Sermon Outline, November 9

November 4, 2003 By Peter Leithart

Sermon outline for November 9: Where Your Treasure Is, Luke 12:1-53 INTRODUCTION Luke 11 ended with Jesus’ most clear and pointed condemnation of “this generation,” which would be charged with all the blood of prophets from Abel to Zechariah (11:51-52). Throughout the following two chapters, this threat is in the background. Jesus’ instructions about persecution, possessions, readiness, and family relations are all given against the backdrop of looming catastrophe for Israel. Fundamentally, Israel is threatened because she, and particularly her... Read more

Final Cause

November 4, 2003 By Peter Leithart

For Thomas, the “final cause” is the first cause. That is, the purpose for which a thing is done is what initiates doing the thing. I plan to retire to Tahiti; that is my final purpose. And that is the cause that initiates the various schemes of earning and saving that I embark on. The final end is the initiating cause. This sounds odd to modern ears. Causes are supposed to precede effects and not to follow them. So we... Read more

Mann on the Joseph Narrative

November 4, 2003 By Peter Leithart

Thomas W. Mann has some interesting comments on the Joseph narrative in his 1988 book The Book of Torah: The Narrative Integrity of the Pentateuch . First, he points out that Joseph’s “trial” of his brothers is equally a trial of his father; Jacob initially refuses to give up his youngest son, even though he knows that his family will die if he does not. He finally relents, and acts like a true son of Abraham by sending Benjamin to... Read more

Chiasms in Luke 12

November 3, 2003 By Peter Leithart

There are a couple of fairly clear chiasms in Luke 12: Verses 1-12 work out this way: A. Leaven of Pharisees, v 1 B. Hidden will be revealed, vv 2-3 C. Do not fear those who kill body, v 4 D. Fear the one who has authority to cast into hell, v 5 C’. Do not fear: hairs and sparrows, vv 6-7 B’. Confession and denial before men, vv 8-10 A’. Attack in synagogues, vv 11-12 There are a couple... Read more

Style

November 3, 2003 By Peter Leithart

I mentioned Virginia Postrel’s book “The Substance of Style” some time ago, having read a review in The Atlantic. I’ve now had a chance to look at the book, and it is a bracing, forcefully contrarian book in defense of the “aesthetic moment” that we are in in popular culture. But I was unhappy with one of the moves she makes, which seems to make things all too easy for her. She contests the notion that “surface is meaningless” brilliantly,... Read more

Exhortation, November 2

November 2, 2003 By Peter Leithart

Exhortation for November 2: On the eve of the Reformation, the church was more geographically limited than it had been for a millennium, and it was on the defensive. Long before, Christianity been forced underground in its birthplace in the Middle East, and had been routed by Islam throughout North Africa and Asia Minor. A half-century before the Reformation, Constantinople fell to the Muslims, and the Eastern Christian empire all but collapsed. Christendom was threatened from every side, and to... Read more

Paul’s Interlocutor in Romans 2

November 1, 2003 By Peter Leithart

I’ve been running a little experiment: Working on Romans 2, I’m trying to determine who Paul’s interlocutor is, whether that can even be determined at all. Is he addressing a Jew or a Gentile or a colorless hypothetical human-in-general? My suspicion is that it’s a Jew, and one hint of that is the “we” of verse 2: “We know that the judgment of God according to truth is on those who practice such things.” That led to the experiment: What... Read more

Paul’s Interlocutor in Romans 2

November 1, 2003 By Peter Leithart

“To the Jew first”

November 1, 2003 By Peter Leithart

“To the Jew first”: The first time this is used in Romans, it’s good news for Jews, because Paul says that the gospel is the power of God to salvation to the Jew first (1:18). The next time he uses the phrase, things are a bit different. He has been exploring and explaining the judgment of God against those who practice evil, and says there will be “tribulation and distress” for evil-doers, “to the Jew first.” With privilege comes heightened... Read more

“To the Jew first”

November 1, 2003 By Peter Leithart