9Marks Audio

Mark Dever's 9Marks website has free access to some nice audio interviews on interesting topics with some major players in Evangelicalism today. The interviewees include J. I. Packer, John MacArthur, Simon Garthercole, D. A. Carson, Kent Hughes, etc. You can access these interviews here.

Sermon Specs

Enough said. Click on the image to get a better look.


















HT: The Sacred Sandwich

The Israelites,the Pharaoh, the Exodus, Oh My: Test Case for Libertarian Free Will?

Denny Burk has an interesting discussion on the implications or contributions of Exodus 3 to the issue of divine sovereignty and human freedom. Make sure to read the post carefully and the subsequent comments should be lively as well.

New Testament Biblical Theology Bibliography

Rodney Decker has posted a rather extensive New Testament biblical theology bibliography You can access the pdf here.

Missionaries Find E-mails Risky‏

There is an article in Christianity Today about some of the inherent dangers for missionaries who use e-mail. You can read the article 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:

Bill T. Arnold and Bryan E. Beyer
Encountering the Old Testament: A Christian Survey
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6473
Reviewed by Elmer A. Martens

Gabriele Boccaccini, ed.
Enoch and the Messiah Son of Man: Revisiting the Book of Parables
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6135
Reviewed by Thomas J. Kraus

Mark J. Boda, Daniel K. Falk, and Rodney A. Werline, eds.
Seeking the Favor of God, Volume 2: The Development of Penitential Prayer in Second Temple Judaism
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6148
Reviewed by Carla Sulzbach

Victor A. Copan
Saint Paul as Spiritual Director: An Analysis of the Concept of the Imitation of Paul with Implications and Applications to the Practice of Spiritual Direction
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6243
Reviewed by V. Henry T. Nguyen

Sidnie White Crawford
Rewriting Scripture in Second Temple Times
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6524
Reviewed by Stephen A. Reed

David G. Horrell
1 Peter
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6662
Reviewed by Peter H. Davids

Martin Illert, ed.
Doctrina Addai; De imagine Edessena = Die Abgarlegende; Das Christusbild von Edessa
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6797
Reviewed by Ilaria L. E. Ramelli

Temba L. J. Mafico
Yahweh's Emergence as "Judge" among the Gods: A Study of the Hebrew Root Spt
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6798
Reviewed by Robert Wafawanaka

Daniel Marguerat
Les Actes des Apôtres (1-12)
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6249
Reviewed by Stephan Witetschek

Herman J. Selderhuis
Calvin's Theology of the Psalms
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6513
Reviewed by Mark Elliott

Ekkehard W. Stegemann; Christina Tuor-Kurth and Peter Wick, eds.
Paulus und die Welt
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6239
Reviewed by Jens Herzer

Graham H. Twelftree
In the Name of Jesus: Exorcism among Early Christians
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6407
Reviewed by David Frankfurter

Top Seven Scholarly Books (Not Commentaries) on James

Craig Blomberg, who has recently coauthored a commentary on James, has provided an annotated list of his top seven scholarly books (but not Commentaries) on James.

7. Luke L. Cheung, The Genre, Composition and Hermeneutics of James (Carlisle, UK and Waynesboro, GA: Paternoster, 2003).

6. Robert L. Webb and John S. Kloppenborg, eds., Reading James with New Eyes: Methodological Reassessments of the Letter of James (London and New York: T & T Clark, 2007).

5. Lockett’s published version of that thesis, Purity and Worldview in the Epistle of James (LondonNew York: T & T Clark, 2008). and

4. David H. Edgar, Has God Not Chosen the Poor? The Social Setting of the Epistle of JamesSheffield Academic Press, 2001). (Sheffield:

3. Mark E. Taylor’s A Text-Linguistic Investigation into the Discourse Structure of James (LondonNew York: T & T Clark, 2006). and

2. Hershel Shanks and Ben Witherington III, The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story and Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus and His Family (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003).

1. Elsa Tamez, The Scandalous Message of James: Faith Without Works is Dead (New York: Crossroad, 2002),

Read the entire post with the annotations here.

The Argument of 1 Corinthians 8-10

Matthew Malcolm has a nice interaction with David Garland's view of the argument of 1 Corinthinas 8-10 (or perhaps 8:1-11:1). I have a lot of sympathy for Garland's view and although Malcom does not quite buy it all, he does a nice job of presenting it and interacting with it. You can read his post and my response here.

Mounce: Does Ephesians 4:29 apply to blogs?

Bill Mounce has provided a helpful reminder about the problems associated with speech using Ephesians 4:29. Read it here.

How Did the Rabbis Learn Hebrew?

See this interesting post on how the ancient rabbis learned Hebrew.

Malcolm asks, "Is Colossians also among the Hauptbriefe?"

Matthew Malcolm asks, "Is Colossians also among the Hauptbriefe?" in a recent post. For those that may not be quite up on their theological German, Hauptbriefe is German for "main letters" and is used in biblical studies to refer to Galatians, Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, both for their importance and for the fact that these epistles are genuinely Pauline. Malcolm for his part, and rightly so in my opinion, makes the case for Pauline authorship of Colossians, a book that critical scholars routinely reject as authentic. In any case, you can read Malcom's post here.

Commentaries on Jeremiah

Keith Mathison Ligonier Ministries has a list and discussion of his top five commentaries on Jeremiah at the Ligonier Ministries blog. The list is okay, but I would place Mackay and Kidner in the Runners Up category, replacing them with Holladay’s two volumes in the Hermeneia series and F. B. Huey in the New American Commentary series. I would also add commentaries by Brueggemann, McKane (ICC) and Feinberg (EBC) to the runners-up. In any case, the top five Mathison listed are:

1. J.A. Thompson -- The Book of Jeremiah (New International Commentary on the Old Testament, 1980).
2. Jack R. Lundbom -- Jeremiah 1-20, Jeremiah 21-36, Jeremiah 37-52 (The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries, 1999, 2004, 2004).
3. John L. Mackay -- Jeremiah 1-20, Jeremiah 21-52 (Mentor Commentary, 2004).
4. Tremper Longman -- Jeremiah, Lamentations (New International Biblical Commentary, 2008).
5. Derek Kidner -- The Message of Jeremiah (The Bible Speaks Today, 1987).

Walton on Sarai's Barrenness

John Walton has an interesting post on the cultural background for Sarai's (or Sarah's) barrenness as recorded in Genesis. You can read it here.

Applying Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Philip Brown has some helpful thoughts on applying Deuteronomy 6:6-7. Read his post here.

Dr. Harold Hoehner (1935-2009)

Dr. Harold Hoehner has gone to be with the Lord. This comes as a profound surprise to me since I just saw him yesterday. Please be in prayer for his wife Gini and the rest of his family. There is a nice tribute for Dr. Hoehner at the Dallas Theological Seminary website which you can access here.

Free Audio of the 2009 Nashville Conference on the Church and Theology

Free Audio is available here for the 2009 Nashville Conference on the Church and Theology. The featured speakers of this year's conference were John MacArthur, Bruce Ware, and Byron Yawn. You can also access 2008's conference featuring D. A. Carson, Steve Lawson, and Tim Challies as well at the same link.

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:

John M. G. Barclay and Simon Gathercole, eds.
Divine and Human Agency in Paul and His Cultural Environment
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6554
Reviewed by Stephan Joubert

George J. Brooke and Thomas Römer, eds.
Ancient and Modern Scriptural Historiography/L'Historiographie Biblique, Ancienne et Moderne
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6542
Reviewed by Ernst Axel Knauf

Maurice Casey
The Solution to the 'Son of Man' Problem
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6442
Reviewed by Paul Owen

David J. Chalcraft, ed.
Sectarianism in Early Judaism: Sociological Advances
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6468
Reviewed by Boris Repschinski

Mary Ann Getty-Sullivan
Parables of the Kingdom: Jesus and the Use of Parables in the Synoptic Tradition
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6577
Reviewed by Dan O. Via

Rowan A. Greer and Margaret M. Mitchell
The "Belly-Myther" of Endor: Interpretations of 1 Kingdoms 28 in the Early Church
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=5977
Reviewed by Thomas J. Kraus

Stefanie Ulrike Gulde
Der Tod als Herrscher in Ugarit und Israel
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6029
Reviewed by Matthew Suriano

Yigal Levin, ed.
A Time of Change: Judah and Its Neighbours in the Persian and Early Hellenistic Periods
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6443
Reviewed by Oded Lipschits

J. G. McConville and Karl Möller, eds.
Reading the Law: Studies in Honour of Gordon J. Wenham
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6459
Reviewed by Eckart Otto

V. George Shillington
An Introduction to the Study of Luke-Acts
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6523
Reviewed by Nils Neumann

Stanley D. Walters
Go Figure! Figuration in Biblical Interpretation
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6390
Reviewed by Paul Elbert
Reviewed by Richard S. Briggs

Timothy L. Walton
Experimenting with Qohelet: A Text-Linguistic Approach to Reading Qohelet as Discourse
http://www.bookreviews.org/bookdetail.asp?TitleId=6120
Reviewed by Andreas Wagner

Mounce on Hebraic Genitives

Bill Mounce has posted on the use of Greek genitives in general and Hebraic genitives in particular. Read it here.

Apologetics Resources

Patrick Chan has provided some helpful links to some free apologetic resources. You can check it out here.

Reasons to Study the Septuagint

In honor of the International Septuagint Day, Tyler Williams has provided a mostly-serious list of reasons for studying the Septuagint.

• The Septuagint preserves a number of Jewish-Greek writings from the pre-Christian era not contained in the Hebrew Bible (known in Christian circles as the Apocrypha or the Deuterocanonical works)
• As such, study of the LXX can provide a glimpse into the thought and theology of diaspora Jews before the common era.
• For the majority of the books of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, the LXX provides us the earliest witness to the biblical text (earlier than most of Hebrew witnesses found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, for example) and is indispensable for textual criticism.
• The LXX provides a unique glimpse into the literary and textual development for some books of the Old Testament (e.g., Jeremiah, Esther, Daniel), as well as the sometimes fuzzy border between literary development and textual transmission.
• Insofar that all translations are interpretations, the LXX provides one of the earliest commentaries on the Hebrew Bible.
• The LXX gives us a glimpse of the shape of the OT canon before the common era (at least for Greek-speaking Judaism in the diaspora, perhaps not for Palestinian Jews).
• The LXX functioned as the Bible of most of the early Greek-speaking Christians (and continues to function as such for the Greek Orthodox Church).
• In connection with the previous point, the LXX often served as a theological lexicon for the writers of the NT, and as such it provides a fruitful avenue of research into the background of many of the theological terms and concepts in the NT.
• The LXX was the preferred Scriptures for many of the early church fathers and is essential for understanding early theological discussions.
• It’s a great conversation starter at parties (Attractive Woman/Man: “Read any good books lately?” Budding LXX student: “Why yes, I was just reading the Septuagint today!” Attractive Woman/Man: “The Sept-tu-a-what?” Budding LXX student: “Let me buy your a drink and tell you more…”)

Read the entire post here.

Interview with Simon Kistemaker

See this interview of Simon Kistemaker by W. Ryan Burns on teaching and the seminary.

Books on Sin

Joe Thorn has posted his recommendations for books related to the doctrine of sin. Read the recommendations here.

Walton on the Tower of Babel

John Walton has posted on the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11) in particular and ancient ziggerats in general. Read it here.

The Seal, Trumpet, and Bowl Judgments in Revelation

Alan Bandy has a nice summary of the relationship of the seal trumpet, and bowl judgments to one another. Bandy cautiously affirms the telescopic view, a view which I also hold. Read it here.

General Revelation

Matt Waymeyer has posted the following excellent outline on general revelation on his blog.

The Definition of General Revelation

General revelation is the universal self-disclosure of God by which He makes Himself known to all people everywhere (Ps 19:1-6; Rom 1:18-23; 2:14-15; Acts 14:17).

The Means of General Revelation

1. God’s Creation (Ps 19:1-6; Rom 1:19-21)

• the heavens (Ps 19:1-4a)
• the sun (Ps 19:4b-6)
• the world (Rom 1:20a)
• “what has been made” (Rom 1:20b)

2. God’s Provision (Acts 14:17)

• the provision of rain (Acts 14:17a)
• the provision of fruitful seasons (Acts 14:17b)
• the provision of food (Acts 14:17c)

3. Man’s Conscience (Rom 2:14-15)

• “the Law written in their hearts” (Rom 2:15a)
• “their conscience bearing witness” (Rom 2:15b)

The Audience of General Revelation

1. All Men without Exception

• “all the earth” (Ps 19:4a)
• “to the end of the world” (Ps 19:4b)
• “nothing is hidden from its heat” (Ps 19:6)

2. All Men without Distinction

• Jew and Gentile (Rom 2:14-15; Acts 14:17)
• Righteous and Wicked (Acts 14:17; cf. Matt 5:45)

The Content of General Revelation

1. The Existence of God (Rom 1:19-25)

• “His divine nature” (20)
• “they knew God” (21)
• “the truth of God” (25)

2. The Glory of God (Ps 19:1a; Rom 1:19-23)

• “the glory of God” (Ps 19:1a)
• “the glory of the incorruptible God” (Rom 1:23)
• “that which is known about God” (Rom 1:19)
• “His invisible attributes” (Rom 1:20)

3. The Power of God (Ps 19:1b; Rom 1:20)

• “the work of His hands” (Ps 19:1b)
• “His eternal power” (Rom 1:20)

4. The Goodness of God (Acts 14:17)

• “He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good”

5. The Law of God (Rom 2:14-15)

• “the things of the Law” (14)
• “the work of the Law” (15)

The Outcome of General Revelation

1. The Comprehension of Truth (Rom 1:19-21)

• what “is known about God is evident within them” (19a)
• “God made it evident to them” (19b)
• “they knew God” (21)

2. The Suppression of Truth (Rom 1:18-25)

• “men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (18)
• “they did not honor Him as God or give thanks” (21)
• “they became futile in their speculations” (21b)
• “their foolish heart was darkened” (21c)
• “they became fools” (22)
• “exchanged glory of incorruptible God for image” (23)
• “exchanged the truth of God for a lie” (25)
• “worshiped/served creature rather than Creator” (25)

3. The Culpability of Unbelievers (Rom 1:18-23)

• “so that they are without excuse” (20)

The Limitations of General Revelation

1. Not Detailed in its Content (Ps 19; Rom 1-2; Acts 14:17)

• the existence of God (Rom 1:19-25)
• the glory of God (Ps 19:1a; Rom 1:19-23)
• the power of God (Ps 19:1b; Rom 1:20)
• the goodness of God (Acts 14:17)
• the law of God (Rom 2:14-15)

2. Not Salvific in its Effect (Rom 1:20; cf. 10:14)

• fails to save the unbeliever (1:20; cf. 10:14)
• renders him “without excuse” before God (1:20)