Christ-Centered Biblical Theology
Looks like Goldsworthy has another book coming out on Biblical Theology. You can read an interview with him about the book here.
A Minister’s Prayer
If you don’t have a copy of The Valley of Vision, you need to get one. It is a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions. I have found great encouragement in this little book. In particular, I love the prayers of Service and Ministry. Reading these prayers remind me that the things I am tempted with as a pastor and the struggles I face are no different from other pastors who have come before me. Here is one that blessed me today.
O my Lord,
Let not my ministry be approved only by men,
or merely win the esteem and affections
of people;
But do the work of grace in their hearts,
call in thy elect,
seal and edify the regenerate ones,
and command eternal blessings on their souls.
Save me from self-opinion and self-seeking;
Water the hearts of those who hear thy Word,
that seed sown in weakness may be raised
in power;
Cause me and those that hear me
to behold thee here in the light of special faith,
and hereafter in the blaze of endless glory;
Make my every sermon a means of grace to myself,
and help me to experience the power
of thy dying love,
for thy blood is balm,
thy presence bliss,
thy smile heaven,
thy cross the place where truth
and mercy meet.
Look upon the doubts and discouragements
of my ministry
and keep me from self-importance;
I beg pardon for my many sins, omissions,
infirmities,
as a man, as a minister;
Command thy blessing on my weak,
unworthy labours,
and on the message of salvation given;
Stay with thy people,
and may thy presence be their portion
and mine.
when I preach to others let not my words
be merely elegant and masterly,
my reasoning polished and refined,
my performance powerless and tasteless,
but may I exalt thee and humble sinners.
O Lord of power and grace,
all hearts are in thy hands,
all events at thy disposal,
Set the seal of thy almighty will
upon my ministry.
Early Church Fathers, 38 Volume Set
I had this set, but sold it. I’ve kicked myself ever since because the price on it just kept going up. Now Hendrickson Publishers is releasing it again and it’s only $229.99. It won’t be available until April, but you can pre-order it here.
Top Ten Books of 2011
Here are my top ten books from 2011.
Jesus Without His Cross
Matthew 16:13-28 is one of the most important chapters in the New Testament. It may even be considered the most important chapter in Matthew. In this passage, we find an interesting contrast; one minute Peter is confessing Christ and the next minute he is rebuking Christ. Even though Peter made this grand confession of Christ (by way of divine revelation), there still remains confusion on his part about Jesus. Isn’t Peter’s emphatic rebuke of Jesus in 16:22 understandable to some degree? Peter had the same misconceptions about the Messiah as others did. Messiah would be a political and military figure who would overthrow Roman power, rather than a suffering servant. If Jesus is the Christ, then why does he have to die? Peter is thinking in earthly categories. Peter is trying to prevent Jesus from going to the cross. His attempt to frustrate Jesus from going to the cross is not simple ignorance, but actually is born out of something quite evil.
What we learn here is that Jesus’ identity (the Christ, the Son of the living God) cannot be separated from his occupation (suffering servant). We cannot talk about Jesus or claim to have Jesus without his cross. If we attempt to have a Jesus without the cross, we actually have no Jesus at all. As a matter of fact, to claim to have Jesus without his cross is not only unbiblical–it’s demonic. That is why Jesus says to Peter, “get behind me Satan! You are a hindrance to me.” If we minimize, ignore, reinterpret, or gloss over the agony of the cross and what God was doing at it, then we cannot claim to know Jesus. The cross is at the heart of Christianity; because at the cross God did for me what I could not do for myself.
How to Improve Your Bible Reading and Prayer Life
Jim Hamilton tells us how:
The best thing a man can do for his personal Bible reading is join a strong local church where the Bible is preached and the gospel is clear. Likewise, the best thing a man can do for his personal prayer life is join a strong local church where the Bible is preached and the gospel is clear.
Two Helpful Posts from 9Marks
I really appreciate the 9Marks ministry. Where I have really benefited from them is how to put “flesh on the bones” so to speak. Scripture clearly gives us the theology and direction for ministry, but at times pastors need encouragement in connecting the dots and thinking practically about certain situations. Recently I found two posts by 9Marks that were especially applicable.
Tchividjian on Preaching
I recently finished Tullian Tchividjian’s new book, Jesus + Nothing = Everything. His book is full of great stuff. Please pick up a copy and read it. There is far too much to summarize, but let me offer two statements he made about preaching.
Moralistic preaching is stimulated by a fear of the scandalous freedom that gospel grace promotes and promises. The perceived fear is this: if we think too much and talk to much about grace and the radical freedom it brings, we’ll go off the deep end with it. We’ll abuse it. So to balance things out, we need to throw some law in there, to help make sure Christian people walk the straight and narrow. (p. 50)
Preachers these days are expected to major in “Christian moral renovation.” They are expected to provide a practical to-do list, rather than announce, “It is finished.” They are expected to do something other than, more than, placarding before their congregation’s eyes Christ’s finished work, preaching a full absolution soley on the basis of the complete righteousness of Another. The irony is, of course, that when preachers cave in to this pressure, moral renovation does not happen. To focus on how I’m doing, more than on what Christ has done, is Christian narcissism (an oxymoron if I ever heard one)– the poison of self-absorption which undermines the power of the gospel in our lives. (p.117)
1% of Christ
In Matthew 15 we find a Canaanite woman crying out to Jesus three times (15:22, 25, 27). Jesus’ response is puzzling. She is ignored by Jesus. At first glance it appears Jesus isn’t very compassionate; something Matthew has repeatedly highlighted in his gospel account. The delay of Jesus’ response is not to portray him in an insensitive light, but to highlight the confession of the woman. The woman recognizes that Jesus is the Son of David, that he is Lord, that he alone is worthy of worship (she knelt before him), and that only he can make her daughter clean. Jesus is all of these things and that’s what Matthew wants us to understand. He does something for the unclean and undeserving that they cannot do for themselves.
How this woman found herself is how we must find ourselves as well. This woman recognized her unworthiness and desperateness; and cried out to Jesus. To find ourselves like this woman is not moralizing the text (be like this person or that person for right standing before God), but ultimately it is to confess and understand our complete failure before the only one who can truly heal us. When we become aware of our own sinfulness, so we come to discover that 1% of Christ is more satisfying and sweeter than 100% of anything else. When we find ourselves broken over our sin and humbled before God, so we confess Jesus as our Lord, as our Healer, and as our Savior; and in return God gives me all of his Son. I don’t just get a morsel or a crumb of Christ, but a get a buffet of his love, a never-ending well of his grace, and a plate full of his mercy.
A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the OT in the New
I’ve said a few times that Greg Beale is one of my favorite authors and by far one of the finest NT scholars. Beale’s contribution to NT studies is his ability to show linguistic and typological connections between the OT and NT. This seems to be the aim of his new book on Biblical Theology. I am sure it will be a tremendous blessing to the church. It is now available for purchase. WTS Bookstore is offering it for 45% until November 22. See and purchase it here.
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