Dancing Around Paul's Imperative for Women to be Silent in the Church

https://www.crossway.org/articles/what-does-it-mean-that-women-should-remain-quiet-in-church-1-timothy-2/

Burk misses the flow of Paul's argument in 1 Timothy 2. He is an apostle charged with bringing salvation to all mankind. On that basis he exhorts men and women - targeting (as it were) certain points or characteristics which he (and the Holy Spirit of course) deemed universal.

Men are to lift holy hands eschewing the male tendency toward wrath and doubt and we could spend a fair bit of time exploring these characteristics, how men are more given to pride and anger and are less naturally given (we might say) toward faith which is something quite different from the normal Evangelical definition of faith as simple knowledge and assent.

The Prophets and Christ

Theological Modernists and the academy argue that Isaiah was written by two different authors. Chapters 1-39 were written by Isaiah ben-Amos - the Isaiah we all know. Chapters 40-66 were written by another prophet in the exile (the so-called Deutero-Isaiah) who often tries to mimic the style of Isaiah and yet due to the seeming predictive prophecy in those chapters, it could not be the same person - or so it is argued. The naming of Cyrus in chapters 44-45 comes into play as the idea that Isaiah ben-Amos in the 8th century BC could name a future king of the 6th century is deemed impossible. Therefore they argue the second portion of the book was composed by a prophet in the exile period who knew Cyrus by name. And yet because he pretended to place himself in the past and predict the name of the king, he would in fact be a liar. This is not an issue for modernist theologians. This is because these theologians and scholars are unbelievers who reject the notion of revelation. The Bible for them is a series of moral tales and traditions. God may speak through the words but there is nothing unique about the Scriptures. For them, God is just as likely to speak through the writings of another religion or through inspirational figures of our own day.

An Impoverished Reading of the Law and yet Another Lesson in Judaizing

https://churchandfamilylife.com/podcasts/667344e11a0b9ce0df045b5d

Law in Scripture is complicated and there is a tendency among some to reduce its complexity or flatten its dimensions. Sometimes law refers to the commandments of God and at other times it is cast in Redemptive-Historical terms.

1 John 2 and Apostasy

I have often made reference to this passage, insisting (contrary to the exponents of 'once saved always saved' that it does not negate the concept of real apostasy. The argument is made that so-called apostates aren't really so, because like the figures mentioned in 1 John 2.19, they were never actually part of the Church. And so when a person seemingly 'falls away', they did not in fact fall away, but merely manifested their unregenerate state. In other words they were never 'real' Christians.

A Non-Christocentric Reading of Psalm 112

Recently I sat through a sermon on Psalm 112. It was a workshop in moralistic non-redemptive-historical preaching. It wasn't that the content was awful or the exhortations uninspiring, but the preacher missed the essential component of the passage and read it in a Judaized fashion. While disappointing it generated some great and edifying conversation for the drive home.

Distorting Revelation 3: Theology Overriding Scripture (II)

Consider Colossians 1 – Paul speaks of their faith in Christ, love of the saints, the hope laid up for them in heaven which was heard in the gospel, which has come to them and brought forth fruit (specifically in them). He says they have known the grace of God in truth and that they have love in the Spirit. He exhorts them to knowledge, wisdom, and spiritual understanding, to walk worthy of the Lord, fruitful in every good work. Once again he speaks of them increasing in knowledge – as these concepts of work, fruit, and knowledge go together.

Distorting Revelation 3: Theology Overriding Scripture (I)

https://www.clr4u.org/will-christ-ever-spew-lukewarm-christians-out-of-his-mouth-revelation-316/

Will Christ ever spew lukewarm Christians out of His mouth?

Dean Davis says no, because he believes in Eternal Security and as such the implied warning is merely hypothetical, a case of hyperbole, a warning to those who aren't actually part of the Church but pretend to be.

Rewards, Crowns, and the Gospel in 1 Corinthians

Listening to a radio preacher the other day, the question of 'the race' in 1 Corinthians 9 was raised. Paul speaks of a race, a prize, and his seeking of an imperishable or incorruptible crown. The preacher in question insisted this was not about salvation, but simply a question of rewards.

A Missed Lesson from the Book of Daniel

Dominionists and other advocates for Christians in government will often appeal to the example of Daniel and his three friends as a case for contemporary New Covenant believers working for a pagan government – to do good it is argued.

2 Timothy 3.16 and its Reference to the Old Testament

By some estimates a problem exists in the utilization by certain persons of Paul's statement in 2 Timothy 3.16. When it comes to making an argument for Sola Scriptura, they would argue Paul's words can only refer to the Old Testament and as such the passage does not support the larger doctrine which rests on assumptions rather than a specific teaching.

Elisha and the Children

I recently heard a sermon on the closing verses of 2 Kings Chapter 2 wherein Elisha is cursed by mocking children. He in turn curses them in the name of Jehovah. This results in two she-bears emerging from the woods and forty-two deaths result.

The Mammon-Apostates of Psalm 10

Psalm 9 calls for the Lord to rise up in judgment on the wicked nations, while the related Psalm 10 takes up a tone of lamentation and a continued call for judicial action – but in a more narrow context. The condemned self-idolatry of the nations plays out in a more immediate sense in the way the wicked (the rich and powerful) crush the poor and the weak.

Misreading Jonah

It is not uncommon for Theonomists and other advocates of Dominion Theology to make an appeal to the Book of Jonah as an example of a pagan society transformed. Nineveh's repentance represents (to them) a kind of prototype of what would take place over one thousand years later under the New Covenant.

Psalm 73 and New Testament Apostasy

This psalm is well known by many for the words of comfort it provides regarding the plight of the believer in the world and the abiding sense of injustice that can gnaw away at us if we let it. The wicked flourish and the righteous always seem to suffer and lose.

Reflecting on Psalm 19: The Law of Nature, Phenomenological Language, and Duality (II)

Returning to the question of double-truth, it might be argued that such dualities, paradoxes, or dynamics (which are so problematic to many) are the result of a severance which occurred with the Edenic Fall. On the one hand these inconsistencies and living contradictions (if that's what they are in fact) present a dilemma, but one that is solved with the eschaton, when all such tensions and dynamics are removed and with the reconciliation that occurs – the ultimate unity or holistic reality we seek, will become manifest in Christ. As such any kind of duality is not something inherent in the world but a sundering, a tragic result of sin.

Reflecting on Psalm 19: The Law of Nature, Phenomenological Language, and Duality (I)

Psalm 19 presents some interesting challenges to those who make the case for natural law or those who insist on a literalistic interpretation of the Biblical text. By literalistic we here refer to an interpretation of phenomena in a Baconian sense – one that must accord with scientific laws and empirical observations.

Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim, and the Antediluvian Prophets

While recently reviewing a Bible study dealing with some antediluvian topics, I also happened to be reading through the Epic of Gilgamesh, something I had only perused in times past.

Tribe, Kingdom, and Self in Matthew 12.46-50

When this passage is treated it is common to emphasize the fact that the Christian's relationship to Christ transcends earthly familial relations. Additionally, the topic of adoption can be touched upon, the idea that a Christian becomes part of the family of God and how this relationship and status is of far greater import than our earthly relations.

New Covenant Hermeneutics: Psalm 16

Peter's sermon in Acts 2 provides yet another example of Old Testament writings that must be read in light of New Testament revelation. Psalm 16 is written by David. It is a prayer and a reflection on the goodness of God, to rejoice in the knowledge of Him, and the hope believers have even in the face of death. Read on its own, it is profound and moving.

New Covenant Hermeneutics: Psalm 2

Psalm 2 is a favourite among Postmillennialists. It speaks of the kings of the Earth setting themselves up in opposition to God and His Anointed – a clear anticipation of the coming Christ.

Their nations are given to Christ as His inheritance and He will break them with a rod of iron. The nations are consequently warned and instructed to kiss the Son, in other words to submit to and reverence Him.