Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Andy Naselli

Flesh and Spirit

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ttThe latest issue of Tabletalk is on biblical dichotomies. I contributed an article on the dichotomy of flesh and Spirit/spirit, and I distinguish ten different contrasts:

“Flesh and Spirit.” Tabletalk 38, no. 10 (October 2014): 22–24.

Web version | PDF

Related: Let Go and Let God? A Survey and Analysis of Keswick Theology

Update on 8/23/2017: My latest book attempts to survey and analyze “let go and let God” theology more accessibly:

No Quick Fix

The Real Problem with Gambling

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gamblingThat’s the title of a short appendix in this book:

Vern S. Poythress. Chance and the Sovereignty of God: A God-Centered Approach to Probability and Random Events. Wheaton: Crossway, 2014.

Here’s what Poythress calls “The Real Problem with Gambling” (pp. 279–81):

The preceding appendix has analyzed a number of gambling systems by which gamblers hope to “beat the odds” and make a killing. We could consider still more systems. In each case, careful calculations of the probabilities show that the gambler will not win in the long run. In fact, in casino games the probabilities are always stacked against the customer, so that in the long run the casino consistently takes in money from every form of gambling that it offers on its premises. [Read more…] about The Real Problem with Gambling

The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology

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danielHere’s how the latest volume in Don Carson’s NSBT series concludes:

James M. Hamilton Jr. With the Clouds of Heaven: The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology. New Studies in Biblical Theology 32. Downers Grove: IVP, 2014.

Conclusion

The book of Daniel contributes to the Bible’s unfolding redemptive-historical storyline. [Read more…] about The Book of Daniel in Biblical Theology

How Do You Know If You’re Qualified to Serve As an Elder?

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RinneMy responsibility as a professor at Bethlehem College & Seminary includes training elder-qualified men in our seminary. What does it mean to be elder-qualified?

Jeramie Rinne answers that question with six statements in Church Elders: How to Shepherd God’s People Like Jesus (9Marks; Wheaton: Crossway, 2014), 19–29.

You know you’re qualified to serve as an elder if . . . [Read more…] about How Do You Know If You’re Qualified to Serve As an Elder?

Is It Sinful for Unmarried Couples to Make Out?

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Gerald Hiestand convincingly argues that the answer is yes:

Gerald Hiestand, “A Biblical-Theological Approach to Premarital Sexual Ethics: or, What Saint Paul Would Say about ‘Making Out,’” Bulletin of Ecclesial Theology 1 (2014): 13–32.

This article expands on the first two chapters in Gerald Hiestand and Jay Thomas, Sex, Dating, and Relationships: A Fresh Approach (Wheaton: Crossway, 2012).

Here’s the article’s thesis: [Read more…] about Is It Sinful for Unmarried Couples to Make Out?

A Resource for Mentoring Seminary Students: Advice from Don Carson and John Woodbridge

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Update in April 2022: Crossway released a second edition of this book:

Carson, D. A., and John D. Woodbridge. Letters Along the Way: From a Senior Saint to a Junior Saint. 2nd ed. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022.

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Tomorrow begins what I hope will be many meetings with my four new seminary mentees. They are each in year three of our four-year MDiv-program at Bethlehem College & Seminary. Among other things we’re planning to work through many of the letters in this book:

Letters

D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge. Letters Along the Way: A Novel of the Christian Life. Wheaton: Crossway, 1993.  

I briefly reviewed this book in 2006 after Jenni and I read it together, and I reread it earlier this month. It’s packed with wisdom. So edifying. [Read more…] about A Resource for Mentoring Seminary Students: Advice from Don Carson and John Woodbridge