Theologian

This simple gospel message really got my attention. It is from “Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God” by J.I. Packer, pg 69. The point is that the scope of evangelism is not an ingredient to the gospel message itself. Rather the gospel message is…

‘believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for sins, and now offers you Himself as your Saviour.’

I would like to ask you all to pray for me. Monday my blood pressure and pulse sky-rocketed. My pulse got as high as 155, and my b.p. was also extremely high.

Tues. i saw the doctor and he ran some test and gave me beta-blockers. I still have a couple of more tests to go through with the cardiologist.

Please pray for my situation. Pray that nothing serious is found in these tests, and that it can be managed with medicine. Also, pray for my faith as in these situations fear tends to grip me.

Thank you.

On Friday I learned once again that prayer is an awesome catalyst to evangelism.

After our family worship in the morning each of us was to think of a way to glorify God that day. My response was to tell people about Jesus and His gospel. I was meeting with an unbeliever that night, so I just assumed that telling him about the Lord was were it would end up.

That afternoon my pastor called asking me to help someone who suddenly found himself homeless to find a place to stay. As we started driving to different places he told me about his mom dying recently. Well, the discussion soon turned to spiritual things and before you know it I am telling him about Christ and the salvation that comes only through Him.

His response was, “That’s what I need, I need Jesus.” At that point I explained to him more in detail regarding salvation and he asked if we could pray together. We did, and for all apparent evidences he gave his life to Christ!

I gave him a Bible, which he was very excited to start reading, and we found him a place to stay for a bit.

Looking back at the morning worship and how I wanted to glorify God by witnessing to Him, I was amazed at the doors that God opened to such a motivation.

P.S. I was also able to witness to the guy that came over later that night - but there was no conversion there.

The Calvin Studies Society is having a “Calvin and Catholicism” Colloquium at University of Notre Dame April 12-14, 2007.

Presenters:

Irena Backus, Institute for Reformation History at the University of Geneva;
Carlos M. N. Eire, Yale University;
Jill R. Fehleison, Quinnipiac University;
Charles H. Parker, Saint Louis University;
Bernard Roussel, Directeur d’etudes, emerite, The Sorbonne;
Herman J. Selderhuis, Theologische Universiteit, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands;
Karen Spierling, University of Louisville;
Dennis Tamburello, Siena College;
George H. Tavard, Methodist Theological School in Ohio, emeritus;
Randall C. Zachman, University of Notre Dame.
You will be able to register on-line at (www.CalvinStudiesSociety.org) or by requesting a registration form from the the CSS, 685 N. Van Nortwick Avenue, Batavia, IL  60510.

Reformation Ink…
http://homepage.mac.com/shanerosenthal/reformationink/index.htm

Center For Biblical Theology and Eschatology…
http://www.mountainretreatorg.net/

Theopedia…
http://www.theopedia.com/

Reformerware (like a reformed gift shop)…
http://www.reformerware.com/

Monergism Books…
http://www.monergismbooks.com/index.html

Modern Reformation Magazine…
http://www.modernreformation.org/

A Puritan’s Mind…
http://www.apuritansmind.com/

byFaith Online (magazine of the PCA)…
http://www.byfaithonline.com/

Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics…
http://www.reformed.org/

Fire and Ice Puritan and Reformed Writings…
http://www.puritansermons.com/

Genevan Institute for Reformed Studies…
http://www.girs.com/

Monergism…
http://www.monergism.com/

Puritan Publications…
http://www.puritanpublications.com/

Reformation21 (online magazine)…
http://www.reformation21.com/

Ligonier Ministries…
http://www.ligonier.org/

Reformed Theology Resource Center…
http://www.rtrc.net/

Sola Scriptura! …
http://www.mbrem.com/

Puritanboard (message board)…
http://www.puritanboard.com/forum/index.php

1. External Evidence

* Date of the witness/type of text
* Geographical distribution of the witnesses that agree in supporting a variant
* Genealogical relationship of texts and families of witnesses - Witnesses should be weighed, not counted

2. Internal Evidence

a. Transcriptional Probabilities depend upon considerations of palaeographical details and the habits of scribes

* In general the more difficult reading is to be preferred
* In general the shorter reading is to be preferred
* That reading is to be preferred which stands in verbal dissidence with the other

b. Intrinsic Probabilities depend upon considerations of what the author was more likely to have written, taking into account:

* The style and vocabular of the author
* The immediate context
* Harmony with the usage of the author elsewhere
* The Aramaic background of the teaching of Jesus
* The priority of the Gospel according to Mark
* The influence of the Christian community upon the formulation and transmission of the passage in quesiton

Metzger, The Text of the New Testament, pg. 209-210

Principle One: The Old Testament text was preserved by the Old Testament priesthood and the scribes and scholars that grouped themselves around that priesthood.

Principle Two: When Christ died upon the cross, the Old Testament priesthood was abolished. In the New Testament dispensation every believer is a priest under Christ the great High Priest. Hence the New Testament text has been preserved by the universal priesthood of believers, by faithful Christians in every walk of life.

Principle Three: The Traditional Text, found in the vast majority of the Greek New Testament manuscripts, is the True Text because it represents the God-guided usage of this universal priesthood of believers.

Principle Four: The first printed text of the Greek New Testament represents a forward step in the providential preservation of the New Testament. In it the few errors of any consequence occurring in the Traditional Greek Text were corrected by the providence of God operating through the usage of the Latin-speaking Church of Western Europe. In other words, the editors and printers who produced this first printed Greek New Testament text were providentially guided by the usage of the Latin-speaking Church to follow the Latin Vulgate in those few places in which the Latin Church usage rather than the Greek Church usage had preserved the genuine reading.

Principle Five: Through the usage of Bible-believing Protestants God placed the stamp of His approval on this first printed text, and it became the Textus Receptus (Received Text). It is the printed form of the Traditional Text found in the vast majority of the Greek New Testament manuscripts.

Principle Six: The King James (Authorized) Version is an accurate translation of the Textus Receptus. On it God has placed the stamp of His approval through the long continued usage of English-speaking believers. Hence it should be used and defended today by Bible-believing Christians.

Edward F. Hills, The King James Version Defended

1. Only one reading can be original, however many variant readings there may be.
2. Only the readings which best satisfies the requirements of both external and internal criteria can be original.
3. Criticism of the text must always begin from the evidence of the manuscript tradition and only afterward turn to a consideration of internal criteria.
4. Internal criteria (the context of the passage, its style and vocabulary, the theological environment of the author, etc.) can never be the sole basis for a critical decision, especially when they stand in opposition to the external evidence.
5. The primary authority for a critical textual decision lies with the Greek manuscript tradition, with the version and Fathers serving no more than a supplementary and corroborative function, particularly in passages where their underlying Greek text cannot be reconstructed with absolute certainty.
6. Furthermore, manuscripts should be weighed, not counted, and the peculiar traits of each manuscript should be duly considered. However important the early papyri, or a particular uncial, or a minuscule may be, there is no single manuscript or group or manuscripts that can be followed mechanically, even though certain combinations of witnesses may deserve a greater degree of confidence than others. Rather, decisions in textual criticism must be worked out afresh, passage by passage (the local principle).
7. The principle that the original reading may be found in any single manuscript or version when it stands alone or nearly alone is only a theoretical possibility. Any form of eclecticism which accepts this principle will hardly succeed in establishing the original text of the New Testament; it will only confirm the view of the text which it presupposes.
8. The reconstruction of a stemma of readings for each variant (the genealogical principle) is an extremely important device, because the reading which can most easily explain the derivation of the other forms is itself most likely the original.
9. Variants must never be treated in isolation, but always considered in the context of the tradition. Otherwise there is too great a danger of reconstructing a “test tube text” which never existed at any time or place.
10. There is truth in the maxim: lectio difficilior lectio potior (”the more difficult reading is the more probable reading”). But this principle must not be taken too mechanically, with the most difficult reading (lectio difficilima) adopted as original simply because of its degree of difficulty.
11. The venerable maxim lectio brevior lectio potior (”the shorter reading is the more probable reading”) is certainly right in many instances. But here again the principle cannot be applied mechanically.
12. A constantly maintained familiarity with New Testament manuscripts themselves is the best training for textual criticism. In textual criticism the pure theoretician has often done more harm than good.

Kurt Aland and Barbara Aland, The Text of the New Testament, pp. 275-276.

This is a topic that every Christian should consider. If we are to be “church-goers” then we must know the answer to the question, “what are the marks of a true church?”

There are 3 generally accepted marks in Reformed circles…

1. Right preaching of the Word of God and sound doctrine (John 8:31, 47; 14:23; Gal. 1:8-9; 2 Thess. 2:15; 2 Tim. 3:16-4:4; 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 9-11)
2. Right administration of the sacraments (1 Cor. 10:14-17, 21; 11:23-30)
3. Right exercise of discipline (Matthew 18:17; Acts 20:28-31a; Rom. 16:17-18a; 1 Cor. 5:1-5, 13; 14:33, 40; Gal. 6:1; Eph. 5:6, 11; 2 Thess. 3:14-15; 1 Tim. 1:20; 5:20; Titus 1:10-11; 3:10; Rev. 2:14-16a; 2:20)

Mark #1 - A church that does not have the Word of God as its authority rejects God’s prescriptive will, and therefore rejects God.
Mark #2 - The right administration of sacraments has a direct view of the congregations application of God’s Word in worship. It is a sign of rightly practicing what is preached. An overflow if you will of mark #1.
Mark #3 - Discipline keeps the glory of God and preserve the health of the church. This is designed to be a corrective measure when the church or its members goes astray in rightly applying God’s Word in their lives. This mark also reaches outside of the particular worship service and into every facet of an individuals life.

When considering this matter it is important to remember that there is no perfectly pure church. As the Westminster Confession of Faith declares (25:5) - “The purest churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error.”

There is a call for papers on Medieval Theology and Biblical Exegesis for the International Medieval Congress, Leeds, 9-12 July, 2007.

Submissions can be made here…
http://imc.leeds.ac.uk/imcapp/

or you can request a submission form by contacting…
mailto:imc@leeds.ac.uk

Deadline for individual submissions is August 31.

Any questions you can contact…
fvliere@calvin.edu