Leadership. Preaching. Ministry. theology.
Allegorical Method of Interpretation
There are two conflicting methods of interpreting Scripture: The grammatical-historical method and the allegorical method. The grammatical-historical method is the method Roy Zuck is teaching in the book of our review “Basic Bible Interpretation.” This method interprets Scripture in the normal sense of language.
Read moreThis post is a review of “Redemptive-Historic View” by Bryan Chapell in Scott M. Gibson and Matthew D. Kim. Homiletics and Hermeneutics.
I agree with Byran Chapell when he warns that the redemptive-historical view of forcing Christ into every text has “been abused, in ways that are now obvious to us, by ancient allegorism that sought to make Jesus ‘magically’ appear in every Bible passage through exegetical acrobatics that stretched logic, imagination, and credulity.”[1] I appreciate Chapell’s candid admission.
Read moreI was once asked “Who is your favorite theologian and why?” Here was my answer.
I have different theologians that I like and use for different reasons. I like Charles C. Ryrie’s Basic Theology for my Bible Doctrine and Systematic Theology students. Ryrie remarks that he did not write Basic Theology for the professional theologian. I find little that I disagree with in Ryrie’s Basic Theology. I know he is not as deep as other theologians but that was not his purpose in Basic Theology. He revealed his scholarship in other writings. He also helps me in communicating doctrines to church members who also are not professional theologians.
Paul Enn’s The Moody Handbook of Theology is also good for my purposes but he covers Biblical, Historical, Systematic, Dogmatic, and Contemporary Theology, which cuts back on the Bible doctrine content.
S. H. Strong (1836 -1921) was the leading Baptist theologian for about one hundred years. Millard Erickson (1932-) replaced him as the premier Baptist theologian.
I also like and use Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology to add depth to Ryrie. I like his coverage of the attributes of God. He also has a good argument for baptism by immersion. I disagree with Grudem on a number of issues. Grudem has two editions to his Systematic Theology. He changed some of his views in the second edition.
I like to read Michael Horton’s Christian Faith for even more depth than Ryrie and Grudem. Horton in some of his writings has a strong defense of cessationism and actually refutes Grudem’s continuing gift of prophecy which is powerful coming from a Reformed theologian.
I like Mike Stallard’s journal articles on dispensationalism, eschatology, and theological method (click to open).
Recently I have been reading Matthew Barrett at Credomag.com (click to open). He is the Systematic Theologian at Mid-Western Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. Barrett adds Historical Theology to Systematic Theology and addresses current issues in theology. Barrett in his podcast interviews contemporary theologians.
Coming back to Charles Ryrie, in his Dispensationalism in 1995, he gives a scholarly reply to progressive dispensationalism. In his Dispensationalism Today in 1965, he responded to Covenant Theology. Ryrie wrote 32 books which have sold over 1.5 million copies. His study Bible has sold 2.6 million copies. The Ryrie Study Bible, Balancing the Christian Life, and Basic Theology have been best sellers. I mention these facts to show the influence of Ryrie not only in Academia but among rank-and-file Christians who have benefited from his writings put on their level. Of course, he impacted Bible scholars by teaching Systematic theology and serving as dean of doctoral studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. His influence was broad and lasting.
The book of Judges was written to justify David’s monarchy or kingship. The key verses are 17:6 and 21:25: “In those days there was no king in Israel and every man did that which was right in his own eyes.” This is more than a political statement. It is saying that life would be better under a godly king, like David, who would lead the nation in true worship. Then the people would do what was right in the eyes of the Lord.
Read moreThe extended outline shows many of the preaching units from the book of Mark. The extended outline shows the author’s original intent for his original audience. Each point is a summary statement of the unit. The preacher would need to change the summary statement into a timeless principle for his contemporary audience.
Read moreThe idea of “The Factual Data” sheet comes from reading that Warren W. Wiersbe’s homiletic teacher, Lloyd Perry who used a generic “Factual Data” sheet for sermon preparation. I have adapted “The Factual Data” sheet to the different genres (Narratives, Hebrew Poetry, the Epistles, and the Gospels) of Scripture instead of one-size-fits all approach
Read moreJeremy Pierre and Deepak Reju in their book The Pastor and Counseling posed this counseling scenario: Let’s say a professional Christian counselor and a professional secular counselor advise your member to go into his bedroom and punch a pillow when his wife angers him. This seems reasonable. It’s certainly better than punching his wife, and the pillow is replaceable. If the professional Christian counselor has advised this, your member might assume that this is biblically-based advice. After all, it doesn’t seem unloving to others or dishonoring to God to treat a pillow viciously. A professional Christian counselor giving such pillow advice would likely cite Scripture to make his point, maybe showing how Jesus directed his anger appropriately by overturning the money changers’ tables and not striking the money-changers themselves. And this would seem reasonably biblical to your member (Jeremy Pierre, Jeremy, and Deepak Reju. The Pastor and Counseling (9Marks, pp. 123-124. Crossway. Kindle Edition).
Read moreI have had two church members who were threatening suicide whom I had to refer to professions. My dad while in a nursing home, threatened suicide. When I informed the nursing home personnel of Dad’s threat, they immediately called the police who transported dad to the hospital. This is the law in N.C.
Read moreMorgan Lee, at Christianity Today interviewed Al Hsu, the InterVaristy Press senior editor shared this story: I was on a radio show recently where one caller said, “I’ve always believed that suicide automatically sends you to hell, and that has prevented me from killing myself. Now I’m confused because if you tell me that suicide doesn’t automatically send you to hell, doesn’t that let people off the hook?”
Read moreHeath Lambert gives this analogy: Explaining the difference between nouthetic counseling and biblical counseling is a bit like asking whether a coin is heads or tails. A coin is both heads and tails. In talking about the heads side or the tails side of the coin, we are merely emphasizing different surfaces of one thing.
On October 8, 2012, Heath Lambert former executive director of ACBC (Association of Certified Biblical Counselors) formerly NANC (National Association of Nouthetic Counselors) now professor of counseling at SBTC contrasted and compared Nouthetic and Biblical Counseling at The Gospel Coalition.
The critics (click to open) of these two biblical models say the only difference is the spelling. But, Lambert will show there are major similarities and differences.
Read moreHere is an outline and overview for the initial counseling meeting, the follow-up meetings, and the final counseling meeting from Jeremy Pierre and Deepak Reju’s book on counseling.
Read moreMost of us remember where we were twenty years ago on that Tuesday morning in 2001 at about 9:00 a.m. We remember the first images of the American Airlines Flight 11 crashing into the North Tower at 8:46. The ninety-two people on board the Boeing 767 instantly died. At first, we did not know for sure what was happening.
Read moreIn 1505, Martin Luther (1483-1546) was traveling by foot when he was struck to the ground by lightning. He cried out, “Save me, St. Anne, I will become a monk.” Luther ended his training as a lawyer and became a monk in Erfurt. He slept on a steel cot to merit salvation by works. He confessed his sins to his priest for three and four hours every day. He would get his absolution only on the way back to remember a sin he forgot to confess and would fall back into despair.
Read moreAdvocates of the doctrine of perseverance teach that the believer must persevere to the end in holiness of character, love for God and the brethren, and belief in the doctrines of Scripture.
On the other hand, proponents of the doctrine of preservation teach that God keeps the believer saved even if he does not persevere to the end of his Christian life in holiness, love, and truth. Not enduring to the end is not normal for believers but there are examples in Scripture of believers who walked not with God at the end in holiness, love, and truth.
Read moreNot only does the Trinity have a ministry to each other in the ontological Trinity, but to us. The relationship of the Trinity with God’s creation is called opera as extra or the outer works or the economic Trinity. Once again there is a difference in roles. God the Father’s official ministries are creation (Genesis 1:1), preservation (Matthew 5:45), and government (Psalm 103:19). God the Son’s official ministries are revealing the Father (John 14:9), and redeeming sinners (1st Peter 1:2). God the Spirit’s official ministries are inspiring Scripture (2nd Peter 1:21), regenerating sinners (John 3:5), and sanctifying believers (Galatians 5:16).
Read moreThe ontological Trinity focuses on the relationship the Trinity has within the Triune God totally apart from the creation. A. H. Strong calls the ontological Trinity the “Social Trinity.” Ryrie refers to this relationship between the persons of Trinity the opera as intra or the inner works of the Trinity. Does Scripture speak of the relationship within the Trinity? In John 17:24 Jesus prayed to the Father concerning the love that God the Father had for the Son before the foundation of the world. This has to be so because “God is love” (1st John 4:8). There are three practical benefits from the ontological Trinity.
Read moreThe Trinity can be summarized in three statements supported by Scripture. Any belief or movement or person who alters one of these Scriptural views is unsound Biblically. These three Biblical summaries refute Modalism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Mormonism.
Read moreJames Dobson in his book Marriage Under Fire illustrates the difference between husbands and wives.
The most eye-opening encounter between us occurred on our first Valentine’s Day together, six months after we were married. It was something of a disaster. I had gone to the USC library that morning and spent eight or ten hours pouring over dusty books and journals. I had forgotten that it was February 14.
Read moreThis is question number four: What is sacerdotalism?
Martin Lloyd-Jones defined sacerdotalism as “the notion that there is inherent efficacy in the sacramental act itself.”[1] Grudem defines sacerdotalism as the Roman Catholic view “that there is a special priesthood of ordained people within the church who have a special authority or ability to extend God’s grace to people in the church.”[2] Theopedia describes sacerdotalism: Sacerdotalism (from the Latin sacerdos - priest) is the belief in a priestly system where the priest has been given the special authority to act as a spiritual mediator between God and mankind. The Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and high Anglican traditions are sacerdotal. Although the priests are not supposed to be seen as better or more godly than others, their role in the sacraments of the church gives them a special "mediatorial" role, as representatives of the Church (Christ's body on earth) and thus of Christ. This is especially noticeable in the Roman Catholic confession, mass, and last rites.[3]
Read moreWhether the counselor believes the counselee is made in the image of God determines which model counselors use.
Psychology is “the study of the soul” and Psychotherapy is “soul healing” (psyche=soul and therapeuo=to heal) and yet one study reported statistics showing academic psychologists to be among the least religious group of scholars, with 50% reporting no religious preference. Secular Psychology denies the soul in its view of human nature.
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