The Sufficiency of Christ Considered: Promises Made, Promises Kept - Expository Devotional on Hebrews 11:39-40
All Urban Puritano explorations in expository preaching have been preached in a Spanish congregation and have been translated by yours truly to exemplify a hybrid Puritan approach to preaching for today. There is a simple style that presents the fruits of textual analysis and translates it into homiletical synthesis for the glory of God and the good of the congregation.
There is an Intro/Exordium that introduces the theme of the sermon broadly and narrowing it to the text on which the theme is based. The second portion of the sermon is the theme of the text being exposited. This theme or topic is its doctrinal substance and what is predicated about the subjecht matter. Next, there are reasons and arguments proving the doctrinal substance is rightly divided. Once the truth has been explained, the uses of the doctrinal theme must be spelled out. Just as there is no compunction in judiciously formulating the sermon's doctrinal theme in a homiletically appropriate way, neither is there any compunction in pastorally and judiciously deriving warranted implications from the text to apply to the hearers' hearts and lives. Lastly the conclusion/epilogue serves to summarize the exposition and call hearers to worship God in Christ through the Spirit.
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Who is sufficient unto these things?
Certain circles in Evangelical and Reformed academia are giving the Quadriga a pass when it comes to Biblical hermeneutics. It’s toleration and eventual acceptance and advocacy may be under the guise of an apostolic or Christocentric method of interpretation. Soon, there will be a full court press to a full throated embrace of the Quadriga by Evangelicals and some Reformed scholars may fall under this spell themselves.
It’s one thing to appreciate the Quadriga’s general openness to the Bible’s polyvalence. It’s quite another thing to locate the Bible’s polyvalence, as the Quadriga does, in four distinct senses of Scripture. The Bible student in the pew must go beyond faddish academic deliverances found in history to critically assessing them according to Scripture itself. This is the Berean way.
What interpretive virtues must we be guided by as we read and interpret the Bible in the church?
Gird your loins as we weigh the Quadriga and find it wanting!
The literal sense of Scripture gives way to no other sense of Scripture because there is no other sense than the literal sense of Scripture. Sorry, not sorry, Quadrigans! It's time for Evangelicals and Confessional Protestants to retrieve its rejection!
Some things are so fundamentally flawed, coming up with alternatives should be easy. Some things are so fundamentally flawless, coming up with refutations should be impossible. The Quadriga is not hermeneutically viable. Never was. Never shall be. That's what makes its treatment with kid gloves by some academics, pastors, and their young seminarian acolytes a contra-confessional anomaly. Soon, there will be a full court press hailing its hermeneutical virtues as simply expressions of Biblical assumptions and sensibilities.
Litera gesta docet,
quid credas allegoria;
moralis quid agas;
quo tenda anagogia
But the question is simple: is the pre-critical quadriga drawn from or imposed on the Scriptures? If the former, it is legitimate. If the latter, it is eisegesis. These two are not the same. These two possibilities are not compatible. Neither is confessing Scripture's single sense and its manifold sense. Our Lord Himself states that His words are spirit and life, thus refuting the dualistic bifurcation between the literal and spiritual senses. The Quadriga must be terminated with extreme prejudice by all true believers for Biblical, rational, and confessional reasons.
Take up and read:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DL8HGMGQ?ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cp_ud_dp_WTW2FHAQBB25JAGGZ304_3&bestFormat=true
Bryant Rueda, writer and preacher extraordinaire joins us to discuss his life, writing, and preaching ministry since leaving the concrete jungle in Chicago for greener pastures in Texas. Bryant is keenly interested in hermeneutics, homiletics, lay preaching, pastoral ministry, church planting, and Spanish ministry. What life experiences led Bryant to develop a love for preaching? From Five-Fold Pentecostalism to High Confessional Calvinism of the Reformed Baptist variety, Bryant cares about preachers and their training. We stir the pot on lay preaching and the spiritual formation through formal and informal education within the life of the local church. Take up and listen!
Amazon.com: Bryant Rueda: books, biography, latest update
Preaching: Discipleship One Sermon at a Time
Previous conversations with Bryant Rueda:
Straight Outta Chicago! The only Reformed Baptist rapper I know of: Regenerit! Who wudda thunk it? From writing rhymes as a young kid to a quiver full of kids, we discuss the art of rap, conversion, discipleship, church membership, family, theology, and 4 songs that showcase the artistic creativity possible when you have a passion for Christocentric expressions of faith combined with a boom bap sound! We are all about Christocentrism at Urban Puritano. Don't forget your wallet in El Segundo and enjoy!
This episode is affectionately dedicated to Carlos (last name rhymes with gorgeous)!
Dreams, visions, promptings may not be spiritual gifts, but what is their ongoing spiritual significance? Are they inherently authoritative?
Is their content veridical? How can we assess them? Do they provide infallible guidance as lesser rules of faith and practice?
Must confessional calvinists be against hyper-cessationism? Our guest, Ryan Denton, says:
“Yes!” I tend to demur and say: “If loving hyper-cessationism is wrong, then I don’t wanna be right!”
Is there divine communicative intent to dreams? Did His revelation end in the New Testament or is He still speaking to us today through our dreams, visions, and promptings?
Beginning with the premise that dreams, visions, and promptings are facts in the sense that they exist—the host explores how he assesses testimonies from the past and present of dreams, visions, promptings to the Christian life in the here and now. Join us as we scratch the surface on a disagreement on a secondary issue among brothers concerning an aspect of cessationism. If your anger and frustration levels rise, touch grass!
What does deconstruction mean in the context of faith, Christianity, and the Church? On today's episode, we scratch the surface on the phenomena of deconstruction, deconversion, and apostasy. We've all heard of professing believers fall away from the faith. Sometimes, we've even known them. What does the confession (2LBC or WCF) say about such people and their faith in flux? Is there hope for the backslider or must deconstruction win the day? Take up and listen as I talk to Pastor of Christ the King Reformed Baptist Church about Deconstruction from a Pastoral perspective.
Pastor Mike Neglia invited me to The Expositor's Collective to discuss my recently published book:
Christ's Scope and Scepter: His Word, His World
With his permission, I've slightly edited it and chopped it up in a good way...not like the way the Quadriga chops up the Word of God.
Speaking of chopping things up that shouldn't be chopped up, we discuss the continuity between a Christocentric interpretation of the Word and a Christocentric interpretation of the world. For me that has taken me on an adventure in Christian Education, Spanish lay preaching in church, and healthcare chaplaincy.
This conversation scratches the surface on issues covered more in depth in my book. Don't just take up and listen for my spicy, confessional take on the pre-critical Quadriga. Stay for the encouragement to join the ranks of lay ministers in church and chaplains in healthcare. The harvest is ripe and the Christocentric laborers are few!
Reformed Baptists. Confessionalism. Honoring our predecessors, investing in our successors. Religion & the State. A Political Reckoning in America. Leftist Meltdowns. Masculinity. On Wives and Hobbits. Getting to know the neighbors. Zachary Garris. "Sinning in the right direction."
Joel Webbon. White Knight Syndrome. "Attractional Church Model." Is re-posting Andrew Tate approvingly equally as problematic as re-posting Calvin Robinson? Wes Huff, Joe Rogan, Billy Carson. Networking. Moody Bible Institute students. A smorgasbord of topics!
FROM THE VAULTS! This episode survived a house fire and was almost lost. Now, a year later, it has been recovered for such a time as this!
Biblically, theologically, and pastorally, we scratch the surface on Dr. Jared Moore’s book titled, “The Lust of the Flesh: Thinking Biblically About Sexual Orientation, Attraction, and Temptation.”
Gird your loins and ponder the verities of this solid conversation about an issue the church in North America, especially, has had a lot of unnecessary confusion about.
Like a bombshell on the lay theologian's playground, I am happy to announce a forthcoming new book I wrote that I hope serves the body of Christ! (https://urbanpuritano.com/new-book-preview).
CHRIST'S SCOPE AND SCEPTER: HIS WORD, HIS WORLD scratches several layers below the surface to show the continuity between a Christocentric interpretation of the Word and a Christocentric interpretation of the world, the trinitarian contours of which all believers should be familiar with.
In this episode, I give a little bit of the back stories of how this work came together and how the fusion of hermeneutics, Biblical Theology, and worldview thinking can benefit the Church for such a time as this. Part 1 lays the groundwork for interpreting the Word. Part 2 is a rubber meets the road extending reading and test case from the Old Testament. Part 3 concludes with a Christocentric vision of the world.
In unabashedly confessional Calvinist fashion, the book shows how the rays of Christocentrism shine forth in the midst of the endarkenment of medieval interpretive sensibilities such as found in the Quadriga. Finding the Bible's meaning involves not an ascent to higher realms of spiritual meanings, but a sometimes arduous descent and digging into the text of Scripture. No dualism exists in the Word. The Bible's meaning is at once nothing more than literal and nothing less than spiritual. This same posture is taken in order to rightly "see" the world. In His light, we see light. In the pursuit of faith seeking understanding, God's truth is all truth!
Readers will be able to use this book as a resource at Church, in small groups, at home, Bible College, Seminary, and of course, by yourself with your Bible under a tree!
Take up and read a free preview!
What's on the menu for today's discussion? Topical? Textual? Verse by verse?
No! It's the other white meat: Redemptive Historical Preaching!
I would actually liken it to red meat since Redemptive Historical Preaching is a form of Expository Preaching.
From the vaults of the "Cross-Eyed" Podcast with Bryant Rueda, we are serving up much food for thought concerning the Redemptive Historical approach to preaching.
* Why is Redemptive Historical Preaching Important?
* What is its relation to Christ-centered hermeneutics?
* Is there a Redemptive Historical formula or algorithm to follow?
* Do we set aside a Literal-Grammatical Hermeneutic?
* Is it Scriptural?
* and more!
In today's environment, the Redemptive Historical approach to preaching may seem alien. Is Redemptive Historical preaching from Mars and Expository Preaching from Venus?
Gird your loins as we scratch the surface on the theory and nuts and bolts of Redemptive Historical Preaching!
"For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.
For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe.
But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." Hebrews 5:12-14 (KJV).
Resources:
https://urbanpuritano.com/podcast/biblical-interpretation-according-to-calvinism
https://urbanpuritano.com/podcast/a-christocentric-alley-oop
https://urbanpuritano.com/podcast/jerusalem-and-jesus-the-shadow-of-christ-in-the-conquest-of-zion
FROM THE VAULTS! This episode was recorded at the end of 2023. Better late than never!
I was like a fly on the wall to the weekly Pastoral Prayer and Care Meeting where the Pastor and two Pastoral Assistants, Matt and Stephen, conduct a Lord's Day Service review, pray for each other and the church, and plan ahead for ministry.
Little did we know how much on the verge of WW3 2024 would be! Regardless of the chaos, however, I was encouraged to hear how committed to faithfully proclaiming God's Word these men were. Among the topics we scratched the surface of were:
* Confessionalism
* Seminary
* Church Life
* Egalitarianism
* Christendom
* Christian Nationalism
* Moscow Mood
* Political Theology
* Reformed 2K
* A Republic if you can keep it
* Two Tables of the Law
* The Church's Purpose
* Discerning the Times
* and more!
I greatly appreciate the wide range of issues that are on their pastoral radar and the desire to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. These gifted brethren bleed Bibline!
There once was a pastor from Scotland
Whose name was Begg, not McLachlan
Out of no where one day
To old ladies he’d say
Bring gifts and attend that transgender function.
Well, despite my attempt at capturing one particular example of doctrinal and pastoral decay in American Evangelicalism, am I really that far off? Poetically, yes. Actually, no.
Allow me to extend podcast hospitality to two guests in discussing their article and their mention of the now infamous case of Alistair Begg's advice to a troubled soul concerning participation in a transgender wedding mirage ceremony. Pastor Brandon Myers and Scott Polender.
What can be assessed based on the known facts? Is theological triage applicable here? Should ministers circle the wagons around Begg's ministry and counsel? Has Scripture been faithfully interpreted and applied? Is repentance by those who disagree with Begg in order or does Begg need to repent for the way he handled Scripture and this counsel to a troubled conscience?
Read the article that first shined the light on this and other symptoms of doctrinal decay:
The Desperate Decay of Doctrine in American Evangelicalism - American Reformer
Un Devocional Expositivo de Romanos 1:16-17 | El Evangelio de la Reforma es el Evangelio de las Escrituras
👇🏽👀👇🏽👀👇🏽👀👇🏽👀
On today's episode of Urban Puritano, we scratch the surface on the Reformation and why it can't stop and won't stop!
Reformation Day 2023 or World War 3
On today's episode, Pastor Brandon Myers of Christ the King Reformed Baptist Church joins me for a chilled out conversation along the banks of the Tiber River.
What are some areas of appreciation and even possible alignment with Romanists in common cause for the common good? What hath Papists to do with "separated brethren"? Well, our conversation covers four broad areas of possible cooperation with our Roman Catholic friends.
Join me with your preferred cigar and adult beverage on the banks of the Tiber as we scratch the surface on culture, common ground, and co-belligerency with our Roman Catholic friends.
Let's be real. Family worship is a little known subject among evangelicals.
It is more known and practiced among Dutch Reformed denominations. Anecdotally speaking, I've known and worked closely with Presbyterians in my life, and although it's a known subject, it isn't practiced as much as you may think. Same goes for Reformed Baptists. But overall, this situation is changing as more resources are produced. Family worship is having a renaissance of sorts.
Welcome to Urban Puritano. On today's episode, we scratch the surface on a valuable resource for family worship, the Family Worship Bible Guide, published by Reformation Heritage Books. Gird your loins and stay tuned.
#LayingTheFoundation
#TransformYourHome
Disputes among Christians on social media are funny...until they aren't. When things heat up, it's either someone's intelligence, integrity, or orthodoxy being questioned. When things calm down, we are told to keep discussions focused on doctrines, not dudes.
The same thing can be seen in the discussions of the needlessly frustrating topic of Biblicism. What is Biblicism and why does it matter? I bet you're wondering what side I'm on.
Recent developments on the history and use of the term have me thinking: does original use preclude others from co=opting it for their purposes? Is a pejorative sense of Biblicism the only one? Who decides?
Perhaps our theological betters are to be followed with an implicit faith and lesser creatures should just go along as many pastors and podcasters have done.
Hey, thanks for listening to my podcast! As always, gird your loins as we scratch the surface of Biblicism!
Dont forget to check out urbanpuritano.com for more content.
Welcome, once again, to Urban Puritano!
On today's episode, we scratch the surface on a classic allegory of the Christian life according to good ol' fashioned classical Calvinism: The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan.
Charles Spurgeon once said of Bunyan, "...his very soul was saturated with Scripture...he cannot give us his Pilgrim's Progress...without continually making us feel and say, 'Why, this man is a living Bible!' Prick him anywhere--his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him."
The edition I'll be working with is the Young Reader's Christian Library published by Barbour Publishing. It's a small, illustrated abridgement that I probably picked up at Half Price Books some time ago. I supplemented the reading with an assist from The Pictorial Pilgrim's Progress from Moody Publishers for the ending scene.
Gird your loins and stay tuned for an educational, edifying, and encouraging episode that can serve as a springboard for you to explore other unabridged editions of this important and delightful book of unadulterated Calvinism.