Round the Sphere Again: Biblical

Introduction
The Thirsty Theologian links to all of Mark Dever’s Bible overview sermons.

Interpretation
Ephesians 2:1-10 is my favorite passage of scripture. So many people memorize verses 8 and 9 (“By grace are you saved through faith…”) but pay little or no attention to the surrounding verses, which explain exactly what it means to be saved by grace. I loved this short exposition of these verses by D. A. Carson (For the Love of God), which points out, among other things, that

Before our conversion, we, like the Ephesians, were dead in our “transgressions and sins” (Eph. 2:1). Because of our addiction to transgression and sin, because of our habit of following the ways of the world (Eph. 2:2), because we were simultaneously deceived by the Devil (Eph. 2:2) and committed to gratifying the desires and thoughts of our sinful natures (Eph. 2:3), there was simply no way we could respond positively to the Gospel. Worse, our tragic inability was a moral inability: “Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath” (Eph. 2:3). There was no hope for us unless God himself intervened and brought life where there was only death, and showed mercy where his own justice demanded wrath.

Read the rest.

Let me point you to this, too: Twelve Reasons Why Romans 9 Is About Individual Election, Not Corporate Election (Parchment and Pen)

Inerrancy
Kevin DeYoung’s had some interesting posts on this subject.

• What Inerrancy Is Not (The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy has similar disclaimers.)
• What Good Is Inerrancy If We Don’t Have the Original Manuscripts? This is a common objection to the doctrine of inerrancy. DeYoung quotes Carl Henry in response, who makes, among other points, this very important one: “If the originals were errant, then textual criticism would expect to give us not more truthful readings but only more ancient ones.”