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This book releases this month:
Barrett, Matthew, ed. The Doctrine by Which the Church Stands or Falls: Justification in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2019.
I contributed the essay on Romans.
Here are the contents:
Foreword (D. A. Carson)
Introduction: The Foolishness of Justification (Matthew Barrett)
Part One: Justification in Biblical Perspective
1. “He Believed the Lord”: The Pedigree of Justification in the Pentateuch (Stephen Dempster)
2. Singing and Living Justification by Faith Alone: The Psalms and the Wisdom Literature (Allan Harman)
3. Salvation Is the Lord’s: Prophetic Perspectives (Willem VanGemeren)
4. Setting the Record Straight: Second Temple Judaism and Works Righteousness (Robert J. Cara)
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All true authority comes from God (John 19:10, 11). That is a fundamental principle. Another is: God must be obeyed rather than man when the two conflict (Acts 5:28, 29). Rulers had no right to forbid what God had commanded (Acts 5:20). If a clear command of God is forbidden, it must be obeyed regardless of consequences. But many commands are not clearly opposed to one another. What then?
First, recognize that there is a difference between Romans 12 and 13 (the former having to do with how individuals relate to one another and how Christians must relate to the government (see also 1 Peter 2:13, 17). Failing to recognize this distinction can cause confusion. New Testament Christians had to live in countries hostile to Christianity as many do today. Some went to the stake for living as God requires (martyrs). Others (confessors) stayed true to God but survived. Some of the latter did so by observing other biblical injunctions. They were conscientious in paying taxes, for instance (as Jesus was: Mark 12:14ff). They provoked no trouble if it was possible to avoid it (Proverbs 14:16; 27: 12). This warning is important to apply to many situations today.
Another...
Under this general rubric I could suggest many things, but let me deal with only one: its effects on the counselor. The counselor, who is worth his salt (a phrase that comes from a time when soldiers were paid in salt), will never fail to recognize the sin, habitual remnants of sin, and temptations that affect his own life as he deals with the same in others. If a man doing counseling isn’t warned over and over again of the possibilities for denying His God by a lifestyle that besmirches His Name, then he ought not be counseling. A counselor sees not only a wide variety of sin, but the tragic consequences of it. If he isn’t wise enough to learn from what he sees, he has no right counseling others.
A second benefit of biblical counseling is that to improve his counseling ability he is able to study the Bible as His guide. What a rich blessing! Contrast that with those, who in order to gain further information about their counseling, must study the wearisome works of psychologists. Not only are the concepts of such men frequently base and unedifying, but often even their language is disgusting. While a biblical counselor who studies regularly, in contrast, is...
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In going through “Throwback Thursday” photos on Facebook recently, I came across this one. Thinking about it again today, I realized I’ve contrived my own version of “Let It Go”. Mismatched, out-of-season clothes…is that kid happy, loved, fed, modest, and relatively clean? Let it go. On Sundays, I get to pick what she wears, but she does her own styling the rest of the week. If I’m worried about it, it’s because others may think I’m a bad mom for not color coordinating everything, making sure it is a fashionable ensemble. It doesn’t matter. A decade from now, she won’t remember what she wore. Neither will I. She needs to be a kid.
ps This same principle applies to Pop Tarts for breakfast, school on the trampoline, homeschooling (or not), cloth diapers (or not), nursing your baby (or not), and a host of other things. Let other moms have the same latitude you need. Embrace and encourage your mom friends right where they are…because we all need that. Rest in what your own crazy normal looks like today, and help other moms who are wearily wielding their swords to find rest for their souls. It’s...
I’m pleased to have Sara Wallace visiting with us this week, to discuss her new book, For the Love of Discipline: When the Gospel Meets Tantrums and Time-Outs. It’s a balanced, scripture-rich approach for this topic, laced with humor and many relate-able personal examples “from the trenches”. I’ve enjoyed looking through my review copy very much–refreshing! The book is releasing very soon, and you can go here to order!
Sara is a homeschooling mom of 5 (all boys!) and she and her husband are helping establish a new church. She also blogs at The Gospel Centered Mom–go visit! I think you’ll enjoy her perspective!
Sara’s...
The Authorized documentary has been out for a few months now, and lots more people than I ever expected have seen it.
But I’m hearing that a number of friends, even close ones, haven’t seen it yet.
Hey, it’s okay. I normally don’t watch documentaries with redheaded presenters either.
But apparently hair-color discrimination is not the reason otherwise interested parties are staying away. I’m hearing that they just don’t want to go to the trouble of signing up for the 14-day free trial. They bail when they see a credit card form.
Let me tell you why you should unbail. It really is pretty simple. Just two reasons:
I spoke at my second BibleTech Conference in Seattle this past week, and it was an enjoyable time. I’m afraid I made the mistake of putting in three paper topics, assuming the organizers would pick one. They picked three. And I did a Q&A for Authorized. And I interviewed two Bible translator nerds for a new podcast, still under wraps. =) Busy time. Loved connecting with new people and having the chance to talk at leisure with coworkers. You should come—and put in a paper topic—next time.
Here are quick run-downs of the three talks I gave.
1. Visualizing Textual Critical Data for English-Speaking Laypersons: Lessons from KJVParallelBible.orgIt was a true delight to announce at #BibleTech the official launch of KJVParallelBible.org, a tool for teaching textual criticism to English-speaking Christians. That same morning, the first of the conference, an accompanying article was released at the Evangelical Textual Criticism blog.
2. Tagging Meaning and Not Just FormI asked:
I am told that the Kindle price for Authorized: The Use and Misuse of the King James Bible will be going up on April 1. Get it while you can! Gift it to others!
At the Shepherds Conference two weeks ago, standing at the Lexham table all day, I got to hear multiple stories of what the Lord is doing with the book. I came away rejoicing each evening.
I also just heard that the companion documentary has been nominated for “Most Creative Documentary” at the International Christian Film Festival. It is by no means clear it will win: it’s a crowded field. But in the much smaller “Best Bible Nerd Documentary Featuring a Redheaded Presenter” category, Pacific Northwest division, I think I’ve got an okay chance.
I put in three talk proposals for the Bible Tech Conference, thinking that they’d accept one. They accepted all three. So I’ve been busy using precious free time (and, okay, a little work time around the edges!) in the last few months preparing those talks, and I hope you’ll come.
Faithlife just posted a blog interview they did with me about Authorized. Is there more to be said? Maybe a little! I got my first academic review of Authorized, and though I’m waiting to see if my response will be published in the same journal (the editor was amenable to this idea), I give a sneak peek of that response in this interview.
