How do we become free from the burden of sin? During a Q&A session after a church service where 2 Tim 3:6-17 was preached, someone asked “How do we become free from the burden of sin and how do we live in that freedom?” The preacher answered “Trust in Christ for the forgiveness of your sins … Read more
Using the Categories of God’s Image and the Functions of Covenant Mediator Johnson’s volume is worth its weight in gold in my estimation because of the section he provides on categories for understanding Christ as head of the new creation and mediator of the new covenant who restores mankind to the image of God.[1] He … Read more
Staying on the Straight and Narrow Some practical observations on best practices while preaching Christ from the OT are in order. Johnson helps preachers move from the OT through its own truths, through Christ’s fulfillment of that truth, and on to application to contemporary hearers. When interpreting an OT passage, preachers should 1) look for how … Read more
Presuppositions in Practice: NT Authors Found Christ in the OT What follows is a brief survey of the different ways the OT bears witness to Christ, as exemplified in the preaching and writing of the NT authors. 1) Redemptive-historical Progression One of the most straightforward ways the above presuppositions is practiced by the NT writers, … Read more
How Does the OT Bear Witness to the Person and Work of Christ? We’ve already seen that the manner in which the OT bears witness to the person and work of Christ is through a redemptive-historical, christocentric method exemplified in the NT by Christ, the apostles, and gospel writers. Now we will turn to the … Read more
Was the Apostle’s Hermeneutic Normative? Some who admit that a christocentric hermeneutic is undeniably represented by Scripture remain steadfastly opposed to our reproduction of that hermeneutic today. The question is whether the exegetical methods of Christ, the apostles, and gospel writers are normative for us today. Longnecker answers in the negative, that the apostolic hermeneutic … Read more
People Still Dissent against the most Biblically Supported Hermeneutic Despite our utter certainty that Christ and his followers read the OT as a christocentric document, scholars today still attempt to discredit the apostolic hermeneutic and erect other hermeneutics in its place. As Johnson aptly noted, “when any hermeneutic method disqualifies… the ways that Jesus… interpreted … Read more
He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the Things Concerning himself The question “How can we find and preach Christ from the Old Testament (OT)?” can be answered from many starting points. It seems the best approach to the question begins with the risen Christ declaring “the things concerning himself” to two disciples on … Read more
What follows are just the main headings of the sermons delivered in the 2014 New Life Bible Conference. Whatever details I selected from my notebook to put under the headings are only things that stuck out to me. They might not represent what the preachers may have deemed most central to their sermons. Check out my … Read more