How often do Christians consider the lines of implication that the doctrines of the Trinity and Hypostatic Union send out into all of life? Could we say that most Christians consider understanding these two doctrines and their implications as vitally important for living life? Or might we say that though most Christians think of these two doctrines as essential to the Christian faith, they do not see them as having any real significant relevance for Christian living? In other words, would we be right in thinking that most Christians think of these doctrines as dry and abstract without any real import for the daily grind of living life?

I would guess that most of you who are reading this article would agree that Christians in general fail to see the relevance of these two doctrines for understanding life in general and living the Christian life in particular. I’ve spent most of my life failing to see their profound relevance for “life under the sun.” So I began to wonder, “What might account for this widespread failure to recognize the deeply practical significance of the Trinity and Hypostatic Union?” Consider Ralph Smith’s thoughts about the lack of Trinitarian thought in the church.

“As Carl F.H. Henry rightly protested, ‘The doctrine of the Trinity is seldom preached in evangelical churches; even its practical values are neglected…’ It is not that the essential points are unknown—though perhaps in some churches even that may be a problem—it is more that pastors and their congregations have not really considered the implications of the doctrine. Once the doctrine is proved from Scripture, little more is taught about it. This is a tragedy since the doctrine of the Trinity is the crux of the Christian understanding of the world” (Trinity and Reality: An Introduction to the Christian Faith, xii).

I think this widespread failure really comes down to the fact that pastors themselves have failed to think out the practical importance of these two great doctrines particularly as it relates to interpretation and preaching. When pastors begin to think out the practical significance of the Trinity and Hypostatic Union particularly with reference to preaching, I believe their preaching will become much more gospel-centered regardless of the text. So let’s briefly explore a few of the lines of implication that these two great doctrines send out into the realm of interpretation and preaching.

The One God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

The Christian doctrine of God is that there is one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God has never been nor ever will be just Father. Neither has God ever been or ever will be just Father and Son or Father and Spirit. No, the Christian God has forever been and will forever be Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is eternally the Triune God. T. F. Torrance writes:

“God’s distinctive self-revelation as Holy Trinity, One Being, Three Persons, creates the overall framework within which all Christian theology is to be formulated. Understandably, therefore, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity has been called the innermost heart of the Christian faith and worship, the central dogma of classical theology, the fundamental grammar of our knowledge of God” (The Christian Doctrine of God: One Being, Three Persons, 2).

So what happens to redemption if God is not Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? What happens to the gospel if God is just one person? In other words, what relevance does the doctrine of the Triune God have with reference to the gospel? In its personification of love, 1 Corinthians 13 teaches that love is always self-giving ever moving outward in relationship with others. It always seeks the benefit of other persons.

(article is currently being revised…)

This post is the manuscript of a seminar that was originally written for a men’s retreat. But even though I wrote it specifically for men, it has application for all who desire to be gospel-driven. If you want to save the document in WORD format, click on the link below. Blessings!

Real Men are Gospel-Driven lecture notes

Real Men (and women) are Gospel-Driven
Dan Cruver

Introduction: The title of my session is “Real Men are Gospel-Driven.” I could have entitled it “Real Men are Gospel-Centered” just as easily. But in either case, the topic as it stands has broad application. I could talk about men being gospel-driven as husbands, as fathers, as congregants, as servants, as leaders, as employees or employers, etc., but my emphasis here is not so broad. What I’m primarily concerned with here is men being gospel-driven as students of Scripture. Why? Because it seems to me that if men are gospel-driven in this way, if men are gospel-driven in their study and application of Scripture, then they will increasingly become more gospel-driven in all these other areas of life. A husband and father who is a gospel-driven student of Scripture will find that he is becoming more gospel-driven as a husband and father. A single man who interprets and applies Scripture from a gospel-driven or gospel-centered perspective will find that he is becoming more gospel-driven in all of his relationships. So even though my primary concern here is with the study of Scripture, I’m not losing sight of the big picture.

At this point someone might say, “What does it even mean to be gospel-driven? I’m not sure I know what it means in general let alone what it means to be gospel-driven as a student of Scripture.” For now let me merely introduce an answer to that question by quoting Jerry Bridges from his article entitled “Gospel-Driven Sanctification.” Hopefully, by the time we conclude this session today you will have a fuller understanding of what it means to be gospel-driven particularly as it relates to Bible study. Regarding progressive-sanctification Bridges writes:

“We must always keep focused on the gospel because it is in the nature of sanctification that as we grow, we see more and more of our sinfulness. Instead of driving us to discouragement, though, this should drive us to the gospel. It is the gospel believed every day that is the only enduring motivation to pursue progressive sanctification even in those times when we don’t seem to see progress. That is why I use the expression ‘gospel-driven sanctification’ and that is why we need to ‘preach the gospel to ourselves every day’” (from “Gospel-Driven Sanctification” by Jerry Bridges).

What is gospel-driven sanctification? According to Jerry Bridges, it is sanctification that is motivated and empowered by the gospel. At the heart of gospel-driven sanctification is the conviction that the gospel is the very power of God for growing in Christ-likeness (cf. Romans 1:16-17). So, what is a gospel-driven man as it relates to life in general? To state it succinctly, a gospel-driven man is a man who lives and breathes the gospel. He is a man (1) who believes that the gospel is not just the power of God to give him entrance into the Christian life, but also the power of God to live the entirety of his Christian life; and (2) who lives accordingly.

What is a gospel-driven man as it relates to the study of Scripture in particular? He is a man (1) who believes that the center and ultimate reference point of Holy Scripture is the life, death, and resurrection of Christ; and (2) who interprets and applies Scripture accordingly. That being said, let’s consider the following two points as it relates to being gospel-driven men in our study of Scripture: (1) The Essential Centrality of the Gospel: A Biblical Perspective; and (2) The Functional Centrality of the Gospel: A Biblical Paradigm. Read the rest of this entry »

From Left to Right: Assistant Orphanage Director, Dan, Hannah, Orphanage Director, Melissa

River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze (a New York Times Bestseller by Peter Hessler)
A House for My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament (by Peter J. Leithart)
Paul: An Outline of His Theology (by Herman Ridderbos)
The Art of Reading Scripture (Edited by Ellen F. Davis & Richard B. Hays)
The Faith of Jesus Christ: The Narrative Substructure of Galatians 3:1-4:11 (by Richard B. Hays)
God Crucified: Monotheism & Christology in the New Testament (by Richard Bauckham)

A friend of mine made me aware of this online audio discussion on The White Horse Inn. This particular program is entitled “Christ, the Center of Scripture.” It is part one of their new series on How to Read the Bible. I recommend it highly.

a http://www.whitehorseinn.org/listenonline.htm

My fellow blogger and friend, Rob Wilkerson, has written a very helpful article about disciplining our children in light of the gospel. Take a few minutes and read it. It is excellent!

http://mymiscellanies.blogspot.com/2005/05/preaching-gospel-to-our-kids-pointing.html

2 Timothy 3:16-17 is often used, and rightly so, when discussing the value of personal Bible study. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable…that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” The value of Bible study for the believer is that it is the means by which God equips him/her for Christian living. Given that Paul is primarily referring to the OT Scriptures in this context (verse 15, “sacred writings”), we can say that God in part equips believers to live the Christian life through the study of Genesis, Exodus, 1 & 2 Samuel, Esther, Ruth, Haggai, and every other OT book (side note: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 will not permit us to neglect the study of OT books like Haggai!).

Paul’s words to Timothy in these verses must be discussed when considering the necessity and benefit of studying Scripture. But there is a question that is not oftened asked when considering 2 Timothy 3:16-17, namely, how is it God equips believers for Christian living through an OT book like 1 Samuel? There are two common answers to this question.

(1) The stories of the OT were written down for our instruction. “Now these things [i.e. the things in Israel’s history spoken of in verses 1-5] took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did…Now these things happened to [Israel] as an example, but they were written down for our instruction” (1 Corinthians 10:6, 11). So God equips us for every good work through a book like 1 Samuel by giving us examples to follow or not to follow. Samuel Driver puts it like this: “The importance and real significance of the narrative lies in the types of character which they exhibit, and in the moral and spiritual lessons which…may be deduced from them. The patriarchs are tupoi hemoon; and in their biographies examples of faith and goodness–and also, sometimes, of unworthiness and moral failure–are set vividly and expressively before us” (The Book of Genesis 247). Therefore, for example, God equips His people in biblical friendship through accounts like that of David and Jonathan’s friendship in 1 Samuel 20.

(2) The OT Scriptures reveal the character of God to us. We learn that He is holy, righteous, compassionate, faithful, etc. It is as we see by faith the character of God as it is revealed in the OT that we are equipped to live the Christian life. The OT does set forth examples to be followed or not followed, but, to play off the Samuel Driver quotation, “the importance and real significance of the narrative lies in the character of God as it is shown in the text.” So we are equipped to be faithful as we by faith see the faithfulness of God in His dealings with Israel in the OT. We are equipped to be loving as we…etc.

As far as I am concerned, there is really nothing inherently wrong with these two answers (though I do have serious problems with Samuel Driver’s statement). The only real problem that I have with them is that they do not go far enough. Does God equip us through the instruction of OT stories? Yes. Does God equip us through the OT Scriptures as they reveal the character of God? Yes. But we still have not really answered our question, namely, how does God equip believers for Christian living through an OT book like 1 Samuel?

Consider the context of 2 Timothy 3:16-17. While exhorting Timothy to continue in what he had taught him, Paul makes a significant statement concerning the OT Scriptures which must influence our understanding of verses 16-17. Paul tells Timothy that “the sacred writings” (i.e. the OT Scriptures) “…are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (verse 15). So according to Paul, 1 Samuel is able to make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. As Donald Guthrie comments, “The mere reading of [the OT] Scriptures is ineffective in securing salvation unless faith is in operation, faith centered entirely in Christ” (The Pastoral Epistles 163). Concerning 2 Timothy 3:15-17, Graeme Goldsworthy states:

Paul here expresses the important hermeneutical principle that the Old Testament instructs us for salvation, but only in relation to Jesus Christ. The function of the gospel as the means of interpreting aright the Old Testament is inescapable…To understand the Bible correctly requires faith in Christ along with the Spirit’s enlightenment. Christ is revealed as the meaning of the Scriptures so that no part can be rightly understood without reference to him (Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture 85).

It seems to me that we need to carry this thought over into verses 16-17. If the Scriptures are only able to make us wise unto salvation through faith in Christ, must we also say that they are only able to equip us through faith in Christ? I believe the context indicates that God equips us by means of the Scriptures in the same He saves us by means of them, namely, through faith in His Son. To borrow from the language of Galatians 3:5-6, we are sanctified by faith in Christ just as we are justified by faith in Christ. It seems to me that 2 Timothy 3:15-17 ultimately requires us to understand and interpret every text in its necessary relationship to the Person and Work of Christ. “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable…that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work through faith in Christ Jesus.”

I taught my last Principles of Bible Study class of the semester on Friday, May 6th. It is hard to believe that my first full year of teaching this class is over. If my students learned half as much in taking the class as I have in teaching the class, I will be very pleased. What would please me most is if they are now convinced of the necessity of discerning the connection that every text they study has with the Gospel. If there is one thing my students might get weary of hearing me say, it is this: “You have not rightly handled or interpreted a text unless ultimately you can clearly identify its relationship to the Gospel.”

Every text has two contexts in which it must be interpreted, namely, its micro (i.e. the immediate context) and macro contexts (i.e. the larger context of the particular book and of Scripture as a whole). It is not enough merely to interpret a text in its relationship to its micro-context. As important as it is to understand a text in its immediate context, to do so does not mean that you have identified its relationship to the Gospel, that is, its relationship to what God has done in Christ to accomplish salvation. The failure to understand a text in its macro or redemptive-context is tantamount to the failure of the two disciples on the road to Emmaus to understand that the entire OT testifies to Christ in his suffering and subsequent glory (Luke 24:21).

How many sermons have you heard on Matthew 18:15-20 (process of church discipline) that have actually shown the text’s essential relationship with the work of Christ on the cross? I have heard plenty that have done an adequate job interpreting the text within its micro-context but very few in its macro-context. So how might we preach a sermon on Matthew 18 that takes in to account the macro-context of the entire Gospel of Matthew?

There are many questions that I think Matthew 18:15-20 presses upon us that may help us discern its connection to the work of Christ. Here are a few (all three questions are related and the answers I give are only suggestive):

Question One: What connection does Matthew 18:15-20 have with the climax of Matthew’s Gospel, namely, the passion of Christ?

Answer: In Matthew 18, an individual who refuses to repent is cut off from the community of faith. But it is at the cross where we see (1) what ultimately happens to a man who remains in an unrepentant state. He is cut off from God. At the cross Jesus was cut off from God because he bore the guilt of our sin. (2) We also see that Jesus was cut off that sinners might not be cut off from God’s presence. His work on the cross opened the way for sinners like you and me to enter into the holy presence of God (Matthew 27:51). If we fail to make that connection explicit, those who are working through the process of confronting another brother with his sin might very well fail to do so humbly. After all, both the ones exercising church discipline and the ones receiving it are equally in need of what Christ accomplished at the cross. Only when we see Matthew 18’s connection with Christ’s work on the cross will we be both confident and humble in walking through the discipline process. On the one hand, we will be confident because we know that the cross is the power of God unto restoring our wayward brother. On the other hand, we will be humble because we know that we too stand in desperate need of what Christ accomplished at Calvary.

Question Two: How is it possible to expel an unrepentant brother from the community of faith with a view to restoration? In other words, how can we hold out restoration as a possibility for one who has remained blatantly unrepentant through the entire discipline process? What hope is there for one who has been excommunicated from the Christian assembly?

Answer: It is possible to expel an unrepentant individual from the community of faith with a view to restoration because there is one who though he never sinned against God or his brothers but rather loved God with all his heart and his brothers as himself at all times, was expelled (i.e. forsaken, abandoned) from the Father’s presence in the unrepentant individual’s place. At the cross Jesus, the only truly righteous man, was treated as if he were the unrepentant one. He who knew no sin became sin for those who are in desperate need of restoration that they might become the righteousness of God in him. The only reason we can practice church discipline with a view toward restoration is because Jesus has already taken the sinner’s place thereby opening for him the path of life (Psalm 16:11).

Question Three: What must we do with the individual who has been expelled in order that we might see him restored?

Answer: Keep lovingly facing him (1) with what it means to be cut off from the community of faith, namely, you are cut off from the presence of God; and (2) with what Christ has done in his place that he might be restored. The cross is the one place where both of these truths are seen most clearly. Why must we bring this two-fold message of the cross to bear upon the expelled individual? (1) That he might be awakened to the sinfulness of his sin and its terrible consequences. (2) Because it is this very message of what Christ has done in his place that is the very power of God unto his restoration.

May we all seek to be Gospel-centered in our handling of texts like Matthew 18:15-20.

If you would like to comment on my blog’s new look, please feel free. My brother David did all the work! Thanks, David!

The following is one of the hymns I most love. It is entitled “It is Finished!” (written by James Proctor).

It is Finished!

Nothing, either great or small–nothing sinner, no;
Jesus died and paid it all, long, long ago.

“It is finished!” yes, indeed, finished ev’ry jot;
Sinner, this is all you need, tell me, is it not?

When He, from His lofty throne, stooped to do and die,
Ev’rything was fully done; hearden to His cry!

Weary, working, burdened one, wherefore toil you so?
Cease your doing; all was done long, long ago.

Till to Jesus’ work you cling by a simple faith,
“Doing” is a deadly thing–”doing ends in death.

Refrain:
Cast your deadly “doing” down–down at Jesus’ feet;
Stand in Him in Christ alone, gloriously complete.

My year of teaching is almost over. Even though it has been a great year I am eager for its completion. One of the reasons for my eagerness is the books I get to read over the summer months. I can’t remember a time when I looked forward to reading more than I am right now. The prospect of “mastering” a few well-chosen books rather excites me at the moment. I’ve spent quite a few minutes trying to narrow my summer-reading book list down. It is always a painful process, but while I was doing the agonizing work of eliminating prospective reads, I stumbled upon a very helpful article about reading less in order to master. So before you jump into your summer reading list you might want to read it.

Why Settle for Merely Reading a Book When You Can Master It?

How to Read Less More, and Twice as Fast

May/June, 1998

Dear Friend,

If you’re like me, you really want to read more effectively, but you don’t know how and can’t find the time. Solomon wrote, “The writing of many books is endless, and excessive devotion to books is wearying to the body.”* I agree. The stacks of unopened volumes in my own library weary me just looking at them.

To make matters worse, even the good books we read teach us nothing. We forget the details almost immediately because our goal is to finish the book, not master the material.

I have a plan to change that. I want to show you how you can read less, more. It’s based on one simple idea: It’s better to thoroughly read one or two good books than “finish” ten or twenty by reading them cover to cover and then moving on.

The idea raises two practical problems. First, how do we know if a book is worth investing time in? Second, what techniques will allow us to read thoroughly, yet quickly, leading to mastery?

Four Pages a Day

Don’t think you’ve got to read 50, 25, or even 10 books a year to stay educated, informed, and equipped. Instead, I want you to think about carefully reading just six books during the next twelve months. Read the rest of this entry »

“There is a righteousness which Paul calls ‘the righteousness of faith’. God imputes it to us apart from our works–in other words, it is passive righteousness…So then, have we nothing to do to obtain this righteousness? No, nothing at all! For this righteousness comes by doing nothing, hearing nothing, knowing nothing, but rather in knowing and believing this only–that Christ has gone to the right hand of the Father, not to become our judge, but to become for us our wisdom, our righteousness, our holiness, our salvation! Now God sees no sin in us, for in this heavenly righteousness sin has no place. So now we may certainly think, ‘Although I still sin, I don’t despair, because Christ lives, who is both my righteousness and my eternal life.’ In that righteousness I have no sin, no fear, no guilty conscience, no fear of death. I am indeed a sinner in this life of mine and in my own righteousness, but I have another life, another righteousness above this life, which is in Christ, the Son of God.

“Christians never completely understand [their justification] themselves, and thus do not take advantage of it when they are troubled and tempted. So we have to constantly teach it, repeat it, and work it out in practice. Anyone who does not understand this righteousness or cherish it in the heart and conscience will continually be buffeted by fears and depression. Nothing gives peace like this passive righteousness. The troubled conscience has no cure for its desperation and feeling of unworthiness unless it takes hold of the forgiveness of sins by grace, offered free of charge in Jesus Christ, which is this passive or Christian righteousness….Once you are in Christ, the Law is the greatest guide for your life, but until you have Christian righteousness, all the law can do is to show you how sinful and condemned you are. But if we first receive Christian righteousness, then we can use the law, not for our salvation, but for his honor and glory, and to lovingly show our gratitude” (Martin Luther, Commentary on Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians, “Preface”, 1953 edition).