New book contract

I just got word that Harvest House will publish my book on the kingdom of God. A contract is in the mail. Looks like I will be very busy this summer.

Baptism and the Eternal Covenant

When Jesus was baptized by John in the waters of the Jordan, what was actually transpiring? According to Barth, Christ through his baptism publicly acknowledged and committed himself to carrying out his unique role as Messiah and Savior. As such he took up the task of living wholly for God and wholly for man. This was the first step in fulfilling “the covenant which God resolved upon from all eternity, which He set up with Israel (yet already with a view to all mankind) and which, in virtue of His great love, in spite of man’s unfaithfulness, He willed to bring to its goal in Him, the Son of God as true Son of Man. God for man and man for God is the fulfilled covenant, the accomplished reconciliation, the ministry of Jesus Christ.”

In baptism, Christ stood in “solidarity with men” and placed himself “unconditionally at God’s disposal.” Thus, baptism became the initial public act whereby Jesus accepted his role as mediator between humankind and God. It was an eschatological event that led to the cross, and would culminate in the kingdom of God on earth.

A New Strategy for Missions is Needed

Am I the only one who is concerned with the way the American church does missions? In my denomination, a missionary must have a M. Div. to be appointed as a full-fledged missionary on a foreign field. Next comes missionary training, which includes more education and learning another language. Once the missionary reaches his/her destination, they often realize how different they are from the natives. Skin color, customs, culture—even the concept of time—become barriers to effective communication. Trust is another factor that stands in the way of establishing healthy relationships, along with American feelings of superiority.

After spending thousands of dollars to train, travel, and set up residency, the hands-on ministry haltingly commences. Discouragement soon sets in, especially during the holidays, and the missionary often yearns for hearth and home.

Just how effective is much our mission strategy?

The same can be asked about short-term missions. I was discussing this question with a good friend who told of a recent medical mission trip to a poor Asian nation. Approximately 30 individuals made the trek to set up make-shift clinics, examine patients, and treat them with prescription drugs. By necessity, they worked through interpreters. The three-week venture cost each participant approximately $3,000. That was $90,000 for the trip. Since the annual project has been ongoing for a decade, nearly $1,000,000 has been expended to date!

What is wrong with this picture? One million dollars could have funded several clinics, staffed with native doctors, nurses, and aides on a full-time basis for the past ten years. Instead of 30 weeks of medical care, the villagers would have received 520 weeks of care.

How did the early church do missions? Is it possible they developed strategies that are still applicable for twenty-first century missions? Hopefully, in the weeks ahead we can provide answers to some of these questions. Your comments are welcomed.

Spirit Baptism and Water Baptism

How are baptism with the Holy Spirit and baptism in water related? Are they separate and distinct acts? Does one sequentially or logically follow the other? In some church traditions, the answers are precise and dogmatic.

Roman Catholics, for instance, equate water baptism with Spirit baptism. To be baptized in water is to be born again. The churches of Christ call upon those who hear the gospel to repent and be baptized as a precondition for receiving the Holy Spirit. Other traditions treat water baptism as an initial act of confession that follows conversion or the baptism with the Holy Spirit. All cannot be right. Either: a) one is correct and the others are wrong; b) they are all wrong; or c) each/some may possess partial truth.

While opinions vary, all Christian traditions require members to be baptized with both the Spirit and water.

Karl Barth spent many years of his life trying to sort out this doctrinal dilemma and finally concluded that they were two sides of the same coin or two aspects of one solitary baptism. As Paul taught, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all” (Eph 4:6-8). Just as there can be no more than one God, one Lord, or one body, so there is only one baptism.

As such, he held that Spirit baptism is the divine side and water baptism is the human side. One is God’s doing and thus is objective in nature; the other is man’s doing and is subjective in character. He believed that Spirit Baptism is what God does in and to Christ for humankind. Through Christ’s life, death and resurrection, which Barth identified as the initial act of Spirit baptism, God begins to create a new human race of which all may be a part. When the good news is preached and finds root in the individual, man’s will is freed to respond to the gospel in repentance. The proper response is a request to be baptized in water and to identify with the Christian community.

Barth believed that God gives the Holy Spirit to every repentant believer, before, after or at the point of water baptism. This bestowal by God applies the Baptism of the Spirit found in Christ to the individual, when the two become one and the believer actually becomes part of the new creation.

In future entries we will examine Barth’s views of baptism, using his last volume of Church Dogmatics as our guide, and comparing them to the Scriptures. Since Barth waited to the end of his life to speak a final word on baptism, one might conclude he had more time to ponder this subject than all others and that he wanted to get it right.

THE VIRGIN BIRTH AND ISAIAH 7:14

The church traditionally has accepted the reality of the virgin birth. The Apostles Creed proclaims, “I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary . . . .”

The Gospel writer Matthew concludes that Christ’s miraculous birth was the fulfillment of a prophecy recorded in Isa 7:14, “Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son and she will call his name Immanuel” (NASV). When one examines the passage in its historical context, however, it looks like the prophecy is addressed to King Ahaz for his day and age, and not one pointing to the birth of the Messiah. How did Matthew come to his conclusion?

The Gospel writers deemed the OT a divine book, making it different from all other kinds of literature. Therefore, they held that it had a divine as well a human meaning. What the original author intended for his audience (authorial intent) was not the only or final meaning of a passage. The divine author (God) infused the text with another meaning for an entirely different audience, which would be revealed in time. According to Raymond Brown, Scripture should be given a first and second reading; one to discover the human meaning and the other to find the sensus plenior or fuller meaning.

The Gospel writers adopted methods of interpretation that were common to the Second Temple period. Unlike modern-day evangelical exegetes, they did not limit themselves to the grammatical-historical school. They concerned themselves not only with the OT text’s meaning for the original audience, but its divine intent for their contemporary audience. Two of the more popular interpretive methods were:

1. The Pesher method that sought to uncover the eschatological or messianic meaning of the text, which was not necessarily the meaning that the original author intended. This method was prevalent among the scribes of Qumran. Texts such as Ps 118:22–23=Luke 20:17–18; Isa 61:1–2=Luke 4:16–20; Isa 7:14=Matt 1:22–23 can be interpreted this way.

2. The Midrash method that sought to find a deeper than surface meaning to a text through careful observation and prolonged reflection. Deut 25:4=1 Cor 9:8–9 is an example of this method.

Being inspired, the NT writers were given unique abilities to discover the “correct” eschatological or deeper meaning of the text. They understood the OT contained more than mere facts about Israel, but was a record of salvation history up until that point, but which was moving forward. It had an eschatological dimension. The OT then was part of a much larger story, which had not yet been fulfilled. Therefore, from a divine standpoint, each OT story had future implications, often unbeknown to the original author.

Obviously OT writers did not know about Jesus, but their NT counterparts did; thus, when the latter read the Hebrew Scriptures they interpreted them from a Christological perspective (e.g. Isa 7:14; 53:3). To interpret the OT according to the original author’s intent only (the grammatical-historical method) was to miss Jesus. Likewise, when we refuse to go beyond the historical context of a passage; we too miss Jesus in the OT. We end up with Judaism, not Christianity!

The testimony of Jesus himself is that the Hebrew Scriptures point to him (Luke 24:27, 44). Therefore, we must look at these ancient texts from both eschatological and Christological points of view. This is exactly what Matthew does. He reads Isa 7:14 and seeks to discover the divine author’s intent.

Remembering Karl Barth

Karl Barth died on December 10, 1968. He is arguably the 20th century's greatest theologian. His commentary on Romans called upon Continental scholars to take seriously the doctrine of justification and to embrace a more Word-centered theology.

Barth's 14 volume Church Dogmatics remains the gold standard for all other theological works (And evangelical's marvel over the size of Wayne Grudem's one volume Systematic Theology!).

Barth was booked two years in advance to come and give the annual lecture at Wesley Theological Seminary (Washington, DC) in 1969. He did not live to see the day. Along with the other MDiv students at Wesley, I was disappointed to hear that Markus Barth, a scholar in his own right, would substitute for his father. He stood at the podium and read his lecture, stopping to pencil-in occasional corrections along the way. At the time I was not impressed.

Since then, however, I have benefited greatly from Markus Barth's writings, particularly his books on the Lord's Supper and baptism. It was in terms of this last issue that the son influenced the father. Before his death Karl Barth testified that he changed his view of baptism. He explained: "In the face of the exegetical conclusions of my son's book [Die Taufe ein Sakrament?], I had to abandon the 'sacramental' understanding of baptism . . ." (Church Dogmatics, IV.4). In its place he embraced believer's baptism, but knew it would be costly to do so. Contemporaries such as Cullmann and Jeremias held staunchly to infant baptism. He stated that this shift "will leave me in the theological and ecclesiastical isolation." Knowing CD, IV.4 would likely be his last major publication before his death, he mused, "I am just about to make a poor exit with it. So be it!" He died one year later.

Karl Barth was a rare breed of scholar whose thirst for knowledge would not allow him to settle doctrinal issues in youth and never think about them again. He remained theologically curious his entire life. We could all learn from his example.

Revelation from a Historical Critical Approach

Last Sunday I began a series on the book of Revelation. Abandoning the typical approaches, I have opted to teach the Apocalypse using an historical critical method. This means I will attempt to interpret it in its socio-political context and explain what it meant to the original readers. This, of course, is a departure from the spiritual, preterist, and futurist schools of hermeneutics. You can access the lessons via video streaming at: presidentsclass.org

Successful Defense of Dissertation

I am happy to report that I successfully defended my PhD dissertation (University of Wales, UK)last week. It was a rigorous and grueling oral, lasting 2 hours, 45 minutes. The chair of the exam committee held a PhD from Oxford, as did my external examiner. My internal examiner held a PhD from Cambridge. My thesis was "The Lord's Supper in the context of first-century Roman domination was an anti-imperial praxis." While neither of my examiners necessarily viewed the supper in similar fashion, opting for a more traditional view, both believed that I presented a strong argument.

CRISWELL THEOLOGICAL REVIEW TACKLES "INTERRACIALMARRIAGE"

With the inauguration of President Barack Obama, a new era of race relations has begun in America. This child of a racially mixed marriage has captured the highest office of the land and the imaginations of people around the world. One cannot help but notice the complexion of America is changing. The face of our nation is transitioning from a predominately white one to various shades of tan.

The church, however, still struggles with interracial relationships, if not in theory, at least in practice. While Jesus loves the little children without distinction—red and yellow, black and white—his church, for the most part, reflects an equal but separate model of worship. Sunday morning is still the most segregated hour of the week; but, things are slowly beginning to change.

As the racial identity of the nation becomes more blurred, so will the racial make-up of the church. Therefore, it is incumbent on seminary professors to equip future pastors to become effective leaders of a hybrid church. Additionally, those currently in ministry will soon find themselves dealing with matters for which they were not trained. Issues such as racially-diverse worship styles, multiracial leadership, interracial dating and mixed marriage are but a few of the challenges ahead.

The Spring 2009 edition of Criswell Theological Review focuses on the issue of interracial marriage. We have invited a group of experienced scholars to address the topic, including Craig Keener, Danny Hays, and Edwin Yamauchi, among others; plus, we feature an exclusive interview with Rodney Woo, pastor of Wilcrest Baptist Church in Houston, TX, who tells of the joys and difficulties of taking a declining white congregation and transforming it into a thriving multiracial church.

You can order the issue at" Criswelljournal.com

John Updike on the Resurrection

Most Christians have heard of John Updike, the famed Pulitzer Prize author of poems and short stories, but few have ever read him. Fewer still know of the profound influence that Karl Barth had on his understanding of God and his perception of reality. Updike died yesterday in hospice after a bout with cancer. He was 76. Here is a poem he wrote nearly five decades on the resurrection.


SEVEN STANZAS OF EASTER


By John Updike

Make no mistake: if He rose at all
it was as His body;
if the cells' dissolution did not reverse, the molecules
reknit, the amino acids rekindle,
the Church will fall.

It was not as the flowers,
each soft Spring recurrent;
it was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled
eyes of the eleven apostles;
it was as His Flesh: ours.

The same hinged thumbs and toes,
the same valved heart
that — pierced — died, withered, paused, and then
regathered out of enduring Might
new strength to enclose.

Let us not mock God with metaphor,
analogy, sidestepping transcendence;
making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the
faded credulity of earlier ages:
let us walk through the door.

The stone is rolled back, not papier-mache,
not a stone in a story,
but the vast rock of materiality that in the slow
grinding of time will eclipse for each of us
the wide light of day.

And if we will have an angel at the tomb,
make it a real angel,
weighty with Max Planck's quanta, vivid with hair,
opaque in the dawn light, robed in real linen
spun on a definite loom.

Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,
for our own convenience, our own sense of beauty,
lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are
embarrassed by the miracle,
and crushed by remonstrance.

From Updike, John. "Telephone Poles and Other Poems" (New York: Alfred A. Knopf,1961).

NEW CTR COMES OFF PRESS

The Spring 2008 Criswell Theological Review (CTR), of which I am editor, is now being mailed to subscribers. This edition of CTR deals exclusively with the explosive issue of "The Christian and Alcohol." Recently, the Southern Baptist Convention has had to address this matter at its annual meeting because so many of its pastors view social drinking as an acceptable practice among their parishioners. What do you think about the issue? How does the Scriptures handle the issue? CTR presents all sides of the controversy from a theological, historical, social and biblical perspective.

To get a glimpse of the Spring 08 CTR, go to: www.criswelljournal.com

Watch Video Streaming on Exegesis of Luke

My Sunday morning exegetical messages on the Gospel of Luke can be viewed on the web at www.presidentsclass.org

These verse-by-verse teachings, which examine the text from an historical-critical perspective, show how Jesus' proclaiming and demonstrating the kingdom of God was central to his eschatological mission.

The website features about eight messages. Each Monday afternoon we place a new video online, and the oldest one is removed.

We offer these for your education and edification. Please tell other pastors and theological students about the website. We hope the messages will stimulate your thinking and motivate you to do further research on each passage.

After listening to the messages, please give me some feedback.

UPCOMING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

March

2, 9, 16, 23, 30 -- Teaching the Presidents Class, First Baptist Church (Dallas), 9:30 a.m. each Sunday

25 -- Criswell College chapel service, 10:00 a.m.

April

6, 13, 20, 27 -- Presidents Class FBC (Dallas), 9:30 a.m.

6 -- First Baptist Church (Dallas) evening service (6:00 p.m.).

Annexation, A Kingdom Perspective

Last night the City Council of Rockwall, Texas, held public meetings to discuss annexation of 234 acres of land. Since my acre is included, I attended the hearing.

After many property owners voiced emotional pleas, asking the Council to exempt their property from annexation, I rose to speak. In a moment of clarity, I saw that the real issue was a clash between two kingdoms. The city had the legal right to annex our land and boost their tax base, and by golly they were going to do it whether we wanted them to or not. Forced annexation is a manifestation of governmental power and differs very little from the Roman system of domination. Therefore, I decided to approach the issue from a kingdom perspective.

Here are my comments:
____

Mr. Mayor and members of the Council. I can’t add much more to what has already been said; so, I wish to address the basic issue of justice and fairness. Sometimes what is legal is not fair or just.

When our forefathers declared their independence from Great Britain, they stated, “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”

By adding the adjective “just” to “power” they were making a moral argument, not a legal one. There is a different between “raw power” and “just power.” The latter is derived only from the consent of the governed.

When my wife and I moved to Rockwall County 15 years ago, we chose to live outside the city limits. Now our rights and desires are in jeopardy by this council who wants to annex us into the city without our consent.

Our precious next door neighbors were retired and on a fix income when we moved into our home 15 years ago. They no longer drive at night and are not here. Annexation will place an undo burden on these good people. With the current drop in property values and the anticipated recession will this couple, who still lives on the same fixed income as before, be able to pay the extra taxes and $10,000 sewer hookup required by annexation?

The city of Rockwall may exercise its legal power, but one must question whether it is “just,” since it is being done without the consent of the people? The issue is a moral one.

When the Republic of Texas was annexed (1845) into the United States of America it was done only with the consent of the citizens of Texas.

Consent is the founding principle upon which our nation was established and upon which “just power” is derived.

I appeal to your sense of fairness and justice. Annexation without consent is un-American and it is certainly not the Texan thing to do.

Speaking Schedule For Dec, Jan, Feb

DECEMBER

Sunday Morning (9:30) Dec 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 Presidents Class, FBC (Dallas, TX)

JANUARY

Sunday Morning (9:30) Jan 6, 13, 20, 27 Presidents Class, FBC (Dallas, TX)
Sunday Evening (5:45) Jan 13, Baptism, FBC (Dallas, TX)
Wednesday Evening (6:15) Jan 9, 16, 23, 30 Midweek Bible Study, FBC (Dallas, TX)

FEBRUARY

Sunday Morning (9:30) Feb 3, 10, 17, 24 Presidents Class, FBC (Dallas, TX)
Monday Evening (7:00) Feb 25 Annual Expository Preaching Conference (Plenary Speaker), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Fort Worth, TX)

Kingdom of God

"I know a place
where sinners all are saints
Virgins once were whores
Where all the freaks and the geeks
And everything in between
Walk through the doors
To the Kingdom of the poor."
- Andrew Phillip Ehrenzeller

CONVERSIONS AND CONTROVERSY AT THE SBC ANNUAL MEETING

I just returned from the annual Southern Baptist convention, which was held in San Antonio. Each year I take several students from Criswell College to the convention site to do evangelism. This year was no exception. Our team shared the gospel at a block party, in the park, door-to-door, on the streets, in front of the Alamo and at the Henry C. Gonzalez Convention Center. We handed out hundreds of tracts and spoke to scores of people about eternal matters. In all 18 people made professions of faith. One was an 82 year old Hispanic lady who came to Christ in her living room. When we did a follow-up visit we told her how happy we were for her, and she replied, "But not as happy as I am." A 50 year old man brought his son to the Saturday block party. Both came to Christ. Afterward, the father told us that he was an alcoholic, but had been dry for two months. Then he added, "I was contemplating going on a binge tonight. Now I have been delivered!" On our last day of witnessing one of our students led a 67 year old tourist to Christ in front of the Alamo. We shared the gospel with street people, security guards, concession and maintenance workers at the Convention Center, a few were up-and-outers, an atheist and several cops. Our students did a great job!

Back at the convention two opposing factions presented their understanding of the relationship between the various SBC agencies and the "Baptist Faith and Message 2000" (BF&M), the official doctrinal statement of the Southern Baptist Convention. The main question was, "How should one view the BF&M -- as a minimalist or maximalist statement? The former means that the BF&M is the "least" one must believe to be a Southern Baptist; the latter means it is the "most" one must believe. . The minimalist position allows for SBC agencies to add requirements, to which their employees must adhere, like abstaining from alcohol or abstaining from the practice of speaking in tongues. The maximalist position declares that the BF&M is all one must believe to be hired by an SBC agency. The latter position won the day in a motion presented by Missouri pastor Rick Garner. It received a 57% favorable vote from the floor. This surprise outcome will lead to heated debate in the months ahead. Stay tuned.

Wedding Over and Moving Full Steam Ahead

This past week has brought another school year to a dramatic close. I was installed at graduation as the W. A. Criswell Professor of Expository Preaching, delivered the commencement address, traveled to Glen Rose, Texas to attend and help officiate at my son Daniel's wedding, watched the Jerry Falwell funeral, entertained out of town guests, and preached. This summer is going to be very busy. Besides preaching each week, taking a group of students on a mission trip, and teaching international students at the Global Proclamation Academy (held on the campus of DTS) for Ramesh Richard, I will also attempt to complete writing my dissertation on "The Kingdom-driven Church: Evangelism and Ecclesiology in Eschatological Perspective."

Research for the dissertation has become a joyous, although strenuous adventure. I completed my first Ph.D. in 1982; so, this has been a lot of work for an old man! In the course of the past three years I have read nearly 400 books on the subject and untold journal articles and commentaries. I believe I have a real grasp of the kingdom and hope I will be able to make a significant contribution to the body of knowledge now available. My main objective is to relate kingdom theology to the local church.

The kingdom of God is now my passion. The Lord willing, I wish to devote the remainder of my academic life to kingdom studies. If the kingdom was the focus of Jesus' ministry, it should be ours as well.

The Apologetics Study Bible

Word arrived today from Broadman and Holman that The Apologetics Study Bible is in the final edit and will be released on October 1, 2007. I was responsible for writing "The Twisted Scriptures" commentaries section. These are comments on verses the cults misinterpret to promote their false doctrines. Each note will be offset in a display box near the text in question.

This volume will be a valuable resource for pastors, Sunday School teachers, student leaders, and lay people who want to defend the faith against cults and heresies.

You will be able to order your copy of The Apologetics Study Bible from Amazon or CBD at a discount.

Jerry Falwell is Dead? Don't Believe it!

Dwight L. Moody said, "One day you will hear reports that D. L. Moody is dead. Don't believe it. I will be more alive then than ever before!"

Likewise, Dr. Jerry Falwell is more alive now than ever!

According the Associated Press reports, Dr. Falwell collapsed in his office this morning at 10:45, was rushed to the hospital, and never regained consciousness.

I have met Dr. Falwell on several occasions. Last fall he and I were the plenary speakers at the West Virginia Baptist Evangelism Conference. We sat together, laughed, and then we preached.

Dr. Falwell was an extraordinary man. He rose to fame, but never forgot his common roots. He always had time to speak to the "least of these my brethren." His humble heart and servant spirit is what endeared him to so many. He shared the gospel at every opportunity, especially when being interviewed on national TV.

Dr. Falwell, you will be missed. But we are right behind. See you soon!