Perhaps you have heard or repeated Charles Spurgeon’s famous axiom, “I take my text and make a beeline to the cross.” The trouble is Charles Spurgeon probably never said it.1 Worse, the simplistic axiom fails to account for the textual shape and biblical contours of the Bible, not to mention the infelicitous way it misjudges…
Any study of typology in recent days must account for allegory and elucidate if any distinction should be maintained between the two. In this brief article, I will sketch out the recent emphasis on figural reading1 before critiquing this nomenclature and approach in the process of advancing four reasons that interpreters of Scripture should understand…
Introduction The Book of Ruth is not the only Old Testament (OT) book with a genealogy, but it is the only one with a genealogy in its closing verses.1 In fact, the content of the genealogy may be the whole reason the Book of Ruth was written.2 The last word of the final verse is…
The beginning of the Gospel of Mark anticipates—right away—that the narrative will climax at the Jerusalem temple. This “gospel” of Jesus Christ in Mark 1:1 is “as it is written” (καθὼς γέγραπται; 1:2) in Isaiah. The meaning of “gospel,” therefore, should be sought in the first place in Isaiah, specifically in the context of Isaiah…
Introduction Those who champion orthodoxy rightly eschew doctrinal deviations in favor of proven, tested theological conclusions, but also demand that each new generation of Christian thinkers read the Scriptures afresh. Conservative theologians live, readily and occasionally happily, in such a tension. It is, after all, part of what it means to receive, maintain and pass…
Joshua M. Philpot is Pastor for Worship and Administration at Founders Baptist Church in Houston, Texas. In addition to this role, he is adjunct professor at Houston Baptist University and The Expositors Seminary. He earned his PhD in Old Testament at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Dr. Philpot has published articles and book reviews in…
Spirit Hermeneutics: Reading Scripture in Light of Pentecost. By Craig S. Keener. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016. xxviii + 522pp., $48.00 Hardback. Craig S. Keener, known best for his New Testament (NT) exegetical commentaries, turns his attention in Spirit Hermeneutics to how Spirit-filled Christians should interpret the Bible today. Keener earned his Ph.D. from Duke…
There is a sad and wide gulf between older men and younger men today. Generational discrimination and segregation are alive and, well, discouraging. We have to pass the torch somehow, but so many of the bridges have been burnt. Younger guys need older guys. Older men, by God’s design and grace, there are things we…
It’s funny the things people will ask me when they discover I have fifteen children. Most times, the questions are a barrage of “How do you do it?” and “Don’t you know what causes that?” Sometimes the questions are heartfelt — “How did you get to adopt four children?” or “Why have so many?” But…
On Sunday evening, March 18, 1855, Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) looked to his Bible and declared in his sermon: “If these words were written by a man, we might reject them; but O let me think the solemn thought, that this book is God’s handwriting — that these words are God’s!”[1] For Spurgeon it was beyond the…
The debate and tension over homosexuality has reached new levels in our modern society. After decades of work by activists, the governmental approval of same-sex marriage looks to be in the near future, and many feel will soon become a constitutional right for the homosexual community. Unfortunately, the Church itself has lost some in the…
A declaration from a coalition of evangelical leaders assembled by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, June 26, 2015 As evangelical Christians, we dissent from the court’s ruling that redefines marriage. The state did not create the family, and should not try to recreate the family in its own image. We will not capitulate on…
“It is well and good for the preacher to base his sermon on the Bible, but he better get to something relevant pretty quickly, or we start mentally to check out.” That stunningly clear sentence reflects one of the most amazing, tragic, and lamentable characteristics of contemporary Christianity: an impatience with the Word of God.…
We all want to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22). Who wants to feel the failure or share in the shame of being pegged like one “who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror . . . and goes away and at once forgets what he was like”…
Confessing sin to each other should be a normal part of your life together.
Are you a parent? Then you need to know that your kids are going to learn primarily what you teach them. You might sometimes wish that you could delegate the spiritual training of your kids, but you are the one who is responsible to teach, train, and disciple your kids. This is not something to…
I’m no management consultant, leadership expert, or church growth guru. But if you love your church and want to see it as effective as possible–for the sake of evangelism, education, exaltation, and whatever other E’s you may have in your mission statement–try asking these two questions. One is from the pastor for his leaders, and…
Some people may think it weird or merely the sign of an obsessive personality, but I get butterflies when I walk into an Office Depot. Even the thought of notebooks, filing cabinets, planners, and binders gets me excited. Oh for more sticky notes and file-folders with reinforced tabs! And, for those who think I am…
