Michael Horton, in God of Promise, provides what is surely the most recent and complete defense of a covenantal theology reading of the Bible. And chp 5 sketches the fullness of this approach to the Bible. He calls it “From Scripture to System: The Heart of Covenant Theology.” I have major doubts that this chp sketches a move from Scripture to system, thinking as I do that there’s not enough Scripture to the System, but it is not my place... Read more
“But the gift is not like the trespass.” So Paul says in Romans 5:15. Paul can’t find enough things to compare between Adam and Christ, and the ideas are just tumbling from his tongue. Here’s a brief list: |inline Read more
As I said yesterday, Luke was home some this weekend while he was scouting a minor league team. He was with us during the day and at the games in the evening. At home he visited his favorite places. Here’s a pic from our screened porch. |inline Read more
Michael Horton’s God of Promise, chps. 3-4, puts the big blocks of his thesis in place, and the big blocks are not hard to understand, and they go a long way to explain how his understanding of covenant theology works. |inline Read more
It is sometimes that the simple-minded reduce the world to two groups — those who care and those who are apathetic, those who love and those who are selfish, etc. The rabbis often reduced the world to three elements: Torah, Temple, deeds of kindness (Simeon the Righteous) or justice, truth, peace (Simeon, son of Rabban Gamaliel). Paul is in this school of thought, and he reduces the world rather pointedly to two sorts: those “in Adam” and those “in Christ.”... Read more
Our son, Lukas, is a scout for the Chicago Cubs, and he was here this weekend to watch the Beloit Snappers. He went to games Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. His task is to watch baseball games: it’s hard for me to call what he does a “job.” He files a report on each player on the roster, so he has to watch each game so he can see each pitcher and get a fulsome report on each position... Read more
How do we read the Bible? In Michael Horton’s eyes, we read it “covenantally” for it alone ties us to the God who is covenanted within three persons and whose hyper-relationality extends to creation. This is one big idea in the first chapter of his book God of Promise. In chp 1 he gives an apology for reading the Bible covenantally and in chp 2 he surveys how “covenant” was formed by the “suzerainty treaty” of ancient Israel. |inline Read more
The title of my post could get some of you riled up, and maybe you need to be. For Paul teaches both at Romans 4:25 and here in Romans 5:9-11 that justification — that act whereby God makes us right with God (the Trinity) and with ourselves and with others and with the world (that’s how big I see “justification”) — isn’t the end of God’s grace. There’s lots more beyond justification. |inline Read more
In a recent Books & Culture, Thomas Albert Howard weighs in on how evangelical colleges might prepare themselves for the likelihood that one or more of their (somtimes quite treasured) professors might convert to another of the Great Traditions of the Church. His proposal is suggestive. |inline Read more
At some point in many of our conversations someone steps up to the plate and says “that’s not, or that is, how to read the Bible.” For years I have thought one of the most important sorts of books to write for Christians is a book on how to read the Bible, but there are very few professors who teach the whole Bible. Most are specialists — Old Testament or New Testament. Sure, lots of people teach us how to... Read more
Jesus Creed
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In