Themelios: Issue 34-3, November 2009

by The Gospel Coalition

Publisher:

Gospel Coalition

, 2009

Contents

• "Editorial" by D. A. Carson
• "Minority Report: Lest We Forget" by Carl Trueman
• "The Perspicuity of Scripture" by Wayne Grudem
• "Christocentrism: An Asymmetrical Trinitarianism?" by Dane C. Ortlund
• "Bearing Sword in the State, Turning Cheek in the Church: A Reformed Two-Kingdoms Interpretation of Matthew 5:38–42" by David VanDrunen
• "'Deliver Us from the Evil One': Martin Luther on Prayer" by Mark Rogers
• "Pastoral Pensées: Power in Preaching: Delight (2 Corinthians 12:1–10, Part 3 of 3" by Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.

Top Highlights

“I understand the clarity (perspicuity) of Scripture as follows: Scripture affirms that it is able to be understood but (1) not all at once, (2) not without effort, (3) not without ordinary means, (4) not without the reader’s willingness to obey it, (5) not without the help of the Holy Spirit, (6) not without human misunderstanding, and (7) never completely. We begin with the main affirmation.” (Page 291)

“First, Luther repeatedly says that people should pray because God commands it.” (Page 338)

“The clarity of Scripture guarantees, then, that it is capable of being understood rightly, not that all believers will understand it rightly. The clarity of Scripture is a doctrine about its understandability, not about how various people actually understand it.” (Page 300)

“5. Seeking understanding in fellowship with others.” (Page 297)

“Nevertheless, I argue that in Matt 5:38–42 Jesus defines the unique character of his church and does not redefine (or eliminate) the state or his disciples’ basic responsibilities toward it. The state is to continue its work of coercively enforcing justice in civil society, with Christians’ support. But the church is a community that shuns the application of the lex talionis. In anticipation of the eschatological kingdom, the church is not only a non-violent community but also, even more importantly, a community defined by an ethic of forgiveness and mercy rather than by retributive justice.” (Page 323)

Product Details

• Title: Issue 34-3
• Editor: D. A. Carson
• Series: Themelios
• Publisher: The Gospel Coalition
• Publication Date: 2009
• Pages: 175

About The Gospel Coalition

Brian J. Tabb (PhD, London Theological Seminary) is academic dean at Bethlehem College & Seminary and an elder of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He also serves as managing editor for Themelios, published by the Gospel Coalition, and is the author of Suffering in Ancient Worldview.

D.A. Carson is a research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been at Trinity since 1978. Carson came to Trinity from the faculty of Northwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he also served for two years as academic dean. He has served as an assistant pastor and pastor and has done itinerant ministry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Carson received a bachelor of science in chemistry from McGill University, the master of divinity from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto, and the doctor of philosophy in New Testament from the University of Cambridge. Carson is an active guest lecturer in academic and church settings around the world. He holds membership on the Council for the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. Carson has also written many books that have garnered international acclaim, including his award-winning title The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism.

Daniel Strange is academic vice president and lecturer in culture, religion, and public theology at Oak Hill College, London. He is the author or coauthor of several other books, including The Possibility of Salvation Among the Unevangelised: An Analysis of Inclusivism in Recent Evangelical Theology.