Testing Tradition

Note: This is the fourth of a four-part series. You can read part one here and part two here and part three here . As stated in a previous post in this series, there’s arguably no Old Testament event more central to developing a theology of the cross than the Passover/Exodus account (e.g. 1 Corinthians 5:7). In the traditional evangelical reading of the Passover/Exodus account, the blood on the doorposts functions primarily as a propitiation: God’s wrath is coming against both Egypt and Israel because of sin, and only the blood of a lamb turns that wrath aside so that the destroyer (or God Himself) can “pass over” the Israelite houses. Anthony Carter states the view clearly: God’s judgment would have fallen on Israel as well “unless they figuratively covered themselves in blood… What did the blood of the lambs do? It turned away God’s wrath and appeased His anger against sin.” But several features of the narrative sit uneasily with that framing. First, the distinction between...

For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. —Hebrews 12:17, ESV The verse quoted immediately above is one that is popularly interpreted to teach that a person can reach a point after which they are no longer able to repent.  Esau is the prime example of a person who reaches this state, so the popular interpretation of this verse goes.  John Piper and John MacArthur are two well-known evangelicals who interpret the text this way: Piper : For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent” — no place to repent, that is the literal translation, no occasion to repent, no repentance — “though he sought it with tears” (Hebrews 12:17).  So, it is possible to backslide so long and so deeply that there is no return. Now is that what has happened with you? It doesn’t sound like it because Esau was rejected,...

[22] And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. [23] And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. [24] By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, [25] and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. Revelation 21:22–25 When I've asked those who believe in the impossibility of a person escaping hell once they find themselves there where they find biblical support for this way of thinking, one of the most common passages offered in response is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. [22] The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, [23] and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. [24] And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus t...

[4] Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. [5] The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. [6] Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. Revelation 20:4–6 In most discussions of Revelation 20, the focus tends to be on the millennium, the 1,000 year period mentioned at the end of verse 4.  Is it literal?  Is it figurative?  Are we in it now?  Is it yet to come?  I even wrote a paper several years ag...

 [12] Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, [13] not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. [14] But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. [15] Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. (2 Corinthians 3:12–15, ESV) I recently watched a message on YouTube that a brother shared with me on the topic of biblical cosmology.  This message challenged my thinking because in it the speaker shared a teaching that I think I can honestly say I had never heard before.  I've thought about that message alot since first listening to it a couple weeks ago.  And I've listened to it three times in total to make sure I'm listening well.  I want to be slow to speak and quick to listen. I have the utmost respect for the process the spe...

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?  Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? (Psalm 22:1, ESV) These words are so central to the traditional evangelical understanding of the cross of Jesus Christ that their sentiment echoes in the songs we sing, most notably: How great the pain of searing loss— The Father turns His face away, As wounds which mar the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory. But is this really what's happening on the cross?  The Father turns His face away from the Son?  The Father forsakes the Son?  The Father is considering His Son to be a cursed criminal instead of the apple of His eye?  I want to make the case, on the basis of the Scriptures, that this is not what's happening.  I would submit that throughout Jesus' entire experience of the cross, the Father never stopped viewing His Son as the apple of His eye with whom He is fully well-pleased. Psalm 9 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in...

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV) This is a lynchpin text for the traditional Protestant understanding of double imputation.  John Piper is just one example of the many who understand this verse as "the great exchange": This is the great exchange. Here it is again in 2 Corinthians 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God lays our sins on Christ and punishes them in him. And in Christ’s obedient death, God fulfills and vindicates his righteousness and imputes (credits) it to us. Our sin on Christ; his righteousness on us. If I buy an item of clothing from the mall for my daughter and find when I get home that she likes it but it's either too small or too big, I would take it back to the store to exchange it for the same item in a different size that better fits her.  This exchange means that th...