EPS 2007 Lecture 1 of 4 : D.A. Carson - Biblical Theology and Preaching

[Music] well it is an enormous privilege to be with you for these two morning's in order to make what I say reasonably coherent thank you in order to make what I say reasonably coherent I want to break these four sections down into the following four topics thank you again and the first session is going preaching and biblical theology and then in the second setting preaching and systematic theology then tomorrow morning preaching and historical theology and then in the second session tomorrow preaching and pastoral theology now both are somewhat artificial distinctions in various ways but to talk generally about preaching and theology without breaking things up into subunits might be more confusing than it's necessary and at the end of each session I will allow time for questions and comments so that we can minimize the possibility of accidental distortion or overlooking something that really is far more important to Malaysian culture that I'm aware of and so forth so to begin with then I want to talk about preaching and biblical theology and I need to begin with the definition because what geology means that is a great deal different parts of the world indeed historically it has been stirred or things different groups well you see what I mean when I speak of the in theology is disciplines discourse above cause then you might think that biblical theology is discipline discourse above all that is grounded in the Bible and if that's the case and vertically all rivers theology ought to be biblical finally if you have a high view of Scripture and God has given his revelation then disciplines discourse about dogs grandpa the Bible should be follow that biblical theology event that systematic theology just when they're getting mad at y'all she ought to be boo but most people who use the expression of yogi are not using the expression exactly that way of the experiment self driven theology was first coined as far as we know in the urn 1600 and then it was used in a little German book called totem efficient yogi that is german biblical theology and although I was a little booklet of true text to through the various authors of German Lutheran theology as I was it was so the handbook of fruit texts to demonstrate the veracity of Lutheran and that my point what I mean by equivocal theology either rather today most people who use the expression understand the distinction between physical geology and systematic theology or ja Matta theology I'll use those expressions equivalently to be something like this systematic theology dogmatic theology asked and answers relatively atemporal questions questions that are not located in time so they ask questions like what is God like the incredible chapter on God walking across the chief and you rankle chapter of the atonement what is sin and you read one chapter of the nature of sin but you see all those questions are passed in a temporal categories reputable theology always asks and answers its questions along the axis of the Bible story lines along the axis of redemptive history along the axis of the development of the Canon so it doesn't happen what is our life it asks what did the prophesy of my life contribute to the unfolding doctrine of God or ask how does the doctrine of the Cross unfold itself across time in the violent storyline you see it is constantly asking questions along the temporal axis of the Bible story line has more books and more books and more books our attitude again sooner or later then you you won't probably to trace that being through the scripture it means you want to listen carefully to the particular contribution of a particular book in scripture along the line of Osteen for example how does the theme of the temple unfurl itself across time in the Bible how does the theme of covenant unfold itself across time in the Bible how the theme of priesthood a whole itself across time is a Bible will draw through the loop a logical question as part of the question that you have to ask to answer the biblical theological question is what is the contribution of any particular book so biblical theology will ask questions like what is the theology of Hosea and how does it contribute to the whole what is the theology of John's Gospel and how does it contribute to the whole what is the contribution of Deuteronomy to the whole and that means therefore that there's quite a lot of attention given to the inductive study of some particular biblical book not simply an end in itself but in order to understand and how that book fit into the unfolding pattern of self-disclosure across time is that section clear it is very important now it is worth asking another question I'll come to is a second session I hope you love it here but once you have adopted that distinction between biblical theology and systematic theology that means we're asking the question how are movable in systematic theology related to each other now we'll come back to that question but I took it away at the back of your minds now as exceeding enough now how does it have any bearing on the preacher well the person who stands up to teach the Word of God must be asking all the time not only what does this passage say but also what does this passage say within the context of this book so you're going to preach on John 3 how does John three relates to the theology of John's gospel but then you also want to ask if you're thinking of biblical theology terms and how does that feed into the unfolding pattern of God's self-disclosure across time well if you're thinking only in systematic theology categories you'll ask that sort of question you come to geometry and you say what is the doctrine of a new birth that's an a simple question music and it's progress all compacted out of this next hour if I say some things in this first hour that sound as if I'm despising systematic theology or preaching it may be we cheer businesses now we're having that it's important to understand that the two questions are business not the distinctive feature you using and both have their usefulness so what wants to do therefore in this first power is to ask and answer two questions most of my time will be given to the first question what are the ways in which a good grasp of biblical theology is likely to a which are preaching what are the ways in which a good grasp of biblical theology is likely to are likely to increase our preaching and then the second question is and here I will be much briefer what are some ways in which biblical theology may have you may be abused by the incautious or careless preacher what are some ways in which biblical theology may be abused by the incautious or a careless preacher now let's come to the first question number one biblical theology directly addresses the massive biblical illiteracy prevalent in many many many of our audiences let me repeat biblical theology directly addresses the massive biblical illiteracy now prevalent in many many of our audiences in other words sometimes the preacher is in danger of making an allusion to something in the Bible and he knows about and though he's interrogating those about anymore because are you slurring their Bible these days or if you're reading cetacean preach the Word of God with people who are not Christians or outsiders from another religion perhaps or or secularists and they don't know the Bible story at all rather a preacher who is constantly aware of this relative ignorance and then changed the preaching so as to show whether this particular passage this particular tax this particular the fish in the stream of the Bible story lost her mind is helping viewers to understand how the Bible stood it is put together that's kind of question it is astonishing how much biblical illiteracy there is around and even when people use religious words if they are not steeped in the Bible often they mean something rather different from what Christians mean even where it's like God faith truth spirit all these words means something really quite different in different religions or different cultures or different structures of thought unless people already have a mind steeped in scripture moreover if you are alert to biblical theology you will in your preaching begin to unpack some of the great strands that run right through the Bible kingship priesthood sacré but how do you explain much in the Bible if you don't deal with implications you can't you say do you want an abundant life and spend all of your time there some online if you're going to have a Bible reading Bible understanding congregation you you have to explain some of these themes that run through the scripture DV and a biblical theological awareness helps you to focus on those themes and draw attention to them this is more so than systematic theology whose categories are often synthetic and not biblical now by saying that they're not biblical I don't mean they're anti biblical I mean they're often the synthetic instructions that have emerged in history for example Trinity where does that category found in the Bible now do misunderstanding I insist the Bible teaches the Trinity it doesn't use the word the Trinity itself is not a category that is something you can locate in a concordance or supererogation historically that has been a hugely important theme if you don't know what it is is because it's not an important theme in your passionate but let me tell you historically that's been excused the important things but it's a word that's not found in the Bible again or supersessionism that is described to precede the Old Testament covenant the Old Testament sacrificial system the Old Testament priesthood and what does that say about Jews today for example in other words systematic theology has often invented a temporal synthetic categories which are important for understanding certain things which are useful in communicating and reading historical theology but at the end of the day they don't directly help people read their Bibles the first thing that people need in reading their Bibles is to understand the categories of the Bible that is the category of the vocabulary the distinctive themes that trace through the Bible and biblical theology tends to help you do that in a way that systematic theology does not number two biblical theology draws attention to the turning points in redemptive history biblical theology draws attention to the turning points in redemptive history now how many there are depends on how you evaluate the significance of particular turning points but for example if you begin with the creation and the Bible's witness that everything that God made is good then one of the first great turning points is the fall you can understand an awful lot of the rest of the Bible unless you understand what's going on in Genesis 3 over there other turning points you could choose some big ones for example let's say the founding of the nation of Israel and becoming on Christ they're making points whether all the smaller ones that flex goes in or then the call of Internet the so called Abraham comes in you and in your seed all the nations of the earth will be blessed I will see a little farther on by Paul into that how important that is to Palm self understand is understand if you're also a flipper then with Abraham then you have the great patriarchs of course which which takes you to the book of Genesis but the venomari ends up this time the brothers are down in Egypt that sets up the slavery that is supposed to begin between the two this is the Word of God if you want to understand a stinking mouth I don't you have to understand something about where he did now there are some biblical books where the historical location is not particularly important has some minor role to play in the interpretation of we're not huge salt solves for zone percent or Joel no it is okay but it's not hugely critical but many of the biblical books how really understood any deep way at all unless you know where they fit in along the turning points of redemptive history and those turning points that redundant history are not merely antiquarian visit information for people who are you know how much too much time on their hands and no relevance to our life what work differences the Exile make to a Christian person call onboard 2007 but but yet the fact of the matter is that God is chosen to give us his revelation not an abstract systematic theology now what now think positive things was an ability where mama's chosen to give up his most holy word not in the abstract categories of the systematic theology but in many different literary genre delivered across regions of history there is sequence before and after even you start talking about prophecy in the fulfillment you can't have for all see if aluminum let you have sequence and that means history and you can't understand the technologies the whole Bible together presented christ our passover jesus is our high priest you can understand both unless you understand how they work in the Old Testament you see how do you possibly understand the Epistle Hebrews which says so much about how we walk by faith what to perseverance looks like at what price is achieved and what it means to say that Christ has saved us to the animals how do you understand how much of that book its brethren in the Old Testament disclosure of God in those grades is relining rights it solves its end of the type of moment so one of the things that biblical theology does then is not only tell story but it gives us a framework in we can observe the big turning points in the story and if you get those big turning points in the story well embedded in your mind then it becomes much easier to see how the bits of the Bible fit together so the part of the preachers job is necessarily helping the congregation to see other bits of the Bible fit together because this will help them in their own reading otherwise there is a tendency for all of us to read the Bible not understanding the books of the Bible's our own the term which is looking for a pious fall for the day a verse for the day keeps the devil away and then here are the things that God says report you're just looking to be blessed in a purely psychological mystical vertical so again a 200% of course divided reading of the Bible of course we should know more the presence of God from the city rather denied Internet but the way that ought to happen is in the framework and terrorists involved himself as given those frameworks and categories are deeply rooted in district and seagulls in development in organic growth across time in history otherwise the end of looking merely a subjective mystical experience that is abstracted from what God has in fact given number three biblical theology and this falls from the last point biblical theology enriches systematic Bible reading it enriches systematic Bible reading and is in turn enriched by it and this prepares the way for mature preaching now although I was born in Canada and my wife was born in the UK I was brought up in French we live now in Chicago and in Chicago until there there is a Men's Wearhouse that sells suits for men and it is large warehouse the large turnover they have they managed to bring in the major brands so on and so forth even as we low prices so I'm told I've never been there but well if you get analyst at versus on the radio and they're their tagline is at our store and educated to consumer is our best parcel and educated consumer is our best customer if you look around you know our prices are and other stores you better comparison shopping and so on there's no question you come to us decided by the event taxes well we won't draw an exact analogy with what should take place in the local church but I think I would want to say that in the church a biblically informed Christian is our best hero a biblically informed Christian is our best here and now believe it or not I'm sure you will find this hard to believe but believe it or not there are some preachers who are the family in secures that they don't want their people to know too much because then you see the preacher is the longer a separate pedestal so you sometimes find a preacher decided to preach on Java and maybe is reading one light commentary or two in preparation you'll never mention the commentary to anybody in the church because if they get there not know everything and emails so they're posed to be ignited earning knowledge desire to the masses ignorance so that we can remain the priestly the glory of dispense information nobody else has access to that very much now we would never put it quite so crassly but well maybe not we're not one to say that for people who are really committed to the dissemination of the Word of God we ought to be doing everything we can in our power to encourage our people to be reading and thinking and understanding and not only for their own sake but even for our save as preachers if you have a congregation that's reading that's thinking you start a series on children Matthew whatever and they did if you serve suggesting to them low level commentaries introductory things that they should be reading as well then they're going to are your homes they're going to be demanding isn't that effective you know one day but your second be on them but you're taking time to think and meanwhile at the same time that teachers of a whole Word of God means that if your motivation is increasingly biblically literate your standards go up as do theirs it becomes a kind of secret event of building a whole community that is learning to think God's fault acronyms then of theology informed by biblical rather preaching rather than is informed by biblical theology tends in that direction all the time it tends in that direction all the time it helps people to become better Bible readers and as they become better Bible readers they become more discerning sermon listeners and it also helps them of course in whatever Bible studies they're leading Sunday School classes evangelistic outreach is whatever now I've always suspicious with preachers and teachers spend their time editing their own books so I almost sent a refer to the things that I could put in this case of widget but because it does get across a point I'm on today in the 1830s there was a skoshe Richard st. Heritage's Department of course Islamic reach 11 even Andrew Murray machine he died at the age of 29 just a few days before his 30th birthday but he was already known all over solemn as the saintly mr. machine he was a man affordable evangelistic concern rigorous preaching a deep commitment to teaching the whole Council zone one of the things that he developed was called machines Bible reading scheme in this Bible reading scheme if you follow it as he designed it that you read about four chapters a day but it's not that on January 1 to reach Genesis 1 2 3 4 January 2 5 6 7 8 January night in look no no it's all carefully laid up on January 1 you read Genesis 1 everyone Matthew 1 and acts 1 and if you follow this scheme for a whole year after a year you have read the New Testament and Psalms twice and the rest of the Old Testament was now that's more reading that some people believe they have time for so sometimes they instead of reading one chapter from each of the four columns for a whole year they read one chapter from seawalls bro here and then do the next two columns 92 Beauty to Z so that means that after two years you've read Psalms and the New Testament twice and the rest of the Old Testament wants and is the third must have how people not only read the word not just in a prudent excellent way but systematically and dude saw the way that they were beginning to link Old Testament New Testament together themselves so that was the origin of my two books for the love of God those books are are careful to preserve the Bible reading scheme of machine that the open pages as you can with it they're couple of minor adaptations but it's basically machines Bible reading scheme and then involving one I take one page to reflect on one of the Bible readings in the first two thoughts and the volume to the one of the Bible readings in the second to go now if the Lord is in that burden eventually I'll get another writing all industry and for what I've got there yet but yeah these in those biblical reflections just one page that's all to try to give enough biblical reflection energy vote and edifying fashion to help people understand how this session of Scripture is related to the larger reading so the focus there and so on so if you work through these two books with your Bible open for a couple of years you have learned without realizing that you're doing it you have learned a huge amount of elgyn the aim is teach people to read their Bibles in the categories of their survival for themselves is about I know some preachers who have based their entire preaching design for a whole year on the visions I've already seen so now the congregation is being encouraged all machine I already seen every Sunday what they will bridge is one of the texts from the readings from that meeting and while things are being reinforced reinforce the reinforce you see so that people are learning to think of God's laws after him so by other words this is still a form of expository preaching the passage they chose has to be expanded but the passage chosen belongs to this Bible reading scheme so that with time people are here in preaching from all parts of the Bible they're learning to hear the whole counsel of God number four biblical theology encourages various kinds of integration and diversity in preaching let me repeat that biblical theology encourages various kinds of integration and diversity in preaching in DB because he as soon as you realize that the books of the Bible are parsed out along this storyline and sooner or later you're certain to think in terms of the google mary did you say well folks get it now this virus in different parts of the world i've spent a fair bit of time in Africa for example I'll kids beginning to change now and prepare a long time it was difficult to find a sultan Harun black African preacher who was good at this course material in the Bible they were often much better American that is they belong to America culture the strengths and cultures are used to some stories and so on and or they could make those Bible stories live that's wearing Shawna's preachers you give them wrong you kill them is they want to do the moment spread in the Western tradition there's much more emphasis on the analytic so there were laws of Regents will preach they're drawn through them well that ability to handle two kings so they're eating some very famous world-class creatures whose work is on all the world the translations many different languages avoid Iran's presidential because he wasn't that in his time because he wasn't Western then almost all of his sermons were based on discourse that these decisions now if you know maybe this partly because we're over that of his times four times at a party because he also incorporated into his service many many illusion scenarios he didn't preach through the narrow passages but he was constantly telling biblical narratives from other parts of the Bible in historic we call the story and allude to it easy so that's the way he had to created these things how do we work through that if you really understand two of them geology one of the things you learn to do is to preach the different kinds of books with their different kinds of literary songs you won't be afraid in there in preaching you will realize of course when you preach from narrative and you can't handle it exactly the same way you might say three verses of I verses or have a chapter when you're preaching for example drama for Romans or Galatians but if you take three verses or a paragraph or something when you're preaching from an extended narrative chop for example a Los Angeles but are you going to be boring it's going to take you a long time to get through some of those longer boats and you'll be moving for all kinds of things that really are there is trying it's gonna be awful with narrative passages you have to deal with the plotline and the whole story now I think you need to take two or three or four or five chapters all at once to see how the story guru is using you're more concerned with character I mean how people are presented and configured in there there are see what God is saying through this means in this particular guys but if you are interested in biblical theology eventually you will want to ask how can I preach any particular look understanding its place in the stream of redemptive history and trying to understand its unique contribution in 5.72 or other setting of the minds and heart and waves of God now there are a lot of patience there are a lot of implications for the way you go about your preaching perhaps them it's worth taking a couple of examples not if you have your Bibles let me take one first of all that I've used before and then I'll take a little less common one the first is found in Genesis 39 Genesis 39 [Music] I won't take the time to read through that entire chapter but as you planted it you'll know what it's about this chapter records the temptation of Joseph on our sweat it is resisting the temptation now if you preach that chapter merely from the perspective of ethics or morality if you preach it in a purely a temporal way then you're going to draw us like this how do you be tempted well let's look at Joseph for some examples of how to be temptation he we choose to play with fire so that when she kept coming after him if you choose to be in the husband represented and lower even fused he refused to ignore just how awful sin is you call a spade a spade he calls in sin how can I do this terrible thing and sin against God he doesn't call it a better hero he doesn't call it the Mahamaya breach he does make excuses for himself I mean what do you expect in August to God and then I why me you know because I'm a slave I've got a perfect - I have a marriage and then it went round Russia the boss knows he's like a local store strength of their leverage none of that music how can I do this evil he says sit against so then if you can work through all these kinds of arguments is ago and heating the chapter and it brought along a few some practical advice for a person who worked as it's actually in any country all ultra isn't it isn't that the way it most of us was probably although appreciate his judgment however things has been found that opens are sentient I think that the clothes are useless also defeat on the other hand you also ought to be asking some questions that to rip your eyes of dutiful theology that means you start asking why is Genesis 39 then what does it add what does it in the book booyah he exposes you to asking dodging questions of the boat and then of the books place in the whole string read at the ministry what would you lose if you pull Genesis 39 X that means you've got to act on Sega Genesis 38 and the Genesis 14 to see how into the stream of the book do you think anything you need to start reading the structure of the chapter itself to be all you're telling us here what was the point well cuz there's any head of simple level Genesis 39 is in some ways a foil to Genesis 38 in Genesis 38 one of the brothers is not a he in captivity Judith no less is busy sleeping with his daughter-in-law meanwhile chosen food is asleep he doesn't make excuses for himself and maintains purity so there's a sense in which there's a kind of contrast but oil is a recoilless it shows that just because you are in a state of freedom it doesn't necessarily make you morally responsible and just because you're in a state of slavery doesn't necessarily mean that you're necessarily defeated there are more important categories than even slavery and freedom that are founded with moral integrity if you don't see that when you spend one of the chapters by itself when you put the chapters together you can't see it I'm going to say time of course you can tell but see the Genesis 39 it's almost so the set up between the cultural that was out in tourism he is there some years later with the Boehner and when the dollar for Paris for are in prison and the insurance their grievances over the hadith of all of it he becomes prime minister of Egypt and because of that he ends up not only saving a lot of Egyptians from hunger and famine now go back to the chapter itself and those four together you read it and reread it and we read it and reread it and see how its put together and you ask yourself is the whole point of this chapter merely to give you some ethical injunctions about how to face sexual temptation now I'm clear that's one of the points you divert some valid lessons about how to beat temptation sure they tend to be clustered in the middle but how does the chapter put together what is written and then you can't help but observe something very interesting chapter 39 Joseph has been taken down to Egypt he sold then we read verse 2 the Lord was with Joseph and he prospered and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master when his master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord gave him in success and everything he did Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant Paul afar put him in charge of his household that he entrusted to his care everything that he owned from the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owns the Lord was the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph the blessing of was on everything that Potiphar had both in the house and in the veal so he left in Joseph's care repeating videos with Joseph in charge he did not concern someone anything acceptable to be a remarkable I don't forget a very brief summary of a very long process most people with Joseph's background broad attainted would've been teachers language when he got down there undoubtedly he didn't need it and to start better in language as a slave no heirloom that dirtiest filthiest most ignorant jobs over the time he worked himself up at the slave ladder to trade with other eventually the cheese learning abilities across event and implement God was upon now course there are all kinds of people from a prosperity gospel background who think that's it it's all blessing is really hungry you're going to be free and rich beauty sleep and you wouldn't be no prospect of ever drinking said if you dislike the rest of us with this blessing of a positive bond as he works with integrity even display that first project but they can't open those very singleness in the matter of sexual temptation from London it's precisely because he is faithfully and sub in prison he doesn't end up in prison because he's unfaithful he hasn't been prison because he's thankful and then what do we read she griffith 20b while Joseph was there in prison the Lord was with him he showed him kindness and granted in favor in the eyes of the prison ward so the warden put Joseph in charge of all those held in the prison and he was made responsible for all of us done there the Warren paid no attention to anything under joseph's care because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success and whatever he did boy there's a different view of success isn't it no success in terms of money or power influence the success in terms of integrity and righteousness the painfulness so there's another lesson that you can't hope to see for every point of view if you begin and end a unit with the same theme is called an inclusive and included it's a kind of literary envelope it's a way of signaling this is how the chapter is really about the chapter is not personal about sexual temptation always essence of important things there is really about how God's providential watch here was solo or Joseph that whether he was a slave or a condemned slave within a prison system he still lived by his Heavenly Father he still lived a life of integrity and God's blessing was with him so that he was trustworthy even within that despicable system or that doesn't make a lot of people in any culture doesn't it and then you throw that into the context of the developing story lines in the book of Genesis and you discover that in God's sense that very faithfulness is what cinema ultimately not only to achieve high office in the Egyptian Court but the same is old family I think this is the family that comes her hero to the promise of the Seas was didn't our baby develop Emily he's actually preserving the promise that he hadn't seen and not only is this a turning point in the book of Genesis that makes sense of the rest of the book it's a turning point in the rest of the whole town because children kept is timber I Jesus was born and you are saying to Kuala Lumpur whoa now it's true to say because God is sovereign God is good and God is gracious and you know the end from the beginning to understand because for me to to ignore Bale is no problem at all the truth is human speaking Genesis 39 is tied to the cross because of Jordans faithfulness under God's good hand the Holy Family is preserved from Panama the Holy Family comes down to Egypt which then becomes a setup ultimately for the incident and giving them raw uranium complete of all raised to the birth of Jesus on the cross do you think this is just a little chapter that's battled up with it can be sexual temptation you will say that we all need some help out of the arena special temptation but it's not the Japanese imposes you using as a careful reading of how the chapter blow of a narrative in Genesis and how that fits into the flow of the narrative the whole Canon is opening up your eyes and your people's eyes to how God is with us but all of a simple revolution together not to see that as to miss the whole point at Stanford other versions of text now let me turn to a less well-known passage Exodus 4 & 5 Exodus 4 FR g DQ 4 & 5 e CQ 4 & 5 [Music] now once again I don't have time to work right through these two chapters but it is important to understand when Ezekiel was written by whom - it was addressed where does it fit in the storyline etq was a prophet called by God to minister to the exile from Judea who were at this point 70 miles away from their home on the banks of the k-bar River in the battle in Empire in the south there were raids of transportation Jerusalem and mom yet all but two waves of Transportation had already taken place the he could have gone was that way and he would never see home again he would ever get after those eighty seven hundred pots with a long wet I flew something like ten thousand miles to get you put onto me welcome to four hours in those a 700 month that's three months perhaps on the back of account was along what he would never get home and for the first years of his ministry he spent a lot of time telling the Exiles by the banks of the Tamar River that Jerusalem was gonna fall for the six years that open is Minister that covers chapter 1 - halfway from chapter 33 six years of administer prophecy after prophecy after prophecy Simpson tell the people of God how wicked Jerusalem is destruction is inevitable the $1 is much more than you think and the people are saying that that kind of actual all city of the Great King that it is what a pitiful Oh God his problems are plastic if he killed answer is buses Lord his people's worker and you think of all God's going to call us back tomorrow me preserver we have to go do as I said for these people or worse again make judgments on hoth because on all the chapter 33 and then the report comes in Jerusalem that Jerusalem has fall and then easy can begins for the first time to sound notes of Hope now I'm enough time to unpack of of Ezekiel despite its esoteric symbolism because it makes it a bit strange to our ears when we first hear it in fact the main Trump specifically detail is pretty simple it's pretty straightforward if you just broke it down with those two parts on the 33 and then holds on from there did you do see when you're reaching the horse and similarly the amount of focus on the fact that you're only having a chat two or three at a time and when I first preached through this section of text I chose chapters four and five and one go and what you have here is a lot of simple blatant ways of indicating that Jerusalem is going to be destroyed I don't have time to talk to walk through the whole chapter but let me tell you when you're preaching chapters four and five to a congregation it's enough to drive the entire congregation into despair there's not a note of hold here anywhere so what do you do so I don't want to hit my congregation overhead light now I don't think I'll preach those two chapters but isn't this the Word of God - when you're doing these chattering of reaching them well one of the things you can do precisely because you're thinking now biblical theological categories is to start out working your way through these two chapters in one sermon I've covered these two chapters one sir to show how the various into symbolism to the promised judgment disaster the city is going to be destroyed there more than anything but what language is a popular - and it's full of gloom and doom and despair catastrophic judgment that more on their problem anywhere but then somewhere along the line it might also be worth mentioning that this isn't the end of the book after all we're still waiting for chapter 33 to come not only so that this is of a piece with something else that you can find barreling right through the Old Testament there are so many passages in the Old Testament that announced judgment on Jerusalem or on tire on that long judging other people involved going to exile judgment judgment on the natives and then spread the Old Testament promises and blessing problems is the forbearance promises of the continent of attained promises of forgiveness process of restoration and renewal then if you set up 10 or 20 of these very quickly all negative ones and all of all the ones barrel runs in the scripture and every not in every ball and then they come crashing together in the great climax of the cross we're wrong I'd love meet for justice and peace kiss each other and the only resolution that makes sense hold it all together there's our sins it is gone you cannot go to college II thought I picked up something you have picked up another meeting elsewhere that is the way these things run through the Bible together do you think so if you're helping people to make a sense not only of chapter five of Ezekiel to the concept of a teacher but you're helping people to see what kind of streams of biblical theological teaching that they belong to and how they relate to other streams running right through the Bible and how those streams eventually converge and the personal word of Christ well that's number four I better start speeding up here biblical theology demands inductive rigor in preaching biblical books and corpora let me explain biblical theology demands inductive rigor in preaching biblical books and corpora because systematic theology tends we're asking a tempo questions it will ask for example what is the knee ology of the call of God but biblical theology will ask how does the theme of the call of God work out a different bit of a loop because it might not work have any critical look at exactly the same line for example it's all that Hong Kong is effective if you're called by God in Paul's use of the verb to call you're saying well in the synoptic Gospels the verb to call is used rather to mean something like imitate many are called but few are chosen GTEC so then you hear about establishing a soft Republic Hong Kong simply mopping up all the instances of the word call with the Bible and engraven because the biblical writers use the terminology in slightly different ways it's one of the things that if you learn to respect in biblical theology because you're trying to find out how the language works each biblical book or corpus now there are a lot of examples that you'd be given along those lines where in fact biblical theology is trying to help people work through specific categories in individual books if I had more time I would give examples from John treated new birth for example I don't think that you can read new birth language from Titus 3 back into John 3 I think using even other both talking about new verb I think that the using the language of water and so in somewhat different ways number 6 yoky not only keeps in mind the great turning points in redemptive history we've seen that but keep an eye peeled for the inner canonical tendons that hold all of the Bible together and ultimately point to Christ let me repeat that and explain it it will be all to none that keeps in mind a great turning points in redemptive history but it keeps an eye peeled for the inner canonical tendons the inner canonical themes inner canonical that is the things within the cannon itself that tie all the Scripture together and any luck that we point or Christ thirdly will 20 there are many many more sub-themes but they're only about twenty really really big ones themes that run right through most of the Bible seems like the Covenant temple sacrifice priesthood idolatry and quite a number of others now once you start seeing these things you start reflecting on how important they are or time the whole Bible together and the fact the matter is that many of these beams are really unknown in other cultures especially in secular honest cultures how many people today for example in any sector Esparza were allowed care whether it's Japan it's Americans over in any really centralized part of literally make a difference how many people are those parts of the world and think deeply about what temple meet or bloody sacrifice even though the stock shows you how important those things are or the way the whole Bible is typing in their ceremonies so there's no sense what you have to do when you are preaching from a certain book and you come across one of these 20 or so needs that's why the ball alive together is you need to take a few minutes to survey for people how that he was a lot of you need to do you need to point out the inner canonical connection or they give you an event you come across another passage in future chapters 10 and 11 and in fact section edq is transported from chapter 8 on he's transported in a vision to Jerusalem and he sees the horrible idolatry in the temple and song is horrible adulterer and in his pity he sees but mourn of God that is hovering over the temple in his vision duparde the temple to the mobile approach charity the melodical charity mercy in this first chapter and eventually the charity when the Horned God abandoned Jerusalem cross and control Valley and know nothing of all and parks that now visible is pretty clear eventually how this big media explains this to the others all the best at a bar area because it ends up what I did or is it a way of signaling that God is going to abandon Jerusalem he's going to abandon the temple if God abandons it then he'll be more than a hunk of masonry did you skip government there's no black so that in due course the battle will be in arms come in and destroy it it's not because God isn't strong enough to protect it it's precisely because God in computer law is already clear did you see but even trying to explain this don't you also have to explain something about the significance of the temple and then you might want to remind people for example that immediately the hosnian to visualize above the temple was tabernacle and precise instructions were given in the book of Exodus so how to build exactly the kind of fabric or kind of skin to use how they could lost a holy place of hopes Holy Blood and then that temple was bound up with with all the great feasts of the people of God hassle yoga positive energy satanic the McSweeney was also found up very tightly together and to come into the presence of the most holy God who reflected himself in glory in the most holy place father only be done by God's chosen person and the only one thought this and only by the needs that authorizes the blood all goat was here the animals being slaughtered both persons of the presupposes of the people and has to be done again and again year after year and anybody else who dared move the breath of God weakened and when this whole while Tabernacle this Tabernacle was to be wound elsewhere what happened both the Word of God left there's just a tenant to leave way to wrap it all off care about my shoulders anyway and then dogs in ear so they said all the kids will revoking backbone is the presence of government support do you think and then immediately you guys were promised land yes there are some other stories depending on how much time you have to fill in but how constancy with example expert in what happens to them how its restore who eventually go from there going to be one stable sanctuary and strong shows the City of Jerusalem you can fill in and if you want to hold it want to build a temple the Jerusalem got that you you don't tell me what to watch is designed there won't be use your award and it won't be the fact what's going to happen is is that if you go to house for me I'm gonna build a house for you now for a big amount of Builder god I hosted was a temple walls two bills per day that a husband is a density and there is the beginning of the domestic cause the leaves rating is greater son because there's bring up tempo music so the temple imagery then begins to set up anticipate of the video and it coming particularly this temple is built under solvent and you remove that happen when it's ready in the great prayer of dedication the more you draw so these sentence upon the temple where the priests can even work there they have to run behind scatter we're doing here with the glory the graves transcendence off now results in amongst the coven people job there's the Haven worship and idolatry sexual perversity and all kinds of things in the temple and go that is it that walks away Roo's over the city and dis Alenia predicted with judgment will fall then at the end position in chapter 11 when he kills explaining all of this vision to get cells by the backs of the cave our River Jordan or he says Chevron he said that that you know he's so happy one of the passengers so that let me tell you quite rightly the people just won't forget about you they're just lying around beds make sure about you but you will not was it even after Jerusalem's Hall I will be a stationary for you next information because the real temple is not where the masonry is the real temple is where love is so long will be a century people by the back to the cave are very very business can be a century first people Jerusalem invention we employ the people to return according to the Allah promised a fatty a table and as other temple is built all kinds of drama foods all anybody who gets to the streets of Jerusalem where a horse is heard saying destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it again Josh attitude destroy this temple and in truth or is it again this usual how who Jesus was talking about Jesus is talking about John they didn't understand it was a clone another enigmatic xdd Jesus always a beastie things were said some day but after Jesus was risen from the dead John remarks then they remembered what he said and they understood the scriptures and it was the point of all these constructions being institutions the structure of the tabernacle and all is intended sacrifices brokenwood after all that all that we came to anticipating one person who would say do you know the real meeting place between Dalton human being is not that temple it's me on the 10th and there really includes between garden to be the ultimate sacrifice are the ultimate priests and the ultimate King don't you see that so in the New Testament be any type of the old testamental in either question settle the ground as a particular nation with a particular building but the place where God meets with people that's why long 15 Paul talked about any vandalism as his priestly minister because you see is part of the Ministry of the temple where people we we've gone and in one asset the individual Christians body is the temple of bills now sometimes that's the what we emphasize the most it's fast in fact it's really clear on what passage that the charges of people of the organized and then you keep pressing on it and see how the abyss will be he views unpack some of those old connections that's all and ultimately you come to the book of Revelation and the final vision revelation 21 22 John his vision season Hugh has it anywhere in the home of righteousness the mitchison think he doesn't come there he says chapter 22 I saw no temple in that city for the Lord God Almighty and the lamb are acceptable if you don't need in mediating structures anymore you are forever always in the most holy place it's why the city of Jerusalem as its described the 2122 is going to cute if you ever see Mississippi know what the unknown Apollo were has this long one tower now there's no way that the whole city of Kuala Lumpur is lost to what are the DQ it's a simple Natan way of saying in apocalyptic terms then it is the antitype of the only cumin the Old Testament in the cumin the Old Testament is the most holy birth and now all of the people of God are in the most holy place there is no temple how could there be all the people have bought are already involving what now any Christian was raised viable for a long time she knows all that other strings along the road that his attendant ties the whole Bible together you see but there are many people in our churches that don't know those bits and pieces they don't know how to hold make this together and if you spend some time with above 20 so means that I army these moveable books together leaves last temple and sacrifice in some volatile he said turn the girls in the pulpit you're teaching people have a whole other revelation of God fits together how do their solution give up their spiritual existence there was what God has done well salvation is about who Christ is how he's at the climax of everything easy the ology teaches you to do that so if you're reaching through Ezekiel 8 9 10 and 11 and you get to this final bit where mom says to the exiles I will be a sanctuary for you it becomes a wonderful occasion to take 10 minutes as I've done here and give a kind of mini excursus to survey how to speed run threat to the reliable now there are a lot of other examples we could get but the percent biblical theology helps you avoid anachronism in your preaching it helps you avoid anachronism in your preaching that is sometimes we can be so eager to get the application that were reading some old tested account as we treat the account as if it's being casted you test maternal what did you teaches in and as people all things of sensitive issues today are doing at all time personnel if there is a discussion anywhere in the world nowadays on Christian views on homosexuality Eve anyway somebody in the press will write some stained condescending article of a always stupid Christians are inconsistent you know in the Old Testament knowledge and condemned homosexuality starting as well to death for adultery they want us to condemn adulterers together to tell us something as well they're choosing their parts of the Bible selectively don't you see now that despite whatever disagreements there are amongst Christians about how the bids and the people of the Bible fit together it is biblical theology that forces us to think through what bits of Mosaic law continue as prescriptive force as legal length as long as demanded under the terms of the New Covenant what are the points of continuity and discontinuity and why I don't know a lot of Christians were running around the worlds today trying to say that if you commit adultery you should be stoned in it in fact I know a lot of Christians who say they to commit adultery should be stoned to that and it's not because they disbelieve their Bibles it's because they're trying to put their Bibles together with before and after prophecy and fulfill on and different covenants different administration's kind of understand how the Bible internally thanks do you fit otherwise what we really need right now is to go building in Temple in Jerusalem take Emily off austell alarm start old sacrifices would become Jews again except that Nichols back as far as Moses maybe we should all go back to Tom Abraham instead go all the way back that do you see the bottomless storm either you go to thicker other bits together they don't fit together merely in a temporal connection they fit together in sequence so that to understand your dual core theology begins to enable you to avoid anachronism in your teaching and preaching all over the world well I've got two more I'm going to skip them I'm gonna skip and much more briefly ask the second question for about five minutes then take the last 50 minutes for Q&A what are some ways in which biblical theology may be abused by the in cautious or careless preacher number one just because you develop a so-called storyline and try to fit the visit of the Bible into this line does not necessarily mean you're being faithful to God's Word under repeat that just because you develop a so-called biblical story line and try to fit the bits the Bible into the story line doesn't necessarily mean you're being faithful to God's Word because after all you may not understand the storyline very well you may lose a bit some ramen or not see how some of the bits are fit together or some people who are really keen of this storyline approach divided these days begin to despise systematic theology which will come to capture the brain and then what Matthew had to say well then how to say and Nehemiah have to say and after to have birthday and all of those in their bit but that they don't think together into one big cohesive whole where are these witnesses and experiences using difficult AB you Larry because I think they're beans and then the ringing today we reach the Bible is then automatically the choose that little bit or choose the question studies of the word the advantage of systematic theology is it really does believe ideally I think it really does believe that there's one brain behind holding and it is still degenerate to ask the question not simply what does the book of Ezra contribute to our knowledge or the character of God but who is God it is suited to have huge tonight a general practice using it is so different because they love it one mark to be like the whole bit the night ago so even if God had and His mercy and wisdoms providential oversight work of individual office with all very interesting themes and location of history all that there's still a lot like any kind of little theology that is so interested in being story actor isn't being English means writing all that at the end of the day it refuses to think in large synthetic terms that's a huge mistake for ultimately it tends toward density that there is one mind God's mind behind the whole number two even after you have come to terms with fact the biblical books belong a certain sort only because you've got inside and out of google theology you must remember that there are also other axes to remember that at this point you see is not just a physical geology system a theology there are other factors of air in mind horizontal God in His wisdom did not give us the Bible merely as a booklet systematic theology where I said that but we didn't quite give up the Bible either simply as a sequential list of books like strings are broken or lost ring must be a tire well did you can you miss out he would give us books of extraordinary diversity literary Shawn and form an emphasis people with the Bible has comment' print historical narrative chronicle powerful symbol like children's stable judges not apocalyptic letters biography agree with Joel warning it has very little one-line sayings proverbs and epigraphs it has different subsets that belong to the category of the letter entreaties personal testimonies wizard prayers if you know something different forms using so that don't want you to start compete Athens set a long time reflecting on the nature of River ecology well I'll just do my preaching in the categories of ecology event I forget everything out for the fact of the matter is the Bible is a supple supple flexible and multi very multi huge book and one must not start using the categories of Neurobiology the sledgehammer that destroys everything else and finally none of what I have said variates the importance of correlative disciplines careful exegesis telling application galbi meditation to try to understand the word and absorb into your life before teaching and preaching all I've done in this hour is show the contribution of biblical theology all right link submit in your life the preacher and teacher the word about how to use the discipline the biblical theology to enrich your preaching then all kinds of ways that we sometimes overlook now according to my watch we have about 15 minutes before we are rescued by tea that of cotton they love so much party mystics will be end about politics because the camaraderie onigiri - they value further preserve wanted to look at the Christian response in Tunisia how you are all built estimates you his quarters Socrates himself was not a fascinating because your school and uses are matters in all right us muscles did you get it when they repeated he said that I failed to say much about the area of hermeneutics and the Challenger / beginning says principle to determination need to be thought through when dealing with many many topics whether from a category beautiful geology or systematic theology for example he says what do you do with it what contribution is biblical theology negatory understanding of a place of Israel and the whole history of the violent ideologies the systematic theologies is something on how to put that together so that there are some Christians today who think that the current state of Israel is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and there are other people like John Stoll you mentioned who think that such matters belong to the general sweep of matters and dinner and that the ultimate fulfillment of Israel in the ordinance is the Israel of God people of God that in common so what do I have to say to help resolve the solution to that very visitation of your question yes now for the purpose of the talk of this lecture it's important I think to see that how you understand Israel turns not only on how you understand some proof texts but how you understand Israel as a theme running through Scripture in other issues responsibly how you do a line of textin in a temporal sentence that's the category of systematic you and come up with a conclusion that she find convincing if there is any way ahead to help Christians come to a calm mind about matters like that or religiously disagree then it becomes very important in every one of those texts and its own context it is all over the world but then to see how it fits into the stream of redemptive history the unfolding of biblical theological truth to see the direction in which things are moving the direction in which they're going it would be because if you do not see such direction matters you may become a piece that describes Israel abroad trying for example the song if you're true the songs that effect okay rusul how can I ever forget you it's like cutting off my hand or something like that is that ultimately talking about Jerusalem below or not now serve kind of hermeneutic said yes but in the context that's what was understood and and you take the literal meaning first and all these are mechanical choices but if you then ask yes but how does the theme of Jerusalem of Simon of interim moves through the Old Testament following the New Testament so the moment we got Paul Galatians 6 wrestling with our almost not really Jerusalem the lawless troops from it is abundant the new heaven the work is often at the almost feature there at the New Jerusalem will you do that anything together so I don't think that's general theology that answers all questions for you I do think that the discipline of biblical theology as to the discipline of systematic you and bringing them to bear with rigorous exegesis and the nature of typology and that sort of thing is much more likely to bring you to a stable build a theological conclusion than if you approach those sorts of questions with only one discipline that you're both at your disposal as if all such pressures are merely addressed by a kind of selection of fruit texts I think they do look ya'll chew will help you become operational billing question back there actually whether an under the removable theology or under the rubric of systematic theology do we not have to wrestle with things that are rightly received to the other entrance I've acknowledged some differences for example in this lecture on how Paul is used in the synoptic Gospels and in Pulver let's take a much bigger me let's say pneumatology in luton Luke acts as opposed to pneumatology in Paul well what do we think when there are different perspectives like that are they just different perspectives are we are we entitled to one of them together into one or do we just allow the apparent contradiction specific and mastered or enjoy the differences choose one of the other but you can't really happen hold who you doing these kinds of things whether under the ages of biblical theology or under the ages of systematic theology in the if you sitting in there since we different attempts no reconciliation is that already going too far cross the Rubicon toward some sort of systemic unbelief is that the question a lot it's a huge motion I wish I had to introduces the more you mind is interesting is the joggling around a variety of scholars were asked to write books on yellow and the bridge wrote a book with the title the role the element in the bridge Jeff and the Italians wrote a book on the law like a dog and the babies or both hundred ways to cook an elephant and the Germans wrote a book on the use of developments in war and you're going to be fasting until you get adjusted to - to the German academics and they wrote the ontology of illness and if you'll excuse me of my Jersey are all orientated toward Europe in this case but I didn't dare tell you what the Japanese and the Malaysia well so I wish I could have a poor quality reduction to your question is really what I brought up in your ocean belongs to to a broader category of disputatious that's nothing to think about that category is first of all all of them are those people who tell you what the pile is on the basis of what Jesus says about the Bible the basis of the Bible says about itself and so all these things were God's words are eternal they're so that happened and if you Jesus never does the truthfulness of any part of my ability quotes and it really is the Word of God also it's on Lasan and another who says yes yes yes but what you have to see is the commonality in the Bible what the Bible actually consists of and when you see the commonality is the possible then you see instances in 72 apparent partitions it's the way they've just uses the old pretty strange ways you see these kinds of things and that has to be your view of revival is you you begin at all mulching so how was you come up with a very different view but the Bible is and if you simply give us what Jesus said the Bible is and what I don't want to say I suppose is a plague on both your houses that is to say a coherent view of the Bible is going to be very sensitive to what the Bible says that it is but it is also going to recognize that phenomenology helps to flesh out what the Bible is as well let's take the example that you have given namely you mythology in the gags and in Paul now that this this question is this huge amount of time to sketch it all you mythology let's just pick up tons for example in tons connected with the spirit in acts tongues are mentioned explicitly and only three passes alluded to the four acts to where they are used by the people of God to communicate the wonders of God to tears in their own language it's clearly used for communication to other people they are accompanied argument an environment and it certainly marks the coming of the Spirit as the great promised gift predicted by Joel assault that's what you get the chapter to probally tongues are presupposed in Chesser 8 in Samaria although they're not explicitly mentioned then they occur as 10 11 in connection with the falling of the spirit on Cornelius to Gentile so the Samaritans are half reeds and then for nearly what words and acts 13:2 the people in India NASA's Weather Service is there in a kind of 2 or because that baptized into John's baptism that don't really understand so what is battling the gospel in unintentional patently so these case then the tons come up on a group there's no instance in acts of tons coming upon an individual in acts two there is communication to outsiders in acts 10 and a lot to there's no communication to outsiders it's for communities and as much as that's the function of the restoral of the Spirit manifested in tongues in acts 10 11 is to authorize authenticate that these people have received the Holy Spirit exactly as the Jew had is not for the purposes of communication it's for the purposes of medication that's the Jerusalem problem and I were argument acts 19 authentication to that once you get a group when he came back to the other group so the motion of this manifestation of the Spirit is a bit different in these various passages you see compared back with prescriptions 12 13 and 14 where terms are clearly spoken by individuals our parents the court of the ball in product could be no he sendeth I thank honor speak in tongues more than all of you but be quiet or didn't know that 10,000 Enomoto that is in the cure to go he insists upon always is intelligible nevertheless he does say he speaks he tells me at all but apparently primarily in private and for over because of the insistence on intelligibility with the fires come in according to chapter 14 verses 20 to 26 at tons that are not interpreted are unintelligible they just become a sign of curse a disaster of choice for the public people of God because you must have intelligible to be the proclamation and teaching of the word of God so here clothes are Falls on lockers Paul and the principal others again and again and again in individual non the group not communicating to a climbers know there you must have the intelligibility of the understood word its functions are really very very different you see between what you get here what you get there that's the kind of thing that you have a lot of business now I would want to say so obvious things first of all there is no hint here it seems to me a logical contradiction what you do have is major distinction in emphasis and it is not too difficult precisely if you're informed by biblical theology to see how the embassies in acts especially our embassies that are attracting out the advancing stage of the church as it reaches open Jews to Samaritans to Gentiles the Spirit has a huge part in the theology of Acts toward bringing Jews and Gentiles and a strange Bunch in Ephesus together into one great church so it just as it is the spirit in Acts who is authorizing the believers to go out and sending the gutter pipe any people have said smells of us the Acts of the Apostles of the accent always birth can be losses so even the unification of the whole becomes a part of the work of the Spirit of God they're welcome to we have to put let's say acts 2 in a box and say this video beetle you MA they must communicate to Allah they won't be there for natural languages over here to power you don't have a lot else we can make sense of Maxwell up to 14 except a most astonishing exegesis we're welcome to take one passages Indian Indian Indian in first Corinthians 12:14 and absolute Isaac make it the boss say industry board every matter what is that Thomas period which gives me and make sense of other parts you see usually when there are these different perspectives that are brought together if you have enough of the right questions you begin to see how the pieces actually go here into a much bigger hole Marv our problem as preachers is if we don't have confidence in the Word of God as Jesus understood the Word of God we don't ask the right kinds of questions that dependent that we see how the different components that we're dealing with and that theology of you guys for the theology of all actually meant into a still bigger cohesive whole and so a busy developing forms of reductionism that ultimately absolute are both part of the whole that have the effect then of minimizing your organizing or even rejecting the most obvious beatings another possible did you deducing so it seems to me that one isn't words to listen carefully out of the categories of the apology to the phenomenology of scripture that is how the various bits of scripture actually work what they say it's also important to listen to what scripture says about itself including all the absolute Spirit of God faithful reliable written Adam secure all the rest earth all the way to the words of our toast and forever it's also on and out of the to understand that we're other eyes to see how the diverse god-given components fit something bigger than most of us have begun to imagine because we're still thinking in coming goals does it begin to make sense now after that we really have to do is take 10 examples as working true to see how this works out in practical life and understanding Scripture of teaching the whole Council of God soulful and it's time for tea

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Length: 97min 35sec (5855 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 06 2017