Joel Green et al. on the Future of New Testament Theology

There’s an interesting-looking collection of essays on New Testament theology edited by Joel Green, available as an open access pdf here.

Centre for Public Christianity (December 2022)

Among other items, the Centre for Public Christianity has this month posted some ‘Life and Faith’ podcast episodes:

• A Christmas Classic – ‘Simon Smart, Justine Toh, and Natasha Moore to talk Christmas movies past and present: the films that stand the test of time and those that don’t; the borderline cases that feature Christmas but may or may not count as Christmas movies; and some new contenders for the title of Christmas classic. ’

• Everyday Economics – ‘This week on Life & Faith we speak to Jonathan Cornford about his family's quest for the simple life and why it makes good spiritual and material sense to live within limits.’

• Culture Making with Andy Crouch – ‘Andy Crouch believes that all humans are called to be culture makers: people who make culture or who are drawn to make something of the world. This creative calling is for everyone, he says, not just the creatives or the entrepreneurs among us. It's a rich vision.’

Christian History Magazine on Erasmus

The latest issue of Christian History Magazine is devoted to Erasmus – ‘Christ’s Humanist’.

Here’s the issue blurb:

‘How much do you know about Erasmus? You might know that he disagreed with Luther, but did you know that this sixteenth century thinker was also a prolific writer, biblical humanist, and a critic of the Catholic hierarchy? In this issue of CH, discover Erasmus the church reformer, Erasmus the Renaissance humanist, and Erasmus the faithful Catholic. Follow him on his journeys around Europe as he built up a network of friends and patrons; a forerunner of today’s great troop of “alt-ac” PhDs with academic training but no academic institution to call home. Observe him, with the help of friendly printers, become a one-man publishing operation with a far-reaching audience – a forerunner again, but this time perhaps of today’s Instagram influencers. See his concern for how we educate the young and how we use our words wisely and well. Read his works, with their light, ironic, witty skewering of the pompous and hypocritical. Come to appreciate Erasmus: a man with a deep and sincere faith and a desire to follow the “philosophy of Christ.”’

The whole magazine is available as a 12.9 MB pdf here.

Lausanne Global Analysis 11, 6 (November 2022)

The latest issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, from The Lausanne Movement, is available online from here, including pdfs of individual articles as below.

The summaries are taken from the Issue Overview by Loun Ling Lee.

Doug Birdsall, David Taylor, and Loun Ling Lee

Lessons from 10 Years of Lausanne Global Analysis: Understanding Our Times and What We Should Do

In this special article… we are reminded of the original specific purpose, distinctive modus operandi, and editorial style which are still important and relevant today. As we look back, we also look forward to the future role of LGA in view of the changed and changing global context of the church, mission, and Lausanne. ‘We hope and pray that the story of LGA could inspire our brothers and sisters in various regions to collaborate with one another, interculturally and intergenerationally, and to embark on their own analysis of events, issues, and trends in light of Scripture and God’s mission.’

Kevin  Higgins

Ralph Winter and the ‘People Group’ Missiology: The Mission Frontiers of Both the Unreached and the Reached

Kevin Higgins… looks back at the concepts of people groups and contextualization propounded by Ralph Winter, founder of Frontier Ventures (FV), and rethinks (as did Winter himself) their implications on the contemporary frontiers of mission. As the current general director of FV, Higgins reassesses the organization’s foundational principles while looking forward to its future in ‘the coming post-everything world – post-Christian, post-post-modern, post-religious (as we know it), post secular (as we know it).’ Reflecting on the biblical theme of the image and blessing of God, he challenges mission practitioners, personally and organizationally, to question our assumptions of peoples – their identities, cultures, religions – and to re-evaluate our mission approaches.

Wanjiru M. Gitau

The Lifework of Andrew Walls for African Missiology: Re-Centering Africa’s Place in Christian History

Wanjiru M. Gitau… pays tribute to Walls, especially his honest humility in evaluating the Western narrative of the history of Christianity. She writes that in the immediate post-colonial era, ‘theologians and historians made the implicit assumption that Western Christianity sets the definitive standard . . . Missiology, the discipline that grew out of the experiences of the [Western] missionary movement, became a lens into Christianity in the non-Western world’, adding, ‘Church history treated non-Western Christianity as an extension of Western missionary activity.’ It was Walls’ encounter with the ‘dynamic life-worlds of African Christians’ that transformed his worldview of the global Christian movement. Throughout his life, he advocated multipolar listening to allow indigenous Christians from multiple worlds to tell their own stories. May we follow in his footsteps.

Steve Sang-Cheol Moon

The Evangelical Church Acting Between the Global and the Local: A Summary Report of the Lausanne 4 Listening Calls

‘The leadership team of the Lausanne Movement took the initiative to hold listening calls, inviting evangelical leaders of the world by region and issue network’ to share their thoughts. The purpose was to determine: ‘What are the most significant gaps or remaining opportunities towards the fulfilment of the Great Commission? What promising breakthroughs and innovations that can accelerate the fulfillment of the Great Commission? In what areas is greater collaboration most critical in order to see the fulfilment of the Great Commission? Where is further research needed? To whom else should we be listening as part of this process?’ Steve Moon, for the Lausanne Global Listening Team, summarizes the process, result, and analysis of this survey… He concludes that there is a strong emphasis that ‘the Fourth Lausanne Congress planned to be held in Seoul in 2024 must be used as a global platform both for the ongoing strategic alliance of ministries and for the special orchestration of innovation in ministries.’

Themelios 47, 3 (December 2022)

The latest Themelios is online here (and available here as a single pdf), containing the below articles, three of which are devoted to the work of J.I. Packer.

Editorial

D.A. Carson

One of the Saddest Texts in the OT

Strange Times

Daniel Strange

A Late Review of a Late Sonata in Late Modernity

Etienne Jodar

The Cryptic Saying of Isaiah 28:10, 13 and Paul’s Controversy over Tongues in 1 Corinthians 14:20–25

While the study of the New Testament use of the Old Testament has received much attention in the last decades, this discipline has not generally had much bearing on translation. In this article I use Paul’s use of Isaiah 28:11–12 in 1 Corinthians 14:21 in order to shed light on the cryptic saying of Isaiah 28:10 and 13. Presupposing that Paul draws from the immediate context of Isaiah 28:11–12, I suggest that the rhetorical effect of Paul’s quotation is stronger if Isaiah 28:10 (and 13) is interpreted to represent an incomprehensible sequence of syllables, like a minority of English translations do. Starting in the Old Testament, the most likely meaning of Paul’s quotation in its original context is determined. The focus then turns to 1 Corinthians 14:20–25, as various views are presented and considered successively. The discussion concludes by explaining the rhetorical effect that Paul’s quotation would have made upon the Corinthian believers and why the minority view of Isaiah 28:10 and 13 might be the most likely.

Michael Kuykendall

Numerical Symbolism in the Book of Revelation: A Weakness of Modern Bible Versions

Several modern Bible versions do a disservice to John’s use of numbers in the book of Revelation. This article first offers a short primer on symbolism in Revelation, then overviews the book’s symbolic use of numbers. John utilizes “good” numbers and “bad” numbers to express theological truths. The bulk of the study examines how several modern versions unwittingly thwart John’s theological intentions by masking his numerical symbolism. This is evidenced in two ways – changing (updating) the actual symbolic number when measurements and distances are mentioned; and rendering key terms in Revelation found exactly seven times with different English words, which obscures significant numerical interconnections. The conclusion asserts that future modern versions and revisions of existing translations must treat Revelation differently on this issue.

Nathan Parker

Heaven’s War upon the Earth: How to Turn a Moderate 17th Century Pastor into a Radical

There appears a strong apocalyptical expectation in the writings of the 17th century Puritan pastor John Flavel (1628–1691), but, as this paper will argue, this materialized in his later writings. Most people who thought the end of the world was imminent in the 17th century tended to be within radical groups that were active during the Interregnum. Though the momentum of apocalyptical thought was generally arrested over the next two decades it is notable that by the time of the Glorious Revolution it was incorporated into the preaching of a peaceable and deeply conciliatory pastor. After providing a brief summary of who Flavel was and why he was an important (though heretofore overlooked) figure, this article will shed light on how one moderate Puritan came to embrace ideas with alarmingly radical implications.

Geoff Chang

New Insights into the Formative Influence of Spurgeon’s Early Years

This article draws on lesser-known primary sources to argue for the formative influence of C.H. Spurgeon’s early years on his future ministry. First, it examines John Spurgeon’s time in Raleigh, which explains why Spurgeon spent the first five years of his life with his grandfather, a relationship that shaped his view of ministry and the church. Second, it reflects on the ministry of T.W. Davids, pastor of the Congregational church in Colchester, and his influence on young Spurgeon. Third, it summarizes new insights from Spurgeon’s earliest preaching notebooks.

Kenneth J. Stewart

The Young J. I. Packer as a ‘New Warfield’? A Chapter in the Post-1930 Revival of Reformed Theology

J.I. Packer (1926–2020) first came to the attention of the reading public with a 1953 essay in the second printing of the New Bible Commentary. His essay, ‘Revelation and Inspiration’, replaced Daniel Lamont’s essay on the same subject, in the first printing issued earlier that year. It had been in certain respects unsatisfactory. Packer’s 1953 essay, his controversial 1955 Evangelical Quarterly article on the Keswick movement, and his 1958 book, ‘Fundamentalism’ and the Word of God illustrated his growing affinity with the writings of Princeton theologian, B.B. Warfield (d. 1921). In all this, Packer was a leading voice in the post-WWII reassertion of Reformed theology. But Packer, rather than being the pioneer of this movement, was in fact building on the legacy of others who had pointed in this direction: Douglas Johnson of British Inter-Varsity, Alan Stibbs of Oak Hill College, and T.C. Hammond – formerly of Dublin and from 1936, principal of Moore College, Sydney. This movement, closely associated with Inter-Varsity, was itself part of a larger post-1929 resurgence of orthodox Reformed theology.

Paul R. House

J.I. Packer and the Next Wave of Evangelicalism: Foundations for Renewal

This article surveys the life and ministry of James Innell Packer (1926–2020), evangelical Anglican, theologian, author, Bible translator, and church renewal advocate. It suggests that Packer’s ministry is especially informative because it had roots in pre-war evangelical circles and extended through the growth of the evangelical movement from the 1950s to the 1990s and the movement’s ebbing afterwards. It asserts that Packer’s efforts to aid theological and church restoration provide principles for much-needed biblical renewal in current evangelicalism.

Don J. Payne

The Explicit and Implicit Theological Method of J.I. Packer

J.I. Packer’s theological works have wielded remarkable influence on the landscape of North American evangelicalism. His hallmark theological emphases reflect both explicit methodological commitments and implicit methodological traits. Packer’s theological method is marked by a commitment to the inerrancy and authority of the biblical text, as interpreted within a covenantal, canonical, and Christo-centric framework. His method also reflects assumptions about the nature of divine and human rationality, the capacity of human rationality to access the formal meaning of the text, the nature of meaning in the text, and the role of the Holy Spirit in the hermeneutical process.

John Jefferson Davis

Is the Holy Spirit Really a “Person” – with a Distinct Personality?

The purpose of this article is to help the reader conceptualize and imagine the Holy Spirit as a real person with a distinct and knowable personality – a person of the Trinity more accessible to our faith, reading of Scripture, and worship. Factors in church history tending to marginalize the Holy Spirit in the life of the church are identified. Biblical texts dealing with the names, images, words, and actions of the Holy Spirit are expounded to put the distinct personality of the Holy Spirit into sharper focus.

Trent A. Rogers and John K. Tarwater

A Biblical-Theological Framework for Human Sexuality: Applications to Private Sexuality

What are good sexual acts? It is not that surprising when cultural voices, without reference to God, argue for the inherent goodness of all “unharmful” sexual desires and acts. Regrettably, ethical pragmatism has influenced some Christian sexual ethics, and this influence is particularly evident with the issue of masturbation. What God defines as good sexual acts are those that fulfill his unitive and procreative purposes for sex within marriage. Given God’s unitive and procreative purposes for sex within the context of marriage, we argue that masturbation is a categorically impermissible act because it fulfills neither of these purposes, and we counter Christian arguments for its permissibility. God calls Christians to deal with sexual desires, including good sexual desires, through either marital sexual expression or Spirit-enabled self-control.

Robb Torseth

“The Sanctification of Our Speech”: The Theological Function of Truth and Falsehood in John Webster’s “Sins of Speech”

The contemporary debate concerning truth and falsehood has become distinctly conspicuous in light of recent global events. The increasing great divorce between diverging worldviews has resulted in what Susan Harding has coined the “repugnant cultural other,” where each group has retreated into itself, stigmatized the other, and thus neglects a genuine exchange of words and ideas. Here, the writings of the late John Webster help shed light on foundational conceptions of the purpose, use, and ethics of human language as primarily both theologically-oriented and theologically-originated. This article will consider Webster’s 2015 article “Sins of Speech,” first in relation to his broader thought, and second as it applies to the contemporary problem of speech, public or private, in the information age.

Theos Report on the Cost of Living Crisis

A new-ish report from Theos was published a while back, but I am late in catching up:

Hannah Rich, A Torn Safety Net: How the cost of living crisis threatens its own last line of defence (London: Theos, 2022).

Here are some paragraphs from the Theos website:

‘While the cost of living crisis has made life acutely less secure for many people, this level of chronic insecurity has been growing over the longer term…

‘This report is the culmination of a year-long project exploring how insecurity, both economic and social, is affecting churches, faith groups and local communities…

‘The report details the scale and scope of this issue, which we argue constitutes an emerging “social recession”. We argue also that there is a strong theological rationale for taking insecurity seriously as a socio-economic issue, distinct from poverty, rooted in the Old Testament.

‘It is critical that community and faith groups are supported and secured both during and beyond the current crisis, and to this end we offer policy recommendations which focus on systemic as well as individual insecurity.’

More information can be found here, and a pdf of the full report is available here.

Theology in Scotland 29, 2 (2022) on Church, Virtual and Physical

The substance of the latest issue of Theology in Scotland is devoted to the relationship between the physical and the virtual in the life of the church. The articles are available as pdfs from here.

Lina Toth

Editorial: Church, Virtual and Physical

From the Editorial: ‘As we continue to inhabit this not-quite-post-pandemic world, and grapple with the fact that, at least in some contexts and some forms, online participation is here to stay, questions around the relationship between the physical and the virtual in the life of the Church will need some sustained theological conversation. We hope that this issue of Theology in Scotland will contribute to a start of such conversation.’

Articles

Tom Shields

Virtual Assurance: Reflecting on the ‘Confident Prayer of the Church’ Through Online Worship

The author addresses two constant questions in Roman Catholic sacramental theology against the background of the broadcasting of online Mass, especially during the restrictions imposed on in-person attendance to inhibit the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. These are: what constitutes sacramental communion in the Roman Catholic Church and what is the role of the priest in celebrating the Eucharist? Looking at the first of those questions, he briefly examines the recent work of Katherine G. Schmidt and her use of the sacramental theology of Louis-Marie Chauvet, which addresses both the idea and the experience of presence and absence in the celebration of the Eucharist. The author concludes that, while her work raises some important issues that need to be addressed, she does not entirely represent Chauvet’s thinking, and the fullest understanding of sacramental communion in the Roman Catholic tradition will always include the physical. It is in addressing the second question, that of the responsibility of the priest in celebrating the Mass with an online congregation, that the author believes a more satisfactory answer can be found as to the sacramental ‘value’ of virtual worship. Employing the ideas of authority, authenticity, and assurance, as they relate to the ordained ministry, he maintains that it is crucial the ‘confident prayer of the Church’ be visible and accessible.

Michael Hull

Why Not an ‘Online Eucharist’?: A Scottish-Episcopal Perspective on Presence

The experience of Covid-19’s lockdowns, especially living through a period without the Eucharist on Sunday lays behind this theological reflection from the perspective of a Scottish Episcopalian about so-called online Eucharists with remote consecrations. The question I set is simple: ‘Can the elements of bread and wine be consecrated outwith the gathered community?’ Simple too is my answer: ‘No, they cannot.’ The pandemic has tested the fault lines of God’s presence in our worship, our presence in community and those presences in the Eucharist. I argue that God’s presence with us was unchanged by lockdown. I also argue that although many of us began to use ‘onsite’, ‘online’ and a variety of related terms in unprecedented ways vis-à-vis liturgies, our presence to one another was changed during lockdown. When we could not gather as a community, even if we were able to communicate via the internet, we could neither celebrate the Eucharist nor consecrate the elements. Theological reflection will, I hope, hone our appreciation of the significance of our humanity, the Incarnation, and the Body and Blood of Christ in the sacramental economy.

Ruth Gouldbourne in conversation with Steve Holmes

From One Degree of Imperfection to Another: A Consideration of Gathering in Different Ways

This conversation focuses on issues raised during the recent pandemic, and in particular the theological as well as practical questions around gathering for worship when we could not be together in our buildings. We have known each other for several years, but have not met recently. However, to have a conversation reflecting on issues about different ways of meeting which have been brought to the fore by the last few years, it seemed good to meet and share food as well as conversation. This is a lightly edited version of our discussion. Unfortunately, we cannot share the delicious food with those of you who read this – and that fact proved central to our discussion.

Adam Hood

The Place of Buildings in the Mission of the Church of Scotland: The Need for a Theology of the Built Environment

Church sanctuaries are a vital asset in the work of the Church of Scotland, helping to initiate and sustain faith. A sanctuary helps define a congregation’s self-understanding and the features of a church building have a pedagogic function. Church buildings are significant too, in the spiritual life of the wider community. They are the material instantiation of the Kirk’s commitment to be present in each locality, providing a focal point for the expression of spiritual needs and the offering of care. They also testify to God’s presence in a location and to values that transcend those of everyday life.

Arts and Culture

Sorrel Shamel-Wood

Churches Will Open for Private Prayer

This poem describes the first time my husband (then fiancé) and I set foot inside a church following their closure as part of the UK lockdown which began in March 2020. Initially, churches opened for private prayer only, with social distancing measures such as one-way systems in place and the removal of soft furnishings and holy water to avoid contagion.

Gifford Lectures Corner

Jonathan C.P Birch

The Theological House that Jack (un)built: Halberstam on an Aesthetics of Collapse and Mushrooms Among the Ruins

Review Essay

Jonathan C.P. Birch

Three Lions, Divine Comedy and Making Jews Count: Baddiel and Skinner, Then and Now

Reviews

Evangelical Review of Theology 46, 4 (November 2022)

The latest Evangelical Review of Theology, published by The World Evangelical Alliance, is now online and available in its entirety as a pdf here.

Introduction: Remember the Persecuted

Thomas Schirrmacher

The Protestant Faith and Shared Civilizational Values

Ron Kubsch and Thomas Schirrmacher

Apologetics: Intellectually Bearing Testimony to the Christian Faith

Every Christian should be an apologist, or a defender of the faith. But how? This article provides a sweeping historical overview of ways in which Christians have defended the gospel, along with key considerations affecting how we explain what we believe to others today.

Motoaki Shinohara

Evangelical Diversity: Towards the Future Church

This message, originally delivered at an Asia Theological Association conference, is an excellent, comprehensive statement on how evangelicals (and especially evangelical theological institutions) should live out unity in diversity amidst an era of transition from strong denominational to more horizontal partnerships among churches and organizations.

Daniel Weiss

Sign and Countersign: The Battle against Pornography in the Church

Pornography is one of the greatest scourges of our age, yet churches and Christian ministries almost universally remain silent about it. This article gently reveals the nature and severity of the threat and thoughtfully inspires us to sensitive action.

Paul Wegner

The Afterlife in the Old Testament

The Bible’s teaching on the afterlife began as a shadowy idea in the earlier writings of the Old Testament and took on a more definitive form as Old Testament times progressed. This article interprets, in their original context, the key Old Testament texts that refer (or appear to refer) to the afterlife and shows how they can be harmonized.

Thomas Schirrmacher

No Neutral Bystanders When Christians Are Suffering

Dennis P. Petri

How the Church Got Rid of Persecution: A Critical Analysis of Famous Cases

We talk a lot about how to oppose religious persecution; we don’t talk as much about the possible unintended consequences of our efforts. This article analyses three well- known episodes where Christians worked to end persecution, along with the sometimes complicated long-term results of those apparent successes.

Rossana Muga and Teresa Flores

Political Repression of Religious Leaders’ Manifestations of Faith in Nicaragua

This article on the current struggles of Christians in Nicaragua not only describes their situation to the world but also exemplifies the high-quality research activity of Christian organizations dedicated to improving conditions for Christians under threat.

Yoe Suárez

The 11 July Protests and the Cuban Evangelical Community

On 11 July 2021, Cuba saw the largest public protests since the socialist takeover of 1959. Many Christians were involved. This moving article by a Cuban journalist captures the exemplary actions, courage and spiritual expressions of prominent evangelical participants in a hostile environment.

Book Reviews

Tim Keller on Christian Public Engagement

Tim Keller has written a helpful article – ‘How Should Christians Speak in Public’ – using an interview with a pastor on Australian TV as a prompt.

Keller points out what is now largely evident that, in many places in the west, culture has ‘moved from a Positive view of Christianity to a Neutral view and now to a Negative view of it’.

In this context some are arguing that Christians should abandon the ‘nice’ tone that so often accompanied a so-called ‘seeker-sensitive’ approach, that ‘the age of conciliatory cultural engagement is over’.

However, Keller offers a proposal ‘for a way to do public engagement now which differs not only from the seeker-sensitive approach but also from the new (and admittedly under-developed) “just tell the truth” approach’.

Taking his cue from 1 Corinthians 2:1–5, he suggests that  Paul calls Christians to:

1. A spirit of humility and love – ‘Affection’.

2. Culturally compelling arguments – ‘Persuasion’.

3. A quiet, courageous confidence in the truth of God’s Word – ‘Resolution’.

Keller concludes:

‘I know that we are very early in this conversation in the evangelical world, but I propose that, using Paul’s exhortation, we can find ways of combining the three elements of Affection, Resolution, and Persuasion in our public discourse in a way that many secular people will find moving and some secular people will find convincing. That will grow the church, slowly but steadily, in our society.’

The World Evangelical Alliance on the Ten Commandments

Thomas K. Johnson and William S. Barker (eds.), The Decalogue Project: Disciples from Six Continents Engage God’s Ten Commandments, World of Theology Series Volume 24 (Bonn: Verlag für Kultur und Wissenschaft Culture and Science Publ., 2022).

‘The latest book in the World Evangelical Alliance’s (WEA) World of Theology (WoT) series invited contributors from six different continents to apply the Ten Commandments to contemporary issues facing society in their unique context. Co-edited by Prof. Thomas K. Johnson and Prof. William S. Barker, the book was a collaborative project between the WEA and the World Reformed Fellowship.’

The book is available for free download as a PDF here.

Matthew Ferguson on the Ethics of Childbearing

Cambridge Papers are published once a quarter and address a wide range of topics, offering ‘Christian reflection on contemporary issues’.

The latest paper is available online here (from where a pdf can be downloaded here), this one by Matthew Ferguson:

Matthew Ferguson, ‘Too many people on Planet Earth? Family size and new ethical considerations for Christians’, Cambridge Papers 31, 2 (June 2022).

Here is the summary:

‘Having children is being regarded increasingly in Western societies as an optional lifestyle choice; for some, an irresponsible one at that. Climate anxieties, pursuit of personal happiness, and disillusionment with human beings’ place on earth have contributed to a cultural shift away from family and children. Population decline looms in much of the world, with potentially drastic economic and relational consequences. This paper considers how the church can respond – and remain distinct – in a world which is turning its back on childrearing as a source of blessing and hope.’

Centre for Public Christianity (November 2022)

Among other items, the Centre for Public Christianity has this month posted a new ‘Life and Faith’ podcast episode with John Stackhouse on evangelicalism’s contribution to the world.

More information and download from here.

The Biblical Mind Course Content Packages

One of my favourite podcasts is ‘The Biblical Mind’, produced by the Center for Hebraic Thought. They also post short, thought-provoking articles.

The team has helpfully assembled a collection of ‘course content packages’ around particular themes (e.g., Biblical Cultural Context, Books of the Bible, Economics, Gender), essentially gathering together podcasts and articles pertinent to those themes.

The full list is available here.

Mission Frontiers 44, 6 (November–December 2022)

The November–December 2022 issue of Mission Frontiers, published by the U.S. Center for World Mission, contains a number of articles devoted to ‘Effective Strategies for Reaching Frontier People Groups’.

Here is the issue blurb, which sets the scene:

‘What will it take to complete world evangelization – to provide every person on earth with access to the Gospel so that all may respond to God’s love and salvation – and to do so in our generation? MF has been addressing related questions for the last 44 years: what is the nature, size and scope of the remaining missionary task? What resources need to be mobilized and deployed to accomplish this task? What strategies need to be employed to reach the thousands of different people groups still without access to the Gospel? This latest issue of Mission Frontiers continues to address these urgent questions.’

The issue is available here, from where individual articles can be downloaded, and the entire issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.

Josh Moody on John 1–12

Every month, The Good Book Company make available digital versions of one of their books at no charge. This month (November 2022) it’s John 1–12 For You by Josh  Moody, which is available in exchange for an email address here.

Journal of Biblical Theology and Worldview 3, 1 (2022)

The latest issue of the Journal of Biblical Theology and Worldview, published by BJU Seminary, has recently been made available online.

Contents as below are available from here, with the whole issue available for download as a pdf here.

Kristopher Endean

“My People Are Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge”: Spiritual Ignorance and the Voice of the Prophets

Timothy Hughes

Save Yourself and Your Hearers: The Relationship between the Minister’s Sanctification and Ministry Effectiveness in 1 Timothy

Joshua Jensen

Ruth and the Covenant Heir: Reading Ruth in Light of Isaac’s Famine and Sojourn

Mark Sidwell

“The Mirror of the Prince”: Machiavelli, Erasmus, and Luther on Guidance for the Ruler

Layton Talbert

Interpreting the New Covenant in Light of Its Multiplexity, Multitextuality, and Ethnospecificity

Book Reviews 

The Gospel Coalition Biblical Commentaries

The Gospel Coalition has launched a commentaries section on their website. It’s not complete at the moment, but looks like it could be a very helpful resource.

Check it out here.

9Marks Journal (October 2022) on Church Administration

The latest issue of the 9Marks Journal, available from here in various formats, looks at ‘The Pastor and Church Administration’.

In the Editor’s Note, Jonathan Leeman writes:

‘Church administration is not my favorite church topic. Probably not top twenty, in fact. Yet when you need it, you need it.

‘Who should you hire? When should you fire? How much should you pay? What job titles should you use? What about pastoral sabbaticals and retirement contributions? What’s a constitution good for? These might not be soul-energizing questions but answering them well is a mandate of love for the church…

‘Working together well and peaceably requires attending to administration.

‘We asked a number of lead pastors and administration or executive pastors to help us think through matters like staffing, building, budgets and other policies…

‘Pastors and deacons build up the body of Christ by caring for the staffing structures, pay policies, and building budgets. We pray this Journal will help.’

The Master’s Seminary Journal 33, 2 (2022)

The latest Master’s Seminary Journal has been posted online, this one focused on the Messiah in the Old Testament.

A pdf of the journal can be downloaded here.

John MacArthur

Editorial

Abner Chou

“They Were Not Serving Themselves, but You”: Reclaiming the Prophets’ Messianic Intention

This article defends the view that the Old Testament declares Christ from the beginning. However, we must discern Christ in the Old Testament by a careful study of the text and the intent of the text, not by reading new meaning back into the text. The authors of the Old Testament wrote about the Messiah, they knew that other Old Testament authors wrote about the Messiah, and they formed a deep messianic theology. In light of this, it is incumbent upon us to be watchful for how the biblical writers use and reuse words and phrases, how they form connections and patterns, and how they make linguistically distinctive associations in order to develop a messianic theology. In this way, we will be able to identify the messianic character and purpose of the Old Testament authors, and we shall see where they were “predicting the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow” (1 Pet 1:11).

Iosif J. Zhakevich

Reverse of the Curse: An Allusion to Genesis 3:15 in Psalm 110:1

This study proposes that when David penned Psalm 110:1, he was thinking of Genesis 3:15. The linguistic, literary, and theological correlations between Genesis 3:15 and Psalm 110:1 recommend the conclusion that Psalm 110:1 is consciously alluding to Genesis 3:15. That is to say, the statement in Psalm 110:1 “Until I put Your enemies as a footstool for Your feet” hearkens back to the statement in Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman,” in order to cast the text of Psalm 110:1 in light of the text of Genesis 3:15. This allusion to Genesis 3:15, in effect, achieves within Psalm 110:1 a cosmic theological message – the reversal of the curse. These conclusions are further substantiated by the broader interconnectedness between Psalm 110 and Genesis 3:15, by the general association of Psalm 110:1 and Genesis 3 in 1 Corinthians 15:21–28, and by the specific combination of Psalm 110:1 and Genesis 3:15 in Romans 16:20.

Paul Twiss

A Tale of Two Brothers: The Messiah in Genesis 49

Biblical theological efforts to trace the hope of a Messiah have often read Genesis 49:8–12 in isolation from 49:22–26, the blessings of chapter 48, and the Jacob tôledôt as a whole. In turn, this has led to an overly simplistic rendering of Israel’s history – one that neglects the importance of Joseph’s line throughout the remainder of the OT. This paper seeks to address this matter and examine the nature of Jacob’s promises to Judah, in light of those given to Joseph. While both of these brothers play a prominent role in the book of Genesis, at the end of the narrative it is the younger son, Joseph, who receives the blessing of the first-born. Although no comment is made regarding the immediate status of Judah, Jacob’s words anticipate an eventual deliverer who will come from the line of his fourth-born son. This study explains the initial prominence of certain Josephites in Israel’s history, and the subsequent transition wherein God rejects the tribe of Ephraim, and raises up the line of Judah, through which comes the Messiah.

Todd Bolen

The Messiah in Isaiah 7:14: The Virgin Birth

Many evangelical scholars deny that Isaiah’s prophecy of a virgin giving birth to Immanuel directly predicts the birth of Jesus, arguing that the words and syntax of Isaiah 7:14 demand fulfillment in the time of King Ahaz. This article provides three arguments to support a messianic-only interpretation. First, the greater context of chapters 1–12 consistently anticipates immediate judgment upon the nation, with Judah’s hope lying beyond exile when God takes up residence with his people. Second, hermeneutical proposals of double fulfillment are shown to be unconvincing because they lack any basis in the text. Third, analysis of Isaiah 7:14–17 reveals that an 8th-century fulfillment is impossible given the nature of the sign, the meaning of almah, the syntax of the announcement, as well as the child’s name, role, diet, and character. A closer look at the timeline in Isaiah 7:16–17 shows that Immanuel could only be born after the land of Judah was laid waste, a reality that did not occur in the 8th century. This study thus concludes that Matthew and the early church exercised sound exegetical and hermeneutical principles in identifying Jesus as the sole fulfillment of the Isaiah 7:14 prophecy.

Bryan Murphy

Priest According to the Order of Melchizedek

The Messianic Hope of Israel includes more than just the right to rule over all the nations from the Davidic throne. It also incorporates a replacement of the Aaronic priesthood with a priesthood patterned after that of Melchizedek. The evidence for this is found in the predictive promise made by Yahweh through David in Psalm 110. In the New Testament, the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews explains and applies this same promise as a justification for the superiority of Christ to both the Aaronic priesthood and the entire Old Testament sacrificial system. This article will present the case for the Messiah being not only one with a rightful claim to sovereignty over all nations, but also as one appointed eternally as the mediator between God and men.

David Zadok

The Messiah in the Minor Prophets

The Minor Prophets – or, The Twelve – contain an abundance of messianic prophecies that contribute to the anticipation of the coming of the Messiah in the Scriptures. Following the broader storyline of judgment and hope, one finds this thread weaving the Twelve together through the nature of the prophetic ministry to even the historical context in which the ministry of the Minor Prophets occurs. As one grasps this storyline throughout the Twelve, the role of these messianic texts becomes clear as they function to expound the coming hope for a nation that had seen God’s judgment. This paper will study these parts of the text to demonstrate the Messiah’s presence in the Minor Prophets.

Menachem I. Kalisher

Isaiah 52: The Identity and Ministry of the Servant of the LORD

Of paramount importance within the latter sections of the book of Isaiah is identifying the Servant of the LORD and comprehending the nature of His ministry. This paper seeks to unfold Isaiah 52 as the necessary context that informs the content of Isaiah 53:1–12, which is often seen as the lynchpin for understanding the identity and ministry of the Servant. This article shows that as one considers the identity and ministry of the Servant, the list of possible referents is narrowed to a single person, the God-Man Jesus Christ. This narrowing takes place in a variety of ways: through the marvelous deliverance achieved by the Servant, the Servant’s close relationship with Yahweh, the profound suffering to be endured by the Servant, and the Servant’s ultimate subjugation of His enemies.

Reviews

The Bible in Four Minutes

A few months back, I posted about ‘Six Beats One Story’, a new resource from Bible Society summing up the story of Scripture in six key scenes – Origins, Exodus, Exile, Messiah, Spirit, Home.

A new addition to the resource – ‘The Bible in Four Minutes’ – a spoken word animation, written and narrated by Dai Woolridge, is now available from here, and is well worth checking out.

Christopher Ash on the Biblical Story

Every month, The Good Book Company make available digital versions of one of their books at no charge. This month (October 2022) it’s Remaking a Broken World: The Heart of the Bible Story by Christopher Ash, which is available in exchange for an email address here.

It’s a helpful Bible overview based around the theme of the ‘gathering’ and ‘scattering’ of God’s people in the biblical storyline, emphasising that ‘the local church is at the heart of the Bible story, that it is close to the heart of the purposes of God, and that it is how a broken world will be remade’. This nicely complements other approaches which take a more ‘kingdom’-oriented approach to the biblical story.

Southeastern Theological Review 13, 2 (Fall 2022)

The most-recent issue of the Southeastern Theological Review is online, containing the below essays centred around preaching – and particularly preaching Christ from the Old Testament. It is available as a pdf here.

Ronjour Locke

Introduction: Preaching the Word

Eric C. Redmond

The Use of Psalm 68 in Ephesians 4: A Typological Approach Toward a Solution

The grammatical changes Paul makes to the Greek quotation of Ps 68:18 (Ps 67:19 LXX) in Eph 4:8 raises a question about his hermeneutics. Some scholarly proposals for a solution include Paul’s misquotation of Scripture, a nuanced reading, a “reading” as opposed to “exegesis,” or use of an unknown Hebrew manuscript. At question in Paul’s quotation of the OT verse also is the identification of Moses as the ascending one in the Targum tradition. The Targum reading provides an avenue to consider Paul’s use as a typological reading of the exodus narrative in light of viewing Christ as the final ascending Moses in the work of redemption.

Ryan Ross

About Whom Does the Prophet Say This? The Implications of Prosopological Exegesis for Christ-Centered Preaching of the Psalms

Modern advocates of Christcentered preaching have championed typology as one of the best strategies to preach Christ from the Old Testament. In this article, I seek to show that when it comes to the book of Psalms, prosopological exegesis offers a better way to preach Christ from many of the Psalms than typology. To demonstrate this claim, I first define prosopological exegesis, then provide examples of the practice from early church Fathers. After this, Psalm 22 and 69 are used as “case studies” to demonstrate instances where the apostles interpreted the Psalms prosopologically. Finally, I discuss the implications of prosopological interpretation for Christcentered preaching of the Psalms, showing how it supplements typology as another exegetical practice to preach Christ from the Old Testament, and in many cases, provides a richer way to preach Christ from the Psalms than typology.

Jared Bumpers

Christ Crucified: The Necessity of Preaching Christ from All of Scripture

Must every sermon contain the gospel? This question has frustrated homileticians for the last several decades. While some homileticans argue preachers have a responsibility to preach Christ in every sermon, others argue preachers have a responsibility to preach the text (although they would affirm the importance of preaching Christ often). This article argues Christian preachers should preach Christ in every sermon and provides three reasons to substantiate this claim. First, the pattern of preaching in the New Testament was undeniably Christ-centered. Jesus, the apostles, and Paul embraced and practiced gospel-centered preaching. Second, Christ-centered preaching benefits the church. When Christ is preached, unbelievers are certain to hear the gospel and struggling Christians are comforted. Third, failing to preach Christ every week negatively affects the church. Christless preaching robs unbelievers of the opportunity to believe the gospel and withholds the true source of change from believers.

Adam Hughes

Expository Preaching with Biblical Contexts on the Horizon: Hebrews as a Sermonic Model

The rationale for and benefits of expository preaching have been well established in the field of homiletics. If a fair critique exists for this philosophy of preaching, however, it is that it is often seen as less applicable to the lives of the audience and therefore less effective in producing life change. One reason may be the hesitancy of practitioners to employ contextualization in their preaching. Perhaps the hesitancy lies in the concern that to do so could corrupt the meaning and intent of the pericope in the sermon. In this article, the author addresses this perceived and potential deficiency by arguing for the use of multiple levels of contextualization in expository preaching. In order to do so, four aspects of contextualization will be identified. Then, by using these aspects as a guide, the book of Hebrews, which has been recognized by contemporary scholarship as being sermonic, will be analyzed to offer both a biblical precedent for and model of a fourfold aspect of contextualization in expository preaching. Finally, five implications for contemporary preaching will be offered.

James R. Newheiser

Balanced Preaching: A Four-Legged Stool as a Model

While consecutive expository preaching has become the norm in many conservative churches, different preachers have different emphases. Some focus upon detailed expositions of the text so that their sermons sound like running commentaries. Other preachers emphasize certain favorite theological themes. Some rush straight into application, with little explanation of the text. In recent years, preaching in which the focus of every sermon is how the text fits into the history of redemption has become popular in certain circles. I have developed a model for my students in which each of these four emphases is treated like the legs of a stool. While some texts may call for more emphasis on one “leg,” every good sermon should have all four elements. Further more, over time, one’s preaching ministry should be balanced among these four aspects.

Interview with Jim Shaddix 

Book Reviews

Evangelical Alliance on Work

The Evangelical Alliance – in conjunction with the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship – has produced a new suite of resources on ‘Living for Jesus at Work’.

More information can be found here, and several resources are available, including a research report, a collection of advice, wisdom and guidance, a practical pocketbook, with reminders and reflections for each day of the week, and a Bible study guide.

Lausanne Global Analysis 11, 5 (September 2022)

The latest issue of Lausanne Global Analysis, from The Lausanne Movement, is available online from here, including pdfs of individual articles as below.

The summaries are taken from the Issue Overview by Loun Ling Lee.

Rupen Das

God’s Work of Transformation in the World: Defining ‘Transformation’ in the Invitational Mission of God

‘Nowhere in Scripture are we called to transform the world,’ he [Das] argues. However, he concludes that ‘while God does not call us to transform society, he calls us to be witnesses to the reality of the kingdom of God and the king… in the midst of a culture that robs people of life, by demonstrating compassion, being advocates for justice, and proclaiming a Redeemer in a sinful and broken world.’

Héber Negrão

The Arts Are Not a Universal Language: Ethnodoxology and Integrating Local Arts in Worship

Héber Negrão highly recommends the usage of local arts in ‘culturally appropriate worship practices in missionary work.’ The development of ethnodoxology has championed the arts as ‘effective means of communication and, if correctly approached, they can powerfully convey the message of the gospel to the intended culture.’ However, the author notes that ‘there are aspects in every culture that can be used to glorify God, but also cultural expressions that were tainted when humankind sinned.’

Byron L. Spradlin

The Critical Role of Christian Artists and Musicians in Missions: The Need for Indigenous Christian Community Formation

Spradlin advocates for the formation of ‘indigenous Christian community’ where ‘culturally relevant expressions of faith and worship’ are respected. He writes, ‘Artistic communicators and artistic expression specialists stand central to developing indigenous Christian community formation, though often they are not being valued.’ The author’s passion to support and equip them led to ‘the launching of Artists in Christian Testimony International (A.C.T. Intl), a mission agency comprised of musicians and artists, and other creative ministry-initiators of all kinds, each of whom is committed to indigenous worship and Christian community formation.’ Many more mission agencies and churches with sufficient ‘ministry-facilitating structures’, and more ‘in-depth training, equipping those artists who feel God’s call to ministry’, are needed.

Michael Hart

Proclaiming an Offensive Gospel in Cultures of Peace: Building Plausibility Structures

With a special focus on cultures that value peace and tolerance, Michael Hart… argues that ‘proactive proclamation and deep relationships are integral to effectively sharing the good news.’ He proposes, first of all, that we work to understand such cultures, then bridge the gap with the people by ‘building plausibility structures – contexts, systems, or frameworks in which someone’s beliefs are credible’, and finally ‘provide the materials and blueprint’ to build these new structures. However, ‘it is important we recognize the building blocks of tolerance, respect, and affirmation in peace-loving cultures’ if we wish to proclaim the gospel effectively ‘by word and deed.’

Christian History Magazine on Christian History in Images

The latest issue of Christian History Magazine is a special 40th anniversary edition devoted to the topic of ‘Christian History in Images’.

Here’s the issue blurb:

‘We serve a God who became incarnate in history. Founder Ken Curtis wrote in our very first issue: “An awareness of Christian History is one of the most neglected but necessary ingredients in the spiritual diet of Christians today.”

‘With this special 40th anniversary edition of Christian History, we seek to instill in you what Ken wanted for all of us – pride, as well as humility and repentance, in our shared story. Join us on a 100-page visual tour through two millennia of church history. This issue covers the main eras of the Church around the world with captivating images, concise summaries, and a removable fold-out timeline.’

The whole magazine is available as a 48.8 MB pdf here.

Mission Frontiers 44, 5 (September–October 2022)

The September–October 2022 issue of Mission Frontiers, published by the U.S. Center for World Mission, contains a number of articles devoted to ‘Healers and Preachers: Coming Together to Foster Movements in All Peoples’.

Here is the issue blurb, which sets the scene:

‘One thing is very clear from the ministry of Jesus. He not only cared for the spiritual needs of people but also their physical needs. Wherever He went, He healed the sick, cast out demons and proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom. If Jesus is our model for the ongoing mission of the Church, then we have no excuse for not seeking to heal the sick as well. Not only did Jesus model a ministry of caring for physical needs, He told His disciples to go and do likewise. As movements to Jesus spread to all the unreached peoples, so also should a reproducible and scalable system of indigenous health care, hygiene and nutritional training. This issue is all about overlapping healers and preachers. If we can finally strike the right balance and employ a holistic approach to fostering movements that involves ministry to the whole person, mind, body and spirit; it could be exactly what we need to fuel movements to Jesus in every tribe, tongue, people and nation.’

The issue is available here, from where individual articles can be downloaded, and the entire issue can be downloaded as a pdf here.

Christopher Ash on the Psalms

Every month, The Good Book Company make available digital versions of one of their books at no charge. This month (September 2022) it’s Psalms For You by Christopher Ash, which is available in exchange for an email address here.

Themelios 47, 2 (August 2022)

The latest Themelios is online here (and available here as a single pdf), containing the below articles.

Editorial

Brian J. Tabb

The Pastor as Biblical Theologian

Strange Times

Daniel Strange

Dr Strange in the Multiperspectival Paradox

Peter Orr

Mark as the Backstory to the Gospel: Mark 1:1 as a Key to Mark’s Gospel

This article argues that the first 3 words of the Gospel of Mark… [“the beginning of the Gospel”] are best understood as the title of the book. Mark identifies his work as a description of the origin or backstory of the preached gospel that his readers were familiar with. The article examines what this implies for the relationship of Mark to Peter and Paul. It then explores the implications of this understanding for reading Mark.

William B. Bowes

Revisiting “the Time of Abiathar the High Priest”: Interpretation, Methodology and Ways Forward for Understanding Mark 2:26

Mark 2:26 has presented itself as a difficult textual and historical problem for interpreters. Mark narrates Jesus describing an action of David which is said to happen during the priesthood of Abiathar, but in the Old Testament source this detail appears inaccurate and is absent from the Matthean and Lukan versions. This article will first examine three types of problems that arise in interpreting this text and will then evaluate two types of solutions that have been proposed. The aim of this article is to highlight the limitations of previous approaches and to argue for a third type of solution as best option for understanding the text, which is based in a narrative reading of Mark’s Christology.

Scott D. MacDonald

Rejecting Syncretism: Paul and the Python

Syncretism – the blending of two or more religious paradigms – threatens Christian witness around the world. And the church in Africa continues to struggle with the popularity of local religious practices. In many locales, the ng’anga (an African religious diviner) prominently features in the lives of many church-going people. In response, Paul’s mission to Philippi, recounted in Acts 16:16–18, provides needed clarity concerning Christianity’s relationship to other religious powers and to syncretism. This article outlines the religious backdrop of Philippi, Paul’s missionary method in the Greek religious context, and the consequences that arise from Paul’s exorcism of the πύθων. In sum, Paul’s reaction to the divining spirit of Philippi leaves no room for syncretistic behavior among Christians today. Accommodation and any reliance upon other religious powers compromises the quality of the gospel and the reputation of the savior.

Allan Chapple

The Fantasy of the Frantic Apostle: Paul and the Parousia

There is a widespread belief that Paul understood his Gentile mission as the brief final chapter of salvation-history, preceding – or even triggering – the imminent return of Jesus. The first half of this essay discusses four major problems that make this view implausible: Paul’s understanding of the extent of the world, of God’s saving purpose, and of his specific task, and what his plans and activities reveal. The second half provides an alternative account of what the evidence discloses about the connections between Paul’s missionary convictions and activities and his beliefs about the end. The conclusion indicates where this discussion takes us.

EJ Davila

Love, Hope, Faith: Christopher Nolan and the Apostle Paul in Dialogue

This article examines Christopher Nolan’s three most recent films, Interstellar (2014), Dunkirk (2017), and Tenet (2020), through the lens of Christianity’s preeminent theological virtues: love, hope, and faith, respectively. In dialogue with the apostle Paul, I argue that Nolan takes Paul’s cruciform theology of virtue (consisting of vertical and horizontal relationships) and intentionally flattens it to the purely horizontal, resulting in a presentation of these virtues that, while emotive, ultimately strips them of their significance.

Robert D. Golding

Give Honor and Vote? A Reflection on the Christian’s Voting Conscience and Romans 13:1–7

Paul’s instruction in Romans 13:1–7 can be applied to Christian voting behavior in the West. Since Paul tells the Romans to honor debauched pagans, Christians can vote for similarly debauched political candidates with clear consciences. There are clear distinctions between Paul’s teaching and the Western political context. However, the underlying continuities are clear and they are based in God’s sovereignty, not political structure. Furthermore, the ancient Roman practice of giving honor to rulers only regarded the office, not the office holder’s morality.

Leland Brown

The Standard-Bearer: Pastoral Suffering in the Theology of John Calvin

This article examines John Calvin’s theology of pastoral suffering, an overlooked but relevant aspect of his theology for pastors struggling with the trials and difficulties of ministry. Calvin pictured the pastor as the chief agent of edification for God’s people, and therefore, the primary target for the assaults of Satan. Pastors will therefore suffer in the ways that all believers suffer but also suffer peculiarly as pastors – especially from opposition in their churches, criticism, slander, and possibly martyrdom. Calvin encouraged pastors to prepare themselves for sufferings, to set their eyes on Christ, and to patiently and gently deal with those causing their sufferings.

Paul Dirks

Hell for a Single Sin: A Response to Robert Golding’s Asymptotic Theory of Those in Hell

This article is a response to Robert Golding’s recent essay, “Making Sense of Hell,” in which he contends for the logic of eternal punishment on the basis of a progressive and asymptotic conception of sin and sinners in hell. I will argue that this innovation is unnecessary and that both the Scriptures and the “infinite-obligation” proof by Anselm of Canterbury demonstrate that hell is just and necessary for even a single sin.

Edmund Fong

Gender Dysphoria and the Body-Soul Relationship

After presenting the phenomenon of gender dysphoria as a state of consciousness experienced by the individual, I explore how the two major anthropological frameworks of materialism and substance dualism account for the conscious state of gender dysphoria. In particular, the article addresses the extent to which materialism and substance dualism support what I term a “created but misplaced being” scenario, where it is claimed that an individual could be created with an “inner” self gendered one way but placed in a body of a different biological sex. Three theological insights into gender dysphoria that follow from the findings of this exploration conclude the article.

Luke Wesley

Church-State Relations: Lessons from China

This article delineates various biblical principles that circumscribe the church’s relationship to the state. In addition to more general principles, these include the recognition that the mission of the organized church is distinct from that of individual Christians, that political institutions tend to become anti-Christ and oppressive, and that our context will determine the extent to which the church can exercise its prophetic voice. In view of these principles and on the basis of his experience in China, the author highlights five theological truths that will inevitably be challenged by totalitarian governments. Our faithfulness or lack thereof will hinge on our response to these challenges.

Book Reviews