Biblical and Theological Studies E-Book

Michael J. Wilkins

• Herausgeber: Crossway
• Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
• Serie: Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 197

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

There is an abundant need today for biblically grounded and practically applied theology. In this book, a New Testament scholar and a theologian team up to offer readers a robust introduction to biblical and theological studies. This readable guide outlines a distinctly evangelical approach to studying the Bible and theology, highlighting the proper methods for understanding and synthesizing the teachings of the Bible, leading to deeper knowledge of God, ourselves, and how we are to meaningfully apply his Word to our lives. Part of the Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition series. 

Leseprobe

Thank you for downloading this Crossway book.

Sign up for the Crossway Newsletter for updates on special offers, new resources, and exciting global ministry initiatives:

Crossway Newsletter

Or, if you prefer, we would love to connect with you online:

“Wilkins and Thoennes have provided an ideal introduction for students who want to become acquainted with biblical and theological studies. The book is concise and brief while covering an astonishing number of topics. Most importantly, the authors are sure-footed and faithful guides in both biblical studies and theology.”

Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“A helpful introduction to the world of biblical and theological studies. Beginning students will find that this little book provides big dividends.”

Daniel L. Akin, President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Students seeking the best in evangelical scholarship will find it here. Profoundly simple and masterfully written, this book will help anyone wanting to get up to date in theology. Read it with a bowed head and grateful heart.”

Robert E. Coleman, Distinguished Senior Professor of Evangelism and Discipleship, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

“Wilkins and Thoennes, impressive models of scholarship and teaching in their own right, have crafted this readable ‘preface’ as an aid for our students who are perplexed about the nature and relationship of biblical studies and theology. The mind fog that can surround these two fields makes it hard for us to connect the dots for our learners. Thus it can be difficult to move forward toward a shared passion of what we should do with the Bible and theology. Wilkins and Thoennes bring texture and unity to what are often perceived as merely isolated and abstract terms to be memorized. This book will help enliven the minds and souls of evangelical biblical and theological students and scholars in this generation.”

Tim L. Anderson, Professor of Theology, Corban University; author, What the Bible Says about Intimacy with God

“They say that ‘well begun is half done,’ and this introduction to biblical and theological studies will set students up for success from the start. Wilkins and Thoennes seem to be mind readers as they skillfully anticipate and answer so many of the topics, terms, and names that students will wonder about. A great introduction to a vast field of learning.”

Fred Sanders, Professor of Theology, Torrey Honors Institute, Biola University; author, The Deep Things of God

~SERIES ENDORSEMENTS~

“Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition promises to be a very important series of guides—aimed at students—intended both to recover and instruct regarding the Christian intellectual tradition.”

Robert B. Sloan, President, Houston Baptist University

“Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition is an exciting series that will freshly introduce readers to the riches of historic Christian thought and practice. As the modern secular academy struggles to reclaim a semblance of purpose, this series demonstrates why a deeply rooted Christian worldview offers an intellectual coherence so badly needed in our fragmented culture. Assembling a formidable cohort of respected evangelical scholars, the series promises to supply must-read orientations to the disciplines for the next generation of Christian students.”

Thomas Kidd, Department of History, Baylor University

“This new series is exactly what Christian higher education needs to shore up its intellectual foundations for the challenges of the coming decades. Whether students are studying in professedly Christian institutions or in more traditionally secular settings, these volumes will provide a firm basis from which to withstand the dismissive attitude toward biblical thinking that seems so pervasive in the academy today. These titles will make their way onto the required reading lists for Christian colleges and universities seeking to ensure a firm biblical perspective for students, regardless of discipline. Similarly, campus pastors on secular campuses will find this series to be an invaluable bibliography for guiding students who are struggling with coalescing their emerging intellectual curiosity with their developing faith.”

Carl E. Zylstra, President, Dordt College

BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL STUDIES

RECLAIMING THE CHRISTIAN INTELLECTUAL TRADITION

David S. Dockery, series editor

CONSULTING EDITORS

Hunter Baker

Timothy George

Neil Nielson

Philip G. Ryken

Michael J. Wilkins

John D. Woodbridge

OTHER RCIT VOLUMES:

Art and Music, Paul Munson and Joshua Farris Drake

Christian Worldview, Philip G. Ryken

Ethics and Moral Reasoning, C. Ben Mitchell

The Great Tradition of Christian Thinking, David S. Dockery and Timothy George

History, Nathan A. Finn

The Liberal Arts, Gene C. Fant Jr.

Literature, Louis Markos

Media, Journalism, and Communication, Read Mercer Schuchardt

The Natural Sciences, John A. Bloom

Philosophy, David K. Naugle

Political Thought, Hunter Baker

Psychology, Stanton L. Jones

BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL STUDIES

A STUDENT’S GUIDE

Michael J. Wilkins and Erik Thoennes

Biblical and Theological Studies: A Student’s Guide

Copyright © 2018 by Michael J. Wilkins and Erik Thoennes

Published by Crossway1300 Crescent StreetWheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America.

Cover design: Jon McGrath, Simplicated Studio

First printing 2018

Printed in the United States of America

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NASB are from The New American Standard Bible®. Copyright © The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

Scripture references marked NIV are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

All emphases in Scripture quotations have been added by the authors.

Trade paperback ISBN: 978-1-4335-3489-8ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-3492-8PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-3490-4Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-3491-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Wilkins, Michael J., author.

Title: Biblical and theological studies : a studen’s guide / Michael J. Wilkins and Erik Thoennes.

Description: Wheaton : Crossway, 2018. | Series: Reclaiming the Christian intellectual tradition | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017040058 (print) | LCCN 2018014533 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433534904 (pdf) | ISBN 9781433534911 (mobi) | ISBN 9781433534928 (epub) | ISBN 9781433534898 (tp)

Subjects: LCSH: Bible—Study and teaching. | Theology—Study and teaching.

Classification: LCC BS600.3 (ebook) | LCC BS600.3 .W5555 2018 (print) | DDC 230.071—dc23

Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

2022-02-11 03:16:05 PM

To Robert L. Saucy (1930–2015), a true man of God, faithful friend and colleague, and exemplary Christian theologian and gentleman.

CONTENTS

Series Preface

Acknowledgments

1 Introduction to Biblical and Theological Studies

2 Biblical Studies

3 Theological Studies

Questions for Reflection

Glossary

Resources for Further Study

General Index

Scripture Index

Series Preface

RECLAIMING THE CHRISTIAN INTELLECTUAL TRADITION

The Reclaiming the Christian Intellectual Tradition series is designed to provide an overview of the distinctive way the church has read the Bible, formulated doctrine, provided education, and engaged the culture. The contributors to this series all agree that personal faith and genuine Christian piety are essential for the life of Christ followers and for the church. These contributors also believe that helping others recognize the importance of serious thinking about God, Scripture, and the world needs a renewed emphasis at this time in order that the truth claims of the Christian faith can be passed along from one generation to the next. The study guides in this series will enable believers to see afresh how the Christian faith shapes how we live, how we think, how we write books, how we govern society, and how we relate to one another in our churches and social structures. The richness of the Christian intellectual tradition provides guidance for the complex challenges that believers face in this world.

This series is particularly designed for Christian students and others associated with college and university campuses, including faculty, staff, trustees, and other various constituents. The contributors to the series will explore how the Bible has been interpreted in the history of the church, as well as how theology has been formulated. They will ask: How does the Christian faith influence our understanding of culture, literature, philosophy, government, beauty, art, or work? How does the Christian intellectual tradition help us understand truth? How does the Christian intellectual tradition shape our approach to education? We believe that this series is not only timely but that it meets an important need, because the secular culture in which we now find ourselves is, at best, indifferent to the Christian faith, and the Christian world—at least in its more popular forms—tends to be confused about the beliefs, heritage, and tradition associated with the Christian faith.

At the heart of this work is the challenge to prepare a generation of Christians to think Christianly, to engage the academy and the culture, and to serve church and society. We believe that both the breadth and the depth of the Christian intellectual tradition need to be reclaimed, revitalized, renewed, and revived for us to carry this work forward. These study guides will seek to provide a framework to help introduce students to the great tradition of Christian thinking, seeking to highlight its importance for understanding the world, its significance for serving both church and society, and its application for Christian thinking and learning. The series is a starting point for exploring important ideas and issues such as truth, meaning, beauty, and justice.

We trust that the series will help introduce readers to the apostles, church fathers, Reformers, philosophers, theologians, historians, and a wide variety of other significant thinkers. In addition to well-known leaders such as Clement, Origen, Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, Martin Luther, and Jonathan Edwards, readers will be pointed to William Wilberforce, G. K. Chesterton, T. S. Eliot, Dorothy Sayers, C. S. Lewis, Johann Sebastian Bach, Isaac Newton, Johannes Kepler, George Washington Carver, Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Michael Polanyi, Henry Luke Orombi, and many others. In doing so, we hope to introduce those who throughout history have demonstrated that it is indeed possible to be serious about the life of the mind while simultaneously being deeply committed Christians.

These efforts to strengthen serious Christian thinking and scholarship will not be limited to the study of theology, scriptural interpretation, or philosophy, even though these areas provide the framework for understanding the Christian faith for all other areas of exploration. In order for us to reclaim and advance the Christian intellectual tradition, we must have some understanding of the tradition itself. The volumes in this series seek to explore this tradition and its application for our twenty-first-century world. Each volume contains a glossary, study questions, and a list of resources for further study, which we trust will provide helpful guidance for our readers.

I am deeply grateful to the series editorial committee: Timothy George, John Woodbridge, Michael Wilkins, Niel Nielson, Philip Ryken, and Hunter Baker. Each of these colleagues joins me in thanking our various contributors for their fine work. We all express our appreciation to Justin Taylor, Jill Carter, Allan Fisher, Lane Dennis, and the Crossway team for their enthusiastic support for the project. We offer the project with the hope that students will be helped, faculty and Christian leaders will be encouraged, institutions will be strengthened, churches will be built up, and, ultimately, that God will be glorified.

Soli Deo Gloria

David S. Dockery

Series Editor

Acknowledgments

I (Erik) would like to thank my gracious, brilliant wife, Donna, for her steadfast love and support; my precious children, Caroline, Paige, Sam, and Isaac—you make me laugh and bring me great joy; my parents for praying for me; the saints at Grace Evangelical Free Church of La Mirada, California—it is an honor to seek Christ together with you; the deans and faculty of Talbot School of Theology for your collegial humility, integrity, and commitment to the authority of Scripture; my students at Wheaton College and Biola University with whom I have been edified and blessed as we have sought to know Christ together over the past twenty-two years; and David Dockery and Justin Taylor, who were wonderfully kind and helpful in the process of completing this book. I’m honored to write this book with Michael Wilkins, who is an outstanding example to me of a man who knows and walks with Jesus. And it is, of course, Jesus who deserves all the ultimate honor and praise.

———

I (Michael) am grateful to God for my students over the past forty years at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, who have been central in the writing of this book, because they have been the drawing board on which we have learned to sketch the themes of biblical studies and theology. The opportunity to teach these topics is an incomparable privilege and gift from God.

Likewise the past forty-five years of marriage to my dear wife, Lynne, who has been my best friend and companion in the journey, have been an incomparable blessing and gift from God, as have been our daughters—Wendy, and her husband Jason, and Michelle, and her husband Dan—and our granddaughters, Melia and Ava. Our lives would be much hollower without their joy.

I extend deep thankfulness for the kindness and diligence of David Dockery and Justin Taylor at Crossway for their leadership in guiding this book to see life. And special thanks goes to my research assistant Tina Hsu, now a missionary in Asia, who has a wonderful heart and exegetical acumen. She gave special attention to reading the manuscript and offering excellent insights all along the way and did primary research with reference to recent phenomena in biblical studies.

My fellow faculty and deans and staff have joined together in the quest to make Talbot School of Theology a true community that loves, supports, and spurs each other on to godliness and rigorous scholarship. You likewise are a gift from God. Within this community is the archetypal Erik Thoennes, with whom I have been privileged to join in writing this book. He has a rare and carefully developed balance of mind and heart, which I trust will bless and stimulate all who read these words.

1

Introduction to Biblical and Theological Studies

God has spoken. This whole book is about those three simple words. That God has personally, truthfully, and sufficiently revealed himself in the Bible is the assumption of our understanding of the study of the Bible. That God is and that he has revealed himself are the most foundational beliefs of a Christian. If there is no God (atheism), or if there is a God but he does not personally reveal himself or get involved with creation (deism), then true knowledge of God is not possible. Our efforts to find answers to life’s big questions would then be limited to human experience and speculation. We would be limited to doing “theology from below.” But in the very first verse of the Bible, we are taught that God is and that he is the Creator. Then, the phrase “God said” occurs ten times in the first chapter of the Bible (Genesis 1), and when God creates human beings, he blesses and immediately talks to us and invites us to join with him in ruling and creating. Indeed, there is no greater blessing he could give than relating to us—he is our greatest blessing. That is the main reason he made us in the first place—to know and enjoy him. The God of the Bible, then, is not a mere projection of human longings or an absentee landlord, but a God who powerfully creates and meaningfully relates. He is a God who speaks, and his word blesses, provides, and saves us.

These basic assumptions about God undergird the way we approach biblical studies and theology. The Bible reveals who God is, and that understanding of God then informs how we approach the Bible—as the words of an all-wise, all-powerful, gracious, kind, forgiving, holy, righteous Father and King. We are to fully trust and obey his Word, because of the integrity of its author. The goal is to know the author by listening to his life-giving voice. What we learn, even in an “academic” study of the Bible and theology, should lead to knowledge that unites head, heart, hands, and feet in a holistic, life-changing encounter with our Creator.

Before proceeding any further, it would no doubt be helpful at this point to briefly define what we mean by biblical studies and theology, what the difference is between the two, and why we even make the distinction. Biblical studies is an academic discipline that seeks to understand the Bible as God intended when he inspired its human authors. The study of theology is the effort to summarize the overall teaching of the Bible so it can be meaningfully applied to our lives. Biblical studies provides the understanding of the biblical text so that we can do the theological task of synthesizing what the Bible teaches so that its teaching can inform and influence every area of life.

As we read the Bible, we find that it has an amazingly unified voice and coherent message, even though forty human authors wrote it over about a two-thousand-year period. These authors were from three different continents and from drastically different walks of life: fisherman, king, shepherd, scholar, and priest are just some of the vocations that writers of the Bible had. They were often addressing very different concerns and very different audiences. With this approach to writing a book, it is hard to imagine that you could ever get an integrated, consistent understanding of things. We not only get that, however; we get an unfolding story that explains all of reality with wonderful truthfulness. This story has all the elements of every great story, and this story has not just explained the world as we know it, it has profoundly shaped the world in which we live.

There is an abundant need today for biblically grounded, clear, concise, practically applied theology. The study of theology must focus on the main issues that God himself emphasizes in the Bible, not on speculative areas we may think important. We must go to God to find not only the right answers, but also the right questions. If we allow our quest for truth to be limited by the latest fads, trends, and pressing issues of the day, we won’t get to the most important, God-centered, eternally important questions. Jesus taught us to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness and then trust God to supply the lesser things that tend to dominate our thoughts (Matt. 6:33–34).

Most of our students throughout the years grew up in the church. When they dive in to the study of the Bible and learn the foundational truths of their faith, many of them are often astonished that they never really learned these things before. Perhaps they were taught the Bible well, but for some reason it never sunk in. Yet, it does seem that over the years there has been less and less of an emphasis on studying the Bible and learning basic doctrine in many churches. It seems that cultural influences have had a detrimental effect on the perceived value of knowing the Bible and its major themes. Pragmatism, consumerism, and an entertainment mentality have shifted the priorities of some churches away from our primary calling to devote ourselves to knowing God deeply through his Word. We need an attitude adjustment and reorientation of our priorities back to our main calling to know God according to the Scriptures.

ATTITUDES FOR DOING BIBLICAL AND THEOLOGICAL STUDIES

Now that we have discussed why we study the Bible and theology, we need to consider how we study. Much of this book will be about the proper methods of studying the Bible and theology. But how we study begins with the state of our hearts. Motives and heart attitudes are of utmost importance. You can be intellectually brilliant and highly knowledgeable, and yet be spiritually dead and unwise. Your basic beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes will determine how you approach your quest for truth. How you define God, humans, and the purpose of life will shape your experience in learning and also determine your methods of learning. So how should the Christian approach the study of the Bible and theology? Here are six helpful attitudes to have when approaching Biblical studies:

(1) We should study the Bible with fear and worship of God. God is the greatest thing we could ever try to comprehend. He is perfect in all his ways and staggeringly glorious. When people truly catch but a glimpse of his greatness, they are overwhelmed and forever changed. When Isaiah beheld God’s glory in the temple, he said, “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” (Isa. 6:5). When Job considered God’s majesty in creation, even in the midst of his great trials he said, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5–6). When Peter saw the miraculous power of Christ, he said, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” (Luke 5:8). True knowledge of God always produces worshipful awe.

After one of the greatest prolonged teachings on theology in the Bible, Paul bursts into praise “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! . . . For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:33, 36). Our theology (right thinking) should always lead to doxology (right worship) and orthopraxy (right practice), or else we have a major disconnect in our theology. On the other hand, if our worship and practice are not grounded in deep theology, worship will be shallow, fleeting sentimentality, and its practice will be merely empty moralism. We never need to fear that our awe will deplete because God is infinite and offers an endless supply of data for our worship and fear of him. The adventure of knowing God provides never-ending vistas of glory. Scottish preacher Alexander Whyte beautifully summarized the God-exalting purpose of our study of the Bible:

First of all, my child, think magnificently of God. Magnify his providence; adore his power, pray to him frequently and incessantly. Bear him always in your mind. Teach your thoughts to reverence him in every place for there is no place where he is not. Therefore, my child, fear and worship and love God; first and last, think magnificently of him!1

Bursting into praise should be a common occurrence for the student of the Bible. We should follow the example of the inspired authors of Scripture who frequently move from teaching about God’s character to unhindered expression of worshipful adoration. One example will have to suffice. After Paul expounds on God’s amazing grace to him although he was a former blasphemer, he cannot help but express his gratitude in praise: “To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Tim.1:17).

(2) We should study the Bible with growing humility about ourselves