Seminarian Tricks

I finished Hebrew I this week. I fully acknowledge my citizenship in Nerd-dom by proclaiming that Hebrew I was really fun (and not very difficult). I got an A (a 99.6% to be exact, but who's counting?).
The Spring Term starts next week, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm taking 13 hours and sitting in on an additional class.
My class load includes:

• Educational Ministry of the Church - philosophy of church programs and teaching
• Gospels - intro to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
• Genesis to Joshua - Intro to the first six books of the Bible. From what I hear, we'll spent 80% of our time in the first half of Genesis and then try to cram the rest into the last two weeks of class. Who really needs to know what Leviticus means anyway?
  
• Hebrew II - Continuation of Hebrew I
• and Greek Exegesis - Translation theory and practice by translating Paul's letter to the Galatians.

I'm also sitting on a Hermeneutics class. Hermeneutics is one of those words pastors and seminarians use when they don't really know what they're talking about but can't let you know that they don't know (Exegesis is another one of those great words). So, they'll say something like, "Well, Barth is brilliant but I just don't agree with his hermeneutic." Which means, "I have no idea, but you'll think I'm smarter than you."
Basically, it is a class on how you interpret the Bible. You don't read Robert Frost the same way you read Dostoevsky and you don't read Stephen Ambrose like you'd read an IRS tax form. Why? Hermeneutics. You take into account the genre, purpose, authorial intent, etc when you read something and it affects your understanding. We have to do the same thing with the Bible. Genesis is written differently that Psalms, which is different from Ezekiel which is different from the Gospels, which is different from Romans.
I'm only sitting in on the class because of the Campus Crusade/RTS agreement. My classes with CCC count for my Hermeneutics requirement...but since this is such a foundational class, I figured I ought to do the reading and go to the lectures. Lord willing, some church that hires me down the road will be thankful for this minor sacrifice.
Kim is also taking a class. Systematic Theology II. She'll be spending some time reading Bavinck. That's another seminary trick; say things like. "Well, Bavinck would say..." or "I was reading Ridderbos and..." It makes you sound really smart. But, non-seminarians can play too. Just say, "I was reading (insert Dutch sounding name here) and was really challenged by his view of infralapsarianism." Most seminarians will nod approvingly, so as not to appear that they aren't aware of this profound theologian. It makes you look smart.
So, that's my semester. One thing I've noticed about this term's reading list...thicker books. It will be more work...but just think how smart people will think I am when they see these books on my shelves!

Jack Bauer and Abraham Lincoln

I was watching 24 the other night and during Jack's questioning before a Senate panel he commented that he adapted his mode and methods to best attack the terrorists. He knew that he was breaking laws and subverting rights, but it was necessary for the good of the country. My thoughts were drawn to an Abraham Lincoln quote, " Are all the laws but one to go unexecuted and the government itself go to pieces lest that one be violated." This was Lincoln's response to Chief Justice Taney's issue of a Writ of Habeas Corpus for John Merryman during the Civil War. Lincoln essentially told the Supreme Court, "Mind your own business, I'm working here." Arguably our greatest president ever completely ignored the ruling of the Supreme Court. How'd that go over today?
It seems that this season of 24 will be testing this quote. Can a group of citizens (Bill, Chloe, Tony, and Jack) operate outside of any authority to bring down terrorists? Where is that line drawn when you are no longer protecting the country but withholding others' rights? I'm really curious to see where this heads.

What I've Been Reading

I was asked the other day what books I'd read in seminary this term. I thought it would be a good idea to post the books I read and brief blurb about each of them. I'll post my Winter Term books in a few days and then the Spring Term books.

Salvation Belongs to the Lord
John Frame
This is an intro to Reformed doctrines of Scripture. It is written in a simple, straight-forward manner.

Socrates to Sartre and Beyond: A History of Philosophy
Samuel Enoch Stumpf
This is a standard textbook on Philosophy. If you really like reading philosophy you probably wouldn't read a textbook. If you don't like reading philosophy you probably don't want to read a textbook about philosophy. Overall, it was one of my least favorite reads of the semester.

A Method for Prayer
Matthew Henry
This is a fascinating prayer book from everyone's favorite free Bible commentator. Henry outlines how to pray by praying Scripture. Each chapter has various types of prayer (Adoration, Confession, Petition, Thanksgiving, and Supplication) and each prayer is nearly all Scripture. Ligon Duncan has added an appendix that outlines Henry's prayers to make an easy prayer reference. I will continue to use this book for many years.

With One Voice
Reggie Kidd
Reggie was one of my professors. His book is kinda about worship, kinda about music, kinda about the heart, and kinda about Jesus. Reggie writes about three common styles of worship; Bach, Bubba, and the Blues Brothers. I found this to be an edifying read. I often found myself thinking about parts of the book long into the week.

Lectures on Calvinism
Abraham Kuyper
This book is a series of lectures that Kuyper delivered at Princeton in 1898. In the lectures he outlines how Calvinism interacts with various spheres of life. Kuyper makes a great argument for why Calvinism is the only worldview that adequately addresses religion, art, science, politics or the future. There are awkward moments where Kuyper writes less as theologian more like a white European colonialist...but overall it is a phenomenal book. My pastor in Lexington told me that if evangelicals had read his book we would have had a far better impact on society over the last 100 years. I agree.

The Gospel Myster of Sanctification
Walter Marshall
Walter Marshall (1628-80) was an English Puritan pastor. His book on sanctification is a liberating read. Marshall finds a sweet spot between the twin dangers of legalism and licentiousness. He outlines a biblical model to help the Christian pursue holiness. It was an encouraging book. It has 14 chapters and my only criticism is that there is little progression from one chapter to the next. If you want to read it, make sure to get the modernized translation...the original language is a little taxing.

Creation Regained
Albert Wolters
If I recommended only one book from my Fall semester, it would be this one. This is a biblical basis for a reformational worldview. The book centers around Creation, Fall, and Redemption. God created all things perfect. Sin marred and affected all things. Christ will come back and redeem all things. The heart of this is seen in Wolter's explanation of God's Structure (Creation as it was meant to be) and Direction (Creation as it was affected by sin). The fall affects all aspects of God's creation but God has called all Christians to participate in Christ's redemption of the world.

Tell the Truth
Will Metzger
This is an evangelism standard. Metzger helps Christians to share the whole Gospel to the whole person by the whole people. If you have questions about how to share your faith, this is a great manual to reference.

A Faith Worth Sharing
Jack Miller
This is a memoir of Jack Miller's experiences sharing his faith. He shares his successes and colossal failures in trying to share his faith. When you finish you realize that he has shown you how to share Christ with all the different types of people in your life. I often found myself reading his stories but thinking of similar people or situations in my life. You will be encouraged about sharing your faith by the book.

Evangelism and Sovereignty of God
J.I. Packer
Dr. Packer is a living legend of evangelicalism. In this book Dr. Packer clears us the confusion about the antinomy of Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility. Do you pray for your friends who do not know Christ? If you do then you believe in the sovereignty of God. If you believe in the sovereignty of God, then you should pray for the lost.

Christ-Centered Preaching
Bryan Chapell
Chapell serves as the president and professor of preaching at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, MO. He outlines the reason and methods of redemptive expository preaching. His method helps the preacher to find the redemptive focus of the text and then preach the Gospel answer to the problem. His process gives the preacher a structure to make sure that his sermon is clear, coherent and unified in presenting Christ.

The Supremacy of God in Preaching
John Piper
Piper's book addresses the heart of the preacher. Why should the preacher preach? He must explain and proclaim the supremacy of Christ to the world. In Part I Piper explains the Goal, Ground, and Gift of preaching in a Trinitarian formula. In Part II Piper showcases Jonathan Edwards as an example of preaching the supremacy of Christ.

We also read an unpublished book by Edmund Clowney and Tim Keller titled Preaching the Gospel in a Post-Modern World. It is a written form of lectures that they presented to students at RTS. It, like Chapell, helps the preacher to address the root sin issue in the listener's life and apply the salve of the Gospel to that wound.

If you have questions about any of the books, feel free to drop me and email. I'd love to share my thoughts on them. Enjoy!

Faith & Repentance

God is a loving God. Sin is deadly. Jesus saves. These statements are all true. But the question is, “How do these become true in my life?” Jesus taught that they come by repentance and faith.

What is repentance? Repentance is a 180 degree turn. It means to renounce any belief that you are able to make yourself right before God. It means to confess to God your sin, wrong attitude, evil desire, and guilt. It is turning from yourself and turning to Jesus Christ in faith.

The other side of the coin of repentance is faith. What is faith? Faith is the knowledge of God’s promise, the belief that God’s promise is true and the trust that God’s promise will work. If I am rappelling down a cliff, I can know that the rope will hold my weight and still not rappel. I can believe in the knowledge that the rope will hold my weight and still not rappel. I will only rappel if I trust the rope to hold my weight. Trust is putting the belief in the knowledge into action. It is not enough to stop short of trust. Saving faith is trusting in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

Repentance and faith go hand in hand. Faith is turning to Christ and repentance is turning from sin. You cannot do one without the other. This also means that when you trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation, he becomes your Savior and your Lord.

So, where does this sit with you? Do you understand the Good News? Do you believe it is true? More importantly, do you trust your life to it? Would you like to receive Jesus Christ? It is a call to repent of your sin and self trust and believe in faith in the person of Jesus Christ. The reward is to know God as a father. John 1:12 says, “But to all who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”

If you truly want to repent and believe in Jesus Christ, you can do so right now. You can pray and ask for understanding of the Gospel. You can ask God for the ability to repent and turn from sin and self trust. You can ask God for the faith to trust in Christ. Here is a sample prayer:

Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I need your forgiveness. Thank you for living a sinless life and dying a sinner’s death on the cross for my sins. I now turn from my sinfulness and self-trust, and I place my trust in you alone for the forgiveness of my sins and the free gift of eternal life. I now receive you as my Risen Lord and Savior. Thank You for taking my sins upon yourself and giving me the gift of your righteousness through faith. Take control of my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be.