Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

Two New Church History Surveys by My Former Seminary Professors

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Two of my seminary church history professors wrote textbooks that released this fall:

Beale1 Beale2 woodbridge

  1. David Beale. Historical Theology in-Depth: Themes and Contexts of Doctrinal Development Since the First Century. 2 vols. [Volume 1 | Volume 2] Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 2013. 532 + 505 pp. (“Look inside” here and here.)
  2. John D. Woodbridge and Frank A. James III. Church History, Volume 2: From Pre-Reformation to the Present Day; The Rise and Growth of the Church in Its Cultural, Intellectual, and Political Context. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2013. 864 pp. 25-page PDF sample. (This is the sequel to Everett Ferguson’s volume 1.)

David Beale taught me at Bob Jones University, and John Woodbridge taught me at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. [Read more…] about Two New Church History Surveys by My Former Seminary Professors

John Frame’s Systematic Theology

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titleIn 2006 John Frame’s short systematic theology released.

On November 1 (seven years later), his massive systematic theology will release:

John M. Frame. Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Christian Belief. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2013. 1,280 pages.

I recently read it, and I’m already planning to use it for some theology classes I’m scheduled to teach in 2014.

It’s typical John Frame: clear, unassuming, logical, and filled with threes. (If John Frame were a basketball player, he would shoot only 3s.) [Read more…] about John Frame’s Systematic Theology

Jason DeRouchie’s Survey of Jesus’ Bible

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surveyI can’t think of another OT seminary professor I’d rather team up with than Jason DeRouchie (pronounced deh-ROW-shee). He embodies Ezra 7:10. We spend about three hours together each week while commuting, and the better I get to know him the more I thank God for him.

Jason has been working on a 500-page book for about seven years, and it releases today:

Jason S. DeRouchie, ed. What the Old Testament Authors Really Cared About: A Survey of Jesus’ Bible. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2013. 496 pp.

I love the subtitle.

My endorsement: [Read more…] about Jason DeRouchie’s Survey of Jesus’ Bible

Live Like a Narnian

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rigneyThis book releases this week in time for the Desiring God national conference on C. S. Lewis this weekend:

Joe Rigney. Live Like a Narnian: Christian Discipleship in Lewis’ Chronicles. Minneapolis: Eyes & Pen, 2013. 182 pp. (Available in Kindle.)

Joe is scheduled to speak on the topic of this book tomorrow at the DG conference.

My endorsement: [Read more…] about Live Like a Narnian

How Should Parents Discipline Their Children? Is Spanking Wrong?

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I contributed this article to the latest issue of Southern Seminary’s Journal of Discipleship and Family Ministry:

Naselli, Andrew David. “Training Children for Their Good.” The Journal of Discipleship and Family Ministry 3.2 (2013): 48–64.

The article addresses parental discipline. This is a lightly edited manuscript from a sermon I preached on June 3, 2012.

Here’s the outline:

1. Seven Propositions about Discipline from Hebrews 12:4–11

      1. God disciplines his children (Heb 12:5–7, 10).
      2. God disciplines all his children (Heb 12:6, 8).
      3. God disciplines only his children (Heb 12:6–8).
      4. Discipline is training: God disciplines his children for their good (Heb 12:10–11).
      5. Discipline seems unpleasant and painful (Heb 12:11).
      6. God’s children should endure God’s discipline (Heb 12:5, 7, 9).
      7. God’s disciplining his children compares to human parents’ disciplining their children (Heb 12:5, 7–10).

2. Levels of Discipline in the Book of Proverbs

The above table is from Paul D. Wegner, Catherine Wegner, and Kimberlee Herman, Wise Parenting: Guidelines from the Book of Proverbs (Grand Rapids: Discovery House, 2009), 32.
      • Level 1. Teach
      • Level 2. Warn
      • Leve 3. Enforce
        • Does “the rod” represent discipline but exclude physical discipline (Prov 13:24; 22:15; 23:13–14; 29:15)?
        • Is spanking a form of physical and psychological child abuse?
        • Do the proverbs about using the rod refer to young men rather than children?
        • Is spanking an obsolete part of the Mosaic law-covenant in the Old Testament?
        • Is spanking antithetical to the gospel?

3. Concluding Application

      1. Pray for your children.
      2. Evangelize your children.
      3. Use multiple levels of discipline.
      4. Love your children, and tell them and show them that you love them.
      5. Beware of two extremes: (a) not disciplining and (b) over-disciplining.
      6. Fathers, take the lead in discipline.
      7. Learn how to discipline each of your children most effectively.
      8. Distinguish between family rules and the Bible.
      9. Be humble about parental discipline; don’t be proud and judgmental.
      10. Persevere with a long-term view that trusts God’s word.

4. Recommended Resources

Related:

  1. Endnote 8 in the article: I preached on Hebrews 12:3–17 on March 3, 2013 to Sovereign Grace Church in Greenville, South Carolina, and I only briefly mentioned parental discipline because that is not the passage’s primary point.
  2. Ask Pastor John: “How Do I Know If I’m Being Disciplined by God?”