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9 Steps for Bible Exegesis and Exposition, Step #5: Identify Lexical Keys
After we have recognized and understood the relationships of words to each other, we need to examine the words themselves. The context of the word is the greatest definer, but lexical meaning is important. At this point a lexicon is a necessity. The standard authority...
A Friend at Home
On Saturday, November 2, 2013 a friend and student of mine abruptly made his journey to meet the Lord. While none of us knows how much time we have in His service here, the unexpected death of a loved one is always jarring and difficult. I know Ray Woody’s family is...
Is that a Loofah? It’s a Quee-no!
In a surprisingly highbrow stroke of illustrative humor (I wonder how many of the target audience actually knows how to pronounce quinoa), Bud Light has capitalized on a very interesting aspect of our psyche. The series of commercials that this particular ad belongs...
“The most effective leadership, management, and efficiency models share traits common with each other, and traits that are ultimately traceable to the pages of the Bible. While these models are often not intentionally rooted in Biblical concepts by those that promote the models, the models illustrate how applying Biblical principles can set a trajectory of success in enterprise and in life. Led By a Lion is designed to introduce some of these leadership, management, and efficiency models, but goes a step further in identifying the Biblical genesis of many of the core traits that fuel the success of these models.”
Resisting The Three Enemies of the Christian
Every believer has three opponents who are constantly trying to derail our walk with Christ. Ephesians 2:1-3 identifies them by name. The first enemy is the course (or age) of this world. That is, the world system itself, and not the people in the world (Eph 6:12)....
If It’s Worth Doing, It’s Worth Doing…Poorly
A wise man once told me “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing poorly.” Though I cannot recall the context of the conversation, I have never forgotten those words. They serve as a lasting reminder to me not to trade good for excellent. Sometimes we can get so caught...
The Hermeneutics of Continuationism, Part 3
More recently, John MacArthur has been a leading advocate for cessationism. MacArthur’s Charismatic Chaos attempts a Biblical response to the charismatic movement, and succeeds more than most. Like Chafer, MacArthur begins his defense of a closed canon by appealing to...
“This approach has the advantage of seeking to view all knowledge through the lens of Scripture, and to subject all knowledge to the authority of Scripture. It encourages science and research within the field of psychology. It offers a Biblical balance of description and prescription. Of course, if the Bible is unreliable, then the refractive power of Scripture is distortive rather than corrective, but the epistemological premise of this approach is that God’s word is authoritative and sufficient for our understanding, for our equipping, and for our practice. There are many extra-biblical resources that we can employ, but in seeking out how and when to do that, we mustn’t lose sight of the one reliable constant that God has provided for us – the Bible.” –Chapter 9
The Hermeneutics of Continuationism, Part 2
Premise 4: An explanation for the soteriological similarities is found centrally in the shared methodology of appealing to TR authorities (as illustrated by MacArthur and Piper). Self-identified leaky dispensationalist, John MacArthur pursued clarification in the...
The Hermeneutics of Continuationism, Part 1
Presented to the 2013 Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics as "Dispensationalism’s Feet of Iron Mixed With Clay: How We Arrived at an “Open-But-Cautious” View on Non-Cessationism." ABSTRACT We owe a tremendous debt to many traditional dispensationalists who labored...
9 Steps for Bible Exegesis and Exposition, Step #4: Identify Grammatical and Syntactical Keys
After (1) identifying the best reading and translation, (2) recognizing background and context, and (3) identifying the structural keys of the book, we need to (4) identify the grammatical and syntactical keys in the passage. First, we need to be able to distinguish...
“The Green Tree is an exceptional work…provides a vital tool for every Bible interpreter…Just as the root system is the foundation of a tree and directly impacts the health of a tree, hermeneutic method is at the root of one’s worldview. This illustration demonstrates that the hermeneutic method that an interpreter of the Bible employs will significantly affect the outcome. The tree will either be healthy, or it will not be healthy…The authors provide a unique examination of Revelation, Genesis, and Job that demonstrates that the LGH hermeneutic is derived from within Scripture, something that other hermeneutical methods fail to demonstrate. This is perhaps the most crucial principle demonstrated in The Green Tree, and it effectively demonstrates that the LGH hermeneutic is also the Biblical hermeneutic.” – Andrew Friend (Amazon Review)
Forgiveness, Righteousness, and a New Walk
Our new position in Christ does not just include the removal of debits (forgiveness, Acts 10:43, Rom 4:7, Eph 1:7, Col 1:14, 1 Jn 1:9), but also the addition of credits (the righteousness of Christ, Rom 1:7, 3:22, 4:3-5, 5:17-19, 2 Cor 5:21). Both are required for a...
Where Does the Seminary Fit in Relation to the Local Church?
This article discusses the relationship of the seminary to the local church. Specifically it argues for tangible recognition on the part of seminaries that the local church is the Biblically designed co-center (along with the family) of Biblical education. I advocate...
10 Keys For Church Growth
It is amazing how feverishly we sometimes pursue things that aren’t real. Imagine a church growth conference for pastors in which there is more attention given to a Stanford economist than to the words of the Bible (really happened). Imagine a book outlining keys to...
Logical Errors of Affirming a Disjunct in John 10
The formal structure of a fallacious argument affirming a disjunct looks like this: A or B, A, Therefore not B. This is not a valid form of argument, yet it is a commonly utilized fallacy. Let’s look at two examples often inferred from John 10. John 10:11 reads, “I am...
9 Steps for Bible Exegesis and Exposition, Step #3: Identify Structural Keys
After verifying the text and translation of the passage we are considering, and after examining the background and context, we need to identify the structural keys – or building blocks – of the book so that we can recognize shifts in thought or argument, and...
The Tithing Myth
I recall once visiting a church, and on that morning the pastor said, “If you don’t tithe before you pay your electric bill, then you are sinning against God.” As I eagerly awaited the Biblical evidence, not surprisingly he produced none. On the contrary, a simple...
A Biblical Theology of Punching Them in the Nose
Typically in the early mornings our family reads the Bible together. Right now we are working through the Bible in consecutive order to try to see how quickly we can read through the whole thing together. That’s always fun and challenging. But every now and again, we...
Archive Interview: EdNews.org, On Separation of Church and State
Dr. Cone's 2007 interview on EdNews.org, regarding the Texas Supreme Court Case (HEB Ministries, Inc. v. THECB) which recognized that state regulation of religious education was unconstitutional.
Marx & Engels vs. Locke
John Locke, in his 2nd Treatise on Government said that private property was a necessary ingredient of one's own right to self preservation. If a person has a right to life, they must necessarily have a right to possess their own private property. Marx and Engels, on...
If X then Y. Y= our faith is worthless. What is X?
Blaise Pascal argued that if a person believes in God and in the end it turns out that God didn't exist, than that person hasn't really lost anything - thus he suggests it is better to believe (even if God doesn't exist) than not to believe (just in case God does...