The Fourth Gospel: Theology or History?

[W]hat most Johannine scholars have notably failed to take seriously is that the Gospel's theology itself requires a concern for history.

--Richard Bauckham, The Testimony of the Beloved Disciple (Baker 2007), 14; emphasis original.

Enough Evil

There is enough evil in my best prayer to damn the whole world.

--John Bunyan

HT: Andrew Lisi

Outlining James

Outlines of James tend to swivel between hopelessly complicated or forced structures on the one hand and frustrated resignation at the prospect of discerning any structure at all on the other. Carson and Moo suggest what in my mind is a nice middle way, and believable. Within the broader compass of a formal letter (with opening, body, and conclusion), they suggest four sections:

1. Trials and Christian maturity (1:1-18)
2. True Christianity seen in its works (1:19-2:26)
3. Dissensions within the community (3:1-4:12)
4. Implications of a Christian worldview (4:13-5:11)

A sensible break-up if one wanted to teach a four-part Sunday School lesson or preach 8 to 10 sermons, but not much more, on the letter.

--D. A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo, Introduction to the New Testament (2d ed.; Zondervan 2005), 620-21

The Gospel's Liberating Reversal

Our intuition: the bad in my life is due to another, the good in my life is due to me.

God's revelation: the bad in my life is due to me, the good in my life is due to another.

HT: my wife

Mine!

[A] man can with confidence boast in Christ and say: 'Mine are Christ's living, doing, and speaking, his suffering and dying, mine as much as if I had lived, done, spoken, suffered, and died as he did.' Just as a bridegroom possesses all that is his bride's and she all that is his--for the two have all things in common because they are one flesh.

--Martin Luther, sermon entitled 'Two Kinds of Righteousness,' quoted in Cornelis P. Venema, The Gospel of Free Acceptance in Christ: An Assessment of the Reformation and New Perspective on Paul (Banner of Truth 2006), 41

A Proper Gospel Way

Obey God and do the works of the law by gospel principles and means. This is the rare and excellent art of godliness, in which every Christian should be a skilled expert. Many people labor for years trying to live a godly life. However, they give it up in shame and confusion because they never understood this holy art. They never tried to attain true godliness in a proper gospel way.

Walter Marshall, The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification: Growing in Holiness by Living in Union with Christ (Wipf & Stock 2005), 167-68; emphasis original

I'm grateful to Dan Orr for pointing me to this book.

Good Eschatology

An email from my 3-year-old Zachary today, taken down by his amanuensis (my wife):

I love you Daddy. I hope you serve God. And if you trust Jesus, then you can live forever in the new land. Dear Zachary. Bye!

Romans: Basically Targeted to the Individual

Couldn't agree more with Doug Moo's judicious conclusion to the chapter on Romans in the Carson/Moo intro to the NT:

[R]ecent scholarship on Romans emphasizes the 'people' question in Romans: what the gospel means for the relationship of Jews and Gentiles in salvation history and in the church. And this emphasis is a needed corrective to the neglect of this issue in some traditional approaches. But as is so often the case in academia, the pendulum has swung too far. Paul's gospel has important implications for the relation of Jews and Gentiles. But Romans 1-8 makes clear that Paul's gospel is still basically targeted to the individual human being, locked up under sin and in need of the redemption available only in Jesus Christ. While justification by faith is not the theme of the letter, we should not forget that it is nevertheless a critical component of Paul's presentation of the gospel. To be 'justified' is to be declared right with God. This verdict, Paul insists in Romans, is a manifestation of pure grace on God's part and therefore can be attained by sinful human beings only through faith. The contemporary theological climate offers challenges to this Reformation understanding of 'justification by faith' at a number of points, but a careful reading of Romans reaffirms its truth and reminds us of its critical importance for the power of the gospel.

--D. A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo, An Introduction to the New Testament (2d ed.; grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 410-11.

Not Made of Stone

Calvin was not made of stone, and if there are Reformed Christians who are, they are not Calvinists.

Herman Selderhuis, John Calvin: A Pilgrim's Life, p. 254

HT: David Calhoun

I Told Me So

This book looks fascinating.