Category: Church History

Quotes to Note 17: Jonathan Edwards’ Letter to George Whitfield

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

I recently picked up, Stephen Nichols’ excellent book Jonathan Edwards: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought (P & R). He gives an overview of Edwards’ life and a summary of his key writings by way of introduction to the study of Jonathan Edwards. In the biography section I came across a true gem. Nichols shared excerpts from a letter Edwards wrote to Whitefield requesting that he minister in Northampton. The letter shows Edwards’ sincere desire for revival and for God to use Whitefield in his own life, family and church. He further requests that Whitefield pray that God would see fit to use Edwards for the cause of Christ as well. Let me share this wonderful excerpt for the blessing of my readers.

Sir,

My request to you is that in your intended journey through New England the next summer, you would be pleased to visit Northampton. I hope it is not wholly from curiosity that I desire to see and hear you in this place; but I apprehend, from what I have heard, that you are one that has the blessing of heaven attending you wherever you go; and I have a great desire, if it may be the will of God, that such a blessing as attends your person and labors may descend on this town, and may enter mine own house, and that I may receive it in mine own soul.

Indeed I am fearful whether you will not be disappointed in New England, and have less success here than in other places: we who have dwelt in a land that has been distinguished with light, and have long enjoyed the gospel, and have been glutted with it, and have despised it, are I fear more hardened than most of those places where you have preached hitherto. But yet I hope in that power and mercy of God that has appeared so triumphant in the success of your labors in other places, that he will send a blessing with you even to us, though we are unworthy of it….

I fear that it is too much for me to desire a particular remembrance in your prayers, when I consider how many thousands do doubtless desire it, who can’t all be particularly mentioned; and I am far from thinking myself worthy to be distinguished. But pray, Sir, let your heart be lifted to God for me among others, that God would bestow much of that blessed Spirit on me that he has bestowed on you, and make me also an instrument of his glory. I am, reverend Sir,

Unworthy to be called your fellow laborer,

Jonathan Edwards

[Nichols, Jonathan Edwards: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought ( P & R Publishing, 2001), pg. 55)]

Deliberate Doctrinal Partnership: Why Denominations Can Be Helpful

~ Bob Hayton ~ 5 Comments

Denominations are often despised. Even many Christians outside of the independent Baptist movement frown upon such formal, concrete institutions. Indeed, mainline denominations have been trending left over the last hundred years and more, so some of these reactions are understandable.

But with the proliferation of non-denominational churches, and in Baptist circles, the mass exodus of independent churches from the denominations, a strange phenomenon has occurred. Rather than remaining aloof from any formal institutional organization, these churches have banded together in a vast array of associations, fellowships and networks. The problem with some of these new fellowships and organizations may be their newness. A forgetfulness of the past and a devotion to the pragmatic and the new, combine to make such fellowships especially prone to parochialism or doctrinal drift.

In all reality, looking back at the denominations we left, we find many of the same things that we have sought after today. Denominations have a built in missions organization. They have longstanding partnerships among like-minded churches. They offer help to church planters and pool resources for the training of men for the ministry. They also have a connection to the work of God in the past, and a wealth of experience from both the past and the present, with which to bring to bear on today’s challenges.

Certainly some denominations have totally capitulated to doctrinal error. I am not advocating the usefulness of that kind of partnership. Instead I am pointing out that many Baptist and Presbyterian denominations exist which can provide help to churches and a connection with an orthodox, confessional history. Other denominations are also vibrant and faithful, and deserve consideration especially if you plan to plant a church or go to the mission field.

Denominations in and of themselves are not necessarily hierarchical structures where all autonomy is lost when a church joins up with them. Nor is a partnership in this sense a full endorsement of all the activities under the tent that the denomination supports. The beauty of denominations is the doctrinal core that you must unite around to join, as well as the freedom and expansiveness to allow varieties of method and practice, and differences of opinion on lesser doctrinal matters. Denominations stand ready to allow churches to unite around the Gospel, and partner in the work of missions.

Every denomination is not created equal. But a good many doctrinally sound denominations could benefit by the presence of more member churches that are solid in faith and devoted to mission.

My thoughts along these lines were recently spurred on by reading a very helpful article by Ed Stetzer on the subject from this month’s Christianity Today. It is the cover article and is entitled, “Life in These Old Bones.” The subtitle explains, “If you’re interested in doing mission, there could hardly be a better tool than denominations.”

I encourage you to read Stetzer’s article and take some thought about the value of denominations. Don’t be ready to cast stones and praise your independence. Thank God for faithful denominations and the churches that founded them.

“Matthew Henry: Daily Readings” edited by Randall Peterson

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

Perhaps no other pastor has bequeathed a greater treasure to the church, than Matthew Henry and his commentary on the entire Bible. Since 1710 his commentary has blessed generations with a clear explanation and devotional treatment of Scripture. His work set the bar for future commentaries with its blend of accessibility, practicality, spiritual warmth and doctrinal depth. It is truly a classic which should continue to endure for years to come.

Charles Spurgeon, the great Baptist preacher from the 19th Century, recommended that ministers read through Henry’s 6 volume commentary once a year. Few pastors today have done so. Many churchgoers today, have an abridged Henry on their shelf or access to his entire work in a Bible study computer program or online, but few of them have read significant portions of his work. I must confess myself to be in the number of those who haven’t read enough of Matthew Henry.

Randall Peterson has offered a wonderful introduction to Henry’s writing, through a selection of daily devotional readings excerpted from his commentary. Matthew Henry: Daily Readings is nicely published and presented in a leather bound, conveniently sized edition, complete with a ribbon bookmark like you would find in most Bibles.

Each reading includes the day’s date, a title for the selection, a Scripture verse from the ESV, and at the bottom of the page, the section of Henry’s commentary where the selection is to be found. Selections cover the wide range of the Bible with a special emphasis on Psalms.
Henry has a firm grasp of the Gospel and will not lead the believer wrong. An excerpt from his May 21st entry illustrates how challenging this devotional can be:

We know not his riches and our own poverty, therefore we run not to him; we perceive not that we are lost and perishing, therefore a Savior is a word of little relish. Were we convinced of the huge mass of guilt that lies upon us, and the wrath that hangs over us for it, ready to fall upon us, it would be our continual thought, Is the Savior mine? And that we might find him so, we should trample on all that hinders our way to him.

This devotional will not be as easy to read as Our Daily Bread, but its nutritional content will be a balm to your soul. I highly recommend this excellent work which is suitable for a special gift or a lifelong treasure.

Pick up a copy of this book at Amazon.com, Westminster Bookstore, or directly from Christian Focus Publications.

This book was provided by Christian Focus Publications for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

Dr. Michael Wise on the Dead Sea Scrolls

~ Bob Hayton ~ 6 Comments

Last night I had the pleasure of attending a lecture at Northwestern College here in Minneapolis with my good friend Shaun Tabatt. It was “An Evening with Dr. Michael Wise” — a very informative and enjoyable presentation on the history and nature of the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS).

Dr. Wise is best known for coauthoring The Dead Sea Scrolls: A New Translation with Martin Abegg and Edward Cook (published by Harper San Francisco, 1986). The book was the first translation intended for the public and included many scrolls that had not previously been published. Dr. Wise is proficient in 9 ancient languages and is a true scholar. His ability to read and pronounce Hebrew and Aramaic was certainly on display last night, as was his extensive knowledge of the DSS.

His presentation followed along the lines of a brief article in the NWC college magazine entitled: Christians, Questions and Ancient Mysteries, also by Dr. Wise. I wasn’t able to find the presentation online, and so I will only be able to highlight the parts I remember.

Background

At least some of the DSS were likely removed from the temple and other areas before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. They were secretly stashed in the caves on the north western edge of the Dead Sea near the site of Qumran. Dr. Wise described the scrolls as being more like the “Dead Sea Scraps”, with some being no larger than a thumbnail. But all told, there are 931 manuscripts found in the 11 caves of Qumran, and some of them include entire biblical and non-biblical books. These scrolls represented a substantial monetary value as the production of books was quite expensive in antiquity. Materials were so scarce, that many of the DSS were written on gazelle skins (an unclean animal).

Most of the DSS were in Hebrew (5/6), some were in Aramaic (1/6) and 20 were in Greek. About 1/3 of the scrolls were Biblical texts (225 or so), and the rest were religious texts some of which scholars believe were sectarian in nature (about 115 by his count). The sectarian aspect in Wise’s view attaches to texts about the “Teacher of Righteousness”, a messianic type figure from abut 100 years or more before Christ. Wise has some views on that figure that are not widely held among scholars, see this article in the New York Times for more.

Where Wise really shined was in drawing out the significance of the find. By all accounts it is one of the greatest archaeological finds of all time. Dr. Wise showed how both the Biblical and non-Biblical texts both have revolutionized our understanding in many key ways.

Significance of Biblical Scrolls

The Biblical manuscripts (which represent every OT book except for Esther), have moved our earliest copies of individual books of the OT up more than 1,000 years from what we had before. There was some understandable apprehension among scholars when the scrolls were first found. Would they show that our copies of the Bible were extremely flawed? Dr. Wise showed a picture of the Aleppo Codex from A.D. 954 the earliest mostly complete Hebrew Bible we had before the discovery of the DSS. Then he showed a picture of 4QDeutM, a manuscript dating to 150 B.C. (1100 years older than the Aleppo Codex). The passage contains the 10 Commandments from Deuteronomy and is identical — word perfect — to the Aleppo Codex! The accuracy level generally of the Hebrew text of our Bibles has been proven to be very high.

The scrolls also helped correct minor faults with the later copies that we have. He pointed out two cases in Isaiah 53 where letters were mis-copied resulting in unique and difficult readings. One of the largest scrolls found is a copy of the entire book of Isaiah (all 66 chapters), and that scroll corrects those readings that were handed down imperfectly by the Masoretes who gave us the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT). He also showed where a paragraph in 1 Samuel was found in one of the scrolls that had completely dropped out of the MT.

New questions have also been raised by these biblical texts, however. A Hebrew text that follows the Greek LXX of Jeremiah for instance, was discovered in 2 scrolls. We used to think the Greek was a late corruption, but now there is evidence that two competing Hebrew forms of the book of Jeremiah were to be found in Jesus’ day. It is now known that two or three editions of most books of the Old Testament existed and were current at the time of Jesus. This is an area biblical scholars are now focusing on, the development of the Hebrew canon of Old Testament Scripture. Dr. Wise thinks we shouldn’t be afraid of this kind of inquiry, as all truth is God’s truth. He compared the differences between the editions to the sometimes widely differing English translations of the Bible available today.

Significance of Non-Biblical Scrolls

The non-biblical texts illumine the world of Jesus’ day for us like never before. There are commentaries on the biblical books which help us understand the methods of interpretation which were in vogue in the years before the New Testament authors published their interpretation of the Old Testament. We find a great degree of similarity between the methods used by second Temple Judaism and the authors of the New Testament, according to Dr. Wise. The texts also reveal the kind of ideas and themes which were common in religious thought of the day. Several scrolls reveal a great emphasis on the obscure Biblical character Melchizedek. He is viewed as a heavenly priest just one notch below Jehovah God in status. It is no wonder then that the New Testament book of Hebrews addresses how Jesus compares with Melchizedek.

Perhaps the most fascinating non-biblical find is the presence of a description declaring that the Messiah will “cause the dead to live” (or raise the dead). Nowhere in the canonical Hebrew Bible do we find a description of the Messiah raising the dead. Yet in Luke 7:22, Jesus tells the followers of John the Baptist how they can be certain that he (Jesus) is the Messiah. He lists off the things he is doing, healing the sick, proclaiming good news to the poor, restoring sight to the blind, and raising the dead. Jesus knew it was a current belief in the thought of his day that the Messiah would raise the dead. This Dead Sea Scroll (the Messianic Apocalypse) testifies to that widespread belief as well.

Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit at the MN Science Museum

The event ended with Dr. Wise encouraging us to go see the Scrolls on display at the Science Museum of Minnesota. I blogged about my visit to the exhibit before. I would add my recommendation to go see the Dead Sea Scrolls while they are here (through October 24). It is a chance to view and appreciate a piece of history, and share in the wonder of the Bible itself.

A Biblegeek’s Dream: Viewing The Dead Sea Scrolls

~ Bob Hayton ~ 16 Comments

I had the opportunity of a lifetime. Last night, fellow biblioblogger and good friend, Shaun “the Bible Geek” Tabatt and I went to see the Dead Sea Scrolls! They are on display at the Science Museum of Minnesota from now through mid-October.

Words cannot describe the experience. A picture might help. Notice the smiles…

Unfortunately, they don’t allow photography inside the exhibit. But I don’t know how you’d be able to take in the exhibit with flash photography all around.

The exhibit has plenty of information and artifacts to hold your interest for 2 hours or more, easily. I felt like we were rushing and we spent more than an hour and a half. If it was just Shaun and I and no babysitters to worry about, we’d have spent all night there…. As it was we had our wives and another couple along with.

I enjoyed learning more about the history of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Duke University refused to purchase some of them when first found. And three were advertised for sale in a newspaper, if you can believe it.

The scroll jars and artifacts from 2,000 years ago were also fascinating. The coins dating back to before Christ were even more interesting. I couldn’t help but thinking of National Treasure (the movie), when we noticed the humidity and temperature gauges in the display cases.

The highlight, of course, were the scrolls themselves. They had 5 manuscripts on display. I’ve heard that a total of 15 mss will be rotated through the exhibit. Of the 5 I saw, only 3 were Biblical: Isaiah, Psalms and Genesis. The other texts were the Temple Scroll, and the Damascus document.

With my limited Hebrew (and with some help from the English translations), I was able to make out some words in the Hebrew. On the Psalms manuscript, which was by far the largest manuscript there (portions of six or seven columns), a proto-Hebraic script was used for the name of the LORD (Yahweh). On the other scrolls I was able to read the tetragrammaton (YHWH). On the Genesis scroll I was able to see Jacob’s name twice. I also clearly observed that there were no vowel points in the Hebrew script. (A point that some King James Onlyists dispute, siding with John Owen against the unified testimony of evangelical scholarship.)

The whole exhibit was exhilirating, but there was something extra special about a couple of the text choices. Isaiah’s manuscript started with 53:10. They don’t mention how Christianity interprets that text, however. Even more thrilling to me, was seeing Ps. 119:89 written there in a 2,000 year old manuscript. “Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens”. These manuscripts attest that God has preserved His Word for us faithfully down through the ages on earth, even, like it is in heaven.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls is widely proclaimed as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time. God in His providence has given us more insight into the original text of Scripture. And while there remain some questions as to particular readings here or there, the Dead Sea Scrolls witness to the stability and accuracy of the text of the Bible. It was a privilege to see some of that in person.

For more on the Dead Sea Scrolls, you’ll want to come up to Minneapolis and visit the exhibit. Or you can learn more at some of the following links.