Siouxlands Presbytery Exonerates TE Greg Lawrence (Updated)

September 26, 2011 at 1:48 pm (Federal Vision)

As an assistant prosecutor of the case, helping out TE Kevin Carr (TE Art Sartorius was the other assistant prosecutor), I can’t say precisely that I was thrilled to my fingertips when the verdict came out. To tell the truth to my readers, I felt like I had been punched in the gut, run over, shot, and then bombed for good measure. The details of what happened are here. It makes me so very sad, since the Federal Vision divides brothers from other brothers (even those who do not themselves hold to the FV!). I have seen it time after time after time. Men I used to respect I can no longer respect, or I have significantly diminished respect for them.

Update: I was incorrect about the record of this trial being in executive session. I apologize. The commission reported in open session, so the records are open. The charges and the plea are available to read here.

265 Comments

OT Israel & NT Church: A History-of-Homiletics Question

September 13, 2011 at 8:08 pm (Bible, Biblical Theology, Historical Theology, Preaching)

(Posted by Paige)

Here is a research question that might interest some readers.

I am trying to trace the history of a certain approach to the application of OT texts to the church, in which promises or commands spoken to historical Israel are understood to have a secondary and continued relevance for the “New Israel.” There may be something of an allegorical quality to such applications, as the concrete details of the OT setting are translated into the spiritual realities of the New (e.g., “land” and “temple” become the people of God themselves) – but as a hermeneutical approach it differs from pure allegory in that it doesn’t completely disregard the original historical context of a passage. It just doesn’t locate the significance of the text in that historical context, but finds the main pastoral value of the passage in its application to the church, whether spiritual or practical.

A simple example:

Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. (2 Chr. 7:15f.)

Application: Because the church is God’s new temple, we can be reassured by these verses that he has consecrated us, and that he will hear our prayers and dwell among us.

I would be interested to know if what I am describing rings any bells for anyone, and if you can identify for me any voices from past eras in Christian history who tended to write and preach in this way when working with OT texts. I am curious to know the roots of this approach, since it seems to differ in emphasis from a primarily redemptive-historical hermeneutic.

Comments on the pastoral value of this approach to preaching would also be interesting.

(Please note that what I am describing is a much “lighter” approach to OT application than theonomy, so let’s not make this another theonomy thread.)

111 Comments

Entering the Digital Age

September 10, 2011 at 9:46 pm (Uncategorized)

Some people are brought into the digital world kicking and screaming. I seem to be throwing myself into it with abandonment. This is the very first post that I have written entirely with my brand new smartphone. It is definitely slower. However, if I use the voice to text feature, it is much faster. Smartphones really are quite amazing.

5 Comments

In the Meantime…

September 8, 2011 at 9:20 am (Apologetics)

I have been busy in preparations for the move, which is why I have not been posting very much of late. My apologies to my kind readers. I will pick up again in the future. In the meantime, read this excellent examination of the genetic evidence for the historical Adam and Eve as progenitors of the entire human race.

62 Comments