Think Wink.

When we read the actual narrative of Jesus’ birth in Matthew 1:18-25, we often focus on a few things such as whether or not Mary was a technical virgin or a woman of marriageable age or what the impact of Joseph’s decision to divorce Marry upon hearing about her pregnancy that is not a result of his sexual union with Marry. That’s about where people go in their thinking when it comes to Jesus’ birth narrative, except for Christmas and then it’s about Jesus as Emmanuel and celebrating Jesus being born. Then the debate about Jesus being born of a virgin or not rears it’s head, ugly or not.

I want to focus upon why Yahweh’s messenger tells Joseph to name the baby that is born of Mary Jesus in Matthew 1:21, “And you will name him Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” What does Matthew intend for his readers to understand when they read this statement? How does Matthew believe that Jesus saved his people from their sins? Read more

Original Sin and Infants

Reflections on Jonah Part 4

Am I a Five-Point Calvinist?

Earlier this past week, a dear friend and one of the youth at my old church in KC asked me to reflect upon the book of Jonah. So I went and reread the story of Jonah and pondered upon what his story was trying to communicate. After some earnest reflection, I think that the story of Jonah shows: 1.) The character of God, first seen in Exodus 33:19; 34:6-7; 2.) God’s promise to Abraham was to redeem all creation, not just Abraham’s posterity, and Abraham was to be the vessel through which this redemption comes; 3.) Israel had become blinded by her position as Yahweh’s elect people and ignored her function as the channel through which God’s promise to redeem creation, not just Israel, comes into the world; 4.) Only in Jesus the Messiah was/is/will God’s plan to redeem his creation through Israel to be carried out and accomplished.

In previous posts, I have covered the first three points. In the following post, I want to look at the fourth and final point, which might be the most important point of the four. Read more

Reflections on Jonah

Reflections on Jonah Part 3

Reflections on Jonah Part 2

Here is a very important paragraph in Edwards Sermon, “The Final Judgment,”

Christ’s redemption of fallen man includes not only his obeying the Divine law, making atonement for sinners, or in preparing the way for their salvation. His redemption is also actually fulfilled in the converting of sinners to the knowledge and love of the truth, in carrying them on in the way of grace and true holiness through life, and finally raising their bodies to life, and glorifying them. This is completed by actually pronouncing of the sentence upon them, and crowning them with honor and glory in the sight of men and angels.

It is necessary that Christ should do this in order to finish the work He has begun. Raising the saints from the dead, judging them, and fulfilling the sentence are parts of their salvation. Christ must be appointed Judge of the world, in order that he might finish His work (John 6:39-40; John 5:25-31). The redemption of the bodies of the saints is part of the work of redemption; the resurrection to life is called a redemption of their bodies (Romans 8:23).

It is the will of God that Christ Himself should fulfill that for which he died, and suffered so much. The very reasons He suffered and died were to complete and secure salvation for His people. This final salvation will be obtained at the last judgment, and not before.

When Christ had finished His appointed sufferings, God put the purchased inheritance in His hands to be kept for believers and be given to them at the Day of Judgment

Edwards hits on a really important point. We cannot talk about salvation in terms of the cross and sins being propitiated alone. Our redemption is still incomplete at that point, our salvation still lacking. Our resurrection is vital to our salvation and redemption. Until we are resurrected, judged, and the sentence carried out that is our receiving the glory and honor in being the people of God and members of Christ’s kingdom, we are not saved.

Too often we talk about “walking the aisle and gettin’ saved.” Salvation is a category that includes being raised up to new life on the Day of Judgment and entering into the new heavens and new earth. The walking the aisle is conversion, not salvation. One of N. T. Wright’s biggest problems with contemporary Christianity is that the term salvation has come to equal and mean certain parts of salvation, i.e. salvation = conversion or salvation = justification. Salvation is going from God-hater and being brought into his eternal kingdom in the new Jerusalem on new earth as a God-lover. It’s the whole thing, not part of it. I know that a person who is converted is so assured of his entrance into the kingdom that he is said to be saved. A square is indeed a rectangle. But a rectangle is not a square. I hope we do a better job of keeping this in mind.

Edwards Quote of the Day

A taste of My Friday Morning

A Blissful Headache

One of the things about the Christmas narratives in Matthew and Luke that has always baffled me has been the fulfillment passages where Matthew will say that event X fulfills prophecy A. But when I read prophecy A in its OT context it doesn’t make any sense. What Matthew records as the fulfillment isn’t what is being promised by the prophet. Last Christmas I covered Matthew’s use of Hosea 11:1 (see Part 1 and Part 2). This Christmas I want to cover Matthew’s use of Jeremiah 31:15 in Matthew 2:18. Read more

Habakkuk 2:4 Part 1

A Loving God??

sane’, Malachi, and Paul Pt 2

In my previous post I defined the gospel in terms of how the Gospels and Acts looked at the gospel. That is to say, they viewed the gospel as God fulfilling his promises made to Israel to establish a new creation by his Spirit, ruled by his Servant-King from the house of David, ending Israel’s exile, and drawing the Gentiles out of their pagan darkness into the light of this new Israel in this new creation. God fulfilled these promises by raising up Jesus of Nazareth, who came and took dominion over the present evil age and creation, offered up his life as an atoning sacrifice for his people’s transgression, and was resurrected as the firstfruit of the new Spirit-wrought creation and the king over that new creation.

Now how does the Apostle Paul fit into this picture? When one reads his letters one does not see a lot of talk about a kingdom. He rarely speaks about Jesus earthly life and ministry, his teachings and healings that demonstrated him to be the Spirit-indwelt Servant-King from the stump of Jesse. Paul speaks minimally about the kingdom, though it is not absent from his theology. He talks about the gospel in terms of Jesus’ person, death and resurrection and their meaning. He is combating a certain form of Judaism that requires Gentiles to convert to Judaism to be accepted into the people of God. So how does his battle’s over the meaning of justification and the gospel fit into the picture seen in the gospels? Read more

One More Question

Truth, Salvation, and “euaggelion”

When I think of “euaggelion” or “gospel”…

I was supposed to preach this in KC next weekend but scheduling is going to not allow that to happen. I’m sad that I won’t get to see the youth like I wanted to but you take what you can. I haven’t blogged in a very long time so enjoy.

Text: Mark 5:1-20 (all texts not marked NET are author’s own translation) Read more

“Son of Man” and Jesus

What can I say?

Prayer for a new church

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. — John 19:28-30

Kinda gives a new meaning to John’s account of the soldiers giving Jesus something to drink huh?

No related posts

One of the reasons why I love having a class on ethics is that the rabbit trails are so interesting and necessary for Christians to discuss and come to an intelligent and pastoral conclusion about. One such was the death of the amoral. In this post, I want to think through this very delicate issue because anyone who is going to be in ministry will have to deal with these instances and had better be able to pastorally engage hurting families at funerals. Read more

Martin Luther and 1 Peter 1:3

Oh Wow…What am I thinking?

“For He will save his people from their sin”

The other psalm that I want to look at in regards to the background to justification in the NT, specifically Paul who articulated the doctrine more clearly than any other writer, is Psalm 98. This passage’s understanding of sdq is very influential upon Paul, particularly in Romans as we shall see momentarily. I have to thank Dr. Mark Siefrid for pointing me to this psalm in his book Christ Our Righteousness. I hope to show in this post that the righteousness language in the OT that forms a large part of the background of Paul’s framework is more complex than many in my own Reformed tradition often present it. Read more

Expositing Revelation Postmillennially

A Question for Both Sides

The Temple, the Trinity, and the Apocalypse

PADavis recently commented on a post I did some time ago on Romans 8:29-30. In that post I discussed what Paul means by predestination and foreknowledge. PADavis writes

I am still unclear if one knows or consciously realizes that he or she is predestined for salvation? I am Nazarene and Armenianism is the world/theological view presented here. So I am just learning about Calvinism and have always been curious as to how one knows whether he is saved or has been predestined by God. In our belief we say that “we know that we know we are indeed saved” when we have repented of our sins and asked Jesus Christ into our hearts. So does the Calvinist know he or she is truly saved or called by God?

I was going to respond in a comment but I thought this would be better answered in a separate post. First, my initial thoughts when reading this comment seem like there are actually two questions being asked, and I’m not sure if both are tintended. The first question, which is the first sentence in the comment, seems to deal with an unconverted person. The second question, the last sentence in the comment, seems to talk about a converted person. In other words it seems like question 1 is asking if an unconverted person knows if he or she is predestined to be saved. Question 2 is asking if the saved person can have an assurance of their salvation. I will answer both questions but if it is one or the other is intended and not both, then at least know I’m trying to answer what it is that is being asked and am sorry if I’m about to speak too long on something not in view. Read more

I Evangelize Because of Joy

Objections to Calvinism Part 8 of 5

Reflections on Jonah Part 3