Andy Naselli

Thoughts on Theology

A Book-Length Response to Kent Sparks

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Three years ago this month I blogged about a seminar that the gifted OT department at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School gave on this book:

Kenton L. Sparks. God’s Word in Human Words: An Evangelical Appropriation of Critical Biblical Scholarship. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008.

Kent Sparks himself commented on that blog post 23 times throughout three pages of direct and sometimes intense comments (pages 1 | 2 |3).

I’m grateful that next week a scholarly book-length response comes out:

James K. Hoffmeier and Dennis R. Magary, eds. Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith? A Critical Appraisal of Modern and Postmodern Approaches to Scripture. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012.

[Read more…] about A Book-Length Response to Kent Sparks

Motive

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Then the word of the LORD Almighty came to me: “Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for the past seventy years, was it really for me that you fasted? And when you were eating and drinking, were you not just feasting for yourselves?’” (Zech 7:4–6)

John Calvin, Commentaries on the Twelve Minor Prophets (translated by John Owen), 5:172–73 (formatting added):

God reproved the Jews, who had returned to their own country, for ingratitude, as they had already begun to pollute themselves.

He therefore brings this charge against them, [Read more…] about Motive

MacArthur Study Bible in the NIV

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I have a soft spot for The MacArthur Study Bible because it’s one of the first I read through (after this and then this a few times). I thank God for it—though I frequently wished that it was available in more translations than the NKJV. I was delighted when it expanded to the NASB and then the ESV.

Next year it will also be available in the NIV.

Thomas Nelson and Zondervan announced this yesterday:

For the first time, the world-renowned MacArthur Study Bible will be available in the 2011 updated New International Version (NIV) translation text. The Bible will feature John MacArthur’s original 20,000 study notes; an extensive topical index; and numerous charts, maps, outlines and articles.

Publishers Thomas Nelson Inc. and Zondervan are partnering on the project, with Zondervan licensing the NIV translation to Thomas Nelson, which will publish the Bible. The Bible is scheduled to release in Fall 2013.

“I’m delighted that The MacArthur Study Bible notes will now be easily accessible to NIV readers,” MacArthur says. “My prayer is [Read more…] about MacArthur Study Bible in the NIV

The Priest with Dirty Clothes

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Michael P. V. Barrett, Complete in Him: A Guide to Understanding and Enjoying the Gospel (Greenville, SC: Ambassador-Emerald International, 2000), 141–42 (formatting added):

A vivid, divinely given illustration of this [i.e., God’s positively imputing Christ’s righteousness to us] occurs in Zechariah 3.

  • The passage begins with a judicial scene in which Joshua, the high priest, is standing before the Angel of the Lord and is being accused by Satan.
  • As the high priest he is serving as man’s representative, an accurate picture of how every man on his own stands before God.
  • He stands silently, dressed in detestably filthy garments with no self-defense before the Judge. This scene graphically pictures how man appears before God in all the filthy rags of his own righteousness.
  • Seemingly out of the blue God rebukes Satan and rescues Joshua as a brand plucked from the burning. Joshua is accepted before the Lord and allowed to stand in His presence.

The text highlights two essential elements of that acceptance. [Read more…] about The Priest with Dirty Clothes

Must a Wife Always Follow Her Husband’s Leadership?

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Do you have a category for Abigail? Everything about the story in 1 Samuel 25 commends Abigail, who is a foil for her wicked and foolish husband Nabal. For example, verse 3 describes her as “intelligent and beautiful” and her husband as “surly and mean.”

(The below picture is from The Action Bible.)

I emailed this to a friend earlier this week:

I was just reflecting on the story of Nabal and Abigail in 1 Samuel 25. This nicely illustrates a difference between authoritarianism and complementarianism.

Authoritarianism would say that Abigail sinned by not “submitting” to Nabal since she sent David and his men a lavish gift without telling Nabal, who had expressly refused to give David and his men anything.

Complementarianism would commend Abigail for wisely not following her wicked husband and for shrewdly saving her household in a way that honored the Lord.

Are you aware of any books or articles making this connection? It’s an important one, I think, especially re how alleged complementarians (who are really authoritarians) encourage women to endure sinful abuse of various kinds in the name of submission.

The next day another friend of mine posted this from Nancy Wilson’s Building Her House: Commonsensical Wisdom for Christian Women:

The commands of submission and obedience are only difficult when we disagree with our husbands. If we agree with them and do what they say, it can hardly be called submission. Submission comes into play when we differ with them over an issue, but we defer to them and willingly give way.

But what about when the husband is in sin? This is a very important issue. What if the husband has adopted a wrong attitude and is heading in the wrong direction? Is a wife obligated to go along? It all depends.

[Read more…] about Must a Wife Always Follow Her Husband’s Leadership?

How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens

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I’ve been dipping in and out of this book for the last few weeks, and I’m impressed:

Michael Williams. How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens: A Guide to Christ-Focused Reading of Scripture. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.

It’s concisely lists four items for each book of the Bible:

  1. “the overarching theme”
  2. “how that theme ultimately finds its focus in Jesus Christ” and “how this focus in Christ is subsequently elaborated upon in the New Testament” (i.e., “The Jesus Lens”)
  3. “what that fulfillment in Christ must necessarily entail for believers” (i.e., “Contemporary Implications”)
  4. “ways to communicate those entailments to others effectively” (i.e., “Hook Questions”). (p. 10)

Williams adds,

Available spring of 2012! The course from which this book arose will be available online to visitors at https://www.calvinseminary.edu/continuingEd/openCourse.php. Enjoy a video presentation of the details of each biblical book with music, images, author narration, and in-depth analysis. (p. 10)

[Read more…] about How to Read the Bible through the Jesus Lens