The third volume of Frame’s Theology of Lordship series, this book focuses on biblical ethics, presenting a method for ethical decision-making, an analysis of biblical ethical teaching focusing on the Ten Commandments, and a discussion of the relation of Christ to human culture.
O. Palmer Robertson is a multifaceted man who in his life has taken on many roles—pastor, scholar, author, church planter, seminary professor, and missionary-administrator. This collection of essays seeks to honor him by embodying the Reformation and Westminster flavors of Old Princeton theology and Old Southern Presbyterianism. Further, the essays demonstrate how this blend of Old Princeton and Southern Presbyterianism bore fruit in Robertson’s theological formulation, ecclesiastical life, pastoral ministry, and worldwide impact.
The Text of the New Testament is a brief introduction for the lay person into the process whereby the New Testament came to be. It describes the basics of ancient writing tools, manuscripts, the work of scribes, and how to think about differences in what the various manuscripts say. This is a revised and expanded edition with a completely new chapter on how contemporary English translations fit in with our understanding of the New Testament text. Geared to the lay person who is uninformed or confused about textual criticism, Greenlee begins this volume by explaining the production of ancient manuscripts. He then traces the history of the development of the New Testament text. Readers are next introduced to the basic principles of textual criticism, the concept of variant readings, and how to determine which variant has the greatest likelihood of being the original reading. To illustrate the basic principles, several sample New Testament texts are examined. The book concludes by putting textual criticism in perspective as involving only a minute portion of the entire New Testament text, the bulk of which is indisputably attested by the manuscripts.
From the patristic period until today, John’s Gospel has served as a major source for the church’s knowledge, doctrine and worship of the triune God. Among all New Testament documents the Fourth Gospel provides not only the most raw material for the doctrine of the Trinity, but also the most highly developed patterns of reflection on this material―particularly patterns that seek to account in some way for the distinct personhood and divinity of Father, Son and Spirit without compromising the unity of God. While there have been recent, fine studies on aspects of John’s doctrine of God, it is surprising that none summarizes and synthasizes what John has to say about God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In order to fill this gap, Köstenberger and Swain offer a fresh examination of John’s trinitarian vision in this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume. Part One situates John’s trinitarian teaching within the context of Second Temple Jewish monotheism. Part Two examines the Gospel narrative in order to trace the characterization of God as Father, Son and Spirit, followed by a brief synthesis. Part Three deals more fully with major trinitarian themes in the Fourth Gospel, including its account of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and mission. A final chapter discusses the significance of John’s Gospel for the church’s doctrine of the Trinity, and a brief conclusion summarizes some practical implications. Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.
You can be young, passionate about Jesus Christ, surrounded by diversity, engaged in a postmodern world, reared in evangelicalism, and not be an emergent Christian. In fact, I want to argue that it would be better if you weren’t.
The Emergent Church is a strong voice in today’s Christian community. And they’re talking about good things, like caring for the poor, peace for all men, and loving Jesus. They’re doing church a new way, not content to fit the mold. Again, all good. But there’s more to the movement than that. Much more.
Kevin and Ted are two guys who, demographically, should be all over this movement. But they’re not. And here’s why—they do life founded upon orthodox beliefs about God, propositional truths about Jesus, and the authority of Scripture.
In Why We’re Not Emergent, Kevin and Ted diagnose the emerging church from both a theological and an on-the-street perspective. They pull apart interviews, articles, books, and blogs, helping you see for yourself what it’s all about.
Provocative yet playful, this book seeks to show you why being emergent isn’t the only, or even the best, way to be passionate about Jesus Christ.
An important anthology that reaffirms the classic doctrine of substitutionary atonement and counters the ongoing attacks against it.
If ever there was a time and a need for an enthusiastic reaffirmation of the biblical doctrine of substitutionary atonement, it is now. With this foundational tenet under widespread attack, J. I. Packer and Mark Dever’s anthology plays an important role, issuing a clarion call to readers to stand firm in the truth.
In My Place Condemned He Stood combines three classic articles by Packer-“The Heart of the Gospel”; his Tyndale Biblical Theology Lecture, “What Did the Cross Achieve”; and his introductory essay to John Owen’s The Death of Death in the Death of Christ-with Dever’s recent article, “Nothing but the Blood.” It also features a foreword by the four principals of Together for the Gospel: Dever, Ligon Duncan, C. J. Mahaney, and Al Mohler. Thoughtful readers looking for a compact classic on this increasingly controversial doctrine need look no farther than this penetrating volume.
Cornelius Van Til (1895-1987), who taught apologetics at Westminster Theological Seminary for more than forty years, has—through his teaching and writings—called two generations of thinkers to a Christian worldview and a biblical defense of the faith. Yet, twenty years after his death, conflicting claims about Van Til’s apologetic legacy abound. What most interpreters tend to overlook is his life as a Presbyterian churchman.
This biography locates Van Til in the context of twentieth-century Presbyterian and Reformed ecclesiastical struggles in America, including the formation of Westminster Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, the rise of neo-evangelicalism and American expressions of Barthianism, and post-World War II developments in the Christian Reformed Church. As Van Til spent his life ‘raising high the banner of the Reformed faith,’ his role in these debates arose from his hopes for a church that was self-consciously rooted in its Reformed identity.
This second contribution to the Handbooks for Old Testament Exegesis series continues the admirable tradition set by Robert B. Chisholm Jr. in Interpreting the Historical Books. A valuable resource for pastors and students, Interpreting the Psalms begins by explaining the nature of Hebrew poetry and the purpose of the Psalms. An accomplished scholar of the Psalms, Mark Futato next explores issues related to properly interpreting Israel’s songbook, and concludes with a sample of moving from interpretation to proclamation. A glossary is included.
Meredith G. Kline One of the most able Old Testament scholars of the twentieth century, Meredith Kline has done pathbreaking research and has opened new doors of understanding to the Scriptures. If you want to interpret the Bible accurately, you cannot afford to ignore the writings of Meredith Kline. This volume is an appropriate tribute to the distinguished career and scholarly contributions of Meredith Kline. Luder Whitlock, President Reformed Theological Seminary Campuses Jackson, Mississippi Charlotte, North Carolina Orlando, Florida
2008 ECPA Christian Book Award Winner!
Every problem in life is based on an incorrect view of God. The Discover God Study Bible is the first study Bible specifically designed to address this problem. Every note and feature draws the reader to a deeper understanding of who God is and how He can transform their life. it features an easy-to-use Topic-Guide to every major topic and teaching of the Bible.
Seeking a Better Country is a readable and lively survey of American Presbyterianism since its founding in 1706. Its aim is not to celebrate but to understand how Presbyterians formed one of the largest and most influential denominations in the United States, and to identify historical developments that led to Presbyterian decline.
Does traditional Christianity involve paradoxical doctrines doctrines that present the appearance (at least) of logical inconsistency? what is the nature of these paradoxes and why do they arise? What is the relationship between “paradox” and “mystery” in theological theorizing? And what are the implications for the rationality, or otherwise, of orthodox Christian beliefs? In Paradox in Christian Theology, James Anderson argues that the doctrines of the Trinity and the incarnation, as derived from Scripture and formulated in the ecumenical creeds, are indeed paradoxical. But this conclusion, he contends, need not imply that Christians who believe these doctrines are irrational in doing so. In support of this claim, Anderson develops and defends a model of understanding paradoxical Christian doctrines according to which the presence of such doctrines is unsurprising and adherence to paradoxical doctrines cannot be considered as a serious intellectual obstacle to belief in Christianity.
The cliché is that those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them. But Thabiti Anyabwile contends that it is not the mistakes we must study; it is the people who have overcome them. So he presents three of the most influential African-American pastors in American history who can teach us what faithful ministry entails.
Lemuel Haynes (1753-1833) reminds pastors that eternity must shape our ministry. Daniel A. Payne (1811-1893) stresses the importance of character and preparation to faithful shepherding. And Francis J. Grimké (1850-1937) provides a vision for engaging the world with the gospel. While they are from the African-American tradition, they, like all true saints, belong to all Christians of every background and era. Distinctive for its use of rare and out-of-print messages, Anaybwile’s work is valuable as a reference as well as a devotional resource.
Proclaiming the gospel is without a doubt the most important task of pastoral ministry, yet often other, seemingly more urgent activities obscure it. From time to time all pastors and preachers need to be reminded of the primacy of the gospel.
Preaching the Cross does just this. It is a call to expository, gospel-centered preaching as the center of pastoral ministry. This volume showcases an unprecedented combination of pastors representing a variety of evangelical traditions. Though they differ on some secondary points of church practice, they all enthusiastically celebrate the centrality of the cross of Christ-keeping the main thing the main thing. That message every reader can take away from this book and adopt in his pastoral ministry.
Authors Mark Dever, J. Ligon Ducan III, R. Albert Mohler Jr., and C. J. Mahaney are joined by colleagues John MacArthur, John Piper, and R. C. Sproul in calling pastors to pursue gospel-saturated, preaching-centered ministries.
‘Colonial Presbyterianism’ is a collection of essays that tell the story of the Presbyterian Church during its formative years in America. The book brings together research from a broad group of scholars into an accessible format for laymen, clergy, and scholars. Through a survey of important personalities and events, the contributors offer a compelling narrative that will be of interest to Presbyterians and all persons interested in colonial America’s religious experience. The clergy described in these essays made a lasting impact on their generation both within the church and in the emerging ethos of a new nation. The ecclesiastical issues that surfaced during this period have tended to be the perennial issues with which Presbyterians have been concerned ever since that time. Now at the three-hundredth anniversary of Presbyterian organization in America, ‘Colonial Presbyterianism’ is a timely re-engagement with the old faith for a new day.
This book significantly expands our understanding of the life and work of Polycarp of Smyrna. Part One establishes that the anonymous apostolic presbyterquot;, whose oral teaching is cited intermittently by Irenaeus in Against Heresies 4.27.1 through 4.32.1, is in fact Polycarp. The fragments of teaching preserved by Irenaeus shed valuable light upon his relationship with Polycarp, establishing that Irenaeus’ contact with his teacher was neither fleeting nor shallow. They also reveal Polycarp’s important role in opposing the early effects of the Marcionite movement and gain a valuable perspective on Polycarp’s Old Testament hermeneutic in the face of ecclesiastical controversy. Part Two considers the many links which would tie Polycarp to the work known as Ad Diognetum . Charles E. Hill proposes that the work is not a treatise but the transcript of an oral address. A new proposal is made for the identity of Diognetus, the addressee, based upon archaeological evidence of an aristocratic Smyrnaean family of the second century.