Matt Bennett » bible

What is the Gospel?

Matt — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:41:45 +0000

Here is a golden expression of the gospel of Christ:

Without the gospel everything is useless and vain; without the gospel we are not Christians; without the gospel all riches is poverty, all wisdom folly before God; strength is weakness, and all the justice of man is under the condemnation of God. But by the knowledge of the gospel we are made children of God, brothers of Jesus Christ, fellow townsmen with the saints, citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, heirs of God with Jesus Christ, by whom the poor are made rich, the weak strong, the fools wise, the sinner justified, the desolate comforted, the doubting sure, and slaves free. It is the power of God for the salvation of all those who believe.

It follows that every good thing we could think or desire is to be found in this same Jesus Christ alone. For, he was sold, to buy us back; captive, to deliver us; condemned, to absolve us; he was made a curse for our blessing, sin offering for our righteousness; marred that we may be made fair; he died for our life; so that by him fury is made gentle, wrath appeased, darkness turned into light, fear reassured, despisal despised, debt cancelled, labor lightened, sadness made merry, misfortune made fortunate, difficulty easy, disorder ordered, division united, ignominy ennobled, rebellion subjected, intimidation intimidated, ambush uncovered, assaults assailed, force forced back, combat combated, war warred against, vengeance avenged, torment tormented, damnation damned, the abyss sunk into the abyss, hell transfixed, death dead, mortality made immortal. In short, mercy has swallowed up all misery, and goodness all misfortune. For all these things which were to be the weapons of the devil in his battle against us, and the sting of death to pierce us, are turned for us into exercises which we can turn to our profit. If we are able to boast with the apostle, saying, O hell, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? it is because by the Spirit of Christ promised to the elect, we live no longer, but Christ lives in us; and we are by the same Spirit seated among those who are in heaven, so that for us the world is no more, even while our conversation is in it; but we are content in all things, whether country, place, condition, clothing, meat, and all such things. And we are comforted in tribulation, joyful in sorrow, glorying under vituperation, abounding in poverty, warmed in our nakedness, patient amongst evils, living in death. This is what we should in short seek in the whole of Scripture: truly to know Jesus Christ, and the infinite riches that are comprised in him and are offered to us by him from God the Father.

It comes from a stunning preface John Calvin wrote for Pierre Robert Olivétan’s French translation of the New Testament in 1534.

Interpreting Old Testament Narratives

Matt — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:28:36 +0000

Here are ten principles to assist in properly interpreting Old Testament narratives. These are taken from How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth.

An Old Testament narrative usually does not directly teach a doctrine.
An Old Testament narrative usually illustrates a doctrine or doctrines taught propositionally elsewhere.
Narratives record what happened – not necessarily what should have happened or what ought to happen every time. Therefore, not every narrative has an individual identifiable moral application.
What people do in narratives is not necessarily a good example for us. Frequently, it is just the opposite.
Most of the characters in the Old Testament narratives are far from perfect – as are their actions as well.
We are not always told at the end of a narrative whether what happened was good or bas. We are expected to be able to judge this on the basis of what God has taught us directly and categorically elsewhere in Scripture.
All narratives are selective and incomplete. Not all the relevant details are always given (cf. John 21:25). What does appear in the narrative is everything that the inspired author thought important for us to know.
Narratives are not written to answer all of our theological questions. They have particular, specific, limited purposes and deal with certain issues, leaving others to be dealt with elsewhere in other ways.
Narratives may teach either explicitly (by clearly stating something) or implicitly (by clearly implying something without actually stating it).
In the final analysis, God is the Hero of all Biblical narratives.

10 Tips from Grudem on Bible Interpretation

Matt — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:07:48 +0000

Grudem’s chapter in Preach the Word offers some helpful reminders on correctly interpreting the Scripture.

Spend your earliest and best time reading the text of the Bible itself.
The interpretation of Scripture is not a magical or mysterious process, because Scripture was written in the ordinary language of the day.
Every interpreter has only four sources of information about the text:
1. The meanings of individual words and sentences
2. the place of the statement in its context
3. the overall teaching of Scripture
4. some information about the historical and cultural background.
Look for reasons rather than mere opinions to give support to an interpretation, and use reasons rather than mere opinions to attempt to persuade others.
There is only one meaning for each text (though there are many applications).
Notice the kind of literature in which the verse is found.
Notice whether the text approves or disapproves or merely reports a person’s actions.
Be careful not to generalize specific statements and apply them to fundamentally different situations.
It is possible to do a short or long study of any passage. Do what you can with the time you have, and don’t be discouraged about all that you cannot do.
Pray regularly for the Holy Spirit’s help in the whole process of interpreting the Bible.

Grudem goes on to encourage his readers to keep the “big picture” in mind with 6 other reflections.

The Bible is a historical document. Therefore, always ask, “What did the author want the original readers to understand by this statement?”
The original authors wanted the original readers to respond in some way. Therefore always ask, “What application did the original author want the readers to make to their lives?”
The whole Bible is about God! Therefore we should always ask, “What does the text tell us about God?”
The center of the whole Bible is Jesus Christ. The entire Old Testament leads up to him and points to him, and the entire New Testament flows from him. Therefore, we should always ask, “What does this text tell us about the greatness of Christ?”
All history can be divided into several major “ages” or “epochs” in salvation history. Therefore, we should read every passage of the Bible with a salvation history timeline in our minds and constantly remember where every passage fits on the timeline.
Themes: Because the Bible is a unity (it has one divine Author though many human authors), there are many themes that develop and grow from Genesis to Revelation. Therefore, for each significant element in any text, it is helpful to ask, (a) Where did this theme start in the Bible? (b) How did this theme develop through the Bible? and (c) Where is this theme going to end in the Bible?

2 Thessalonians – A Brief Study

Matt — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:40:09 +0000

Written by:

Paul, approximately six months after 1^st Thessalonians (52AD)

Purposes:

To encourage the church in the midst of rising persecution
To further correct some misunderstandings concerning the second coming of the Lord.
- They thought he had already come and they missed it (2:1-12)
- They were still living disorderly (3:6-15)

Outline:

Encouragement in persecution (1)
1. Persecution helps us grow (1:3-5)
2. Persecution prepares us for His glory (1:6-10)
3. Persecution glorifies Christ today (1:11-12)
Enlightenment about the day of the Lord (2)
1. The rapture must take place (2:1-3)
2. The temple must be rebuilt (2:4-5)
3. The restrainer must be removed (2:6-12)
4. The church must be complete (2:13-17)
Establishment in Christian living (3)
1. Pray and be patient (3:1-5)
2. Work if you want to eat (3:6-13)
3. Hear the Word and do it (3:14-15)

1 Thessalonians – A Brief Study

Matt — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:37:46 +0000

Written by Paul from Corinth during his second missionary journey.

Purposes:

To praise and commend their steadfastness.
To correct what people were saying about his ministry.
1. Paul was not a qualified messenger (1 Thess. 2:3-4)
2. Paul’s motive in ministry was covetousness and financial gain (1 Thess. 2:5-6)
3. Paul was dictatorial and lacked genuine concern (1 Thess. 2:7-8)
4. Paul lived off the people and was disorderly (1 Thess. 2:9)
5. Paul’s behaviour did not line up with his message (1 Thess. 2:10-12)
To correct errors the church had about the second coming of the Lord (4 basic errors).
1. They were still living in fornication (1 Thess. 4:1-9)
2. They had stopped working (1 Thess. 4:9-12)
3. They thought those who physically died before Jesus came would miss the second coming (1 Thess. 4:13-18)
4. They were speculating and worrying about when Jesus would come (1 Thess. 5:1-11)

Outline:

Personal: “We give thanks remembering…” (1 Thess. 1-3)
1. How the church was born (1 Thess. 1)
  1. An elect group (1 Thess. 1:1-5)
  2. An exemplary group (1 Thess. 1:6-7)
  3. An enthusiastic group (1 Thess. 1:8)
  4. An expectant group (1 Thess. 1:9-10)
2. How the church was nurtured (1 Thess. 2)
  1. A faithful steward (1 Thess. 2:1-6)
  2. A gentle mother (1 Thess. 2:7-8)
  3. A concerned father (1 Thess. 2:9-16)
  4. A loving brother (1 Thess. 2:14-20)
3. How the church was established (1 Thess. 3)
  1. Through the Word (1 Thess. 3:1-5)
  2. Through prayer (1 Thess. 3:6-13)
Practical “We beseech you to…” (1 Thess. 4-5)
1. Walk in…(1 Thess. 4)
  1. Holiness (1 Thess. 4:1-8)
  2. Love (1 Thess. 4:9-10)
  3. Honesty (1 Thess. 4:11-12)
  4. Hope (1 Thess. 4:13-18)
2. Be…(1 Thess. 5)
  1. Watchful (1 Thess. 5:1-11)
  2. Respectful (1 Thess. 5:12-13)
  3. Mindful (1 Thess. 5:14-15)
  4. Thankful (1 Thess. 5:16-18)
  5. Careful (1 Thess. 5:19-21)
  6. Faithful (1 Thess. 5:22-28)