John Flavel on Decision-Making

/ davidsschrock
Decision-making is an incumbent challenge for all Christians.  And too many make too much of the process–putting out a fleece, praying for a sign, and asking God for a personal revelation.  Unbiblical superstition is the result of this (pagan) activity, and a result Christian’s depend less on God’s Word and take less responsibility for their own decisions.  Hyper-spirituality and experiential Christianity devoid of biblical moorings is rampant today.
Yet, the way God leads his people continues to be the same as it always has been.  He leads through instruction, teaching, and the testimonies of his law and covenant (Psa 25).  Thus, as we pray for God to “lead, guide, and direct us,” we should open our eyes and peruse the words of Scripture in their biblical context.  For God has given us his Scriptures to be our guide.
In this vein, John Flavel, a Puritan, supplies five considerations for seeking God’s guidance.  They are very simple and Scripture-based and worth your consideration.
  1. Get the true fear of God upon your hearts; be really afraid of offending Him.
  2. Study the Word more, and the concerns and interests of the world less.
  3. Reduce what you know into practice, and you shall know what is your duty to practice.
  4. Pray for illumination and direction in the way that you should go.
  5. And this being done, follow Providence as far as it agrees with the Word, and no farther.[1]
Two resources for biblical decision-making are the short and pithy Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung–a book that I am still waiting to get back from someone who cannot decide what to do with it :-)
The other book is Gary Friesen’s weightier tome, Decision-Making and the Will of God.
If fear, procrastination, or uncertainty commonly mark your decisions, you should just go get one of these books and read it.  It will free you from much unnecessary mental anguish.
Soli Deo Gloria, dss

[1]John Flavel quoted in I.D.E. Thomas, A Golden Puritan Treasury, 132.

Puritan Manliness

/ davidsschrock

A man who loves God’s Word is one of God’s choicest servants.  In fact, only those who regularly meditate on God’s word can be called manly men, as defined by the Bible.

On that subject, Baptist pastor I.D.E. Thomas writes of the Puritans as exemplars of this kind of word-centered manliness.

These men [the Puritans] brought to their work a manliness and a thoroughness that one meets all too rarely in current evangelical theology.  They were men of the stamp of Samuel Rutherford, who in order to spend his time in prayer and study, would commonly rise about three in the morning.  Or John Preston, who was so indulgent in study that he begrudged the very hours he had to sleep!  To counteract this, ‘he would let the bed clothes [read: blankets] hang down, that in the night they might fall off, and so the cold awaken him” (A Puritan Golden Treasury, p. 8).

May God grant the church and the world such men, who like David rose early and stayed up late pondering God (Ps 5:3; cf. Ps 1:2; 55:16-18), so that in the heat of the day they would have strength to stand.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Reflections on the SBC

/ davidsschrock

[This is the report that I shared with our church upon my return from the Southern Baptist Convention].

This year’s Southern Baptist Convention in Phoenix, Arizona was the smallest gathering of Southern Baptists since World War II (1944).  However, its diminutive size (approx. 4,800 messengers) should not discount the importance of the two-day convention (June 14-15).  As Bryant Wright, this year’s president, put it, “I do believe it could prove to be the most spiritually significant convention over the last 50 years.”

Why?  Why would an off-year convention invite such a statement?

In one sentence, it is because the spirit of the convention was filled with unity to complete the task of the Great Commission here and abroad.  Whereas the 2005 convention in Greensboro, NC began with a two-hour debate between on the merits and demerits of  Calvinism.  This year’s convention was marked by unity around the gospel and reaching the 3,800 unengaged, unreached people groups. Again Wright puts it succinctly, “This was the most unified convention around the Great Commission that I have experienced.  People came here with anticipation of that unity.”

Some of those people were three new presidents of Southern Baptist entities.  Each of these men are newly appointed presidents of the NAMB, IMB, and the Executive Committee, and each man energized discussion with striking calls for church planting, missions, and unity.

The Executive Committee

First, Frank Page addressed the convention with more than 20 entity leaders on the platform.  He introduced a resolution affirming unity and cooperation among Southern Baptists.  The last decade has seen a great deal of misunderstanding and name calling at the convention and on blogs, so Page and others have called Southern Baptists to greater unity.  In his address, he said,

“Our convention is fracturing into various groups, some theological, most methodological…Sometimes there is an honest difference of opinion, but often there is self-centeredness that frequently mirrors our own culture… Christ-like selflessness is our only hope.”

With those sentiments he introduced five pledges for Southern Baptists to embrace.

  1. We pledge to maintain a relationship of mutual trust …
  2. We pledge to attribute the highest motives to those engaged in local church ministries and those engaged in denominational service in any level of Convention life …
  3. We pledge to affirm the value of cooperative ministry as the most effective and efficient means of reaching a lost world …
  4. We pledge to embrace our brothers and sisters of every ethnicity, race, and language as equal partners in our collective ministries to engage all people groups with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
  5. We pledge to continue to honor and affirm proportional giving through the Cooperative Program as the most effective means of mobilizing our churches and extending our outreach as Southern Baptists ….”

I believe these pledges, if kept, will go along way to including all kinds of gospel-minded Southern Baptists, while challenging each Southern Baptist to love, learn, and listen to others who may approach ministry from a different point of view.  My prayer is that this commitment does not reduce biblical precision and doctrinal distinctives, but that maturing Southern Baptists will uphold a spirit of gospel peace even when they disagree on doctrines not spelled out in the Baptist Faith & Message 2000.

The North American Mission Board

Second, Kevin Ezell called Southern Baptists to be honest about numbers.  Boldly, he declared that Southern Baptists like numbers.  We like big numbers.  However, this has led to unqualified and inflated numbers for the convention. This has been a statistical concern for the millions of missing Southern Baptists each Sunday, but Ezell pointed out that it is not just individuals but churches that are missing.  In the words of Jesus, he reported…

”You have heard it said” that NAMB plants close to 1500 church plants a year, “but I say unto you” that NAMB planted 769 churches last year.

You have heard it said that NAMB has over 5100 missionaries, “but I say unto you” that 3480 of those are jointly funded with state conventions, 1839 are missionary spouses, some of whom have ministry assignments and some of whom do not.  He also pointed out that that 1616 are Mission Service Corps volunteers who receive no NAMB funding at all.  Thus the numbers are not as high as we might first think.

Likewise, on the topic of numbers.  Ezell pointed out that through retirement incentives and other compensations, he has reduced the total number of employees at the NAMB head quarters in Alpharetta.  He stressed a desire to do more with less people.  And while this at first sounds cold-hearted or anti-missional.  Here is the payoff.  By reducing the overhead 38%, NAMB will be able to put $8 million dollars into church planting.  Moreover, he pointed out that less than 4% of SBC churches are directly involved in church planting.  Ezell’s challenge: “We must do better.  We are going to do better.”

This leads to the final point.  In addition to improving reporting and oversight of Southern Baptist church plants, he also intends to lead in an initiative to plant more successful church plants.  Thus, he introduced a new initiative to “SEND” church planters into 25 urban centers around the country.

The International Missions Board

Third, Tom Elliff called for Southern Baptists to be more involved in reaching the unreached.   Following the powerful missions message of David Platt, Elliff said,

“This convention has been one long sermon…. There is not one thing I could say” that messengers have not already heard. A lost world, Elliff said, needs churches who consider it unacceptable that there are people groups “who do not have somebody deliberately” trying to engage them with the Gospel.

This call for greater outreach to the unreached was championed by David Platt, whose message from gospel of Matthew reminded Southern Baptists that Jesus will not come until all the nations have heard (Matt 24:14).  And since Jesus has not come, there are still peoples awaiting the Good News.  In fact, current statistics say that 3,800 peoples are awaiting the Good News.

As Platt put it, “”This is not a problem for the International Mission Board to address. This is a problem for every pastor and every local church to address.”

Indeed, it is something that I hope our church will address very shortly.  At the convention, more than 1,000 messengers responded to the call to reach the unengaged, unreached people groups.  I pray that we will too.

The church that shines the farthest shines brightest at home. 

I was tremendously encouraged by the unity of the messengers around the centrality of the gospel.  The divergence of speakers at the pastors’ conference was a good reminder that God is at work among many people, and that even when there are disagreements on things like the order of regeneration and faith, and what the doctrine of election fully means, there can be unity in reaching the lost for Christ.  This was also evident in the conversation between Mark Dever and Paige Patterson.  Again, I am encouraged by the evangelistic unity developing among Southern Baptists who in the past have argued over God’s sovereignty in salvation.

I hope that our church will follow suit.  Satan would love for us to wrangle over lesser points of doctrine, and to miss out on the fact that a lost and dying world is still lost and dying.  It is my hope and prayer and mission to lead our church to be more missions-minded and missional in our own community, even as we continue to grow into a greater understanding of God’s word and a love for one another.  Satan would love for us to question the motives and intents of others, but Christ is raising up an army of gospel-witnessing warriors, and I pray Calvary will be a bastion for such life-saving truth.

I want to thank you for letting me go to the convention this year.  I was motivated and encouraged by the things I saw and heard.  And I pray that all that was planned and promised will come to fruition as the Lord supplies the growth to the seeds that were sown and the plants that were watered.

Other SBC Reviews Consulted For This Report

SBC Annual Convention Videos

Baptist Press

SBC Voices

Trevin Wax

If You Want to Reap Joy, Plan for Peace

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

[This article was originally featured in our hometown newspaper, The Seymour Tribune]

Anxiety, misery, and bitterness are feelings that no one wants, but that many have.   If we pause to assess our lives and our world, we quickly discover scads of broken promises, shattered dreams, and hurtful relationships. These things rob our joy and eviscerate our peace.

The Bible addresses such things. Proverbs 12:20 says, “Deceit is in the heart of the those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy.”  Those pithy words are short but full of practical wisdom.  First, God warns us to live a life of truth, because falsehood is the onramp to the highway of evil.

Next, God gives seasonal instruction.  Those who desire a harvest of joy, must plant peace.  And as any good gardener knows, planting requires planning.  Here is the lesson: Lasting joy is not spontaneous.  Sometimes it feels that way, but such joy is like a puff of smoke on a cold morning.  It lasts for a moment and disappears.

The joy described in the Bible is different.  It is joy abundant and everlasting.  As Psalm 16:11 says about God, “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

How can the Bible make such an unqualified statement about joy?  Because God has been planning peace from eternity past (1 Peter 1:19-20).  Indeed, Scripture describes Jesus as God’s peacemaker.  By his sacrifice on the cross, he paid the penalty for sin reconciling believers to God.

Thus, when the Bible instructs us to plan for peace, it shows us that God has already offered peace, and biblically-speaking, your joy depends on your peace with God.  Today, you can find that peace whenever you look in faith to Christ’s cross, and by planning your peace with Christ, you are guaranteed joy that overcomes any anxiety, misery, or bitterness.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

From Jubal to the Jukebox to Jesus: You Were Made to Sing

/ davidsschrock

[This article was originally featured in our hometown newspaper, The Seymour Tribune]

You were created to sing. But you already knew that because you are likely already listening to something, if only the jingle that is stuck in your head. Whatever your preference, music is a defining element in our lives. It’s always been this way. Before the invasion of rock, the invention of rap or the instrumentation of classical, people were making instruments and song.

In Genesis 4, when Adam’s children began to multiply, Moses says that Jubal “was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.” Within two verses, Scripture records its first song, the “Song of the Sword.” Six millennia before Carrie Underwood took a Louisville Slugger to both headlights, songs about sex and violence were already on the jukebox.

However, Scripture does not simply recount the lustful lyrics of Lamech. It redeems the whole enterprise of song. While mankind, made in God’s image, sings, only those who know God’s redeeming love can sing the eternal song (Revelation 5:9-10).

Indeed, one of God’s greatest gifts is music, and the whole world enjoys it. However, God gives us more than music. For those who have ears to hear, God himself sings a song of redemption. Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with love; he will exult over you with loud singing.”

What a song that must be! God serenading those who have believed in the saving love of Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Of all songs, his is the Song of Songs. It fills the heart with joy, satisfying us with God’s eternal pleasures (Psalm 16:11). Better than sex, drugs and rock and roll, God’s song promises freedom, love and life in Jesus. And better still — God’s song doesn’t wear out and he will sing it to anyone who asks.

 

Legal Gospel-Centered Literature in China

/ davidsschrock

Michael Haykin gives an encouraging report on a developing missions opportunity in China.  It is called the Robert Morrison Project, and it is working to produce gospel-centered, Reformed literature in China–a country known for its antagonism towards Christianity.  Here are some of the statistics:

About the year 2003 it became possible to legally publish some forms of Christian literature in the People’s Republic of China. Ten years ago, legal Christian publishing was barely on the radar screen, but today the situation is far different. The demographic and publishing statistics are staggering:

    • In the year 1800, 90% of the Christians in the world lived in North America and Europe. Today, about 60% of Christians live in the so-called “two-thirds world” (Africa, Asia, the Middle East). However, Christian publishing in general, and Reformed publishing in particular, has made a weak transition at best to these new regions. The center of gravity for Reformed publishing is still the English-speaking world.
    • The church in China is 80 to 100 million in size and continues to grow at a rapid rate.
    • China’s adult literacy rate, between 2003 and 2008, is reckoned to stand at 93%.
    • There are 167,000 bookstores in China.
    • 6.3 billion domestically-published books were sold in China in 2007.
    • On average, the Chinese read 5 books a year and 1.7 magazines and 7.4 newspapers per month.
    • Over the past ten years, more than 200 Christian bookstores have opened throughout China.
    • Currently, the total number of Christian books in legal circulation in China is approximately 600, using a broad definition of “Christian.” About 50 to 60 new titles are being added each year.
    • Of that 600, only about 25 or 30 have a Reformed theme.
    • Many of the 600 titles now in print were published by one of the nine China-based Christian publishers that have emerged in the past ten years.

The goal of this ministry is to take Banner of Truth, Evangelical Press, and other Reformed classics–a genre that is most likely to receive rights for publication in China–and to translate them and distribute them in the near future.  The cost is not cheap, but the investment is priceless.  Imagine the 80-100 million Chinese Christians reading Jonathan Edwards Religious Affections, John Bunyan’s The Pilgrims Progress, or even John Calvin’s Institutes.

This is prayerful, hopeful opportunity to feed the malnourished church in China with great Christian truth–something that may seem small now, but in time may grow to produce voluminous fruit.  You can read his whole article here: The Emergence of Legal Christian Publishing in China and you can learn how to get involved here Robert Morrison Project.

Until the whole earth hears, dss

The Genre of Genesis: A Soap Opera Under The Sovereignty of God

/ davidsschrock

One of the most helpful things I have learned in the last few years about reading Scripture is the importance of determining the literary genre 0f any portion of Scripture.  For instance, to read Daniel’s apocalyptic visions with Pauline precision is to wind up with an overly literal reading, missing the ‘visual effect’ of the apocalyptic genre.  Likewise, reading Proverbs like laws etched in stone, puts too much weight on a literary form that is meant to convey probabilities that have reasonable exceptions, not laws of the universe.  So reading Scripture with an attentiveness to genre is helpful in avoiding misreadings, and there are many good–short and long–works on this subject.  For a whole Bible that treats the subject see The Literary Study Bible.

This week, as I was reading Genesis, the thought occurred: What kind of genre is this book, especially chapters 12-50?  It is certainly narrative in its structure.  Authors like Bruce Waltke and Jim Hamilton has shown in their recent works many literary devices, chiasms and the like.  It is historical, in that it conveys information of people, places, and events in a factual manner and in a linear fashion.  Moreover, it will develop mini biographies and include historical genealogies, all for the purpose of unfolding God’s plan of redemption and his covenantal commitments.  Still, it is also a colorful book of characters and stories that, while true, capture the imagination and draw out the readers imagination like any good story book.   So which is it?

It is certainly a combination of them all, but perhaps a modern analogy might be helpful.  Could it be said that God’s sovereign workings in Genesis are carried out in the midst of a twisting, turing Soap Opera.  Until, this week, I wouldn’t have said it that way, but in reading it again this week, that category certainly commends itself for understanding all that is going on, so long as it is always coupled with God’s inscrutable (and yet sometimes invisible) sovereignty.

Interestingly, based on the less than authoritative definition provided by wikipedia.com, Genesis would definitely fall into this category.  Here is there brief description of what we know as soap operas:

The main characteristics that define soap operas are “an emphasis on family life, personal relationships, sexual dramas, emotional and moral conflicts; some coverage of topical issues; set in familiar domestic interiors with only occasional excursions into new locations”.[3] Fitting in with these characteristics, most soap operas follow the lives of a group of characters who live or work in a particular place, or focus on a large extended family. The storylines follow the day-to-day activities and personal relationships of these characters. “Soap narratives, like those of film melodramas, are marked by what Steve Neale has described as ‘chance meetings, coincidences, missed meetings, sudden conversions, last-minute rescues and revelations, deus ex machina endings.'”

That about sums Genesis up, doesn’t it?  I think so.  It makes the book less pristine and more personal.  It touches the heart of the matter, that God has saved a people from sin, often times through the very act or acts of sin: “What you meant for evil,” Joseph said to his brothers, “God meant for good” (Gen 50:20).  Part of God’s glorious work of salvation is his ability to save people trapped in sin, in ways that soap opera writers could never script.  Likewise, such a view of Genesis encourages belief that when things in life get really, really messy, God still knows how to untie the Gordian knot, and even if it takes 13 years, as in Joseph’s case, or longer as in the case of Abraham (see Heb 11), He will make all things right in the end.  Therefore we await the reckoning!

It is amazing how God has worked in redemptive history–often in ways that do not commend repeating–in order to bring about his plan of salvation.  God is a merciful and patient God, and one proof is that he was able to bring through sinners like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph as sinless Son who will one day liberate us from the soap operas of this life.  That is good news.

Hallelujah!  What a Savior!

dss

Reading Genesis 1-11

/ davidsschrock / 1 Comment

Today I preached Genesis 1-11: “In the Beginning: Creation, Corruption, and Christ.”  I love this section of Scripture because it is pregnant with so many themes that are developed in the rest of the Bible.  For instance, you can see the whole pattern of Creation-Fall-Redemption-New Creation if you pay careful attention to the literary structures of the passage. The Gospel of Genesis by Warren Gage is an excellent resource to help outline these themes.  So is Bruce Waltke’s illuminating outline below (An Old Testament Theology [Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007], 307-08).

What Gage and Waltke show is how Genesis 1-11 teaches us to read the rest of the Bible.  The explicit metanarrative in Scripture moves from Creation to New Creation, falling with sin, rising with Christ.  Notice how in the outline below that Noah and Abraham come as Christ-figures who anticipate the greater rest (Matt 11:28) and the fulfillment of all the promises (2 Cor 1:20).

Creation: Genesis 1:1 – 6:8

A Creation out of chaotic water with divine blessing (1:1-2:3)

B Sin involving nakedness, seeing/covering nakedness; curse (2:4-3:24)

C Division of humanity into the people of God and the enemies of God (3:15-4:16)

D No descendents of sinful of murdered younger, righteous Abel (4:8)

E Descendents of sinful Cain: builds a city (4:17-24)

F Descendents of chosen son Seth: ten generations to Noah (5:1-32)

G Downfall: unlawful unions – men & women / marriage (6:1-4)

H Brief introduction to a faithful savior: Noah (6:5-8)

Re-Creation: Genesis 6:9-11:32

A’ Creation out of chaotic water with divine blessing (6:9-9:19)

B’ Sin involving nakedness, seeing/covering nakedness; curse (9:20-23)

C’ Division of humanity into the people of God and the enemies of God (9:24-27)

D’ Descendents of younger, righteous Japheth (10:1-5)

E’ Descendents of sinful son Ham: builds multiple cities (10:6-20)

F’ Descendents of chosen son Shem: ten generations to Terah (10:21-32)

G’ Downfall: unlawful union – men / government (11:1-9)

H’ Brief introduction to a faithful savior, Abram (11:27-32)

Our God is worthy of infinite praise for he is patient with sinners and perfect in his wisdom to bring salvation in his Son from eternity past to eternity future.  With Paul we sing:  “Oh, the depths of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!”  Genesis 1-11 is an astounding passage that flickers with the light of God, light that will only grow brighter as the Scriptures continue until the light of the world comes to dwell with man (John 1:1-14).

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

Creation by the Numbers

/ davidsschrock

Today many in our church and all over the world began their yearly Bible reading plan.  I did.  And one of the features found in Genesis 1 is the fact that God made plants (v. 12) and animals (v. 21), “according to their own kinds.”  While scientists, Bible scholars, and Christians apologists have argued for the origin of the species, the Bible is clear that God is the originator of all life.  He spoke the world into existence (Gen 1; Psalm 33:6), and no matter how long that process took, it is clear that he is the Creative Genius behind it all.  (Personally, I hold to a Young Earth position due to the disbelief that death existed before sin, which is clearly dated in Genesis 3, about 6,000 years ago).

Yet, in this brief post, my point is not to argue the age of the earth or the meaning of yom (‘day’) in Genesis 1, but rather to marvel at the endless fecundity of God’s creation.  Today I came across Wikipedia’s entry on “Species.”  In it is a list of all the plants and animals in the world.  In a word, it is astonishing!  Consider the sheer numbers of life-forms on the earth, all created by God.

The total number of species (estimated): 7–100 millions (identified and unidentified), including:

Of the identified eukaryote species we have:[14]

It has taken thousands of people over hundreds of years to amass this list, a list of all the creatures God created and their offspring.

In truth, Elihu declare in Job 34:14-15, “If he [that is God] should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, all flesh would perish together, and man would return to the dust.”   Thus, according to the Bible all the species owe their existence to God, and it is worth meditating on the estimated numbers above.  While these numbers are not exact due to the difficulties of subdividing species, they do represent this singular facet of God: He is unfathomably creative and prolific in the production of his creation.  If it is true that no sparrow falls to the ground a part from his knowledge (Matt 10:29), then it coheres that no life is born apart from God’s germinating spirit and no life ends apart from his sovereign decree.

He is the Supreme Creator, the God of the Nations, and the one who has made man in his image to rule over creation.  Moreover, when man failed to rule over the earth uprightly (cf. Ecc 7:29), God sent his Son to become a man, to perfectly rule over all the species that God created.  I am doubtful that each of these ‘species’ was created in the Genesis account, it seems more likely that the ‘kinds’ in Genesis 1 were higher up in the taxonomic hierarchy (maybe genus or family), but it is certain that God created in the beginning an expanding myriad of plants and animals, represented in the list above.  These life-forms had the capacity for incredible replication and speciation.  While many fight over Genesis 1 for good reason, we shouldn’t miss the forest for the trees: God is the glorious creator of all the earth, who has fashioned a world that is filled with life, fecundity, beauty, symmetry, wisdom, and so much more.  And even though this in a world overrun with sin, disease, and death, his incredible creation is evident.  How much better will the New Creation be when sin will be eradicated and mankind will finally rule over a perfect creation with Christ on the throne.

As we begin the year, may we worship the Triune Creator and look at creation as a hymn book of praise for our infinitely wise Creator.  As Revelation 4:11 sings, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by you will they existed and were created.”  Upwards of 100 million of them!

Soli Deo Gloria, dss

So

Teach the Bible Through in a Year: Tips and Tools

/ davidsschrock / 2 Comments

If you have or if you would think about teaching through the whole Bible in 2011 or in any year, let me encourage you to think about a couple things that I learned as I taught through the whole Bible in 2010.

Tips
First, if you are a rookie pastor or just entering a church, WAIT!  I did this in my first year and I would not recommend it for others.  There are many things that demand attention especially in the first year of ministry and this one took up more time each week than I thought it would.  With that said, I have benefitted much from teaching through the Bible this year in a way that I believe will bear fruit in the life of my ministry in the years to come.

Second, and this goes along with number 1, if you are going to teach through the whole Bible, let me encourage you to make sure that you have been reading and teaching the Bible through for a number of years.  It is a good rule of thumb, to avoid teaching something that you have not done personally, i.e. if you have never read through the Bible in a year, it would be unwise to try to teach through it.  Moreover, this point is  important because at some point, or at many points, you will rely on the accumulated knowledge of the Bible that only builds up over many years of Bible saturation.

Personally, as I taught through the Scriptures this year, there were many times when I was dependent on previous Bible reading to provide explanation and fill in details of the text.  My schedule did not permit me to study every book like I had first intended and/or desired, so there was much I were many times I was going from memory–from seminary, personal Bible reading, books, or messages I have heard.  But this is the beauty of Bible overview, more than intricate exposition.  You help focus on the big picture, showing the unity of the Scriptures–a unity that I argued was to be found in Christ (cf Eph 1:10).

Third, set a pace for the year.  If you are going to teach through the Bible make sure those you are teaching are reading with you.  This will motivate you and they will better be able to follow your teaching.  To say it another way: Aim to keep pace with a Bible reading plan.  In 2011, we used the plan laid out by Denny Burk.

Fourth, don’t get bogged down with the details.  This is hard, especially for detailed-oriented teachers.  Aim to cover the big idea, themes, and ways in which the book fits into the larger categories of biblical theology.  Don’t spend your time on source criticism, who wrote 2 Peter, or when Daniel was written.  I would touch on these things, but believing the Scriptures to be God’s word, I focused on what was in the text more than what was behind the text.  In this way, I would encourage you to focus on biblical theology more than scholarly disputes–though sometimes you cannot avoid the latter (e..g is Genesis 1 a myth? [no]; was Paul the originator of Christianity? [no], and things like that should be addressed).

Fifth, create space in your teaching schedule to go over.  I took two weeks on Genesis, Exodus, John, Paul.  The first two books were planned to go two weeks, the second two were not.  Having space in the schedule helped alleviate the stress of ‘fitting it all in.’

Sixth, use outlines and information from other sources to help you, but just make sure you give credit where credit is due.  In my notes, I aimed to footnote the places where  I was directly dependent on the ESV Study Bible or some other place.  (See reflections at The Gospel Coalition on preachers and plagiarism).

Seventh, let the Scripture be your guide.  Fill your notes (if you use them) and your teaching with Bible references and Scripture quotation.  My goal on Wednesday nights was always to read as much from the Bible as possible to prove my points.  I aimed to synthesize the main points and to show from the text how I made that point. Spending time in commentaries and theologies did not help this, only reading the Bible did.

With that said, let me confess: Some weeks as I taught, I would read lots of background material and biblical-theological commentary.  Other weeks I wouldn’t.  In preparation, the text always needed to be central and more often than not it was, but sometimes, I must admit, I spent too much time in the books and too little in the Bible.  The result was a less-stimulating personal understanding of the book.  So, for anyone going into it I would recommend finding a handful of shorter reflections on each book–maybe just one or two reliable resources–and then spend most of the time in the Scripture itself.  Make up your own outline if possible and ask God to help make the book come alive for you.

Eighth, pray!  It was only by the grace of God that I finished the course this year.  Many prayed for me and when I grew tired in some weeks, it was petitions for grace that were answered with time and thoughts to present God’s Word to God’s people.

Tools
If you are going to read or teach through the Bible in 2011, or in any year, let me recommend these resources.

First, the ESV Study Bible was a necessary resource that I relied on every week to give background information and to help me outline each book.  Zondervan’s Introduction to the Old Testament (Dillard and Longman) and Introduction to the New Testament (Carson and Moo) would also be excellent aids.  They supply a great deal of background information and will help field textual questions and scholarly disputes.

Second, I would urge you to consider Jim Hamilton’s biblical theology: The Glory of God in Salvation Through Judgment. Hamilton’s book pays keen attention to the literary structures of the individual authors while holding together two-fold unity that runs through the Bible–salvation and judgment.  Hamilton also highlights many important theological themes that emerge throughout the pages of Scripture.  I didn’t have this book when I started this study, but I wish I had.  The articles in the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology would also be helpful, but I honestly did not avail myself of these like I could have.

Third, as I prepared, I often listened to Mark Dever’s overview sermons.  They were edifying and regularly pointed me to Christ-centered interpretations of the texts.  These sermons were collected into his two books: The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made and The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept. You could read these books, but I would recommend listening to them as you walk, run, workout, or drive.  I found that having a different medium to ‘hear’ the message of Christ was helpful.  It ministered to my soul and it allowed me to ‘hear’ how someone else presented the big picture of each book.  In addition to Dever, The Gospel Coalition’s website has a number of other pastor-teachers who have given book overviews.

Finally, if you have not read Graeme Goldsworthy and his approach to reading/interpreting the Scriptures, I would urge caution, or at least patience, before teaching through the whole Bible.  This may seem like an overstatement–for how could one man’s interpretive strategy be so important?  But I would suggest that he, more than anyone else I have read, aims to show the gospel of Jesus Christ from all the Scriptures.  In this way, he has provided modern teachers with an interpretive method that flows from Luke 24 itself.  His works include his Trilogy (The Gospel & Kingdom, The Gospel in Revelation, and The Gospel & Wisdom), According to Plan, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christians Scripture, and Christ-Centered Hermeneutics. In my preparation for teaching through the Bible in 2011, these 4 books proved to be necessary prerequisites for me to read through the whole Bible and see how each epoch, genre, and author pointed to Christ as the Spirit inspired them.  Again this might be a little overstated, but Goldsworthy has been formative for my understanding of putting the Bible together, something that proved to be necessary before starting this biblical tour in 2010.

Overall, I would highly recommend reading through and/or teaching through the Scriptures so that you might see and show how all things are summed up in Christ.  It is amazing to watch the story unfold and to see how every story whispers his name, to borrow Sally-Lloyd Jones‘ turn of phrase. In the process of teaching this series in 2011, my faith was strengthened by reading the Scriptures this year and beholding Christ, and my heart was gripped with gratitude for God’s grace in helping me read and teach through the Bible in 2010.  Even more, I was grateful for the faithfulness of the church members who joined me each Wednesday night, hungry to learn more about Christ and his word.  It was a precious group who joined together each night to hear God’s word and to go deep and LONG into the Scriptures.  I praise God for them.

Next year, I will be doing something a little different–see here–but I pray that God will continue to help us read the whole counsel of God with eyes open to see Christ and hearts burning like the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Soli Deo Gloria, dss