Freedom is Not Free

This is a picture at the Korean War Memorial in Washington D.C. The phrase, "Freedom is not free," is certainly applicable to more than just the cost of establishing and maintaining a free nation; something about which I will speak in a few moments. But for now, if you are an American, take a moment and consider the cost at which your freedom was purchased.

To the left, you see part of a Civil War battlefield at Gettysburg. You could hardly count the casualties. You see the field from the vantage point of the Union soldiers who defended this hill from the larger confederate army attempting to scale the hill. This was just one battle of many, but a large one, indeed.

The Civil War eventually led to the abolition of slavery in the U.S., although more work was to be done in the realm of societal issues relating to slavery and civil rights.

Still, it is a sobering thought: tens and tens of thousands of bodies lay in this field, American men who willingly sacrificed it all when called upon.

To the left, you see a very small section of Arlington Cemetery in D.C. Countless soldiers have been laid to rest here - more men who sacrificed much for the sake of freedom. As my family and I approached the site, we heard parts of a "21 gun salute" - a funeral going on near by. I couldn't help but feel indebted to those who had shed their blood (or exposed themselves to the risk thereof) for my sake.





As we visited the Iwo Jima Memorial, the following

sight (left) was a nice reminder that freedom is not free.


Three of the six marines commemorated in this picture died at Iwo Jima. They join those who have sacrificed much to maintain the freedoms we enjoy, including the freedom to fly (notice the plane flying high above beyond the memorial).


At one point during my visit to D.C. and the surrounding area, I was afforded the rare opportunity to be inside the chapel at Camp David where the Commander in Chief attends the Sunday Worship services when visiting. Inside, my wife played, "How Great Thou Art" on the piano as I sang the first verse. I prayed (and now pray) that our nation, beginning from the top and trickling right down to all of us, might turn to our Creator which we often acknowledge, and turn to our Redeemer in whom (as a nation) we rarely trust and that we would submit ourselves wholly to Him.



I'm thankful for the freedoms afforded me by this United States of America, but how much more I long that God would grant us revivals in which the Holy Spirit might quicken men and women to repent and trust in Christ. All this for the sake of God and of Christ, for God's honor and glory.


Believers, regardless of nation, race, and language have been granted by God salvation: a unique freedom from the penalty and power of sin, and a freedom to live in submissive obedience to the Creator and Redeemer of our Souls, Christ Jesus. His blood was of greater value than all other blood which has been shed upon the earth, and for the incarnation, atonement, resurrection, and salvation I am eternally grateful.

Hebrews 1:1-4

In anticipation for an exegesis course I hope to take this Fall, I began translating in the book of Hebrews.  I outlined the passage elsewhere and will share two insights here:

(1) In verses 1 & 2, there is a comparison of the agency of God's revelation, in times past through prophets, in times contemporaneous to the readers of Hebrews (then and now), through "the Son."  The author then attributes qualities of deity to the Son and says, "[The son has] become as much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they."  The rest of the chapter, as well as the rest of the book, contains arguments that Jesus Christ is better than a number of things related to the Old Covenant: Prophets & angels (cf. v1, both of whom were mediators of the Old Covenant), priests/Levitical priesthood, OT Israel (in regard to the 'rest' they never quite received from their enemies), etc..  This superior person, Jesus the Messiah, the high priest and the offering, has all authority and he is worthy of our allegiance, even in difficult times.  Dr. Alan Tomlinson (MBTS) has suggested that a central imperative of Hebrews is to hold the confession that Jesus Christ is indeed the high priest, he is the offering, and one's legitimacy as a believer is proved by faithfully enduring to the end.

(2) Hebrews 1:2-4 makes the following assertions about "the Son":

a. Agent of God's revelation

b. Appointed heir over all things

c. Agent of creation

d. Deity, having the glory and nature of God

e. Carries all by his powerful Word (cf. creation)

f. Sat down and the right hand of the Majesty on high (i.e., authority and completion of earth-mission).

g. Made purification for sins (before 'sitting down')

h. Became 'much better' than angels and inherited a 'greater name' (probably refers to his ascension/exaltation: cf. 2:5-10 - Christ became lower than the angels at his incarnation in the sense that he took on the nature of a man, man who was made 'a little lower than the angels', thus at his ascension he "became as much better").

I would appreciate some discussion, especially on the parenthetical comments of letter 'h'.  

Why a PhD?

The more I read Dr. Rodney Decker's blog, the more I find I have in common with him.  I was surprised to find that he taught at Calvary Bible College in the early 90s (my undergraduate institution), did not pursue a Ph.D. at a 'prestigious' university, and yet he has proved that good scholarship makes a difference without regard to the location of one's doctoral work.  He has contributed to D.A. Carson's Studies in Biblical Greek series of scholarly monographs, Temporal Deixis of the Greek Verb in the Gospel of Mark with Reference to Verbal Aspect produced a Koine Greek Reader: Selections from the New Testament, Septuagint, and Early Christian Writers,  and has a forthcoming work on Mark and Biblical Greek.  Further, Dr. Decker has a helpful website and blog.  (Read more about him here.)

I mention this because I have personally struggled with what I am to do in regard to further education.  Ph.D.?  If so, where?  MBTS?  St. Andrews?  How big a megaphone will a degree give me?  Or must I attempt to develop a sphere of influence?  Where does this drive to influence others come from?  Is it from God, self, or worse?  These are some of the questions I feel I must answer.

Regardless, I know others are in the same boat I am, especially in light of a couple of relatively popular posts on religious Ph.D. studies: "Thinking About a Ph.D.?" and "Interested in a NT Ph.D.?".  Why not just be concerned about the faithful study and exposition of the Word of Truth (2 Tim 2.15)?  Perhaps part of being an 'approved workman' (for some) entails the rigor of research done on the Ph.D. level, regardless of institution.  Dr. Tomlinson at MBTS, KC,  and Dr. Decker at Baptist Bible College, PA seem to be two examples of professors who are involved in local church ministry while excelling in NT scholarship, though they did not receive their respective Ph.D.'s from traditionally 'prestigious' institutions.  

1 Timothy and How to Study Greek

While I was at a camp last week, I decided I would study 1 Timothy 4:1-5 with nothing but a Greek NT (with a little vocabulary help).  Day one I translated.  Day two I outlined (sort of diagramed).  Day three I listed multiple applications for my life.  Having just three days, 45 minutes or less per day (camp is busy), and a wife who was willing to listen proved to be very profitable.  So here are a few insights I gained from my study followed by a brief reflection on how to study Greek.

Paul speaks in very strong terms (v1).  He charges Timothy under solemn oath, before God, Christ Jesus, His appearing, and His kingdom!  Paul means business.  Apparently, Timothy needed strong encouragement (and exhortation).  Verses 2 and 5 contain 9 imperative commands (in Greek) that all have to do with Timothy's ministry.  More specifically, the imperatives emphasize the significance of biblical teaching (and rebuking).  The cause for such a charge packed full of imperatives is the fact that "a time will come" when people will turn away from truth and only listen to the teaching that they want to hear (v3-4).

What is the antidote in such times?  Men who who will stand up and preach the Word, be ready whether or not it is popular, convince, rebuke, and exhort with all patience and instruction.  Further, these men must remain calm in such times, endure suffering that comes with faithful service, and do the work of an evangelist.  By heeding these commands, a man will carry out fully the ministry given to him.

Men who will heed these commands are the kind of pastors we need.  The time has come: sound teaching is not enduring.  Americans are being offered teaching 'made to order' in their churches!  I'm afraid many pastors are pursuing easy money, easy ministry, and perhaps fame, but rarely do pastors seem willing to endure suffering for the sake of faithfulness.  Yuck.  It is my opinion that what we need in our churches most is the great implication of this passage: Pastors who are given to the study of the Word and its clear teaching and application, no matter the cost.  The word of God constrains us to learn it well and teach its truths.  One cannot heed the commands of 1 Tim 4:1-5 without a growing knowledge of the Word of God.  

More to say, but it must wait ......................................

So, about studying Greek:  It was refreshing to only have a Greek NT for study.  It forces me to wrestle with the parsing, the grammar, the syntax.  One of the best Greek students I have known was a female who did not have access to any computer program to help her with her Greek.  She spent long hours studying the language with a true desire to know God's Word.  Her labors have produced much fruit.  Perhaps I should make more time for this simple (yet difficult) kind of study.

UPDATE:  It was not 10 minutes after finishing this post when I wandered over to Dr. Rodney Decker's Blog to find a better post on the same subject.  I passionately agreed with virtually every word of his post.  If you have the time, take a look.

Modern Linguistics and Biblical Exegesis

I was recently reading The Face of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research(an excellent resource for the NT student to get 'up-to-date', well at least up to NT scholarship in to 2004).  

Stanley Porter, known as one of the leading Greek grammarians today, was one contributor with a chapter on Greek grammar and syntax.  Essentially, Porter called for NT students to recognize that Greek grammar and syntax (and thus, exegesis) is an evolving discipline.  Now it is not so evolving that we must abandon all previous notions of exegesis.  But for Porter, advances in modern linguistics have a lot to say about biblical exegesis.  He seems excited about the future of exegesis, though obviously discontent with where we presently stand.  He mentions that standard reference grammars are far outdated, and too much scholarship (and exegesis) is based on outdated reference materials (e.g., grammars, lexicons, etc.).  

The chapter was packed full of subjects that I haven't studied in depth, but Porter certainly sparked my interest in how modern linguistics may help the exegete (and preacher) of the Word of God.  And that is the goal, isn't it?  So Porter delivers a wake up call to the one who thinks the biblical exegesis is a rigid discipline, the rules of which are engraved on stone.  Questions of verbal aspect and time remain unsettled.  Lexicography has a long way to go: inscriptions are being discovered all the time, many of which are documented, but few scholars are noticing.  

In the end, I am encouraged that my desire to know Greek like a native finds itself in hopeful times.  In light of all of the scholarship that has come before us, advances in computer software, and the collaboration of so many scholars on the (public) web, current exegetes have the opportunity to produce far more in the study of the NT than ever before.  One life to live - to the joy of discovering God and His will in the Scriptures.

Blog Transformation

This blog is hopefully going to begin to provide biblical language students (a few of us in particular) opportunities to interact with each other regarding our studies.  Enjoy.

One thing I like about the emerging church

While I am a 20-something Seminarian, I find it far easier to critique aspects of the emerging church movement rather than affirm what I see as good. Thus, I give the following praise without qualification in an effort to be generous (perhaps until another post beckons me to offer a less generous critique)

Emerging folks often talk about a need to communicate "God's Story" to people. They says, "The Bible is story - the story of how God redeemed man - and there are many stories within that story." At first, I want to say, "Sounds 'far out' (do I smell smoke?) and 'liberal' (an abused adjective, I know)." But I recently reflected on what I see as a major problem in youth ministry and found myself in agreement (I think) with this 'story' talk:

In my observation, many youth ministries are not feeding their students the Word of God in such a way that they teach the youth how to study for themselves. Teens need to know, for example, what God says through Paul to the church at Ephesus. They need to understand that the whole book of Ephesians cries out to the church: "You have been called by God, saved by grace through faith in Christ, and placed into a body of other 'saved folks', all of whom are gifted in special ways to promote unity and the building up of this body!" To get this, one must understand the whole book of Ephesians, not just a couple of verses.

Youth pastors must stop feeding their teens piece-meal devotionals (i.e., here’s five verses from here and there that teach such and such) after which the hearers are left with only a handful of principles (like I can do all things through Christ . . .) and have no idea what that means in the context of (in this case) Philippians 4 – It does not mean Christ helps my three point shooting percentage go up if I pray about it! Paul is talking to the Philippians about his economic situation, being content whether in need or having abundance. His point: whichever the circumstance, I can do all things by means of the one who strengthens me!

The Bible has a story to tell, and many stories within the greater story (I am surpised I can use such language with conviction). While Ephesians is full of “propositional truth” (which I find very helpful and necessary), these truths can only be understood in the context of the whole passage, section, book, etc., and historical situation! We’re too often giving teens a book of rules to follow with verses as references. We need to teach them how to read Ephesians, understand the context and original situation, and apply it to their lives. Rule books can be handy, but they become tedious and disconnected from their source. The Bible lives – the epistles (not just the narrative texts) are vivid (and very true) stories in which God reveals his will, commands that must be obeyed, and truth related to who He is, who we are, and how we ought to relate to Him and others. If we rip verses out of their 'story' (context), we rob our students of the coherance and beauty of a book like Ephesians.

p.s. - Oops, I recognize that while I desired to "give the following praise without qualification," I clearly qualified many of my statements.