Round the Sphere Again: Understanding Scripture

What Was the Author’s Intent?
Kim Shay has one more post in her series on studying the Bible:

We cannot interpret something out of a passage that was never there. Sometimes, we have a tendency to read the Bible as if it was written in our own times, and we assume things about it that are not there.  That is a mistake. 

Read all of  Training in Righteousness - 4.

Why Numbers?
From an introduction to the book of Numbers at Ligonier Ministries Blog: 

Numbers was evidently written as a warning to the generation of Israelites born in the wilderness, that they should persevere in faith and obedience where their parents had not. For future generations of God’s people, the book would speak a similar message.

Just a One Way Street?
Yes, our exegesis should inform our theology, but Kevin DeYoung argues that our theology should inform our exegesis, too. 

Theology … can help provide guardrails for the interpretive process, honor the unity of Scripture, and throw a spotlight on the most important and most difficult issues arising from the Word of God.

Read the whole post.

Thankful Thursday

I’m thankful that my cupboards and fridge and freezer are full, and for the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables available to me even during the winter months. I’m thankful that God provides all these things. 

I’m thankful for an afternoon with my youngest daughter. I’m thankful that she was able to get into a dentist quickly for a root canal on her abscessed tooth. I’m thankful that she is pain free now and the tooth is saved. I’m thankful for gentle and competent dentists. 

Now that I think about it, I saw all my kids at one time or another today. I’m thankful that they all live nearby, at least for now. It makes my life a little crazy sometimes, with all the coming and going, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything. 

I’m thankful (again) for clear skies and warm winter weather. I’m thankful for the sliver moon in the twilight sky. I’m thankful for the God-created beauty that surrounds me. 

I’m thankful for all the benefits of salvation. I’m thankful that God who begins a good work will complete it.

What about you? What are you thankful for?

Ordo Salutis

This is a redo of a post from 2005. I want to link it from the ordo salutis theological term page, but it needed a thorough clean up first.

Ordo salutis (also called order of salvation) refers to the order in which benefits of salvation are applied to those who are being saved. It’s important to keep in mind that the order of an ordo salutis is logical or causal. Some of the benefits are applied in a single instant and cannot be separated time-wise; yet one is the logical cause of the other.

There is disagreement among different groups within Christianity as to the exact order of salvation. Here are some examples of orders of salvation from various sources.

From Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem:

1. Election (God’s choice of people to be saved)
2. The gospel call (proclaiming the message of the gospel
3. Regeneration (being born again)
4. Conversion (faith and repentence)
5. Justification (right legal standing)
6. Adoption (membership in God’s family)
7. Sanctification (right conduct of life)
8. Perseverance (remaining a Christian)
9. Death (going to be with the Lord)
10. Glorification (receiving a resurrection body)

(This order of salvation graphic from Tim Challies is the same as Grudem’s except that it does not include death.)

From A.A. Hodge:

1. Regeneration
2. Faith
3. Justification

These two lists would be orders of salvation from a reformed or calvinistic perspective, and while they are different in how many steps they include on the list, the order is similar.

An evangelical noncalvinist ordo salutis would be something like this:

1. Prevenient Grace
2. Calling
3. Conversion
4. Regeneration
5. Justification
6. Adoption
7. Sanctification
8. Glorification

In Grudem’s list, items 3-6 would occur at a single point in time, but the logical and causal order would be as given, because regeneration produces conversion, justification is on condition of the faith that comes from regeneration, and it’s justification that paves the way for adoption.

In Hodge’s list, all three items would be instantaneous, but regeneration produces faith and justification is on condition of faith. Once again, it’s logical, not temporal, order.

In the noncalvinistic list, items 3-6 would occur as one event. Notice how similar these are to items 3-6 on Grudem’s list, differing only in the order of items 3 and 4. In a calvinistic system, regeneration is seen as the cause of conversion, and in a noncalvinistic one, conversion is seen as the cause of regeneration.  

Finally, from Romans 8, an ordo salutis given to us in the Bible:

1. Foreknowledge
2. Predestination
3. Calling
4. Justification
5. Glorification