Sunday, October 30, 2011

Does the Bible contradict itself?

If four journalists were assigned to cover the same news story, we would expect four similar, yet slightly different perspectives. The basic facts would be the same, but the details would depend on their vantage point, research, writing style, and audience.

The same is true of the four Gospels. They all testify to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But some details are unique to each gospel writer. At first glance, they can even appear contradictory. Take the Transfiguration, for example.

Matthew 17:1 says “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.”

Likewise, Mark 9:2 records “And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.”

Luke 9:28 however, says “Now about eight days after these sayings he took with him Peter and John and James and went up on the mountain to pray.”

Is this a mistake? No. In fact, this minor difference actually confirms the reliability of the Gospels. Let me explain.

Luke's word 'about' (Gk. hosei) means 'as if, nearly, something like' (Vine's Dictionary). The author admits he is only giving a ballpark figure here. Unlike Matthew, Luke was not an eyewitness. During his research, perhaps it was difficult to nail down the exact timing of this event. It could've been six, seven, eight, or maybe even nine or ten days later. Six certainly falls within the range of 'about eight.'

But here’s what’s most significant. Luke's account of 'about eight days' suggests he was not using Mark as a source. This verse actually helps disprove Markan Priority, or the theory that Matthew and Luke leaned heavily on Mark's gospel to pen their own.

It would have been easy for Luke to just copy the number six if he had Mark's gospel in front of him. But it seems that each gospel writer gave their own account through personal testimony, painstaking research, and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

CSBC Annual Meeting Recap

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We just arrived home last night from a 1200 mile round-trip to Fremont for the California Southern Baptist Annual Meeting. Here were some highlights…

Once again, the Pastors Conference on Monday and Tuesday was excellent. Dr. Chris Morgan put together a great conference with some top notch speakers from across the state. They had a really interesting format this year. Each speaker was assigned a portion of the Book of Philippians, so over the course of five messages, we worked our way through the entire epistle. I was especially challenged by our call to unity and humility around the gospel of Jesus Christ. Monday night, the speakers shared a forum on preaching Philippians.

The business meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday was filled with music, preaching, reports, elections, recommendations, and recognition of our church planters. The most significant item of business occurred Tuesday afternoon, when the Focus 21 Task Force recommended to refer our progress report to the Executive Board. Discussion on the floor was lively, and it was obvious there was a quite a bit of hesitance or misunderstanding by some messengers. But by God’s grace, a spirit of love prevailed, and there were even some lighthearted moments of laughter to lighten the mood.

When it came time to vote, 68% agreed to refer the report to the Executive Board for further study and consideration. I wish even more would have seen the value of this report and the need for more effective stewardship and cooperation, but I’m thankful it did pass so this dialogue can continue.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Why I switched to ESV

You may have noticed a change in the Bible I preach from. That's because, after testing the Holman Christian Standard Bible for almost a year, I've finally decided to go with the ESV.

This was a tough decision. I grew to love the accuracy and freshness of the HCSB, its translation of doulos as 'slave,' and its innovative bullet note system. But at the end of the day, the HCSB is simply too different from its cousins in the Tyndale tradition like ESV, NASB, and NKJV.

I could tell that people who came to church with another translation were having a hard time tracking with me as I preached from the Holman. And some verses that I've memorized over the years sound radically different in the HCSB. Plus, it has a few quirks like alternating between "Christ" and "Messiah" (e.g. Eph. 2:13) and the awkward phraseology "this is the Lord's declaration" (Jer. 31:31 et al).

The ESV has clearly grown in popularity among evangelicals, particularly those in the "Young, Restless, and Reformed" movement (thanks in large part to John Piper). It is accurate and elegant, and is becoming the predominant translation of my generation. It still sounds a bit antiquated at times, but much less than the KJV or even the NASB. Some of its advantages are its widespread availability, great study Bibles like the MacArthur Study Bible and ESV Study Bible, and its full integration with Logos Bible Software.

I still like the Holman Bible and expect to refer to it often in my teaching. But after a year of experimentation, I've joined the masses and will do all of my teaching and personal Bible study out of the ESV. Already, the feedback has been positive, and I'm relieved to finally settle down and begin marking up my new friend, an ESV Large Print Calfskin Bible.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Credo magazine

Here's a great giveaway from the new Credo Magazine site:
The first issue of Credo Magazine, "The Living Word," will release sometime this week, featuring articles and interviews with theologians like Timothy George, John Frame, Bruce Ware, Gregg Allison, Robert Saucy, Owen Strachan, Fred Zaspel, Tim Challies, Matthew Barrett, Tony Merida, Michael A.G. Haykin, Thomas Schreiner, and many others. View the Table of Contents here.

In our excitement we are giving away a book package each week! This week’s book giveaway is from B&H Academic and includes the following:

  • Perspectives on the Sabbath: Four Views. Contributors include: Christopher John Donato, Charles P. Arand, Craig L. Blomberg and Skip MacCart.
  • Moral Apologetics for Contemporary Christians: Pushing Back Against Cultural and Religious Critics. By Mark Coppenger.
  • The World and the Word: An Introduction to the Old Testament. By Eugene H. Merrill, Mark Rooker, and Michael A. Grisanti.

To enter the giveaway, please go to their site and leave a comment.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

CSBC 2011

Our California Southern Baptist annual meeting is less than three weeks away. This is an exciting year as we celebrate church planting across our state and vote on the Focus 21 Task Force Report. Here's the itinerary. Hope to see you there!

Pastor's Conference
"Philippians: The unity of the church"

October 24-25, 2011
Monday: 6:30 p.m. - 8:55 p.m.
Tuesday: 9:30 a.m. - 11:40 a.m.

Speakers: Rick Melick, Tony Chute, Adam Co, Walter Price, Anthony Dockery, Chris Morgan. Music by David Busch

Annual Meeting
"Together: Making Disciples of every Ethne"

October 25-26, 2011
Tuesday: 1:15 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
                6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Wednesday: 8:45 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Speakers: Francis Chan, Steve Davidson, Fermin Whittaker, Reggie Thomas. Music by Phil Wilson

Click here for the full Annual Meeting Program.

New Blog

Today I'm closing up shop and launching a new blog called Pinch of Clay. You can visit it by clicking here . Please stop by and...