An International Journal for Students of Theological and Religious Studies Volume 40 Issue 1 April 2015
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An International Journal for Students of Theological and Religious Studies Volume 40 Issue 1 April 2015 EDITORIAL: Why the Local Church Is More Important Than 1 TGC, White Horse Inn, 9Marks, and Maybe Even ETS D. A. Carson OFF THE RECORD: Courtier Politicians and Courtier Preachers 10 Michael J. Ovey Editor’s Note: Abraham, Our Father 13 Brian J. Tabb ‘Fathers of Faith, My Fathers Now!’: On Abraham, Covenant, 14 and the Theology of Paedobaptism David Gibson The Abrahamic Covenant in Reformed Baptist Perspective 35 Martin Salter Romans 4 and the Justification of Abraham in Light of 50 Perspectives New and Newer David Shaw Evangelical History after George Marsden: A Review Essay 63 Nathan A. Finn PASTORAL PENSÉES: Irrational Violence? Reconsidering the 78 Logic of Obedience in Genesis 22 Matthew Rowley Book Reviews 90 DESCRIPTION Themelios is an international, evangelical, peer-reviewed theological journal that expounds and defends the historic Christian faith. Its primary audience is theological students and pastors, though scholars read it as well. Themelios began in 1975 and was operated by RTSF/UCCF in the UK, and it became a digital journal operated by The Gospel Coalition in 2008. The editorial team draws participants from across the globe as editors, essayists, and reviewers. Themelios is published three times a year online at The Gospel Coalition website in PDF and HTML, and may be purchased in digital format with Logos Bible Software and in print with Wipf and Stock. Themelios is copyrighted by The Gospel Coalition. Readers are free to use it and circulate it in digital form without further permission, but they must acknowledge the source and may not change the content.. EDITORS BOOK REVIEW EDITORS Systematic Theology and Bioethics Hans Madueme General Editor: D. A. Carson Old Testament Covenant College Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Jerry Hwang 14049 Scenic Highway 2065 Half Day Road Singapore Bible College Lookout Mountain, GA 30750, USA Deerfield, IL 60015, USA 9–15 Adam Road [email protected] [email protected] Singapore 289886 [email protected] Ethics (but not Bioethics) and Pastoralia Managing Editor: Brian Tabb Dane Ortlund Bethlehem College and Seminary New Testament Crossway 720 13th Avenue South David Starling 1300 Crescent Street Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA Morling College Wheaton, IL 60187, USA [email protected] 120 Herring Road [email protected] Macquarie Park, NSW 2113, Australia Contributing Editor: Michael J. Ovey [email protected] Mission and Culture Oak Hill Theological College Jason S. Sexton Chase Side, Southgate History and Historical Theology California State University London, N14 4PS, UK Nathan A. Finn PLN 120 [email protected] Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary 800 N. State College P. O. Box 1889 Administrator: Andy Naselli Fullteron, CA 92834, USA Wake Forest, NC 27588, USA Bethlehem College and Seminary [email protected] [email protected] 720 13th Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55415, USA [email protected] EDITORIAL BOARD Gerald Bray, Beeson Divinity School; Hassell Bullock, Wheaton College; Lee Gatiss, Wales Evangelical School of Theology; Paul Helseth, University of Northwestern, St. Paul; Paul House, Beeson Divinity School; Ken Magnuson, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Jonathan Pennington, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Mark D. Thompson, Moore Theological College; Paul Williamson, Moore Theological College; Stephen Witmer, Pepperell Christian Fellowship; Robert Yarbrough, Covenant Seminary. ARTICLES Themelios typically publishes articles that are 4,000 to 9,000 words (including footnotes). Prospective contributors should submit articles by email to the managing editor in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or Rich Text Format (.rtf). Submissions should not include the author’s name or institutional affiliation for blind peer-review. Articles should use clear, concise English and should consistently adopt either UK or USA spelling and punctuation conventions. Special characters (such as Greek and Hebrew) require a Unicode font. Abbreviations and bibliographic references should conform to The SBL Handbook of Style (2nd ed.), supplemented by The Chicago Manual of Style (16th ed.). For examples of the the journal's style, consult the most recent Themelios issues and the contributor guidelines. REVIEWS The book review editors generally select individuals for book reviews, but potential reviewers may contact them about reviewing specific books. As part of arranging book reviews, the book review editors will supply book review guidelines to reviewers. Themelios 40.1 (2015): 1–9 EDITORIAL Why the Local Church Is More Important Than TGC, White Horse Inn, 9Marks, and Maybe Even ETS — D. A. Carson — D. A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. ost of us, I’m sure, have heard the adage, “The church is the only human institution that continues into the new heavens and the new earth.”1 It’s the sort of adage with which no Christian can thoughtfully disagree, even though it is spectacularly fuzzy. Does “church” in Mthat old adage refer to the universal church? If so, is the universal church rightly thought of as a “hu- man institution”? It is certainly made up of humans, but it was not designed by humans. Is the universal church usefully thought of as an institution? Organism, company, body, assembly, yes—but institution? We all agree, I imagine, that Christians continue into the new heavens and the new earth, but if that’s all we mean, why mention the church? The body of Christians continues into the new heavens and the new earth, the assembly of Christians continues into the new heavens and the new earth, but is it coherent to assert that the institution of all Christians everywhere continues into the new heavens and the new earth? Suppose, instead, that “church” in the adage “The church is the only human institution that continues into the new heavens and the new earth” refers to the local church. But does the local church continue into the new heavens and the new earth? The answer to that question is going to depend pretty heavily on how we define “local church.” Suppose, for argument’s sake, that we adopt the three marks of the church defended by much Reformed thought: the church is the assembly where the gospel is faithfully preached, the sacraments are rightly observed, and faithful discipline is carried out. Will such a church continue into the new heaven and the new earth? Will the sacraments—or, if you prefer, the ordinances— then be practiced? If baptism is tied to conversion, surely no one will be eligible for baptism if no one is getting converted. If the Lord’s Supper points forward “until he comes,” what evidence is there that it will still be celebrated after he has come? In short, the old adage with which I began this address is so beset with terminological challenges that its sole benefit lies in the domain of sentimental reassurance rather than in the domain of clear- 1 This editorial was first delivered as a paper at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in San Diego, CA (November 2014), alongside presentations from Mark Dever and Michael S. Horton on “The Local Church: Its Message, Marks, and Mission.” 1 Themelios headed theological reflection. In exactly the same way, the slightly cheeky affirmation advanced by the title of this address easily becomes indefensible unless some terminological clarifications are introduced right away. Terminological Clarifications The title speaks of the relative importance of the local church, not the universal church: “Why the local church is more important than TGC [and all the rest].” No Christian would dispute the importance of the universal church. But two factors weigh against the practical ecclesiastical significance of such an avowal. First, there are surprisingly few references to the universal church in the NT. The overwhelming majority of the occurrences of the word “church” refer to local churches. Second, many Christians think of the universal church as the conglomerate collection of believers drawn from every age who ultimately gather around the throne of God; but, as wonderful as this notion is, such a definition provides little scope to assess the relative importance of the local church and of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS) since both the local church and ETS, we hope, are made up of such believers. To derive lessons on the importance of the local church from the relatively few passages that refer to the universal church presupposes that one has sorted out the relationships between the two at a deeper level. That is an important subject worth exploring, but, at least at the popular level, it is not one that is well understood. For instance, although the set of contrasts built into the relevant passage in Heb 12 is immensely evocative, precisely how do they help us think through our subject? You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire: to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain it must be stoned to death.” The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.