$3 Gospel

"I would like to buy about three dollars worth of gospel, please.
Not too much – just enough to make me happy, but not so much that I get addicted.
I don’t want so much gospel that I learn to really hate covetousness and lust.
I certainly don’t want so much that I start to love my enemies, cherish self-denial, and contemplate missionary service in some alien culture.
I want ecstasy, not repentance;
I want transcendence, not transformation.
I would like to be cherished by some nice, forgiving, broad-minded people, but I myself don’t want to love those from different races – especially if they smell.
I would like enough gospel to make my family secure and my children well behaved, but not so much that I find my ambitions redirected or my giving too greatly enlarged.
I would like about three dollars worth of the gospel, please.

(D. A. Carson, Basics for Believers: An Exposition of Philippians, pp. 12-13)

Carson on the Shift of Tolerance

“Twenty five years ago ‘tolerance’ was understood to be a virtue that operated something like this: If I hold strong views on any particular subject I am nevertheless judged to be ‘tolerant’ if I think that your views are bad, immoral, improper, even disgusting, wicked or stupid, but still insist you have the right to defend them. In other words, a ‘tolerant’ person puts up with somebody else’s views and insists they have the right to hold them even while – in the vigorous arena of debate – we might disagree fundamentally on who is right or who is wrong. Such a person is a ‘tolerant’ person.

But nowadays, that is not what ‘tolerance’ means. Now ‘tolerance’ means that you don’t hold that anybody is right or wrong. Everybody is equally right or wrong. Nobody is more right than another person. If you don’t hold that then you are ‘intolerant.’ Now that is a huge shift … Under this new definition of ‘tolerance’ I don’t even know what ‘tolerance’ means because in the old view of ‘tolerance’ you had to disagree with someone before you could actually tolerate them. How do you say ‘Oh, yes, you are entirely right – I tolerate you?’ … This new ‘tolerance’ actually becomes extremely intolerant of anybody who does not buy into this view of ‘tolerance’ because if you actually come right out and say that some view is wrong or silly or foolish or indefensible or even questionable, then you are judged to be ‘intolerant.’ Thus, in the name of this newfangled tolerance it turns out, at profoundly deep levels, to be the most intolerant thing of all!”

D.A. Carson, Evangelism in the 21st Century (session 2), address delivered at Omaha Bible Church on Oct. 6, 2002.

HT: Tony Reinke

Carson on the Gospel

So what is actually the Gospel? How do you define it? Professor Don Carson writes with clarity answering the question in his editorial piece in the latest issue of Themelios. As always, we can say: It's Don, it's good:

In blogs, journal essays, and books, there has been quite a lot written recently about what “the gospel” is. In the hands of some, the question of what “the gospel” is may be tied to the question of what “evangelicalism” is, since “gospel” = εὐαγγέλιον = evangel, which lies at the heart of evangelicalism. People talk variously of the “simple” gospel or the “robust” gospel or the “pure” gospel—and doubtless a rich array of other adjectives. Some make a distinction between the gospel of the cross and the gospel of the kingdom. . . A handful of other essays have noted the instance where the gospel is not “good news” for certain people, but a promise of terrifying judgment. The writers of these essays argue that εὐαγγέλιον may not mean “good news” but something like “great and important news”: whether it is good or bad depends on those who hear it.

A couple of these questions I hope to address shortly elsewhere. For the moment, however, I’d like to underscore another distinction that is still worth making. It was understood better in the past than it is today. It is this: one must distinguish between, on the one hand, the gospel as what God has done and what is the message to be announced and, on the other, what is demanded by God or effected by the gospel in assorted human responses.

If the gospel is the (good) news about what God has done in Christ Jesus, there is ample place for including under “the gospel” the ways in which the kingdom has dawned and is coming, for tying this kingdom to Jesus’ death and resurrection, for demonstrating that the purpose of what God has done is to reconcile sinners to himself and finally to bring under one head a renovated and transformed new heaven and new earth, for talking about God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, consequent upon Christ’s resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Majesty on high, and above all for focusing attention on what Paul (and others—though the language I’m using here reflects Paul) sees as the matter “of first importance”: Christ crucified. All of this is what God has done; it is what we proclaim; it is the news, the great news, the good news.

By contrast, the first two greatest commands—to love God with heart and soul and mind and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves—do not constitute the gospel, or any part of it. We may well argue that when the gospel is faithfully declared and rightly received, it will result in human beings more closely aligned to these two commands. But they are not the gospel. Similarly, the gospel is not receiving Christ or believing in him, or being converted, or joining a church; it is not the practice of discipleship. Once again, the gospel faithfully declared and rightly received will result in people receiving Christ, believing in Christ, being converted, and joining a local church; but such steps are not the gospel. The Bible can exhort those who trust the living God to be concerned with issues of social justice (Isa 2; Amos); it can tell new covenant believers to do good to all human beings, especially to those of the household of faith (Gal 6); it exhorts us to remember the poor and to ask, not “Who is my neighbor?” but “Whom am I serving as neighbor?” We may even argue that some such list of moral commitments is a necessary consequence of the gospel. But it is not the gospel. We may preach through the list, reminding people that the Bible is concerned to tell us not only what to believe but how to live. But we may not preach through that list and claim it encapsulates the gospel. The gospel is what God has done, supremely in Christ, and especially focused on his cross and resurrection.

Failure to distinguish between the gospel and all the effects of the gospel tends, on the long haul, to replace the good news as to what God has done with a moralism that is finally without the power and the glory of Christ crucified, resurrected, ascended, and reigning.

Keller, Carson, & Piper

If you are a Gen-Xer like me, you would remember the jaw-dropping experience of watching Superman, Batman, and Flash Gordon engaged the bad guys together. These super heroes rock; standing out among the rest of the Justice League members. For me, watching Tim Keller, D.A. Carson, and John Piper together in an extended dialogue reminded me of these super heroes. Individually they had a tremendous role in the resurgence of the reformed theology in the US and the wider developed world.

Obviously I don't idolize Keller, Carson, and Piper. And that is the last thing they would expect from people like me or anyone for that matter. But no doubt they had a huge indirect impact on my journey of faith. Thanks to JT for the links to these Facebook videos from the 2008 Leadership meeting of the Gospel Coalition.

Part 1 of 6
Part 2 of 6
Part 3 of 6
Part 4 of 6
Part 5 of 6
Part 6 of 6

Carson on Tolerance

A quote on the shifting understanding of the notion of tolerance from Dr D.A. Carson's paper "Maintaining Scientific and Christian Truths in a Postmodern World":

It used to be that tolerance was the virtue of the person who held strong views about something or other, but who insisted that those who disagreed had an equal right to defend their views – the sort of stance picked up in the slogan, 'I may detest your opinions, but I shall defend to the death your right to speak them.' Today, however, tolerance is the virtue of the person who holds no strong views, except for the strongly held view that it is wrong to hold strong views, or to indicate that someone else might be wrong

Carson on Five Church Trends

Dr D.A. Carson recently gave a talk at Bethlehem Baptist Church on Friday September 26, 2008 on five trends in the church of today that we need to be aware of. Here are the five trends:

1. It is important to observe contradictory trends.
2. Current evangelical fragments are moving into a new phase -- into polarized "clumps."
3. The most dangerous trends in any age are the trends that most people do not see.
4. There is a trend in our churches to be consumed by social concern.
5. There is a trend in our churches to emphasize discipleship over the gospel.

The more elaborate note can be found here.

Carson & Horton ttg Justification

D.A. Carson dan Michael Horton baru-baru ini berduet dalam sebuah conference - Clarus, membahas dari buku Galatia tentang justification dan salib. Berikut judul-judul sesi yg dibawakan (sesi pertama mendapat review yg sangat baik) yg Anda bisa dengar via blog ini.

An Apostolic Disputation - and Justification - D.A. Carson

Panel Discussion 1 (Friday evening) - D.A. Carson and Michael Horton

Two Mothers, Two Mountains - Dr. Michael Horton

Justification/Righteousness and the Cross of Christ - D.A. Carson

Panel Discussion 2 (Saturday afternoon) Pt. 1 - D.A. Carson and Michael Horton

Panel Discussion 2 (Saturday afternoon) Pt. 2 - D.A. Carson and Michael Horton

The Promise-Driven Life - Michael Horton

Panel Discussion 3 (Saturday evening) - Michael Horton

"The Ironies of the Cross" - D.A. Carson


HT: Vitamin Z

Belajar dibawah D.A. Carson

Seorang mentor saya, staff Navigators di US, suatu kali memberi sebuah nasihat yang belakangan saya sadari ternyata berpengaruh besar dalam tahap-tahap awal perjalanan iman saya. "Sen, everything that's written by John Stott, buy it, read it." Saya ingin mengadopsi nasihat tersebut dan merekomendasi karya-karya seorang teolog yang paling berpengaruh di abad ini, Donald A. Carson. Penulis produktif ini menghasilkan karya yang bukan hanya solid dalam eksegesis, tetapi juga kaya secara pastoral dan aplikasi praktis.

Saran saya: "everything that's written by D.A. Carson, buy it, read it." Berikut daftar buku yg ia tulis. Beberapa saya sudah punya, khususnya eksposisi, sisanya masuk dalam 'wishlist' saya:

Carson, D. A. “Accept No Substitutes: Six Reasons Not to Abandon Expository Preaching,” Leadership 17 (1996): 87–88.
__________. A Call to Spiritual Reformation: Priorities from Paul and His Prayers. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992.
__________. The Cross and Christian Ministry: An Exposition of Passages from 1 Corinthians. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.
__________. Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility: Biblical Perspectives in Tension. Atlanta: John Knox, 1981.
__________. Exegetical Fallacies. 2d ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996.
__________. The Farewell Discourse and Final Prayer of Jesus: An Exposition of John 14–17. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1980.
__________. For the Love of God. 2 vols. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1998 and forthcoming.
__________. From Triumphalism to Maturity: An Exposition of 2 Corinthians 10–13. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984.
__________. The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.
__________. The Gospel according to John. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991.
__________. Greek Accents: A Student’s Manual. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985.
__________. Holy Sonnets of the Twentieth Century. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1994.
__________. How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990.
__________. The Inclusive Language Debate. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1999.
__________. The King James Version Debate: A Plea for Realism. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979.
__________. “Matthew.” In Expositor’s Bible Commentary, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein, 8:1–599. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.
__________. New Testament Commentary Survey. 4th ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.
__________. “Preaching That Understands the World.” In When God’s Voice Is Heard, edited by Christopher Green and David Jackman, 145–59. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1995.
__________. The Sermon on the Mount: An Evangelical Exposition of Matthew 5–7. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1978.
__________. Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians 12–14. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987.
__________. When Jesus Confronts the World: An Exposition of Matthew 8–10. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987.
Carson, D. A., ed. Biblical Interpretation and the Church: Text and Context. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.
__________. The Church in the Bible and the World: An International Study. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1988.
__________. From Sabbath to Lord’s Day. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982.
__________. Right with God: Justification in the Bible and the World. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992.
__________. Teach Us to Pray: Prayer in the Bible and the World. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1990.
__________. Worship: Adoration and Action. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.
Carson, D. A., Leon Morris, and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991.
Carson, D. A., and Stanley E. Porter, eds. Biblical Greek Language and Linguistics: Open Questions in Current Research. Sheffield: JSOT, 1993.
__________. Discourse Analysis and Other Topics in Biblical Greek. Sheffield: JSOT, 1995.
__________. Linguistics and the New Testament: Critical Junctions. Sheffield: JSOT, forthcoming.
Carson, D. A., and H. G. M. Williamson, eds. It Is Written: Scripture Citing Scripture. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
Carson, D. A., and John D. Woodbridge, eds. God and Culture. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993.
__________. Hermeneutics, Authority, and Canon. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986.
__________. Scripture and Truth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983.

Gerakan Emerging dan Emergence Church

Salah satu perdebatan yang sedang menghangat saat ini adalah seputar Emerging Church Movement. Gerakan yang lahir sebagai respon gereja terhadap pengaruh posmodernisme ini ternyata tidak unison, tapi muncul dalam spektrum yang cukup luas. Gerakan ini dipersepsi akan semakin mewarnai, membentuk, dan mengubah wajah Kekristenan di abad 21, khususnya di Amerika (yang lalu akan dieksport ke berbagai negara lain).

Apa itu Emerging church? Apa bedanya dengan Emergence? Apa yang mereka ajarkan, dan apakah berbeda dengan confession of faith seperti Westminster Catechism? Dan apakah gerakan ini diwakili oleh Brian McLaren saja, bgmana dengan Scot McKnight atau Mark Driscoll? Meski sekarang sudah ada Wikipedia entry tentang topik ini, berikut beberapa resources reliable di web yang saya temukan lebih informatif dan edukatif untuk membantu menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan diatas:

C Michael Patton membuat mapping gerakan Emerging dan berbagai filosofi mereka. Menurut Patton ada 4 kategori yg muncul: Fundamentalist, Evangelical, Emerging, dan Emergent.

Scot Mcknight menulis sebuah artikel di Christianity Today, juga mencoba memetakan gerakan ini. McKnight melihat ada 5 golongan terkait dgn posisi teologia mereka thd gerakan ini: Propheticl, Postmodern, Praxis-oriented, Post-evangelical, dan Political.

Interview Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly dengan D.A. Carson tentang Emerging Church movement terkait dengan peluncuran bukunya.

Albert Mohler menulis review terhadap buku evangelical scholar D.A. Carson tentang Emerging Church berjudul:Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church.