Grace Blog
Shai Linne - The Greatest Story Ever Told
My last post on Biblical Theology for a while comes with a little flavor to it. Some of you may not be fond of hip hop or rap, but before you check out, check into the lyrical theology of Shai Linne. I actually heard him in person last October while attending an Acts 29 Bootcamp in St. Louis. In this song, Shai Linne beautifully and lyrically lays out God’s purpose to glorify Christ in a redemptive-historical biblical theology. While you will likely never find “Christian music” like this on your radio dial, you will also likely never find lyrics so biblically enriching. Check it.
Labels: Biblical Theology, Lyrical Theology, Redemptive History, Shai Linne | posted by TimBrister at 7:25 pm | Categories: Biblical Theology, Sunday School Stuff |
D.A. Carson on Defining Biblical Theology
In his article, “Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology,” D.A. Carson gives a good summary definition of biblical theology in its constitution and trajectory. Here is what he wrote:
“[I]deally, biblical theology, as its name implies, even as it works inductively from the diverse texts of the Bible, seeks to uncover and articulate the unity of all the biblical texts taken together, resorting primarily to the categories of those texts themselves. In this sense it is canonical biblical theology, ‘whole-Bible’ biblical theology; i.e., its content is a theology of the whole Bible, not a theology that merely has its roots in the Bible, or merely takes the Bible as the place to begin. Such biblical theology is overtly theological, i.e., it makes synthetic assertions about the nature, will, and plan of God in creation and redemption, including therefore also the nature, purpose, and ’story’ of humanity. But it is not narrowly theological. Rather, precisely because so many of the theological claims of Scripture are claims about revelation in history, biblical theology is committed to using rigorous and responsible historical methods. Equally, because the texts are literary pieces, diverse in genre and other features, biblical theology seeks to be sensitive to literary structures.
While acknowledging that it can never be autonomous, biblical theology focuses on the inductive study of the biblical texts in their final form, seeking progression towards greater and greater faithfulness. While some part of the biblical theological enterprise may focus on the theology of one corpus, or on one or two themes across the corpora of Scripture, the discipline as a whole must strive toward the elucidation of the biblical documents along the axis of redemptive history, the canon itself providing the boundaries of the primary source documents. On the other hand, biblical theology will try to preserve the glorious diversity of the biblical documents; on the other, it will try to uncover all that holds them together, sacrificing neither historical particularity nor the unifying sweep of redemptive history. It will marshall the resources of rigorous exegesis, and it will try above all to uncover and understand how words and themes in earlier canonical texts are used in later canonical texts. Recognizing their finiteness, biblical theologians will want to pursue their calling not only in interaction with the work of twenty centuries of Christian witness, but in community with the living church. Moreover, insofar as the biblical theologian holds that the boundary of the canon is valid because the canonical documents are, finally, God-given and God-authorized, so far also must biblical theology become not a descriptive enterprise but also a normative enterprise, a confessional enterprise.”
- D.A. Carson, “Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology,” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Exploring the Unity & Diversity of Scripture, eds. T. Desmond Alexander, Brian S. Rosner, D.A. Carson, and Graeme Goldsworthy (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2000), 100-01.
Labels: Biblical Theology, D.A. Carson, Grace Baptist Church | posted by TimBrister at 10:02 am | Categories: Biblical Theology, Sunday School Stuff |
Why Biblical Theology Is Essential to the Life of the Church
Graeme Goldsworthy, in his chapter “Biblical Theology as the Heartbeat of Effective Ministry,” provides five reasons why biblical theology is essential to the life of the church. He writes:
In the first place, an emphasis on biblical theology in the church has the salutary effect of enthusing Christians for the study of Bible by presenting a coherent theological perspective on the whole range of biblical literature.
Second, biblical theology is a major means of preventing a superficial Jesus piety. Christology is vital to the Christian faith and its essence lies not in a few proof texts or doctrinal summaries but in the testimony of the whole Bible to the Christ. The Christ we serve and worship is the Christ revealed in the whole testimony of Scripture.
Third, biblical theology nuances the gospel by anchoring the person and work of Christ in the Old Testament. The linking of the gospel event to the whole range of salvation history is vital. It was the loss of the Old Testament in its historical sense that led to the implicit docetism of allegorical interpretation. It also led to the locating of the saving event in the believer’s inner experience and in the infusion of grace in the sacramentalism of the medieval church.
Fourth, biblical theology, when applied to the understanding of ministry in the church, calls into question the pragmatism of the latest quick-fix, church growth theory. The pastor who is forever looking for the next fad to save his church is probably the pastor who has lost sight of faithfully teaching the Bible and of bringing biblical theology to bear on his expository preaching. Authentic ministry will reflect the nature of the gospel. The big picture of God’s work for salvation is a perspective achieved, however only through biblical theology.
Fifth, biblical theology gives us an antidote to the parochialism that so often overtakes the people of God.
- Graeme Goldsworthy, “Biblical Theology as the Heartbeat of Effective Ministry” in Biblical Theology: Retrospect & Prospect, edited by Scott J. Hafemann (Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2002), 283-84.
Labels: Biblical Theology, Grace Baptist Church, Graeme Goldsworthy | posted by TimBrister at 9:36 am | Categories: Biblical Theology, Church Membership, Sunday School Stuff |
Books on Biblical Theology
In my last post, I provided some links online that explain the study and discipline of Biblical Theology. Under our “Media” menu bar, there are lists of recommended reading, one of which has to do with Biblical Theology. I am, however, reordering them focusing on the “beginner” to the more “advanced” reading. Here are some books you might want to check out, especially those in the first section.
“Beginner” Reading:
1. According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible by Graeme Goldsworthy
2. Life’s Big Questions: Six Major Themes Traced Through the Bible by Vaughan Roberts
3. New Dictionary of Biblical Theology by IVP
4. The Goldsworthy Trilogy by Graeme Goldsworthy
5. God’s Big Picture: Tracing the Storyline of the Bible by Vaughan Roberts
6. Central Themes in Biblical Theology: Mapping Unity in Diversity by Scott Hafemann and Paul House
7. Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments by Geerhardus Vos
8. Biblical Theology: Retrospect & Prospect by Scott Hafemann
“Intermediate” Reading:
1. Biblical Theology: The History of Theology from Adam to Christ by John Owen
2. The God of Promise and the Life of Faith: Understanding the Heart of the Bible by Scott Hafemann
3. The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story by Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen
4. The Promise-Plan of God: A Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments by Walter Kaiser
5. The Ways of Our God: An Approach to Biblical Theology by Charles Scobie
6 . The Christ of the Covenants by O. Palmer Robertson
7. The Christ of the Prophets by O. Palmer Robertson
Labels: Biblical Theology, Books, Resources | posted by TimBrister at 8:05 am | Categories: Biblical Theology, Books, Sunday School Stuff |
Getting Introduced to Biblical Theology
This Sunday, we will be taking up the second mark of a healthy church member–being a biblical theologian (the chapter is available online). On the surface, you might be thinking, “Duh. What’s the alternative?!” Good point. But actually biblical theology is a discipline or science to the study of the Bible that you may or may not be familiar with. Thabiti Anyabwile gives some basic helps to defining biblical theology, but I thought it would be helpful to give you some links to resources available on the internet that go deeper in explaining the practice of biblical theology.
1. John Yarbrough, “Biblical Theology” in Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology
2. IX Marks on Biblical Theology (see lessons on right)
3. Graeme Goldsworthy, “What Is the Discipline of Biblical Theology?”
4. Wikipedia entry on Biblical Theology
5. Theopedia entry on Biblical Theology
To got a bit deeper, check out these links:
1. Graeme Goldsworthy, “The Ontological and Systematic Roots to Biblical Theology”
2. Geerhardus Vos, “The Idea of Biblical Theology as a Science and as a Theological Discipline”
3. James T. Dennison, Jr., “What is Biblical Theology?”
4. Thomas Schreiner, “Preaching and Biblical Theology”
5. D.A. Carson, “Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology”
6. Geerhardus Vos, “The Nature and Aims of Biblical Theology”
7. Charles Scobie, “The Structure of Biblical Theology”
8. S.M. Baugh, “Hermeneutics and Biblical Theology”
9. Charles Scobie, “The Challenge of Biblical Theology”
10. Richard Gaffin, Jr., “Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology”
Finally, for some additional resources, be sure to check out.
1. Monerigm’s biblical theology page
2. The Gospel Coalition page for Biblical Theology as well as Redemptive History
Labels: Biblical Theology, What Is a Healthy Church Member? | posted by TimBrister at 12:08 pm | Categories: Biblical Theology, Church Membership, Sunday School Stuff |
