The Field's Musings

By Edmund Clowney How to develop a text using the Poythress method: 1) Static- the meaning of the text 2) Dynamic- the way in which the text describes a speaker, message and a recipient 3) Relations- how the elements of the text to other portions of scripture

By Tim Keller 3 macro-Strategies for applying a text 1) Critique religion as well as irreligion (read notes from part one) 2) Aim at heart motives as well as the outward behaviour 3) Look at the text through three application perspectives 2) Aim at heart motives as well as the outward behaviour Self-justification is the doctrine of the Pharisees. If Christ is not your righteousness something else will be. You can avoid Jesus by avoiding sin. Religion is more of a subtle enemy of the gospel than irreligion practised by the open rebellious person because religious behaviour looks like holy behaviour. Irreligious people need to be shown that they are practising self-justification. A Basic Outline for Aiming at the Heart: i) Speak about what the narrative tells us to be- what standard is the Bible setting for us? ii) Speak about how that standard is unreachable- we are all sinners who miss the mark iii) Speak about how problem is resolve...

By Tim Keller Faith in the saving work of Christ is the only tool to dismantle sin in our lives. We are sanctified by faith, not just justified by faith. 3 macro-Strategies for applying a text 1) Critique religion as well as irreligion 2) Aim at heart motives as well as the outward behaviour 3) Look at the text through three application perspectives 1) Critique religion as well as irreligion Say that the gospel is neither morality nor immorality. The gospel is the third way Religion says ‘if I work hard on biblical principles God will bless me.’ The gospel says ‘God will bless me through trusting in His Son, this gives me power to work hard at biblical principles.’ Functionally the churchman’s heart tends to religion. Reasons why this method is useful: a) Many professing Christians are not Christians b) We constantly need our practise aligned with their theology c) Some people who reject Christianity reject it because they believe it to be religion If we preach: ‘immorality bad and Chr...

By Ed Clowney Example of Narrative Preaching from Matthew 17:1-9 Christ is the one with greater authority than Moses and Elijah. God the Father affirms His authority by saying ‘hear Him’. The Father’s declaration proves the Father’s unity with Him. The Son declares the will of the Father. Moses brought to us what God said to him, Christ is the incarnate word, God’s word become flesh, He is God speaking. Christ speaks and the dead comes forth, His own sheep hear Him and they follow Him. The preacher’s task is to bring into remembrance the words that Jesus spoke. The congregation are to hear the message and hear Christ speaking through the preacher. The glory of God is made evident through Christ. Peter suggests building shelters for Jesus, Moses and Elijah thinking that this was the last feast of booths. The glory of the true tabernacle is shown at transfiguration. Christ comes to do his true work of conquest. Overcoming the Devil’s temptation whereby he offered Christ all kingdoms on t...

By Ed Clowney The individual obedience of Isaac and Jacob is portrayed through the seed of the promise leading us to Christ. There are concepts in structure that naturally flow to Christ. This is typology. The meaning is presented through its significance in symbolism. Christ speaks in parables to teach us spiritual truth through natural reality. Symbolism brings in the feel of the meaning. Symbolic language can be more effective than illustrations. A metaphor is found in a sentence and not in a word. A metaphor brings together two different worlds; two different images. Example: Amos 3:8- A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy? The spoken word of the Lord is paralleled with the fierce roaring of a lion. We apply attributes of the familiar concept to the more abstract concept. The roaring of the lion is similar to the speaking of Yahweh. Metaphors act as a form of contextualisation. Metaphors should be used to tell Bible stories as real stor...

By Tim Keller Justification and Sanctification by Faith Alone We’re not only justified by faith- we are also sanctified by faith. We need to exhort people to faith in Christ wherever they are at! Power to live a holy life comes by faith in the cross. We shouldn’t exhort people to right living without giving revealing to them the key: faith. Sanctification is orienting yourself towards justification. We need to feed off our justification to be sanctified. Actual righteousness is produced by embracing the means by which we gained our imputed righteousness. Faith preserves us form self inflicted moralism. Idolatry by Faith Alone ‘All those who do not at all times trust God…but seek His favour in other things or in themselves is breaking the first commandment.’- Luther The first commandment is broken when you fail to believe in justification by faith. If you’re not trusting in Christ you are trusting in something else. All people sin in general. Why do we sin in any particular instance? An...

By Tim Keller Keller defines 4 ways of getting to Christ from the text organically Theme Resolution Inter-canonical themes are themes that cut across the Biblical canon, for instance the theme of Kingdom or law or grace. The theme develops and thickens as scripture progresses. Broad themes: 1) The King and the Kingdom The freedom and glory of God’s kingdom is lost when Adam and Eve sin The people throughout the OT needed a good Kingship Only the creator Himself is a satisfactory King because the problems of His people are too deep for any human King to deal with. 2) Grace and Law This theme asks the question: How can God remain holy and gracious with a rebellious people? Approaches to this theme: Conservative: God commands obedience for the receiving of every blessing Liberal: God loves everyone no matter what they do The conservative approach is exclusively set on the holiness of God while the liberal approach is only focuses on the love of God. Isaiah highlights the tension in his wr...