The document discusses the importance of preaching Christ and focusing sermons on the gospel message. It provides numerous quotes from Charles Spurgeon emphasizing that sermons must have Christ at the center and that leaving Him out is unacceptable. The document also discusses the benefits of the lectio continua method of preaching, where the preacher works verse-by-verse through entire books of the Bible. Finally, it addresses what it means to preach the whole counsel of God, which involves proclaiming the message of the gospel of the kingdom and balancing all aspects of Scripture.

1. Exegesis and Exposition (A Prolegomena= to speak
before)
Textbook Study
Preliminary Thoughts:
The goal of the sermon outcome should be that everyone senses so much love and
forgiveness from God in Christ that they say yes to whatever God wants.
We are saved from four things:
1) Sin
2) Satan
3) Hell
4) God
The gospel is for the believers! Why we do what we do is as important as what we do.
The Goal of the Preached Sermon:
· John Newton: Our pleasure and our duty, though opposite before, since we have seen his
beauty are joined to part no more.
· Likewise, William Cowper: To see the Law by Christ fulfilled, and hear his pardoning
voice, changes a slave into a child and duty into choice.
Thomas Chalmer “The Expulsive Power of Spirits Affection”
The motto of all true servants of God must be, “We preach Christ; and him crucified.” A
sermon without Christ in it is like a loaf of bread without any flour in it. No Christ in
your sermon, sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something
worth preaching. [Charles H. Spurgeon sermon: Exposition of Acts 13:13-49 published
in 1904]
Leave Christ out? O my brethren, better leave the pulpit out altogether. If a man can
preach one sermon without mentioning Christ’s name in it, it ought to be his last,
certainly the last that any Christian ought to go to hear him preach. [Charles Haddon
Spurgeon sermon: “A Prayer for the Church” (1867)]
Leave Christ out of the preaching and you shall do nothing. Only advertize it all over
London, Mr. Baker, that you are making bread without flour; put it in every paper,
“Bread without flour” and you may soon shut up your shop, for your customers will
hurry off to other tradesmen. … A sermon without Christ as its beginning, middle, and
end is a mistake in conception and a crime in execution. However grand the language it
will be merely much-ado-about-nothing if Christ be not there. And I mean by Christ not
merely his example and the ethical precepts of his teaching, but his atoning blood, his
wondrous satisfaction made for human sin, and the grand doctrine of “believe and live.”
[Charles Haddon Spurgeon sermon: “Christ the Glory of His People” (3/22/1868)]
Sooner by far would I go to a bare table, and eat from a wooden porringer something
that would appease my appetite, than I would go to a well-spread table on which there
was nothing to eat. Yes, it is Christ, Christ, Christ whom we have to preach; and if we
leave him out, we leave out the very soul of the gospel. Christless sermons make
merriment for hell. Christless preachers, Christless Sunday school teachers, Christless
class leaders, Christless tract distributors—what are all these doing? They are simply
setting the mill to grind without putting any grist into the hopper, all their labor is in
vain. If you leave Jesus Christ out, you are simply beating the air, or going to war
without any weapon with which you can smite the foe. [Charles Haddon Spurgeon

2. sermon: “Why the Gospel is Hidden” (2/11/1866)]
I know one who said I was always on the old string, and he would come and hear me no
more; but if I preached a sermon without Christ in it, he would come. Ah, he will never
come while this tongue moves, for a sermon without Christ in it—a Christless sermon! A
brook without water; a cloud without rain; a well which mocks the traveler; a tree twice
dead, plucked up by the root; a sky without a sun; a night without a star. It were a realm
of death—a place of mourning for angels and laughter for devils. O Christian, we must
have Christ! Do see to it that every day when you wake you give a fresh savor of Christ
upon you by contemplating his person. Live all the day, trying as much as lieth in you, to
season your hearts with him, and then at night, lie down with him upon your tongue.
[Charles Haddon Spurgeon sermon: “A Bundle of Myrrh” (3/6/1864)]
What was the subject? What was Peter preaching upon? He was preaching Christ and
him crucified. No other subject ever does produce such effects as this. The Spirit of God
bears no witness to Christless sermons. Leave Jesus out of your preaching, and the Holy
Spirit will never come upon you. Why should he? Has he not come on purpose that he
may testify of Christ? Did not Jesus say, “He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of
mine, and shall shew it unto you”? Yes, the subject was Christ, and nothing but Christ,
and such is the teaching which the Spirit of God will own. Be it ours never to wander
from this central point: may we determine to know nothing among men but Christ and
his cross. (Charles Haddon Spurgeon sermon: “The Mediator, Judge, and Savior”
(5/30/1880)]
I believe that those sermons which are fullest of Christ are the most likely to be blessed to
the conversion of the hearers. Let your sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to end
crammed full of the gospel. As for myself, brethren, I cannot preach anything else but
Christ and His cross, for I know nothing else, and long ago, like the apostle Paul, I
determined not to know anything else save Jesus Christ and Him crucified. People have
often asked me, “What is the secret of your success?” I always answer that I have no
other secret but this, that I have preached the gospel,—not about the gospel, but the
gospel... (Charles, Spurgeon, The Soul Winner, 35).
The expositor is only to provide mouth and lips for the passage itself, so that the
Word may advance . . . The really great preachers . . . are, in fact, only the
servants of the Scriptures. When they have spoken for a time . . . the Word . . .
gleams within the passage itself and is listened to: the voice makes itself
heard . . . The passage itself is the voice, the speech of God; the preacher is the
mouth and the lips, and the congregation . . . the ear in which the voice
sounds . . . Only in order that the Word may advance—may go out into the
enemy walls to the prisoners world, and force its way through within—is
preaching necessary (Gustaf Wingren, quoted in Stott, BTW, pg. 132)
Sound doctrine (in preaching) doesn’t guarantee better programs or more efficient
management structures or an answer to the age-old problem of which came first—the
bigger sanctuary or the bigger parking lot. If it’s answers to questions like these you
want, you’re going to have to look elsewhere. Doctrine isn’t very useful in a ministry of
crowd management. But if you want practical help in promoting godliness in your
church, fostering love and unity, making disciples, and growing in grace, there’s
nothing more practical than sound theology. Could it be that some of us in ministry
have lost our interest in sound theology because we’re not really doing Christian

3. ministry anymore? (Michael Lawrence, Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church,
94).
Lectio Continua Method of Preaching]
1. It is the Reformers in their desire to expose their congregations to the
whole counsel of God who most effectively developed the lectio continuamethod
of preaching. That is, the method of preaching verse by verse through books of
the Bible.
2. For example, Luther and his clergy colleagues “undertook an extensive campaign of
religious instruction through the sermon. There were three public services on
Sunday: from 5-6AM on the Pauline epistles, from 9-10AM on the Gospels . . . On
Wednesdays on the Gospel of Matthew, Thursdays and Fridays on the apostolic
letters, and Saturday evening on John’s Gospel (Roland Bainton, Here I Stand(Luther
also taught through catechisms on Monday and Tuesdays).
3. John Calvin’s method was similar to Luther’s, yet perhaps even more systematic.
From 1549 he preached in Geneva twice every Sunday and in alternate weeks at a
daily evening service. He tended to preach the OT on weekdays and the NT or
Psalms on Sundays. In the 15 year period from 1549 until he died, he expounded
Genesis, Deut, Judg, Job, some Psalms, 1 and 2 Sam, 1 Kgs, and all the prophets, and
from the NT a harmony of the Gospels, Acts, 1 and 2 Cor, Gal, Eph, 1 and 2 Thess,
the the 3 Pastoral Epistles.
4. A century later, Matthew Henry in his 25 year ministry (1687-1712) focused on
the OT on Sunday AM and on the NT each Sunday afternoon. In doing so, he worked
through the whole Bible twice and during his midweek lectures expounded the whole
Psalter no less than 5 times (these expositions form the substance of his famous
commentary).
Benefits of the Lectio Continua
(1) Helps the preacher grow personally in knowledge and obedience by his
disciplined exposure to God’s Word.
(2) Helps the preacher conserve time and energy used in choosing a sermon for
each week.
(3) Balances the preacher’s area of “expertise” and preferred topics with the
breadth of God’s thoughts in the Bible. In other words, it combats one’s tendency
to choose a canon within the canon.
(4) Sensitive matters can be addressed without the appearance of pointing a finger at
persons or problems in the church.
(5) Gives the preacher accountability to not avoid skipping over what does suit his
taste or temperament on any given day.
(6) Promotes biblical literacy in the preacher’s congregation by teaching them
through example how to study their Bibles. That is, it teaches a reproducible
method of Bible study.
(7) Forces the preacher to address a greater number of issues than what readily
springs to mind.
(8) Much research time can be saved because each new sermon does not require a
new study of the book’s or the passage’s authors, background, context, and cause.
(Ryken’s Handbook)
(9) Increases the likelihood of the pastor preaching the whole counsel of God over
time.
(10) Increases the pastor’s God-given prophetic authority in the pulpit by

4. grounding his preaching in the divinely intended meaning of the text.
(11) Increases the trustworthiness of the pastor’s preaching in the eyes of the
congregation.
(12) Increases the pastor’s God-given blessing in the pulpit by remaining faithful
to the intention of the One who sent him to preach. Presence, authority,
sovereignty
(13) Increases the congregation’s trust in the inspiration, inerrancy, clarity, and
sufficiency of Scripture. Creation, Decreation, Recreation, New Creation
(14) Decreases their likelihood of being deceived by false teaching.
(15) Best communicates that we need all 1189 chapters & 31,102 verses of the Bible
for our salvation.
What Does It Mean to Preach the Whole Counsel of God?
The New Testament describes preaching in over sixty different ways. But by far the
most important word for preaching in the New Testament is the verb kerusso, is
employed sixty-one times itself while the noun, kerux (preacheror herald) is seen three
times (1 Tim 2:6; 2 Tim 1:11; 2 Pet 2:5). The term is a kingdom term and refers to the
proclamation of a message from a king. When the monarch has a message for his
subjects, he entrusts it to heralds, who announce it to the people without altering it or
distorting it in any way. Thus, the crowd of citizens gathers to hear from the king thru the
proclamation of his spokesman.
But what is this message that the herald is commissioned to proclaim from the king?
The New Testament makes it clear. The most common message heralded when kerussois
used is the kingdom(e.g. Mt 3:2; 4:7; Lk 9:2) or the gospel of the kingdom (Mt 9:35; Lk
8:1).
As well, other messages preached (kerusso), which are organically related to this
kingdom message, are the gospel(Mk 1:14), the year of the Lord’s favor(Lk 4:19); the
Christ(Acts 8:5), Christ crucified(1 Cor 1:23), Christ raised from the dead(1 Cor 15:12),
Jesus as the appointed judge(Acts 10:42), Son of God, Jesus Christ(2 Cor 1:19), Jesus
Christ as Lord(2 Cor 4:5), the hope of the gospel(Col 1:23), the gospel of God(1 Thess
2:9), repentance and forgiveness of sins(Lk 24:47); and the word (2 Tim 4:2).
When the noun, kerux,is used, we see that the herald proclaims: There is one God,
and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself
as a ransomfor sinners (1 Tim 2:5-6). Importantly, the Apostle Paul adds here: For this I
was appointed a preacher(1 Tim 2:7). Additionally, Paul states elsewhere that the
message of the herald is that the Savior Christ Jesus…abolished death and brought life
and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Tim 1:10). Again, Paul adds that it is for
this proclaimed message he was appointed a preacher(2 Tim 1:11).
A.A. Alexander: “No man should grow up without opportunity of hearing the great body
of scriptural truth laid open.”
Notably, unlike too many sermons today that are preached in the “imperative
mode”(commands), with the exception of the call for repentance (e.g. Mt 3:2; Lk 24:47),
the message that is consistently heralded is in the indicative mode.In other words, the
message(s) preached revealed something about the nature of things. And that great

5. declaration can be summarized by the announcement that the Kingdom is here because
the Davidic king himself, Christ Jesus, who conquered sin, death, and the devil through
his cross and resurrection, is reigning and ruling.
So the task of heralding/preaching requires centering on the message of the gospel of
the kingdom, the King of the kingdom, and the terms of the kingdom.
But how does this narrow message comport with the task of preaching the
whole counsel of God?
I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God .—Paul to the
Ephesian elders, Acts 20:27
D. A. Carson explains what the Apostle meant:
When Paul attests that this is what he proclaimed to the believers in Ephesus, the
Ephesian elders to whom he makes this bold asseveration know full well that he
had managed this remarkable feat in only two and a half years.
In other words, whatever else Paul did, he certainly did not manage to go through
every verse of the Old Testament, line by line, with full-bore explanation. He
simply did not have time.
What he must mean is that he taught the burden of the whole of God’s revelation,
the balance of things, leaving nothing out that was of primary importance, never
ducking the hard bits, helping believers to grasp the whole counsel of God that
they themselves would become better equipped to read their Bibles intelligently,
comprehensively.
It embraced
God’s purposes in the history of redemption (truths to be believed and a God to be
worshiped),
an unpacking of human origin, fall, redemption, and destiny (a worldview that
shapes all human understanding and a Savior without whom there is no hope),the
conduct expected of God’s people (commandments to be obeyed and wisdom to be
pursued, both in our individual existence and in the community of the people of
God), andthe pledges of transforming power both in this life and in the life to
come (promises to be trusted and hope to be anticipated). D. A. Carson,
“Challenges for the Twenty-first-century Pulpit,” in Preach the Word: Essays on
Expository Preaching: In Honor of R. Kent Hughes, 177-178.
So to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom is not to ignore all the
multifarious/diverse aspects of any particular text, but it is to understand that any
particular text is only a part of a grander, metanarrative that is centered on the
Kingdom of God. And the sum of these texts synthesizes and harmonizes to
enhance the melody of Scripture, which is nothing less than the gospel of the
Kingdom of God. That is, the good news of God’s purpose to glorify himself by

6. establishing his saving reign, and covenantal presence over all of creation through
his king, Jesus Christ, and his work of new creation.
Central Theme (melody of Scripture): “Gods purpose to glorify Himself, by
establishing His saving reign, authority, and covenantal presence, over all creation,
through His Messiah.” (Dr. Brian Payne)
Exegetical Presuppositions :
(1) The biblical unity is a unity: of source (in God)
God’s sovereignty produced and guided the human authors and their
situations, as well as directly influencing & teaching them (2 Pet
1:21), so the resultant whole has a single mind behind it (McCartney,
Let the Reader Understand, 41).
The unity of the Bible is to be found in the first instance in its
witness to this one God (Scobie, 105).
“Ever story has a central protagonist, and in the Bible that
protagonist is God. He is the central character, the actor whose
presence unifies the story of universal history with its myriads of
changing characters” (Ryken, How to Read the Bible as Literature,
p. 178-9).
(2) Of function (covenantal rule)
That is, God verbally establishes and formally ratifies the terms of
the relationship b/t himself and his people.
A covenant is “a solemn promise made binding by an oath,” and as
such has the purpose of establishing or formalizing a relationship,
and bears a historical character, but it also establishes the terms of
the relationship and the specifies the nature of the parties in the
covenant. The 10 Commandments are called a covenant in Deut 5:2.
Note that the commandments start off with a historical reference (v.
6; also v. 15) and included promises (vv. 10, 16). The 1
st
4
commandments pertain to the maintenance of a relationship w/ God,
and even the last 6 are tied up with that relationship, for one’s
relationship with God determines the character of one’s relationship
with other people. (McCartney, 323-24).
(3) Of narrative (the fulfillment of promise [which requires a fulfillment exegesis])
Luke 24:44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I
was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the
Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled." 45 Then he opened their minds to
understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ
should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance and
forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from
Jerusalem.]
3 implications from this passage (D. McCartney, Let the Reader Understand, 41-2):
A. Jesus seems to be providing a reminder of his earthly teaching (v. 44; see Lk
9:22). He indicates that the content of his teaching is derived from Scripture
(which at that time was the OT)—& not just from a few verses, but from the

7. entirety of Scripture (“Law [Torah], Prophets [Nevi’im], and Psalms
[Khethuvim]”). Further, rd
there is no 1 OT text that says that the Messiah would
be raised on the 3
day. Just as the church later derived the doctrine of the
Trinity, not from a particular verse, but from the whole, so Jesus, & the
apostles (see 1 Cor 15:4), perceived the resurrection of the Christ in the OT as
a whole.
B. To understand the OT properly, then, it must be read in the light of the NT
C. The words “the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead”
and “repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to
all nations” are syntactically dependent on “Thus it is written.” In other
words, “what is written” in the OT consists of 2 main elements: the death and
resurrection of Jesus and the preaching of this good news to the nations,
including ring reading.
The Rules Approach – reading the Bible on the lookout for commands to
obey to subtly reinforce a sense of personal superiority. Result: Pharisaical
reading.
The Artifact Approach – reading the Bible as an ancient document about
events in the Middle East a few thousand years ago that are irrelevant to
my life today. Result: bored reading.
The Guidebook Approach – reading the Bible as a roadmap to tell me
where to work, whom to marry, and what shampoo to use. Result: anxious
reading.
The Doctrine Approach – reading the Bible as a theological repository to
plunder for ammunition for my next theology debate at Starbucks. Result:
cold reading.
There is some truth in each of these approaches. But to make any
of them the dominant lens is to turn the Bible into a book it was
never meant to be. A biblical theology approach takes the Bible on
its own terms—namely, that “all the promises of God find their
‘Yes’ in Jesus” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Result: transforming reading.
Biblical theology invites you to read the Bible by plotting
any passage in the overarching narrative that culminates in
Christ. The Bible is not mainly commands with stories of
grace sprinkled in. It is mainly a story of grace with
commands sprinkled in.
A biblical theology approach takes the Bible on its own
terms—namely, that “all the promises of God find their
‘Yes' in Jesus” (2 Corinthians 1:20).
What about the weird parts? Some parts of the Bible, of course, seem to have
nothing to do with this story of grace.
How, for example, do we read obscure Old Testament records of wayward
Israelite kings or wicked priests? The answer from the perspective of
biblical theology is this: We read them as stories increasingly heightening
our longing for a true king, a final priest, one who will lead as these men
were meant to—truly representing God to the people (king) and the people
to God (priest).
How do we read genealogies? As testimonies to the grace of God to real
individuals, carrying God’s promises down specific family lines in
concrete ways, promises that are never derailed, and which ultimately
come to fruition in Jesus.
How do we read Proverbs? As good news of wise help from another for
stumbling disciples like you and me.

8. A book of good news. Imagine jumping into the middle of a novel, reading a
sentence, and trying to understand all that the sentence means without
placing it in the sweep of the novel as a whole. That would confuse the
reader, obscure the meaning, and insult the author. The Bible is God’s
autobiographical account of his personal rescue mission to restore a lost
world through his Son. Every verse contributes to that message. The Bible
is not a pep talk. Its not good advice. It is good news.
(2) Of message (the gospel of Jesus Christ). The gospel is the message that God has,
is and will overcome our sin through the life, death, burial, resurrection and
continual intercession of his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ to the praise of God’s
glorious grace.
Jensen, “The Revelation of God” (the first 4 basis for unity are Jensen’s.) pg. 224
Contrast this approach with, for example, John Goldingay who writes: I want to write on
the Old Testament without looking at it through Christian lenses or even New Testament
lenses (Old Testament Theology: Israel’s Gospel, 20). Similarly Walter Brueggemann
(Theology of the Old Testament, 93, 107). But as Jim Hamilton points out, such an
approach seems akin to a botanist examining an acorn in order to predict what will sprout
from the seed. How seriouslycould we take such a botanist professing openness to the
idea that the acorn might make potatoes? (God’s Glory in Salvation Through Judgment,
46).
“Proleptic Participation” Sinclair Ferguson = (passed over the sins of those who
were under the old covenant).
Said another way, the gospel is the scandalous news that through the death and
resurrection of Jesus, our disobedience cannot dent God’s approval of us and our
obedience cannot help God’s approval of us, as we look in trusting faith to Christ
(Dane Ortlund).
When the gospel is embraced, it controls. It controls lives, affecting hearts, values, &
commitments (Chapell, Christ Centered Worship, 85).
B.B. Warfield on why the gospel is necessary for Christians: There is nothing in us
or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are
acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot ever
be accepted at all. This is not true of us only when we believe. It is just as true after
we have believed. It will continue to be true as long as we live. Our need of Christ
does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to
God through Him ever alter, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or
our achievements in behavior may be. It is always on His “blood and righteousness”
alone that we can rest.
5. 1 Cor 15:1-4—15 :1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached

9. to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being
saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you- unless you believed in
vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that
Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (note: the
gospel is the message in which believers stand).
6. Acts 20:24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself,
if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord
Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.
7. Rom 1:1 Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,
separated to the gospel of God.
8. Rom 1:9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of
His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers,
9. Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of
God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the
Greek.
10. Rom 2:16 in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ,
according to my gospel.
11. Rom 15:16 that I might be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles,
ministering the gospel of God, that the offering of the Gentiles might be
acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
12. Rom 15:19 in mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so
that from Jerusalem and round about to Illyricum I have fully preached the
gospel of Christ.
13. Rom 16:25 Now to Him who is able to establish (sthri,xai; strengthen; make
firm) you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according
to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began
14. 1 Cor 9:23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its
blessings.
15. 2 Cor 2:12 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a
door was opened for me in the Lord,
16. 2 Cor 4:4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the
unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ, who is the image of God.
17. 2 Cor 11:7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be
exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge?
18. Eph 6:19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be
given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
19. Philip 1:12 But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to
me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,
20. Philip 1:17 but the latter out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense
of the gospel.
21. Philip 2:22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he
has served with me in the gospel.
22. Col 1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not
moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to
every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.
23. 1Thess 2:2 But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at
Philippi, as you know, we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel
of God in the midst of much conflict.
24. 1 Thess 2:4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the
gospel, so we speak, not to please man, but to please God who tests our hearts.
25. 1 Thess 2:8 So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share
with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had

10. become very dear to us. 1 Thessalonians 2:9 For you remember, brothers, our
labor and toil: we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any
of you, while we proclaimed to you the gospel of God.
26. 1 Thess 3:2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's coworker in the gospel
of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith,
27. 2 Thess 2:14 To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
28. 1 Tim 1:10 and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and
perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, 11 according to the
glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
29. 2 Tim 1:8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me
His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power
of God
(2) Of purpose (applying God’s Christocentric redemptive activity in history).
· How can a book that is focused on Christ apply to us? “The NT operates with a
principle that believers are identified with Christ.” Consequently, the NT
frequently extends the OT to apply to Christians (1 Cor 10:11; Rom 15:4)
(McCartney, 49).
(3) All Scripture has two authors, “one divine and at least one human.” Sensus Plenior
(a fuller sense).
(4) God intends something by what he speaks. He always speaks purposefully (there is a
perlocutionary goal/effect). b A perlocutionary act is a speech act, as viewed at the
level of its psychological consequences, such as persuading, convincing, scaring,
enlightening, inspiring, or otherwise getting someone to do or realize something.
Unlike the notion of locutionary act, which describes the linguistic function of an
utterance, a perlocutionary effect is in some sense external to the
performance. It may be thought of, in a sense, as the effect of the illocutionary
act via the locutionary act. Therefore, when examining perlocutionary acts,
the effect on the hearer or reader is emphasized.
As an example, consider the following utterance: "By the way, I have a CD of
Debussy; would you like to borrow it?" Its illocutionary function is an offer,
while its intended perlocutionary effect might be to impress the listener, or to
show a friendly attitude, or to encourage an interest in a particular type of
music.
Saying something will often, or even normally, produce certains
consequential effects upon the feelings, thoughts, or actions of the
audience, or of the speaker, or of other persons: and it may be done
with the design, intention, or purpose of producing them». (How
true this is in preaching or on Facebook
(5) By the grace of God and the illumination of the Holy Spirit, Christians may
adequately discern what God intends to say and do in any passage of Scripture
by prayerful, careful, and submissive attentiveness to the words human authors
use, in their respective literary, canonical, historical/cultural,
redemptive/historical and theological contexts.
Exegetical/Expositional Goal: Aiming for a Faith Response
Think for a moment about this question: What one thing should I do to grow more

11. as a Christian?If someone asked you that question, how would you respond? Would
you suggest some basic spiritual discipline, such as reading the Bible, praying,
finding accountability partners, repenting of sin, or learning theology? The crowds
brought this exact question to Jesus in John 6. His answer:
Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires? Jesus
answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one He has sent” (John 6:28-
29).
Notice: they are asking Jesus what they must do to live a life that
pleases God. Jesus answers that the work of God is to believe. other
words, the Christian life is not about doing, it is about believing.
Getting this right is crucial to sanctification. Most of us are
naturally “doers.” We gladly embrace the next project, the next
challenge, the next assignment. So our pursuit of Christian maturity
produces a lot of busy effort, but little lasting change. Why? Because
we are doing too much and believing too little.
· “What is more consonant with faith than to recognize that we are naked of all virtue,
in order to be clothed by God? That we are empty of all good, to be filled by him?
That we are slaves of sin, to be freed by him? Blind, to be illumined by him? Lame,
to be made straight by him? Weak, to be sustained by him? To take away from us all
occasion for glorying, that he alone may stand forth gloriously and we glory in him
(c.f. 1 Cor 1:31; 2 Cor 10:17)” (Calvin’s Institutes, Pref. 2).
PASSAGES in Scripture that Speak Particularly of the Life of Faith:
(1 ) Rom 14:23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is
not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
(2) Heb 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please him . . .
(3) 1 Tim 1:5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good
conscience and a sincere faith.
(4) Col 1:3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying
always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for
all the saints; 5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which
you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,
(5) 1 Thess 1:2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you
in our prayers; 3 constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love
and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and
Father 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because
our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit
and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you
for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received
the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
(6) 2 Thess 1:3 We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only
fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you
toward one another grows ever greater
(7) 1 Pet 1:3-7 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great
mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of
Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil
or fade-- kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God's power
until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In
this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer

12. grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith-- of greater worth
than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-- may be proved genuine
and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
(8) Gal. 2:20"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”
(9) Gal 3:5-6 “Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you
do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith. 6. just as Abraham believed
God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.?
(10)Gal. 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for
anything, but only faith working through love.
(11)1 Cor 15:11 Whether it was then I or they, so we preached, and so you believed
(12)2 Cor 5:6 Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we
are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord– 7 for we walk by faith, not
by sight—8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the
body and to be at home with the Lord. 9 Therefore we also have as our ambition,
whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his
deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
(13 ) 2 Cor 10:15 …Our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence
among you may be greatly enlarged (i.e., as faith grows, apostolic influence
enlarges).
(14) R m 1:1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the
gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy
Scriptures,3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the
flesh, 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of
holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom
we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith
(u`pakoh.n pi,stewj) for the sake of his name among all the nations,
15 Rom 16:25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and
the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was
kept secret for long ages26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic
writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the
eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith (u`pakoh.n pi,stewj) (Note that
these are the bookends of Paul’s most systematic epistle).
Because the Holy Spirit is received by faith, our hearts are now renewed, and so put on
new affections, so that they are able to bring forth good works. For thus saith Ambrose:
“Faith is the begetter of a good will and of good actions.” . . . Hereby every man may see
that this doctrine [of justification by faith alone] is not to be accused, as forbidding good
works; but rather is much to be commended, because it showeth after what sort we must
do good works. For without faith the nature of man can by no means perform the works
of the First or Second Table. Without faith, it cannot call upon God, hope in God, bear
the cross; but seeketh help from man, and trusteth in man’s help. So it cometh to pass
that all lusts and human counsels bear sway in the heart so long as faith and trust in God
are absent.” (Augsburg Confession. Article XX [written by Phiipp Melanchthon (1497-
1560)]. Quoted from Philip Schaff, ed., The Creeds of Christendom (Grand Rapids: MI:
Baker, 1977, orig. 1877), 3:10-11, 24-25.

13. We come to the great and high deeds of divine grace and the true sanctifying of the
Holy Spirit not through our merit or powers, but through faith, which is a pure gift
and favor of God. (The First Helvetic Confession--Article XIII: composed by Swiss
theologians at Basel Switzerland, 1536).
From it [faith] love grows as a fruit, and, by this love, come all kinds of virtues and
good works. . . .This faith comforts itself with the mercy of God, and not its works,
even though it performs innumerable good works. This faith is the true service which
pleases God” (The First Helvetic Confession--Article XIV)
Peter Jensen asserts that the Christian life is the life of faith in the Son of God. “Why
do you think God chose faith as the salvation point? Why did he not choose love?
Because faith is the very opposite of pride & exaltation & glory. If he had said love,
then there would have been something in us that would have made us worthy of
salvation. Faith is the empty hand grasping hold of the promises of God.
Case Study: Gossip
Faith involves learning how to set the affections of our mind and heart on
God….Faith requires a continual rehearsing and delighting in the many privileges
that are now in Christ (Steve Childers).
There are some common heart idols that can manifest themselves in the
surface sin of gossip:
The idol of approval (I want the approval of the people I’m talking
to)
The idol of control (Using gossip as a way to manipulate/control
others)
The idol of reputation (I want to feel important, so I cut someone
else down verbally)
The idol of success (Someone is succeeding—and I’m not—so I
gossip about him)
The idol of security (Talking about others masks my own insecurity)
The idol of pleasure (Someone else is enjoying life—and I’m not—
so I attack him)
The idol of knowledge (Talking about people is a way of showing I
know more)
The idol of recognition (Talking about others gets people to notice
me)
The idol of respect (That person disrespected me, so I’m going to
disrespect him).
Let’s imagine that I have identified respect as the dominant idol that drives
me to gossip. After I acknowledge my sin and repent of it, I exercise faith in
two ways:
st
1
, I pause and worship Jesus because he laid down aside his right to
be respected, becoming humbled to the point of death (Phil 2:5-11).

14. nd
2
, I remind myself of the gospel truth that I no longer need to crave
the respect of others because I have the approval of God through faith
in Jesus (2 Cor 5:17-21). Whether people respect me or not is
immaterial: God’s grace has freed me from demanding my own
respect, and now I live for the fame and honor of Jesus (1 Cor 10:31).
What is exposition?
Exposition: This is a multidimensional words arising from a Latin root
expositio, a setting forth. Biblical exposition expounds, expresses, and exposes
the Bible to an audience.
To expound a Scripture is to bring out of the text what is there and expose it to
view. . . . The opposite of exposition is ‘imposition,’ which is to impose on the text
what is not there” [John Stott, “BTW” pg. 125-26].
What is “exegesis”?
The word is derived from the Greek verb exēgeisthai, which can mean “to lead”
or “to explain.” In biblical literature it is always used in the sense “to explain,
interpret, or describe.”
30.
ESV Acts 21:19 After greeting them, he related (evxhgei/to) one by one the
things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
31.
ESV Luke 24:35 Then they told (evxhgou/nto) what had happened on the road,
and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread.
32.
ESV Judges 7:13 When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling
(evxhgou,menoj) a dream to his comrade. And he said, "Behold, I dreamed a
dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian and
came to the tent and struck it so that it fell and turned it upside down, so that
the tent lay flat."
The most illustrative NT use of exēgeisthai is in John 1:18:
Jn 1:18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has
made him known (evxhgh,sato).
1. Exegesis” then means “explanation,” nearly always intended as explanation after
careful consideration. It is the process we go through in explaining any
communication, whether written or oral. But usually the assumption associated
with “exegesis” is that this analysis is “scientific,” that one is trained in
understanding words and their relations, that one is careful to analyze correctly
and not import meaning illegitimately, and that one is not guilty of eisegesis
(importing meaning unrelated to the text).

15. 2. More technically, “exegesis” refers to a linguistic-syntactical analysis to discern
communicative intent . That is, exegesis is the analysis of the significance of words
and the relations into which they are set to construct meaning. By placing specific
words in specific contexts, meaning is conveyed, and exegesis seeks to analyze the
significance the significance of the particular words used and the relations into
which they are set to discern the intent of communication.
3. For some, the terms “exegesis,” hermeneutics,” and “interpretation” are synonymous.
In earlier times the terms were distinguished, with interpretation encompassing both
other words and including the process of theologizing and application as well.
Hermeneutics was seen as the rules and procedures 1. governing interpretation, and
exegesis was limited to a search for past meaning. Exegesis focused on historical
context and grammatical relations to determine what the text meant at its origin.
2. Today, hermeneutics may well be the most comprehensive of the three terms in that it
deals with the whole process of understanding and appropriating texts. Distinctions
can and should be made between the three terms but with the realization that the
boundaries between them are blurred.
3. Hermeneutics: “The science (principles) and art (task) by which the meaning of
the biblical text is determined.
4. Exegesis: The determination of the meaning of the biblical text in its historical,
literary, and redemptive- historical contexts.
5. Exegesis is rightly assumed to be a foundational task for doing theology. We need to
understand the intent of the text before we built theological systems on it, but in
reality the implied objectivity often associated with exegesis is misleading. Theology,
however primitive, is already at work before we come to the text. We all bring to the
text theological assumptions and questions that motivate our work and that both allow
and hinder our efforts to see the significance of the relations in the text. Still, the
attempt not to impose our theologies on texts is demanded by any fair exegesis. We
cannot come to the text without presuppositions, but we can come to the text without
presupposing what its meaning is.
6. The goal of exegesis is not merely information but a usable understanding. We
have not understood a text until we understand what it seeks to accomplish in its
hearers, and exegesis is not successful until it knows how the text should be used.
4 Necessary Horizons for Exegesis and Exposition: (1) Textual; (2) Epochal; (3)
Canonical; (4) Contemporary
1. Revelation never stands by itself, but is always concerned either explicitly or
implicitly with redemptive accomplishment. God’s speech is invariably related to his
actions. It is not going too far to say that redemption is the raison d’etre of
revelation. An unbiblical, quasi-gnostic notion of revelation inevitably results when it
is considered by itself or as providing self-evident general truths. Consequently,
revelation is either authentication or interpretation of God’s redemptive action
(Gaffin, Resurrection and Redemption, pg. 22).

16. 2. For some, however, the Bible is primarily a book that magically supplies guidance for
personal problems, or a sourcebook for ethics or politics, or a guide to meaningful
existence.
3. To be sure, the Bible is much more than William How stated: a golden casket where
gems of truth are stored. It is more than a bewildering collection of oracles, proverbs,
poems, architectural directions, annals, and prophecies. The Bible has a story line. It
traces an unfolding drama (Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery, 11).
4. Unfortunately, many conservative evangelicals today treat the Bible more like the
Encyclopedia Britannica. If you know what you are looking for, good—but don’t
read it as having a central plot. Or, the Bible is treated as a handbook of timeless
principles: Genesis for science; Leviticus for worship; Deuteronomy for government;
Proverbs for life; Daniel and Revelation for end-time predictions, etc.
Unfortunately, in reality, this approach treats the Bible as a patchwork quilt of disparate
pieces rather than a single fabric.
As Hans Frei made clear, the blame for not treating the biblical text as a single story
is not the fault only of the higher critics but of conservatives as well. In other
words, the reader decides what he is looking for—and then finds it. But, what is
found is no longer the story of God’s work in Christ.
· Thus, Frei and his group (“narrative theology”; the Yale Divinity School; e.g. Brevard
Childs) have called for a return to a pre-critical way of reading Scripture. Of course,
this doesn’t mean they reject the last 2 centuries of biblical criticism (they embrace
naturalistic presuppositions). Rather, they argue that the modern way of reading
Scripture has missed the point.
Of course, given their somewhat Barthian view of Scripture, there are major
concerns with this group. However, rightfully, they insist on (1) the Bible as a
narrative of saving events; (2) its Christ-centered focus, and (c) the unity of the canon
as a presupposition of the promise-fulfillment pattern of the testaments.
To be sure, this approach is not novel. Jesus Christ himself, in speaking with the
religious leaders who highly revered but failed to truly understand the Scriptures,
said: “You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these
are they which testify of me. But you are not willing to come to me that you may
have life” (John 5:40).
Through the Scriptures, Peter says (referring to the Old Testament), the “Spirit of
Christ” revealed “ . . . the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (1 Pet
1:11).
The sermons in Acts reflect this as well: Christ is preached from the OT. The 1
st
Christian sermons, therefore, do not proclaim Moses as a great Christian leader, nor is
the purpose to demonstrate Joshua’s courage or David’s heart for the Lord. Gideon’s
fleece is not a story of seeking the Lord’s will for our lives. Rather, Scripture is all
about Christ, from beginning to end.
As Horton points out, too often in conservative exegesis, there is a biblicism that is
naïve and unbiblical: the assumption that we’re simply looking for what is there in the

17. text. Each time we go to the text, we are starting from scratch (no blinders, no
presuppositions). Unfortunately, this is not only impossible, it blinds us to our
presuppositions so that we can’t critique them. “To say that all of Scripture is about
Christ and that, therefore, whatever does not proclaim Christ is not sufficiently
biblical, is not to impose expectations on the text. Rather, it is to come to have certain
expectations of the text because it is the text itself which tells us to expect it!”
That is, if we know what we are looking for (the “big picture”), because the Bible
itself sets forth that goal, the system that arises naturally from the Bible itself, a
“coherent discourse concerning God’s redemptive drama” (Horton). Reading the
parts in the light of that whole (redemptive-historical interpretation), not only
becomes fruitful but necessary.· Hence, the need for the various horizons when
doing exegesis.
The Textual Horizon
“Spare no pains to seek more and more the most basic original sense of the biblical
words, and let this be the root-sense of everything additional” (J.T. Beck).
“Interpretation of the Bible involves both a linguistic side, focusing on the
language of the Bible, and a historical side, focusing on the events and contexts in
which they occur. . . . Thus, we may speak of grammatical-historical
interpretation” . . . which “focuses on the original context” (textual horizon)
(Poythress).
“The meaning of words and phrases; the effort to understand the cultural distance b/t
text & reader; the textual, historical, circumstantial, and social contexts; and the
identification of genre, are the key elements” of this horizon (McCartney, Let the
Reader Understand, 158). Kindle Fire $10.00 `0 06
The Process
(1) Select a text. Choose a complete text (not a fragment to be used out of its context).
Of course working through a book of the Bible will greatly assist you here.
Paragraph preaching is an excellent model to follow when preaching the epistles—
episode preaching when preaching the narratives.
(2) Determine the limits of the text. Seek to identify where a passage begins and ends.
Look for a complete unity of thought (paragraph or pericope).
A. Check the paragraphing indicated in the English translations. The New
American Standard Bible, for example, indicates a new paragraph by
boldfacing the verse number of the first letter in the new paragraph. The NIV
and NKJV also do this.
B. Consider how what goes before and after your text influences the
interpretation of the text. Would broadening the scope of your text by a verse
or two in either direction alter your understanding of the text?

18. C. Look for literary clues: introductory statements; indications of time, place, or
location; and concluding summary statements.
A. Look for thematic elements that hold a passage together and set if off from
surrounding verses. Reoccurring phrases or words are a valuable clue.
B. Finally, consider the way commentators arrange the text into sections.
(2) Explore the text (read the entire book and the particular passage repeatedly. If you
have the ability you should read directly from the original languages). This is the
observation stage.
(3) Learn as much as possible about the historical, cultural, and literary context of
the passage . (resource and reference stage) Broadly speaking, this means learning
as much as possible about the world, which the document emerges. More narrowly,
the concern is to learn as much as possible about the specific context and content of
the entire work and then the specific context of the passage being studied.
Exegesis usually focuses on specific passages of a document, but a given pericope
can be understood only in light of the whole. Understanding of the whole,
however, presupposes understanding the individual parts. This is the horizontal
hermeneutical circle; interpretation takes place in the continual movement of knowing
the part from the whole and the whole from the part. Attention must be given to the
purpose and location of the whole document and then to the location within the
document of the passage in question. The relation to passages immediately
preceding and following the pericope being studied is among the most important
relations for understanding. Also involved is the ability to perceive relations to
other practices or writings, most importantly, quotations or allusions to the OT, but
also cultural aspects of Judaism or the Greco-Roman world (such as attitudes toward
impurity or emperor worship). Some people distinguish between the context and the
cotext of a passage, with the former referring to the historical and sociological setting
of the text (historical and social context) and the latter referring to the sentences and
paragraphs surrounding the passage and related to it (literary context). Both aspects
are necessary before we begin a detailed analysis of a particular passage (Grant
Osborne)
Concerning the cotext, unless we can grasp the whole b/4 attempting to dissect the
parts, interpretation is doomed. Without a situation to give a particular verse or
passage content, it becomes meaningless. In Scripture, the cotext provides the
situation behind the text. In fact, there is no meaning apart from context, only several
possible meanings. (Osborne).
Literary Context (Cotext) (Daniel Doriani, p. 44 “Getting the Message”)
Studies the written text
Can ignore identity of author
Can study words in themselves
Considers what any competent reader hears.
Is accessible to any attentive reader
Rewards intensive study of one text.
The most crucial principle of biblical interpretation is that context determines

19. meaning. The Holy Spirit moved the appointed writers to connect their words,
sentences, and paragraphs into a literary whole in the normal way that people
use language to communicate. Envision how a text would appear if the sentences
weren’t linked together to form a unified message.
E.g.: We heard some remarkable news on television the other night. The
referee blew the holding penalty in the end zone to cost the 49ers the
Super Bowl. Lint on the filter was keeping the dryer from functioning
efficiently. Ice on the road required the commissioner of the league to
cancel the games. The deacon got stuck in the elevator because it
malfunctioned. Monday class has to be cancelled due to the professor’s
mission trip.
Communication doesn’t work this way. We don’t string together
randomly selected truths when we are seeking to communicate.
Sentences build on previous sentences and lead into subsequent
sentences in order to create a intelligible message.
Duvall and Hays (Grasping God’s Word) argues that to ignore this, we can twist
the Scriptures and “prove” virtually anything. For example, consider a man
seeking counsel from God’s Word about whether to ask his girlfriend to marry
him. As he dances around the Bible, he finds a couple of verses that provide the
answer he desires: 1 Cor 7:36c: “They should get married.” John 13:27: “What
you are about to do, do quickly.”
But context protects us from committing this error. Indeed, the 1
Corinthians’ context reveals that Paul is actually saying that it’s better not
to marry. And in the passage from John, the phrase refers to Judas’s
betraying Jesus and has nothing to do with marriage.
By honoring the literary context, we are honoring what God has to say
rather than putting words in his mouth.
Finding the literary context of any passage consists of 3 steps:
1. Identify how the book is divided into paragraphs or sections
Things that mark changes or transitions include:
Conjunctions (e.g. therefore, then, but)
Change of genre (e.g. from a greeting to a prayer)
Changes of topic or theme (main idea)
Changes in time, location or setting.
Grammatical changes (e.g. subject, object, pronouns, verb
tense, person or number)
2. Summarize the main idea of each section.
In doing this, consider two things:
The topic or main idea of the section
What the authors says about the topic or main idea
3. Explain how your particular passage relates to the surrounding
sections.
Ideally (and ministry isn’t typically done in ideal conditions),you
summarize the main idea of each section of the book before you begin
the exegetical task.

20. However, due to time limitations, if you do nothing else besides
summarizing the idea of what comes before and what comes after your
passage, most interpretative mistakes can be eliminated.
Historical Context
Studies the people and culture receiving a text
Stresses identity of author and audience
Stresses author’s intent as he uses words
Considers what the original audience heard.
Is accessible to readers who know background
Rewards cumulative study of many texts.
The central principle here is that Scripture was “God’s Word to other people
before it became God’s Word to us. This crucial truth leads us to a fundamental
interpretive principle: For our interpretation of text of Scripture to be in force, it
must be consistent with the historical-cultural context of that text.
The most important thing to know about historical context is why the
biblical writer is writing his text.
Having said that, background /historical-cultural context studies are
helpful as well. This includes information about the author, the audience—
their background, circumstances, and relationship—as well as
geographical, social, religious, economic, and political elements linked to
the text. This exercise includes both the historical cultural context of the
book that contains the passage and the specific historical-cultural context
of the passage itself.
Tools for Identifying Historical-Cultural Context (Background)
33. Bible Handbooks (Ryken’s is excellent)
34. Old Testament and New Testament Introductions and Surveys
35. Commentaries
36. Bible Atlases
37. Bible Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
38. Background Commentaries
39. Special Studies in Ancient Life and Culture
40. Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (Ryken, Wilhoit, Longman)
$40.99 kindle edition. or $78.47
Amazon
41. Introductions in Study Bibles (ESV, MacArthur, and Holman)

21. Journey into God's Word: Your Guide to Understanding and Applying the
Bible [Kindle Edition] J. Scott Duvall (Author), J. Daniel Hays (Author) $7.99
bought Special Studies in Ancient Life and Culture
Grasping God's Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and
Applying the Bible by J. Scott Duvall, J. Daniel Hays and Kevin J. Vanhoozer
and Mark L. Strauss (May 8, 2012) $22.96 Kindle Edition Special Studies in
Ancient Life and Culture
Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of
History, Literature, and Theology... by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Richard
Patterson (Nov 7, 2011) $35.90 Hardcover
The Rand-McNally Bible Atlas A Manual of Biblical Geography and History
[Kindle Edition]
Jesse Lyman Hurlbut (Author) Kindle Price: $0.00 Got it why not.
The methods for studying historical and literary context differ considerably, but both
begin by finding the main themes and purposes of the book to be studied. If you plan
to study or teach a series of lessons from one book of the Bible, your first step is to
read your entire book to gain a view of the whole.
What · is the main theme?
What are the main divisions?
What issues come up repeatedly?
Who is the author?
What prompted him to write?
Who is the intended audience?
Are they believers or not, faithful or not, or Jewish, Gentile, or mixed?
How much do they know?
What are their needs and concerns?
You can answer many of these questions yourself by reading your book carefully,
noting the author’s statements of purpose. For example, John wrote his gospel to

22. bring people to faith & eternal life (Jn 20:31). He wrote his 1
st
letter to give genuine
believers assurance of their faith & salvation (1 Jn 5:13). Jude wrote to contend for
the faith against false teachers (Jude 3). Luke wrote to give his readers an orderly and
accurate account of the life of Christ, in order to strengthen them in their faith (Luke
1:1-4).
If you cannot find a statement of purpose in a book, try to formulate one. For
example, Paul wrote Galatians to refute false teachers who were perverting his
gospel, and to reestablish the Galatians in the gospel of grace and justification by
faith alone. Old Testament books rarely make explicit statements of purpose, but we
can readily see that Genesis is about the beginnings of humanity and of the covenant
people, and that Exodus is about Israel’s escape from Egypt and the beginning of her
national life.
After you have examined the book yourself, read an introduction that covers the same
ground and compare notes. If time is short, or you are studying only one text from a
book rather than doing a series, you may want to go directly to a reference work.
With regard to the literary context, chapter and verse divisions in our Bible created
one of the biggest hurdles to the process of interpretation. It wasn’t until the ninth
and tenth centuries A.D. that verse divisions began to appear on the Hebrew Bible of
the Jewish Masoretes. “The standard division of the OT into verses which has come
down to our own day and is found in most translations as well as in the Hebrew
original was fixed by the Masoretic family of Ben Asher about A.D. 900.” (F.F.
Bruce, “The Books and the Parchments.”; pg. 118). Bruce adds: “The division into
chapters, on the other hand, is much later, and was first carried through by Cardinal
Hugo de Sancto Caro in 1244.” (pg. 118)
Others attribute the division into chapters to Stephen Langton, professor at the
University of Paris and later Archbishop of Canterbury, in A.D. 1228.
The chapter & verse references do help us identify & locate passages
quickly. They enable us to avoid vague references like these found
respectively in Heb 2:6; 3:7; and 5:6: “there is a place where someone
has testified,” introducing Ps 8:4-6; “as the Holy Spirit says,” quoting
Ps 95:7-11; or “and he (God) says in another place,” indicating Ps
110:4). (Klein, Blomberg, Hubbard, pg 217). But unfortunately they
have also contributed to the widespread practice of elevating
individual verses to the status of independent units of thought. Each
verse is treated like a complete expression of truth that, like a number
in a phone book, has no connection to what precedes or follows—each
is a “quote for the day” or “proof text” considered in isolation from its
biblical context.
There is simply no justification for routinely treating individual verses
as independent thought units that contain autonomous expressions
of truth.

23. As written communication, readuers must understand biblical statements
as integral parts of the larger units where they occur. Detached from
their contexts, individual verses may take on meanings never intended
by their writers.
To qualify as the text’s intended meaning, an interpretation must be
compatible with the total thought and the specific intention of the
immediate context and the book context.” (Klein, Hubbard, 217).
(1) Determine the significance of the Genre both of the whole work and of the
individual passage .
· This is important in understanding the Bible for several reasons (see Michael
Lawrence, Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church, 44): Kindle Edition
would be $9.39
st
1
, distinct genres tend to have distinct rules/patterns of communicating. For
instance, a promise and a proverb have quite different functions: the former
entails a commitment, whereas the latter states what is only generally true.
Furthermore, certain word patterns are so closely associated with a genre that
their use almost immediately defines what one is looking at & how to interpret
it. E.g.: “once upon a time…” signals fairy tale, not history, while “Dear Joe…
love, Sally” signals epistle, not a legal brief.
2
nd
, the Bible consists of multiple genres. Yes, the whole Bible is true, & it
needs to be read literally, but reading the legal statues of Exodus literally
looks different than reading the poetry of Psalm 17 literally. Otherwise, we
nd
risk saying that David in Ps 17 contracted the 2
commandment by
describing God as having wings like a mother hen under which he could hid.
rd
3
, it helps with books or passages that feel culturally foreign & difficult to
grasp. Two examples are genealogies & apocalyptic literature. Do we apply
the rules of genre from narrative or epistle? Some have done that & it
produces boring genealogies & fantastical apocalyptic.
Narrative —Makes up 40 % of the OT & 60 % of the NT. Narrative provides the
overall framework within which we understand all the other genres. How do we
exegete narrative?
Preliminary Thoughts:
The primary goal of narrative analysis is to discern the activity of God as
he achieves salvation (Doriani, Putting the Truth to Work, 166). Book
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Should historical texts be treated mainly for their exemplary value or for their
contribution to and place in salvation history? In exemplary preaching the
characters in the narrative serve as examples of godly or godless living as
the case may be. A particular character, for example, Nehemiah, may be
chosen as the means of teaching principles of leadership or some quality.
Yet, to take this approach often involves the preacher in some very big
assumptions about the character. Are principles of excellent leadership the
only lessons to learn from Nehemiah? Biblical characters, even major
ones, are frequently ambiguous as to their exemplary value. It is not
always clear whether some characteristics or action is recounted
intentionally as a blemish or as a virtue. We need to evaluate the biblical
characters, even the great heroes of the faith, in the light of the larger
perspective of salvation history. In opting for a salvation history approach
we do not thereby rule out any appeal to biblical characterization. It is a
matter of the perspective of the text as a whole.
The gospel thrust of narrative texts come either from the covenant
promises (epoch A: up to the first part of Solomon’s reign) or the
prophetic eschatology (epoch B: the split of the kingdom onward),
both of which provide the biblical-theological context for the texts.
It is impossible to understand the theological function of a given
text unless we understand how it relates to the promise of the
covenant or to the eschatology of the prophets.
Crucial points in preaching narrative:
It is crucial to locate the episode into the context of the narratives that
surround it; likewise relate it to the book as a whole and the redemptive
historical context. What role does this narrative play in the overall
narrative (of the book and the canon)?
To accomplish this, consider the following guidelines:
a. Be aware of the overall story of the OT. Explore how the character or
episode fits into the big picture.

25. b. Study the overall themes and message of the book of the Bible that
your episode is in. Read a summary statement of the book in your
dictionary, encyclopedia, handbook, Intro to OT, etc.
c. Read the entire larger episode. For example, when studying Abraham,
read the entire Abrahamic narrative (Gen 12-25)
d. As a minimum, read three chapters: the entire chapter in which
episode occurs, the chapter that precedes it, and the chapter that
follows.
The story is never complete in itself & belongs as part of the one big
story of salvation culminating in Jesus Christ. Simply telling a
story based on a piece of historical narrative, however complete in
itself, is not Christian preaching. A sermon involves the
application of biblical truths to the present hearers.
Biblical theology is the antidote to dehistoricizing the biblical
message. i.e. to separate or remove from history, to deprive of
historical context. Story-telling sermons can easily be hijacked by
an existential philosophy. (i.e. assumes that people are entirely
free and thus responsibile for what they make of them selves.)
The value of the story according to this approach is not that it tells
us what actually happened in history, but only that it increases our
personal self-understanding.
In short: The exemplary sermon is more inclined to lead us to
ask, How does this character or event testify to my
existence? By contrast, the redemptive-historical approach
is more inclined to lead us to ask, How does this event or
character testify to Christ? Let us never forget that our
existence is only properly defined in terms of our being
either in Christ our outside of Christ. If · we really want
to know how a text testifies to our existence, it must do so
via its testimony to Christ.
We should not necessary ask "How does these men in
Luke 6 or the events surrounding them testify to my
existence? But the sermon should lead us to ask,
"How does this character or event testify to Christ?"
Why? If we really, really want to know how Luke 6
testifies to our existence, ity must do so via its
testimony to Christ. I put on ROJBC FB page 10 03
2014
· The approach to OT narrative is similar to that of the Gospels. One of the
differences, however, is that the episodes in the OT are usually longer than those in
the New. In the Gospels most of the stories are only a few verses long. Furthermore,

26. the context analyzed was usually the paragraphs immediately preceding and
immediately following. So the analysis of the Gospels are fairly (Mark 4:11; Eph
3:3), and “uncovered secret.” Thus, we use an expositional method.
(Bock, Scripture citing Scripture, 271ff): (could not find)
· “Prophetic Fulfillment”: Some texts reflect directly
prophetic fulfillments. In such cases, the human author and
the divine author sharcompact. The episodes w/I the OT
narrative, however, are usually longer, often involving
entire chapters (Duvall).
Six crucial elements of narrative: (Duvall)
(1) Plot : Is an expansion of the What? and the How? questions. Plot is the
organizing structure that ties narrative together. Plot is also the feature that
ties individual episodes into a larger coherent story. For example, in the
narrative about Abraham (Gen 12-25) there are numerous short episodes about
his life (he receives the promise, he goes to Egypt, he rescues Lot, he sends
Hagar way, etc). All of these shorter episodes are part of the larger plot of the
story that deals with God’s promise to Abraham & the fulfillment of that
promise. Most narrative plots have three basic components. The story starts
off with exposition, in which the basic setting is described and the main series
of events begins. Second, is conflict. Usually something in the exposition
part of the story is characterized by incompleteness, disorder, or unfilled
desire, and this shortcoming leads to conflict. Third, causality: it explores
how one event leads logically to the next.
Example: “The king died and the queen died is a story. “The king
died and the queen dies of grief, is a plot. “The Babylonians
conquered Jerusalem, is a simple story, but “God sent Babylon to
destroy Jerusalem because of Israel’s sin is a plot. (Paul House).
(2) Setting : Deals with the questions When? And Where? The setting is
important. The events of the narrative take place against a backdrop, and the
backdrop affects how we understand the story. Note particularly when anyone
leaves the Promised Land. It was connected to their covenant relationship
with God. Third, the place setting is also important, especially since it
changes several times in the story. Readers should know when the major
events in the narratives occurred and where they took place.
Key dates:
Abram’s Birth: 2166 B.C.
Isaac’s Birth: 2066 B.C.
Jacob’s Birth: 2006 B.C.
Joseph’s Birth: 1916 B.C.
Joseph Taken to Egypt: 1899 B.C.
Joseph’s Death: 1806 B.C.
Moses’ Birth: 1526 B.C.
Joshua’s Birth: 1476 B.C.

27. Exodus: 1446 B.C.
Moses’ Death: 1406 B.C.
Conquest of Canaan: c.a. 1406-1399 B.C.
Joshua’s Death: 1366 B.C.
Saul Anointed King: 1051 B.C.
David Born: 1041 B.C.
David becomes King: (1010 B.C.)
Solomon becomes King (970 B.C.)
Solomon begins to build temple: 966 B.C.
Kingdom splits (931 B.C.)
Northern Kingdom destroyed by Assyria: 722 B.C.
Southern Kingdom’s deportment: 605 B.C.--586 B.C.
Exile ends: 538 B.C.
Rebuilds Temple: 520-516 B.C.
Ezra and Nehemiah: worked after the return: 450 B.C.
(3) Characters : Characters are the answer to the Who? Question, and are
critical to narrative.
(1) Viewpoint of the Narrator : The author is the one responsible for
conveying the meaning to the readers through the story. Sometimes
the narrator expresses his view to us clearly by using summary
statements or judgment statements. However, the narrator often stays
neutral. The meaning he conveys through the story is an implicit
meaning, not an explicit one. He lets the characters and their actions
speak for themselves. The narrator can also appear to be positive
toward an event when in reality he is not. In these cases he usually
gives subtle clues as to his true point of view. For example, 1 Kings 1-
11, which focuses on the splendor and grandeur of Solomon’s
kingdom. Solomon’s wisdom and wealth are stressed. The narrator
seems to be extolling Solomon and his empire. However, he is not
telling the story w/ a straight face. He starts to drop clues: Solomon
showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the statues of his
father David, except he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the
high places. Solomon accumulated horses (10:26; c.f. Deut 17:16)
wives (11:3; cf. Deut 17:17) and silver (10: 27; Deut. 17:17). Earlier
in the story, Solomon took 7 yrs. to build the temple (6:38) but 13 yrs.
for his own house (17:1).
(2) Comparison/Contrast (Achan and Rahab) (Saul and David)
(3) Irony : Used to describe situations where the literal or surface
meaning of an event or episode is quite different—sometimes opposite
—of the narrator’s intended meaning. This is done to present the
meaning w/ more force. (As seen w/ Solomon)
· Note, Wayne McDill offers the helpful alliteration:
Situation
Stress
Search

28. Solution
New Situation
Parable —Essentially, a parable is a pictorial comparison between something
familiar & known a spiritual truth or reality. The picture is typically functional,
though realistic. How do we exegete parables?
Most importantly: “What’s the main point or points?”
Pay attention to repetition, the reversal of expectations, or changes in voice
from first to third person.
The conclusion or main point is typically at the end, & usually centers on the
nature of the kingdom or the King.
Context is king, so interpret parables in light of the context of the larger
surrounding narrative. Don’t treat them as if they were a random
collection. The parables, by their very nature as self-contained stories, can
easily be separated from their context and end up saying something that
seems to fly in the face of the gospel emphasis. If the discipline of
redaction criticism has taught us anything it is that the biblical documents
in general, and the Gospels in particular, have been carefully crafted to
convey a message.
In the case of the parable in question, we should, in our own thinking, place it
in the context of the Gospel’s linking of Jesus to the salvation history of
the Old Testament, and all that such a link implies. The preacher should
read and reread the several chapters that surround the parable and note
how impossible it is to deal with it in any other way that as part of the
message of what Jesus has come to do for us.
Poetry —One third of the OT (which is more than the whole NT) is poetry. It exists
by itself (the Psalms), but is also found throughout other genres (e.g. Wisdom &
Prophecy). How do we exegete poetry?
The most common feature of Hebrew poetic structure is parallelism in three
different forms—synonymous (an idea is repeated for emphasis), synthetic
(one idea builds upon another), & antithetical (one idea is contrasted with
another).
Other features include word play, alliteration & alphabetic acrostic, repetition,
hyperbole, contrast, metonymy (substitution), & synecdoche (the whole
stands for the part or vice versa).
It uses metaphor & simile, figurative images, irony, & euphemism
Key: remember it’s a poem. A literal reading will look different than a
literal reading of narrative
Wisdom —Wisdom literature is about skill at living in God’s world & in light
of God’s character. Wisdom is the fruit of the fear of the Lord, which
means being correctly oriented toward God & the creation he’s made,
including other people. It speaks of what is generally true, but it also
addresses what appear to be the exceptions to that general truth. How do
we exegete wisdom literature?

29. We need to recognize that wisdom literature comes to us in multiple forms, or
sub-genres.
Drama (Job, SOS)
Sayings (Prov 9-31)
Autobiographical confession & admonition (Ecc, Prov 1-8)
Whatever the form, the key in interpretation is to read it in context &
according to its stated purpose.
Job intends to address the problem of unjust suffering
Ecclesiastes intends to realistically address the point of life.
The Proverbs intends to engender the fear of God & then show that
fear (or lack of it) demonstrates itself in all sorts of contexts. It is
emphatically not law code.
Song of Solomon is a celebration of human love in marriage that
points beyond itself to God’s love for his people.
Prophecy -Contains both narrative & poetry, but what sets them apart as their own
genre is the presence of the prophetic oracle: Thus says the Lord. The prophets
arrive on the biblical scene as attorneys for the prosecution, arguing God’s case in
a covenant lawsuit against Israel for breaking the covenant. But not only do they
make the case, they prophetically warn of the judgment to come (calling for
repentance) & prophetically proclaim the salvation to come (calling for faith).
How do we exegete prophecy?
The basic feature—and problem-of interpretation is the promise-fulfillment
dynamic. This is what divides interpreters. When, where, and how a
prophecy is fulfilled helps us understand its meaning.
One important aspect of prophecy is the prophetic foreshortening of events.
The prophets see the mountains on the distant horizon as a single, two-dimensional
line. Once we actually get there in history & travel into those
mountains, we discover that there are multiple ranges broad distances
apart. This means that most, if not all, prophecies have multiple horizons
of fulfillment.
A common feature of prophecy is to use the language & images of the past in
order to describe the future. Creation, garden of Eden imagery, the flood,
Sodom & Gomorrah, & the exodus are all used to describe future events.
These provide a theological understanding of what’s happening, not
necessarily a literal understanding.
Quite a bit of prophecy is not predictive, but descriptive (typological). For
example, the NT understands that much of King David’s life anticipates
the Messiah.
As always, context is king. In the case of prophecy, the shape of the story of
the Bible as a whole is crucial. Revelation is progressive, & in the
revelation of Jesus Christ, we’ve been given both the main point & the end
of the story. This means that we have an advantage over OT readers. We
work from the story of the whole Bible back to the prophecy, not the other
way around. As 1 Pet 1:10-13 asserts, the gospel gives us clearer vision
than even the OT prophets had. Therefore the NT determines the ultimate

30. meaning of OT prophecy, not the other way around.]
Epistles-- To generalize, the Gospels tell the story of Jesus’ life and the Epistles
interpret it. The apostles self-consciously understood themselves to be the
recipients of & the fulfillment of the OT promises in light of what Christ had
done. Therefore the primary “context” of NT epistles is the OT. How do we
exegete epistles?
Preaching the Epistles in View of Their Occasional Nature— More than
the Gospels, Acts, or the Book of Revelation, the Epistles are singularly
aimed at a particular church, churches, or individuals, and in each case
they address specific situations or problems.
The occasional nature of the Epistles means that they are not to be
preached in the same way that one would read & preach universal
maxims, which are based on what unifies people in their common
human experience and written to a broad, largely unknown
audience. As a result of their occasional nature, preaching the
Epistles thus demands that one understand & expound the letter
against its own historical backdrop in order to make sense of the
letter itself and to make sense of it for the congregation.
Practically this means that in ascertaining the particular point of a
passage, the preacher must be careful to interpret it against the
backdrop to which it was written, in order to ascertain not only its
meaning, but its significance as well. For in the Epistles, it is the
application of the author’s theology to a concrete situation which
provides the clue to the larger theological import of the text.
The more one understands the letter’s historical context, the
more the meaning and significance of the letter become
clear, and vice versa.
Preaching the Epistles in view of their occasional nature thus
requires that one ask, first, what is being said in a given
passage, understood in its literary context. Having
ascertained as well as possible the content and flow of the
argument, the interpreter must then go on to ask why it was
said, and why it was said this particular way, given its
historical context.
Preaching the Epistles in View of Their Discursive Structure-- This is the
second aspect which makes preaching the Epistles distinct. Unlike the
other biblical genres, in which there are periodic discursive sections, the
epistles are characterized by their propositional argumentation. This
means that the flow of the argument of the Epistles is established by a
series of interrelated assertions in which the various statements are related
to one another logically.
Preaching the Epistles in View of Their Main Points— The main point of

31. the text is that one assertion which may be restated ways in various ways
throughout the passage, which is supported by all of the other propositions
in the paragraph, and which itself supports no other proposition in the
passage. One is ready to preach from the Epistles when one can state
explicitly what the main point of the text is, and how it is supported
throughout the text.
Preaching the Epistles in View of Their Imperative Exhortations- -The
danger in preaching the Epistles is that the imperatives of the text will
be separated from the indicative theological statements upon which they
are inseparably based, or from the fulfillment of the promises to which
they inevitably lead. When this occurs, the gospel of God’s grace is
perverted either into a demand for a life lived out before God on the basis
of human achievement on the one hand (legalism), or into the kind of
“easy believism” which fails to recognize that the growing life of
obedience which inextricably flows from trusting in God’s promises in
the power of the Spirit is the evidence of genuine conversion on the
other hand (license).
Thus, in preaching in the Epistles, the imperatives of the text must always be
grounded in their indicative substantiation. {Confirmaton: additional
proof that something that was believed (some fact ) is correct.}
Preaching the Epistles in View of Their Whole-- Preaching from the
epistles demands of the preacher that the message of the document be
taken as a whole even if only a selection of texts, or just one verse, is to
be expounded. It is no good to say that we dealt with the justification
element three weeks ago & now we are following Paul into the
imperatives & injunctions for Christian living. Paul wasn’t anticipating a
three week gap between his exposition of the gospel & his defining of the
implications of the gospel in our lives. Nor was he anticipating that some
people would not be present for the reading of the whole epistle and would
hear part of its message out of context.
Apocalyptic —The point & purpose of apocalyptic literature is to give God’s people
hope in the midst of present sufferings based on god’s certain victory over their
enemies, both now & in the future. To do that, apocalyptic draws heavily on the
images of the past, as well as other stylized imagery. The point is to review the
sweep of history & show it’s culmination in the victory of God’s kingdom. How
do we exegete apocalyptic?
Two main examples in the Bible are Daniel & Revelation. But neither is
merely apocalyptic. Daniel is prophetic literature & Revelation is a
prophetic epistle.
Literary context is important. Biblical apocalyptic draws specifically on
biblical images from the OT (Babylon, plagues), as well as “stock” images
from the wider genre (the horn, celestial bodies, etc).

32. Apocalyptic provides a schematization of history, but that scheme isn’t
necessarily chronological. For example, each series of seven plagues in
Revelation (seals, trumpets, bowls) ends with the end of the world. And
yet, it would be easy to read the series as sequential. So how many times
does the world end? In fact, there is a pattern in these series.
History is recapitulated from different perspectives, leading to the climax of
the last two chapters.
Without going into a detailed treatment of the various approaches to
interpreting Revelation, the main point is clear. God’s people can endure
present suffering because of their confidence that God wins. And they
know he wins, not because of prophetic revelation, but because of what
Christ has already accomplished in the past, through his death &
resurrection.
(1) Determine the structure of a passage. Thought is always structured or it is
nonsensical. In discerning the structure of a passage, we are able to follow the flow
of the author’s logic and come to understanding. Some structures are set by
convention (such as letters) or chronology (narratives). Others provide insight
through creative arrangement, using such features as parallelism, etc. One of the
most important questions to keep asking the text is “What has prominence”? What
has the author emphasized by repetition, placement, or some other device?
(2) Determine the syntax of the passage . If analysis of structure deals w/ the general
flow of the thought in a passage, syntax is concerned with the flow of thought in
detail and how individual clauses, phrases, and words relate to each other. With
narrative texts, the overall syntax may be rather straightforward and obvious. With
more discursive material, often the syntax is quite complex (cf. Eph 1:3-14).
(3) Determine the significance of individual words or constructions (Semantics).
Discerning how specific words convey meaning is crucial, but exegesis is more than
word studies (word studies are often misleading). Words have a conventional range of
meaning, ways we expect them to be used. These meanings (dictionary definitions)
make up the semantic field of a word. Any aspect of a word’s meaning—but not all of
it—may be used in a given context, or the word may be even used creatively in a new
way. Word studies show the etymology of words, which may be of no significance
for later meaning. Such work must be done, but it does not show what a word means
in a given context. One can only know that meaning by discerning the relations in
the context.
(4) Do Discourse Analysis. Discourse (units of connected text that are longer than
paragraphs) Analysis: the study of the way authors put sentences and paragraphs
together to make their points. It discovers the main ideas of sections of the Bible and
explores the way authors present and defend their ideas through logic and rhetoric.
Each discourse, deals w/ a single topic or story & has a beginning, development, &
conclusion. Naturally, we relate to the larger discourses

33. A. To begin this analysis, it helps to begin w/ a least a rough idea of the theme
before the detailed analysis begins. Authors scatter clues that help readers
find their main topics and ideas (Doriani, 79ff):
(a) Location—The main idea frequently occurs in the first or the last
sentence of a section or a paragraph, or in both.
(b) Restatement—Authors restate, repeat, or return to the main concept.
For example, James says 3 times in 2:14-26, in slightly different
ways, that faith w/o works is dead.
(c) Direct Address—Authors may address their hearers before stating a
main idea. (Hear O Israel, Brothers, Dear Friends)
(d) Introductory Formulas—To draw attention to their chief points,
authors introduce them w/ phrases like “I— want you to know,” or “I
write these things to you so that.”
(e) Concluding Formulas—Look for words that summarize a discussion,
such as therefore, thus, etc.
B. General Principles for Discourse Analysis (Doriani, 81ff)
(a) Look for words & phrases that explicitly connect one idea to another
(and, but, if, then, therefore, for, so that, because, so, since, when,
just as, in order that, while, after, etc).
(b) Look for implicit and understated connections
(c) To capture the message of the Bible, we need to study paragraphs
more than single words or even sentences. That is, discourse
analysis works on paragraphs, whole chapters, and even larger
segments of books, as well as sentences.
(d) Consider Galatians: Paul wrote it to a group of churches he founded
in the Roman province of Galatia during his 1
st
missionary journey.
They were healthy until the Judaizers visited them preaching the law
and the claim that Paul’s gospel lacked authority since he was not
really an apostle and so Paul responded w/ a letter. It is possible to
see the whole book as a simple discourse where Paul defends his
apostleship and asserts the true purpose of the law.
(5) Transcend the historical-critical approach with a theological-canonical
interpretation.
Biblical exegesis does not deal merely with individual books but also with the relations
between them (biblical theology) in coming to understand the parts in light of the
whole.
This step requires both the epochal horizon & the canonical horizon. That is, a
purely analytical/synchronic approach (which concentrates on the details of
revelation at any given point like a series of still shots—Historical Horizon)
very easily leads to the fragmentation of the Bible that distorts the unity
created by the divine Author (Goldsworthy, PTWB, 26).

34. For instance, in 1980 a book appeared where in the opening pages the
author argues that the best way to refute Christians who argue that
Jesus is prophesied in the OT is to use grammatical-historical exegesis
to determine what the text really means. The author argues that this
procedure will conclusively demonstrate that the original meaning of
the OT prophecies have nothing to do with Jesus. Ironically, the
advocates the same exegetical method espoused in most Christian
books on biblical interpretation (S. Levine, You Take Jesus, I’ll Take
God: How to Refute Christian Missionaries).
Textual Horizon: The word ‘text’ refers to the biblical text. At the textual level the
interpreter
seeks to understand the grammatical , historical, and cultural aspects of a particular
passage of
Scripture. Horizon simply refers to a particular level of interpretation. The textual
horizon is the
first level of interpretation
The Epochal Horizon The word ‘epochal’ refers to a partic nular time (epoch) in God’s
redemptive plan. The interpreter seeks to discern where they are in the biblical
storyline as they read the Bible in order to better understand God and his promises.
There are many epochal divisions(e.g., Old Testament, New Testament, pre-fall, post-fall,
patriarchs, exile, post-exile, gospels, post-resurrection, formation of the church, etc). The
epochal horizon is the second level of interpretation.
Canonical Horizon: The word ‘canon’ refers to the whole of Scripture. Therefore, the
word canonical means understanding the individual texts and epochs in light of the entire
story of Scripture; specifically with respect to God’s promises fulfilled in Christ Jesus.
The canonical horizon is the final and most important step of interpretation.
Biblical Theology Glossary
http://theroadtoemmaus.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/word-definitions-for-biblical-theology.pdf
42. It is at this stage one considers the diachronic unity of revelation (synthetic
approach). This is where the details begin to be put together in sequence to
form the big picture (Goldsworthy, PWB, 27).
43. As Clowney points out, God did not accomplish his purpose all at once. He did
not send Christ to be born of Eve by the gates of Eden, nor did he inscribe the
whole Bible on the tablets of stone given to Moses at Sinai. Rather, God showed
himself to be the Lord of times and seasons (Acts 1:7). The story of God’s
saving work is framed in epochs, in periods of history that God determines by
his word of promise (Clowney, The Unfolding Mystery, 12).
44. This horizon is concerned with how the revelation of God was understood in its
time, and what the total picture is that was built up over the whole historical
process.

35. 45. Where is the passage in redemptive-history and what is the significance of that?
The most obvious epochal division is b/t the OT and the NT. But there are also
other divisions.
46. Knowing this horizon is important for at least two reasons: first, if this question
were asked each time, it could clear up the tendency to convert a significant event
in redemptive history into an unhistorical pattern for us today (e.g. theocracy in
Israel, temple worship, tongues in Acts, etc).
47. Secondly, by knowing this horizon, one can come to terms with the “gospel” hope
in the particular text in question.
48. With regard to the OT, the “gospel” thrust of narrative texts comes either from
the covenant promises (epoch A) or the prophetic eschatology (epoch B), both of
which provide the biblical-theological context for the texts (Goldsworthy).
49. It is impossible to understand the theological function of a given text unless we
understand how it relates to the promises of the covenant or to the eschatology
of the prophets.
50. When we consider the nature of prophetic eschatology in more detail, we see that
it is like a second-stage rocket propelling the Abrahamic covenant towards its
fulfillment.
51. Helpful in this regard is Vaughan Roberts’ work in dividing the Bible into eight
main epochs in God’s plan to restore his kingdom.
(1) The pattern of the kingdom —The Garden of Eden. Here we see the world as
God designed it to be. God’s people, Adam and Eve, live in God’s place, the
garden, under his rule as they submit to his word.
(2) The perished kingdom —The results of Adam and Eve’s defiance against God
are disastrous. They are no longer God’s people (they turn away from him and he
turns away from them). They are no longer in God’s place (they are exiled from
the garden). They are no longer under God’s rule, so they do not enjoy his
blessing. Instead they face his curse and judgment.
Actually, the entire discourse and canonical position of Genesis 3-11 is
highly significant b/c these chapters offer not one but 4 pictures of
humankind’s rebellion against and alienation from God (as Genesis
1-2 in its portrayal of the pattern of the kingdom describes the
relationship b/t God, man and creation was it was originally ·
intended to be), which communicate the need for God’s gracious
intervention. The 4 pictures:
i. Genesis is the classic account of the fall. From a literary point of view,
it can be seen as “the prototypical biblical tragedy,” with the basic
temptation to “be like God” (Gen 3:5). This rebellion results in
alienation from God.
ii. Genesis 4 illustrates how alienation from God produces alienation from
one’s fellow human beings.
iii.The longer story of the flood (Gen 6-8) represents God’s righteous
judgment on a creation that has become corrupt.
iv. The story of the Tower of Babel (Gen 11) is a variant on the theme of
human beings wishing themselves in the place of God, with disastrous

36. results. Humankind is a fragmented into different languages and
nations; yet among these are the ancestors of Abram through whom
God will being to work out his plan for the salvation of the human race.
· In short, these 4 stories speak of the solidarity with which all men
are bound together in sin. But they also point forward to God’s
plan of salvation. They prepare the way for the promise of the
eschatological kingdom.
(2) The promised kingdom —God, in his grace and mercy, determines to restore
his kingdom. He calls Abraham and makes some unconditional promises to
him: through Abraham’s descendents God will re-establish his kingdom.
Abraham’s seed will be God’s people, living in his land and enjoying God’s
blessing, and through them all peoples on earth will be blessed. Scobie points
out that it is highly significant that the account of God’s dealings with Israel
(beginning with the promised kingdom) is preceded by the account of the
creation of all things and of the origins and prehistory of humankind as a
whole. That is, God’s dealings with Israel in the historical order are placed in
the broader context of God’ concern for all humankind (The Ways of Our God,
149).
(3)The partial kingdom —Through the exodus from Egypt, God makes
Abraham’s descendents his very own people. God gives them his law so that
they might live under his rule and enjoy his blessing, as Adam and Eve had
done before sin. The blessing is marked primarily by God’s presence w/ his
people in the tabernacle. Under Joshua they entered the land and by the time
of David and Solomon, one sees the highest expression of God’s kingdom
under the Old Covenant. Israel was God’s people in God’s place, under God’s
rule. Yet, the promises to Abraham had not been completely fulfilled. The
problem was sin, which lead to the dismantling of the partial kingdom.
(4)The prophesied kingdom —The kingdom is split (931B.C) with Israel in the
north and Judah in the south. Eventually, the Assyrians depopulate the north
(722 B.C) and the southern kingdom is exiled to Babylon (605-586 B.C).
During this time, God spoke to the people of Israel and Judah through the
prophets. The prophets point forward to a time (“in that day”) when God
would act decisively through his Davidic king (2 Sam 7), to fulfill all his
promises. The uniqueness of this hope is that it continuously links God’s
kingship with the Davidic vice-regency.
As for the eschatological hopes of a people for the kingdom: a remnant
(Isa 10:20-21); a new exodus (Jer 16:14-15); the servant (Isa 49:5-6;
52:13-53:12); the inclusion of the nations (Isa 49:6; Isa 60:1-3). As for
the eschatological hopes of God’s place in the kingdom: a new temple
(Ezek 40-48); new creation (Isa 65:17-18). As for the eschatological
hopes of God’s rule: a new covenant (Jer 31:31-33; Ezek 36:26-27; Joel
2:28-32); new king (2 Sam 7:12-16; Isa 9:6-7; Ps 110:1)
.

37. (5)The proximate kingdom — God’s people: embodied in the prophets
(Zechariah and Haggai), the priest (Joshua); and the king (the governor
Zerubbabel who is the last heir to David). God’s place: Canaan, penultimately
Jerusalem, and ultimately the rebuilt temple. God’s rule: through the prophets.
50 thousand Jews were redeemed out of exile (which is a penultimate antitype
of the Exodus b/c this time it was exile from sin, which means this fulfillment
is heightened). This temple rebuilding activity points to the one who will be
both lord and servant of the temple (and the fulfillment to that which the
temple points). This is not to say that the rebuilding of the physical temple was
not crucial, even though God’s intention was to transition from a physical to a
spiritual temple. It is crucial to remember that the timeline of the history of
redemption is not the same as the history of revelation. The temporal interval
b/t Zechariah’s time and the coming of Jesus (520 yrs) is more than the interval
b/t Zechariah’s time and the kingship of David (450 yrs). Although
canonically we may feel as if we are on the cusp of the NT era, historically we
are far from it.
God restores his people to life in the land and provides priests to sustain this
community for many yrs. until the arrival of Jesus. The NT reveals the role of
the temple and its worship in nurturing messianic hope. Thus in Lk 2:21-40
we meet 2 people in the temple courts who are awaiting the arrival of Christ:
Simeon and Anna. They are reps. of the remnant community who were
sustained through the ministry of the temple and priests established in Zech.’s
time.
(6)The present kingdom—Mark 1:14 Now after John had been taken into
custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 1:15 and
saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and
believe in the gospel." Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time came, God
sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law. Eph1:9-10 He
made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention
which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the
fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in
the heavens and things on the earth. In Him. Christ, though his humiliation
and exaltation, inaugurates the kingdom. The resurrection proved the success
of Jesus’ rescue mission on the cross and signal the dawn of the “new
creation.”
(7)The proclaimed kingdom —During these “last days,” the redemptive
kingdom of Christ, inaugurated in his person and work, is extended
(instrumentally speaking) to the ends of the earth through God’s restored vice-regents/
ambassadors, the church.
(8)The perfected kingdom —Revelation 21-22 describes a fully restored
kingdom: God’s people, Christians from all nations, in God’s place, the new
heavens and earth, under God’s rule.

38. The Canonical Horizon
Crucial to this horizon is the continuity b/t the promises of God and his fulfillment
of those promises. This is the essential glue holding the diverse epochs
together. The promise-fulfillment motif (design) is fundamental and the
authors write with the knowledge that God has been faithful to his promises
in times past, and so will be in the future.
TYPOLOGY: (remember some about typology in BBS 1966
One important biblical means of presenting promise-fulfillment is through the use
of typology.
52. Typology allows for the promises of God to often have two or more
fulfillment horizons. The many Old and New Testament prophecies about
the future and their fulfillments accustom us to expect a “gradual” filling
up of a foretold event. “Prophecy, in the sense that it reveals some part of
God’s redemptive purpose, is capable of being filled, of a achieving a
fullness, so that when it is filled full it is fulfilled. If we understand
prophecy in this sense, we no longer ask the question, ‘Is prophecy
capable of more than one fulfillment?’ It is capable of more and more
filling until it is entirely fulfilled” William LaSor, Tyndale Bulletin 29
(1978): 55.
For example, the promise to Abraham regarding descendants and a great nation
was fulfilled in Isaac, later in the nation of Israel, supremely in Jesus (church),
and ultimately in the new heavens and the new earth (Gen 12; 13; Exod 3; 33;
Jn 8; Acts 7; Gal 3; Rev 21-22).
53. Typology rests on the recognition that the way God spoke & acted in the
OT was preparatory & anticipatory of the definitive word & act of God in
Christ (Goldsworthy, GCH, 243).
54. Typology Defined: “The interpretation of earlier events, persons, and
institutions in biblical history which become proleptic entities, or ‘types,’
anticipating later events, persons, and institutions, which are their
antitypes. It is thus actually a way of looking at history. . . it requires a
history that is under God’s sovereign control and is proceeding
according to divine plan.” Duvall’s Definition of Typology: “A biblical
event, person or institution which serves as an example or
pattern for other events, persons, or institutions.”
55. “Typology implies that, just as earlier revelation is ultimately understood
only in light of later revelation, so the later revelation can only be
understood in relation to the earlier.”
56. Goldsworthy: “The essence of typology is the recognition that w/i
Scripture itself certain events, people, and institutions in biblical history
bear a particular relationship to later events, people, or institutions. The
relationship is such that the earlier foreshadows the later, and the later fills
out or completes the earlier” (Goldsworthy, 77). “It is a way of saying that
“this is that,” that is, that a later significant event is what an earlier one
points to (Acts 2:16). (Goldsworthy, 77).

39. 57. “Typology is sometimes written off as just a form of allegory that is thus
uncontrolled and invalid. . . . There are some similarities in that allegory
and typology both recognize some kind of correspondences. The
difference, however, is vital. On the one hand, allegory was a method that
saw the old events and images as largely unimportant in themselves. The
real task was to get behind them to the deeper spiritual meaning” which
was “often quite unrelated to the original historical meaning.”
(Goldsworthy, 77)
58. “Typology, on the other hand, recognizes that the original historical
meaning of the text is theologically related to the later expression that fills
it out and usually completes it. . . .
59. Typology helps us to deal w/ questions of how God actually ‘saved’
people before the one and only saving event of Jesus Christ was
revealed. While allegory sees mainly a superficial conceptual relationship
b/t OT events and the Christian gospel, typology sees the type as part of
the theological process of revelation that leads to the antitype or
fulfillment in the gospel. . . . It is theologically bound up w/ the antitype in
a unity that means that those who related to the type are similarly related
to the antitype” (Goldsworthy, 77)
60. Typology : The idea that persons (e.g., Moses), events (e.g., the exodus) &
institutions (e.g., the temple) can—in the plan of God—prefigure a later
stage in that plan & provide the conceptuality necessary for understanding
the divine intent (e.g., the coming of Christ to be the new Moses, to effect
the new exodus & to be the new temple)—G Cole, He Who Gives life, P.
289.
But identifying types is somewhat risky, unless one has controls:
(1) To be identified as a type, an event’s redemptive-historical function must be known,
and must show an organic relationship to the later redemptive history that it
foreshadows.
(2) The nature of the type must lie in the main message of the material, not in some
incidental detail (Goldsworthy adds: “If the person or event is so incidental to the
main narrative that it is difficult to perceive the theological significance of the event
in its own epoch, there is probably not a lot to be gained (McCartney, 1-3, pg. 167)
(3) The antitype (fulfillment) must be greater than the type (an intensification)
(4) Some evidence that the type is ordained by God to foreshadow the antitype must be
present (John Currid, in Goldworthy, pg. 111)
(5) It must be grounded in history; both type and antitype must be actual historical
events, persons, or institutions (John Currid in Goldsworthy, 111)
(6) Typology deals not w/ words, but historical events (David Baker in Goldsworthy,
111)
(7) It identifies real correspondences b/t historical events (David Baker in Goldsworthy,
111)
The Use of the OT in the NT

40. Methods characteristic of the NT’s Use of the OT (McCartney, 68-9; see E.E. Ellis, “How
the NT Uses the Old”)
(1) Generally, the NT cites from the LXX, but not exclusively. Thus, we have warrant
for using translations.
(2) Often introductory formulas are used, such as “it is written” or “the Holy Spirit says,”
indicating that (OT) Scripture confirms NT revelation, & that the OT is therefore
prophetic in character. Thus the NT indicates a high regard for Scripture as God’s
speech.
(3) The NT treats OT events are genuine history, constitutive for the present state of
affairs. Thus, the NT warrants a grammatical-historical method.
(4) History is understood as being under divine control; it is going somewhere. God
accomplishes salvation in history. Thus, we look for a redemptive-historical
meaning.
(5) OT history is understood as indicating where it was going. Thus, the OT should be
understood typologically & eschatologically.
(6) As in the OT, man is regarded both individually & corporately (the body of Christ) in
the NT. Thus, we apply a covenantal understanding.
(7) Christ fulfills the role & character of the corporate entities, mankind (Adam) & Israel
(see Heb 2:8; Rom 5:12ff; 1 Cor 15:27), and thus those who are united to him become
the true Israel (Gal 6:16; Phil 3:3) & the perfect man (Eph 4:13; Col 1:28). Thus
Scripture is interpreted Christocentrically & ecclesiologically.
(8) Scripture is regarded as a mystery that is now revealed e the expectation, and only
one event or series of events is in view. The NT fulfillment of Dan 7:13-14 is an
example of such a fulfillment (cf. Luke 21:27, 22:69; Mark 14:62)
· “Typological-Prophetic”: This means that pattern and promise are present,
so that a short-term event pictures and mirrors a long-term fulfillment. 2
Types of typological-prophetic fulfillment:
A. Typological-Prophetic fulfillment. In these texts, there is a short-term
historical referent, and yet the promise’s initial fulfillment is such that an
expectation remains that more of the pattern needs “filling up” to be
completely fulfilled. An example is Isaiah 65-66 where the descriptions of
victory over the enemies are so idyllically portrayed as a new creation that the
expectation arose of a greater, ultimate fulfillment. Perhaps the best
Christological example of this category is the Servant figure of Isaiah (42:1-9;
49:1-13; 50:4-11; 52:13-53:12). In Is 49:3, this figure is explicitly called
“Israel.” Even Jewish hope saw a future for a glorified servant figure, viewed
in terms of the nation; but they did not know how to integrate his suffering
into the image or how to deal with the individuality of the expression in Is 52-
53.
B. “Typological-prophetic” fulfillment. Here the pattern is not anticipated by
the language, but is seen once the decisive pattern occurs. Only then does the
connection of design become clear. It works differently from the previous

41. category in that the pattern is not anticipated or looked for until the fulfillment
makes the working out of a pattern apparent. The outstanding illustration here
is the use of Hos 11:1 in Matt 2:15 (“out of Egypt I have called my Son”).
In Hosea, when the book is read historically-exegetically, this remark apples
to Israel as she was called out in the Exodus. Everything about the passage
looks to the past, although it is important to observe that Hos 11:8-11 does not
give up hope for Israel. So the review of history is set in a larger context that
does remind the nation that God’s care for her will not end, despite her past
unfaithfulness in the face of his faithfulness. Jesus’ reenactment of the
nation’s Exodus experience invokes the pattern of God working for his people
again so that the connection can be made when one recognizes that the
Exodus itself is a pattern image for salvation and that Jesus as King (and as
the one in the many) is able to represent (and thus recapitulate) the nation’s
history.
‘Authoritative Illustration”. The term is reflected in the example of the Exodus
used by Paul in 1 Cor 10:1-13, where Paul explicitly spoke of Exodus events
as ‘types’. Here the goal is not a prophetic use but one of exhortation. The
Corinthians are to learn from a past example about behavior to avoid, namely,
associating closely with activities related to idolatry. The use simply points to
the lessons of the past.
Ideas or Summaries: Here no specific text is cited, but the teaching of the
OT is summarized and stated in fresh words in a proposition. An example is
Luke 24:44-47, where the OT is said to teach about Christ’s death and
resurrection and the promise that repentance shall be preached to all the
nations in Jesus’ name. No texts are cited explicitly, but one senses that all
texts Luke uses in Luke-Acts stand behind the remark.
Preaching Christ Organically from the Old Testament when there is no type
(Insights from Keller and Several Others)
“Most of the preaching I hear and too much that I do attempts to build upon
‘common human experience.’ ‘Are you depressed? Everyone has been
depressed at one time or another. Down in the dumps. There is a story of
someone who was down in the dumps, in the pit, so to speak. His name was
Joseph. He was thrown into a pit. . . .’” The consequence of such preaching is
lamentable: “Unable to preach Christ and him crucified, we preach humanity
and it improved” (William Willimon “Peculiar Speech: Preaching to the
Baptized”).
The temptation to be human centered in preaching is always a tendency, given
the preacher’s desire to be relevant to his listener. One of the prevalent
tendencies in preaching the Old Testament is biographical preaching (or
character preaching). This approach tends to look for attitudes and actions of
biblical characters which the hearers should imitate or avoid.
Example: A sermon on Genesis 22 called “Parents and children must

42. worship the Lord together.” The sermon has four points:
i. Father and son walked together
ii. Father and son talked together
iii. Father and son worked together
iv. Father and son sacrificed
together.
On the contrary, very passage in the Old Testament has its burden, echoed in
various ways, the message: “God is acting! God is coming! God is faithful to
his covenant promises! His mercy indeed endures forever! God will not cast
off His chosen people! God is preparing salvation!” (Herbert Mayer in
Concordia Theological Monthly 1964)
(1) Theme Resolution—There are at least 20 inter-canonical (D.A. Carson) or
longitudinal (Greidanus) themes that move across the biblical corpus. These
themes have thickening plots that like all good stories have a dramatic tension within
the theme that as the plot continues on appears irreconcilable. Only in Christ are the
themes reconciled and fulfilled (as Alex Motyer states: the answer in the back of the
book).
Example:
a. Kingdom and King. God created Adam and Eve as the image of God (which
in the Ancient Near East is kingly language) to rule has his viceregents. The
essence of God’s kingdom expression on earth is God’s people (his
viceregents) in God’s place (where his revelatory presence dwells) under
God’s rule (faith and obedience). Adam and Eve had the task of extending the
boundaries of Eden (where his kingdom was expressed) in order to fill the
earth (extending the kingdom borders). As the narrative proceeds through
Abraham and Israel, it is apparent that the depth of their brokenness and
enslavement reveals no mere human king is enough. Only God becoming a
man would a big enough king to deal with the brokenness and fulfill
humankind’s calling as the supreme viceregent who extends God’s glory
presence to the end of the earth, which is the eschatological hope (Num 14:21;
Hab 2:14; Ps 72:19; Ps 85:9; Isa 11:9). Therefore, everyone in leadership in
Israel points to the fact they don’t have the true king.
b. Grace and Law (Influenced by Ray Dillard)—How the holiness and the love
of God can relate in a covenant. From the giving of the Law to Chronicles,
there is a tension that propels the narrative. God is absolutely holy and
merciful but how can he be both? Israel’s history is caught in a tension. We
are caught in a dilemma between whether God’s covenant is conditional or
unconditional. How can God be holy and still remain faithful to the covenant?
That’s the question. What you have in many place is that God seems to be
saying his covenant is conditional. You must obey or I will cut you off. Other
places he seems to indicate his covenant is unconditional. No matter what “I
will be your God.” The biggest mistake interpreters make is the tendency to
try to resolve the tension by basically saying that you will not be happy unless
you obey. The promises of the Old Testament are conditional. Unless you

43. live right your children won’t turn out right. This is a legalistic way to read
the Old Testament.
There is also a liberal way to read the OT as well. The covenant is completely
unconditional. God loves everybody and no matter how you live God is going
to accept you. However, the tension will not be resolve in the OT and so the
question of how God can still be holy and faithful to his people can’t be
answered either by the conservative or liberal approach. The answer is in the
cross where the law of God and the love of God are fulfilled. So is the
covenant conditional or unconditional? Yes. Its only yes if Christ can and
fulfilled the covenant so that we can be saved by grace through faith. The
cross means we have a God far more holy than any legalists dare to believe in
because you have to be absolutely perfect; yet, we also have a God far more
loving than any liberal dare to believe in because he had to die and liberals
don’t believe he had to die to accept us.
(2) Law Completion—Paul says that the Law is meant to lead us to Christ. Gal 3:24:
Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be
justified by faith. 1 Tim 1:5-11 is another crucial passage where Paul makes it clear
that the purpose of the Law is to drive sinners to Christ. In 1 Tim 1:5, Paul’s focus is
on what the Gospel does to people in their hearts, faith, and conscience. This gives
rise to love. But if we turn it around and start using the law as the direct means of
sanctification we fall under the criticism of 1 Tim 1:7. Thus, when we take an ethical
principle or a command/law, if we really consider it, it is apparent that it is impossible
to keep it. If you don’t preach Christo-centrically, you will always pull your punches
in preaching ethical themes. You might say “you can do it” but in reality you aren’t
really listening to the law. In Christ-centered preaching we realize Christ will have to
fulfill the ethical principles for us or we are dead. That means you can always get to
Christ from any ethical principle. Jesus is the only way to take the law seriously. The
law demands that we be perfectly holy so we aren’t really listening to the law if we
think we can obey it. The law is saying, in effect, that you can never fulfill me. You
need a savior.
Example: the Tithe in the Old Testament. What about the NT? As recipients of
the New Covenant and the full revelation of God in Jesus Christ (Heb 1:1), are we
more indebted to the grace of God or less indebted?—more. Therefore, is it
possible that God would expect us to give less than 10%?—No. We should be
giving sacrificially but we will never do it. But look at the generosity of Christ (2
Cor 8:9).
Unless you emphasize the saving work of Christ (in whatever ethical principle,
including giving), you will never have your heart melted enough by faith to
even begin to fulfill this ethical principle.
It is lack of faith in Christ’s finished work that precludes us from ever
beginning to fulfill/obey the ethical principle.

44. We might call this mediated application. Jesus is the fulfiller of the ethical
principle both objectively and subjectively in that the former gives us the basis
to be right with God and seeing him fulfill the principle gives us the desire to
obey it our own lives.
Example: Don’t commit sexual immorality. We can’t explain what “thou shall not
commit adultery” is until we look at the jealous love Jesus showed us in his holy
life and the cross. His jealous love defines sexual fidelity so that unless we have
his jealous love we will never be able to practice jealous love.
Unless we know what he has done “for us” we will never have the moral
fortitude to be as sexually faithful as we ought. Jesus is, therefore, not just the
example of sexual fidelity, he is the fulfiller “for us” both objectively and
subjectively.
(3) Story Insertion—Here you take any particular narrative and put it into the bigger
story.
A. All the individual stories in the Bible point to
Jesus especially as you insert them into the
bigger story: the history of redemption . (Comment:
maybe I am getting this point)
61. For instance, Jesus is the true and better Adam who passed the temptation
test and whose obedience is imputed to us.
62. He is the true and better Abel, though innocently slain, has blood now that
cries out not for our condemnation but for our acquittal.
63. He is the true Abraham who answered the call of God to leave home to a
foreign land.
64. He is the true Isaac who is the true Son of laughter offered up for us all.
65. He is the true Jacob who wrestled with God, took the blow of justice we
deserve, so we, like Jacob, only receive the wounds of grace just to wake
us up.
66. He is the true Joseph who sits at the right hand of the king, mediates
salvation for his brothers and the nations, and who forgives those who
betrayed him using his power to save them.
67. He is the true and better Moses who stands in the gap between the people
and the Lord and mediates a new covenant.
68. He is the true rock of Moses, who is struck with the hand of God’s justice
and gives us water in the desert.
69. He is the true Joshua who is the general of the Lord’s army.
70. He is the true and better Job who is the only real innocent sufferer who
intercedes from his friends.
71. He is the true and better Samson whose death accomplishes salvation for
his people and judgment on his enemies.
72. He is the true and better David whose head crushing victory becomes his
people’s victory though they never lifted a stone to accomplish victory for

45. themselves.
73. He is the true Ecclesiastes teacher because he leads us through despair to
help us fear God.
74. He is the true Jonah who went into the belly of the whale so people could
be saved.
75. Now I need to continue through the rest of the Old Testament.....
B. But this is not just true of individuals. Its also true of corporate story lines.
He is the leader of a community so its not just the story of individuals but the
story of the “people of God.” That is, the story of the people of God is a type of
Christ. All the major events in the formation of the people of God point us to
Christ. Jesus is the one through whom all people are created thus the creation
story itself points to the new creation in Christ. Jesus went through temptation in
the wilderness; thus is the Israel who went through the forty days in the
wilderness. Therefore, the story of the fall and the wilderness testing points to the
active obedience of Christ. The Exodus points to the true Exodus Jesus led for his
people (Luke 9:31). Whereas Moses only delivered them out of economic and
political bondage, Jesus brings us out of the bondage of sin and death itself. The
Exile points to Jesus being taken outside the gate to suffer. He went into exile at
Mr. Calvary. Jesus is the true Israel. He is the one faithful to the covenant. He is
the remnant of one. God will save a remnant of faithful people. This is one of the
ways the conditional/unconditional aspects of the covenant are satisfied in Christ.
He earns all of the conditions of the covenant for all who believe in him. When
Hosea talks about the exodus he calls all of Israel “my son” but when Matthew
quotes this verse (2:15; c.f. Hos 11:1), he is talking about Jesus.
Note: The New Testament, in fact, moves back and forth between the individual and
corporate types that Jesus fulfilled.
For instance, it is not an arbitrary detail that the New Testament story commences with a
genealogy.
76. Interestingly, Matthew’s genealogy begins with the Greek expression biblos
geneseōs, which can be translated “the book of genesis or genealogy.” This
expression appears in two places in the LXX: Genesis 2:4, which is the book of
the genesis of the heaven and earth; and Genesis 5:1-2, which is the book of the
genesis or genealogy of Adam. In other words, Matthew is elucidating the record
of the new age, the new creation, procured by the new Adam.
77. Furthermore, Matthew’s genealogy recapitulates (summarize and states the
main points of) the entire history of Israel, a genealogy that surmises (supposes
that something is true) with “Jesus Christ the son of David” (Matt 1:1-17); thus
immediately placing kingship on his schema. That is, by tracing Jesus’ lineage all
the way to Abraham, Matthew seems to be alluding that it is through this “seed”
of Abraham that the restoration of God’s kingdom on earth will be procured.
Matthew wants his Jewish audience to know that this one is the “anointed”
Davidic king; the faithful servant, the one who will rule as God’s representative
human king on earth.

46. Stephen Motyer argues that Jesus here is portrayed as the embodiment of Israel as they
should be. Matthew communicates this idea first by demonstrating that Jesus’ birth
brings light to the Gentiles: “his star” is seen rising in the east by the Magi (2:2),
which means his being “a light for the nations,” and the crushing of the enemy’s head
(Num 24:17). Jesus’ fulfilling the goal of Israel is also seen by Matthew’s applying
the Exodus verse Hosea 11:1 to Jesus (Matt 2:15), and then by conveying the
narrative in a way that makes Jesus re-enact Israel’s history: the Exodus from Egypt
(2:19-20), the crossing of the Red Sea (3:13-17), and the temptations in the desert
(4:1-11).
The forty days and nights of Jesus temptation in the wilderness echo Israel’s forty years
in the wilderness (Matt 4:2). Moreover, each response by Jesus to Satan corresponds
to Moses’ response to Israel’s failures in the wilderness (Matt 4:4, Deut 8:3; Matt 4:7,
Deut 6:16; 4:10, Deut 6:13). “Jesus, as true Israel, is the micro-Israel who has
replaced the macro-national Israel.”
After Jesus’ encounter with Satan, he immediately goes to Capernaum near the borders of
Zebulun and Naphtali, where his mission is depicted as the Davidic king in Isaiah 9
who will bring light to the nations (Matt 4:12-17; c.f. Is 9:1-2). Undoubtedly,
Matthew is clear that this Jesus is the remnant, the “true Israel,” the hope of the
nations (c.f. Matt 5:13-16; 8:11; 12:18-21; 13:47; 21:42-44; 24:14; 25:32-34; 28:19).
Everything Jesus is “in his perfect humanity, he is on our behalf as our representative
and substitute.”
After the Sermon on the Mount, which is depicted as a new Torah by a new
Servant of God who transcends Moses (Matt 5:21-22, 27-28, 31-32, 38-39, 43-44),
Jesus heals a leper, a Gentile centurion’s servant (Matt 8:1-13), and many others who
were sick or afflicted by demons (Matt 8:14-16). Notably, Matthew links Jesus’
actions with that of the suffering servant of Isaiah (Matt 8:17; c.f. Is 53:5-6).
Matthew also depicts Jesus as the new Davidic shepherd who has come to restore
the lost sheep of Israel (Matt 9:36; 10:6; c.f. Ezek 34:23); which also seems to be an
allusion to the servant whose mission was to restore Jacob (Is 49:5).
As Matthew continues, three titles are given to Jesus that underscores his role: Son of
Man (Matt 16:27; 17:22, note here where “Son of Man” is used instead of “Servant”,
which seems to combine Daniel 7 and Isaiah 53), Servant (Matt 20:25-29), and Son
of David (Matt 15:32; 20:30, 31).
Luke’s narrative also presents a royal Davidic Christology: Jesus’ legal father
was “of the house of David” (1:27); Gabriel adapts the Davidic covenant text (2 Sam
7:1-17) to describe Jesus to Mary;
78. Zechariah praises God for having “raised up a horn of salvation for us in the
house of his servant David” (1:69; c.f. Ps 132:17);

47. 79. Jesus birthplace is called the “City of David” (2:4, 11); Joseph’s Davidic lineage
is repeated for emphasis (2:4); the first witnesses to the birth of the of the Son of
David are “shepherds” (2:8-20) possibly alluding to Micah 5:1-3;
80. The Spirit descends on and anoints Jesus at his baptism (Luke 3:22), words
reminiscent of Psalm 2:7, the royal coronation hymn of the Davidic kings and
Isaiah 42:1-4, which was an appointment to viceregency;
81. Luke traces Jesus’ genealogy through David (3:23-28); Jesus compares himself
and his disciples to David and his men (Luke 6:1-5); at the transfiguration, the
divine voice repeats the royal coronation hymn (Ps 2:7): “This is my Son, my
chosen one”(9:35);
82. Jesus’ statement “All things have been delivered to me by my Father” recalls the
father-son relationship of God to the Davidic monarch (Ps 2:7-8; 8:4-8; 72:8;
89;25-27); upon entry to Jericho, Jesus is declared twice by a blind man as “Son
of David” (18:35-43);
83. Jesus’ triumphal entry (19:28-48) corresponds to Zechariah 9:9-10, which in turn
uses images of Solomon’s coronation procession in order to describe the coming
eschatological king, most certainly a Davidide (c.f. Zech 12:7-13:1);
84. at the Last Supper, Jesus speaks of a “new covenant,” echoing Jeremiah 31:31 and
the broader context (Jer 30-33), which foresees a new covenant uniting Israel and
Judah under the Davidic monarchy;
85. Luke 22:29-30 suggests several Davidic images: the bestowing of a kingdom by
covenant (Ps 89:3-4); eating at the king’s table (2 Sam 9:9-13); and ruling from
thrones over Israel (Ps 122:3-5); and Davidic titles are used of Jesus (with
contempt but accurately): “King of the Jews” (23:37-38; c.f. 2 Sam 2:11) and
“Chosen One” (23:35; c.f. Ps 89:3-4).
86. Not only is Luke consistent with Matthew in portraying Jesus as the faithful “Son
of David,” Luke also portrays him as the faithful Israelite (3:22).
87. The Spirit’s descending on Jesus is notable because the prophetic expectation was
of an outpouring of the Spirit upon Israel (Is 44:2-3; Ezek 36:25-27). “Here, at
last, is a Son with whom God is truly pleased.”
88. Like David upon his anointing by Samuel, Jesus, as the people of God’s
representative, marches into battle against the enemy of God (Luke 4:1-13; Matt
4:1-13). Luke is inferring, along with both Matthew and Mark (Mark 1:12-14),
that Jesus is the long awaited son of David, the māšîah, who embodies Israel’s
eschatological hopes and calling.
89. Finally, Luke depicts Jesus as the new Adam. Whereas Matthew and Mark place
the temptations immediately after the baptism of Jesus, Luke intriguingly places
the genealogy of Jesus between the baptism and the temptations. Moreover,
unlike Matthew who begins with Abraham and works down toward Jesus, Luke
begins with Jesus and works back to Adam, with which it ends: “the son of Adam,
the son of God” (3:38). Luke is emphasizing that Jesus is the Last Adam. In
other words, the wilderness temptations are a rerun of the Garden. The new
Adam is doing what the first Adam did not, taking dominion and subduing the
serpent.
90. This notion can be supported by reflecting on Satan’s last temptation, which
involves a quotation from Psalm 91:11-12: “they will lift you up on their hands,

48. so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Beal helpfully points out
that the next verse in the Psalm states: “You will tread upon the lion and the
cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent” (91:13). The allusion is
clear: Psalm 91:13 is Genesis 3:15 language. Jesus as the new Adam, the seed of
the woman, was coming to crush the head of the serpent and his refusal to given
into Satan’s temptations was the first step, but also a proleptic step, of victory that
includes the vanquishing of the enemy and the restoration of God’s kingdom on
earth the imago Dei, as his viceregents.
C. Its not just individual types and corporate types that point us to Christ. Sometimes
there is no type at all but it’s the way the story works itself, which signals the way God
saves us in Christ. That is, the narrative pattern of life through death or triumph through
weakness where God turns things upside down as he works through the weak or apparent
defeat, that points us to Christ.
Example: in the narrative of Naaman (2 Kgs 5), every person with power and
status is clueless about salvation. On the other hand, every servant, ever marginal
person knows what’s going on. This is a major pattern in the Bible. It’s the grace
story line. For instance, the law is given only after the redemption out of Exodus.
God saves them then gives them the 10 commandments. They are saved in order
to obey-not vice-versa.
It’s the narrative pattern of the Gospel. The Gospel reverses the values of the
world.
(4) Symbol Fulfillment—A sampling of eight Old Testament themes
fulfilled in Christ proves this contention.
91. First, Jesus exceeds and accomplishes in full the ministries of Israel’s leaders.
92. Second, Jesus is the completion of old covenant institutions.
93. Third, Christ is the supreme purpose of creation as he is the one in whom,
through whom and for whom all things were created (Col 1:15-20; c.f. Eph 1:9-
11).
94. Fourth, Christ is the terminus (a final point) of the Old Testament covenants
and laws (Luke 1:46-55, 68-79, 2:29-32; Matt 5:17; Rom 10:4).
95. Fifth, Christ is the fulfillment of prophecy (Matt 5:17).
96. Sixth, Christ is the meaning of the believer’s existence (Col 3:4; Phil 1:21).
97. Seventh, the coming of the Spirit on the (1) Day of Pentecost is a
Christological event, and its pneumatological (Holy Spirit) import should be
seen in that light.
98. Eighth and finally, Christ himself is the very significance of his second coming.
(2) NT Scripture Using OT Scripture— Related to the aforementioned one, if one is
looking at an OT verse/passage that is referred to in the NT, it is important to see how
the NT writer is using the passage; this will often indicate how the OT passage may
be Christologically focused and ecclesiologically applied. For instance, when we
read Gen 2:2-3, we learn that God’s finishing of the creative work established the

49. divine pattern that led to the hallowing of the 7
th
day. But we might not see the
connection to the Israelites’ typological entry into the Promised Land and the final
entry into the eternal rest of the true people of God, if it were not for Hebrews 4.
Hebrews gives us a better understanding of the meaning of God’s rest on the 7
th
day
in Genesis (McCarntey, “Let the Reader Understand” 200).
The Gospel Coaltion Asks About Cautions for Christ-Centered OT Teaching
Tim Keller:
1. Don’t “get to Christ” so soon in the sermon that you don’t unfold the
meaning and application of the text to the original hearers. If you “jump to
Christ” too soon that often means you inspire people but you don’t give them
concrete application for how they are supposed to live.
2. Don’t “get to Christ” so late in the sermon that he seems like an add-on, a mere
devotional appendix. If you wait too long to get to Christ listeners won’t see how
Jesus’ work is crucial if the listeners are going to obey or heed the text.
3. Don’t get to Christ artificially. This is a big subject of course, but I believe two
of the best ways are (a) by identifying in your text one of the many inner-canonical
themes that all climax in Christ (Don Carson’s language), and (b)
identifying in your text some “Fallen Condition Focus,” some lack in humanity
that only Christ can fill (Bryan Chapell’s language).
Don Carson:
1. Study constantly how the NT writers use the OT. That will give you insight into how
you should move from the Old to the New.
2. Make good use of available tools, not least the Commentary on the New
Testament Use of the Old Testament. For even when you are preaching from the
OT, the indexes in the volume will alert you to any use of your OT passage within
the NT. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament by G. K.
Beale and D. A. Carson (Nov 1, 2007) - Kindle eBook $59.99 Print Price
$34.49 Kindle Edition
3. Ensure that this sort of study does not overlook or set aside complementary
disciplines—e.g., understanding what genre of literature you are dealing with and
how it makes its appeals, where this literature falls along the axis of redemptive
history, and so forth.
David Murray, professor of Old Testament and practical theology at Puritan
Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan:

50. 99. I’m massively encouraged by the church’s renewed interest in preaching Christ
from the Old Testament, and especially by the increased willingness to see how
Old Testament people, places, events, etc., point forward to Christ. This “types
and trajectories” (or redemptive-historical) hermeneutic has many strengths.
100. However, I’m a bit concerned that an overuse of this tool can give the
impression that Christ is merely the end of redemptive history rather than an
active participant throughout.
101. Puritans such as Jonathan Edwards were masters of balance here. In his
History of the Work of Redemption, Edwards shows Christ as not only the end of
redemptive history, but actively and savingly involved from the first chapter to the
last. He did not view Old Testament people, events, etc., as only stepping-stones
to Christ; he saw Christ in the stepping-stones themselves. He did not see the need
to relate everything to “the big picture”; he found the “big picture” even in the
“small pictures.”
I’d also like to encourage preachers and teachers to be clear and consistent on the
question: “How were Old Testament believers saved?” The most common options seem
to be:
1. They were saved by obeying the law.
2. They were saved by offering sacrifices.
3. They were saved by a general faith in God.
4. They were saved by faith in the Messiah.
Unless we consistently answer #4, we end up portraying heaven as not only populated by
lovers of Christ, but also by legalists, ritualists, and mere theists who never knew Christ
until they got there. Turning back again in order to go forwards, may I recommend
Calvin’s Institutes Book 2 (chapters 9-11) to help remove some of the blur that often
surrounds this question.
102. In Genesis, Jesus is the seed of the Woman.
103. In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb.
104. In Leviticus, He is the Priest, the Altar and the Lamb of Sacrifice.
105. In Numbers, He is the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night.
106. In Deuteronomy, Jesus is the Prophet like Moses.
107. In Joshua, Jesus is the Captain of our salvation.
108. In Judges, He is our Judge and Law-Giver.
109. In Ruth, He is our Kinsman and Redeemer.

51. 110. In 1 & 2 Samuel, He is our trusted Prophet.
111. In Kings & Chronicles, He is our reigning King.
112. In Ezra, He is the rebuilder of the broken-down walls of human life.
113. In Nehemiah, Jesus is our Restorer.
114. In Esther, He is our Advocate.
115. In Job, Jesus is our Ever-Living Redeemer.
116. In Psalms, He is our Shepherd.
117. In Proverbs, He is our Wisdom.
118. In Ecclesiastes, He is our hope of resurrection.
119. In the Song of Songs, He is our loving Bridegroom.
120. In Isaiah, Jesus is the suffering Servant.
121. In Jeremiah, He is the righteous wronged.
122. In Lamentations, He is our weeping prophet.
123. In Ezekiel, He is the one with the right to rule.
124. In Daniel, Jesus is the fourth man in the fiery furnace.
125. In Hosea, Jesus is the faithful husband forever married to the sinner.
126. In Joel, He is the one who baptises with the Holy Spirit, fire.
127. In Amos, He is the restorer of Justice.
128. In Obadiah, He is mighty to save.
129. In Jonah, He is our great foreign missionary.
130. In Micah, Jesus is the feet of one who brings good news.
131. In Nahum, Jesus is our stronghold in the day of trouble.
132. In Habakkuk, He is God my Saviour.

52. 133. In Zephaniah, He is the King of Israel.
134. In Haggai, He is the signet ring.
135. In Zecharish, He is our humble King riding on a colt.
136. In Malachi, Jesus is the son of righteousness.
137. In Matthew, Jesus is God-with-us.
138. In Mark, He is the Son of God.
139. In Luke, He is the Son of Mary, feeling what you feel.
140. In John, He is the Bread of Life.
141. In Acts, Jesus is the Savior of the world.
142. In Romans, Jesus is the righteousness of God.
143. In 1 Corinthians, He is the Resurrection.
144. In 2 Corinthians, He is the God of all comfort.
145. In Galatians, He is your liberty, He sets you free.
146. In Ephesians, Jesus is the Head of the Church.
147. In Philippians, Jesus is your joy.
148. In Colossians, He is your completeness.
149. In 1 & 2 Thessalonians, He is your hope.
150. In 1 Timothy, He is your faith.
151. In 2 Timothy, Jesus is your stability.
152. In Titus, Jesus is Truth.
153. In Philemon, He is your benefactor.
154. In Hebrews, He is your perfection.

53. 155. In James, He is the power behind your faith.
156. In 1 Peter, He is your example.
157. In 2 Peter, Jesus is your purity.
158. In 1 John, Jesus is your life.
159. In 2 John, He is your pattern.
160. In 3 John, He is your motivation.
161. In Jude, He is the foundation of your faith.
162. In Revelation, Jesus is your coming King.
He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.
He is the Keeper of Creation and the Creator of all.
He is the Architect of the Universe and the Manager of all Time.
He always Was, He always Is and He always Will Be,
Unmoved, Unchanged, Undefeated and never undone.
He was bruised and brought healing,
He was pierced and eased pain,
He was persecuted and brought freedom,
He was dead and brought life.
He is risen and brings power,
He reigns and brings peace.
The world can’t understand Him,
Armies can’t defeat Him,
Schools can’t explain Him

54. And the leaders can’t ignore Him.
Herod couldn’t kill Him,
The Pharisees couldn’t confuse Him,
The people couldn’t hold Him,
Nero couldn’t crush Him,
Hitler couldn’t find Him,
The New Age can’t replace Him
And Oprah can’t explain Him away.
He is Life, Love, Longevity and Law.
He is goodness, kindness, gentleness and love.
He is holy, righteous, mighty, powerful, good.
His Way is Right, His Words Eternal.
His rules unchanging, and His mind is on me.
He is my Redeemer, His is my Savior, He is my God, He is my Priest,
He is my Joy, He is my Comfort, He is my Law, and He rules my life.
Maybe you’re like me. I’m not a great memorizer like the young boy in the following
video, but you could use this anonymous piece as a helpful outline to meditate on Jesus
as you read the Bible through. Allow God to teach you more about Himself in each book
of the Bible.
===============================================================
==========
According to Sidney Griedanus, author of Preaching Christ from the Old Testament,
there are seven ways of preaching Christ from the Old Testament, including:
1. Redemptive-historical progression
2. Promise-fulfillment
3. Typology

55. 4. Analogy
5. Longitudinal themes
6. New Testament reference
7. Contrast
In his seminar taught with Edmund Clowney, “Preaching Christ in a Postmodern World,”
Tim Keller presents four ways of getting to Christ from the Old Testament:
1. Theme resolution (i.e. image of God, kingdom, Sabbath rest, judgment, and
justice themes that only resolve in Christ)
2. Law reception (focusing on the impossibility of keeping the law apart from
Christ)
3. Story completion (not just stories of individual people but also the story of the
people of God, i.e. life through death, triumph through weakness)
4. Symbol fulfillment (i.e. Passover, bronze snake, prophets, priests, kings,
sacrifices, temple, cleanliness laws)
In his paper “Preaching Christ from the Old Testament,” Sinclair Ferguson writes
that while we want to develop an instinct to preach Christ, it can be broken down
into four subordinate principles:
1. The relationship between promise and fulfillment
2. The relationship between type and antitype
3. The relationship between the covenant and Christ
4. Proleptic participation and subsequent realization
All of these have been profoundly helpful to me, and I’m sure to many others who seek to
present Christ from all the Scriptures. But I also knew that while these lists may be
preacher-friendly, they would likely not be lay-person friendly, especially for those for
whom the idea of seeing Christ in the Old Testament is a new concept. I needed a lay-friendly
list of ways that the Old Testament points to and prepares us for Christ. Here’s
the list I came up with, and I welcome your suggestions for refining and improving
upon it:
1. A problem that only Christ can solve (the curse, our inability to keep the law,
our alienation from God)
2. A promise only Christ can fulfill (blessing, presence of God with us)
3. A need that only Christ can meet (salvation from judgment, life beyond death)
4. A pattern or theme that only comes to resolution in Christ (kingdom, rest)
5. A story that only comes to its conclusion through Christ (the people of God,
creation/fall/redemption/consummation)
6. A person who prefigures an aspect of who Christ will be or what he will do by
analogy and/or contrast (Joseph, Moses, David)
7. An event or symbol that pictures an aspect of who Christ will be or what he will
do (ark, exodus, sacrifices)
8. A revelation of the pre-incarnate Christ (wrestling with Jacob, commander of

56. the Lord’s army)
The reality is that we need biblical theology not only preached from the pulpit on
Sundays, but also taught and embraced in the men’s and women’s Bible studies that meet
throughout the week. So we have to learn not only how to present Christ from all the
Scriptures, but also how to help our listeners to develop an instinct for seeing Christ
throughout the whole of the Bible as they read and study on their own.
Contemporary Horizon--Bridging between the world
of the Bible and the contemporary world.
163. Our goal in preaching should be to produce (instrumentally
speaking), true piety that results in “willing service” (Calvin, Institutes,1.2.1)
and “willing reverence” (Institutes,1.2.2). Indeed, unless our people “establish
their complete happiness in him, they will never give themselves truly and
sincerely to him” (Institutes,1.2.1).
164. This piety “is not so terrifed by the awareness of his judgment as to wish
to withdraw, even if some way of escape were open. But it embraces him no less
as punisher of the wicked than as benefactor of the pious. For the pious mind
realizes that the punishment of the impious and wicked and the reward of life
eternal for the righteous equally pertain to God’s glory. Besides, this mind
restrains itself from sinning, not out of dread of punishment alone; but, because it
loves and revers God . . . it worships and adores him as Lord, Even if there were
no hell, it would still shudder at offending him alone” (Institutes,1.2.2).
165. In short, “true piety” only comes through knowing “the only true God”
through Jesus Christ (John 17:3). Therefore, it stands to reason that our preaching
must center upon this goal: knowing God through Jesus Christ.
166. As Peter Jensen argues: “The knowledge of God depends upon the gospel
of Jesus Christ” (“The Revelation of God” p. 31).
167. Indeed: “The supreme revelation of God’s purpose in history is . . . the
coming of Jesus Christ into the world: It is the purpose and will of the Creator that
give history its pattern, and the intrusion of the eternal in the fullness of the time
was nothing else than the assertion, in the history, of the eternal purpose of God”
(Hoekema, The Bible and the Future , 28-29.)
168. This truth is affirmed by the Apostle who asserts that Jesus is the “alpha
and omega” (Rev 1:8; 21:6; 22:13), the “beginning and the end” (22:13), and the
“first and the last” (1:17; 2:8; 22:13).
169. To be sure, the person & work of Christ “do not merely crown God’s work
of revelation and redemption as a sort of splendid ornament or even as the best
example of God’s activity in the world. The person and work of Christ constitute
the defining chapter of the whole narrative, the hinge of history, the basis upon
which everything else in creation makes sense” (Stackhouse, Jr., Evangelical
Landscapes: Facing Critical Issues of the Day. P. 166).
170. Therefore, “If you preach a sermon that would be acceptable to the
members of a Jewish synagogue or to a Unitarian congregation, there is
something radically wrong with it. Preaching, when it is truly Christian, is

57. distinctive. And what makes it distinctive is the all-pervading presence of a
saving and sanctifying Christ. Jesus Christ must be at the heart of every sermon
you preach (Adams).
171. “The Scriptures are full of moral instruction and ethical exhortation, but
the ground and motivation of all is found in the mercy of Jesus Christ. We are to
preach all the riches of Scripture, but unless the center holds, all the bits and
pieces of our pulpit counseling, of our thundering at social sins, of our positive or
negative thinking—all fly off into the Sunday morning air. . . . Let others develop
the pulpit fads of the passing seasons. Specialize in preaching Jesus” (Clowney).
172. “Christ-centered preaching rightly understood does not seek to discover
where Christ is mentioned in every text but to disclose where every text stands
in relation to Christ. . . . The goal of the preacher is not to find novel ways of
identifying Christ in every text but to show how each text manifests God’s grace
in order to prepare and enable his people to embrace the hope provided by
Christ” (Chappell).
173. “Jesus said that all Scripture is about him [Luke 24:27; John 5:39, 46].
This does not mean that every phrase, punctuation mark, or verse directly
reveals Christ but rather that all passages in their context disclose his nature
and/or necessity” (Chappell)
174. Gospel Conduct: Phil 1:27: “Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel
of Christ. ”The gospel informs behavior. We need to study our Bible w/ a special
eye to connecting the gospel w/ behavior. 1 Cor 6 Paul appeals to them to flee
sexual immorality. Notice that he wants the gospel to function as it should. He
reminds them of the gospel (1 Cor 6:20). W/o connecting it to the gospel, it will
fail. Eph 4:32-5:2. Eph 5:25; 2 Cor 8:9. A big part of your job in preaching is to
make the connections. This defines effectiveness in preaching. Gal 2:14; Phil 2:1-
11
The Importance of Application in Exposition
a. An expository sermon is not merely an exegetical exercise. “The nature of
the sermon is to apply the word of God to the wills of the hearers with a
view to moving them to want to conform to that word. Exegesis is an
important aspect of the preparation of any sermon, but exegesis is not the
sermon. Exegesis seeks to understand what the text means in its own
immediate context. A sermon must move from the meaning of the text to the
legitimate application of that meaning to our contemporary context in the
light of the gospel” (Goldsworthy, PWB, 121-2)
b. Ramesh Richard: By the end of the sermon the audience must have the
answers to three important questions: (1) What did the preacher speak about?
(Explanation); (2) So what difference does or should it make? (argumentation)
(3) Now what do I do w/ God’s claims in this sermon (application)
c. Yet as Haddon Robinson asserts, more heresy is spread in the preacher’s
attempt to apply Scripture than in his presentation of Scripture’s meaning.
Preachers want to be faithful to the Scriptures, and going through seminary,
they have learned exegesis. But they may not have learned how to make the

58. journey from the biblical text to the modern world. . . . Sometimes we apply
the text in ways that might make the biblical writer say, ‘Wait a minute, that a
wrong use of what I said.’ This is the heresy of a good truth applied in a
wrong way’ (Robinson, “The Heresy of Application” Leadership Journal vol
18, no. 4, Fall 1997, pg. 21).
d. The most dangerous misapplication is one that promotes some form of
synergism in the sanctification process.
e. That is, no matter how true, moral, or practical your application is, it is sub-
Christian if it fails to present Jesus Christ & our union with him as the means
of justification & sanctification.
f. There are two ways to focus on Christ: the “fallen condition focus (FCF)
(what aspect of the fallen condition of mankind does this passage address) and
the “redemptive-historical focus” (God has a gracious, sovereign plan to
redeem his people; “What aspect of the divine plan does this passage reveal?)
g. The FCF is a more experiential path; the RHF is the more theological
perspective.
General Principles for Application using the FCF and the RHF (Doriani, 170ff):
(1) Every passage in the Bible presents Christ both as the remedy for human fallenness
and as the end point of God’s plan of salvation.
(2) Every passage of the Bible touches on some aspect of the fallen human condition and
presents part of God’s remedy in Christ.
(3) Since Jesus himself says the entire Bible speaks of him, then every Christian lesson
should, in its own way, present Jesus as Redeemer and Lord.
Comparing and Contrasting the FCF and the RHF:
Theological Emphasis: FCF (Doctrine of man: the Fall and Sin); RHF (Doctrine
of God: grace and sovereignty)
Initial appeal: FCF (The experience of human need); RHF (The unfolding of the
divine plan)
Special Insight: FCF (Every text shows how Christ meets a universal human);
RHF (Every text manifests a need for a redeemer, the work of the Redeemer,
or the consequences of redemption).
Final Goal: FCF (To present Christ from every text); RHF (To present Christ from
every text)
Applicational Questions using the FCF and the RHF:
RHF: Centers on Christ by observing how each text of the Bible presents some aspect of
his person and work. It examines the unfolding of God’s saving plan in space and
time. Within that plan, every prophecy, every event, every law, and every song plays
its role. The essential insight of the RHF is that Jesus is the focal point of Scripture.
Lk 24:44 Then he said to them, "These are my words that I spoke to you while I
was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the
Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled."45 Then he opened their minds to

59. understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ
should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead,47 and that repentance and
forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from
Jerusalem.
Unique salvation-historical—Does the main point address a text that thrusts forward
the unfolding plot of redemption in history?
FCF: Dwells on the person and work of Christ by observing the many ways in
which people need him. “Fallen condition” means any aspect of human
nature that requires God’s grace. FCF is the mutual human condition that
contemporary believers share with those to or about whom the text was
written that requires the grace of the passage for God’s people to glorify and
enjoy him” (Chapell, 48-50). It is too easy to preach on a doctrinal topic or
an exegetical insight w/o considering the spiritual burden of the text for real
people in the daily struggles of life. . . . The greater intellectual and spiritual
task is to discern the human concern that caused the Holy Spirit to inspire this
aspect of Scripture so that God would be properly glorified by His people.
Consideration of a passage’s purpose ultimately forces us to ask, ‘Why are
these concerns addressed? What caused this account, these facts, or the
recording of these ideas? What was the intent of the author? For what
purpose did the Holy Spirit include these words in Scripture? . . . We do not
have to guess whether there is a purpose for a particular text” (2 Tim 3:16-
17). . . Since God designed the Bible to complete us for the purposes of his
glory, the necessary implication is that in some sense we are incomplete. We
lack the equipment required for every good work. Our lack of wholeness is a
consequence of the fallen condition in which we live. . . . The corrupted state
of our world and our beings cries for God’s aid. He responds with the truths
of Scriptrue and gives us hope by focusing his grace on a facet of our fallen
condition in every portion of his Word. No text was written merely for those
in the past; God intends for each passage to give us the ‘endurance and the
encouragement’ we need today [c.f. 1 Cor 10:13]. Preaching that is true to
these purposes (1) focuses on the fallen condition that necessitated the writing
of the passage & (2) uses the text’s features to explain how the Holy Spirit
address that concern then & now. The FCF present in every text
demonstrates God’s refusal to leave his frail and sinful children without guide
or defense in a world atagonistic to their spiritual well-being. However, an
FCF not only provides the human context needed for a passage’s explanation
but also indicates the biblical solutions must be be divine and not merely
human. . . . Ultimately, a sermon is about how a text says we are to respond
biblically to the FCF as it is experienced in our lave—identifying the gracious
means that God provides for us to deal with the human brokenness that
deprives us of the full experience and expression of his glory” (Chapell, 50-
51).
Motivation in Application:
“The consequence of making personal gain our primary motivation for obedience

60. is that our seemingly moral activities will become a transgression of the first
commandment to have no other gods before God. The motivations that spring
from full apprehension of God’s grace do not change the rules but do change the
reasons for our obedience. Grace encourages and enables us to serve God out of
love for him and for his glory. Grace makes true obedience possible because a
thankful response to unearned merit is motivated more by love for God than by
love for self. Guilt drives sinners to the cross, but grace must lead us from there
or we cannot serve God. . . . The application of an expository sermon . . . is not
complete until the pastor has disclosed the grace in the text that rightly motivates
obedience. Listeners who fully apprehend the grace of God toward them will also
discover their greatest strength for obedience, which is a greater love for God that
produces a desire to please him—a desire that also provides their greatest
satisfaction when it is fulfilled” [Chapell, 220].
Recognizing Nonredemptive Messages (Chapell, 288—295)
“Messages that are not Christ-centered inevitably become human-centered . . .
These preachers do not deliberately exclude Christ’s ministry from their own, but
by consistently preaching messages on the order of “Five Steps to a Better
Marriage,” “How to Make God Answer Your Prayer,” they present godliness
entirely as a product of human endeavor. . . . No message is more damaging to
true faith. By making human efforts alone the measure and the cause of
godliness, evangelicals fall victim to the twin assaults of theological legalism and
liberalism—which despite their perceived opposition are actually identical in
making one’s relationship with God dependent on human goodness” (Chapell,
289).
The Deadly Be’s [Chapell, 289]
(1) “Be Like” Messages “focuses the attention of listeners on the accomplishments of a
particular biblical character. “A difficulty with much biographical preaching . . . is
that it typically fails to honor the care that the Bible also takes to tarnish almost
every patriarch or saint within its pages. Without blushing, the Bible honestly
prevents the human frailties of its most significant characters so that we will not
expect to fin, within fallen humanity, any whose model behavior merits divine
acceptance. . . . To be faithful to Scripture, we must not shy away from passages that
encourage us to use people in the Bible as examples [1 Cor 11:1; Heb 11:39]. Still,
before we preach on such passages, we must be sure to identify the source of the
character quality that Scripture commends. Since the source of any holy trait is
God’s grace, we must echo the biblical caution, “Where then is boasting?”
“The commendable aspect of biblical characters function in Scripture like aspects
of God’s law. They are necessary to know, proper to follow, and are the
instruments of God’s blessing in our lives. But these same righteous standards
become spiritually deadly when they are perceived or honored as the basis of
God’s acceptance” [Chapell, 289-90].

61. (2) “Be Good” Messages “When the focus of a sermon becomes a moralistic ‘Don’t
smoke or chew or go with those who do’ [or even a more sophisticated ‘Renew your
heart by doing what God commands’], listeners will most likely assume that they can
secure or renew their relationship with God through proper behaviors. Even when
the behaviors advocated are reasonable, biblical, and correct, a sermon that does not
move from expounding standards of obedience to explaining the source, motives, and
results of obedience places persons’ hopes in their actions. . . . Preaching of this sort
sound biblical because the Bible can be quoted at length to support the exhortations.
As it runs its course, however, such preaching destroys all Christian distinctives. . . .
ringing clearly through such preaching is the implied promise, ‘Obey God because he
will love you if you do and 0our obedience not only undermines the work of God in
sanctification but ultimately casts doubt on the nature of God and thus makes
salvation itself suspect when we honestly assess our imperfections. . . . Yet the truth of
the gospel is that sanctification is based on what Jesus did eternally. Because Jesus
died and rose again on our behalf, we are cleansed of our sin and reconciled to God.
‘There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ [Rom 8:1], and we
progressively live for God in the confidence that we are in union with his life and
power solely on the basis of what he has fully and finally accomplished on the cross
[Gal 2:20]. Our experience of his blessings, pleasure, and nearness still relies on
our obedience, but the reality of our relationship is not and never was based on our
goodness. God has fully and completely applied to us the merits of Christ’s
righteousness, even though we are striving to live in conformity with his law in loving
response to his redeeming work [Rom 5:15-21; 1 Cor 6:1; Eph 5:25-27]. . . .
Preaching applications should readily and vigorously exhort obedience to God’s
commands, but such exhortations should be based primarily on responding in love to
God’s grace, not on trying to gain or maintain it [Rom 12:1].” [Chapell, 291-2]
(3) “Be Disciplined” Messages “Close kin to ‘be good’ messages are sermons that exhort
believers to improve their relationship with God through more diligent use of the
means of grace. . . . disciplines that allegedly lift them to higher planes of divine
approval. . . . Spiritual disciplines enable those made righteous by Christ’s work to
breathe more deeply the resources that God freely and lovingly provides for the
wisdom, joy, and strength of Christian living. Through disciplines, we inhale more
deeply the air God provides for the Christian race, but such disciplines do not
produce or maintain the oxygen of God’s love. Preachers should encourage more
prayer, stewardship, study, and fellowship not to manufacture blessing but so that
believers can experience more fully the benefits of union with Christ that God freely
offers. With this perspective, disciplines become regular refreshment for those who
hunger and thirst for ever deeper fellowship with the God they love [Ps 19:10]. The
same disciplines, however, will become distasteful duty of bitter pride for those who
think that their devotion keeps them on the good side of a God whose measure of love
is determined by the grade of their performance” [Chapell, 293]. “It is important to
stress that these are means of grace, not means to grace” [Chapell, 324].
In short: “Be messages are not wrong in themselves; they are wrong by themselves”
[Chapell, 294].

62. “In Christ-centered preaching, the rules of Christian obedience to not change; the
reasons do. Believers are exhorted to serve God in response to his sure mercy rather
than in payment for his conditional favor” (Chapell, 312).
Sanctification by faith in Christ: From Doctrine (God’s Deeds in Christ) to
Doxology (Our Thankful Worship) to Duties (Our Reasonable Service)
175. At the end of “The Abolition of Man,” C.S. Lewis demonstrates how the
major religions agree on moral absolutes. Christians find that in today’s
culture wars, they often are on the same side with believing Jews, Muslims,
and Hindus. In other words, when a Christian preacher resorts to mere
moralistic oriented sermons he is joining exponents of other philosophies. But
when we ask, “Why be moral?” the other systems say, “In order to find God,”
but Christianity must say, “Because God has found you.” That is, instead of
obeying to make God indebted to them, Christians obey because they are
indebted to him
176. Unfortunately, in much contemporary preaching application equals law—
to do lists—rather than employing the text to “absolve sinners of their guilt &
rescript them in their new roles as those who have been transferred from the
covenantal headship of Adam to Christ” (Horton, CC, 145).
177. J. Gresham Machen: “What I need first of all is not exhortation, but a
gospel, not directions for saving myself but knowledge of how God has saved
me” (“Christian Faith in the Modern World” pg. 37).
178. Of course, Machen’s charge was directed at liberalism but could clearly be
addressed to contemporary evangelicals.
179. As Horton warns, much of our preaching today is law without gospel,
“exhortation without news, instructions, without an announcement, deeds
without creeds, with the accent on “What Would Jesus Do?” rather than
“What Has Jesus Done?” (CC, 106)
180. Likewise, Goldsworthy there is the lamentable tendency to separate ethics
and godly living from their roots in the gospel. By way of example, a preacher
may describe the qualities of a mature church, which is like describing what a
healthy oak tree should be. The implication is that the church needs to be
more diligent in producing these marks of maturity. However, what is missing
is the exposition of the gospel. The primary focus is law, not gospel. That is,
describing a healthy tree doesn’t help us grow one, it only enable us to
recognize one if we should see it. To grow one, we need to know about the
soil, the seed, and the forces that actually produce the tree. Without the
gospel all the exhortations of the New Testament become not just law, but
legalistic (PWB, 20).
181. “The Law is natural to man. . . . But the gospel is a supernatural doctrine
which our nature would never have been able to approve without a special
grace of God” (Theodore Beza).·
182. Its important to remember that we are not justified by faith in Christ’s
work but we are also sanctified by faith in Christ’s work.
183. But what we often do is that we say to sinners that you have to trust in

63. Christ, not your works and he will save you but when talking to Christians
about how to grow we basically exhort them to try really hard to live like
Jesus.
184. Yet, “even as a Christian, my faith will actually be weakened
when it is assumed that I already know the gospel and now I just
need a steady diet of instructions. I will naturally revert to my
moralistic impulse and conclude either that I am fully surrendered
or that I cannot pull this off and might as well stop trying. When
my conscience leads me to despair, the exhortation to try harder
will only deepen either my self-righteousness or my spiritual
depression. In other words, it will draw me away from my location
in Christ and gradually bring me back to that place where I am
turned in on myself” (Horton, CC 130).
185. “Our intuition tells us that if we just hear more practical
preaching (that is, moving exhortations to follow Jesus), we will
improve. When this becomes the main diet, however, we do not find
ourselves improving. We neither mourn nor dance. But bring me
into the chamber of a holy God, where I am completely undone, and
tell me about what God has done in Christ to save me; tell me about
the marvelous indicatives of the gospel—God’s surprising
interventions of salvation on the stage of history despite human
rebellion—and the flickering candle of faith is inflamed, giving light
to others” (Horton, CC 132).
186. “As counterintuitive as it may seem, being grounded in the gospel of
Christ relieves stress in deeper places than we even knew we had inside
ourselves, and I have witnessed countless examples of young people liberated
from boredom induced addictions and sinful patterns by becoming captivated
with God’s amazing grace in his Son. Nobody had to tell them that drugs
were wrong; they knew that. And all the banal lectures on self-esteem and
emotional summer camp calls to ‘surrender all’ only made them more
cynical.” (Horton, CC, 145)
187. Gnuine sanctification, let it be repeated, stands or falls with its continued
orientation towards justification and the remission of sins” (Berkouwer)
188. The bond between sanctification and faith alone in justification has been
neglected and the impression created today is that sanctification is the
humanly operated successor to the work of justification.
189. A failure to live a holy life is not just due to a lack of commitment but
most fundamentally that I am not living in faith that Christ is my Savior. So
we have to exhort morally but we have to preach Christ as Savior in the
particular way this text is revealing him.
190. “Start with Christ (that is, the gospel) and you get sanctification in the
bargain; begin with Christ and move on to something else, and you lose both”
(Horton, Christless Christianity, p. 62).

64. 191. How does it work? All sin is rooted in inordinate lust for something that
we are trusting in rather than Christ for our salvation (functionally speaking).
Unless we believe the Gospel we will be driven in all we do either by pride or
fear
192. Unless we understand justification by faith, we can’t do a good work.
Ironically, until we know our works aren’t any good, they aren’t any good. As
soon as we know they aren’t any good, they begin to have a germ of
something real—we are doing it for God’s sake (faith, not fear [that I’m going
to lose something] or pride [now I know that I’m better than other people]).
193. Therefore, moral effort with hopes that God will bless me and give me a
happy life actually restrains the heart from doing bad things but it doesn’t
really change the heart. Moral effort jury rigs the evil, pride, selfishness, etc.
of the heart to produce moral effort motivated by self interest but it’s only a
matter of time before it will collapse.
194. Furthermore, moralism assumes that we are not helpless sinners who need
rescue but good, decent people who just need some good examples,
exhortations, instructions. Certainly, unbelievers need to be saved by the
gospel but believers merely need prodding with good examples (Horton, CC
151). This term refers to a temporary mast raised when the normal mast has
been lost due to storm or battle.
Common Virtue and True Virtue
According to Jonathan Edwards, there is a common virtue and a true virtue. The
former is motivated by self interests and the latter animated by the highest good—
the glory of God.
For example, there is a common virtue honesty. There is a secular version
(irreligious) inspired by fear. “Be honest or it will cost you.” It can also be
inspired by pride: “Be honest, it pays” or “don’t be like those dishonest people
who hurt others and have no virtue.” There is also a religious version inspired
by fear: “if you aren’t honest God will punish you.” Or inspired by pride:
“Don’t be like the sinners; be a good person who doesn’t lie.” Edwards says
that common virtue is a form of common grace and is God’s means of keeping
the world from being as bad a place as it would be. This is how God continues
to take us Cains with murderess hearts and protect us from imploding. But
what’s the main reason we are dishonest? This is important for preaching.
Why does a person lie? (or commit any other sin). We don’t just sin simply
because we are sinners but we sin because something other than Jesus Christ
at that moment has become my functional savior (my real trust). We are
st
breaking the 1
Commandment or we wouldn’t be breaking any of the other
commandments. In common virtue you restrain the heart but you have not
changed the heart. So one may lie because they have an approval idolatry (or
something else). So as preachers, we aren’t dealing with lying at the
fundamental level unless we communicate that (in this case), Christ’s approval
is all a person needs, which animates them not to lie to get man’s approval.

65. That’s what will save the one seeking approval; not the approval of man. That
is, our life is hidden with Christ, not men (Col 3:1-4). It all comes from lack
of faith. If you tell people they better tell the truth or God is going to get
them, that’s actually true but your people will hear it moralistically. What
they will do is have their hearts restrained, not changed. Furthermore, at some
point they will find that honesty is not practical or humiliating and they will
end up lying.
With true virtue, you are honest (as an example) not because it profits
you or makes you feel better but only because you are smitten with the
beauty of God and you have come to love truth telling not for your
sake but God’s sake. It grows when I see Christ being my substitute.
This destroys both fear and pride (he did it for me when I was an
enemy [this slays pride], which means there is nothing I can do to wear
out his love for me [slays fear].
Christ/Gospel-centered Application: Not Just Moralism—
Preliminary Thoughts:
“Because all of us are inclined by nature to hypocrisy, a kind of empty
image of righteousness in place of righteousness itself abundantly satisfies
us. And because nothing appears within or around us that has not been
contaminated by great immorality, what is a little less vile pleases us as a
thing most pure—so long as we confine our minds within the limits of human
corruption. Just so, an eye to which nothing is shown but black objects judges
something dirty white or even rather darkly mottled to be whiteness itself. . . .
For if in broad daylight we either look down upon the ground or survey
whatever meets our view round about, we seem to ourselves endowed with the
strongest and keenest sight; yet when we look up to the sun and gaze straight
at it, that power of sight which was particularly strong on earth is at once
blunted and confused by a great brilliance, and thus we are compelled to admit
that our keenness in looking upon things earthly is sheer dullness when it
comes to the sun. So it happens in estimating our spiritual goods. As long as
we do not look beyond the earth, being quite content with our own
righteousness, wisdom, and virtue, we flatter ourselves most sweetly, and
fancy ourselves all but demigods. Suppose we but once begin to raise our
thoughts to God, and to ponder his nature, and how completely perfect are his
righteousness, wisdom, and power—the straightedge to which we must be
shaped. Then, what masquerading earlier as righteousness was pleasing in us
will soon grow filthy in its consummate wickedness. What wonderfully
impressed us under the name of wisdom will stink in its very foolishness.
What wore the face of power will prove itself the most miserable weakness.
That is, what in us seems perfection itself corresponds ill to the purity of God”
(Calvin, Institutes, 1.1.3).
“The gospel is the heart of the Bible. Everything in Scripture is either

66. preparation for the gospel, presentation of the gospel, or participation in the
gospel. . . . Accurately understanding and continually applying the gospel is
the Christian life” (Dave Hunt).
5 Macro-Strategies (Keller [the first three] Frame [the fourth]; Michael
Lawrence [the fifth)
I. Critiquing Religion and Irreligion—
195. Religion (as seen for instance in the legalism rampant beginning the early
th
20
century) substitutes its own regulations for the weighty matters actually
commanded by God. Sin is not a condition that corrupts even our best
works but the violation of certain taboos. “We didn’t necessarily have to
love God & our neighbor perfectly, but we had to stay out of bars and pool
halls” (Horton CC, 108).
196. On the other hand, irreligion is a rebellion against fixed doctrines &
norms. Horton points out that thanks to the Boomer generation, which
blossomed into adulthood in the 60’s & 70’s, there seems to a reaction against
this older legalism in the direction of irreligion (Christless Christianity, 108).
197. The Gospel is neither religion or irreligion; that is, it is neither mere
morality or immorality—rather,it is a 3
rd
way. In Galatians 2:14 Peter wasn’t
walking in line with the truth of the Gospel. Paul didn’t say “you are breaking
the racism rule” (that that’s not wrong in itself). Paul is saying though if you
are in line with the Gospel you shouldn’t feel superior to other people. In fact,
if you do obey after a mere moralistic injunction, you will feel superior to
racists. Of, if you don’t live up to it you will feel crushed.
198. But the Gospel changes the things in the heart that causes racism—the
need to feel superior in order to make a name for myself.
199. One of the great threats in evangelical churches is the “assumed gospel”
(David Gibson, “Assumed Evangelicalism: Some Reflections En Route to
Denying the Gospel”). This is the idea that the gospel is necessary for getting
saved, but after we sign on, the remainder of the Christian life is all the fine
print: conditional forgiveness. That is, we got in by grace but now we stay in
(or at least to be victorious fully surrendered Christians) by following steps
and principles. (Horton, 120).
200. Religion is outside in. If I work hard God will bless me. The problem
with this approach is that even when we have done the right thing as far as
other people are concerned, if our sincerity were weighed, it would actually
count against our righteousness.
201. The Gospel is inside out. Christ does not come merely to improve my
existence in Adam but to end it (Horton). God has accepted me in Christ
therefore I obey.
202. Being immersed in the gospel’s story of Christ’s life, death, &
resurrection works to dislocate us (from Adam & the reign of sin & death) and
relocate us (in Christ) (Horton,118).
203. The average Christian bases his/her justification on his/her sanctification

67. rather than the other way around. Intellectually and theologically we may not
do this but functionally we do.
204. There are also 3 practical reasons why religion needs to be critiqued
(1) There are many professing Christians who aren’t believers at all. They
are pure elder brothers who are geographically there with the Father but
spiritually are fare away;
(2) There are many true Christians who are elder brother(ish). They need to
have their practice (justification based on their sanctification) brought in line
with their theology (sanctification based on justification). This is the way of
true renewal;
(3) Most people in this country who think they have rejected Christianity
havn’t really rejected Christianity but rather moralism. Unless we show them
this they won’t be open.
Legalism (moralism) is under-realized eschatology, because you are under realizing
the future vindication of God that is present now in Christ.
205. Irreligion (relativism) is over-realized eschatology because the law isn’t
necessary. God accepts us as is.
206. On the one hand, moralism (religion) stresses truth over grace. We have to
obey the truth in order to get grace. This is well exemplified in the censorious
tone of Dana Carvey’s “Church Lady” (of SNL fame).
207. On the other hand, irreligion (relativists) stress grace over truth. We are
accepted by God-truth or no truth. This is exemplified in Al Franken’s “Stuart
Smalley” (of SNL fame).
208. Of course, for the irreligious (secular people), there is still belief in sin,
judgment, and punishment but irreligion denies any universal standard established
by God, much less moral culpability before this God. Of course, people make
mistakes and hurt each other. “But if people are held guilty, the punishment, of
course, has to be in this world, not the next. Secular people don’t burn in hell,
they burn in the court of public opinion” (Barry Kosmin, a public policy professor
who studies secularism in Cathy Lynn Grossman, “Is Sin Dead” USA Today,
March 19, 2008).
Jesus came full of grace and truth.
Propitiation is the key doctrine to critique both groups. It is the heart of the
Gospel. If you ask a religionist if God loves him/her. The response may be “yes,
I’m working very hard.” This denies the glory of the cross. If you ask the
irreligionist if God loves him/her. The response may be “yes, God accepts
everyone.” But does this kind of God sacrifice for love in any way? In short,
both approaches deny the power of the Gospel in their own ways.
If your preaching of the Gospel doesn’t turn off moralists and intrigue (arouse
the curiosity or interest,) outsiders then you aren’t preaching it like Jesus
preached.
Examples:
Discouragement : the moralistic approach is that you are in disobedience—

68. therefore repent. The relativist approach to discouragement is that you need to
love and accept yourself and loosen up. The Gospel approach is to expose
that one is trusting in something besides Jesus Christ too much. The person
doesn’t believe in what Jesus says he is for us. He/she has something in his
life that is too important to him—a pseudo Savior. Therefore, one needs to
repent for unbelief. In short, the moralist tends to look at behavior and the
relativist emotions but the Gospel goes to the heart.
Suffering: Moralists feel God owes them. If you contribute to your salvation
(even in a small way) then you feel there is a limit to what God can ask of
you. You are like a tax payer who has paid his dues. But if you are saved by
grace alone, there is nothing he can’t ask of you. Thus, if you believe you
play a role in your salvation then you won’t be able to handle suffering. God
owes you. God is at your debt. So the moralist will either say “I hate Thee”
or he may feel he has deserved the suffering because of his lack of
performance and says “I hate me.”
On the other hand, for the relativist, there is no “I hate me.” It’s all “I
hate Thee.” We are all good and God owes us a good life. The cross
shows us that we have a suffering God. On the one hand we see him
suffering without complaint for us. This eliminates self pity.
On the other hand, when the Gospel is believed, it teaches us that we
aren’t “punished” for our sin. The “I hate Thee” is taken away because
we deserve what Jesus experienced “for us” but the “I hate me” is also
taken away because God demonstrates his value for us in dying for us.
Family: Moralism can make you a slave to parental expectations. The
family can become everything. You end up putting your hopes in the family.
Or you feel your children have to live up to your expectations so that they
won’t make you look bad or so that you can reach your untapped dreams
through them. Relativism sees no need for keeping family covenant at all
if they don’t meet my needs. But the Gospel frees us from making parental
approval or individual autonomy the thing I have to have. If God is my
ultimate Father, that frees me from being too dependent or hostile to my
parents.
Critiquing the Motivation behind the Behavior
209. The goal in reaching the moralist/religionist is to show them they aren’t
living up to God’s standard, nor can they. We naturally think that if you want
people to do the right thing, you tell them what to do w/ passion. This
however, avoids both the law & the gospel. ‘If we really come to grips w/
God’s righteous will, we are undone” (Horton, CC, 123).
210. The goal in reaching the relativist/irreligious is to show them they are
actually religious. They are self justifiers in that they are looking to
something to justify their existence. They have relationships in their lives:
e.g. work, lover, hobbies, etc., that have to be characterized as

69. adoration/worship.
211. The key here to expose the heart motives takes 4 parts:
(1) Here is what the text says we have to do/or be.
(2) But here is why we can’t do it.
(3) However, there is one who did do this in a perfect and holy way
“for us.” In other words, God does not relax his righteousness that it
revealed in his law but imputes Christ’s righteousness to every
believer. In this way, God’s justice is not satisfied to his love; rather,
his love and his justice are mutually satisfied.
(4) Here is how knowing and rejoicing in what he did ( and melted by
what he did), how you can do it too.
212. There is always in every text a moral principle even though there may not
be a direct command. It might come out of the character of God displayed in
the text or a good example or bad example. This principle says “you need to
be like this” (More loving for example). But there is a crisis you create in the
listener if you are going to be an effective Gospel preacher. You say: “if you
are really going to listen to this principle there are insurmountable problems
with trying to do this.” This is the plot thickening. Even without a narrative
you can still develop tension which is what a narrative is. But then you show
light by demonstrating how Christ has accomplished this for us. Its here you
move from lecture to sermon. They are getting a sense of the need for
Christ.
If it’s a narrative you show how Christ is the ultimate example or if its
didactic you show how he is the embodiment of the principle. Here
we show that our inability to do what the text says stems from a lack
of faith in him, not just a lack of effort (that gets us away from
moralism and points them to the Gospel).
Example: Gospel analysis of why we lie in a particular situation
reveals that we usually lie if there is something we feel we need at that
moment besides Jesus Christ to be truly happy. We won’t get over
lying by simply saying “you shouldn’t lie. You are a Christian.”
Actually, we need to repent of our failure to believe the Gospel.
For the moralist, Jesus may be used merely as an example “so go out
and tell the truth like Jesus.” Or with the relativist, there may be the
god of the gaps where even though we fall down time and time again
God accepts us anyway.
Jesus may be in these sermons but we aren’t applying the Gospel to
stimulate their faith. We are either using Jesus as a whip or a band-aid
(“there there, he loves you anyway).
One key is to provide the biblical motive. We want to give love
over fear as motive; that is, we must take way both self-protection and

70. personal gain as the primary reasons people are doing something. To
answer “why I should do what God requires?” the mode of hierarchy is
this: The first reason is love for God, b/c of the mercy of his Son.
Second is love for others. We tell people to do things b/c God loves
other people, and if you love God, you’ll love those he loves. The last
reason is love of self.
II. Considering 3 Perspectives in Application: (1) Doctrinalistic; (2) Pietistic; (3)
Cultural Transformationist.
Vern Poythress argues that when we are applying a text, there are three perspectives
to consider or you will inevitably be out of balance.
(1) Doctrinal—This perspective looks at a text to see how it supports sound
doctrine. If you only do this then you are making the Enlightenment mistake
that you can have objective knowledge without making it personal.
(2) The Pietist—This perspective looks at a text as it relates to me
psychologically and devotionally. The text is used to answer questions of how
it helps me relate to the Lord; how does it help my prayer life?; how does it
help the non-believer trust Christ; how to handle personal problems.
(3) The Cultural Transformationist—This perspective looks at a text as it
relates to cultural and corporate issues. How does it help us deal with social
justice, community building, economic fairness, etc. It looks at the cross
reversing the values of the world in God’s plan to renew the whole world
through the inauguration of the kingdom.
Example: Luke 4:31-37
The Doctrinalist in this passage would teach the deity of Christ b/c the
passage calls him “the Holy One of God.” It also demonstrates his
complete sovereignty over evil spirits as well as the grace of God to
those in bondage.
The Pietist would teach, based on the fact that this view emphasizes
that a central purpose of the Bible is to promote a life of intimate
personal devotion to the Lord, that in this passage Christ can solve my
problems if I let him and that I have to tell my friends about what he
has done in my deliverance (v. 37).
The Cultural-Transformationist would teach from this passage that
Jesus has an active presence in the world liberating people from
oppressive structures and that the miracle signals the coming
transformation of creation. The passage show Christ transforming the
world, so that we ourselves my engage in active transformation under
the authority of Christ.

71. Important Caveat: Christ-centered Application Does Not Mean There is No
Christian Duty
213. We have a duty before the Lord God because his lordship involves his
authority over our lives.
214. Thus, we teach people what God says to do, and we teach what God says
don’t do. The chief means to do what God requires is consistent adulation of
the mercy of God in Christ. Our greatest way of enabling people is to adore
the mercy of God before them, so they’re constantly getting the message of
how wondrous and beautiful his love is. Their primary power is the faith God
has put in them. Faith is confidence that I am a new creature in Christ Jesus.
My identity is that of a child of God. I have that privilege now. I am a
fundamentally different creature. By faith I don’t have to listen to the lie of
Satan that says I can’t change. It’s teaching people that they are new creatures
in Christ Jesus; by virtue of their union w/ him they have the power to do what
God requires. This leads to Frame’s proposal that the Bible gives three
reasons to do good works.
Biblical Reasons To Do Good Works: the Lordship of God:
(1) The History of Redemption (Sovereignty)—There are basically three
ways in which Scripture encourages believers to do good works. First, it
appeals to the history of redemption. This is the chief motivation in the
Decalogue itself: God has redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt; therefore,
his people should obey him. In the New Testament, the writers often urge us
to do good works b/c of what Christ did to redeem us (John 13:34; Col 3:1-3;
Rom 6:1-23; 13:11-12; 1 Cor 6:20; 10:11; 15:58; Eph 4:1-5, 25, 32; 5:25-33;
Phil 2:1-11; Heb 12:1-28; 1 Pet 2:1-3; 4:1-6). However, our focus on the
history of redemption is not limited to the past. It is also an anticipation of
what God will do for us in the future. God’s promises of future blessing also
motivate us to obey him (Matt 6:33; Future Grace [Piper]).
(2) The Authority of God’s Commands (Authority)—Scripture also
motivates our good works by calling attention to God’s commands (Rom 8:4;
13:8-10; 1 Cor 9:8-9; 14:34, 37; Gal 4:21-22; Eph 4:20-24; 6:1-3; 1 Thess 4:1;
2 Tim 3:16-17; Tit 2:1; James 1:22-25; 2:8-13; 1 Pet 1:16; 1 Jn 2;3-5; 3:24;
5:2).
(3) The Presence of the Spirit (Covenant Presence)—Scrpture calls us to a
godly life, based on the activity of the Spirit within us (Gal 5:16-17; Eph 5:8-
11; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 5:22-26).
A Shepherd’s Taxonomy
First, everyone listening to you falls into the following three pairs:

72. 215. Christian or non-Christian: We need to address both in every
sermon.
216. Complacent or Anxious: The complacent need warnings more
than promises, because God’s promises don’t mean much to them.
They’re content in this world, like the rich young ruler (Matt 19). The
anxious needs promises, because they’re already feeling what they
lack, & they need hope. Lord, help me to see. I do believe. Help my
unbelief (Mark 9:24). We don’t want to tempt the fearful to
discouragement or the proud to self-sufficiency.
217. Legalistic or Licentious: The legalistic will listen intently for
anything you say about law & rules, but may overlook the gospel
promises. The licentious will be eager to hear the gospel promises of
grace, but may not appreciate teaching on repentance & Christ’s
lordship.
Second, assume the following is true of everyone listening:
218. Idolatry: Everyone is struggling with idolatry in one way or another. As
John Calvin said, our hearts are idol-factories. Therefore try to specifically
identify some of the idols the passage speaks to, as they are expressed in our
culture—power, pleasure, pride, security, wealth, etc.
219. Self Justification: Ever since the Garden of Eden, we have attempted to
justify our idols, to excuse ourselves from our sin & commend ourselves to
God. We see it in our desire for praise from this world. But we need to
understand that our desire for the praise of men is simply part of a larger
conspiracy. Though we were made to give praise to God, in our hearts we long
to receive praise from God based on our merits.
220. Love of the World: Love of the world takes a multitude of forms: sex,
money, power, possessions, entertainment, beauty, etc. The list is endless, but
underneath the variation lays the constant theme of worshiping the creature
rather than the Creator (1 John 2:15-17).
Third, there are different kinds of errant sheep that need the Word (1 Thess
5:12-14):
221. The idle: These aren’t lazy sheep so much as headstrong & impulsive
sheep; they reject disciple & insist on going their own way. Paul says these
worldly brothers & sisters need to be warned. This may well include
preaching in the second person at times, rather than always using the softer,
gentler first-person plural.
222. The timid: These are sheep who aren’t obeying the Word, but not because
they’ve rejected it outright. Rather they are fearful of the consequences, &
perhaps responsibilities, that come with faithful obedience. These sheep need
to be encouraged with the promises of the gospel & the worth of our
inheritance in Christ.
223. The weak: In one sense all of us are weak, but here Paul seems to have in
mind those whose lack of faith & obedience stems from spiritual weakness
that is the result of poor teaching. A diet of milk without meat might keep a

73. sheep alive, but it won’t grow them into the strength of maturity. These sheep
need to be helped, says Paul, & we help them most through sound instruction.
Fourth, and finally, pay attention to the physical, as well as the spiritual
circumstances of your hearers. How does the text speak specifically, & perhaps
differently to these categories?
Men & women
Single, married, & widowed
The elderly, middle-aged, & children
Employed, unemployed, & retired
Wealthy & poor
Educated & un(der)educated
oEmployers & employees
Application Arenas of Life (Richard 117)
There are five arenas of life where truth must apply (“so what?”) and be specified
(now what?). Think through these five arenas in developing your applications to
discover how God’s truth will make a difference and how it will call His people to
obedience.
What kind of a person does God want us to become in:
(1) Personal life
(2) Home life
(3) Work or study life
(4) Church life
(5) Community life.
Application Avenues of Life (Richard 117)
How should this truth affect our:
(1) Attitudes—toward God, others, circumstances
(2) Knowledge of God
(3) Behavior—habits to develop, habits to change, habits to confirm
(4) Relationships—where do I need to forgive, seek forgiveness, encourage,
rebuke, submit, lead?
(5) Motives—Am I doing right for the wrong reasons?
(6) Values and Priorities—who are what comes first? Who or what should?
(7) Character
5 Ways the Biblical Text Generates Applications for the Contemporary Audience
(See Doriani who actually gives 7 ways, 82ff)
(1) Rules—summons obedience to specific commands. They require definite
action in narrowly defined cases. E.g., Jesus said that when one disciple sins

74. against another, the offended party should go in private and correct him so as
to win his repentance (Matt 18:15).
(2) Ideals—Guide a wide range of behavior without specifying particular
deed. E.g.: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt 22:39); “Seek firs the
kingdom of God and his righteousness” Matt 6:33); “Be holy, for I am holy”
(Lev 11:44; 19:2; 20:7; 1 Pet 1:15-16); “If it is possible, as much depends on
you, live at peace with all men” (Rom 12:18). Like rules, ideals need not have
the form of a command. For example, God says, “I desire mercy, not
sacrifice” (Hos 6:6; Matt 9:13).
(3) Doctrines— states the cardinal truths of the faith, the fundamentals of the
Christian belief system. The form of applying doctrinal statements is “if
doctrine X is true, what follows?”
(4) Redemptive Acts in Narratives—When teaching narrative, we should
focus first on the redeeming work of God.
(5) Exemplary Acts in Narratives—If some rush to draw ethical points from
Scripture, others so fear moralism that they resist the idea of using narratives
for moral lessons. But Jesus himself justifies the search for ethical principles
from biblical narratives. In the temptation, his replies to Satan draw lessons
from Israel’s experience in the wilderness (Matt 4:4, 7). Similarly, when the
Pharisees’ questioned Jesus’ Sabbath observance, he justified himself by
drawing upon David’s ritually illegal act in taking the priest’s showbread
when he fled from Saul. Biblical narratives generally show moral lessons
rather than spelling them out. The books of Kings & Chronicles label the
action of kings “right” or “not right” before the Lord about 20 times, but
otherwise the Bible rarely spells out its lessons. A key to guarding against
moralism here is that the moral lesson is often related to the subject’s posture
toward the covenant (their gospel). This is clearly seen in Hebrews 11 where
the writer in seeking to encourage Jewish Christians to persevere in the faith
(12:1-3), considers those who actually did persevere in the faith—that is, faith
in the promises (11:8-40).
Caveat: Yet, even with this five-fold approach, we must be extremely careful to
guard against any kind of works-based sanctification. After all, we are hard-wired for
law. As Doriani asserts, there are 4 classes of legalism:
(1) Class-one legalists are auto-soterists; they declare what one must do in order to
obtain God’s favor (rich young ruler; elder brother).
(2) Class-two legalists declare what good deeds or spiritual disciplines one must
perform to “retain” God’s favor.
(3) Class-three legalists love the law so much they create new laws, laws not found in
Scripture, and require submission to them (Pharisees).
(4) Class-four legalists avoid these gross errors, but they so accentuate obedience to
the law of God that other ideas shrivel up. It reflects an emphasis on duty—a “just do
it” approach. In short, all four ways, in varying degrees, undermine the gospel of
grace, which is the only power effectual for salvation (Rom 1:16). “If obedience were
merely a defensive posture that listeners assume to avert divine wrath or to curry
divine favor, then human holiness would be but a euphemism for selfishness. When

75. self-protection and self-promotion become the primary motivations of Christian
obedience or preaching, then we have inadvertantly made self-satisfaction the Lord
of our faith” (Chapell, 314).
Why we serve God is also how we serve him. Overwhelming love based on an
understanding of the sufficiency, efficacy & majesty of his grace makes us willing &
able to obey God (Chapell, 326).
“Generic Principle” in Application [a biblical standard that applies to later
situations (Robert J. McQuilkin “Understanding and Applying the Bible, 1983;
pg. 258-65)
(1) It might be stated directly in the text, as in “You shall love your neighbor
as yourself” (Lev 19:18; Mk 12:31)
(2) In historical portions it might be implied on the basis of the text’s explicit
interpretation of the event, as when Scripture itself commends the occurrence
(Acts 2:42-47).
(3) It may apply indirectly in terms of general principles rather than the
specific situation if the cultural/supracultural indicators so dictate (such as the
holy kiss being the same as the loving greeting of Christ).
Principles for Application (Fabarez, 40-42)
(1) Put yourself in their sandals. This means we consider the historical,
grammatical, and literary context of the passage we are studying. When Satan came
to Jesus in the wilderness, he quoted Psalm 91 to tempt Jesus to throw Himself from
the temple. Jesus exposed this misapplication of the passage. In the psalm, Yahweh
is hailed as the loving protector and refuge for those who trust Him. Satan quotes the
part of the psalm which promises that Yahweh “shall give His angels charge over you,
to keep you in all your ways. They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash
your foot against a stone” [91:11-12]. Satan’s application suggests it would be the
“biblical thing” to jump from the pinnacle of the temple, just as though it would have
been the biblical thing for the psalmist to throw himself in the path of an oncoming
spear. Satan extracted the verses of Psalm 91 from their context to precipitate action
that was unrelated to the initial purpose for that Scripture. The psalmist placed
examples in the context of Psalm 91 to help discover his intended application:
protection from sickness and disease [vv. 3, 6]; dangers in battle [vv. 5, 7]; and
hazards of traversing the wilderness [v. 13]. These have nothing in common with
throwing oneself in front of an oncoming arrow—or jumping from the pinnacle of the
temple.
In short, believe that every Scripture was given for a purpose and persevere until you
find it.
(2) Target the imperatives. When imperative verbs are encountered, especially in the
epistles, the application is usually obvious
(3) Decide if a narrative passage was given to serve as a Template for them to

76. follow. For instance, Luke wrote in Acts 8:4 that “those were scattered went
everywhere preaching the word. It is important to determine whether this statement
was simply made to explain the situation, or presented to serve as an example to those
who received his book. On the other hand, Jesus said, “Sell all that you have and
distribute to the poor” [Luke 18:22]. The application here must be carefully
considered to avoid creating problems the passage never intended.
(4) Use and Compare Other Clear Imperatives to Keep Your Determinations on
Track. For instance, studying the list of widows eliminated from the financial rolls of
the church at Ephesus [1 Tim 5:4-16], may lead you to conclude these first century
Christians were to help as few people as possible. Hoever, by consulting other parts
of Scripture we conclude this could not have been an accurate or intended application
for the early church.
Note the Factors That Limit the Transfer of Application (Fabarez, pp. 43-45)
(1) Does the Immediate Context Limit the Target of the Application?
The Pastoral Epistles are a good example. Many of the commands to Timothy and
Titus are universal and timeless in scope. Yet note that some of the application is
directed specifically to pastors and ministerial leadership in the church.
(2) Does Any Part of the Bible Limit the Target of the Application?
For instance, the application of Leviticus to your audience is removed from the
immediate context of the epistles because the rest of the Bible shows us that the
sacrificial and ceremonial system of Leviticus has been fulfilled in Christ (Heb 10:1-
14; Matt 5:17).
(3) Does a Cultural Condition Limit the Target of the Application?
An example is Paul’s instruction to Timothy to “use a little wine” for his stomach and
frequent illnesses [1 Tim 5:23]. Wine was used in the first century for medicinal
purposes. In this case it is appropriate to modify the application in light of the first-century
culture of medicine dna that of today’s.
(4) Does a Unique Historical Condition Limit the Target of the Application?
When Jesus called the rich young ruler to follow Him with “sell all that you have . . .”
(Luke 18:22), the historical setting and its comparison with the rest of Scripture
provide clues as to the reason for this kind of summons. Jesus did not require the
others he called to sell everything they had, nor does the rest of New Testament
teaching. In this case Jesus demanded a break from the hold that money had on the
rich man, hence this distinctive command.
Note the Facts That Call for the Direct Transfer of Application (Fabarez, 46-48)
(1) What Aspect of the Application is Rooted in God’s Character?
For instance, when Jesus taught, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse
you,” He rooted His lesson in the nature of God’s character: “that you may be

77. sons of your Father in heaven . . .” [Matt 5:44-45]. The application of this
passage will be directly transferable because Scripture bases its practice on the
nature of God. This is an elaboration on the theme that we are to be “holy
because God is holy” [Lev 11:45; 1 Pet 1:16], and is specifically linked to
timeless application of several biblical teacings [e.g., love, 1 Jn 4:7;
forgiveness, Col 3:13; acceptance, Rom 15:1].
(1) What Aspect of the Application is Addressing Man’s Depravity?
Preaching the Bible is designed to equip people for every good work [2 Tim
3:16]. That kind of preaching is used by God to accomplish a progressive
pattern of sanctification.
FCF [see Chapell]
(2) What Aspect of the Application is Reflecting God’s Created Order?
In Matthew 19:5 Jesus quotes Gen 2:24 in His defense of monogamy, as does
Paul in Ephesians 5:31. This argument is rooted in God’s created order and
applies to every age.
(3) What Aspect of the Application is Delivered as Counter-cultural?
Jesus pointed out to the crowd in the Sermon on the Mount, “you have
heard that it was said,” but quickly raised the bar by adding “But I say to
you . . .” [Matt 5:21, 27, 33, 38, 43]. The specific life change He was
calling for in these passages ran against the grain of the culturally accepted
mores of the day. This is a helpful indication suggesting the application
He was seeking was not bound to the specific context in which it was
delivered. If the application was originally counter-cultural, then it often
calls us to make a relevant transfer to our audience regardless of its
cultural stance.
Add Your Knowledge of Your Audience to the Application [Fabarez, pp. 48-51]
(1) What Specifically Does Your Audience Have in Common with the Original
Audience?
For instance, Colossians 2:16-17 states: “Therefore let no one judge you in food
or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow
of the things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” Commonalities: both
audiences are professing Christians; both are exposed to religious forms that are
not biblically pertinent, etc.
(2) In What Specific Areas Does Your Audience Lack Commonality with the Original
Audience?
Unlike the original audience, your audience is not pressure to engage in Jewish or
OT customs, etc.
(3) How Is My Audience Practicing the Application?
Spending too much time exhorting them to do what they already do, or to believe
what they already believe, will cause you to lose valuable time as well as the
interest level necessary to effect change. Yet, remember, it is important to preach

78. “the same things . . . again . . . as a safeguard” [Phil 3:1]. Moreover, even when
he exhorts is readers in an area in which they excel, as he does in 1 Thess 4:2, his
call invilves clear direction as to how they are to do so “more and more.”
(4) How is My Audience Currently Neglecting or Abusing the Application?
When Paul initially told the Corinthians to avoid associating with sexually
immoral people in 1 Corinthians 5:9-11, some believers apparently misunderstood
his intent and withdrew from any and all sexually immoral people. The intended
application had limitations that, when missed, led to abuse of the principle.
Crystallize How You Will Target Your Audience with the Application [Fabarez, pp.
51-54]
(1) What is the Greatest Need My Audience Has as It Relates to the Application?
Pondering an appropriate pattern of obedience can be helpful step in guiding the
contemporary application. Ask yourself, “How will the hearer act, talk, think, or
behave if he loves people who are irritating in the way Christ would love them?”
If you can’t provide a solid answer, chances are your hearers can’t either.
(2) What Should My Audience Know About the Application?
I might conclude that if my hearers are going to love irritating people the way
Christ loves them, then they must understand something of the quality of divine
love as set against the backdrop of their sin.
(3) What Should My Audience Feel About the Application?
(4) What Should My Audience Do About the Application?
I want my audience to identify the irritating people in their lives and start
extending tangible expressions of Christ-like love to them beginning this week.
Make is something that can be acted upon; something concrete.
Preach to the Ignorant, the Doubtful, and Sinners
By Mark Dever
I often hear the question, "how do you apply the text in an expositional
sermon?"
Behind this question may be many questionable assumptions. The questioner may be
remembering "expositional" sermons he has heard (or maybe preached) that were no
different from some Bible lectures at seminary—well-structured and accurate but
demonstrating little godly urgency or pastoral wisdom. These expositional sermons may
have had little if any application. On the other hand, the questioner may simply not know
how to recognize application when he hears it.
William Perkins, the great sixteenth-century puritan theologian in Cambridge, instructed
preachers to imagine the various kinds of hearers and to think through applications for

79. each—hardened sinners, questioning doubters, weary saints, young enthusiasts, and so
on.
Perkins’ advice is very helpful, but hopefully we do that already. I want to approach the
topic of application slightly differently: not only are there different kinds of hearers, there
are also different kinds of application. As we take a passage of God’s Word and explain it
clearly, compellingly, even urgently, there are at least three different kinds of application
which reflect three different kinds of problems encountered in the Christian pilgrimage.
First, we struggle under the blight of ignorance. Second, we wrestle with doubt, often
more than we at first realize. Third, we still struggle with sin—whether through direct
disobedient acts or through sinful negligence. As preachers, we long to see changes in all
three ways, both in ourselves and in our hearers every time we preach God’s Word. And
all three problems give rise to a different kind of legitimate application.
IGNORANCE
Ignorance is a fundamental problem in a fallen world. We have alienated God from us.
We have cut ourselves off from direct fellowship with our Creator. It is not surprising,
then, that informingpeople of the truth about God is itself a powerful type of application
—and one that we desperately need.
This is not an excuse for cold or passionless sermons. I can be every bit as excited (and
more) by indicative statements as I can be by imperative commands. The commands of
the gospel to repent and believe mean nothing apart from the indicative statements
concerning God, ourselves, and Christ. Information is vital. We are called to teach the
truth and to proclaim a great message about God. We want people who hear our messages
to move from being ignorant to being knowledgeable about the truth. Such heartfelt
informing is application.
DOUBT
Doubt is different from ignorance. In doubt, we take ideas or truths familiar to us and we
question them. This kind of questioning is not rare among Christians. In fact, doubt may
be one of the most important issues to be thoughtfully explored and thoroughly
challenged in our preaching. Addressing doubt is not something a preacher takes up with
non-believers for a little pre-conversion apologetics. Some people who sit listening to
sermons week after week may well know all the facts that the preacher mentions about
Christ, or God, or Onesimus; but they may well have struggled with whether or not they
really believe those facts are true. Sometimes people may not even be aware of their
doubts, much less be able to articulate them as doubts.
But when we begin to consider Scripture searchingly, we find lingering in the shadows
questions, uncertainties, and hesitancies, all of which make us sadly aware of that
gravitational pull of doubt off there in the distance drawing us away from the faithful
pilgrim’s path. To such people—perhaps to such parts of our own hearts—we want to
argue for and to urge the truthfulness of God’s Word and the urgency of believing it. We
are called to urge on hearers the truthfulness of God’s Word. We want people who hear
our messages to change from doubt to full-hearted belief in the truth. Such urgent,
searching preaching of the truth is application.

80. SIN
Sin, too, is a problem in this fallen world. Ignorance and doubt may be themselves
specific sins, the result of specific sins, or neither. But sin is certainly more than neglect
or doubt.
Be assured that people listening to your sermons will have struggled with disobeying God
in the week just passed, and they will almost certainly struggle with disobeying him in
the week that they are just beginning.
The sins will be various. Some will be a disobedience of action; others will be a
disobedience of inaction. But whether of commission or omission, sins are disobedience
to God.
Part of preaching is to challenge God’s people to a holiness of life that will reflect the
holiness of God himself. So part of applying the passage of Scripture is to draw out the
implications of that passage for our actions this week. We as preachers are called to
exhort God’s people to obedience to his Word. We want our hearers to change from sinful
disobedience to joyful, glad obedience to God according to his will as revealed in his
Word. Such exhortation to obedience is certainly application.
THE GOSPEL
The main message that we need to apply every time we preach is the gospel. Some
people do not yet know the good news of Jesus Christ. And some of them may have even
been sitting under your preaching for a time—distracted or asleep or day-dreaming or
otherwise not paying attention. They need to be informed of the gospel. They need to be
told.
Others may have heard, understood, and perhaps even accepted the truth, but now find
themselves struggling with doubting the very matters you are addressing (or assuming) in
your message. Such people need to be urged to believe the truth of the good news of
Christ.
And, also, people may have heard and understood, but remain slow to repent of their sins.
They may even accept the truth of the gospel message, but not want to give up their sins
and trust in Christ. For such hearers, the most powerful application you can make is to
exhort them to hate their sins and flee to Christ. In all our sermons, we should seek to
apply the gospel by more often or more thoroughly, it is not wrong for you to preach to
those who need to be informed or who need to be exhorted to forsake sin, even if the
person talking to you isn’t so aware of that need.
One final note. Proverbs 23:12 says, "Apply heart to instruction and your ears to words of
knowledge." In English translations, it seems that the words translated "apply" in the
Bible almost always (maybe always?) have reference not to the preacher’s work (as
homiletics teaches us) nor even to the Holy Spirit’s (as systematics rightly teaches us) but
to the work of the one who hears the Word. We are called to apply the word to our own
hearts, and to apply ourselves to that work.
That, perhaps, is the single most important application we could make next Sunday for

81. the benefit of all of God’s peopleinforming, urging, and exhorting.
One common challenge we preachers face in applying God’s Word in our sermons is that
individuals who experience problems in one pronounced area will think that you are not
applying Scripture in your preaching because you are not addressing their particular
problem. Are they right? Not necessarily. While your preaching might improve if you
start addressing every category.
Appendix 1
“Word of God” can be parsed in several different yet legitimate ways: (1) a divine
communication via human language [Mark 1:11]; (2) the person of Jesus Christ [John
1:14-18]; (3) the preaching of the Gospel, especially by the apostles [Acts 4:31]; (4) the
words of Scripture [2 Tim 3:16]. It is the last sense that informs the burden of this essay.
The doctrine of the Bible controls all other doctrines of the Christian faith. That is, any
diluting of this emphasis will remove the Bible as the authoritative voice in theology,
thereby endangering central principles such as salvation by grace and even the authority
of Jesus Christ. The Bible is the means by which the apostolic memory of what God was
doing in Christ is given specificity and substance. Yet, in these Postmodern times in the
West, there are challenges to the “Claim” of Scripture. For instance, neo-liberal James
Barr asserts that there is no “the Bible” that claims to be divinely inspired; that is, there is
no “it” that has a “view of itself.” There is only this or that source, like 2 Timothy or 2
Peter, which makes statements about certain other writings, these rather undefined. No
doubt, Barr is correct that merely to cite 2 Timothy 3:16 is not enough. It begs the
question since: (1) Paul here refers to the OT, not the entire Christian canon; (2) Evidence
must then be offered that 2 Timothy 3:16 is itself Scripture, to show that it gives
Scripture’s view of Scripture; (3) Evidence must be furnished what Paul claims in 2
Timothy 3:16 can also be applied to the NT canon. However, even w/ that admission, it
must be stated that Barr is wrong. The doctrine of Scripture is not found only in a few
isolated texts of Scripture. Rather, it pervades the entire Scriptures. When we read
Scripture on its own terms [intra-textually], there is a canonical-self consciousness from
Genesis to Revelation. From what we witness of God’s activity in redemptive-history, it
is evident that God intends to rule his people thru a book, a written constitution, which is
nothing less than his Word. That is why any discussion of Scripture must begin w/ the
Bible’s view of itself for as w/ any doctrine of the Christian faith, including our doctrine
of Scripture, we must substantiate it by an appeal to Scripture as it is the constitution by
which God rules his people.
The Scripture’ view of itself may be summarized in four propositions.
(1) There is evidence w/I the OT of a canonical self-consciousness; a recognition that
what is written is given by God to rule and direct his people . This is indicated by
the fact that God’s covenantal relationship w/ his people is always accompanied by
written documentation and is intended to rule and direct their lives [see Deut 5:22, 32;

82. 29:9; 30:9-16; 31:24-29; Josh 1:7-8; 8:34]. The rest of the books are written, in
various ways, in exposition of this authoritative, canonical, covenantal word. Out of
this flows, in part, the Chronicler’s covenantal, canonical interpretation of history and
the confidence of the prophetic “Thus says the Lord.” New Scripture is written in the
confidence that it is Scripture only b/c of its inherent relationship to what God has
already given.
(a) When God brought Israel out of Egypt and gathered them at Sinai he entered
into a covenant relation w/ them. Covenant is a literary form of the ancient
Near East, sometimes called the Suzerain Treaty. Here a great king imposes
on a lesser king the status of servant-ally. The great king speaks as the author.
He begins by giving his name. Then there is a historical prologue—he
explains how he helped the servant king in the past. Then he sets forth his
law, the obligations the servant must perform. Then comes the sanctions:
blessings or curses. [e.g. Ex 20].
(b) The written document is not peripheral to the covenant; indeed, being the
provisions of the covenant it is the covenant. The disobey the document is to
disobey the covenant and vice-versa. The covenant is written by the great
king and is kept in 2 places: the sanctuary of the great king and the sanctuary
of the lesser king. At first, the document that God gives Israel includes only
the 2 tablets of the 10 commandments. In that document, God speaks as
author, giving his name in the usual location for the great king. The passage
strongly emphasizes his authorship in that it is written by God’s own finger
[Ex 24:12; 31:18]. Later more words are added. In Deut 32, God teaches his
people a song by which they are to remember his mercies and remember to
obey him. It is God’s song, and Moses writes it down [31:22]. It is a song of
witness [31:19]. When Israel sins, the song will accuse and convict them.
(c) The entire law is placed in the ark of the covenant as a witness against the
people [31:26]. It is holy b/c it is God’s own word. For that reason, no one
may add to or subtract from these words [Deut 4:2; 12:32; Josh 1:7; Prov
30:6; cf. Rev 22:19-20]. From time to time until Malichi, God adds new
words to the canon of Scripture. Prophets have God’s word in their mouths
[Deut 18] and many of their prophecies are written down [Is 8:1; 30:8ff;
34:16-17; Jer 25:13]
(2) There is in the NT the clear recognition of the divinely given canon we now know
as the OT . Throughout the NT the writers assert from the OT canon “It is written” in
perfect tense [Matt 4:4; Mark 1:2; Luke 4:4; 24:26; John 8:17; Acts 1:20; Rom 1:17;
1 Cor 1:19, 31; 2 Cor 8:15; Gal 3:10, 13; 1 Pet 1:16; Heb 10:17]. In Jesus’ life,
Scripture must be fulfilled b/c it is Scripture [Matt 5:17-19]. When Jesus makes
belief in Moses the prerequisite to belief in his own word [Jn 5:45] and when he
denies that Scripture should ever be broken [Jn 10:33-36; he calls Scripture “law” and
was quoting from Psalm 82:6, which is not in the Pentateuch or in any portion of
Scripture of “formally legal contents.” In other words, Jesus, with this statement,
attributes legal authority to the entirety of Scripture.], he is adding his witness to the
teaching of the written old covenant. When Paul speaks in 2 Tim 3:16 and when
Peter speaks in 2 Pet 1:21 they are referring to the OT. Furthermore, Scripture
Equated With God. Two examples of these include: (1) Galatians 3:8, “The Scripture,

83. foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached the gospel unto
Abraham, saying, “In thee shall all the nations be blessed” (cf. Gen 12:1-3); (2)
Romans 9:17, “The Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I
raised thee up” (cf. Ex 9:16). Finally, there is God Equated with Scripture. A couple
of examples include: (1) Matthew 19:4-5, “An he answered and said, ‘Have ye not
read that he which made them from the beginning made them male and female, and
said, for this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his
wife, and the twain shall become one flesh?” (cf. Gen 2:24); (2) Acts 4:24,25, “Thou
art God, who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, ‘Why do the heathen rage
and the people imagine vain things” (cf. Ps 2:1). It is also beneficial here to see that
even minor details in the OT were seen to be historically true by NT authors [Matt
12:3-4, David ate the bread of presence; Matt 12:40, Jonah was in the whale; Matt
12:41, The men of Ninevah repented; Matt 12:42, the Queen of the South came to
hear Solomon; Luke 4:25-26, Elijah was sent to the widow of Zarephath, Luke 4:27,
Naaman the Syrian was cleansed of leprosy, Hebrews 11, many details of the lives of
OT saints, Rom 5:12, Adam; 2 Pet 2:16, Balaam’s donkey spoke].
(3) There is in the NT a consciousness among authors that the authority of their own
writing is on a par w/ that of the OT and that the content of the revelation given to
them is, in some sense, superior to it, not in terms of inspiration, but in the clarity
and progress of the revelation recorded . [cf. Eph 3:2-6]. This consciousness is
tantamount to a deliberate addition to the canon in order to bring it to completion in
the light of Christ’s coming. In this sense, the NT canon is virtually demanded by the
coming of Christ. If the older revelation, which was incomplete and fragmentary
[Heb 1:1-2], was inscripturated, how much more is inscrupturation anticipated of the
consummation of revelation? [Heb 2:2-3]. We have no gospel w/o the apostles [Rom
2:16; 1 Thess 4:2; Jude 17ff; Col 4:16: 1 Thess 5:27; 2 Thess 3:14; 1 Cor 14:37; 2 Pet
3:16]. Like the old, the NT records a covenant [ 1 Cor 11:25]. And since covenants
are verbal, we expect nothing less than a NT canon. This canon-consciousness
emerges in the opening and closing sections of Revelation. It assumed that it will be
read in public to the church [1:3]. Both reader and hearer are promised blessing; i.e. a
divine, covenantal benediction. In view of this, a similarly covenant warning closes
the book [22:18-19]. These words reflect the apex of canon-consciousness in the NT.
They echo the warning of the OT [Deut 4:2; 12:32].
(4) In the NT we also notice that some sources express a sense not only of their own
canonical character but of the existence of a class of literature sharing that status.
1 Tim 5:18 quotes both Deut 25:4 and Luke 10:7 as Scripture. 2 Pet 3:16 Peter
affirms Paul’s writings as Scripture.
It is out of this self-attesting canonical, covenantal consciousness that one can begin a
doctrine of Scripture. Of course, this leads to a kind of “circularity” in our
formulation but when it comes to ultimate criterions and highest authorities in
anyone’s WV, a kind of circularity is unavoidable. The truth of a fundamental
principle [principium] cannot be proved; it can only be recognized.
In constructing a doctrine of Scripture, fundamental is the discussion on its attributes.

84. Everything that exists has attributes that define it, make it what it is, and distinguish it
from everything else, and so the Holy Scripture has attributes that define it, make it what
it is, and distinguish if from all other writings.
Appendix 2
Narrow Sense (forgiveness of sins through Christ’s substitution)
1. ESV Acts 10:36-43 As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of
peace through Jesus Christ ( he is Lord of all), . . . To him all the prophets bear witness
that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Peter
says that the gospel he preaches is that of “peace through Jesus Christ,” by which he
means specifically the good news “that everyone who believes in him receives
forgiveness of sins through his name.”
2. ESV Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power
of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the
17
Greek.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it
is written, "The righteous shall live by faith." Paul defines the gospel in terms of
“salvation” and the righteousness of God being revealed through faith. It
becomes clear through the rest of the book that he’s talking here about
forgiveness of sins (justification) being through faith, not works. His focus in
Romans is not on the coming kingdom, but on how one becomes a part of it. And
that he calls “gospel.”
3. ESV 1 Corinthians 1:17-18 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to
preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of
18
Christ be emptied of its power.
For the word of the cross is folly to those who
are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. The gospel
Paul is sent to preach is “the word of the cross.”
4. ESV 1 Corinthians 15:1-5 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I
preached to you, which you received, in which you stand,
2
and by which you are
being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you- unless you believed
in vain.
3
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that
Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
4
that he was buried,
that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
5
and that

85. he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
The gospel Paul preached to them and which they received
was that “Christ died for our sins . . . was buried . . . [and] was
raised.” The continuing references to the appearances
shouldn’t be taken as part of “the gospel,” as if we have to tell
someone that Jesus appeared to Peter, the Twelve, and James
or we’re not telling them the gospel. Those references are
meant to establish the resurrection as real and historical.
Broad Sense:
1. ESV Matthew 4:23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease
and every affliction among the people.
This is the first mention of the word “gospel” in Matthew’s account, so
we should expect some contours to be given to the term. To fill in the
content of the “gospel of the kingdom” which Jesus preached, we look
back to verse 17, the first mention of “kingdom.” There, Jesus is recorded
as preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”
The gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached was the message that a) the
kingdom had dawned, and b) those who repent could enter it.
2. ESV Mark 1:14-15 Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee,
proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” With the exception
of the very first verse, this is the first use of the word in Mark’s account. The
“gospel of God” which Jesus proclaimed was: “The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.” The gospel of God
is the message that a) the kingdom has dawned, and b) those who repent and
believe can enter it.
3. ESV Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed
me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the
captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are
oppressed,This is the OT passage from which Jesus launches his public ministry.
The word “good news,” as it’s used in Isaiah 61, is I think referring to the full-orbed
establishment of God’s kingdom-rule.

86. 4. ESV Acts 13:32 And we bring you the good news that what God promised to
33
the fathers,
this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus, . . .Verse
38 is very clear that the good news Paul brought was that forgiveness of sin
comes through “this man.” But also, in verse 32 the “good news” is said to be
“that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled . . . by raising Jesus.”
Surely God’s promises to the fathers, now fulfilled in Jesus, included but were
not limited to forgiveness of sins?
So looking carefully into the New Testament, it seems that the word "gospel" is
used in both a broad way and in a more narrow way. Broadly, as in Matthew 4,
Mark 1, Luke 4, and Acts 13, it refers to all the promises made to us through the
work of Jesus—not only forgiveness of sins, but also resurrection, reconciliation
with both God and others, sanctification, glorification, coming Kingdom, new
heavens and new earth, and so forth. You might say that in those cases, “gospel”
refers to the whole complex of God’s promises secured through the life and work
of Christ. In the narrow sense, such as we see in Acts 10, the whole book of
Romans, 1 Corinthians 1 and 1 Corinthians 15, “gospel” refers specifically to the
atoning death and resurrection of Jesus and the call to all people to repent and
believe in him.
Now let me make two other things explicit.
First, the broad use of the word “gospel” necessarily includes the narrow.
Look at those examples from Matthew and Mark. Jesus doesn’t just proclaim the
onset of the kingdom, as many have said. He proclaims the onset of the kingdom
and proclaims the means of entering it. Look closely: Jesus did not preach the
gospel saying “The kingdom of heaven has come!” He preached the gospel
saying, “The kingdom of heaven has come. Therefore repent and believe!” This is
crucial, the difference indeed between Gospel and not-Gospel: To proclaim the
inauguration of the kingdom and the new creation and all the rest without
proclaiming how people can enter it---by repenting and being forgiven of
their sins through faith in Christ and his atoning death---is to preach a non-
Gospel. Indeed, it is to preach bad news, since you give people no hope of being
included in that new creation. The broad sense of “gospel” is not merely the
proclamation of the kingdom. It is the proclamation of the kingdom together with
the proclamation that people may enter it by repentance and faith in Christ.
Second, it’s worth noting explicitly, again, the fact that the New Testament
calls the specific, narrow message of forgiveness of sins through Christ “The
Gospel.” Therefore, those who would argue something like, “If you’re just
preaching the forgiveness of sins through Christ, and not God’s intention to
remake the world, you’re not preaching the gospel,” are wrong. Both Paul and
Peter (just to grab names from the above examples) seem quite happy to say that
they have preached “The Gospel” if they have told people about the forgiveness

87. of sins through the substitutionary death of Jesus, full stop.
What is the Gospel?
224. "...Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?...If you would
enter life, keep the commandments." - Matthew19:15-17
225. "God bids us do what we cannot, that we may know what we ought to
seek from him."
- Augustine"For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight,
since through the law comes knowledge of sin." Rom 3:20
In short, the Gospel is the life-altering news that Jesus Christ, the eternal Son
of God, became man, lived a sinless life under the Law, died for sinners and
rose again to reconcile them to himself, eternally victorious over every enemy
that stood between God and man. Now, because of this redemptive work,
there is nothing that separates those who believe from their Creator and all
the benefits that He promises in him.
D.A. Carson says the gospel centers "upon Jesus Christ and what God has done
through him. The essential points of the gospel are Jesus Christ's status as the Son
of God, his genuine humanity, his death for our sins, his burial, resurrection,
subsequent appearances, and future coming in judgment. That no one is justified
but in the gracious work of Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection. It is not
merely a recital of theological truths and historical events; rather, it relates these
truths and events to situations of every individual believer."
But in order to fully understand what the Gospel is, it is important to understand
why the Gospel is needed.
226. It is helpful to see the gospel in the context of human history starting with
God's creation of all things, man's rebellion against the Creator, his subsequent
fall into corruption and God's redemption of that which was lost. Adam, the first
man, had the capacity to do every good work the law required; which men, since
the fall, have not. Having fallen headlong into sin, God cursed Adam with death
(Gen 2:17, 3:19-22), and with the removal of His Spirit (1 Cor 2:14), a penalty he
passed on to all his posterity. Man squandered his stewardship and put himself in
the position of a moral debt he cannot repay. Now mankind's spiritually bankrupt
condition and fallen nature, which is beyond repair, render it necessary that if he
is to be restored, the help will have to come from the outside. That redemption
comes from God and comes in the form of the gospel. This gospel is not
something man made up or a well-informed opinion, but is good news directly
revealed from Almighty God regarding what He has done in Jesus Christ to rescue
all those who have called on His name. Yes, it is a divine rescue, a complete
deliverance ... not advice, not a moral improvement program, nor a philosophy of
life, since we need sovereign mercy, not assistance. The proud, or those who fail

88. to see their moral impotence to save themselves, will reject this gospel. But this is
GOOD NEWS to the poor and broken hearted, (the spiritual bankrupt who have
lost all confidence in their own efforts) ... So all you poor, broken sinners,
abandon despair and banish your laments because of what God has done in His
Son, Jesus Christ the Messiah to deliver His people from their sins.
227. I once heard it said that there are two religions in the world: 1) human
attainment and 2) Divine accomplishment. Lets consider the first one; human
attainment, which is the natural inclination of us all. In His Law, God calls us to
perfect obedience to His holy commands, yet an honest assessment of ourselves
will force us to acknowledge that we all fall woefully short of doing so, leaving
no hope in ourselves. But in the Gospel, Jesus mercifully obeys the commands for
us. Christ’s full obedience to all the prescriptions of the divine law…and His
willing obedience in bearing all the sanctions imposed for our disobedience to that
law is both the ground of God’s justification of sinners like us and makes
available a perfect righteousness that is imputed or reckoned to those who put
their trust in him. In other words, The gospel is not about any merit I have, but is
based upon Jesus' Person and merit alone. It is not what we have done for Jesus,
but what Jesus has done for us (Rom 5:19, 2 Cor 5:21, Phil 2:8). Where Adam
failed, Jesus prevailed. It is God's promise to us, not our ability to keep our
promise to Him. In the covenant rainbow sign with Noah, God says He
"remembers" never to flood the world again, so likewise in the covenant in
Christ's blood, God "remembers" not to treat us as we justly deserve for our sins.
The mystery of God has been made manifest in the Person and work of the Son,
who, in his wrath absorbing sacrifice, frees the prisoners, gives sight to the blind,
breaks loose the chains and changes hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. We were
once taken captive to do Satan's will and could not escape using our own
resources, but Christ has set us free. Christ, in His cross work, does for us what
we could not do for ourselves. He lived the perfect life that we should have lived
and died the death we should have died, in order to free us so that we might then
proclaim His excellencies, make known his gospel and spread justice and mercy
to the poor.
228. Dr. Tim Keller once said "...the gospel is news about what God has already
been done for you, rather than instruction and advice about what you are to do for
God. The primacy of his work, not our work, is part of the essence of faith. In
other religions, God reveals to us how we can find or achieve salvation. In
Christianity, God achieves salvation for us. The gospel brings news primarily,
rather than instruction. " ...the gospel is all about historic events, and thus it has a
public character. "It identifies Christian faith as news that has significance for all
people, indeed for the whole world, not merely as esoteric understanding or
insight." [Brownson, p. 46] ...if Jesus is not risen from the dead, Christianity does
not "work". The gospel is that Jesus died and rose for us. If the historic events of
his life did not happen, then Christianity does not "work" for the good news is that
God has entered the human "now" (history) with the life of the world to

89. come....the gospel is news about what God has done in history to save us, rather
than advice about what we must do to reach God. The gospel is news that Jesus'
life, death, and resurrection in history has achieved our salvation...Jesus does not
just bring good news; he is the good news."
229. There is no salvation outside of the Lord Jesus Christ. So trust in Christ
and not in your own righteousness. But some refuse the free gift of God because
they trust in their own goodness. As the Puritan Thomas Watson once said:
[Some people think] ...they are so good, that they scorn God's offer of mercy.
Indeed these are often in the worst condition: these are they who think they need
no repentance (Luke 15:7). Their morality undoes them. They make a "savior" of
it, and so on this rock they suffer shipwreck. Morality shoots short of heaven. It is
only nature refined. A moral man is but old Adam dressed in fine clothes. The
king's image counterfeited and stamped upon brass will not go current. The moral
person seems to have the image of God—but he is only brass metal, which will
never pass for current. Morality is insufficient for salvation. Though the life is
moralized, the lust may be unmortified. The heart may be full of pride and
atheism. Under the fair leaves of a tree, there may be a worm. I am not saying,
repent that you are moral—but that you are no more than moral. Satan entered
into the house that had just been swept and garnished (Luke 11:26). This is the
emblem of a moral man, who is swept by civility and garnished with common
gifts—but is not washed by true repentance. The unclean spirit enters into such a
one. If morality were sufficient to salvation, Christ need not have died. The moral
man has a fair lamp—but it lacks the oil of grace."
Jesus is Lord and creator - the only rightful king of all creation ... king of all things both
seen and unseen. To those who worship the false idols of their hearts (any God-replacement)
take heed ... Jesus will soon be invading with His armies and will overthrow
his enemies and all injustice with the breath of His mouth. But He is offering pardon in
advance of His invasion to all those who receive Him (John 1:12, 13). Those who have
joined themselves to Him now before He invades will be considered His ally and He will
raise them up to be co-heirs with Christ as sons. The alternative is to be under the wrath
of the king. We herald this announcement: that the True King is on the throne and he'll be
invading. The gospel is not merely an invitation it is a command to all those going their
own ways. Will you heed the command? Jesus is Lord, repent and believe."(Bill Wilder)
But because of the blindness sin has cast over us, Jesus says, no one can believe in Him
unless the Father grants it through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit (John 6:63-
65). So those who, by the grace of God, trust in Jesus and His work can be assured, on
the sure testimony of Scripture, that their sins are forgiven and have the promise of God:
eternal life.
To Summarize:
Man was created to glorify God & Enjoy Him forever
"Worthy are you, our Lord and our God to receive glory and honor and power, for

90. You created all things." (Rev 4:11) "Do all to the glory of God" (1 Cor 10:31)
Man has failed to glorify God & is under His just condemnation
"For all have sinned..." (Rom 3:23) The wages of sin is death (Rom 6:23) "These
will pay the penalty of eternal destruction" (2 Thes 1:9)
Jesus fully bore the wrath and suffered the punishment sinners deserve
Not wishing that sinners perish forever, God determined to save a people for
Himself in the Eternal Son who became a man and lived the life we should have
lived and died the death we justly deserve. God loves sinners and sent His Son to
be the wrath absorbing sacrifice for their sin (1 John 4:10; John 6:37) he "...gave
His life as a ransom for many" (Mk 10:45) & "rose again" from the dead (2 Cor
5:15) on their behalf.
All who, by the grace of God, turn to Jesus in submissive faith are forgiven
If you confess you are a sinner in need of Christ then God has begun to work in
you a life-changing, eternally satisfying relationship with Himself! "Repent and
believe the gospel (Mk 1:5) "In Your presence is fullness of Joy (Ps 16:11). So
leave your self-righteousness, and your sins. Fly unto the Lord Jesus Christ, and
receive his righteousness to be your covering, and his blood to be your atonement.
If your trust is in Jesus alone for your salvation (that is, if you have no hope save
for Christ's mercy alone) then you can be assured that your sins are forgiven and
He has granted you eternal life.
Appendix 3
The Bible’s Central Theme: Various Views
230. Greg Beale :The OT storyline appears best to be summarized as: the
historical story of God who progressively reestablishes his new creational
kingdom out of chaos over a sinful people by his word and Spirit through
promise, covenant, and redemption, resulting in worldwide commission to the
faithful to extend that new creation rule and resulting in judgment for the
unfaithful (defeat and exile), all of which issues into his glory; the NT storyline
can be summarized as: Jesus’ life of covenantal obedience, trials, judgmental
death for sinners, and especially resurrection by the Spirit has launched the
fulfillment of the eschatological already-and-not-yet promised new creation reign,
bestowed by grace through faith and resulting in worldwide commission to the
faithful to extend this new creation rule and resulting in judgment for the
unfaithful, unto God’s glory.
231. Dan Block :God was so covenantally committed to the world that he gave
his one and only Son that whoever believes in him may have eternal life!
232. Craig Blomberg :God is in the process of recreating the universe which
has been corrupted by sin and has made it possible for all those and only those
who follow Jesus to be a part of the magnificent, eternal community that will

91. result.
233. Darrell Bock :The Bible tells how the loving Creator God restored a lost
humanity and cosmos through reestablishing his rule through Jesus Christ and the
provision of life to His honor.
234. Mark Dever :God has made promises to bring His people to Himself and
He is fulfilling them all through Christ.
235. Kevin DeYoung :A holy God sends his righteous Son to die for
unrighteous sinners so we can be holy and live happily with God forever.
236. Zack Eswine :Apprenticing with Jesus to become human again.
237. John Frame :God glorifies himself in the redemption of sinners.
238. Scott Hafemann :The Triune God is the beginning, middle, and end of
everything, 'for from him (as Creator) and through him (as Sustainer and
Redeemer) and to him (as Judge) are all things' (Rom 11:36).
239. David Helm :Jesus is the promised Savior-King.
240. Paul House :The movement in history from cretion to new creation
through the redemptive work of Father, Son, and Spirit who saves and changes
corrupted people and places for his glory and their good
241. Gordon Hugenberger :The message of the Bible in one sentence is that
genuine truth, unlike every human philosophy, is far too luxuriant, too enthralling,
too personal, too all-encompassing, too sovereign, and too life-changing to be
reducible to one sentence (or, as Einstein once put it, the challenge is to 'make
everything as simple as possible, but not simpler').
242. Kent Hughes :God is redeeming his creation by bringing it under the
lordship of Jesus Christ.
243. Andreas Kostenberger :'God so loved the world that the gave his one and
only Son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life'
(John 3:16).
244. Phil Long :God, who made us and everything else, loves us and gave
himself for us that we might live forever with him as new creatures in a new
creation—the news is good!
245. Sean Lucas :The message of the Bible is the transforming grace of God
displayed preeminently in Jesus Christ
246. .Ray Ortlund :The Lover of our souls won't let the romance die, but is
rekindling it forever.
247. Grant Osborne :God created mankind in order to love them, but we all
rejected his love, so God sent His Son to bear our sins on the cross in order that
by believing in His sacrificial atonement, we might have life.
248. George Robertson :The Bible is the record of God's promise of and
deliverance through Jesus Christ.
249. Leland Ryken :The message of the Bible is twofold: to show how people
can be saved from their sins through faith in Christ's atonement AND how to live
all of life as a follower of God.
250. Tom Schreiner :God reigns over all things for his glory, but we will only
enjoy his saving reign in the new heavens and the new earth if we repent and
believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, who is the crucified and risen Lord and who
gave himself on the cross for our salvation.

92. 251. Mark Seifrid :Verbum caro factum est.
252. Jay Sklar :The first sentence that comes to mind is that of my colleague
Michael D. Williams, who describes the Bible's story about the world as follows:
God made it, we broke it, Jesus fixes it!
253. Erik Thoennes :The main message of the Bible is that the one true God is
displaying his glory primarily in redeeming and restoring his fallen creation by
fulfilling his covenant promises and commands through the glorious person and
atoning work of Christ.
254. Doug Wilson :Scripture tells us the story of how a Garden is transformed
into a Garden City, but only after a dragon had turned that Garden into a howling
wilderness, a haunt of owls and jackals, which lasted until an appointed warrior
came to slay the dragon, giving up his life in the process, but with his blood
effecting the transformation of the wilderness into the Garden City.
255. Bob Yarbrough :He—God in Christ—shall reign forever and ever; so
today if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart but believing the good news
take up your cross and follow Jesus.
The Gospel as a Three-Legged Stool
Trevin Wax Counterfeit Gospels,Gospel, Gospel Definitions
From an exegetical standpoint, the word “gospel” is used in the New Testament
primarily when speaking of the announcement of Jesus Christ. So, at its core, the
gospel is the specific announcement about what God has done through the life,
death, and resurrection of Jesus to bring about our salvation. The announcement
of Jesus is the gospel.
Yet this Jesus-centered message needs context. The “Story for the individual”
group is right to insist that the back story (God’s character, our sin, etc.) is needed
if the gospel announcement is to make sense. And the New Creation crowd is
right to insist that we place our individual salvation within the bigger picture of
God’s glory in the renewal of all things and the calling out of a people. This
discussion brings us to the image that forms the heart of my book on the
[4]
gospel
.
The Three-Legged Stool
I propose that the gospel is like a three-legged stool. Each leg of the stool is important to
understanding the message.- The Gospel Story
First, there is the gospel story, the overarching grand narrative found in the
Scriptures. The Bible tells us about God’s creation of a good world which was
subjected to futility because of human sin. God gave the Law to reveal his
holiness and our need for a perfect sacrifice, which is provided by the death of
Jesus Christ. This same Jesus will one day return to this earth to judge the living
and the dead and thus renew all things. The gospel story is the Scriptural narrative

93. that takes us from creation to new creation, climaxing with the death and
resurrection of Jesus at the center.
- The Gospel Announcement
The second leg of the stool is the gospel announcement, namely that God – in
the person of Jesus Christ – lived a perfect life in our place, bore the penalty for
our sin through his death on the cross, was raised from the dead to launch God’s
new creation, and is now exalted as Lord of the world. The announcement centers
upon Jesus and what he has done to reconcile us to God. Our response to this
announcement is to repent of our sins and put our complete trust in the work he
has accomplished on our behalf.
- The Gospel Community
The third leg of the stool is the gospel community. Our response to the gospel
announcement (repentance and faith) is not a one-time event, but a lifelong
expression of gratitude that wells up from the bottom of our hearts and overflows
into love for God and his beloved community. We are shaped by the gospel into
the kind of people who herald the grace of God and spread the news of Jesus
Christ. God has commissioned the church to be the community that embodies the
message of the gospel. Through our corporate life together, we “obey the gospel”
by living according to the truth of the message that Jesus Christ is our Savior and
the Lord of the world.
How They Relate
Here’s how the relationship between the gospel story, announcement, and
community work:
STORY: Creation-Fall-Redemption-Restoration. This is the grand narrative of
Scripture that provides context for the announcement.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Jesus Christ. The announcement of his perfect life,
substitutionary death, resurrection, and exaltation is made within the context of
the Story.
COMMUNITY: The gospel announcement calls for the response (repentance and
faith) that God uses to birth the church. The church is the embodiment of the
gospel. Though the church is not the “good news,” it puts on display the good
news. Thus, the church is a resultof the gospel, but I want to reiterate that it is a
necessary .
Why It’s Helpful to Think of the Gospel This Way

94. Thinking within the framework of the three-legged stool has helped me rethink
lots of areas, including missiology. When we witness to the gospel, we need all
three legs of the stool. We need to begin with the big story of Scripture, make the
announcement of Jesus within that context, and then invite people to witness the
gospel community in action, as we provide an embodied apologetic of the truth of
the announcement.
Thinking within this framework has also helped me spot potential pitfalls in
taking one leg of the stool to the exclusion of the others. The “story for the
individual” can give the impression that the church is an optional implication of
the gospel, not the necessary result of the announcement. Likewise, some can
emphasize the vastness of God’s redemptive work in a way that pushes out the
cross and diminishes the practice of urging people to repent of sin and trust in
Christ.
This framework has also made sense of my experience in times of suffering.
When I’m facing a trial, the gospel story explains the fallenness of our world and
reminds me of the future hope. The gospel announcement gives me the tools to
deal with suffering, and also reminds me that my life has significance in relation
to (not apart from) Christ as the focal point of human history. The gospel
community has embodied the gospel to me during suffering by holding me up and
reminding me of the promises I have in Christ.
In the next few weeks, I’ll give you a peek into my my book
[4]
, where I analyze
“counterfeit gospels” by showing the damage they do to the three-legged stool.
For now, I look forward to your feedback. Does the three-legged stool approach
help you think about the gospel and its implications? If so, how?
GOSPEL DEFINITIONS
Compiled by Trevin Wax
Definitions from Christians in the Past
Gilbert Beebe
Like so many Bible terms, the word GOSPEL has been given various definitions
contrary to its
original and proper meaning.
The word has its origin “in Christ before the foundation of the world.” This was
contained in the
“promise” God made before the foundation of the world. (Tit. 1:2) The “gospel,”
the “good
news” or “good tidings” is the declared fulfilment of that promise.
In Isaiah 61:1 3 is found the outstanding proclamation ‐ made by the Sum and
Substance of the

95. good tidings, — Jesus Christ Himself:
“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to
preach good
tidings to the meek, He has sent Me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim
liberty to the
captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound. To proclaim the
acceptable
year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all that mourn.
To appoint to
them that mourn in Zion, to give to them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the
garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of
righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified.”
The Redeemer repeated this same proclamation of Himself in the synagogue.
While this prophetical statement is often quoted, its full significance is rarely
understood. In
this one sweeping declaration, there is encouched – not the beginning of the
gospel, not a part
of its fulfilment, – the grand total of what the Son of Man declared on the cross:
“IT IS
FINISHED”!
The Greek word “evanggelion” is translated “gospel” in the King James Version.
This word,
together with its rendering of “good tidings,” glad tidings” and “preach the
gospel” occurs some
one hundred and eight times in the New Testament, none of which intimate
anything less than
“finished redemption” in Christ.
F.F. Bruce
“Only one saving message is attested by the NT. The “gospel to the circumcision”
preached by
Peter and his colleagues did not differ in content from the “gospel to the
uncircumcised”
entrusted to Paul (Gal. 2:7), though the form of presentation might vary according
to the
audience. Paul’s testimony is, “Whether therefore it was I or they [Peter and his
colleagues], so
we preach, and so you believed” (1 Cor. 15:11).
The basic elements in the message were these:
1. the prophecies have been fulfilled and the new age inaugurated by the coming
of Christ;
2. he was born into the family of David;
3. he died according to the Scriptures, to deliver his people from this evil age;

96. 4. he was buried, and raised again the third day, according to the Scriptures;
5. he is exalted at God’s right hand as Son of God, Lord of living and dead;
6. he will come again, to judge the world and consummate his saving work.”
Jeremiah Burroughs
The gospel of Christ in general is this:
It is the good tidings that God has revealed concerning Christ.
More largely it is this:
As all mankind was lost in Adam and became the children of wrath, put under the
sentence of
death, God, though He left His fallen angels and has reserved them in the chains
of eternal
darkness, yet He has thought upon the children of men and has provided a way of
atonement
to reconcile them to Himself again…Namely, the second person of the Trinity
takes man’s
nature upon Himself, and becomes the Head of a second covenant, standing
charged with sin.
He answers for it by suffering what the law and divine justice required, and by
making
satisfaction by keeping the law perfectly, which satisfaction and righteousness He
tenders up to
the Father as a sweet savor of rest for the souls that are given to Him…And now
this mediation
of Christ is, by the appointment of the Father, preached to the children of men, of
whatever
nation or rank, freely offering this atonement unto sinners for atonement,
requiring them to
believe in Him and, upon believing, promising not only a discharge of all their
former sins, but
that they shall not enter into condemnation, that none of their sins or unworthiness
shall ever
hinder the peace of God with them, but that they shall through Him be received
into the
number of those who shall have the image of God again to be renewed unto them,
and they
they shall be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation.
C.H. Dodd “The Gospel” Summarized in 6 Parts
1. The Age of Fulfillment has dawned, the “latter days” foretold by the prophets.
(Acts
3:18‐26)
2. This has taken place through the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of
Jesus
Christ. (Acts 2:22‐31)
3. By virtue of the resurrection, Jesus has been exalted at the right hand of God as

97. Messianic head of the new Israel. (Acts 2:32‐36)
4. The Holy Spirit in the church is the sign of Christ’s present power and glory.
(Acts 10:44‐
48)
5. The Messianic Age will reach its consummation in the return of Christ. (Acts
3:20‐21)
6. An appeal is made for repentance with the offer of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit,
and
salvation. (Acts 2:37‐41)
Robert A. Guelich
‘The answer to our dilemma of how the gospel of the Kingdom and the gospel of
the cross
relate is that the gospel of the cross is integral to the gospel of the Kingdom if we
understand
both to mean expression of the same “gospel,” namely, Isaiah’s promised
“gospel” of God.
The “gospel” then is the message that God acted in and through Jesus Messiah,
God’s anointed
one, to effect God’s promise of shalom, salvation, God’s reign.’
‐ ‘What is the Gospel?’
Inaugural Address, Fuller Theological Seminary (9 May 1989)
J. Hampton Keathley 8 Aspects to ”The Gospel”
1. The gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:1; 1 Cor. 9:12) or the gospel of God’s
Son (Rom. 1:9).
These two descriptions speak of the good news of salvation that comes through
the
person and work of Jesus Christ who is the very Son of God in human flesh.
Again, this is
a good news of deliverance from sin’s penalty, power and presence through the
two
advents of Christ.
2. The gospel of the grace of God (Acts 20:24) emphasizes that salvation in all
of its
aspects is on the basis of grace rather than on some meritorious system of works.
3. The gospel of the kingdom (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14) is the good news that
God will
establish His kingdom on earth through the two advents of the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. The gospel of peace (Eph. 6:15) describes how this good news of salvation in
Christ
brings peace in all its many aspects (peace with God, the peace of God, peace
with
others, and world peace) through the victory accomplished by the Savior.

98. 5. The eternal or everlasting gospel (Rev. 14:6) expands our perspective of
gospel as we
normally think of it. This gospel as proclaimed by the angel has several key
elements of
gloriously good news that are developed in three commands and two reasons:
Command #1: “Fear God.” This refers to a holy reverence that recognizes the
sovereign
authority and power of God to deal with man in His holy wrath and thus, to bring
an end
to the world of sin as we now know it. To fear God is to recognize Him as the true
God
who can destroy the soul and not just the body as God will do with the beast of
Revelation and His anti‐God system.
Command #2: “Give Him glory.” This refers to the praise and honor that should
accrue
to God from mankind due to our recognition and high estimation of God as the
sovereign Creator of the universe.
Command #3: “And worship Him who made …” The word “worship” means to
show
reverence or respect. This word emphasizes the external display as seen in our
obedience, prayer, singing, and formal worship. The word “fear” emphasizes the
reverential mental attitude behind the worship. In the Tribulation people will be
forced
to fear and formally acknowledge the beast and his image. In this message the
angel is
demanding that mankind reject the beast and formally turn to God to worship Him
(cf.
Rev. 14:11).
Reason #1: “The hour of his judgment has come” is a reference to the final
judgments of
the Tribulation—the bowl judgments—which are about to occur that will put an
end to
the system of the beast and bring the rule the Lord Jesus, the King of kings. These
will
conclude with the return of Christ Himself (Rev. 19) and lead to the removal of all
unbelievers from the earth. The emphasis is to not delay because the time is short.
Reason #2: This is seen in the reference to God as the Creator in verse 7b. Here
we are
called to pay attention to the ageless and universal message of the creation itself.
Age
after age creation has called mankind to recognize God’s existence and to seek
after
Him (cf. Acts 17:26‐27 with Psalm 19:1‐6). This means people are without
excuse and
that, when the angel proclaims this gospel, the hour of the Creator’s judgment is
about

99. to fall (see Rom. 1:18f). Though this is the essential and primary element of the
angel’s
everlasting gospel, perhaps he will say more than this for from age to age a
person’s
capacity to reverence, glorify and worship God has come only through believing
and
knowing Christ (cf. John 14:6 with Acts 4:12; John 4:23‐24).
George Eldon Ladd
“I can only bear witness at this point to what Heilsgeschichte means to me. My
sense of God’s
love and acceptance is grounded not only in the resurrected Christ but also in the
Jesus of
history. He taught something about God that was utterly novel to his Jewish
auditors: that God
is not only gracious and forgiving to the repentant sinner but is also a seeking God
who, in
Jesus’ person and mission, has come to seek and to save the lost…
God has shown me that he loves me in that while I was yet a sinner, Christ died
for me (Rom.
5:8). This is not faith in history; it is not faith in the kerygma; it is not faith in the
Bible. It is faith
in God who has revealed himself to me in the historical event of the person, works
and words
of Jesus of Nazareth who continues to speak to me though the prophetic word of
the Bible.”
‐ “The Search for Perspective,” Interpretation 25 (Jan. 1971), 56 and 57.
“This is the good news about the kingdom of God. How men need this gospel!
Everywhere one
goes he finds the gaping graves swallowing up the dying. Tears of loss, of
separation, of final
departure stain every face. Every table sooner or later has an empty chair, every
fireside its
vacant place. Death is the great leveller. Wealth or poverty, fame or oblivion,
power or futility,
success or failure, race, creed or culture — all our human distinctions mean
nothing before the
ultimate irresistible sweep of the scythe of death which cuts us all down. And
whether the
mausoleum is a fabulous Taj Mahal, a massive pyramid, an unmarked spot of
ragged grass or
the unplotted depths of the sea one fact stands: death reigns.
“Apart from the gospel of the kingdom, death is the mighty conqueror before

100. whom we are all
helpless. We can only beat our fists in utter futility against this unyielding and
unresponding
tomb. But the good news is this: death has been defeated; our conqueror has been
conquered.
In the face of the power of the kingdom of God in Christ, death was helpless. It
could not hold
him, death has been defeated; life and immortality have been brought to life. An
empty tomb in
Jerusalem is proof of it. This is the gospel of the kingdom.”
‐ from The Gospel of the Kingdom
Martin Luther
At its briefest, the gospel is a discourse about Christ, that he is the Son of God and
became man
for us, that he died and was raised, and that he has been established as Lord over
all things.
This much St. Paul takes in hand and spins out in his epistles. He bypasses all the
miracles and
incidents (in Christ’s ministry) which are set forth in the four Gospels, yet he
includes the whole
gospel adequately and abundantly. This may be seen clearly and well in his
greeting to the
Romans, where he says what the gospel is, and then declares:
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of
God which he
promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, the gospel
concerning his
Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated Son of
God in power
according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ
our Lord,” etc.
There you have it. The gospel is a story about Christ, God’s and David’s son,
who died and was
raised, and is established as Lord. This is the gospel in a nutshell.
‐ Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings , pg. 94
M.F. Sadler
“The word ‘gospel’ in the New Testament is applied exclusively to the announcement of
certain
events occurring at a particular time in the history of the world. These are, the
Incarnation,

101. Birth, Baptism, Temptation, Ministry, Miracles, Betrayal, Condemnation, Death, Burial,
and
Resurrection of Jesus. This is the meaning of the word ‘gospel’ in the opening sentence of
St.
Mark’s Gospel. This is its meaning in the opening sentence of St. Paul’s Epistle to the
Romans…
When St. Paul in another place, sets forth in so many words the gospel which he
preached, and
by which his converts were saved, he declares it to be the record of three facts…
“If this be the aspect under which the Gospel is set before us in the New Testament, then a
Church which would set forth the Gospel as it is contained in Scripture must adhere to
this
Scripture form of it. It is not given to any Church to assume to be more spiritual than
God’s Holy
Spirit—so as, in place of the sequence of events recorded in Scripture as ” the Gospel,”
virtually
to substitute a sequence of certain doctrines beginning (say) with the secret decree of God
respecting the election of the individual soul, proceeding to set forth the effectual calling,
conversion, and justification of that soul so elected, and culminating in the present
assurance of
its salvation.
“Presenting the Gospel under such a form as this would not be scriptural, for the
Scriptures do
not set forth this as the Gospel. I am not now denying that all this (or something like it)
respecting individual election, calling, justification, and sanctification, is to be found in
Scripture, or to be inferred from some Scripture statements. I am pronouncing no opinion
upon
it, except that it is not presented in Scripture as ‘the Gospel.’
“The Gospel does not appear in Scripture under the aspect of certain dealings of God with
the
individual soul apart from its fellow souls. It does appear as certain events or outward
facts
having to do with the Second Person in the ever Blessed Trinity, ‐ which facts are—the
Incarnation, Birth, Life, Death, Burial, Resurrection, and Ascension of the Son of God.”
M.F. Sadler, Church Doctrine, Bible Truth 1867
Richard Sibbes
“What is the gospel itself but a merciful moderation, in which Christ’s obedience
is esteemed
ours, and our sins laid upon him, wherein God, from being a judge, becomes our
Father,

102. pardoning our sins and accepting our obedience, though feeble and
blemished? We are now
brought to heaven under the covenant of grace by a way of love and mercy.”
‐ Richard Sibbes, The Bruised Reed
William Tyndale
“Evangelion (that we call the gospel) is a Greek word and signifieth good, merry,
glad and joyful
tidings, that maketh a man’s heart glad and maketh him sing, dance, and leap for
joy… [This
gospel is] all of Christ the right David, how that he hath fought with sin, with
death, and the
devil, and overcome them: whereby all men that were in bondage to sin, wounded
with death,
overcome of the devil are without their own merits or deservings loosed, justified,
restored to
life and saved, brought to liberty and reconciled unto the favor of God and set at
one with him
again: which tidings as many as believe laud, praise and thank God, are glad, sing
and dance for
joy.”
‐ William Tyndale, A Pathway into the Holy Scripture, 1531
Zacharias Ursinus
The gospel is… the doctrine which the Son of God, our Mediator, revealed from
heaven in
Paradise, immediately after the fall, and which he brought from the bosom of the
Eternal
Father; which promises, and announces, in view of the free grace and mercy of
God, to all those
that repent and believe, deliverance from sin, death, condemnation, and the wrath
of God;
which is the same thing as to say that it promises and proclaims the remission of
sin, salvation,
and eternal life, by and for the sake of the Son of God, the Mediator; and is that
through which
the Holy Spirit works effectually in the hearts of the faithful, kindling and
exciting in them, faith,
repentance, and the beginning of eternal life.
Or, we may, in accordance with the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth
questions of the
Catechism, define the gospel to be the doctrine which God revealed first in

103. Paradise, and
afterwards published by the Patriarchs and Prophets, which he was pleased to
represent by the
shadows of sacrifices, and the other ceremonies of the law, and which he has
accomplished by
his only begotten Son; teaching that the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, is
made unto us
wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption; which is to say that he is a
perfect
Mediator, satisfying for the sins of the human race, restoring righteousness and
eternal life to
all those who by a true faith are ingrafted into him, and embrace his benefits.
‐ Zacharius Ursinus, Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism, 1534‐83
Definitions from Christians in the Present
Danny Akin
“I define the gospel in my Axioms message as being the good news that Jesus
Christ came from
heaven, died on the cross having lived a perfect sinless life, bore then in His body
the full
penalty of our sins, was raised from the dead. Those who repent of sin and place
their faith in
the perfect work of Christ can and will be saved. There’s the gospel.”
‐ Dr. Danny Akin, President of Southeastern Seminary, from 2009 interview at
Kingdom
People
Craig Bartholomew
“Gospel (from the Old English godspel, ‘good tale’) means ‘good news,’ and this
is the best news
there can be: in Jesus, the kingdom of God has come!”
‐ The Drama of Scripture: Finding Our Place in the Biblical Story
Alistair Begg
Here’s the gospel in a phrase. Because Christ died for us, those who trust in him
may know that
their guilt has been pardoned once and for all. What will we have to say before the
bar of God’s
judgment? Only one thing. Christ died in my place. That’s the gospel.
‐ from Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of
Easter

104. Jim Belcher
“The ‘gospel’ is the good news that through Jesus, the Messiah, the power of
God’s kingdom
has entered history to renew the whole world. Through the Savior God has
established his
reign. When we believe and rely on Jesus’ work and record (rather than ours) for
our
relationship to God, that kingdom power comes upon us and begins to work
through us. We
witness this radical new way of living by our renewed lives, beautiful community,
social justice,
and cultural transformation. The good news brings new life. The gospel
motivates, guides, and
empowers every aspect of our living and worship.”
‐ Jim Belcher, Deep Church: A Third Way Beyond Emerging and Traditional
Pope Benedict XVI
“The term has recently been translated as ‘good news.’ That sounds attractive, but it falls
far
short of the order of magnitude of what is actually meant by the word evangelion.
This term
figures in the vocabulary of the Roman emperors, who understood themselves as
lords, saviors,
and redeemers of the world…. The idea was that what comes from the emperor is
a saving
message, that it is not just a piece of news, but a changing of the world for the
better.
“When the Evangelists adopt this word, and it thereby becomes the generic name
for their
writings, what they mean to tell us is this: What the emperors, who pretend to be
gods,
illegitimately claim, really occurs here – a message endowed with plenary
authority, a message
that is not just talk but reality…. the Gospel is not just informative speech, but
performative
speech – not just the imparting of information, but action, efficacious power that
enters into
the world to save and transform. Mark speaks of the ‘Gospel of God,’ the point
being that it is
not the emperors who can save the world, but God. And it is here that God’s word,
which is at
once word and deed, appears; it is here that what the emperors merely assert, but
cannot
actually perform, truly takes place. For here it is the real Lord of the world – the

105. Living God –
who goes into action.
“The core of the Gospel is this: The Kingdom of God is at hand.”
‐ Pope Benedict XVI, from Jesus of Nazareth, pgs. 46‐47.
Michael Bird
“Taken together we can infer from I Corinthians 15:3 – 5, Romans 1:1‐4 and II
Timothy 2:8, that
the gospel is both about the person and work of Christ.
“God promised in the scriptures that He would renew creation and restore Israel.
The gospel is
the good news that God has made these promises good in Jesus, the Messiah and
Lord. Jesus
died and rose for the purpose of atoning for sins, and through faith in Him and His
work
believers are reconciled to God.
“The new age has been launched and God has revealed His saving righteousness
in the gospel
so that He justifies and delivers persons from the penalty and power of sin and
death.”
‐ Michael Bird, Introducing Paul: The Man, His Mission and His Message
John Blanchard
“The gospel is a glorious declaration of the mighty acts of God when he invaded
this earth in
the person of his eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Lorraine Boettner
The Gospel is the good news about the great salvation purchased by Jesus Christ,
by which He
reconciled sinful men to a holy God.
C.C. Broyles
Gospel, or “good news,” designates Jesus’ message of the appearance of God’s
kingdom, a
message entailing liberty for those held captive to any form of affliction and
demonstrated
most dramatically in acts of healing. In some instances the term encompasses the
whole story
of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus…

106. The reader of the Gospels must be wary of reading a post‐Easter definition into
the Evangelists’
use of the term gospel (such as is found in Pauline writings). In the Synoptics, it
is found in the
mouth of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry… They use the term to designate
Jesus’ message
without prior definition, implying that it was a term known to their audience.
‐ IVP Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, pg 282, 283
Robert F. Capon
“Christianity is NOT a religion; it is the proclamation of the end of religion.
Religion is a human
activity dedicated to the job of reconciling God to humanity and humanity to
itself. The Gospel,
however – the Good News of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is the astonishing
announcement that God has done the whole work of reconciliation without a scrap
of human
assistance. It is the bizarre proclamation that religion is over – period.”
D.A. Carson
The gospel is integrally tied to the Bible’s story‐line. Indeed, it is
incomprehensible without understanding that story‐line. God is the sovereign,
transcendent and personal God who has made the universe, including us, his
image‐bearers. Our misery lies in our rebellion, our alienation from God, which,
despite his forbearance, attracts his implacable wrath. But God, precisely because
love is of the very essence of his character, takes the initiative and prepared for
the coming of his own Son by raising up a people who, by covenantal stipulations,
temple worship, systems of sacrifice and of priesthood, by kings and by prophets,
are taught something of what God is planning and what he expects. In the fullness
of time his Son comes and takes on human nature. He comes not, in the first
instance, to judge but to save: he dies the death of his people, rises from the grave
and, in returning to his heavenly Father, bequeaths the Holy Spirit as the down
payment and guarantee of the ultimate gift he has secured for them—an eternity
of bliss in the presence of God himself, in a new heaven and a new earth, the
home of righteousness. The only alternative is to be shut out from the presence of
this God forever, in the torments of hell. What men and women must do, before it
is too late, is repent and trust Christ; the alternative is to disobey the gospel.
Summarizing 1 Corinthians 15
1. The gospel is Christological.
2. The gospel is theological.
3. The gospel is biblical.
4. The gospel is apostolic.
5. The gospel is historical.
6. The gospel is personal.

107. 7. The gospel is universal.
8. The gospel is eschatological.
D.A. Carson, from “What is the ‐ Gospel?” – Gospel Coalition Address
Knox Chamblin
“[Paul's] gospel is ‘the word of the cross’ (1 Cor. 1:17‐18); nowhere is there a
comparable
reference to ‘the word of the resurrection.’ In I Corinthians 1:23‐24 it is ‘Christ
crucified’ who is
identified as ‘the power of God and the wisdom of God,’ not as we might have
expected
(especially in the case of ‘power’), Christ resurrected…. Both the cross and the
resurrection are
‘of first importance’ in Paul’s gospel (I Cor. 15:3‐4). Unless Christ has risen from
the dead, the
preaching of the cross (and of the resurrection) is a waste of time (15:14); but
once the
resurrection has occurred, the cross remains central.”
Andy Crouch
“The gospel is the proclamation of Jesus, in [two] senses. It is the proclamation
announced by
Jesus – the arrival of God’s realm of possibility (his “kingdom”) in the midst of
human structures
of possibility. But it is also the proclamation about Jesus – the good news that in
dying and
rising, Jesus has made the kingdom he proclaimed available to us.”
‐ Andy Crouch, Culture Making, page 146
Mark Dever
“Here is what I understand the good news to be: the good news is that the one and
only God,
who is holy, made us in his image to know him. But we sinned and cut ourselves
off from him.
In his great love, God became a man in Jesus, lived a perfect life, and died on the
cross, thus
fulfilling the law himself and taking on himself the punishment for the sins of all
those who
would ever turn and trust in him. He rose again from the dead, showing that God
accepted
Christ’s sacrifice and that God’s wrath against us had been exhausted. He now
calls us to repent
of our sins and to trust in Christ alone for our forgiveness. If we repent of our sins
and trust in
Christ, we are born again into a new life, an eternal life with God. Now that is
good news.”

108. ‐ from The Gospel and Personal Evangelism
David Dockery
“The heart of genuine gospel proclamation must be a firm theological
understanding of what
God has done in the person and work of Jesus Christ… The basic themes that help
us
understand the biblical and theological aspects of the gospel message.
1. God as Creator and the place of men and women in God’s creation
2. The fall of humanity into sin
3. God’s provision in Jesus Christ
4. God’s salvation of men and women from their estranged, guilty, and dreadful
plight
5. God’s ultimate work of redemption
“In conclusion, we confess and affirm that Jesus Christ, as the God‐man, has fully
revealed God
to men and women. Having lived a sinless life, Christ, as our substitute, died a
death for the sins
of the world. Having been raised from the dead, he now sits exalted at God’s right
hand, a
position of honor and exaltation, exercising his rule and dominion. We gladly
acknowledge
Jesus Christ as Lord, our prophet, priest, and king who has fully revealed God,
who has
reconciled men and women to God, and who now sits enthroned as ruler of God’s
kingdom and
head of his Church. In him we place our trust and hope, offering our thanksgiving,
praise, and
worship for the gift of salvation he has provided for us by grace through faith.”
‐ David Dockery, Southern Baptist Consensus and Renewal, pg 70, 95.
Graeme Goldsworthy
“The gospel is the word about Jesus Christ and what he did for us in order to
restore us to a
right relationship with God.”
‐ Graeme Goldsworthy, According to Plan
“The gospel is the event (or the proclamation of that event) of Jesus Christ that
begins with his
incarnation and earthly life, and concludes with his death, resurrection and
ascension to the
right hand of the Father. This historical event is interpreted by God as his
preordained
programme for the salvation of the world…
“It cannot be stressed too much that to confuse the gospel with certain important
things that

109. go hand in hand with it is to invite theological, hermeneutical and spiritual
confusion. Such
ingredients of preaching and teaching that we might want to link with the gospel
would include
the need for the gospel (sin and judgment), the means of receiving the benefits of
the gospel
(faith and repentance), the results or fruit of the gospel (regeneration, conversion,
sanctification, glorification) and the results of rejecting it (wrath, judgment, hell).
These,
however we define and proclaim them, are not in themselves the gospel. If
something is not
what God did in and through the historical Jesus two thousand years ago, it is not
the gospel.
Thus Christians cannot ‘live the gospel,’ as they are often exhorted to do. They
can only believe
it, proclaim it and seek to live consistently with it. Only Jesus lived (and died) the
gospel. It is a
once for all finished a ‐ ‐ nd perfect event done for us by another.”
‐ Graeme Goldsworthy, Gospel‐Centered Hermeneutics: Foundations and
Principles of
Evangelical Biblical Interpretation (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press,
2006), 58‐59.
“First, in order to understand the place of the gospel in biblical theology, tentative
definitions of
both gospel and biblical theology are called for. One way to define the gospel is in the
terms
Paul uses in Romans 1:1‐4. Here he states four crucial things about the gospel.
“Verse 1. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of
God,
First point: it is God’s gospel, which is probably self‐evident. However, the epistle to the
Romans implies that this gospel is God’s solution to his own problem of how to justify
the
ungodly. Verse 2. [The gospel] which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the
holy
Scriptures, Second point: it is the gospel of the Old Testament prophets and cannot be
regarded
as replacing or discarding the Old Testament antecedents to the coming of Jesus. It means
that
Jesus is the fulfilment of prophecy. This fact alone makes biblical theology necessary.
Verse 3.
[The gospel] concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh
Third
point: it concerns the Son of God whose lineage goes back to the theologically significant

110. figure
of David. We may infer from this that, though there can be no gospel without the Father
or the
Holy Spirit, its focus is on the incarnate Son. This Davidic lineage also points to the
structure of
biblical theology in redemptive covenant and kingdom history. Verse 4. and [he is the Son
who]
was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his
resurrection from the dead.
“Fourth point: the defining moment is the resurrection which, of course, implies the death
of
Jesus which, in turn, implies the life of Jesus. The resurrection fulfils the promises
concerning
the rule of the son of David. The gospel, then, is God’s message of the person and work
of
Jesus, testified to by the Old Testament, and coming to its climax in the exaltation of
Jesus.”
‐ Graeme Goldsworthy, from his lecture at Southern Seminary titled “The Necessity and
Viability of Biblical Theology”
Tim Keller
The ‘gospel’ is the good news that through Christ the power of God’s kingdom
has entered
history to renew the whole world. When we believe and rely on Jesus’
work and record (rather
than ours) for our relationship to God, that kingdom power comes upon us and
begins to work
through us.”
“Through the person and work of Jesus Christ, God fully accomplishes salvation
for us, rescuing
us from judgment for sin into fellowship with him, and then restores the creation
in which we
can enjoy our new life together with him forever.”
‐ Tim Keller, from Christianity Today
A.B. Luter, Jr.
The Greek word euangelion, frequently translated “gospel,” means “glad
tidings,” or “good
news,” and in Pauline usage it refers to the message of God’s saving work in Jesus
Christ. Of the
seventy‐six instances of “gospel” in the NT, sixty are found in the Pauline
corpus… Euangelion is
for Paul the classic expression of the grace of God, responded to by faith.
‐ IVP Dictionary of Paul and His Letters

111. Rick McKinley
“Sometimes it seems as though we find two gospels in the New Testament–the
gospel of Jesus
and the gospel about Jesus. The gospel of Jesus is usually taken to mean His
announcement of
the kingdom and the life He embodied in His loving actions toward the world.
The gospel about
Jesus refers to his atoning work on the cross and His resurrection, through which
we can
receieve the forgiveness of sin through our faith and repentance.
“I believe, however, that the two are actually one gospel and that when we lose
the tension
that comes from holding both together, we experience an unhealthy and unbiblical
pendulum
swing in our faith.
“If all we value is the salvation gospel, we tend to miss the rest of Christ’s
message. Taken out
of context of the kingdom, the call to faith in Christ gets reduced to something
less than what
the New Testament teaches. The reverse is also true: if we value a kingdom gospel
at the
expense of the liberating message of the Cross and the empty tomb and a call to
repentance,
we miss a central tenet of kingdom life. Without faith in Jesus, there is no
transferring of our
lives into the new world of the kingdom.”
‐ Rick McKinley, This Beautiful Mess
Scot McKnight
“The gospel is the work of God to restore humans to union with God and
communion with
others, in the context of a community, for the good of others and the world.”
‐ Scot McKnight, Embracing Grace
“God loves you and everyone else and has a plan for us: the kingdom community.
But you and everyone else have a sin problem that separates you and everyone
else from God,
from yourselves, from one another, and from the good world God made for you.
The good news is that Jesus lived for you, died for you, was raised for you, and
sent the Spirit
for you – so you all can live as the beloved community.
If you enter into Jesus’ story, by repentance and faith, you can be reconnected to
God, to
yourself, to others, and to this world.
Those who are reconnected like this will live now as God’s community and will

112. find themselves
eternally in union with God and communion with others.
Those who preach this gospel will not deconstruct the church. Instead, they will
participate in
what God is doing: constructing the kingdom community even now.”
Josh Moody
The gospel – the central message of Christianity – is that Jesus was born, and he
died and rose
again, and that his death was for our sins that we might receive forgiveness and
new life in
relationship to God now and forever through faith alone.
Roger Nicole
Moved by His incomprehensible love for mankind, the Triune God was pleased
not to abandon
our rebellious and corrupt race to the misery and hell that it justly deserved, but to
undertake
to save a great multitude of human beings who had absolutely no claim on His
mercy.
In order to bring this plan into execution, the second Person of the Godhead, the
Son, took
unto himself a full human nature, becoming in all things like his brethren and
sisters, sin
excepted. Thus he became the Second Adam, the head of a new covenant, and he
lived a life of
perfect obedience to the Divine Law.
Identifying with his own, he bore the penalty of human sin on the cross of
Calvary, suffering in
the place of the sinner, the just for the unjust, the holy Son of God for the guilty
and corrupt
children of man.
By his death and resurrection he has provided the basis
· for the reconciliation of God to humans and of humans to God;
· for the propitiation of a righteous Trinity, justly angry at our sins;
· for the redemption of a multitude of captives of sin whose liberty was secured at
the
great price of His own blood.
He offered himself as an expiatory sacrifice sufficient to blot out the sins of the
whole world
and secured the utmost triumph over the enemies of our soul: sin, death, and
Satan.
Those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ are thus to be absolved
from the guilt
of all their sins and are adorned with the perfect righteousness of Christ himself.

113. In gratitude to
him they are to live lives of obedience and service to their Savior and are
increasingly renewed
into the image of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
This good news of salvation by grace through faith is to be proclaimed
indiscriminately to
mankind, that is to every man, woman, and child whom we can possibly reach.
J.I. Packer
“I formulate the Gospel this way: it is information issuing in invitation; it is
proclamation issuing
in persuasion. It is an admonitory message embracing five themes. First, God: the
God whom
Paul proclaimed to the Athenians in Acts 17, the God of Christian theism.
Second, humankind: made in God’s image but now totally unable to respond to
God or do
anything right by reason of sin in their moral and spiritual system. Third, the
person and work of
Christ: God incarnate, who by dying wrought atonement and who now lives to
impart the
blessing that flows form his work of atonement.
Fourth, repentance, that is, turning from sin to God, from self‐will to Jesus
Christ. And fifthly,
new community: a new family, a new pattern of human togetherness which results
from the
unity of the Lord’s people in the Lord, henceforth to function under the one Father
as a family
and a fellowship.” (44, emphasis added)
‐ Packer, J.I. Serving the People of God: Collected Shorter Writings of J.I.
Packer. Vol. 2.
Carlisle, UK: Paternoster, 1998.
Darrin Patrick
Fundamentally, the gospel is the good news that the eternal Son of God entered
our sinful
world and lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father, died as a sacrifice in the
place of
sinners, and rose triumphantly as a sign of sin’s defeat and the Father’s
acceptance. In all this,
the Son established a righteousness for those who had no righteousness of their
own.
Therefore, there is “now no condemnation” for those who trust in Christ alone.
Jesus’ death
and resurrection are the permanent placeholders for the sinner’s right standing
before the holy

114. God.
Michael Patton
The Gospel is “good news.” It is good news only to the degree that the bad news
can be
understood first. The world is a messed up place. It is ‐ not just our generation that
is notices this, but every generation has had to deal with their share of problems.
Today is not really any worse than it was 100 years ago or 1000 years ago. The
good news is that God is fixing what is broken in every generation. This is called
redemption. Redemption means to “buy back” or restore to a previous condition.
God is in the process of putting his messed up creation back in order. The Gospel
is the good
news that that which was broken is being fixed.
But the brokenness had its genesis in us, mankind. God is different. He is perfect
and demands
perfection because of his character. In other words, as the Bible puts it, God is
righteous. Our
brokenness is due to choices that we have made. All of us have messed things up.
This is called
“sin.”
We have sinned through our selfishness, pride, hatred, and perversion of his
creation. It is not
the way it was supposed to be.
God allows us to reject him and suffer the consequences, but he also offers us
hope. This hope
is the Good news. It is the hope that God has not abandoned us. It is the hope for
redemption.
God loves us in spite of our perversion of good. God loves us in spite of our
rejection of him. He
did not wait for us to live up to his standard, which can never happen, but he sent
his Son, Jesus
Christ, 2000 years ago to live a life that we could not.
God the Son became man and never failed, never perverted, and showed us who
God is.
Because Christ lived a sinless life, he could take the place of man, creating a new
race . . . a redeemed race.
Christ was rejected and killed on a cross by man. But God allowed this so that
Christ could take
the punishment that man—that you and I—deserved. In doing this, he died instead
of you. He
took your penalty of death and separation from God on a execution cross.
But since he was God the Son and since he never sinned, he did not stay dead.
After three days
he came back to life and proclaimed victory over all the death, perversion, sin,
and penalties
that man had afforded creation.

115. But this Good News does not apply to everyone. It is only for those who believe
and trust in
what Christ did for them. If you believe in him, you will have life. If you trust in
him, not in yourself or your works, but in him alone, you will live forever,
witnessing and being a part of a redeemed creation.
One day Christ will come back to call into account all people. You can either
stand on your own, giving account for your own sin or you can accept the free gift
of salvation and stand with
Christ. The bad news is that without Christ, you stand alone and hopeless. The
Good News—the
Gospel—is that you can stand with Christ full of hope.
‐ Michael Patton, director of Reclaiming the Mind Ministries
John Piper
“The heart of the gospel is the good news that Christ died for our sins and was
raised from the dead. What makes this good news is that Christ’s death
accomplished a perfect righteousness before God and suffered a perfect
condemnation from God, both of which are counted as ours through faith alone,
so that we have eternal life with God in the new heavens and the new earth.”
– Christianity Today, June 2009
“The gospel of Christ is the good news that at the cost of his Son’s life, God has
done everything
necessary to enthrall us with what will make us eternally and ever‐increasingly
happy, namely, himself.”
‐ John Piper, The Passion of Jesus Christ
“The Gospel is the news that Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins
and rose again,
eternally triumphant over all his enemies, so that there is now no condemnation
for those who
believe, but only everlasting joy.”
‐ John Piper, The Gospel in 6 Minutes
The Gospel is the good news of our final and full enjoyment of the glory of God
in the face of
Christ. That this enjoyment had to be purchased for sinners at the cost of Christ’s
life makes his
glory shine all the more brightly. And that this enjoyment is a free and unmerited
gift makes it
shine more brightly still. But the price Jesus paid for the gift and the unmerited
freedom of the
gift are not the gift. The gift is Christ himself as the glorious image of God – seen
and savored
with everlasting joy.
‐ John Piper, God is the Gospel
Jeff Purswell
“The gospel is the good news of God’s saving activity in the person and work of

116. Christ. This
includes his incarnation in which he took to himself full (yet sinless) human
nature; his sinless
life which fulfilled the perfect law of God; his substitutionary death which paid
the penalty for
man’s sin and satisfied the righteous wrath of God; his resurrection demonstrating
God’s
satisfaction with his sacrifice; and his glorification and ascension to the right hand
of the Father
where he now reigns and intercedes for the church.
“Such news is specific: there is a defined ‘thatness’ to the gospel which sets forth
the content of
both our saving faith and our proclamation. It is objective, and not to be confused
with our
response. It is sufficient: we can add nothing to what Christ has accomplished for
us–it falls to
us simply to believe this news, turning from our sins and receiving by faith all that
God has done
for us in Christ.”
Chris Seay
The gospel is the good news that God is calling out all people to be redeemed by
the power
residing in the life, death, and ultimate resurrection of Jesus the Liberating King.
These “calledout
ones” are rescued from a life of slavery, sin, and failure to become emissaries in a
new
kingdom set to join the redemption of the entire creation, groaning and longing to
be
redeemed.
R.C. Sproul
“There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the Gospel. But
as important
as that is, it is often given to massive distortions or over simplifications. People
think they’re
preaching the Gospel to you when they tell you, ‘you can have a purpose to your
life’, or that
‘you can have meaning to your life’, or that ‘you can have a personal relationship
with Jesus.’ All of those things are true, and they’re all important, but they don’t
get to the heart of the Gospel.
The Gospel is called the ‘good news’ because it addresses the most serious
problem that you
and I have as human beings, and that problem is simply this: God is holy and He
is just, and I’m

117. not. And at the end of my life, I’m going to stand before a just and holy God, and
I’ll be judged.
And I’ll be judged either on the basis of my own righteousness – or lack of it – or
the
righteousness of another.
The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness, of
perfect
obedience to God, not for His own well being but for His people. He has done for
me what I
couldn’t possibly do for myself. But not only has He lived that life of perfect
obedience, He
offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of
God.
The great misconception in our day is this: that God isn’t concerned to protect His
own
integrity. He’s a kind of wishy washy deity, who ‐ just waves a wand of
forgiveness over
everybody. No. For God to forgive you is a very costly matter. It cost the sacrifice
of His own
Son. So valuable was that sacrifice that God pronounced it valuable by raising
Him from the
dead – so that Christ died for us, He was raised for our justification. So the Gospel
is something
objective. It is the message of who Jesus is and what He did.
And it also has a subjective dimension. How are the benefits of Jesus subjectively
appropriated
to us? How do I get it? The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our
works, not by
our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith – and by faith alone. The only way you
can receive
the benefit of Christ’s life and death is by putting your trust in Him – and in Him
alone. You do
that, you’re declared just by God, you’re adopted into His family, you’re forgiven
of all of your
sins, and you have begun your pilgrimage for eternity.”
Ed Stetzer
The gospel is the good news that God, who is more holy than we can imagine,
looked upon with
compassion, people, who are more sinful than we would possibly admit, and sent
Jesus into
history to establish his Kingdom and reconcile people and the world to himself.
Jesus, whose
love is more extravagant than we can measure, came to sacrificially die for us so

118. that, by His
death and resurrection, we might gain through His grace what the Bible defines as
new and
eternal life.
Tullian Tchividjian
”The Gospel is the the good news that in and through Christ’s life, death, and
resurrection, God
makes all things new.”
‐ from Tullian’s Blog
“The good news of the gospel is simply this: in the midst of our hopeless and
helpless
circumstance, God sent his Son, Jesus Christ, to save sinners like you and me.”
‐ Tullian Tchividjian, Do I Know God?
Derek Thomas
“The gospel is not ‘God loves us,’ but ‘God loves us at the cost of his Son.’”
Steve Timmis
“Jesus Christ, God’s promised rescuer and ruler lived our life, died our death and
rose again in
triumphant vindication as the first‐fruits of the new creation to bring forgiven
sinners together
by the Holy Spirit to live under his gracious reign as His Kingdom people.”
Allen Wakabayashi
“So what is the gospel? According to the Synoptic Gospels, the good news of
Jesus Christ is
primarily that Jesus has come to inaugurate the kingdom of God, to establish
God’s good reign
over all of creation. In the same way that Aslan drew near and brought springtime
into the
bitter winter of Narnia, Jesus has drawn near to bring the springtime of his
redemption into the
bitter winter of our fallen world. He died to pay the price for our rebellion and to
free creation
from Satan’s dominion. He will return one day to bring it all to completion and
fully establish
the kingdom of God. This is good news. This is the gospel!” Allen Mitsuo
Wakabayashi, Kingdom Come
Derek Webb
“What a great question. I guess I’d probably…my instinct is to say that it’s Jesus
coming, living,
dying, and being resurrected and his inaugurating the already and the not yet of all
things being

119. restored to himself…and that happening by way of himself…the being made right
of all
things…that process both beginning and being a reality in the lives and hearts of
believers and
yet a day coming when it will be more fully realized. But the good news, the
gospel, the
speaking of the good news, I would say is the news of his kingdom coming the
inaugurating of
his kingdom coming…that’s my instinct.”
‐ from Said at Southern podcast #2
N.T. Wright
“The gospel is the royal announcement that the crucified and risen Jesus, who
died for our sins
and rose again according to the Scriptures, has been enthroned as the true Lord of
the world.
When this gospel is preached, God calls people to salvation, out of sheer grace,
leading them to
repentance and faith in Jesus Christ as the risen Lord.”
– Christianity Today, June 2009
“The whole Christian gospel could be summed up in this point: that when the
living God looks
at us, at every baptized and believing Christian, he says to us what he said to Jesus
on [the day
of his baptism]. He sees us, not as we are in ourselves, but as we are in Jesus
Christ.”
– Mark for Everyone, pg. 4.
“The gospel itself refers to the proclamation that Jesus, the crucified and risen
Messiah, is the
one, true and only Lord of the world.”
‐ from “Paul in Different Perspectives: Lecture 1″
“The idea of ‘good news,’ for which an older English word is ‘gospel,’ had two
principal
meanings for first‐century Jews. First, with roots in Isaiah, it mean the news of
YHWH’s long awaited
victory over evil and rescue of his people. Second, it was used in the Roman
world of
the accession, or birthday, of the emperor. Since for Jesus and Paul the
announcement of God’s
inbreaking kingdom was both the fulfillment of prophecy and a challenge to the
world’s present
rulers, ‘gospel’ became an important shorthand for both the message of Jesus
himself, and the
apostolic message about him. Paul saw this message as itself the vehicle of God’s
saving power
(Romans 1:16, 1 Thessalonians 2:13).

120. ‐ from the Glossary in Wright’s For Everyone series
Trevin Wax: Could you give us a brief definition of “the gospel”?
N.T. Wright:
I could try taking a Pauline angle. When Paul talks about “the gospel,” he
means
“the good news that the crucified and risen Jesus is the Messiah of Israel and
therefore the Lord
of the world.” Now, that’s about as brief as you can do it.The reason that’s good
news… In the Roman Empire, when a new emperor came to the throne,there’d
obviously been a time of uncertainty. Somebody’s just died. Is there going to be
chaos?
Is society going to collapse? Are we going to have pirates ruling the seas? Are we
going to have
no food to eat? And the good news is, we have an emperor and his name is such
and such. So,
we’re going to have justice and peace and prosperity, and isn’t that great?!
Now, of course, most people in the Roman Empire knew that was rubbish because
it was just
another old jumped‐up aristocrat who was going to do the same as the other ones
had done.
But that was the rhetoric.
Paul slices straight in with the Isaianic message: Good news! God is becoming
King and he is
doing it through Jesus! And therefore, phew! God’s justice, God’s peace, God’s
world is going to
be renewed.
And in the middle of that, of course, it’s good news for you and me. But that’s the
derivative
from, or the corollary of the good news which is a message about Jesus that has a
second‐order
effect on me and you and us. But the gospel is not itself about you are this sort of
a person and
this can happen to you . That’s the result of the gospel rather than the gospel
itself.
It’s very clear in Romans. Romans 1:3‐4: This is the gospel. It’s the message
about Jesus Christ
descended from David, designated Son of God in power, and then Romans 1:16‐
17 which says
very clearly: “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God
unto salvation.”
That is, salvation is the result of the gospel, not the center of the gospel itself.

121. from my interview ‐ with N.T. Wright, November 2007
Organizational and Corporate Definitions
Antioch Network
The gospel is the story about Christ, God’s and David’s Son, who died and was
raised and is
established as Lord. Churches forming the Antioch Network desire to join
together to proclaim
the good news that God’s Kingdom has come in the life, death, and resurrection of
Jesus of
Nazareth, the Lord and Messiah, in fulfillment of the Word of God.
The gospel we declare evokes faith, repentance and discipleship — its
accompanying effects
include the forgiveness of sins, justification, reconciliation, adoption, wisdom and
the gift of the
Holy Spirit. We accompany our proclamation of the gospel with cooperative
works of
compassion and mercy for those in need or distress.
‐ Antioch Network of Churches Doctrinal Confession
An Evangelical Celebration
This Gospel of Jesus Christ which God sets forth in the infallible Scriptures
combines Jesus’ own
declaration of the present reality of the kingdom of God with the apostles’ account
of the
person, place, and work of Christ, and how sinful humans benefit from it. The
Patristic Rule of
Faith, the historic creeds, the Reformation confessions, and the doctrinal bases of
later
evangelical bodies all witness to the substance of this biblical message.
The heart of the Gospel is that our holy, loving Creator, confronted with human
hostility and
rebellion, has chosen in his own freedom and faithfulness to become our holy,
loving Redeemer
and Restorer. The Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world(1 John
4:14): it is
through his one and only Son that God’s one and only plan of salvation is
implemented. So
Peter announced: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name
under heaven
given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). And Christ himself taught:
“I am the way,
the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”
(John 14:6).

122. Through the Gospel we learn that we human beings, who were made for
fellowship with God,
are by nature—that is, “in Adam” (1 Cor. 15:22)—dead in sin, unresponsive to
and separated
from our Maker. We are constantly twisting his truth, breaking his law, belittling
his goals and
standards, and offending his holiness by our unholiness, so that we truly are
“without hope and
without God in the world” (Rom. 1:18 32, 3:9 20; ‐ ‐ Eph. 2:1‐3, 12). Yet God in
grace took the
initiative to reconcile us to himself through the sinless life and vicarious death of
his beloved
Son (Eph. 2:4‐10; Rom. 3:21‐24).
The Father sent the Son to free us from the dominion of sin and Satan, and to
make us God’s
children and friends. Jesus paid our penalty in our place on his cross, satisfying
the retributive
demands of divine justice by shedding his blood in sacrifice and so making
possible justification
for all who trust in him (Rom. 3:25‐26). The Bible describes this mighty
substitutionary
transaction as the achieving of ransom, reconciliation, redemption, propitiation,
and conquest
of evil powers (Matt. 20:28; 2 Cor. 5:18‐21; Rom. 3:23‐25; John 12:31; Col.
2:15). It secures for
us a restored relationship with God that brings pardon and peace, acceptance and
access, and
adoption into God’s family (Col. 1:20, 2:13‐14; Rom. 5:1‐2; Gal. 4:4‐7; 1 Pet.
3:18). The faith in
God and in Christ to which the Gospel calls us is a trustful outgoing of our hearts
to lay hold of
these promised and proffered benefits.
This Gospel further proclaims the bodily resurrection, ascension, and
enthronement of Jesus as
evidence of the efficacy of his once‐for‐all sacrifice for us, of the reality of his
present personal
ministry to us, and of the certainty of his future return to glorify us (1 Cor. 15;
Heb. 1:1‐4, 2:1‐
18, 4:14‐16, 7:1‐10:25). In the life of faith as the Gospel presents it, believers are
united with
their risen Lord, communing with him, and looking to him in repentance and hope
for
empowering through the Holy Spirit, so that henceforth they may not sin but serve

123. him truly.
God’s justification of those who trust him, according to the Gospel, is a decisive
transition, here
and now, from a state of condemnation and wrath because of their sins to one of
acceptance
and favor by virtue of Jesus’ flawless obedience culminating in his voluntary sin‐bearing
death.
God “justifies the wicked” (ungodly: Rom. 4:5) by imputing (reckoning,
crediting, counting,
accounting) righteousness to them and ceasing to count their sins against them
(Rom. 4:1‐8).
Sinners receive through faith in Christ alone “the gift of righteousness” (Rom.
1:17, 5:17; Phil.
3:9) and thus be come “the righteousness of God” in him who was “made sin” for
them (2 Cor.
5:21).
As our sins were reckoned to Christ, so Christ’s righteousness is reckoned to us.
This is justification by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. All we bring to
the transaction is our need of it. Our faith in the God who bestows it, the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, is itself the fruit of God’s grace. Faith links us
savingly to Jesus, but inasmuch as it involves an acknowledgment that we have no
merit of our own, it is confessedly not a meritorious work.
The Gospel assures us that all who have en trusted their lives to Jesus Christ are
born‐again children of God (John 1:12), indwelt, empowered, and assured of their
status and hope by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 7:6, 8:9‐17). The moment we truly
believe in Christ, the Father declares us righteous in him and begins conforming
us to his likeness. Genuine faith acknowledges and depends upon Jesus as Lord
and shows itself in growing obedience to the divine commands, though this
contributes nothing to the ground of our justification (James 2:14‐26; Heb. 6:1‐
12). By his sanctifying grace, Christ works within us through faith, renewing our
fallen nature and leading us to real maturity, that measure of development which
is meant by “the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). The Gospel calls us to live as
obedient servants of Christ and as his emissaries in the world, doing justice,
loving mercy, and helping all in need, thus seeking to bear witness to the kingdom
of Christ. At death, Christ takes the believer to himself (Phil. 1:21) for
unimaginable joy in the ceaseless worship of God (Rev. 22:1‐5). Salvation in its
full sense is from the guilt of sin in the past, the power of sin in the present, and
the presence of sin in the future. Thus, while in foretaste believers enjoy salvation
now, they still await its fullness (Mark 14:61‐62; Heb. 9:28). Salvation is a
Trinitarian reality, initiated by the Father, implemented by the Son, and applied by
the Holy Spirit. It has a global dimension, for God’s plan is to save believers out
of every tribe and tongue (Rev. 5:9) to be his church, a new humanity, the people
of God, the body and bride of Christ, and the community of the Holy Spirit. All
the heirs of final salvation are called here and now to serve their Lord and each

124. other in love, to share in the fellowship of Jesus’ sufferings, and to work together
to make Christ known to the whole world.
We learn from the Gospel that, as all have sinned, so all who do not receive Christ
will be judged according to their just deserts as measured by God’s holy law, and
face eternal retributive punishment.
‐ The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration
Dictionary.Com
Noun
1. the teachings of Jesus and the apostles; the Christian revelation.
2. the story of Christ’s life and teachings, esp. as contained in the first four books
of the New
Testament, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
3. (usually initial capital letter) any of these four books.
4. something regarded as true and implicitly believed: to take his report for
gospel.
5. a doctrine regarded as of prime importance: political gospel.
6. glad tidings, esp. concerning salvation and the kingdom of God as announced
to the world by
Christ.
7. (often initial capital letter) Ecclesiastical. an extract from one of the four
Gospels, forming
part of the Eucharistic service in certain churches.
8. gospel music.
Adjective
9. of, pertaining to, or proclaiming the gospel or its teachings: a gospel preacher.
10. in accordance with the gospel; evangelical.
11. of or pertaining to gospel music: a gospel singer.
The Gospel Coalition
We believe that the gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ—God’s very wisdom.
Utter folly to the world, even though it is the power of God to those who are being
saved, this
good news is christological, centering on the cross and resurrection: the gospel is
not
proclaimed if Christ is not proclaimed, and the authentic Christ has not been
proclaimed if his
death and resurrection are not central (the message is “Christ died for our sins . . .
[and] was
raised”).

125. This good news is biblical (his death and resurrection are according to the
Scriptures),
theological and salvific (Christ died for our sins, to reconcile us to God),
historical (if the saving
events did not happen, our faith is worthless, we are still in our sins, and we are to
be pitied
more than all others), apostolic (the message was entrusted to and transmitted by
the apostles,
who were witnesses of these saving events), and intensely personal (where it is
received,
believed, and held firmly, individual persons are saved).
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
“The gospel is the joyous proclamation of God’s redemptive activity in Christ
Jesus on behalf of
man enslaved by sin.”
‐ R.H. Mounce. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology.
HeartCry Missionary Society
The Gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16) and the preaching of
the Gospel is
the great “means” and “methodology” of missions. The Gospel is, first and
foremost, God in
Christ reconciling the world to Himself (II Corinthians 5:19). It answers the
eternal question of
how a just God can rightly justify wicked men (Romans 3:26). It points to Christ
alone, who bore
the sins of His people upon the cross, was forsaken of God, and crushed under the
full force of
His just wrath against sin. The Good News of the Gospel is that through Christ’s
death, the
justice of God was satisfied, and salvation was won for a great multitude of
people. This is
evidenced by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead – “He who was
delivered over
because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification”
(Romans 4:25).
IVP Dictionary of the New Testament
GOSPEL (Good News) – See “Kingdom of God”
Daniel G. Reed, The IVP Dictionary of the New Testament, Dowers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity
Press, 2004. page 457

126. Sovereign Grace Ministries
“Jesus Christ is the gospel.
“The good news is revealed in his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
Christ’s
crucifixion is the heart of the gospel, his resurrection is the power of the gospel,
and his
ascension is the glory of the gospel. Christ’s death is a substitutionary and
propitiatory sacrifice
to God for our sins. It satisfies the demands of God’s holy justice and appeases his
holy wrath. It
also demonstrates his mysterious love and reveals his amazing grace.
“Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. There is no other name
by which men
must be saved. At the heart of all sound doctrine is the cross of Jesus Christ and
the infinite
privilege that redeemed sinners have of glorifying God because of what he has
accomplished.
Therefore, we want all that takes place in our hearts, churches, and ministries to
proceed from
and be related to the cross.”
‐ Sovereign Grace Ministries
Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia
“The central truth of the gospel is that God has provided a way of salvation for
men through the
gift of His son to the world. He suffered as a sacrifice for sin, overcame death, and
now offers a
share in His triumph to all who will accept it. The gospel is good news because it
is a gift of God,
not something that must be earned by penance or by self‐improvement.”
‐ Wycliffe Bible Encyclopedia
You are standing on stage before 100,000 people
from every nation on earth and asked to share the
gospel in 100 words or less. What would you say?
You are standing before a small crowd from your church's neighborhood and asked to
share the gospel in 100 words or less. What would you say? [Authors were asked to
include a couple of words describing their neighborhood. We have included these in
italics when provided.]
Answers from

127. · Peter Adams —Melbourne, Australia
· Greg Gilbert —Louisville, KY
· Liam Goligher —London, England
· Michael Horton —Escondido, CA
· Michael Nazir-Ali —Rochester, England
· Frank Retief —Cape Town, South Africa
· "Ed Roberts"—Central Asia
· Mack Stiles —Dubai, United Arab Emirates
· Adrian Warnock —London, England
Answers from
Peter Adams (1) God made everything and everyone. He rules the universe, and made
us in his image. He made us to know and serve him, and we will have to account for our
lives.
Because we do not know and serve God, God sent his Son the Lord Jesus Christ to show
us how to live, teach us about God, and die in our place, taking on himself the judgment
we deserved. He then rose from the dead, and rules with God. We should turn to trust in
God’s Son, join his people, receive his Spirit, and live for his glory.
(2) Same as above. Peter Adam is the Principal of Ridley College in Melbourne. His next
book is entitled, Written for Us: Receiving God's Words in the Bible, to be published by
IVP in
January 2008.
Greg Gilbert (1) There is only one God, who created the world and everything in it.
Though God intended humans to rule the world under him, each of us has sinned against
him, the penalty for which is death and hell. But because he loves us, God sent his Son
Jesus to live a perfect life and die on a cross as a substitute for his people. On the third
day, he rose bodily from the grave and now reigns in heaven, offering forgiveness,
righteousness, and eternal life to all those who repent of their sin and trust solely in him
for salvation. (2) To an audience of mixed races and socioeconomic classes, from college
students to professionals to retirees: Same as above Greg Gilbert serves as an elder at
Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. He is also the director of theological
research for the president at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a writer for
Kairos Journal, an online journal for pastors.
Liam Goligher (1) God can often seem absent, distant, or indifferent to us. But suppose
he were to visit us, become one of us? Would we welcome him, or ignore or even murder
him as people did Jesus Christ? God would then be justified in destroying us. The good
news is that God the creator loves us his creatures and has come in Jesus to take the place

128. of guilty people, died to bear their deserved punishment, and rose again; and that by
receiving Christ, people might have a living relationship with God now and enjoy him
and all he has made for eternity.
(2) Richmond is an upscale area of London with an upwardly mobile, young professional,
socially progressive demographic: Wehave been debating "God" recently, but what does
God think about us? A look at Jesus (his life, death, and resurrection) reveals what God
looks like with skin on. It immediately confirms that he is grieved by us. We’re prepared
to believe anything rather than the God who is there. We’re even prepared to murder our
Maker. We deserve hell! Yet instead of wiping us out he has taken our humanity, endured
our deserved punishment, and won our freedom. He calls us into a right relationship with
himself through trusting in Christ, so that we might enjoy him forever. Liam Goligher is
the senior pastor of Duke Street Church in Richmond, London, and is the author, most
recently, of The Jesus Gospel.
Michael Horton (1) What is your greatest fear? If I were asking that question in many
parts of the world, answers would probably cluster around basic needs such as running
water, food, vaccines, and shelter. For most of us in the United States, though, our
greatest fears are more likely to be things like the fear of loneliness, some cataclysmic
event that throws me off the ladder of upward mobility, divorce, or the inability to find
any ultimate meaning in life. None of these fears is illegitimate, yet none is ultimate.
These fears haunt us only because we have the luxury of having them haunt us. Until we
are confronted with the reality of God—in all of his blinding majesty, weightiness,
and frightful claim on our lives—we are overwhelmed by secondary troubles. But when
for some reason there is the slightest glimpse of God in his holiness, we either do our best
to domesticate him, turn him into a pet by suppressing the truth, or run for the hills to
escape the confrontation.
God should be your greatest fear. Yet there is no salvation from God's just judgment from
anywhere else than God himself. Only the same God who fills us with fear is able also to
give us peace. If we are to escape this judgment, it will only be the result of the greatness
in God's heart and not something in our own. That God has moved toward us—even
lunged toward us—not in judgment, as we should have expected, but in loving embrace
and reconciliation, clothing us in Christ's righteousness so that we can be acceptable in
his holy presence, is the good news that you are called here and now to embrace. Christ
lived a perfect life in the place of sinners, bore their sins on the cross, and was raised
again for our justification. This means that "there is therefore now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus." Not because of anything that you have done, experienced,
attempted, or decided, but because of what he has accomplished for you, can you be
assured of God's favor. It is good news, not good advice. It is not a call to self-improvement,
but to die to self altogether and be raised a new person, in Christ. It is the
free gift of forgiveness of sins, right standing with God, adoption as his heirs, and
liberation from the tyranny of sin. As his ambassador, I am calling you in his name to be
reconciled to God by turning away from all other saviors and lords and embracing Jesus
Christ as your righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Come to him now. His love is
greater than your enmity toward him; his grace is greater than your sin; his peace is

129. greater than your fears.
(2) The same thing.Michael Horton is the J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic
Theology and Apologetics at Westminster Seminary California in Escondido, CA, and is
the author of the upcoming, Covenant and Salvation: Union with Christ, to be published
in September 2007 by Westminster John Knox.
Michael Nazir-Ali (1) In the midst of our darkness and failure, Jesus Christ shines as a
bright light, showing us God’s truth and love. He stands in our place, does what we
cannot do together and are unwilling to do personally and so turns away God’s anger
from all our wrong doing and our abuse of others, ourselves, and God’s world. His
sacrifice on the cross is the climax of his mission which is to make us friends again with
God. Let us accept for ourselves what he has done. Let us be friends with God with him
and so share the new life which God has given him and which he shares with us.
(2) Angry and rebellious people killed Jesus but he could not be held by the bonds of
death. He came back to life and met with people personally. These people were changed
into a world-changing force. Today also, he wants to meet with you personally. Open
your hearts, minds and homes to him and know the power of the new life he brings. He
will not let you down. Put your trust in him and you will experience the strength and
comfort he brings. Being with him will show you which way to go, what sort of life to
lead and how to bring others to friendship with him.
The Rt. Revd. Dr Michael Nazir-Ali is the Bishop of Rochester, has acted as a consultant
to the British prime minister on Muslim affairs, and is the author of multiple books,
including Conviction and Conflict: Islam, Christianity, and World Order.
Frank Retief (1) the Creator of the Universe has sent his Son Jesus Christ into the world.
He died to make the impossible possible – a doorway back to God for lost people. All
people, whether aware of it or not, are alienated from God and under his judgment. But
he has sent a Saviour and King Jesus Christ to offer forgiveness and life to all who will
repent of their unbelief and turn to Jesus in repentance and faith. If you turn to Jesus
Christ you will receive a welcome from the Father himself and you will be made a
member of a new family who shares many blessings here and will participate in the world
to come.
(2) Drawing from 31 years experience at St James Church Kenilworth Cape Town, South
Africa, which experienced a massacre by terrorists in 1993: is a God who rules from a
place greater than Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Durban; who has more knowledge in
his tiny finger than all the college-educated in Africa: who is totally unimpressed with our
ideologies, obsessions with racism, group hatreds and constant fighting. He sweeps up
into his love every ethnic and national group, for he created them all, and his plan for the
future is more socially progressive than you could ever imagine. Where is this God,
especially in our disease-ridden and war-plagued continent? He is to be found in Jesus
Christ his Son whose great and grand promise is to accept all who come to him in faith,

130. leaving behind all their sins, failures, and successes. He is the One Saviour who is above
all our beliefs and superstitions and introduces you to none less than the Creator of the
Whole Creation, including Africa with all her troubles. What privilege. What love. And
all this through a Cross.
Frank Retief is the presiding bishop of the Church of England in South Africa. He is the
author of several books.
"Ed Roberts" (real name hidden for security purposes)1) In the name of Jesus Christ,
the only living Savior of all peoples, be reconciled to your Creator! Live under the kind,
gracious rule of Jesus Christ. He is the only way to have a right relationship with God,
with his world and with other people. There is only one God. Turning away from him, we
deserve his wrath. Humble yourself, agreeing with God that you have rebelled against
him, choosing your own way, believing your own ideas, rejecting God’s demands. In
Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, rebels find forgiveness. So, stop rebelling.
Believe with your heart; confess with your mouth: Jesus Christ is Lord!
2.) For an urban, middle class Asian context, that is "progressively" Islamic, mildly
superstitious/animistic, mostly weekly mosque-attending (males that is, women would not
attend), not terribly familiar with Koranic teaching, contemptuous of America, largely
ignorant of but scorning Christianity, and suspicious of outsiders, especially Christian
outsiders: of Jesus believe that: the Lord our God is the one and only Lord God, that we
should love him with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our
strength. Also, we should love our neighbor as ourselves. And this is love, not that we
loved God, but that he loved us and sent Jesus Christ as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.
So, this is eternal life, that we might know the One True God and Jesus Christ whom he
has sent. Jesus claims to be the Way, the Truth, the Life. Do you know this Jesus?
Mr. Roberts has planted a church in the U.S. and has been planting churches and doing
leadership development in Central Asia for awhile.
Mack Stiles (1) Maybe you don’t know, but there is a heavenly dilemma over you. You
are loved as God’s special creation. But because God is also holy you are cut off from
him by your wickedness and under his judgment. The Bible tells of God’s one solution:
Jesus, fully God and fully sinless man, ransomed us to God through his death on the
cross. He paid our sin-debt and rose from the dead as proof that he is the way and the
truth. Eliminate the dilemma! Turn from sin; follow Jesus by putting your complete faith
and trust in him.
(2) Allah commands you to read the Injil. But what does it say? It says salvation comes
from Allah’s love, not Allah’s rules! It says the straight path to Allah is faith in the Jesus
of the Injil. The Injil gives only one path: Jesus, fully God – fully man and perfect,
ransomed us to God through his death on the cross. He paid our sin-debt. He rose from
the dead as proof that he is the path to heaven. Does Allah’s strength not protect his
word? The Injil says repent; follow Jesus; put your complete faith and trust in him.

131. [Editor's note: in further conversation with Mr. Stiles, he said he often will use this story
with unbelievers (which he says is not original to him): men went to the mosque to pray.
One was a rich man, the other a poor man. The rich man went through his libations and
prayers as he did five times a day. As he was praying, he began to have a sexual fantasy
about the young wife who lived next door to his home. But he finished his prayers and
went home. The poor man stood off at a distance. He came so infrequently to the mosque,
that he couldn't remember the positions for prayer or his libations. But he looked up to
heaven, beat his breast, and said, "Forgive me, O Lord, for I'm a sinner." Who went home
justified? Mr Stiles says that every Muslim he has asked this question has answered "The
rich man."]
Mack Stiles is a businessman in Dubai, UAE, and is the author of Speaking of Jesus,17
Things My Kids Taught Me About God, andMack & Leeanne's Guide to Short-Term
Missions. His son is a member of Capitol Hill Baptist Church.
Adrian Warnock (1) Despite our differences, we are similar in many ways — longing
for the elusive peace and happiness found only in the God who made everything. We are
both victims and perpetrators of evil that cannot be justly overlooked, rebels living as
enemies of God. Only one man lived a perfect life — Jesus, who died our death, suffered
our punishment, and was resurrected so that we could be reborn. Please read 2
Corinthians 5:17-21, especially verse 21: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew
no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
(2) For a multicultural British audience: In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul warns it is possible to
believe in vain. Today many believe in God but do not belong to him or his church. If it is
true that "Christ died for our sins . . . was buried . . . was raised," we need a radical
change of direction in our lives—our own resurrection (Eph. 2:1-9). Believing in God
isn’t enough — Satan does. How tragic if Jesus sent you away forever saying, "I never
knew you!" (Matthew 7:23) I urge you—have faith in Jesus, entrust yourself to him
completely and make him your Lord. (Romans 10:9)
For one passage, where would you turn?
If you had the opportunity to open up one simple Bible passage, and briefly explain
to someone what it meant to be a Christian, where would you turn?
Tony Payne asserts that he would turn to 1 Thess1:8-10:
For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and
Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say
anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had
among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true
God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus
who delivers us from the wrath to come.
And with all the boldness, fluency and clarity that I wish I had in real life but only

132. ever have in scenarios, I would read the passage with my new friend, and then say
something like this:
"This part of the Bible is a letter written by one of the early Christian teachers
(named Paul) to some people who had become Christians after he had shared the
Christian message with them. And as he writes to them, he reminds them exactly
what they did to become Christians. So it gives us a very neat summary of what
the Bible says it means to become a Christian.
"It basically meant doing three things.
"The first thing that these people did was to turn away from their religion and
culture. They used to worship idols — fake gods. But then they turned their backs
on all this. Becoming a Christian requires you to turn away from your old life,
from all the things that are not really god that you used to worship and live for.
"The second thing follows on from the first. They stopped serving and living for
false gods, and started serving the true and living God—the one, real and true
God, who made everything and who is in charge of everything. To become a
Christian is to put yourself at God’s service; to acknowledge that he is the one and
only God, and that you are one of his servants.
"But there’s a third aspect. Even if they turned back to God to serve him,
why would he accept them? After all, they’d been worshipping the
opposition, ignoring him, sinning against him. He would have every right
to be angry with them. So why should he accept them back? Because of
what it says there in verse 10: God’s Son Jesus died to deliver them from
the anger that was to come (that’s what ‘wrath’ means).
"That’s what it means when Christians talk about Jesus ‘dying for our sins’. It
means that when we stand before God at the end, and give account for our lives,
we don’t have to fear God’s anger or judgement, because Jesus died to deliver us
from that. So these guys were waiting confidently for the end, for when Jesus
would return, knowing that he would rescue them and save them when they stood
before God.
"So there you go—a quick summary of what the Bible says it means to be a
Christian: turn your back on the false gods you used to worship, start serving the
true and living God instead, and put your trust in Jesus who will rescue us from
God’s anger." "Now when you said to me before that you were a Christian, is that
what you meant
The Ultimate Aim of All Christian Preaching
John Piper offers ten theses to explain how all preaching should be gospel
preaching, proclaiming Christ crucified:
1. Whatever lasting good God ever does or ever did or ever will do for any

133. individual person, he does and did and will do because of his free, utterly
undeserved grace.
2. This free grace, that gives every lasting good to people, can benefit us justly
only because of Jesus’ wrath-absorbing, righteousness-providing, sin-atoning,
guilt-removing, substitutionary death for us.
3. Without this kind of atoning death of Christ, God’s grace would not save us, but
only increase our condemnation because of the hardness of our hearts.
4. But by the blood of Christ, God really purchased us for himself and secured not
only every lasting good that we receive, but also the gift of repentance and faith
through which we receive everything else.
5. Therefore every sermon that holds out any lasting good to any person (as every
Christian sermon must) should be based on, and interwoven with, the gospel of
the living Christ’s substitutionary death.
6. This gospel basis and gospel interweaving of our sermons should be clear
enough so that gospel-deniers (like Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, atheists,
legalists, libertines, etc) will not approve of our sermons. There should be
enough of Christ and of his cross that those who deny the gospel don’t approve
the sermon.
7. This gospel basis and gospel interweaving of our sermons should be clear
enough so that the living Jesus will be honored as the ground and goal of the
message because of his grace-securing sacrifice for us.
8. This gospel basis and gospel interweaving of our sermons should be clear
enough so that the imperative that flows from the message is, first and foremost,
faith in the blood-bought reality that God is 100% for us in Christ (that is, faith
in the justifying work of Christ), and then, secondly, the obedience that comes
from this faith (that is, the fruit of the sanctifying work of the Spirit).
9. In this sense then every sermon proclaims Christ. His atoning work is the
ground of all it offers. His glory is the ultimate goal of all it aims to achieve.
And the written revelation of Christ’s unfolding ways in history (that is,
Scripture) is the only authoritative source from which we bring this work and
ground and this glory to light (expository exultation).
10. Thus with Christ-crucified as the ground and goal and matter of every sermon
(and all of life) the ultimate aim of God in creation is advanced: the praise of the
glory of God’s grace, through the joy of his people in him.
My Biggest Regret
By Chuck Collins
I marvel when someone says, “I have no regrets.” That’s not me; I have plenty. Perhaps
my biggest regret, outside of not spending more time with my kids when they were
growing up and not discovering Irish whiskey sooner, is that for much of my 30 years of
ordained ministry I have not preached “the gospel.” By-and-large I have been a nice man
standing in front of nice people, telling them that God calls them to be nicer (S. Brown).
And just about none of it was life-changing.
I have come to see that there are really just two ways to preach: one is the gospel, the

134. other is get-better messages. The first is based on God’s goodness; the second on self-improvement.
Gospel preaching presupposes that, even though we deserve punishment
for our sins, Jesus Christ suffered the punishment in our place on the cross. Get-better
sermons, on the other hand, is moralistic advice in which a preacher mounts a pulpit to
scold the people for not doing more or getting better (F Allison).
For more years than I care to think I preached get-better messages. I cringe thinking
about my old sermons. I regret the lost opportunities of those messages that pounded
home the idea that we just need to be better, try harder, pray and give more, read the
Bible every day, attend church every week, and be nicer. It was plain ole Phariseeism,
works-righteousness under the guise of preaching – “an easy-listening version of
salvation by self-help” (M Horton). Those who came were vaguely entertained, I think,
because I am a fairly entertaining personality (so they tell me on their way out of church),
but they left mostly feeling beat up and like they don’t measure up. Instead of relieving
guilt, get-better sermons reinforced guilt and our inadequacies. They didn’t touch people
where they need most. “Whenever you feel comforted or elated or absolved as ‘fresh as a
foal in new mowed hay,’ then you know you are hearing the gospel” (P Zahl).
My conversion to gospel preaching was gradual. I don’t remember what the initial
catalyst was, except that people weren’t getting better with sermons on discipline and
how to improve your marriage. Those moralistic sermons doled out plenty of advice
about what to do, but it totally missed what God has done for us in his Son. Christ came,
not to help religious people get better, but to help sinners realize that forgiveness and
salvation is outside themselves: in Jesus Christ.
St. Paul, in Romans, explains the gospel as God’s power and God’s righteousness (1:16,
17). This is exactly opposite of repairing your nature by a determined will. It is what
God has done for us when we couldn’t do it ourselves. He fulfilled the law. He took upon
himself our sins. He burst the bonds of death to give us new life. When this message of
one-way love – God’s love without strings attached – love when we are not lovely –
reaches our hearts, it causes our spirits to come alive to God and it fills us with meaning
and purpose. The gospel speaks to our heart’s deepest need.
When you get to church to find out that the preacher is in the third of a 10-sermon series
on “10 steps to cure depression” get up and run out of there as fast as your depressed legs
can take you. It’s self-help, not the gospel. Chalk it up to a well meaning preacher who
hasn’t yet realized that our real hope is in God, in the sufficiency of his work on the cross
and in the salvation that is not found in get-better sermons.
The Sufficiency of the Gospel
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Are you afraid that preaching the gospel will not win souls? Are you despondent
as to success in God’s way? Is this why you pine for clever oratory? Is this why
you must have music, and architecture, and flowers and millinery? After all, is it

135. by might and power, and not by the Spirit of God? It is even so in the opinion of
many.
Brethren beloved, there are many things which I might allow to other worshippers
which I have denied myself in conducting the worship of this congregation. I have
long worked out before your very eyes the experiment of the unaided
attractiveness of the gospel of Jesus. Our service is severely plain. No man ever
comes hither to gratify his eye with art, or his ear with music. I have set before
you, these many years, nothing but Christ crucified, and the simplicity of the
gospel; yet where will you find such a crowd as this gathered together this
morning? Where will you find such a multitude as this meeting Sabbath after
Sabbath, for five-and-thirty years? I have shown you nothing but the cross, the
cross without flowers of oratory, the cross without diamonds of ecclesiastical
rank, the cross without the buttress of boastful science. It is abundantly sufficient
to attract men first to itself, and afterwards to eternal life!
In this house we have proved successfully, these many years, this great truth, that
the gospel plainly preached will gain an audience, convert sinners, and build up
and sustain a church. We beseech the people of God to mark that there is no need
to try doubtful expedients and questionable methods. God will save by the gospel
still: only let it be the gospel in its purity. This grand old sword will cleave a
man’s chine [i.e., spine], and split a rock in halves.
How is it that it does so little of its old conquering work? I will tell you. Do you
see the scabbard of artistic work, so wonderfully elaborated? Full many keep the
sword in this scabbard, and therefore its edge never gets to its work. Pull off that
scabbard. Fling that fine sheath to Hades, and then see how, in the Lord’s hands,
that glorious two-handed sword will mow down fields of men as mowers level the
grass with their scythes.
There is no need to go down to Egypt for help. To invite the devil to help Christ is
shameful. Please God, we shall see prosperity yet, when the church of God is
resolved never to seek it except in God’s own way.
Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 1888, vol. 34, p. 563
Jesus Christ, the Conquering King
by Sinclair B. Ferguson & Alistair Begg
This is chapter 4 of the book Name Above All Names by Alistair Begg and
Sinclair Ferguson
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of
God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent
and believe in the gospel’” (Mark 1:14–15). The ministry of Jesus began with this
announcement.

136. Jesus often spoke about the kingdom of God—it is a central theme in his message.
He both preached and demonstrated that the kingdom of God had broken into the
world in his coming. In his preaching he taught his disciples how to enter the
kingdom and the kind of lifestyle to which this would lead. Through his miracles
he gave visual, physical demonstration of the restoring and transforming power of
the kingdom.
A week or so prior to his crucifixion he did something that made it clear that he
himself was the king in the kingdom of God. Here is John’s description of
the event:
The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was
coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet
him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,
even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, just as it
is written,
“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on a donkey’s colt!”
His disciples did not understand these things at first, but when Jesus was glorified,
then they remembered that these things had been written about him and had been
done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the
tomb and raised him from the dead continued to bear witness. The reason why the
crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. So the
Pharisees said to one another, “You see that you are gaining nothing. Look, the
world has gone after him.”1
These melodic lines in the Bible’s portrayal of Jesus—the seed of the woman, the
prophet, and the priest—not only run all the way from Genesis through
Revelation, but they also, in a sense, intersect with one another.
You might think of these various themes in terms of a Venn diagram, those
interlocking circles we learned about in math in high school. The point at which
they all meet with one another centers on the person of the Lord Jesus Christ and
on his work of salvation and restoration.
As boys in Sunday school, our teachers constantly reminded us that the Bible is a
book all about Jesus:
In the Old Testament Jesus is predicted.
In the Gospels Jesus is revealed.
In the Acts of the Apostles Jesus is preached.
In the Letters Jesus is explained.
In the book of Revelation Jesus is expected.
Actually that’s quite a useful little summary for grown-ups as well as youngsters!
It may not be exhaustive or sophisticated, but it certainly helps us as we move

137. around the Bible. For the truth is that the Bible will be an impenetrable mystery at
every point where we take our eyes away from Christ. We will lose our way
around the Bible when we fail to look to Jesus.
The story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem on the first Palm Sunday is a case in
point. What is happening in this familiar passage?
Sometimes the most familiar verses can be the occasion for our most superficial
reading. This particular passage is routinely read on Palm Sunday. But despite our
familiarity with the Triumphal Entry scene, we may not have grasped its
significance.
So—what is the message? What does it mean? Why does it matter?
I. Slow Learners
If we are honest about our uncertainty, we should not be unduly disheartened. We
are in good company—with Jesus’ own disciples. John says: “His disciples did
not understand these things at first.”2 Hardly complimentary to them, is it?
Incidentally, one of the marks of the authenticity of the Gospels is, surely, the
number of times the authors tell us what the disciples didn’t know! They were not
written to commend to the church the natural gifts of the apostles!
It is helpful—and can be wonderfully encouraging—to notice these little details.
They remind us that we are on a pilgrimage, and we have not yet arrived at our
destination. Jesus is transforming us, but our lives are still under construction. We
too have much to learn. That simply underscores what a privilege it is to be able
to possess Scripture and to live under its tutelage.
The disciples just weren’t getting it, were they? Nor was this the only time John
recorded their lack of spiritual intelligence.
Later, in the upper room, Jesus told them, “I am going to prepare a place for you, I
will come back and I will take you to be where I am,” and he added: “and you
know the way to where I am going.” Then Thomas said, “But we don’t! We don’t
understand you, Jesus. We don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know
the way?” Jesus replies, “Well, you know, I am the way, and if you really knew
me you’d know the Father.” And then dear Philip says, “Well, Jesus, why don’t
you just show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” He still did not
understand that the Father was revealing himself in Jesus! “Have I been with you
so long,” replied the Lord, “and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has
seen me has seen the Father.”3
Jesus tells them that they should be encouraged by the fact that when the Spirit of
truth comes, he will guide them into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he
will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. In “a little
while . . . you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see

138. me.”4 That’s not particularly difficult, is it? “I’m going to be going away, and you
won’t see me. And then I’ll be coming back, and you will see me.” But some of
his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while,
and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me?’ ”5
Of course it seems perfectly plain to us, because we have been able to read the
end of the story. We have the New Testament Letters to explain it all to us. But as
you listen to the disciples, it isn’t a surprise to discover that later Jesus is calling
out, in prayer, “Father! Father!”—as if he is saying: “Look at these characters you
have given me. I’ve had them in Sunday school for three years, and they’re still
absolutely hopeless! One after another they keep asking me these simple and
basic questions. O, Father, I have kept them. Will you please keep them?”6
All of this underlines for us that when we read the Scriptures we need to guard
ourselves from thinking, “Oh, I know a lot about this; I know all about the
meaning of this passage. It’s the Palm Sunday passage. I know that one. Yes,
we’ve done that one already. I’ve been at any number of Palm Sunday services.
There can’t be anything for me to learn now. Now, Jesus, he’s a king, isn’t he?”
No! Our starting place should be, “Lord, you know, I really don’t know much
about this.” Then we’re more likely to think: “I wonder, what is exciting and
dramatic and interesting here, and what I can discover that’s fresh this morning
out of this passage?”
II. Use Your Imagination
If it were possible for us to go back in time and observe a family preparing for the
Passover, we might overhear a conversation between a boy and his father:“Dad, I
can’t wait for tomorrow. I’ve already got my palm branches, Dad. I’m all ready. I
don’t know if I’m going to be able to sleep tonight, Dad. Because tomorrow . . .
it’s that wonderful time, isn’t it?”
“Oh, yes, son. It is,” the father replies.“Father, sing me a song before I go to sleep.
Can we sing together that one I like?”“Which one do you mean?”“Well, isn’t it
one of those Psalms of Ascent? 7 The one that begins, ‘I rejoiced with those who
said to me . . . ’ That one about how our feet are standing inside Jerusalem! Can
we sing that one?”
You may know this psalm in Isaac Watts’s version:
How pleased and blest was I To hear the people cry, “Come, let us seek our God
today!” Yes, with a cheerful zeal We haste to Zion’s hill, And there our vows and
honors pay.8
It is important for us to keep in mind that the material in the Gospels is set within
the warp and woof of ordinary life. Granted, we see this little boy only in our
imaginations; but many excited little boys just like him were there with their

139. families on Palm Sunday—like children lining the streets for a presidential
inauguration or a British coronation. The Jerusalem crowds, however, gathered to
celebrate God’s saving interventions in their nation’s past. They had also learned
from the Old Testament of a new age, a new day that would dawn, when all that
had been lost and forfeited would be restored and when all that they longed to see
would be revealed. In the crowd of bystanders and palm branch wavers, there
would be multiple layers of anticipation built into the expectation and enjoyment
of that day.
III. Behind the Scenes
In John’s record of the Triumphal Entry, however, the immediate context
for what happens on Palm Sunday is the raising of Lazarus from the dead.
Jesus had come to the village of Bethany a few days after Lazarus had
died. He had gone to his tomb—probably a cave—and had told some men
to roll the stone away, and had called, “Lazarus, come forth!” His dead
friend had come walking out of the grave. More likely he “tottered out”—
he was still bound in his grave clothes.
When Lazarus came out of the tomb, Jesus gave a command that his grave clothes
should be removed. Then we are told that many of the Jews who were there to
visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in him. That is followed by
the frustration of the religious leaders, which leads to the hatching of a plot to kill
Jesus.9 Can you imagine the “buzz” there was in this community?
They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple area they asked one
another, What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?10 But a few
verses later on, when Jesus had returned to Bethany, we are told that by the time
the large crowd of Jews found out that he was there,they came, not only on
account of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.11 But
this was not all that was happening. Because of this the chief priests made plans to
put Lazarus to death as well, because on account of him many of the Jews were
going away and believing in Jesus.12What a remarkable statement! Small wonder
that Jesus had looked over Jerusalem and said:
Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace!
But now they are hidden from your eyes.13
Think of it. All of these people, with their deeply religious background, with their
amazing heritage, with their knowledge of the Scriptures—but as they tried to
weave together the strands of their messianic expectation, they got it all
dreadfully wrong. Here, in the most unexpected way, is the answer to all their
expectations; but they could not recognize him. Truly “he came to his own, and
his own people did not receive him.”14
It would take us on too long a journey to show how they misread hint after hint,
prophecy after prophecy, as the Old Testament pointed to Jesus. But it is worth
pausing to set out some pointers.

140. IV. The Big Picture
One of the disadvantages about digital—in distinction from Polaroid—cameras is
that we do not get any pictures in our hands. Not actual pictures. But one of
the advantages is in being able to immediately create a collage and to see how the
individual moments are all part of an extended narrative leading up to the final
frame. We can look back on a complete vacation or the growth of a child from
kindergarten to high school. The same is true of video. We can zip through all
kinds of scenes that help to explain how we reached the final scene.
In the same way, as we scroll through the Scriptures we discover the layers that
precede the moment in time when Jesus arrives in Jerusalem as king.
For example, we could scroll back to Luke 1:26–38 and the appearance of the
angel Gabriel to Mary. Remember how she was troubled at the greeting, and the
angel said, “You shouldn’t really be troubled”:
You have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb
and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be
called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God [notice that!] will give to him
the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever,
and of his kingdom there will be no end.”15
This is one of those little snapshots. Here we have the announcement of a future
birth. But there is so much more—including the nature and identity of the child
who is going to be born. He will be given the throne of his father David. He is a
king, and he will have a kingdom!
Mary was an ordinary young woman, probably a teenager. Small wonder that she
pondered these things!16 She must have mulled them over many a day. Think of
Mary watching her Jesus grow, seeing him coming back into the house after being
outside, and asking him, “What have you been up to today, Jesus?” Think of her
watching him in his little triumphs when he had copied the work of Joseph and so
on. And always at the back of her mind the echo of the angelic announcement,
“And he will reign on the throne of his father David.”
Phillips Brooks captures something of that in his Christmas carol:
O little town of Bethlehem,How still we see thee lie,Above thy deep and
dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by.Yet in thy dark streets shinethThe everlasting Light;The
hopes and fears of all the yearsAre met in thee tonight.17
Here it is! All the hopes and fears, all the anticipations, all the dreams, all the Old
Testament promises of the one who would come and embody the great prophetic

141. announcements about the Messiah—they are now all somehow coming to
fulfillment there in Bethlehem.
And then—fast-forward thirty years—to find the same thing in this triumphant
scene on the road up to Jerusalem. The King is coming!
Here is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter
of Zion! . . . Your king is coming to you.”18 And of Isaiah 32: “Behold, a king
will reign in righteousness.”19 And of 2 Samuel 7 and the promise that God gave
to David that an eternal and universal king would come from his line.20
All of these we discover by scrolling through the biblical record. Further back to
Genesis 49 we read the prophetic words of Jacob as he blesses his sons:
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his
feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the
peoples.21
Now, imagine an Old Testament believer reading these—and many more—
passages. They would naturally ask, “How will this be? Who can this be?”22 As
we move forward through the Bible, we find the people longing for a king, hoping
that this will be the answer to all their dilemmas. But none of the kings fulfills
their expectations; none of them is able to bring real salvation. And so the Old
Testament people were left at the end of it all looking for the “Someone” who
would be the great king. The prophetic ministry of the entire Old Testament ends
with silence—several hundred years of silence—waiting for this unknown
Someone who would come to be the embodiment of the prophetic word.
All this and more is on the hard drive of God’s unfolding revelation, and then we
come to the picture to which all the others have been pointing.
V. What Kind of King?
Jesus mounts a donkey and rides into Jerusalem surrounded by this huge, noisy
crowd. We do not have any other record of Jesus riding anywhere, do we? This is
the only place it happens.
It isn’t because Jesus is tired that he is riding on the donkey. He had deliberately
sent his disciples into the city to get it on this particular day.23 He wanted to
make a point.
But what point?
Jesus is here confronting the community by his actions. He is deliberately
entering the jurisdictions of Annas and Caiphas the Jewish high priests, and of the
Jewish ruling council (the Sanhedrin), and of Pontius Pilate the governor who

142. represented all the might of the Roman Empire. Later, Pilate will ask him, “Who
in the world are you?” At one point he will ask directly, “Are you then the King of
the Jews? Let’s just get this sorted out, Jesus. Are you the King of the Jews?” And
Jesus replies, “You have said so.”24
But what kind of king is he? What kind of king rides on a donkey? What kind of
king wears a crown that is woven with thorns? What kind of king is dressed up in
someone else’s robe and made to look foolish and a figure of fun and is cruelly
mocked by his ill-disciplined military custodians?25 Here we see the great
paradox that confronts any intelligent reader of the Bible.
It is also the paradox that threw off many of the people who were looking for the
coming one. They cried, “Save us, we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us
success!”26 But then they witnessed a whole series of scenes in which Jesus was
“despised and rejected . . . a man of sorrows . . . acquainted with grief.”27 What
possibility was there that he could bring salvation, safety, and success when he
could not apparently secure his own safety? His ministry had led him to such an
ignominious end.
VI. How Does Jesus Reign?
The Shorter Catechism is famous because of its opening question: “What is the
chief end of man?” (Answer: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy him
forever.”)28 But later in its exposition of the gospel it asks another important
question, this time about Jesus: How doth Christ execute the office [ministry] of
a king? That is precisely the question these scenes force us to ask. Here is the
Catechism’s answer: In subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in
restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.29
We have considered how Christ came as a prophet to oust our ignorance and as a
priest to deal with our alienation and to lead us into God’s presence. Now we see
him as a king who subdues all the tyrannical forces that are arraigned against us,
and, yes, those that fight within us too.
But how does King Jesus do this? Here we must limit our discussion to three
dimensions and consider each of them in summary form. First, how he is king in
relation to our salvation, then in relation to the cosmos, and finally in relation to
the future.
VII. Salvation
How does Jesus exercise his reign for our salvation? We will need to consider this
further when we think about him as the Son of Man. But for the moment we need
to understand that the cross is the crisis point of his reign. There he accomplished
everything necessary to deal with our sin:
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh,

143. God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by
canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he
set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put
them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.30
Earlier in his ministry the apostle Paul explained to the Galatians that this—death
on a cross—meant that Jesus had borne the curse that we deserve for our sin.31
More than this, Jesus has done everything necessary to deliver us from the power
of death.
The tyranny of sin and guilt is made visible in our death. God had said to Adam
and Eve, “In the day that you eat of it [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil]
you shall surely die.”32 That is now our inherited condition. Our death is the
corrosive, degenerative impact of sin and judgment. The weakness, frailty,
disintegration, and loss involved in death are the final evidences in this world that
we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
But, in addition, listen to what the author of Hebrews has to say: Since therefore
the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same
things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death,
that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to
lifelong slavery.33
So Jesus has done everything that we needed to be saved from sin. He has done
everything we needed in order for us to be saved from thejudgment of death. And
he has done everything necessary to set us free from the bondage of the Devil. In
a word, he has done everything we need done for us but could never do for
ourselves.
The evidence for his victory is, of course, the resurrection. It is like a loud “amen”
being pronounced on his work by his Father.
Jesus was raised physically from the dead as a sign that his sacrifice for sin had
been accepted. It was as if the Judge were saying, “You have paid the penalty the
law demanded; you are now free to go!” Clearly it was also the sign that he had
broken the power of death, because it was not possible for him to be held in its
grip.34
Having crushed the power of Satan, Jesus then spent a period of forty days
meeting with his disciples. What a seminar on biblical teaching and resurrection
life that must have been! Imagine being taught about new life, resurrection life, by
the one who had said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me,
though he die, yet shall he live. Whoever, and everyone who lives and believes in
me shall never die.”35

144. But how is it that Jesus’ resurrection leads to the resurrection of those who believe
in him? How can it be—as Scripture makes clear—that because Jesus rose from
the grave, it is an ontological impossibility for believers not to be raised?
Here is the biblical logic:
· We are “in Christ.” · We are therefore united to him. ·
We can never be separated from Christ. · Christ has
been raised from the dead.
· Therefore, because we are in him we have been raised and we will be
raised!36
This is why his resurrection is described as the “firstfruits”—it is the pledge and
assurance of a final harvest.37
So, Jesus reigns as king in our salvation.
VIII. The Cosmos
Scripture teaches us to think of the kingly reign of Christ in cosmic terms. Here a
key text is Colossians 1:15–17: “He is the image of the invisible God, the
firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on
earth.”
Just think about this in relation to the average class in anthropology at almost any
secular university. Or think about our young students who are reading history, or
those who are studying medicine and will become physicians. Does it make any
difference there to be a Christian? Does it affect their view of things?
Does it? If Paul’s words mean anything, it certainly does:
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created
through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold
together.38
There is, then, this great cosmic dimension to the kingship of Jesus. He is the
source, the sustainer, and the goal of all created reality. “The universe was made
by Him, is providentially sustained by Him and is utterly dependent on Him.”39
As Christians we must learn to think properly, biblically. Then we may watch
CNN or BBC News, or read the New York Times, or make our way through
the Wall Street Journal without joining the ranks of the gloomy or singing in the
choir of the fearful. To be in Christ is mind stretching and life transforming. It is a
mind-altering experience to bow before the authority of what is said concerning

145. this cosmic Christ, who reigns over all. It changes our perspective on everything.
We were not stellar students in the physics class in high school. Our report cards
at the end of the year contained such statements as: “He has decided that physics
is not for him—and he is very firm in this decision.” But although we are in
dangerous territory when it comes to science, we are able to look up at the night
sky, and see the stars and planets, and stare in wonder at the Milky Way.
If the Milky Way contains, as astronomers now tell us, three hundred to four
hundred billion stars, and if it is only one galaxy among possibly hundreds of
billions of galaxies—then we little people are in need of Colossians 1:16–17 just
to be able to get to bed at night and to wake up in the morning and feel we have
any security at all in the universe.
We are helped by reading the prophet Isaiah’s great words:Lift up your eyes on
high and see:who created these?He who brings out their host by number,calling
them all by name.40
And by this reminder from the prologue to the Gospel of John:All things were
made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.41
In a cosmos of otherwise impenetrable mystery, we are greatly helped by knowing
that Jesus is king in the cosmos.
IX. The Future
In addition to seeing Christ’s kingship salvifically and cosmically, we also need to
think of it in futuristic terms.
Go back to the earlier illustration of the Venn diagram with its circles. We now
begin to see how the various biblical descriptions of the Lord Jesus intersect with
each another. The same Bible themes and passages keep recurring.
So in 1 Corinthians 15, we discover that there is an order to resurrection. First,
Christ the first fruits, then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after
destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he
has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.42
See then this magnificent tapestry into which images of Christ as the ascended king are
woven. Truly, “the head that once was crowned with thorns is crowned with glory
now.”43
The “spillage” from his ascension is seen in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit so
that he indwells the people of God. Jesus ascended in order to ask his Father to
keep his promise to send the Spirit to his people so that they might experience
every spiritual blessing.44 When he, the Holy Spirit, comes, he makes much of
the Word of God in our lives and points us constantly to the Son of God.45 All

146. this comprises the glorious benefits of Christ’s triumph and kingship.
This—with all of these elements included—ought to be central in our thinking as
Christians. Indeed this future dimension should control our perspective on
everything, and certainly the way in which we view the world.
But how should the Christian view the world?
X. Worldview
The Christian views the world in terms of “the good, the
bad, and the new, and the perfect.” Yes—the new and the perfect!
When God created the cosmos he made everything in it. And he made everything
good. Then came the fall of man, and everything went bad. But in the Lord Jesus
Christ it is made new. Indeed, says Paul, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new
creation.”46 More literally what he says is, “If any in Christ—new creation.” In
Christ’s resurrection there took place a renewal process that will eventually
involve the whole cosmos. “The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to
corruption.”47
We live in anticipation of the day the new creation will be realized in all its
perfection. Then those who are underneath Christ’s footstool will at last fall down,
along with many more, and acknowledge that he is king.48
So we may learn to begin the day affirming that “Christ is King. Jesus is Lord!” It
is important to develop the practice of affirming central gospel truths as we waken
to the new day, saying to ourselves, “The Lord God omnipotent reigns. This is the
twenty-fifth of January (or whatever); today the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Yes,
I saw the New York Times before I went to sleep last night. I have it on my
iTouch. I did look at the BBC report before I went to bed last night. I saw all
about Gaza. I saw all about Zimbabwe. I saw so much to disturb and distress. But
Christ reigns from the beginning of the day to its end—every single day of
my life.”
This is why we love to sing at the end of the day: The day Thou gavest, Lord, is
ended,
The darkness falls at Thy behest;
To Thee our morning hymns ascended,
Thy praise shall sanctify our rest.
We thank Thee that Thy church, unsleeping,
While earth rolls onward into light,
Through all the world her watch is keeping,
And rests not now by day or night.
As o’er each continent and island

147. The dawn leads on another day,
The voice of prayer is never silent,
Nor dies the strain of praise away.
The sun that bids us rest is waking
Our brethren ’neath the western sky,
And hour by hour fresh lips are making
Thy wondrous doings heard on high.49
What an amazing picture that is! Here are God’s people throughout the world.
And as those in one time zone are going to sleep, those in another time zone are
waking. And as they do, they are saying, “The Lord God omnipotent reigns. Here
I am in North Korea. I can hardly function in many areas of my life, but Jesus
Christ is King. Here I am in Kuala Lumpur. Here I am in the heartlands of India.
Here I am.” And so God’s people rise at every hour of the day to praise him in
every time zone in the world. Why? Because he reigns.
And then comes the final, triumphant stanza:
So be it, Lord; Thy throne shall never,
Like earth’s proud empires, pass away:
Thy kingdom stands, and grows forever,
Till all Thy creatures own Thy sway.
That’s it! Earth’s proud empires will all pass away. But the kingdom of Jesus
Christ will continue, grow, triumph—and last forever.
XI. Implications
Now, as we begin to grasp all this, we see that the kingship of Jesus changes the
way in which we view the world. And the kingship of Jesus will then control how
we live in that world.
We must not affirm that “Jesus Christ is King” or trot out phrases like “Jesus
Christ is Lord” as if these are merely expressions of personal devotion. That
would show that we had failed to understand their real meaning. When Paul wrote
of the day when, “at the name of Jesus every knee should bow . . . and every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,”50 he was not describing the devotion of
the worshiper but the identity of the one who is worshiped. He is proclaiming the
divine identity of Jesus. Jesus is Lord. This isn’t a statement about my attitude to
Jesus; it is a statement about who Jesus is. He is Lord. Kurios is the Greek word
he uses. In the Greek version of the Old Testament current in Paul’s world, that
was the standard way of translating the great covenant name for God, “Yahweh.”
And since Jesus is Lord and God, King and Savior, this impacts all of life.
For example, I have no right to develop convictions or practice a lifestyle contrary

148. to my King’s word. That is why I cannot, for example, invent new views of
marriage, or reengineer human sexuality, because I bow beneath the rule of
the King.
I cannot rewrite the New Testament documents. I dare not play fast and loose with
the historical narrative in Genesis 1–11. Why? Because Jesus is King, and this is
the King’s Word. Nor do I have the right to behave in any way I please. My
behavior must be marked by obedience to my King.
The reign of Jesus will also influence my business practices. It will affect the way
in which I go to work tomorrow morning. It affects my relationship as a child
with my parents, or as a parent with my children, or as a husband with my wife,
and so on.
In addition, I have no right to think that I can be disenfranchised or disengaged
from the people of God, because my Lord and King is also the head of the body,
the church. It is in company with others who have been brought under his lordship
that I both benefit and make a contribution.
Not only do we obey his commands, but we also enjoy his company. He is a King
who has made himself accessible and who is wonderfully approachable.
We have no right of immediate access to the British monarch in Buckingham
Palace in London. But we do have immediate access to the King of kings and
Lord of lords. Moreover, he is not only our King—he is our Savior. And he is not
only our Savior; he is our friend! It’s true: “There’s not a friend like the lowly
Jesus. No, not one!”51 So we can come to him with all our fears, with all our
failures, with all our stresses, with all our disappointments, with all our losses,
and with all the needs of our loved ones and say, “Jesus, you’re the King over all
of this. There’s so much that we can’t handle. There are so many aspects of this
that are overwhelming us. But we come before you now.” And then we can rise to
our feet and go out into the day—and into all of our days—to declare these great
and amazing truths.
Back again to Sunday school in Scotland! Our teachers used to teach us some of
the most amazing songs. They are etched into our memories—and some of them
really were marvelous. Here is one that drives home the nitty-gritty, day-to-day,
practical difference it makes to know that Jesus is King. In its child-friendly,
child-attractive fun way (and surely children had fun with Jesus?), it underscores
the power of the gospel. It says: “Come on now, you don’t have to be bedeviled
and overwhelmed by all of these things that are coming at you.” Here are
the words:
Come leave your house on Grumble Street
And move to Sunshine Square.
For that’s the place where Jesus lives,
And you’ll be happy there!
Well, you say, “That isn’t exactly a brilliant lyric. What were they doing teaching
mischievous little boys that kind of poetry?”

149. Yes, but we got the message of these choruses. It wasn’t necessary to master a
systematic theology textbook to see the point: “Come on now; we say that Jesus
Christ is King. Why then are our faces sad? Jesus Christ is King. Where then is
our hope? Jesus Christ is King and Lord; where is our enthusiasm for the Lord
Jesus? We do need to leave our house in Grumble Street and move to Sunshine
Square. That’s the place where Jesus is. We’ll be happy there.”
And then as we grew up we learned the great “grown-up” words of Isaac Watts, in
his wonderful paraphrase of Psalm 72: “Jesus shall reign where’er the sun.” It has
a special association for us because of the story of Eric Liddell.
In 1925 Eric Liddell was leaving Scotland to go to China as a missionary teacher.
He was both a Scottish Rugby internationalist and an Olympic gold medalist in
the 1924 Olympics in Paris (memorialized in the movie Chariots of Fire).
When Eric Liddell boarded his train in Waverley Station, Edinburgh, on the first
leg of his journey to China, a vast crowd had gathered to bid him farewell. He was
the great sports superstar of his day. Family and friends intermingled with folks
just off the street. Liddell lowered the window of his compartment, put his head
out of the window, and shouted, “Christ for the world, for the world needs
Christ!” And then he led this massive throng in singing the hymn “Jesus Shall
Reign Where’er the Sun.”
Here is the vision of Christ’s reign that the people of God have shared since time
immemorial:
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
To Him shall endless prayer be made,
And praises throng to crown His head;
His Name like sweet perfume shall rise
With every morning sacrifice.
People and realms of every tongue
Dwell on His love with sweetest song;
And infant voices shall proclaim
Their early blessings on His Name.
Blessings abound where’er He reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blessed.
Where He displays His healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more:
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,

150. And earth repeat the loud amen!
That was the 1920s in Edinburgh.52
It is now a century later.
Jesus Christ was King then.
Jesus Christ is still King now.
Cheer up, you saints of God.
This is chapter 4 of the book Name Above All Names by Alistair Begg and
Sinclair Ferguson
1 John 12:12–19 .
2 John 12:16.
3 See John 14:1–11 .
4 John 16:16 .
5 John 16:17 .
6 See John 17:11–15 .
7 Psalms 120–134 seem to belong together as a kind of songbook for pilgrims at
the Jerusalem festivals.
8 Isaac Watts’s “How Pleased and Blest Was I” is a paraphrase of Psalm 122.
9 See John 11:44–45, 48, 53.
10 John 11:56 .
11 John 12:9.
12 John 12:10–11 .
13 Luke 19:42 .
14 John 1:11 .
15 Luke 1:30–33 .
16 Luke 2:19 .
17 The opening verse of Phillips Brooks’s hymn “O Little Town of Bethlehem,”
1867.
18 Zech. 9:9 .
19 Isa. 32:1 .
20 2 Sam. 7:12–16; cf. Ps. 72:1–19.
21 Gen. 49:10 .
22 See 1 Pet. 1:10–12 .
23 Matt. 21:1–11 .
24 Matt. 27:11 .
25 John 19:1–3 .
26 Ps. 118:25 .
27 Isa. 53:3 .
28 Published in 1648 by the Westminster Assembl y