Preach Christ
The cross looms large and men, women, boys, and girls see themselves as crucified with Christ. The gospel humbles us lower than the most scathing human criticism, but it simultaneously exalts us into God’s gracious favor so that the negative appraisal of our fellow man no longer devastates us.
A healthy church is one that is shaped by the gospel. Our people need to see the beauty of Christ. Nothing will enable them to lovingly and humbly give and receive constructive critique more than heart-searching, expository gospel preaching. This is our great task and privilege as ministers—to proclaim Christ. And as we do, whether we recognize it or not, we will be promoting a healthy culture of criticism.
What is it that fuels both a hypercritical spirit and an aversion to criticism? It is a high view of self. Man criticizes incessantly in order to feel better about self. Man runs from or suppresses criticism directed his way for the same purpose, to protect and promote the self. There is a certain high-mindedness native to us all that is averse to both giving and receiving constructive critique.
At the cross, however, man’s high-mindedness is utterly decimated as he comes face-to-face with the savage heinousness of sin. Sin is insurrection of the highest sort, a rebellious uprising against the Creator and Ruler of all things. While the law certainly does much to show us our sin, it is actually the gospel that gives us the most alarming impression of the infinite affront that our sin is to God.
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What Is Biblical Theology?
In the Scriptures, through many human authors in many circumstances, the one God speaks (Heb 1:1), and the unity in this diversity leads us to God’s final Word: Jesus Christ. Biblical theology is the attempt to relate the diversity and the unity alongside the likewise important disciplines of exegesis and systematic theology, all with the ultimate goal of beholding God. Though the Bible has so many authors, it was written by God. God picked the authors of the Bible, so they were prepared to speak for Him. God’s Spirit inspired them to say exactly what He wanted to say to His people!
What is biblical theology? It’s not just theology that is ‘biblical.’ All good theology sits under the authority of Scripture and seeks God’s revelation of Himself in it, but there are several important types of theological study. Biblical theology seeks to understand the unity and diversity of Scripture’s expressions by comparing the Bible’s parts to its other parts in light of the whole canon. Those parts might include a phrase, metaphor, theme, pattern, book, author, genre, section, or even testament (Old or New). When one of these parts is compared to another of these parts or to the whole canon, biblical theology is happening.[1]
There is obvious diversity of expression and emphasis in Scripture, because God spoke through many human authors in many genres on many occasions (Heb 1:1). There is nevertheless unity in Scripture, because it is the one triune God who breathes out all Scripture (2 Tim 3:16), from whom and through whom and to whom are all things (Rom 11:36). Sound biblical theology is biblical not only because it takes God’s Word as its authority and source but because it is occupied with the literary particulars of Scripture, its diverse expressions, its canonical structure (for example, there is both an Old Testament and a New Testament), and the way later books refer to earlier books. It is also theological because it takes all these books as God’s one Book revealing God’s own essential nature through His economy, that is, His interactions with His creation, chiefly through the work of the incarnate Son. Indeed, “All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation”[2] (Luke 24:27).
Biblical theology benefits our exegesis and our systematic theology. It can help us to understand the richness of any given part or passage of Scripture as we study, teach, or preach it. It can also help us see how Scripture’s structure and story support or correct our systematic theology. Biblical theology also benefits from these sister disciplines. For example, the particular grammatical construction of an NT quote of the OT can help us discern whether the NT author is trying to draw out a particular implication of the OT text or perhaps re-apply it to a new context in a new way.
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I Am not Perfect, but I Will not Lie about God
I want to be honest about my sin and shortcomings, but I also want to be honest about my God. He has not left me or forsaken me. He is accomplishing all that He has promised. I say with Joshua, “Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass” (Josh 21:45). I will be humble, but I will not lie about God.
But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
1 Cor 15:10
Christians, rightly, strive to be humble. We know that “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). We follow our Lord, who was the mighty King of heaven, God the Son, who humbled Himself to the position of servant, and even humbled Himself to take on death for His enemies (Phil 2:5-8). We are the blessed meek (Matt 5:5). But in our attempt to be humble, it can be tempting to lie about God.
What do I mean? In an attempt to be humble, I can be guilty of only speaking of the ways in which I’m not perfect. I don’t want to exalt myself, so I end up downplaying my sanctification and highlighting my imperfections. I am acutely aware of how far short I fall from God’s glory….
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The Early Chapters of Genesis Are a Powerful Evangelistic Tool
There is no barrier to saving faith whether one is Jew or Gentile, slave or free—one need only repent and believe in Christ’s finished work. Opportunities to have such gospel-focused discussions abound today. The only question is whether Christians will seize these opportunities even when the societal cost comes with potentially harsh retribution.
How can you turn an everyday conversation with your unbelieving friends into a gospel-centered discussion? Christians know that evangelism is an important part of following Jesus, despite many not feeling like “called evangelists” (Eph. 4:11). Some have created lists of “bridge questions” to direct such conversations toward the gospel. Yet, I personally struggle to use such bridge questions without it appearing forced and unnatural. If a bridge question seems unnatural to me, it will probably seem unnatural to my unbelieving friend or acquaintance.
Enter the early chapters of Genesis.
Since Genesis 1–11 provides so much of the foundation for why everyday life is the way it is, this material is uniquely suited to reach the unbeliever. When truly presented as God’s revealed Word, the explanations contained in those chapters help unbelievers begin to understand why the Bible and its claims have any impact on their lives.
In that light, here are five simple examples that use material from the early chapters of Genesis to generate evangelistic opportunities in your everyday life. Not every one of these examples leads immediately to a full gospel presentation, but at the very least they expose people to humanity’s greatest problem. The hope is for these conversations to serve as starting points for future, fuller conversations.[1]
1. The Origin and Purpose of Work
Do you work with unbelievers? If so, you know that people routinely complain about their work. Work has become such a hated concept in western culture that we are bombarded by tantalizing prospects of “early retirement” and delusions of making a living by methods that require little to no work.
Here’s one highly practical conversation starter: the next time you hear a co-worker complain about his job, you can ask him: “Do you know why we have to work?” followed up with, “Can I share with you what the Bible says about work?” If he doesn’t shut you down right away, you can explain:
Work is something God gave the first human, Adam, to do. Adam worked even while the world was still in its perfect state, with no sin, no effects of sin, and with his daily needs provided for (Gen. 2:15–16). But after Adam and Eve sinned, one consequence was that God cursed the ground, after which work became painful toil necessary to have enough food to survive (Gen. 3:17–19).
Work is actually a gift from God, and because of the curse, which will not be lifted until Christ restores all things (Rev. 22:3), most people will have to work to obtain food by the sweat of their face for most of their lives.[2]
2. Clothing and Nudity
Clothing is another area where you can turn a normal conversation into an evangelistic one. Whenever the topic turns to clothing, you can ask your friend if he understands why we wear clothing. Now, if you live in North Dakota as I do, most of the year we wear clothing so we don’t freeze to death! But even in northern climates the weather can get hot during part of the year, and so from a purely evolutionary perspective, clothing should be seen as optional.
But Genesis 2:25 and all of chapter 3 explain why people went from originally walking around naked to eventually wearing clothing: to hide their shame before God and each other because of their sin (vv. 7–12). And their own contrived fig-leaf garments weren’t enough. God had to kill an animal and clothe them with its hide to demonstrate that their own efforts to deal with their shame were not good enough; God had to solve the problem himself (Gen. 3:21). This information can propel you directly into a discussion of the bad news: the requirement of shed blood for the forgiveness of sins (Heb. 9:22), and from there into a discussion of the good news that Jesus shed His own blood for the forgiveness of sins and the covering of shame for people like you and me (Heb. 9:14).
3. Holidays
One outstanding way to reach especially children in our still somewhat Christianized culture is to ask them if they’ve ever celebrated Christmas or Easter.
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