Monday Musings: January 2007 Archives
Today's musing comes from Graeme Goldsworthy's newest book which is not available in the US until March, Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics: Biblical-theological foundations and principles. The following excerpts come from chapter 3, "Gospel-Centred Hermeneutics" (I've inserted a few questions of my own to help you interact with the text).
For hermeneutics to be gospel-centred, it must be based on the person of Jesus Christ. That is, the person and work of Christ are at the heart of our hermeneutics (58).
What, then, is the gospel?
The gospel is the event (or the proclamation of that event) of Jesus Christ that begins with his incarnation and earthly life, and concludes with his death, resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father. This historical event is interpreted by God as his preordained programme for the salvation of the world (59).The gospel centres on what God did for us in the incarnate Christ in order to save us from sin, the devil and death. Its goal is the new creation where the people of God redeemed by Christ will enjoy the presence of God for eternity. The gospel is what we must believe in order to be saved. To believe the gospel is to put one's trust and confidence in the person and work of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. To preach the gospel is faithfully to proclaim that historical event, along with the God-given interpretation of that event (58-59).
How important is it for preachers to understand what is and what is not the gospel when they enter the pulpit?
It cannot be stressed too much that to confuse the gospel with certain important things that go hand in hand with it is to invite theological, hermeneutical and spiritual confusion. Such ingredients of preaching and teaching that we might want to link with the gospel would include the need for the gospel (sin and judgment), the means of receiving the benefits of the gospel (faith and repentance), the results or fruit of the gospel (regeneration[1], conversion, sanctification, glorification) and the results of rejecting it (wrath, judgment, hell). These, however we define and proclaim them, are not in themselves the gospel. If something is not what God did in and through the historical Jesus two thousands years ago, it is not the gospel (59).[1] - Regeneration is a result of the gospel in that it is possible only because of the historic work of Christ. This is not the same as saying that it is the result of a person's decision to receive the gospel.
Question for discussion: What might happen if the results of the gospel are preached as if they are the gospel?
“Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” Jesus’ disciples, understanding that this was an identity question, answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets” (Matthew 16:13-14). Questions about identity are very important. They help us determine how we will or will not relate to any particular individual. If I ask someone, “Who are you?” and he answers, “I’m a career criminal”, I’ll relate to him differently than someone who answers, “I’m a career humanitarian.” Identity really matters.
Whether we realize it or not, we ask and answer the question “Who am I?” every day, multiple times a day. We may not do it knowingly, but our modus operandi is to make daily decisions based upon who we think we are, based upon our functional identity. The answer to the question, “Should I lie to my wife right now?” is dependent upon how you answer the more fundamental “Who am I?” question. If your functional identity is “I’m one who already has been given every blessing that belongs to the Spirit of God in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:3), you’ll answer the “Should I lie to my wife right now?” question differently than if your functional identity is “I can’t stand to be wrong.”
Navigating life with a functional gospel-centered identity—an identity freely given to you by God in the gospel (i.e. “I’m one who has been richly blessed in Christ” or “I’m loved with an everlasting love”)—instead of a self-made identity (i.e. “I can’t stand to be wrong” or “I’ve got to be right all the time”) makes a huge difference when we are faced with temptation. I have lived long enough to learn from experience that if I am not actively finding my identity in the gospel, I will find it somewhere else. There is never a moment when I am not locating my identity in something. This is a sobering reality. I am like a fire flicking out its flames searching for something to sustain its life. Identity is not a take-it-or-leave-it commodity. Identity is not something human beings can choose to live without, even if just for convenience’s sake. It has been a part of our DNA since God created Adam and Eve. We’ll develop this more next Monday.
