our Course with Joy: Guidance from God for Engaging with Our Aging (2014)
Weakness Is the Way: Life with Christ Our Strength (2013)
Taking God Seriously: Vital Things We Need to Know (2013)

Who is J. I. Packer?

He once described himself as “English by birth, Canadian by choice, Christian by conversion, and Calvinist by conviction, I speak as an evangelical who finds his home in the worldwide Anglican church family.”

Sam Storms describes Packer as a  Puritan, theological exegete, and latter-day catechist—based on the following self-designations from Packer:

I would ask you to think of me as a Puritan: by which I mean, think of me as one who, like those great seventeenth-century leaders on both sides of the Atlantic, seeks to combine in himself the roles of scholar, preacher, and pastor, and speaks to you out of that purpose.

[My goal as a Christian theologian] is not adequately expressed by saying that I am to uphold an evangelical conservatism of generically Reformed or specifically Anglican or neo-Puritan or interdenominational pietist type, though I have been both applauded and booed on occasion for doing all these things, and I hope under God to continue to do them. But if I know myself I am first and foremost a theological exegete.

[I am] a latter-day catechist—not, indeed, a children’s catechist (I am not good with children), but what may be called an adult or higher catechist, one who builds on what children are supposed to be taught in order to spell out at adult level the truths we must live by and how we are to live by them.

My colleagues Jon Marshall and Josh Dennis have filmed a beautiful documentary of this gracious and Christocentric octogenarian, allowing a fascinating father in the faith to speak in his own words:

J. I. Packer, “Inerrancy and the Divinity and Humanity of the Bible,” in Honouring the Written Word of God: The Collected Shorter Writings of J. I. Packer, Volume 3, 162 (emphasis added).

J. I. Packer, “In Quest of Canonical Interpretation,” in Honouring the Written Word of God, 223 (emphasis mine).

J. I. Packer, “Reflection and Response,” in J. I. Packer and the Evangelical Future, 174 (emphasis mine).

Gerald Bray’s “Augustine on the Christian Life”

Gerald Bray’s brilliant entry in the Theologians on the Christians Life series—Augustine on the Christian Life: Transformed by the Power of God—is now available.

Bray writes in the introduction:

In this book, every effort is made to let Augustine speak for himself and to understand him on his own terms, however uncongenial they may seem to many people today. Sympathy for him grows out of understanding, and that understanding can only come with listening to his voice and putting ourselves, as much as we can, into his shoes.

The selections from his writings that have been quoted here have been freshly translated into contemporary (and as much as possible, colloquial) English, because Augustine himself used the spoken word to teach his congregation at Hippo and put effective communication with them ahead of any literary pretensions.

I hope that readers who are approaching him for the first time will be encouraged to go further and learn more about this fascinating man, while those who are already familiar with him may be challenged to see him in a new light.

Above all, I devoutly desire that all who come to Augustine may be led through him to a deeper understanding and closer relationship with the God of Jesus Christ, to whom he was drawn and in whose service he spent the greater part of his life. It is for that above all that we remember him today, and it is only in the light of Christ that his career and his writings can be understood as he meant them to be.

Here’s what others are saying about Bray’s work:

“Gerald Bray accomplishes an improbable task with this remarkable book on Augustine’s view of the Christian life. Bray surveys the voluminous and brilliant contributions from the bishop of Hippo and presents them in a readable and understandable manner. In doing so, he provides us with an edifying, informative, and helpful resource for students, historians, theologians, and church leaders alike. It is a joyful privilege to recommend this excellent addition to Crossway’s Theologians on the Christian Life series.”

—David S. Dockery, President, Trinity International University

“Gerald Bray gives us a richly informative and richly edifying introduction to Augustine and his teaching on the Christian life. It will enable those who have read very little of Augustine, as well as those much more familiar with him, to see Augustine as he would have wanted to be seen: a sinner saved by grace seeking to teach faithfully what he found in the Scriptures. Augustine’s specific devotional teaching is placed in the context of his mammoth contribution to Christian theology and Western civilization more generally. The accessibility of this introduction belies the depth of scholarship, which becomes evident in the footnotes and bibliography. Here is a sure-footed guide to the thinking of one of the greatest minds in the history of the Christian church.”

—Mark D. Thompson, Principal, Moore Theological College

“Augustine told us that only God can be enjoyed for his own sake; all others must be considered as they relate to God. How fitting that Gerald Bray leads us to consider Augustine not for his own sake, but as a gateway to a vision of the one true God and the life lived more deeply in his triune presence. With a teacher’s wisdom and a scholar’s facility with the primary texts, Bray helps guide readers more deeply into the Christian life through the great bishop’s interaction with a host of challenges—real, cruel threats to Christian faithfulness—ranging from the Manichaeans to the Donatists and the Pelagians. Take up and read, and let Bray take you to school.”

—Michael Allen, Associate Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando

Table of Contents

The Life and Times of Augustine
Augustine the Believer
Augustine the Teacher
Augustine the Pastor
Augustine Today

Photo image credit: Tony Reinke

Here are the books published so far in Crossways’ Theologians on the Christian Life series:

Fred Zaspel, Warfield on the Christian Life: Living in Light of the Gospel 
William Edgar, Schaeffer on the Christian Life: Countercultural Spirituality
Stephen J. Nichols, Bonhoeffer on the Christian Life: From the Cross, for the World
Fred Sanders, Wesley on the Christian Life: The Heart Renewed in Love 
Michael Horton,  Calvin on the Christian Life: Glorifying and Enjoying God Forever
Dane Ortlund, Edwards on the Christian Life: Alive to the Beauty of God
Carl Trueman, Luther on the Christian Life: Cross and Freedom
Tony Reinke,  Newton on the Christian Life: To Live Is Christ
Sam Storms, Packer on the Christian Life: Knowing God in Christ, Walking by the Spirit
John Bolt, Bavinck on the Christian Life: Following Jesus in Faithful Service 
Michael A.G. Haykin and Matthew Barrett, Owen on the Christian Life: Living for the Glory of God in Christ 
Gerald Bray, Augustine on the Christian Life: Transformed by the Power of God 

And here are the forthcoming volumes:

Michael Reeves, Spurgeon on the Christian Life
Jason Meyer, Lloyd-Jones on the Christian Life
Joe Rigney, C. S. Lewis on the Christian Life
Derek Thomas, Bunyan on the Christian Life