How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament–Step 11: Systematic Theology

By / Sep 20

What is Systematic Theology?

Systematic theology is the study of the Bible’s doctrine designed to help us shape a proper worldview. Systematic theology presupposes that the Bible gets reality right, and it assumes Scripture’s overarching unity while affirming the progress of revelation and the development of redemptive history. In Systematic Theology, we seek to answer the question, “What does the whole Bible say about X?”

In the interpretive process, the stage considering Systematic Theology is asking more specifically, “How does our passage theologically cohere with the whole Bible?” Or, “How does our passage contribute to our understanding of certain doctrines?”

Traditionally, systematic theology divides into at least ten categories:

  • Theology Proper (the doctrine of God)
  • Bibliology (the doctrine of Scripture)
  • Angelology (the doctrine of angels and demons)
  • Anthropology (the doctrine of humanity)
  • Hamartiology (the doctrine of sin)
  • Christology (the doctrine of Christ)
  • Soteriology (the doctrine of salvation)
  • Pneumatology (the doctrine of the Holy Spirit)
  • Ecclesiology (the doctrine of the Church)
  • Eschatology (the doctrine of the end times or last things)

 

Different theological views within the church arise from different perspectives on each of these topics.

It’s important to recognize that not all doctrinal issues bear equal weight. For example, Paul emphasized that the gospel he preached was of “first importance” (1 Cor 15:3). Other teachings matter, but nothing is more fundamental than the good news that the reigning God saves and satisfies sinners who believe through Christ Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. To say that certain doctrines are more important than others does not imply that Christians may take any biblical truth less seriously. All doctrines matter, but certain ones are more fundamental––more foundational––than others because they undergird and inform all biblical truth. Furthermore, recognize that your conviction on a doctrine may influence your understanding of another doctrine.

Albert Mohler has termed the weighing out of different doctrines theological triage.[1] In Systematic Theology, theological triage involves assessing those doctrines that require the church’s greatest attention. Assessing means you as the busy expositor must classify your passage’s doctrines as primary, secondary, or tertiary.

 

The Process of Theological Triage

1. Level 1: Doctrines Essential to Christianity

First level issues of doctrine are those most central and essential to Christianity. You can’t deny these issues and still be a Christian. Mohler includes here doctrines such as the Trinity, the full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ, justification by faith, and the authority of Scripture.

2. Level 2: Doctrines that Generate Reasonable Boundaries

Second level issues are usually those that distinguish denominations and local churches. These are issues that commonly spark the highest-level debates, are usually grounded in some form of biblical interpretation, and generate reasonable boundaries between Christians. Mohler includes among these the doctrines of the meaning and mode of baptism and views on the role of women in the home and church. To these, I add the questions of God’s sovereignty in salvation and of divorce and remarriage. Level two differences do not identify someone as a Christian, but most local churches will struggle if their leaders disagree on these matters.

3. Level 3: Doctrines Addressing Minor Disagreements

Third level issues are those doctrines over which Christians can disagree and easily remain in close fellowship, even within local congregations. These are matters of wisdom, conscience, and practice like, “Should Christians participate in Halloween?” or “Is it best to educate children through public school, private school, private Christian school, or homeschool?” Other times third-level issues are matters of simple dispute bearing little influence on one’s everyday life. Mohler includes among these questions about the millennium and those related to the timing and sequence of Christ’s return.[2]

How to Study Systematic Theology

Approaching the Bible’s doctrines is no light matter, for we are seeking to grasp all that God has revealed in Scripture on a given topic. I propose the following approach to the study of systematic theology.

1. Ask God to Supply Both Insight with Reason and Humility with Love

There are at least two reasons why all pursuit of doctrine must begin with prayer. First, we do not want to be ashamed of failing in rigorous, God-dependent thinking (1 Cor 14:20; 2 Tim 2:7). Failing at this point is serious. As Peter notes, “There are some things in [Paul’s letters] that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures” (2 Pet 3:16). Second, we need the Spirit’s aid to gain the experiential knowledge the Bible demands. This kind of experiential knowledge of God is only “spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14; cf. Eph 1:17–19), and because of this, we must saturate with prayer our quest to grasp Bible doctrine.

2. Catalog and Synthesize All the Relevant Passages

After praying, collect the most relevant passages related to the topic with which you are wrestling. The best tool here is a concordance (see Word- and Concept-Studies post), which will allow you to look up keywords or concepts to find where the Bible treats your subject. Once you have identified the most relevant texts, you need to classify them. This process entails reading all the texts carefully, summarizing their points, and organizing them into groups based on distinct patterns or features. Ever keep in mind the flow of salvation history and the progress of revelation! The final step is to synthesize in one or more points what the Bible teaches on your topic and then to clarify how your passage contributes to this understanding. If your passage were not present in Scripture, would some crucial knowledge about your topic be missing?

A Case Study in Systematic Theology

Yahweh declares in Zeph 3:9–10: “For at that time I will change the speech of the peoples to a pure speech, that all of them may call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord. From beyond the rivers of Cush, my worshipers, the daughter of my dispersed ones, shall bring my offering.” In the previous verse, Yahweh had commanded the believing remnant in Judah and from other lands to continue waiting on him in faith, looking through to the day of the Lord-judgment in hope. Verses 9–10 then provide one of the reasons why they must persist in their Godward trust.

On the very day of his judicial sentencing of the world (“at that time,” 3:9), Yahweh will cleanse the surviving peoples’ “speech,” which the Greek translation renders “tongue.” This speech transformation will, in turn, generate a unified profession that will result in a unified service: they will “call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord” (Zeph 3:9; cf. Rev 7:9–10). The imagery of speech-purification implies the overturning of judgment (Ps 55:9) and likely alludes to a reversal of the Tower of Babel episode, where a communal pride against God resulted in his confusing “language/speech” and his “dispersing” the rebels across the globe (Gen 11:7, 9). To call on Yahweh’s name is to outwardly express worshipful dependence on him as the sovereign, savior, and satisfier (Ps 116:4, 13, 17). In Joel 2 the prophet similarly connected this phenomenon with the day of the Lord (Joel 2:28–32).

“Cush” was ancient Ethiopia, the center of black Africa, and located in modern Sudan. Its rivers were likely the White and Blue Nile (see Isa 18:1–2). As if following the rivers of life back up to the garden of Eden for fellowship with the great King (Gen 2:13; cf. Rev 22:1–2), the prophet envisions that even the most distant lands upon which the Lord has poured his wrath (Zeph 2:11–12) will have a remnant of “worshippers” whom God’s presence will compel to Jerusalem. Those gathered before God’s presence would be a worldwide, multi-ethnic community descending from the three families and seventy nations that Yahweh once “dispersed” in judgment at Babel after the flood (Gen 11:8–9). Indeed, even some from Cush, Zephaniah’s own heritage (Zeph 1:1), would gain new birth certificates declaring that they were born in Zion (Ps 87:4).

As we assess this text from the perspective of Systematic Theology, I believe it informs both our Eschatology and Ecclesiology. As for the doctrine of the last things, Zephaniah envisions that the new creation community will be born “at that time” (Zeph 3:9) when God rises as judge and executes his punishment on the world (3:8). What is significant here is that the New Testament authors view Jesus’ death to be an intrusion of the future judgment on behalf of the elect, and therefore his resurrection already inaugurates the new creation. “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Rom 5:9). “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come… For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:17, 21).

With respect to the doctrine of the church, Zephaniah speaks to both the disposition and international makeup of a community that God will preserve through judgment. If Jesus has already borne the day of the Lord-judgment anticipated in Zeph 3:8, it seems likely that the multi-ethnic community of worshipers he describes in 3:9–10 is indeed his church. Certainly, the depiction fulfills the hopes of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen 12:3), and it finds support in the way the New Testament sees the messianic new covenant community to be made up of Jews and Gentiles in Christ who are now one flock (John 10:16; cf. 11:51–52; 12:19–20), a single olive tree (Rom 11:17–24), and one new man (Eph 2:11–22).

In support of this view is the way Luke describes the beginnings of the church at Pentecost. The outpouring of the Spirit of Christ on the saints in Jerusalem inaugurated the change of speech and unity that Zephaniah predicted (Zeph 3:9–10). Not only does the early church speak in new “tongues” (Acts 2:4, 11; cf. 10:46; 19:6), but they also call on the name of Lord Jesus (2:21, 38) and devote themselves together “to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (2:42). Through Christ’s atoning death, the blessing of God moves from “Jerusalem … to the end of the earth” (1:8; cf. Luke 24:47), reaching even into ancient Ethiopia/Cush, as the story of the Ethiopian eunuch testifies (Acts 8:26–40).

Now bringing together eschatology and ecclesiology, we can mark the initial fulfillment of Zephaniah’s hopes and say that already the Lord is shaping “a kingdom and priests” “from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev 5:9–10; cf. 7:9–10). Along with this reality, we can add that already as priests we are offering sacrifices of praise (Rom 12:1; Heb 13:15–16; 1 Pet 2:5) at “Mount Zion and … the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb 12:22; cf. Isa 2:2–3; Zech 8:20–23). Nevertheless, we are still awaiting the day when “the holy city, new Jerusalem” will descend from heaven as the new earth (Rev 21:2). At that time, our daily journey to find rest in Christ’s supremacy and sufficiency (Matt 11:28–29; John 6:35) will be consummated in a place where the curse is no more (Rev 21:24–22:5; cf. Isa 60:3; Heb 4:1, 9–11). Thus, I believe that we can see Zephaniah’s prophetic prediction already being fulfilled today in Jesus’s church, even as we the saints await its full realization.

[1] R. Albert Mohler Jr., “Confessional Evangelicalism,” in Four Views on the Spectrum of Evangelicalism, ed. Andrew David Naselli and Collin Hansen, Counterpoints (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011), 77–80; see also http://www.albertmohler.com/2005/07/12/a-call-for-theological-triage-and-christian-maturity/.

[2] The best book on identifying and working through these minor disagreements is Andrew David Naselli and J. D. Crowley, Conscience: What It Is, How to Train It, and Loving Those Who Differ (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2016).

Find the rest of the articles in this series here. 



Does Love Prevail Over Hardship?

By / Sep 19

One of my first childhood memories is playing house. From a young age, I was the girl putting honeysuckle in my hair, donning my prettiest thrift store dress, and “marrying” the little boy across the street. I would often convince friends to participate in the pretend worlds I created for us; worlds filled with hardships over which love would always prevail.

Time eventually caused me to outgrow these worlds and the dresses that went with them. But adolescence brought new (and terrifying) reality to the dream that still rested in my heart. Getting older was exhilarating—attraction intensified and real dating was within reach. Wrestling with feelings of rejection and insecurity were a low price to pay knowing I could meet my real-life Prince Charming at any moment.

When the Lord saved me at the age of seventeen, my understanding of marriage fundamentally changed. It was no longer about having a Pinterest-perfect wedding or fairytale meet-cute with Prince Charming. God’s Word brought my vague understanding of companionship into perfect focus: love is sacrificial, selfless, sanctifying. Marriage is a means by which we can walk in love, just as Christ loved and gave himself up for his Bride (Eph. 5:25).

The truth that marriage exists to display this profound mystery stirred my soul. As I took every internship, job, and opportunity available to me during university, I definitely did not have a “ring by spring” mentality. Yet as my adventures and challenges increased, so did my desire to share them with another.

I got that chance for a season.

The taste of what life could look like alongside someone I loved was sweet. He placed honeysuckles in my hair and spun me around in beautiful dresses like I always dreamed. But after years of dating, something was missing. An article published by For The Church last year titled “The One Life Dream That Makes a Girl Blush” by Andrea Burke communicates what I desperately yearned for: to create and care for a home.

In what seemed a cruel twist, the release of Burke’s piece coincided with the less-than-graceful conclusion of the relationship I thought would last a lifetime. As I read her words on the value of marriage and motherhood, it was as if smoke from the questions burning in my heart drew endless streams of tears from my eyes.

Why would God take the responsibility of displaying the gospel through marriage from someone who recognized its purpose? What was the point of all those wasted years? Was I not strong enough for that calling?

Even if your dreams are not the same as mine, I am sure you’ve pondered similar questions about God’s plans and your purpose or worth. Everyone has experienced some sort of loss or change to what they thought their life would look like (repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, for example). Not even the follower of Christ is exempt from these effects of sin.

As we sojourn in this broken world we face calamities (Acts 28:1-4) and we cry out in affliction (Job 30). We are perplexed, persecuted, and struck down (2 Cor. 4:8-9). We feel the weariness of life ache in our bodies and minds (Ecc. 12). Did Christ not experience this suffering?

Jesus was pushed face-down in a garden. Stripped, spat on, beaten, mocked. Given wine with gall to gag upon. Punished as a criminal, crying out in agony before death by crucifixion. In light of such events, it seemed foolish to declare this man the anticipated Messiah who would reign on the eternal throne of the Lord (2 Sam. 7:16, Matt. 27:18).

In such a world, it seems love does not prevail over hardship.

Yet those of us who know Christ know this is not true. Evil looked as though it conquered at the cross, but in reality, God enacted His sovereign plan. For it was at the cross Christ claimed victory over the domain of darkness and established his kingship. It is the slain Lamb’s selfless sacrifice that necessitates this song of worship from the heavenly beings in the throne room:

Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.

Revelation 5:9-10

Just as the suffering of Christ was real and immense, it was purposeful and glory-filled. The Son of God bowed in obedience to the will of the Father to fulfill God’s plan of redemption of humanity and restoration of our fallen world. As followers of this Christ, we can take heart, for Christ has overcome the world (John 16:33).

So take heart, believer. There is nothing lost that cannot be redeemed; nothing broken that cannot be mended (Rev. 21). No matter what expectations are not met or what dreams die, we must call to mind the truth that “this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” (2 Cor. 4:17, ESV).

Beloved, let us pick up our crosses together—proclaiming Christ even with thorns in our flesh.  For one day we will stand beside a sea of glass adorned in pure and bright fine linen. On that day, lesser dreams will be forgotten and our deepest desires will be fulfilled at the sight of our nail-pierced Groom. And finally, blessedly, we will eternally enjoy unhindered fellowship with God through Jesus Christ our Lord.



Keeping a Close Watch: On Cultivating and Maintaining Godliness in Pastoral Ministry

By / Sep 16

In March 2020, the world was rocked by COVID, its physiological consequences, and the compounded political upheaval that was already present in the country. At the time, I was not yet voted in as an elder at Emmaus but was in the applicant stage. So, I was in conversation with the elders on a few matters, let alone the natural friendships that were already present. The pastoral burdens were looming large.

At the time, the elders were praying, and encouraged the church to pray, that the Lord would use the time of isolation and uncertainty so sins that have been swept under the rug or self-justified would be brought out to the open and dealt with. The Lord not only answered that prayer swiftly in our own congregation, but also throughout sister churches. And now two years later, we’re pleading with the Lord to grant peace and holiness.

The falling of public figures has been happening since our father Adam. However, it seems more pronounced in the last two decades or so. It had always felt like an “out there” sort of thing for me until the last five years. Some local leaders that I had some sort of friendship with had fallen; it had even come within my own family. Now, the potency of sin and its effects were all the more real. I was sobered to the core.

This caused a lot of uncertainty and self-analysis in my own life. I know firsthand that the problems aren’t merely leadership failures or personal disagreements. Rather, it’s the assaults of hell coming after Christ’s church through her under-shepherds and through division and discord within her members. Part of which has birthed this short reflection and even a Sunday morning class at Emmaus on the Christian virtues. These are some reflections that I’ve been pondering on lately and pray they stir us on to keep a close watch on our life and doctrine.

Practice and Immerse Yourself in the Mystery of Godliness

Paul’s exhortation to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:6-16 should be a passage that pastors return to often as a check on their life and doctrine. The imagery in verses 7-8 of training and repeated in verse 15 is clear that the mystery of godliness is definitively true of us but there still remains flesh to be killed and assaults of hell to subvert. In fact, Paul tells Timothy that in practicing and immersing himself in the mystery of godliness, other will see his progress.

When the Spirit applies the work of Christ to us and unites us to him, we begin to see how immersed in sinful patterns we are. The Spirit is the Gift of God that empowers us to turn from those patterns of the flesh and establish patterns of the new creation that God has made us to be. Peter picks up on this in his first epistle where he exhorts us to practice what we are.

Further, Paul tells Timothy that he is the one to set an example to the believers in godliness. Despite his age, he is to demonstrate godliness in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, or in purity. Acting in godliness isn’t legalism; it’s being who we are. This should be even more sobering for the pastor as he is the under-shepherd demonstrating the way of the Chief Shepherd. The groaning and toiling of killing sin and subverting the assaults of hell is valuable and worthwhile “because we have our hope set on the living God.”

For pastors, it means that we are held to a higher standard and will be judged accordingly. Not only should we pastors be cultivating and maintaining godliness in a personal manner, but this should be the basis for how we shepherd the flock of God. Am I habituating myself in godly speech and not coarse joking? Am I immersing myself in godly conduct and not the passions of the flesh? Am I practicing godly love and not self-regard? Am I imitating godly faith and not self-justification? Am I occupying myself with godly purity and not secret immorality? The Hillbilly Thomists’ song Good Tree begins aptly:

You can’t gather grapes
From a bramble bush
Or pick a fig from thorns
Oh, would I like to be
Oh, to be a good tree

Way of Wisdom and Way of Folly

I was reminded recently of the fox metaphor on the Life and Books and Everything podcast. There, DeYoung asks questions like: Where have we allowed the metaphorical foxes to creep into our lives that erode our holiness and sanctified common sense? Where have we habituated ourselves to the point of danger? In the Matt Chandler situation, it was noted that the actions weren’t seen as unhelpful and stupid. This is a crucial question to ask ourselves, our wives, friends, and fellow pastors. Are there areas in our life that are being eroded by foxes? Are there areas in our life that we are blind to sinful patterns growing? Are there areas in our life where we are justifying our thoughts or actions, not calling sinful indulgences for what they are?

In my office, I have one of my favorite John Wooden quotes written on my dry-erase board: “It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” This may seem like too basic of a fact, but therein lies the irony. It’s the basics or the fundamentals that stabilize and empower as one moves forward. Christ’s conquering of sin and death applied to your account, pastor, is what stabilizes and empowers you. Christ’s ascension to God’s right hand is our pleasure forevermore. You can’t move forward or see progress unless the fundamentals remain the fundamentals. Which, as a silly example, is why the Duncan-Ginobili-Parker-Popovich Spurs were so dominant. Many jokes still make their rounds today about Tim Duncan being the “Big Fundamental” but there’s a reason why that crew won so many championships.

Though there are doubtless more, there are two areas of concern I want to briefly reflect on: use of the tongue and self-sabotage. The dangers of the tongue, which are really manifestations of the inner man, are prevalent throughout the Scriptures. James interestingly begins chapter 4 with a warning that not every brother should be a teacher because the tongue can bridle the wild horse or set a forest ablaze. Paul also has strong words against the unrighteous use of the tongue in Ephesians 4:29; 5:4. This is the more elusive of the foxes that erode our foundation. Sarcasm, crude joking, or gossip are far too pervasive in the life of the church, let alone those who teach. May the Lord have mercy on us and grant us a thankful heart.

The second area of concern is what I want to call self-sabotage. To be fair, this is a bit more subjective. However, more and more pastors are experiencing burn out, over work, and they are even potentially being called to another vocation. All of which are not necessarily bad or wrong. And not all burnout is self-sabotage. However, there is an overwhelming pressure, and possibly an unhealthy expectation, to remain committed and faithful to Christ’s church, no exceptions. And as such, they are looking for a way out without shame or scrutiny. Thus, a brother may self-sabotage in a variety of ways to get out.

Now hear me clearly that the pastoral office is a high and demanding one, and rightfully so. There should be a holy pressure and expectation. All of which is why there are particular guardrails such as a Chief Shepherd, plurality of elders, strict qualifications, and not every brother should be a teacher. Of course burnout still happens with these guardrails. But the way of folly leads to destruction when the ‘little things’ and the guardrails are set aside and neglected. LaPine recently wrote a helpful reflection on pastoral self-destruction. Now, this reflection is on the connection between pastoral abuse and the lack of relational reciprocity. LaPine asks some helpful diagnostic questions at the end that are worth considering. However, the lack of the relational habits of vulnerability and trust, or even the faux presentation thereof, can lead to destruction.

Pray for your pastors and leaders

The tone of this reflection seems a bit dim. And while I don’t necessarily prefer that, I’m not sure we can avoid it either. When close friends or family members are on the way of folly toward destruction, it should cause us to be sorrowful and sobered. The habitual foxes are elusive and erosive. However, we bring our sorrow and sobriety before the Lord, pleading with him to restore those on the path of folly back to the path of wisdom, and to keep us on the path of wisdom.
So, please, pray for your pastors, encourage them in the faith, love their families, and be an easy sheep. Then, go listen to the masterful Hillbilly Thomists’ Good Tree, whose next to last verse is a fitting conclusion.

Even when I’m old
I will still be
Still full of sap
Still green
That’s what I want to be
Oh, to be a good tree



The Need for Confession in a “Copy” and “Edit” Age

By / Sep 13

These days, there’s a filter for almost anything. People can “edit” and “crop” their entire lives. Simply click the image, select from the endless options of filters that enhance the desired effect, and presto—the world is given the snapshot version of “me” that I want it to have. Unfortunately, the Christian life does not work that way. It was never intended to. God, in His infinite wisdom, has made transparency and confession a necessary component of spiritual health. If we are to grow in Christ, then we must allow someone, or a few someones, to see beyond the cropped and edited version of ourselves.

Given how much confusion surrounds the practice of confession, it’s essential to clarify what is meant by confessing sin. In hearing the term, those who come from a Roman Catholic background may think of the formal sacrament of penance (or the sacrament of reconciliation), in which a person regularly seeks out a priest so that their sins will be absolved. While protestants rightly protest the need to confess sins to or receive absolution from a formal priest, we must not be too hasty in dismissing the sacredness of confession. In confessing sins to one another, we engage in a spiritual endeavor, a holy campaign, against our insurrection. We are declaring war on our own rebellion. We need not go to any priest. Any Christian brother or sister who loves and speaks the gospel will do. And while we need not treat it like a sacramental ritual, we should let it become a sacred lifestyle. By confession, I mean a holy habitus in which a Christian deliberately exposes and confronts their own sin whenever it manifests itself so that others may restore them in the joy of the gospel.

One of the primary dangers of sin is not simply that it exists but that by its existence, it seeks to cripple a joyful relationship with the triune God. According to the Puritans, redemption not only seeks the eradication of evil (ademptio mali) but also the enjoyment of good (adeptio boni).[1] Sin rebuilds the malice that God has broken down and breaks down the good that God built. Sin is, in its very essence, a joy thief that is opposed to God’s good purposes.

Sin’s antithetical nature toward our good God is why confession is so important. Confession is much more than an embarrassing admission of failure, as people have often treated it. Quite the contrary, it is a desperate pursuit of restored joy in the Lord. Without confession, such restoration is impossible.

 Confession means coming out of hiding. Augustine once wrote, “In failing to confess, Lord, I would only hide you from myself, not myself from You.” As it did with Adam, our hidden sin leaves us feeling afraid and shamefully exposed. A mere whisper of God’s approach sends us running for the trees. We hide. We deny and we even blame others. But redemption cannot happen until we come out of our hiding place. When God asked Adam, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9), it was not for God’s benefit but Adam’s. Being the omniscient being He is, God knew where Adam was. With His question, God “drew Adam from hiding rather than drove him from it.”[2] Confession answers the question, “Where am I?” It draws me out from behind the tree to acknowledge my sin and receive the good news of a serpent-crushing Savior who has and will overturn the evil I have committed.

Confession means leaving the dirty mudhole and coming back to the clean, refreshing waters of grace. In Jeremiah 2:13, God summarizes his people’s sins. They have (1) “forsaken me, the fountain of living waters” and (2) “hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Sin tempts us to believe that there is better, fresher water outside God. It, then, tells us to start digging. In the end, all we have is a leaky mudhole. In confession, we see the dirty, leaky mudhole for what it is and return to the only stream that can satiate our thirst.

Confession means celebrating the gospel. 1 John 1:8-9—perhaps the most often quoted text when it comes to confession—gives both a warning and a promise. First comes the warning, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” For John, whether or not a person has the truth indicates the state of a person’s relationship with the triune God (for example, see 1 John 2:4).[3] As seen throughout the biblical storyline, proximity to a holy God unveils a person’s sin and guilt. The classic example is Isaiah 6. When Isaiah faces a holy God, he confesses that he is a man of unclean lips (Isaiah 6:5). Recognizing sin is an outcome of knowing God. A person might be absolutely sincere when he says, “I have no sins that I can see…no seriously, I can’t think of any weaknesses or vices.” Either this man is proof positive that perfection can be reached in this lifetime, or—more likely—he is looking at himself as man might look into a mirror in a dark room. It is only when the Lord comes in and turns on the light that the man can say, “Oh…now I see it.” Grace brings gracious exposure. Confession is a celebration that God is in our midst and, consequently, our sins have come into the light.

Following the warning comes a promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (v. 9). The word faithful (pistos) can mean reliable or trustworthy. In some cases, the word can describe someone who keeps a promise (Heb. 10:23). According to John, confession reveals God as both faithful and just. This claim is consistent with how God has revealed Himself throughout redemptive history. In Exodus 34:6-9, God declares that He is both just (by no means clearing the guilty) and gracious (forgiving iniquities).[4] It is a bit of paradox. How can God be at the same time both just in judging our sin and gracious in forgiving it? The cross solves the conundrum. There, God’s justice against sin is poured out on Jesus and the consequent result is forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Confession celebrates the gospel by declaring God’s justice and gracious faithfulness.

On the one hand, confession leads us to freely acknowledge that even in grace, God is still just. Sin is still sin and, therefore, it must be repented. On the other hand, by confessing, a person throws himself or herself upon the reliable mercy of God—a mercy given because Jesus has already paid for our sin on the cross (Colossian 2:14). In this way, confession makes us “living monuments and examples of His goodness and patience.”[5] By God’s own design, confession transforms a community into a gospel-centered community.

 

[1] Ralph Venning, The Sinfulness of Sin (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1965), 71.

[2] R. Kent Hughes, Genesis: Beginning and Blessing, Preaching the Word (Wheaton: Crossway, 2004), 78.

[3] Colin G. Kruse, The Letters of John, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 68.

[4] See Exodus 34:6-9.

[5] Venning, The Sinfulness of Sin, 190.



Experience Kansas City During FTC 22

By / Sep 12

In two weeks, we’ll welcome pastors, ministers, and missionaries from across the country to our annual FTC National Conference, “For The Nations.”

We know you’ll probably have some free time, so we want to offer you our best suggestions for barbecue, food, coffee, and things to do while you’re in our wonderful city.

BBQ

– Q39 (Midtown)

– Joe’s Kansas City (State Line)

– Jack Stacks (Country Club Plaza)

– Gates (3 locations)

– Hawg Jaw Que (North Kansas City)

– Arthur Bryant’s (Near 18th & Vine)

– Slap’s BBQ (Kansas City, KS)

– Pigwich (River Market)

Food

– KC Taco Company (located in the River Market with excellent tacos)

– Summit Grill (just up the road from campus with great American food)

– Brown & Loe (high-quality comfort food)

– Il Lazzerone (Neopolitan style pizza in the River Market)

– Frank’s Italian (Parkville’s best Italian restaurant)

– LuLu’s Noodles (Thai food great for lunch or dinner in the Crossroads)

– Queen Sweets & Bakery (Middle Eastern cuisine in the Northland)

– Happy Gillis (a quaint restaurant serving local breakfast and lunch in Columbus Park)

– The Westside Local (great range of American style food in the Westside district)

– Piropos (this Argentinian restaurant is located in Briarcliff, a neighborhood close to campus)

– Bella Napoli (Italian food with a great porch located in Brookside)

– Taco Republic (street tacos with indoor and outdoor seating at the state line)

– Jerusalem Cafe (located in Westport, this Middle Eastern food is sure to satisfy)

– BRGR (classic burgers located in the Power & Light District)

– Nara Sushi (the Crossroad’s best sushi)

– Longboards (the Pacific coast comes to the Midwest in this Northland wrap restaurant)

– Vietnam Cafe (great Vietnamese food near the River Market)

– Wings Cafe (located close to campus, this place will serve you the best wings in the Northland)

– Betty Rae’s Ice Cream (you can find this in the River Market, this makes a great late-night treat)

– KC Soda Company (every flavor of soda you can imagine in the River Market district)

– The Distrikt Biskuit House (amazing breakfast sandwiches and biscuits located near Kauffman Stadium)

Coffee

– The Tomlinson Cafe

– Thou Mayest – River Quay (Industrial-chic, exposed-brick shop in the River Market)

– Post Coffee (Located in North Kansas City)

– Oddly Correct (one of the best roasters in town – excellent coffee in Midtown)

– Messenger Coffee (three-story building including a rooftop view of the city)

– Monarch Coffee (great espresso and aesthetic in Midtown)

– PT’s Coffee (located in the Crossroads Art District, a top-tier roaster in the metro)

– Second Best Coffee (South Kansas City’s humblest shop with nitro coffee)

– Vested Coffee (two locations in the Garment District and Beacon Hill)

– Goat Hill Coffee (smooth espresso in the Westside)

– Splitlog Coffee Co. (all-around good coffee with a location in Pendleton Heights and Strawberry Hill)

Things to Do

– Nelson Atkins Museum

– WW1 Museum

– Chicken N’ Pickle

– Prospero’s Book Store

– Union Station

– The Green Lady Lounge

– Country Club Plaza

– The Kansas City Public Library: Central Library

– City Market

– Loose Park

– Made in KC Stores

– The Blue Room

– American Jazz Museum

– Negro Leagues Baseball Museum



The Bondage of Absolute Self-Autonomy

By / Sep 8

There is no doubt that one of the gold standard virtues of modern society is the pursuit of absolute self-autonomy. The gospel of “be true to yourself” and “look within yourself” attempts to promote and promise true liberty, ultimate purpose and meaning, and societal flourishing with no strings attached or any negative repercussions.

On the surface, it sounds like good news. From a distance, it appears to be pro-humanity in all its nonrestrictive, progressive creeds and confessions, replacing sacred liturgy with its own secular ones. In elevating human emotion and imagination over and above absolute truth, it ascribes more worth to human creativity than to the Creator of humanity. This is the gospel of absolute autonomy. After all, any worldview or religious practice that would minimize the absolute autonomy of the self must be anti-human happiness and goodness, right?

Only if we allow ourselves to be fooled by the fashionable guise of light and liberty (2 Corinthians 11:14). While on the surface absolute autonomy appears as freedom, there is further bondage below. Absolute autonomy is not good news; it is bad news. Not only is it bad news, but false news. Only the true, good news of the gospel can offer freedom. Only in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection can we hope to break free from the bondage, brokenness, and alienation that absolute autonomy promises to deliver us from.

Here are three gospel truths that can dispel the current cultural mirage of absolute autonomy.

CREATED IN HIS IMAGE

First, we are created in God’s image.

“So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27).” I can only imagine the expression and the gasps and whispers of the heavenly hosts in this moment of creation. God had created everything else by His word and now he creates man in His very image. What a high privilege to bestow on man. Not even the angels in heaven received this title: Image of God.

And so, from the start, our very being and nature is stamped with God’s being and nature.

One of the most glorious, mysterious doctrines of all of Scripture is the Trinity. One God, three separate persons. Or as Athanasius beautifully articulated: “We worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence.” In other words, God has eternally existed as one – yet not alone. And if we are made in this God’s image, then something of that nature finds itself in us and the pursuit of absolute self-autonomy proves blasphemous at worst and trivial at best. In doing so, we deny the nature of God and the nature of self.

CREATED FOR COMMUNION

Second, we were created for a person.

The Apostle Paul writes, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16) In other words, we were created by Jesus for Jesus. Our personhood is so inexplicably bound to the second person of the Trinity that attempting absolute autonomy frustrates our true nature

Deeply woven in the imago Dei is this longing to know and be known by someone. And not just anyone, for we all know the fleeting emotions that come with new relationships, or the inevitable moment when someone lets us down or fails to live up to our expectations. Or when someone does not handle our own frailty or short comings in a manner that they should have. We need not look any further than the woman at the well who seemed to go from husband to husband, seeking to know and be fully known until she came face to face with the man she was truly meant for (John 4:1-26). While we are created for fellowship with other people, no mere person is going to satisfy the deep well of our hearts except the person of Jesus.

This also means we were not made for philosophies, revolutions, or moral shifts, no matter how liberating or plausible they might appear to be. Anything or anyone less than the One who Thomas called his Lord and his God (John 20:28) will not do. Simply put, we were created to be in communion with our Creator. The missing puzzle piece to our human heart is not more of self, but more of the Son, whom God appointed the heir of all things (Hebrews 1:2). The One in whom all the fullness of God dwells bodily (Colossians 1:19; 2:9) and the One who fills and makes whole our fractured humanity (Colossians 2:10).

CREATED FOR FELLOWSHIP

Third, we were created to be a people. Being in communion with our creator also means being in fellowship with one another. I have had the privilege of preaching through the book of Ephesians over the past few months and one of the primary emphases of Paul’s letter is God’s people, the church. “So, then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” (Ephesians 2:19)

Absolute autonomy not only alienates us from our Creator, but it isolates us from being in fellowship with other image bearers. It robs us of true gospel community. It facilitates a further divide and estrangement that the work of Christ on the cross healed and did away with. If each individual has their own truth; their own path; their own choices, then tragically, they are on their own. Loneliness is their only companion.

But Ephesians has a radically different vision for God’s people. It gives us a picture of a new society comprised of various individuals that can only grow into their true selves in Christ together. And only together, with all the saints, can this kind of self-discovery take place. This is what Paul means when he later writes “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:13) The gospel offers us a family that can perpetually remind us of who we are, what our purpose is, and what our final goal is: the measure and stature of the fullness of Christ.

Instead of leaving one another to ourselves to do what is right in our own eyes and figure it all out for ourselves according to the law of self-autonomy, Christ gives us one another according to the gospel of grace.

In the end, absolute self-autonomy is an empty promise that will leave us with an empty heart. Only an empty tomb and a risen Savior can help us find our true selves.



How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament: Step 10––Biblical Theology

By / Aug 31

Text (Genre, Literary units and text hierarchy, Text-criticism)
Observation (Clause and text grammar, Argument-tracing, Word and concept studies)
Context (Historical and Literary context)
Meaning (Biblical and Systematic theology)
Application (Practical theology)

Once you have established your text, made accurate observations, and discerned your passage’s contexts, it is time to determine your text’s meaning. To do this, it is critical to understand biblical theology, the discipline that considers how the whole Bible progresses, integrates, and climaxes in Jesus. Here you ask, “How does my passage connect to the Bible’s overall storyline and point to Christ?”

Four Guiding Presuppositions

The discipline of biblical theology assumes at least four key principles about the Bible:

1. The Bible is the locus of God’s special revelation.

Every line, word, phrase, clause, and paragraph in Scripture is God’s word. No other book is like the Bible, for it alone is God’s special revelation. Therefore, biblical theology is a textual discipline, such that the author’s intent guides the connections we make both backward and forward within every text. Historical context informs and supports the study but never trumps it.

2. The Bible demands that we submit to it and engage it in constructive ways.

We must see God’s word in its final canonical form as our primary and decisive authority in all matters of faith and practice. Furthermore, our interpretation should never deconstruct the biblical text, misinterpret the text, contradict the biblical author’s intentions, or fail to evaluate fairly the claims of the text in accordance with its nature.

3. The Bible is prescriptive.

Because the Bible is God’s word, it has the authority to prescribe a certain lifestyle and worldview for its readers and to confront alternatives. God’s purpose in having us grasp his purposes in salvation history is to move us to worship and surrender to the living God through Christ.

4. The Bible expresses a coherent, unified theology.

God is the ultimate author of Scripture, and he is the ultimate unified and coherent thinker. Thus, we must push to grasp the unified theology of the whole Bible. Every passage contributes in some way to the whole.

Definition and Nature of Biblical Theology

 The whole Bible progresses, integrates, and climaxes in Christ, and every passage contributes in some way to Scripture’s message that God reigns, saves, and satisfies through covenant for his glory in Jesus. Central to determining a passage’s meaning is not only considering what it proclaims but how this message relates to and informs the greater message of Scripture culminating in Christ.

Biblical theology is a way of analyzing and synthesizing what the Bible reveals about God and his relations with the world that makes organic salvation-historical and literary-canonical connections with the whole of Scripture on its own terms, especially with respect to how the Old and New Testaments progress, integrate, and climax in Christ. Let me unpack this extended definition under six headings.

  1. The Task, Part 1: Biblical theology analyzes and synthesizes what the Old and New Testaments reveal about God and his relations with the world.

Biblical theology seeks to interpret the final form of the Christian Bible––to analyze and synthesize God’s special revelation embodied in the Old and New Testaments. That God’s special revelation comes through Old and New Testaments highlights both Scripture’s unity and diversity. The one Bible has two necessary parts, each of which we must read in view of the other. The Old Testament provides foundation for what Jesus fulfills in the New Testament.

  1. The Task, Part 2: Biblical theology makes organic connections with the whole of Scripture on its own terms.

Biblical theology is about making natural, unforced connections within Scripture. In the process, it recognizes growth or progress in a thought or concept and lets the Bible speak in accordance with its own contours, structures, language, and flow.

  1. Salvation-Historical Connections: Biblical theology makes salvation-historical connections with the whole of Scripture on its own terms.

Salvation history is the progressive narrative unfolding of God’s kingdom plan through the various covenants, events, people, and institutions, all climaxing in the person and work of Jesus. Redemptive history moves from creation to the fall to redemption to consummation. It’s the true story of God’s purposes climaxing in Christ that frames all of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. One way to summarize his-story is through the acronym KINGDOM, as represented in the following chart:

Scripture declares the story of God’s glory in Christ. Within this framework, we can make salvation-historical connections in at least five different ways:

  • Thematic developments: We can trace a theme through the story of salvation, noting how it culminates in Christ. Some of the main themes are kingdom, law, temple, people of God, exile and exodus, atonement, holiness, and missions.
  • Covenantal continuity and discontinuity: We should consider how the progress of the biblical covenants maintains, transforms, alters, or escalates various elements in God’s relations with his people and the world.
  • Type and anti-type: Both Old and New Testament authors regularly identify predictive thematic anticipations or types rooted in the progressive development of Scripture’s historical record (e.g., Rom. 5:14; 1 Cor. 10:6, 11; Col. 2:16–17). By God’s design, specific persons (e.g., Adam, Moses), events (e.g., creation, exodus), and institutions (e.g., temple, sacrifice) establish patterns that culminate in the life and work of Christ Jesus. These types are prophetic and prospective from their inception, even when interpreters only discover them retrospectively.
  • Promise and fulfillment: We must track specific promises and then identify their partial, progressive, and/or ultimate fulfillment at various stages in salvation history, ever remembering Paul’s declaration that “all the promises of God find their Yes in [Christ]” (2 Cor. 1:20). An example here would be how Micah 5:2 declares that the royal deliver would rise out of Bethlehem, and Matthew declares this fulfilled (Matt. 2:5–6).
  • Use of the Old Testament in the Old and New Testaments: Here, we assess how later biblical writers interpret and/or apply earlier canonical revelation, especially with a view to understanding Christ Jesus.

  1. Literary-Canonical Connections: Biblical theology makes organize literary-canonical connections with the whole of Scripture on its own terms.

Biblical theology arises out of the narrative framework of salvation history, but we cannot restrict the discipline to redemptive historical connections because the Bible includes more than the story of God’s glory in Christ. As seen below, Scripture includes groupings of narrative books that frame commentary books. We must consider every passage in light of its placement and role within the canon as a whole, which contains two Testaments, each with corresponding narrative and commentary sections and each with a potentially-corresponding three-part structure. The chart arranges the Old Testament in alignment with the order in Jesus’s Bible (see Luke 24:44) and the New Testament in accordance with the earliest canonical evidence.

Along with final-form composition and structure, literary-canonical connections include the historical details that tie the canon together. Here I refer to information regarding authorship, date, or provenance of a given passage. Where God reveals such information, it is fair and appropriate to use it to consider how books or passages that are united historically address various themes or contribute to our knowledge of a given topic. Because Moses was the substantial author of both Exodus and Leviticus, we can use each book as an interpretive lens for the other. Because Samuel–Kings and Chronicles address similar time-periods from different perspectives, we can compare the two to help clarify the distinctive theology of each corpus.

Finally, literary-canonical connections also include accounting for our passage’s biblical corpus or genre. Studying the teaching in Ecclesiastes should naturally be related to that of Proverbs not only because Solomon is likely the same author but also because both are wisdom books. Similarly, one should interpret Zephaniah in view of its placement in and contribution to both the Book of the Twelve and the Latter Prophets as a whole.

  1. Relationship of the Testaments: Biblical theology wrestles with how the Old and New Testaments progress and integrate.

The relationship of the Testaments is perhaps the biggest question faced in biblical theology. Scripture was not shaped in a day. God produced it over time, progressively disclosing his kingdom purposes climaxing in Christ and pointing ultimately to the consummation. Biblical theology gives significant effort to tracking this progression and to considering how the various covenants and Testaments integrate in God’s overarching kingdom plan.

  1. The Centrality of Christ: Biblical theology wrestles with how the Old and New Testaments climax in Christ.

The ultimate end of biblical theology is Jesus. The salvation history that frames Scripture all points and progresses to Christ, and all fulfillment flows from and through him. All laws, history, laws, prophecy, and promises find their end-times realization in Jesus (Matt 5:17–18; Mark 1:15; Acts 3:18; 2 Cor. 1:20). Therefore, we can rightly assert that the Old Testament is a messianic document written to instill messianic hope (see Rom. 1:1–3; 3:21; 10:4). Indeed, the apostles recognized that Yahweh foretold by the mouth of all the prophets from Moses forward the tribulation and triumph of the Christ and the subsequent glories (Acts 3:18, 24; 10:43; 1 Peter 1:10–11), and God revealed to those prophets that “they were serving not themselves but you” when they wrote their words (1 Peter 1:12). If we fail to appreciate that the Old Testament is Christian Scripture, we do not approach it like Jesus and his apostles, and we have no basis to call our interpretation “Christian.” 

The Bible’s Frame, Form, Focus, and Fulcrum

Thus far, we have learned something about what the Bible is about, how it is transmitted, why it was given, and around whom it is centered. That is, the Bible has a frame, a form, a focus, and a fulcrum.

  1. The Frame = The Content: What?

The Bible is the revelation of God, who reigns over all and who saves and satisfies all who look to him. In short, Scripture is about his kingdom and how he builds it through covenant for his glory in Christ. We could say that Scripture’s content relates to God’s reign over God’s people in God’s land for God’s glory (Luke 4:43; Acts 1:3; 20:25; 28:23, 31).

  1. The Form = The Means: How?

Throughout salvation history, God has maintained his relationship with the world through a series of covenants. The most dominant of these are the Mosaic (old) covenant and the new covenant in Christ. The old covenant bore a ministry of condemnation and brought forth an age of death; the new covenant bore a ministry of righteousness and brought with it life (2 Cor. 3:9). Moses recognized Israel’s stubbornness and predicted the old covenant’s failure (Deut. 9:6–7; 31:16–18, 27–29). But he also envisioned that God would mercifully overcome the curse with restoration blessing (4:30–31) in what we now know as the new covenant (Jer. 31:31). A prophetic, new covenant mediator would facilitate this era of blessing (Deut. 18:15), which would include God’s transforming the hearts of covenant members in a way that would generate love and obedience (30:6, 8–14). God would curse all his enemies (30:7) and broaden the makeup of his people to include some from the nations (32:21, 43; cf. Gen. 17:4–5). Christ is the mediator of the new covenant (Gen. 22:17–18; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 9:15; 12:24), which has superseded the old (Gal. 3:24–25; Rom. 10:4), made every promise “Yes” (2 Cor. 1:20), and secured for us every spiritual blessing (Eph. 1:3) and “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” (1 Peter 1:4).

  1. The Focus = The Purpose: Why?

The chief goal of all God’s actions is the preservation and display of his glory, and it is to this end that all Scripture points. Because all things are from him, through him, and to him, God’s glory is exalted over all things (Rom. 11:36) and should be the goal of our lives (1 Cor. 10:31).

  1. The Fulcrum = Sphere: Whom?

Jesus Christ is the one to whom all salvation history points, and the one who fulfills all the Old Testament anticipates. The entire Bible centers on this promised messianic Deliverer who secures reconciliation with God for all who believe in him as the divine, crucified, resurrected Messiah. His ministry produces a universal call to repentance and whole-life surrender to him as King.

We can synthesis Scripture’s as God reigns, saves, and satisfies through covenant for his glory in Christ. Put another way, the Bible calls Jews and Gentiles alike to magnify God as the supreme Sovereign, Savior, and Satisfier of the world through Messiah Jesus. The Old Testament provides the foundation for this message; the New Testament fulfills all Old Testament hopes.[1] 

Conclusion

Scripture is self-interpreting, for the God who never changes is the author of it all. To determine the full meaning of a passage, we must always ponder how your passage contributes and relates to the rest of Scripture culminating in Christ. The whole Bible progresses, integrates, and climaxes in Jesus, so we must consider how every passage in the Old Testament relates to this overarching flow and message.

[1]  For two examples of biblical theology at work, see Jason S. DeRouchie, “Why the Third Day?: The Promise of Resurrection in All of Scripture,” Desiring God, 11 June 2019, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/why-the-third-day; Jason S. DeRouchie, “God Always Wanted the Whole World: Global Mission from Genesis to Revelation,” Desiring God, 5 December 2019, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/god-always-wanted-the-whole-world.



Though My Flesh May Fail: Reflections on Chronic Suffering from the Hospital Bed

By / Aug 30

“You have dysentery.” My common fate on the old Oregon Trail computer game became reality three years ago in Madagascar when my doctor spoke these words to me. As much as I wanted to laugh at how ironic it was to struggle with such an old disease as dysentery, I was in pain.

Little did I know then that this illness would set me on a trajectory of doctors’ visits, medical diagnoses, and hospital stays for the next three years, leading up to this very day where I sit once again in isolation at St. Luke’s East Hospital, missing my family and wondering why they can’t design hospital beds to be more comfortable.

I’m a firm believer in the sovereignty of God’s grace. I believe everything that happens to the believer is for good. After receiving an autoimmune diagnosis and seeing the subsequent bills roll in, though, this conviction has been put to the test.

Amidst temptations to doubt, God continues to reveal His good purposes for me in my affliction. As I sit in my hospital bed today, three lessons stand out among the rest as reminders of the sovereignty of God’s grace and His goodness in my life.

1. Your present trajectory does not determine your eternal reality.

Beginning in the fall of 2020, my life seemed to be on a negative trajectory. A house fire displacing our family for six months, the loss of my job and financial stability, and an autoimmune diagnosis hit us all in the span of a few months. Health, home, career, and finances- all taken away before we knew what hit us.

Any onlooker to the situation would quickly—and rightly—surmise that we were in a tough spot, in all senses of the phrase- emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

And in that season, Psalm 73 became my refrain.

“My feet had almost stumbled… For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked…For they have no pangs until death…They are not in trouble as others are…Behold, these are the wicked; always as ease.”

Why do the wicked prosper? So often, prosperity seems to attend the wicked while the Christian seems to go from bad to worse. I often wonder, “How can this be?” Anticipating my question, God answers…

“But when I thought how to understand this; it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end… Truly you set them in slippery places.”

For the Christian, God saves us not only from our sin, but He also saves us from all other saviors. During this season, I began to see that I found more comfort, identity, and satisfaction in my home, health, and finances than I had previously realized.

As Thomas Brooks said in The Crook in the Lot, “If there’s any part of my portion in this life where, in the midst of all others, one is disposed to nestle in, the thorn will readily be laid there. There the trial will be taken for there is the grand competition with Christ. We find our greatest cross where we expected our greatest comfort.”

In other words, God will have no rivals for worship in our hearts. Our thorns are God’s means of keeping us in Christ.

These earthly possessions proved to be terrible saviors, possessing no power to give what they promise. They never satisfy. The rich never have enough. The home never comforts enough. The healthy still get sick. Ease is a wicked temptress and an empty savior. The wicked may prosper, but the Psalmist teaches how I can respond.

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

Take heart, Christian. Though it may seem as if life is headed in the wrong direction, rest in the wisdom of God. While affluence may grow for the wicked, they are in slippery places. In His grace, God keeps us from great temptations. We may actually be closer to where we need to be than if the affliction were simply removed.

2. God has no aimless thorns.

“Though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trails.” (1 Peter 1:6, emphasis mine)

God will not unnecessarily keep you in humbling circumstances. When the end purpose for the affliction is attained, we can be sure the affliction will be taken away.

And while He may have 10,000 purposes for a single affliction, we can rest assured that His purposes are good. Again, our thorns are His means of keeping us.

Just as a fence around a playground frees children to run fast with no fear of the cars on the street, our thorns enable us to enjoy Jesus more than anything else we could find in this life.

And since I still struggle with my chronic illness, I can be sure that God is still at work— removing heart idols in me and possibly working something outside of myself that I’m completely unaware of.

Let this be your confidence, Christian— God is more committed to your Christlikeness than you are. “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on that day.” No matter what. He will do whatever it takes to ensure your conformity to Christ and your dwelling with Him for eternity. No matter how painful.

As C.S. Lewis said so profoundly, “We don’t doubt God’s goodness, we just don’t realize how painful it might be.”

So, in the midst of your chronic suffering, remember that God has no aimless thorns. Each thorn perfectly meets its mark exactly as He intends for the duration He determines. Each one will accomplish all He desires. Learn to seek God in the struggle with the thorn. See how He might be using it to conform you to the image of Christ and prepare you for eternity with Him.

3. Chronic suffering gives opportunity for resurrection living.

“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.” (2 Corinthians 4:11)

At the hospital, a friend asked, “How are you not frustrated right now? I feel like everyone else in your situation would be angry that the doctors can’t find a solution.”

I believe there’s great opportunity for gospel witness through resurrection living. Time and time again in Scripture, God chooses the weak in the world to shame the strong. A life of suffering with joy gives a great testimony to the beauty of the gospel of Jesus.

And in this way, there is great purpose in affliction. Life springing forth out of death in my life is but a small window into the good news of Jesus – the One who became the only true source of life by His death.

So, in my suffering, God has been kind to quickly remind me that the place of dependence on Him is the best place to be. Sickness keeps me close to Christ. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked to be humbled by a different set of circumstances, but I’m learning to trust that His ways are better than mine.

As my flesh fails me, God has promised to renew my spirit day by day. And in this way—life out of death—the gospel is proclaimed. And in that, I rejoice.



How Dangerous Hermeneutics Can Inform False Teachers

By / Aug 25

One sign of a false prophet is when a religious leader invents novel and fanciful interpretations of Scripture, interpretations completely divorced from the original context. Religious charlatans usually engage in such hermeneutical gymnastics in order to bolster their own power. An example of such scripture-twisting is seen in LDS Church’s slanted take on Isaiah 29:11 – 12, a passage they improperly handle in an attempt to bolster the authenticity of both Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. 

To understand why the LDS Church is wrong about Isaiah 29:11 – 12, we first must examine what the passage does mean. In a discussion about theological and ethical error, Isaiah stresses that sin leads to spiritual dullness. When sin takes control, it deadens our ability to think correctly about God and how we should live.  Sin cauterizes the conscience and disables it from working properly. Subsequently, it becomes unusually difficult to understand God’s word or what God would have us to do. That’s the point of Isaiah 29:11 – 12:

The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, “Please read this,” he will say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, “Please read this.” And he will say, “I cannot read.”

Because sin dulls the conscience, Isaiah 29:11 – 12 describes a sort of self-inflicted spiritual illiteracy that ensues. People are given God’s word, but they can’t understand it because sin has negatively affected the intellect. In Isaiah 6:9 – 10, God had already warned Isaiah of such a response to his preaching. Isaiah 29:11 – 12 gives forceful and cautionary advice that sin inhibits our ability to think rightly about God and ethics. 

The Book of Mormon is a work of fiction invented from Joseph Smith’s furtive imagination. Smith claimed the Book of Mormon was translated from golden plates buried in upstate New York, an ancient record of a Jewish-Christian civilization which once thrived in the Western Hemisphere prior to European contact. To make his story sound more exotic, Smith claimed the account on the golden plates was written in “reformed Egyptian.” When the Book of Mormon was completed, Smith conveniently claimed to have returned the golden plates to an angelic being. 

A rational question is, “What is reformed Egyptian?” Martin Harris, one of Smith’s scribes and a financial backer, asked the same thing. Though Harris was one of the “three witnesses” to the Book of Mormon, Smith never actually showed Harris the ancient writing he was purportedly translating. Usually, Smith translated by placing a “seer stone” in a hat and then burying his face in the hat and repeating out loud to an amanuensis what God was supposedly telling him. 

Harris was eager for proof Smith was a true prophet, so he asked Smith to reproduce the “reformed Egyptian.” One is left to wonder why Harris could be a witness to the Book of Mormon, and yet not be allowed to look upon the pages. Nonetheless, Smith scribbled out some “reformed Egyptian” characters on a piece of paper. In February 1828, Harris took the sheet of paper containing Smith’s reproduction of the mysterious alphabet to Charles Anthon, a professor of classical literature at Columbia University.  Harris, for some reason, left the meeting thinking to himself, “Joseph Smith is a true prophet!” Meanwhile, Charles Anthon spent the rest of his life saying, “I claimed no such thing!” When Anthon recounted the meeting, he said he tried to warn Harris that he was being tricked by Smith.   

But Martin Harris claimed Anthon’s initial response to the list of characters from Smith was positive, with Harris insisting that Charles Anthon wrote out a brief note affirming the authenticity of the characters and their translation. But, according to Harris, when Anthon asked where Smith got the plates and was told they came from an angel, Anthon ripped up his endorsement and then purportedly told Harris something to the effect, “Bring me the plates and I’ll translate them myself.” Harris responded he could not bring them because they were “sealed.” To which Anthon rejoined, “I cannot read a sealed book.”

What do gullible Martin Harris, the deceptive Joseph Smith, and the frustrated Professor Anthon have to do with Isaiah 29:11 – 12? Joseph Smith seized on Anthon’s purported comment about being unable to read a “sealed” book, and using some fast and loose word association, claimed the entire event was a fulfillment of Isaiah 29:11 – 12, and LDS interpreters to this day insist this prophecy was fulfilled in the Harris / Anthon incident. The claim is that Anthon is the “literate” or educated person in Isaiah 29:11 who can’t read a sealed book. In other words, Anthon couldn’t understand the characters Smith had scrawled out. Then, LDS teachers claim Joseph Smith is the “illiterate” or uneducated person mentioned in Isaiah 29:12 to whom the book is given and who is apparently blessed by God. 

Isaiah 29:11 – 12 cannot mean what the LDS church claims. The point of these verses is not that the literate man cannot read the book while the illiterate man can read it. The point of Isaiah 29:11 – 12 is that no one can read what Isaiah is discussing! No matter to whom you take the book, it is unreadable. Like men running around with a book they could not read, Israel would have God’s words but not understand them. Why? Because their own sin had blunted their ability to grasp the meaning. 

The Community of Christ, a smaller LDS group, owns a sheet of paper they think contains copies of the characters Joseph Smith gave to Martin Harris. Now known as the “Anthon Manuscript,” the artifact was passed down to the Community of Christ by David Whitmer, another witness to the Book of Mormon and a very important person in the early history of the LDS Church. Though some scholars think the Anthon Manuscript may not be the exact document Harris took to Anthon, by any standard, it contains several lines of nonsense; the characters Smith scrawled out are so fanciful that calling them gibberish would be a complement. There is no such thing as reformed Egyptian. It is just one more part of Joseph Smith’s religious scam.  

False teachers abuse God’s word to build their own kingdom, not Christ’s church. A sure sign of trouble is when a preacher abandons careful handling of the text and fails to determine what a passage meant to the original audience. A time-tested rule of biblical interpretation is this: The text can’t mean now what it didn’t mean then. Isaiah 29:11 – 12 was not referring to nonsense like “reformed Egyptian” when Isaiah wrote it and it’s not referring to Joseph Smith today. 



A Prayer at the Dawn of a Theological School Year

By / Aug 24

O Lord, as light dawns on the first few days of the school year for seminary and bible college students, light our path as we journey through theological education.

Show the cracks and crannies of our beliefs that need to be filled with deeper or clearer understanding of your truth. Don’t let us believe the lie that we know everything about life and godliness before we’ve taken a seat in the classroom.

We can never predict what you’ll teach us in an academic year. We can’t guess our areas of ignorance, faulty theological structures, or relational strengths and weaknesses until they’re revealed by a conversation, or comments on a returned paper, or confrontation with your Word. We are always, ever learning, inside and outside the classroom.

Give us eyes to see and ears to hear what you wish to teach us, but also don’t trap us in the hamster wheel of trying to learn everything about you and your church in our finitude.

We confess, Lord, that we are not omniscient. Thank you for teachers who remind us that a miserly four or five years of study cannot completely comprehend divine truth. They can only give us the tools for a lifetime, mining your truth in your Word with your people.

O God, let us not forget your people. As seminary and bible college students, we are training to serve your people, and yet we so easily serve ourselves through the praise of pastors and professors or the pride of what we know. Keep us from using the privilege of theological education as an excuse to distance ourselves from those who seem difficult or uneducated or unimportant, thinking our credit hours make us more special than the rest of God’s family (Ephesians 2:19).

Remind us that before we sat in a theology class, we sat outside your love, “having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Now, we have you, as well as your people. We are together chosen and accepted primarily by you, not merely our theological institutions.

We are unified with you, as well as unified in our mission (Matthew 28:19), whether from an American church building, dusty road on the other side of the world, or the desk of a parachurch ministry. May we be amazed at the tapestry of ministries and gifts among us in this season of training. Some of us will be pastors, associate pastors, professors, youth leaders, writers, or staff of countless kinds. Some will stay in vocational ministry, while others will use their education elsewhere. Keep us from pointing fingers at our brothers and sisters like Peter pointed at John (John 21:20-23), preoccupied with asking you about someone else’s future compared to ours. We are all different, yet equally called to follow you.

We are called to follow you not only in word or talk, but in deed and truth (1 John 3:18). Forbid our studies from masking who we really are. We are sinners and students, and Christian academia was never meant to be the drug to cure or cover up sin. How easily we can abuse its environment and equipment to be confident before you, when Christ alone condemns or justifies and sanctifies, with or without our bible college or seminary classes (Romans 8:33, Galatians 5:25). You told us to abide in you, not in theological education (John 15:4). Break the leaky cisterns in our studies that we trust could hold or attain any righteousness apart from you.

Before and after our diplomas, Lord, we are yours, and your people are not ours. “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5).

May our “lightbulb moments” and limits to our understanding, love and labor for your people, honesty and humility with your Word and ourselves this year be for your glory forever.

Amen.