Chosen for Life, by Sam Storms

One evening during my freshman year in college at the University of Arkansas, I asked my wise Sunday School teacher, “Do you believe in predestination?” He responded simply, “The word is in the Bible.”

The word is in the Bible, but what does it mean and how does it work? If you or someone you know is wrestling with such questions, Sam Storms has done you a great service. If you have some ideas about this but would like to have a fellow traveler who has been down the path, studied the map, knows the landmarks, and can tell you the history of the great sites in a winsome, envigorating, even devotional way, Sam Storms has done you a great service.

If you know people struggling with what the Bible says about these topics, this would be a great book to give them. If you are a pastor thinking about reading a book with some guys you would like to invest in, this would be a great book to work through together.

If you have heard the buzz about the whole debate between calvinists and arminians and want a fair treatment that will rightly divide the word of truth, Sam Storms has done the hard work for you. Now you get the fun part of reading his book!

You can read the introduction and first chapter here,  and note the impressive commendations from the likes of John Piper, J. I. Packer, Tom Schreiner, C. J. Mahaney, and D. A. Carson.

I recommend that you buy and read this book.

Discuss God’s Indwelling Presence Thursday Night

Tomorrow night, Thursday, February 8, 2007, at 8pm CST, 9pm EST, I will be participating in the Converse With Scholars program put on by Reclaiming the Mind Ministries.

I’m honored to be a part of this. Here’s their schedule for this spring:

Upcoming CWS Guest Schedule

Feb. 8th, 2007 9pm Eastern – James Hamilton
The Holy Spirit in the Old and New Testaments
Join the conversation with James Hamilton as he discusses his book, “God’s Indwelling Presence.”

Feb. 15th, 2007 9pm Eastern – Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor
Overcoming Sin and Temptation
Join the conversation with both Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor as they discuss their book, “John Owen’s: Overcoming Sin and Temptation.”

Feb. 22nd, 2007 9pm Eastern- M. James Sawyer and Daniel B. Wallace
Who’s Afraid of The Holy Spirit?
Join the conversation with both Jim Sawyer and Dan Wallace as they discuss their book, “Who’s Afraid of The Holy Spirit?”

March 1st, 2007 9pm EasternSean McDowell
Truth, Relativism, and the Postmodern Generation
Join the conversation with
Sean McDowell as he discusses his latest book, “EthiX,” and shares strategies for reaching the younger postmodern generation with biblical truth.

March 8th, 2007 9pm Eastern– Doug Groothius
Christianity and the Challenges of Postmodernism
Join the conversation with Doug Groothius as he discusses his book, “Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Postmodernism.”

March 15th, 2007 10pm Eastern– Timothy Paul Jones
Finding God in a Galaxy Far, Far Away
Join the conversation with Timothy Paul Jones as he discusses his book, “Finding God in a Galaxy Far, Far Away: A Spiritual Exploration of the Star Wars Saga.”

March 22nd, 2007 10pm Eastern – Roger Olson
Arminian Theology
Join the conversation with Roger Olson as he discusses his book, “Arminian Theology: Myths and Realities.”

March 29th, 2007 10 pm EasternSam Storms
Calvinist Theology
Join the conversation with Sam Storms as he discusses his book, “Chosen for Life: The Case for Divine Election”

April 19th, 2007
9pm EasternBen Witherington
The Historical Jesus
Join the conversation with Ben Witherington as he discusses his book, “What Have They Done With Jesus?”

9News on Elders

The February edition of 9News is now available. Here is the table of contents:

SELECTING ELDERS

forum tableA Pastors’ and Theologians’ Forum
We asked a roundtable of pastors and theologians one question:

“What lessons have you learned the hard way in selecting elders?”

Answers from John MacArthur, Michael Lawrence, Phil Newton, “Ed Roberts,” Sinclair Ferguson, Bruce Keisling, Philip Pedley, Sir Fred Catherwood, Thomas Schreiner, and Alexander Strauch

Deliberate ChurchLooking For A Few Good Men (from The Deliberate Church)
How do you go about looking for elders, and what exactly is it that you’re looking for?
By Mark Dever and Paul Alexander

Justin TaylorUnbelief in an Elder’s Children—Exegesis
What if a man’s children are “unbelieving”? Does Titus 1:6 bar him from serving as an elder?
By Justin Taylor

matt schmuckerUnbelief in an Elder’s Children—Practice
Following up on Justin Taylor’s exegetical discussion, Matt Schmucker answers some practical questions about putting this exegesis to work.
An Interview with Matt Schmucker


INSTALLING ELDERS

burk parsonsElecting Elders
Who should do the nominating? Who should be nominated?
By Burk Parsons

Ben MerkleShould Elders Be Ordained?
You’ve heard the language of “ordination.” Is it biblical?
By Benjamin Merkle

Elder Vows Sample
Here’s a list of vows one church uses to install an elder.


CHURCH OR McCHURCH?

Multi-State RevolutionBook Review:
The Multi-Site Church Revolution
by Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon, and Warren Bird

Reviewed by John Hammett

went to marketBook Review:
This Little Church Went to Market
&
This Little Church Stayed Home
by Gary Gilley

Reviewed by Flynn Cratty

A Well Bound Bible

As a person who marks up the Bible as I study it, I don’t want to switch to a new copy anytime soon. Once I have worked slowly through a text, my notations are invaluable for future readings and for answering questions in class. They’re also very helpful when teaching survey courses on the Bible, since it’s not always possible to re-read, for instance, 1 Kings the night before I lecture for three hours on the whole book .

For these reasons  I have been very frustrated with some copies of the Bible that I have marked up in the recent past. Why am I frustrated? For the simple reason that these Bibles have fallen apart. Genesis is ready to fall out of the copy of the Bible I have been using.

This has led me to wonder whether the people who publish these Bibles actually expect them to be read! A poor binding is no trouble if the thing isn’t going to be used. More likely, the assumption is probably made that people will just switch to a new copy every so often.

But I’ve recently acquired a new copy of the Bible, and I’m very pleased with this binding. It has the added benefit of being a Hebrew English diglot–Hebrew in one column, English in the next (NKJV). This is great for the OT, but unfortunately, the NT is also in Hebrew instead of Greek. Oh well. Nothing’s perfect.

What would make this one perfect? Well, there are no cross-references in the text. In my experience, the best set of cross-references comes with the ESV Classic Reference Bible.

So if I could blink three times, this Bible would have this fine binding, Greek as the NT Diglot text, and the ESV’s cross references.

NKJV 2 Thessalonians 3:1 “Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified, just as it is with you . . .”

Volume 2 of NACSBT: Believer’s Baptism

Volume 2 of the NAC Studies in Bible and Theology series is now available.

This book was edited by my mentor, Tom Schreiner, along with my good friend Shawn Wright. This is sure to be the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and useful discussion of all the swirling questions about who should be baptized, when, why, how, and by whom.

Justin Taylor has served us all by conducting a fascinating interview with Dr. Schreiner.

This is an important book, especially for those puzzled by churches who want to reconsider believer’s baptism, for those engaged in conversation with paedo-baptists (those who believe in infant baptism), or for anyone who doesn’t know why the word “Baptist” shows up in the name of some churches.

Is the Bible Sufficient for Those Who Are Depressed?

What do you read when you want to help someone who is depressed? What do you suggest they read to help themselves out of their melancholy?

John Piper has thought as carefully about these things as anyone in our day, and he gives us his conclusions in When the Darkness Will Not Life: Doing What We Can While We Wait for God-and Joy.

You can read the whole thing for free online here.

This is a short book–less than 70 pages of large, wide spaced text–that can be read quickly. It is as potent as it is brief, and I pray it will receive wide circulation. This is not pop-psychology, it is pastoral soul care.

Piper has the audacity to think that the great truths of the Christian faith apply to all of life–even when people are down. If you want to live like a worldling, don’t try to live on the faith when you’re depressed, and don’t bother with this book. Conclude with many that the Bible has nothing to say to you in such times (and don’t bother with books of the Bible like Lamentations or Job).

But if you want to live like a Christian and aren’t sure how Christians should respond to emotional darkness, read When the Darkness Will Not Lift. Then give it away to someone else, and keep another few copies on hand for your next encounters with depressed Christians.

Interpreting the New Testament Text: Introduction to the Art and Science of Exegesis

The New Testament profs at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS) have put together a volume in honor of the long-time chair of the department, Dr. Harold Hoehner. This volume will probably serve as a textbook for the third and fourth semester Greek classes at DTS. The first half of the book contains chapters on method, and each is done by a DTS prof. The second half provides examples of exegesis done by scholars who do not teach at DTS. 

The treatments of method in the first half of this volume are thorough, but it seems to me that the book only delivers on half of the subtitle, because this book has the feel of being all science and no art. Part of what gives this impression is even reflected in the title, Interpreting the New Testament Text, rather than Interpreting the TEXT of the New Testament. Here we have a book strong on exegetical formula to be applied text by text, but the emphasis does not fall on developing a strategy for seeing the New Testament as a unified whole. 

That said, a book like this that gives a full explanation of the formula for doing exegesis has its value. The whole process of exegesis is covered here: from what is entailed by the word “exegesis” to text criticism to grammar to diagramming to word studies to validating interpretations to studying backgrounds to genre considerations for reading the Gospels, the Epistles, and Apocalyptic literature. Broader interpretive issues also receive treatment, with a chapter on the use of the OT in the New and a chapter on biblical theology, and the first half of the volume is capped off with a chapter on Application, Ethics, and Preaching. 

I hope that Jay Smith’s chapter on “Sentence Diagramming, Clausal Layouts, and Exegetical Outlining” will find especially wide circulation. As Smith points out, diagramming a text forces us to wrestle with every conceivable exegetical possibility. Diagramming the Greek text of the New Testament is incumbent upon everyone who believes in verbal, plenary inspiration. We must account for every inspired word. O that we might be as rigorous about diagramming as we are vigorous about our insistence on the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. 

Recipes for exegesis such as this volume provides are useful, especially when we run into problems that are difficult to sort through. No one should think for a moment, however, that the recipe must always be followed point by point when reading the Bible or preparing to preach or teach it. Nor should it be thought that following the recipe will automatically lead to the “right answer” as to what the text means. So while the recipe has its place, do not be intimidated by it, and do not wait to do exegesis until you can follow the whole recipe point by point. Trying to follow the recipe point by point might keep you from seeing the obvious meaning of the text in its canonical context.  

So if you’re looking for step by step instruction in technical exegesis of one text, this is the book for you. But I want to say this again: don’t let this way of studying the Bible suck the air out of your reading of Scripture, and don’t let these instructions make you stop reading and studying the Bible until you have time to follow all these procedures.

The Bible is a sharp, two-edged sword. As Wayne Grudem said so emphatically in his ETS presidential address, Unleash it!