Monthly Archives: July 2010
The Gospel Truth: Christ Crucified (Vlog)
(This is a continuation of The Gospel Truth video blog series. This post assumes the prerequisite watching of earlier videos in the series. Click the link above to watch the entire series up to this week’s installment.)
This week’s Gospel Truth teaching examines the very apex of the fulfillment of the law: the crucifixion of Christ. As previous lessons have revealed how Christ’s death fulfilled the law of Moses, today’s will focus on the fact that Christ also fulfilled the prophets which spoke of his first coming.
The Gospel Truth – Pt 7 – Christ Crucified from Jeff Kluttz on Vimeo.
Bible Interpretation Pt. 05 – Contextual/Theological Principles
(This is a continuation of the “Interpreting The Bible“ video blog series. This post assumes the prerequisite watching of earlier videos in the series. Click the link above to watch the entire series up to this week’s installment.)
This week’s vlog post continues the “Interpreting The Bible“ video blog series, picking up where we left off last week, still discussing the contextual principle of interpretation. This week’s class also goes into the theological principle: establishing that theology itself was a work in progress during biblical history. As such, Adam’s theology was much less developed than was Paul’s. Indeed, God’s progressive revelation of himself to man created a scenario where the earlier writers did not have a full picture of theology which was to be heralded as “complete” at a later time.
Bible Interpretation – Pt. 05 – Contextual/Theological Principles from Jeff Kluttz on Vimeo.
The Gospel Truth Pt. 6 (vlog) – Jesus: the Fulfillment of the Law
(This is a continuation of The Gospel Truth video blog series. This post assumes the prerequisite watching of earlier videos in the series. Click the link above to watch the entire series up to this week’s installment.)
I’ve often said that “the gospel is simple enough for a five year old to receive but complex enough for a lifetime of study.” For many, the simplicity of the gospel message – that Christ died for the remission of sins – leaves them with probing questions as to the why and how of it all. Why did Jesus have to die? How was it exactly that his death satisfied God’s wrath and brought justification to sinful man?
The past few weeks of this series have sought to lay the groundwork for this answer by examining the unfolding of redemptive history; a roadmap of atonement that God developed from the Garden of Eden to the coming of the Christ. The redemptive picture fleshed out in the Law of Moses, however, was only a foreshadowing of what was to come. For, in Christ’s own words, he “did not come to abolish the law and the prophets, but to fulfill them.” (Mat 5:17) What the law and the prophets had written as a promissory note, Christ paid in full – with blood.
The Gospel Truth Pt. 6 – Jesus: the Fulfillment of the Law from Jeff Kluttz on Vimeo.
Interpreting the Bible Pt. 4 – the Contextual Principle
(This is a continuation of the “Interpreting The Bible” video blog series. This post assumes the prerequisite watching of earlier videos in the series. Click the link above to watch the entire series up to this week’s installment.)
| This week’s video blog post (from the FBCN Biblical Hermeneutics class) begins with some class discussion concerning the reading assignment which is difficult to hear on camera. The actual course work for today begins at 11:50, if you wish to jump to that point. |
This week’s topic is one of supreme importance, as it is concerned with what is probably the single most abused interpretive principle. The topic in question is that of “context.” Ignorance of context is the means of all manners of false doctrines, for without context one may simply cherry pick phrases from scripture and re-weave them together in any manner desired, thus creating just about any message imaginable. As such, proper understanding of such interpretive principles offers great protection from deception by many false teachers who engage in such behaviors.
Without proper context it is nearly impossible to interpret any form of communication; especially in a document the size of the Bible. Every sentence is related to the sentences before and after it. Every paragraph is related to those before and after them. And, each chapter hinges on the development that preceded it while setting the stage for those which follow.
This week’s classwork overviews this principle. More detailed training on contextual work will follow in part two of the course.
The Gospel Truth: Atonement in the Old Testament Pt. 2
(This is a continuation of The Gospel Truth video blog series. This post assumes the prerequisite watching of earlier videos in the series. Click the link above to watch the entire series up to this week’s installment.)
Last week’s post examined the general nature of the Old Testament sacrificial system. Yet, the heart and soul of the application of blood atonement rested in a very specific Holy observance: Yom Kippur, “The Day of Atonement.”
It was on this day, and only this day, that the high priest entered the Holy of Holies and made application of blood in the God’s own presence. And, it is the understanding of this observance, which Hebrews will demonstrate in next week’s post, that best reveals how Christ’s actions both fulfilled the law and provided vicarious atonement – once and for all – to vindicate God’s wrath and uphold his just cause to punish sin.
The Gospel Truth: Pt. 5 – Atonement Pt. 2 from Jeff Kluttz on Vimeo.
Intrepreting The Bible Pt. 3 – Historical/Cultural Principle
Part three of the Interpreting The Bible series involves an overview of the Historical or Cultural principle. Essentially, this principle of interpretation states that one must understand the times and circumstances of a writing in order to fully appreciate and properly interpret the text. This understanding involves the author, the readers, the culture and even other cultures referenced in a work.
Paul’s note in Philippians about having learned to be content has much more meaning, for example, if one knows a bit about Paul’s life of trials and difficult circumstances. James’ admonition to the Jewish believers of the dispersion to “consider it pure joy when you face trials of many kinds” certainly has a more potent meaning to us today by realizing the dire persecution that those believers endured at the time of James’ writing. And, Jesus’ parable about virgins who forgot their oil and were shut out of the wedding banquet makes much more sense to one who has studied the nature of the Jewish wedding celebration.
Such is the nature of the application of the Historical/Cultural principle in Bible interpretation, as will be observed in this week’s video.
Bible Interpretation – Pt. 03 from Jeff Kluttz on Vimeo.
Watch earlier installments of this series here.
The Gospel Truth (Vlog): Atonement Pt. 1
(This is a continuation of The Gospel Truth video blog series. This post assumes the prerequisite watching of earlier videos in the series. Click the link above to watch the entire series up to this week’s installment.)
Understanding fully that man is sinful, God is just, and that God’s righteous penalty for sin is death leads one to the logical next question: is there any hope for me?
There is a quick answer. “Yes, there is hope provided in the person of Jesus Christ.” He did what was necessary to secure atonement for man’s sins by accepting God’s wrath upon himself. But, to truly understand the depths of the work Christ performed on the cross one needs to venture back through redemptive history and examine God’s “promissory note” which was provided in the Law of Moses.
Today’s installment introduces the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. Day after day, night after night, the sins of Israel were on public display through a bloody and endless assembly of sacrificial animals. These bloody sacrificial acts provided temporary vicarious recipients for God’s wrath to be expiated upon until the promised Christ came to fulfill these legal requirements in permanence.
The Gospel Truth: Pt. 4 – Atonement Pt. 1 from Jeff Kluttz on Vimeo.
The Spirit World: Conclusion
Conclusion
(This is a continuation of The Spirit World book series. This post assumes the prerequisite reading of earlier posts in the series.)
The ultimate question asked of student and teacher alike upon completion of a body of study in scripture should always be, “what shall my response be?” For this particular work there are multiple possible answers which should be contemplated, each depending upon the reader’s position in Christ. Those who do not ascribe Christ as the uncontested Lord of their lives have one necessary response to consider, while those who know Christ have several thoughts to ponder.
This chapter entails notes of encouragement from the author and will be written in the first person as his private appeal to each group. Continue reading
