One of my least favorite things in the whole world is self-publicity. I don’t like it and I’m sure it’s unscriptural. The sin of calling attention to oneself is often exacerbated when one is promoting a ministry or a book. I have a book out soon. It’s not the work the world has been breathlessly waiting for, but it’s the best I can do. I hope I have written a sound, edifying, educational book which repays its purchase price. I …
Category: Articles
Part One The Kingdom to Come in the Lord’s Prayer We are accustomed to treat the so-called “Lord’s Prayer” within our own “Church” context. And no wonder, for the guidance and hope it supplies are a great boon to the spiritual life. But if we situate it in its setting in the Sermon on the Mount we have to allow that it signified something a little different for the disciples; especially Matthew 6:10: Your kingdom come. Your will …
A Review of Andreas J. Kostenberger, The Jesus of the Gospels: An Introduction, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2020, hdbk, 462 pages. This book is designed as a mid-level introduction to Jesus as He is depicted in each of the Four Gospels. The author is a well-respected New Testament scholar at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His books cover a range of topics and usually make important contributions. It is easy to see that Kostenberger knows his subject. Although this book is not …
The Kingdom of Heaven? Matthew 3 begins with John the Baptist proclaiming, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matt. 3:1-2). It has him calling Pharisees and Sadducees “a brood of vipers.” (Matt. 3:7), which hardly matched the exalted spiritual status they gave themselves. Later in this Gospel we see Jesus calling Pharisees (and scribes) hypocrites and “fools and blind” (Matt. 23:13-19). In Matthew the religious leaders get called all kinds of names. Modern scholarship has tried to …
Part Seven The Institution of the Lord’s Supper/New Covenant I firmly believe that the words of the institution of the Lord’s Supper (Lk. 22:14-20) are some of the most important words in the NT. The occasion for this world-changing event was the annual celebration of the Passover Seder, although Jesus had to celebrate it prematurely because by the time the real Passover was eaten, He would be dead.[1] The link between the Passover meal and the Lord’s Supper are …
N.B. This is a review of the book and its merits. However, I believe the NT to be quite clear that women are not to be instructors of men in Church related matters like the interpretation of Scripture, doctrine, and the like. This has nothing to do with ability and everything to do with obedience to God and His established creation order (1 Tim. 2:11-14). As one would expect, a lot of female scholars are cited in this work. I …
Part Six The “Times of the Gentiles” A great deal has been written about “the Times of the Gentiles,” especially by Dispensational writers. But before we can know what it refers to we must situate it in the discourse in which it stands. I have given reasons why Luke 21:20-23 concern the end of days. Jesus speaks of Jerusalem being surrounded by armies (Lk. 21:20), and of the city being trampled down by the Gentiles (Lk. 21:24b). It seems …
This is a repost of a piece I wrote years ago. I give it another lease of life because I am planning a lengthy series on ‘Deciphering Covenant Theology’ which will offer an explanation of CT and a critique. In this post I want to record briefly what I see as some of the major problems of Covenant Theology (CT). I know many very fine and godly people hold and have held to this position. Therefore, any particular conflict I …
Part Five Luke’s Great Eschatological Discourse Most of chapter 21 is given over to what might be called Luke’s version of the Olivet Discourse (cf. Mk. 13 and Matt. 24). He has already recorded Jesus’ teachings about in Luke 17:20-37 along with some eschatological remarks in Luke 19, but here is where a fuller development of Jesus’ eschatology takes place. Again, I remind the reader that my purpose is to try to present the salient teachings of Jesus having …
Part Four The King Enters Jerusalem and Weeps After the Parable of the Pounds (Minas) Luke records three related episodes: The Triumphal Entry (Lk. 19:28-40), Jesus Weeping over Jerusalem (Lk. 19:41-44), and the Temple Cleansing (Lk. 19:45-48). Jesus sends some disciples to get a colt for Him to ride upon (Matthew notes that a donkey was brought too – Matt. 21:7). In this fascinating little tale Jesus knows beforehand what they will find and how to answer those who …
