May 5th, 2011 by Geoff Volker
In the gospels the theme that Israel is not the real people of God is continued. In Matthew 8:5-13 Jesus heals the servant of the Roman centurion. The centurion only requests of Jesus to say the word and his servant would be healed. In response to such faith Jesus says,
I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus was stating that in the kingdom of heaven the Israelites, who are the picture of the people of God, will be thrown out of the kingdom. (more…)
March 28th, 2011 by Geoff Volker
In Galatians 4:21-31 we find the apostle Paul using an allegory to teach the Galatian believers about the true nature of Israel. Paul begins by saying that the mothers of Abraham’s children, Sarah and Hagar (Keturah and her children are not mentioned in this context), represent two covenants. He is referring to the Old and the New covenants. Hagar represents the Old or Mosaic Covenant, while Sarah represents the New Covenant. Hagar is described as the slave woman, while Sarah is described as the free woman. The covenant that Hagar represents is from Mount Sinai, which represents the present city of Jerusalem, and is said to bear children who are to be slaves. This is another way of saying that the Old Covenant was a works covenant and could only produce unbelievers. (more…)
March 17th, 2011 by Geoff Volker
As one who holds to New Covenant Theology (NCT) I am frequently asked this question, “Do you believe in replacement theology? When I hear other teachers who embrace NCT try to answer this question I hear them giving rather involved answers in order to avoid receiving the label of one who holds to replacement theology. My answer is quite clear, I do believe in replacement theology. In fact, I would go as far as saying that I do not think that anyone who holds to NCT could answer the question any other way. (more…)
November 17th, 2010 by Geoff Volker
One commonly hears other believers talk about being called by God to do something. This is most often used with regard to the call to be a pastor (sometimes referred to as the “call to the ministry”) or the call to be a missionary. (more…)
October 20th, 2010 by Geoff Volker
Nothing seems more harmless than grumbling about the weather. But…it is a terrible sin of unbelief. What is at stake when we complain about the weather? We are questioning the wisdom of our God. We are questioning the sovereignty of our God. We are questioning the love of our God. (more…)
July 21st, 2010 by Geoff Volker
RADICAL: TAKING BACK YOUR FAITH FROM THE AMERICAN DREAM by David Platt, published by Multnomah Books, 2010, 230 pages, paperback.
Here is a book that has caused quite a stir in evangelical circles. It is written by a young pastor of a 4,000 member megachurch in Birmingham, Alabama who has had his life radically affected by what he has experienced on some short-term mission trips to very unglamorous locations around the globe. His missions experience includes trips to the Sudan, China and India. As a result of his missions experience he has rethought his approach to the church and the Christian life. This book is his call to believers to take their commitment to their Lord to a new level.
One strength of the book is that the author David Platt in an incurable God-lover. This truth oozes through the pages and is very encouraging to the heart of a God-loving reader. He also emphasizes the concern that we not get trapped into a life of the pursuit of comfort and ease. This is a valid concern for us believers who live in America. The warning in Philippians 2:12-13 to work out our salvation with fear and trembling would seem to be referring to such a concern that David was expressing, which is that we not get overtaken by our culture. Also the emphasis on evangelism is always good in that it sensitizes us to our responsibility to take the good news to a dying world. Finally, his concern that we increase our awareness that we are part of a global plan of salvation is a good reminder. It is easy to become “provincial” in our outlook and not look broader than our own immediate situation. These are the positive things that I took from this book and my walk with the Lord is better for it.
Now I turn to the dark side. What are my concerns regarding David’s work. Unfortunately, they are multiple. My first problem is his use of scripture. He does seem to take verses out of context. This really concerns me since it gives the impression that he is “using” scripture to make his points rather than carefully handling the word of God to see what God would have us believe and do. In the first part of the book this can be seen in his use of Luke 9 and Matthew 10. David also makes many statements that though they sound good they are a bit off. He seems to be a man of passion but not one that gives careful thought to what he says. He also uses guilt to motivate his readers. What is strange is that after he makes guilt motivating statements he will then seek to qualify what he said. This is a good thing but then he goes on to use more guilt motivating statements. His emphasis on evangelism does seem to come from his own ministry emphasis. But the problem as I see it is that each believer does not necessarily have the same ministry emphasis. Some believers may emphasize a ministry of helps, some teaching, some mercy and some evangelism. One believer’s ministry emphasis is not necessarily another’s and each ministry emphasis is equally valid and important.
In closing, David Platt’s work is all about encouraging the believer to push the envelope in what it means to live for Jesus Christ. That is a praiseworthy aim but the book contained too many problems for me to recommend it as the book to read on that subject. I would recommend the book by John Piper “Don’t Waste Your Life” as a far better book on the same basic subject. David Platt is one of the good guys but good guys do not always write good books.
April 19th, 2010 by Geoff Volker
When we say that the law of Christ is the New Covenant era version of the law of God we are saying that we are not under the Old Covenant era version of the law of God, the Mosaic Law. These two eras of law are also two different eras in terms of emphasis. (more…)
March 4th, 2010 by Geoff Volker
Within the study of New Covenant Theology there is emerging a difference of opinion over exactly what is the Law of Christ. It is the opinion of this writer that the Law of Christ is the version of God’s law that we are to obey in this New Covenant era. (more…)
January 25th, 2010 by Geoff Volker
The Big Picture Story Bible, by David Helm with Illustrations by Gail Schoonmaker, published by Crossway Books, 2004, 453 pages, clothbound.
The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm is a children’s book. You might be wondering, what is In-Depth Studies doing in reviewing a children’s book? Admittedly, this is not the sort of book that I would typically review. To be honest, I am usually a bit disappointed at most children’s books. The reason for my disappointment is that children’s books tend to be theologically deficient. (more…)
December 24th, 2009 by Geoff Volker
James 1:13-15
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown , gives birth to death.
In this blog I want to explore the relationship between a temptation and a test in the life of the believer. In seeking to understand the relationship between these two concepts it must be pointed out that the same event can be for the believer both a temptation and a test. How can this be so?
In my previous blog on the problem of evil I pointed out that our God is the first cause of all things, even evil, yet when evil is done those who do the evil and they alone are to be blamed for the evil. God can never be blamed for the evil as he is a holy God (1 John 1:5). When a believer encounters a temptation he is being tempted to dishonor his God. The source of this temptation comes either from the remaining evil within the believer or from evil outside of the believer. So, from the point of view of responsibility God cannot be blamed for the temptation since temptation is only concerned with the enticement to do evil. But, from the point of view of God as the first cause of all things, the same event that has been described as a temptation is also a test brought into the life of the believer by a loving Father who would never bring anything into the life of the believer that was not motivated by his love and for their good (Romans 8:28). The test is brought into the life of the believer in order to build him up not tear him down.
A temptation is also a test and a test is also a temptation. It all depends on your point of view. When we are tempted to do evil we must resist this temptation for we are being enticed to do something that dishonors the God whom we love (Hebrews 12:4). But, from another point of view the temptation can be also viewed as a test that our Father in heaven has brought into our lives in order to cause us to become more Christ-like and to increase our love for Him (Romans 8:28).
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