The Implications of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15

Here is a nice quote from David Peterson’s just released commentary on Acts:

“However, Acts 15 is to imply commending a particular process of decision-making and the ideal of a community united in discovering and applying the will of God. Subtly and surely, Luke uses the apostles’ statements to shape a new definition of ‘the people of God’ as one based on messianic faith rather than on ethnic origin or ritual observance. Here we find an important manifestation of the church as entity involving local congregations in partnership, working together to maintain the truth of God’s word and promote the work of the gospel. The Jerusalem Council makes the gospel of salvation by faith alone the key to defining the true nature of this church, which involves Jewish and Gentile believers together. At the same time, there is further reflection on the role of the law in the new community created through faith in Christ.”

David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 2009), pp. 442–3.

H. A. Ironside the Preacher

Peter Mead has posted a great quote from Warren Wiersbe concerning H. A. Ironside.

Ironside was not a dazzling preacher; he did not aim to be sensational. He stepped into the pulpit with exclamation points, not question marks. A generation of preachers that has tried every gimmick available to get people’s attention would do well to become acquainted with Harry Ironside and to learn afresh the meaning of living by faith and preaching the Word of God in simplicity and love.

Spousal Mistreatment in the Roman World and 1 Peter 3

Josh Mann has a nice post on 1 Peter 3 and spousal mistreatment in the Roman world. You can read it here.

The Scope of the Jerusalem Council Decision

Here is a quote from an older work as part of my ongoing study in Acts in general and the Jerusalem Council in particular.

“The Fact the decree is addressed to the Churches of Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia by name, seems to show that it was drawn up to meet a special difficulty affecting special Churches, and was not meant to be of universal obligation. With this agrees the fact that St. Paul in writing to other Churches never alludes to it ; and further, in his letter to the Corinthians (I Cor. X.27) and in that to the Romans xiv. 2), he speaks of one of its rules (about eating things offered to idols) as an open question, to be answered by each man’s conscience on principles of evangelical expediency.”

John Pilkington Norris, A Key to the Narrative of the Acts of the Apostles (London: Rivingtons, 1871), 74.

I am not sure that Norris is right given Acts 21:25, but the issue of 1 Corinthians is problematic. See this earlier post.

The Latest Issue of Themelios is Out

The Latest Issue of Themelios a international journal for students of theological and religious studies is out as a free pdf download here.

HT: Andy Naselli

Creating a Torah Scroll

Some readers might find this website created to track the progress of a creation of a Torah scroll, a project expected to take eighteen months, by Rabbi Avraham Bloomenstiel. The website contains several short videos explaining some of the intricacies of creating the Hebrew letters.

Applying the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15)

Timothy Wiarda identifies three models for those “who share a belief that the Jerusalem Council offers a paradigm that may be followed today by those who develop theology to guide the church.”

1. The council as a model of contextualization.
2. The Council as a model for Spirit-led community interpretation of Scripture.
3. The Council as a pattern for a bimodal authority structure (Scripture and Tradition).
4. The Council as an example of canonical conversations (intramural discussions related to theological diversity).
5. The Council as a precedent for theological decision-making based on a concept of progressive revelation.

Timothy Wiarda, The Jerusalem Council and the Theological Task, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 46 (2003): 233–43.

Syntactical Diagram of 1 Peter 2 and 3:13-22 and 4:1-19

For those who have facility with Greek, Daniel Doleys has posted his syntactical diagram of 1 Peter 4 (he also has posted chapters 1-3) here.

Polygamy in the Old Testament

See here for V. Philips Long's thoughts on polygamy in the Old Testament.

Hamilton on the Canon of Scripture

Jim Hamilton has an article entitled Scripture: The Evangelical View, or, The Sixty Six Books of the Protestant Canon Are Inspired by the Holy Spirit and Therefore Inerrant." I have not read the article, but I have found that Jim Hamilton is usually worth reading. You can access the article here.

HT: Justin Taylor

Sermon Conclusions

Cal Habig has two nice posts on sermon conclusions. He starts off with a recent personal experience that many preachers can say, been there; done that, followed by some helpful words of advice. Read Cal's posts here and here.

Blomberg on Why He is a Calminian

Craig Blomberg discusses why he is neither a Calvinist or Arminian but a Calminian. You can read it here.

Animated Dead Sea Map

A. D. Riddle and David Parker have produced a nifty animated map of the Dead Sea in Israel. Check it out here.

HT: Mark Hoffman

Four Reasons Not to Give a Altar Call

Larry Moyer has written a thought-provoking piece on altar calls, whether one believes in using them or not. Check it out here.

Preaching the Macro Frame

See Peter Mead's helpful reminder here to note and preach the macro frames of Bible books.Bible exposition properly done should present both the forest and the trees.

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews that may be of interest from a Bible Exposition perspective include:

Peter Bouteneff
Beginnings: Ancient Christian Readings of the Biblical Creation Narratives
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6766
Reviewed by Korinna Zamfir

Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea L. Weiss, eds.
The Torah: A Women's Commentary
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6637
Reviewed by Amelia Devin Freedman

Frank Holzbrecher
Paulus und der historische Jesus: Darstellung und Analyse der bisherigen Forschungsgeschichte
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6618
Reviewed by Edwin Broadhead

H. A. G. Houghton
Augustine's Text of John: Patristic Citations and Latin Gospel Manuscripts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6861
Reviewed by Craig R. Koester

Patrick Hunt
Poetry in the Song of Songs: A Literary Analysis
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6840
Reviewed by Stefan Fischer

Mark J. Keown
Congregational Evangelism in Philippians: The Centrality of an Appeal for Gospel Proclamation to the Fabric of Philippians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7028
Reviewed by James Miller

John S. Kloppenborg
Q, the Earliest Gospel: An Introduction to the Original Stories and Sayings of Jesus
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6803
Reviewed by Christopher Tuckett

Bruce J. Malina and John J. Pilch
Social-Science Commentary on the Book of Acts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6608
Reviewed by Kenneth D. Litwak

Vanessa R. Sasson
The Birth of Moses and the Buddha: A Paradigm for the Comparative Study of Religions
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6777
Reviewed by Marco Frenschkowski

James T. Sparks
The Chronicler's Genealogies: Towards an Understanding of 1 Chronicles 1-9
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6682
Reviewed by Gershon Galil

Oda Wischmeyer and Stefan Scholz, eds.
Die Bibel als Text: Beiträge zu einer textbezogenen Bibel-Hermeneutik
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6975
Reviewed by Mark W. Elliott

Conversion Stories in Acts

Something to think about.

For Luke, stories of conversion are stories about beginnings—the beginning of Jerusalem community, the beginning of the church in Samaria and beyond, the beginning of triumph over the church’s enemies. Conversion also begins the response of an individual to a calling (9:15–16) and the response of a community to its calling (11:1–18). Conversion can only be described as part of the Lukan garment.

Beverly Roberts Gaventa, From Darkness to Light: Aspects of Conversion in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 125.

Books for Studying Exodus

Shane Lems has posted on the books that he found most helpful in preaching through Exodus. You can see Shane's list here.

Repetition in Acts

H. Porter Abbott notes concerning repetition that, “Repetition is one of the surest signs of the meaningful. If you are stuck trying to interpret a text, one good question to ask yourself is: What is repeated in this narrative?” With that in mind, it is worth noting that there are several events in Acts that Luke mentions three times. Paul’s conversion (9:1–22, 22:1–23, 26:1–23), the conversion of Cornelius (10:1–48; 11:1–18; 15:7–11 [also alluded to by James in 15:14]), and the prohibitions from the Jerusalem Council (15:20, 29; 21:25) are all mentioned three times. Is it accidental that all three of these triads relate to the mission to the Gentiles?

H. Porter Abbott, The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), 195.

Gaventa on Paul’s Conversion

Though I cannot endorse all aspects of Beverly Gaventa’s From Darkness to Light, I think that the following summary concerning Paul’s conversion in Acts is helpful.

“Although Paul is not a paradigmatic convert, there are certain assumptions operative in Luke’s narrative that are important to not: (1) Paul’s conversion results from divine initiative; (2) conversion is not an end to itself but a means to growth of the gospel; (3) the narratives we have examined treat and individual conversion in order to savor the experience but always in order to witness.”

Beverly Roberts Gaventa, From Darkness to Light: Aspects of Conversion in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 92.

Lament Forms in Lamentations

Mandy Park has a nice survey of lament forms and Lamentations 2 at the Floppy Hat blog. Read part 1 here.

Organize Your Day Well

Crosswalk.com has a helpful article on organizing your day. You can access it here.

The Plan of God and Apologetics in Luke-Acts

According to John T. Squires:

“The exposition of central aspects of the faith is the major type of apologetic activity which is present in Luke-Acts. Two key events have recurred throughout our investigation, for it is these two events which are pivotal to the plan of God and which therefore need to be expounded in some detail. (a) The necessity and centrality of the passion of Jesus is asserted and expounded, in opposition to the deed of the Jewish leaders and the misunderstanding of the disciples, as being central to the plan of God. (b) The integral role of the mission to the Gentiles, as an important part of the plan of God, is asserted and expounded in opposition to Jewish objectives and misgivings on the part of certain Christians. Each of these events is central to the plan of God; each of them is explained by recourse to divine providence.”

John T. Squires, The Plan of God in Luke-Acts Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series 76, ed. Margaret Thrall (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 194

Martin Hengel (1926-2009)

Martin Hengel, the New Testament scholar has died. Hengel's published works include a classic work on crucifixion in the ancient world. For an obituary see here.

Latest Issue of Review of Biblical Literature

The latest issue of Review of Biblical Literature is out. Reviews that may be of interest from a Bible Exposition perspective include:

J. K. Aitken
The Semantics of Blessing and Cursing in Ancient Hebrew
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6817
Reviewed by Yael Avrahami

Rami Arav, ed.
Cities through the Looking Glass: Essays on the History and Archaeology of Biblical Urbanism
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6727
Reviewed by Aren Maeir

Donald T. Ariel, Hava Katz, Shelley Sadeh, and Michael Segal
The Dead Sea Scrolls Catalogue
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6482
Reviewed by George J. Brooke

Carl Cosaert
The Text of the Gospels in Clement of Alexandria
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6784
Reviewed by J. K. Elliott

Audrey Dawson
Healing, Weakness and Power: Perspectives on Healing in the Writings of Mark, Luke and Paul
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7025
Reviewed by Kobus Kok

Stephen Finlan
The Apostle Paul and the Pauline Tradition
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6724
Reviewed by Korinna Zamfir

John T. Fitzgerald, ed.
Passions and Moral Progress in Greco-Roman Thought
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6860
Reviewed by Wayne A. Meeks

Richard A. Horsley
Wisdom and Spiritual Transcendence at Corinth: Studies in First Corinthians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6812
Reviewed by Anthony C. Thiselton

Darin H. Land
The Diffusion of Ecclesiastical Authority: Sociological Dimensions of Leadership in the Book of Acts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6718
Reviewed by Steve Walton

AnneMarie Luijendijk
Greetings in the Lord: Early Christians and the Oxyrhynchus Papyri
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=7050
Reviewed by J. K. Elliott

Kevin McGeough
Exchange Relationships at Ugarit
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6818
Reviewed by Roger S. Nam

Charles B. Puskas and David Crump
An Introduction to the Gospels and Acts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6804
Reviewed by Peter J. Judge