Featured Which Study Bible Should I Get?

Crossway

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I don't know what you think. However I know what you have posted. I assume that what you posted somewhat resembles your opinions, but I could be wrong. Perhaps you just post random things.

You felt the need to post that Campolo recommends the study Bible which seems to indicate that it is a significant fact for us to consider.

Then you informed us that the "...reference to Campolo is not a positive thumbs up..." to clarify that your previous post was a negative endorsement.

I am reading your words and taking them seriously. Is that a mistake? Should I not take your words seriously?

Actually, I don't think you should run out and buy it. I don't really care for study Bibles. By having someone's opinions on the page next to the scriptural text, I think that for many people it undermines the necessary time of struggling with the scripture to understand it and fosters dependency upon human teachers instead of the Spirit. There's nothing wrong with human teachers, but you should first sit at the feet of the Spirit when reading the scriptures and let the Spirit guide you. Then, if you don't understand, seek the assistance of human teachers - through books and other resources - as well as living, interactive ones.

For seven years I used a Ryrie Study Bible and for the first six of them believed everything that Ryrie had written. That last year, I started realizing that the notes he had did not teach the same thing as the scripture - specifically Jesus. I was looking to see what the gospel message that Jesus taught was all about since I didn't recall ever hearing Jesus use something live the "four spiritual laws" or the "Roman road" in His interaction with others. After great struggle, I realized that Ryrie had made some great errors with his theology of salvation. A couple of years later, John MacArthur brought out the same conclusion in his book, "The Gospel According to Jesus." However, MacArthur didn't go far enough because of his Dispensationalist theology (doesn't allow for him to see that the Kingdom of God is a present day thing - which is what Jesus clearly teaches).

The "Life With God Study Bible" has a proper understanding of the Gospel of the Kingdom, along with helps on how to enter the Kingdom in very practical ways. If someone is going to get a study Bible, they might as well get one that lines up with the teaching of Jesus.

That being said, there may be others out there that also have a proper view of the Kingdom of God (or "the Heavens" as in Matthew), but I'm guessing they are few and far between.

 

I take Campolo's endorsement as a negative.

 

Actually I do post random things. I have a copy of the Believers Study Bible (also known as the Baptist Study Bible) which I think is a good SB. It has a ringing endorsement by Billy Graham. However on close inspection it is clear the endorsement was written before the work was published and before Billy Graham actually had a chance to inspect it. So endorsements mean little. But having said that if someone like Tony Campolo is associated with it then I approach with caution.

More random stuff:

I haven't read this Life with God SB. I may borrow a copy from the my local CC library to see but reading the list of essay authors and the translation used makes me doubtful that I would ever want to actually own it.

Amazon has a preview of this work. Some of the contributors most here would find acceptable such as Walter C. Kaiser Jr. and Bruce Damarest. One of the General Editors is Thomas Oden who I don't consider a trustworthy conservative evangelical and then there is Peter Enns who got kicked out of Westminster TS.

 

I often use ESV Study Bible and MacArthur Study Bible when I need a quick commentary. Thompson Chain Reference is very good.

 

For reading I use a swedish Study Bible called Svensk Studiebibel in the Folkbibeln translation.

Thompson Chain Reference Bible has been a very good help for me to study topics and also as a very basic commentary with the topics in the margin.

I have used the Scofield, but I do not grow spiritually from it as from the Thompson.

I have used the web edition of ESV Study Bible and MacArthur Study Bible and find them very useful. Maybe I should get a MacArthur ESV and use for devotional reading.

You can not go wrong with the Thompson Chain Reference Bible.

 

So tell us how you brilliantly deduced that the gospel taught by Jesus is different than that taught by Paul, who, btw, received the gospel directly from our risen Lord. Let me hear you explain the gospel of Jesus.

 

Ryrie has his theology of salvation wrong? Really?

 

Yes. I'm far from the only person who believes this. John MacArthur wrote "The Gospel According to Jesus" in response to Zane Hodges and Charles Ryrie back in the late 1980s, and they each followed up with books of their own explaining their positions in greater detail.

Essentially Ryrie believed that one did not need to repent to be saved and that you didn't have to commit your life to following Jesus for salvation, although that is the precise call of Jesus in the gospels.

To be fair, he believed both were good things, but believed they had noting to do with being "saved." He seemed to think that the "trigger" for being saved was when one intellectually changed their minds about Jesus and decided to passively accept salvation.

 

I made no such claim. You are making wild assumptions.

My internet connection is down and I don't have the time or patience to give the appropriate response from my mobile device. I will respond to this later today.

 

Not sure if it has been recommended, but if you want study notes that are helpful but also give insight into the mind of the translators, then I'd recommend the NET study bible. It is probably the best exegetically helpful study bible on the market. It is not a theological study bible such as ryrie or others. So it depends on what you are going for.

I can't speak of first hand experience except for using bible.org. But I would love my hands on a leather/paper edition. Even more, I would love the diaglot they offer w/ the NA27.

 

Kindly provide a referenced quote

 

Wow... This is not an obscure discussion. There was a massive dust-up about this in conservative Christian circles in the late 1980s. You can easily Google up vast amounts of information about it.

Furthermore, Ryrie wrote a book called "So Great a Salvation" that addressed this very point in detail. I own a copy of the book somewhere and I read it very carefully when it came out.

But since you seem to not want to check things out for yourself, here's a few links that may give you some context from various positions the issue:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lordship_salvation_controversy

http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/BookReviews/gospel.htm

http://www.relationalconcepts.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=WVVa0tjLbFQ=&tabid=73

http://books.google.com/books?id=pG...ce=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

Well when you stumble on the book, put up a reference. I can wait.

 

You shouldn't just rely on out of context quotes. You should investigate things for yourself and use the brain God gave you.

You really need to read at least some of Ryrie's "So Great a Salvation" for yourself to understand the context. I posted a Google link to an online copy of the book for your reference in an earlier post.

Ryrie redefines repentance as simply an intellectual changing of one's mind about Jesus:

“What kind of repentance saves? Not a sorrow for sins or even a sorrow that results in cleaning up one's life. People who reform have repented; that is, they have changed their minds about their past lives, but that kind of repentance, albeit genuine, does not of itself save them. The only kind of repentance that saves is a change of mind about Jesus Christ. People can weep; people can resolve to turn from their past sins; but those things in themselves cannot save. The only kind of repentance that saves anyone, anywhere, anytime is a change of mind about Jesus Christ. The sense of sin and sorrow because of sin may stir up a person's mind or conscience so that he or she realizes the need for a Savior, but if there is no change of mind about Jesus Christ, there will be no salvation” (Charles Ryrie, So Great Salvation, pp. 94-95).

This quote looks rather innocuous in itself, but it is in a context of an argument that becoming a Christian doesn't necessarily involve good fruit (contrary to the teaching of Jesus) and that an intention to follow or obey Jesus is not involved in salvation (again, directly contrary to the teaching of Jesus).

Furthermore, Ryrie asserts that the Kingdom of God has NOT come - it has been delayed. That is explicitly stated in the Ryrie Study Bible as well in his other writings like "So Great a Salvation." He believed that the Kingdom would come in the Millennium, contrary to the clear teaching of Jesus and the New Testament that the Kingdom is already here - "The Kingdom of God (the heavens) is at hand" - here and is coming in its fullness at the second coming of Christ.

He holds the view that the gospel is the minimum standards by which you can go to Heaven when you die, instead of the message of Jesus and the New Testament that salvation is dying to oneself to enter the Kingdom of the Heavens now and forever through Christ.

 

Are you talking to yourself again?

 

We're done. You just want to argue.

 

PART ONE OF TWO

As i have written previously, I have made no such claim.

Paul was a disciple of Jesus, therefore he taught what Jesus taught. Since a disciple is not above His master, we need to interpret Paul by what Jesus taught.

The message of Jesus is clearly stated in the Gospels (which was written to believers and non-believers) and lays the foundation for Paul’s writings. Paul wrote to the church – people who were already familiar with the teachings of Jesus.

Paul’s teachings align perfectly with the teachings of Jesus, once you pay attention to what Jesus taught.

What is usually taught as “the gospel” in our circles is simply a story of the atonement - often presented as “Four Spiritual Laws” or “The Roman Road” which pulls Paul’s writings out of their proper context of the words of Jesus AND Paul’s own consistent writings on overcoming sin and living in the Spirit.

This message states that if we meet the minimum standards (usually repentance and profession of faith) we will go to Heaven when we die. But that message doesn’t really talk much, if any, about the life we are to live the rest of our days. Most of us will not “die tonight” but will live tomorrow. That “gospel” says little to nothing about obedience to Christ (discipleship) or about being transformed into the image of Christ. It almost completely ignores what Jesus had to say because it contradicts the gospel message we want to believe. Baptists tend to focus on Paul and only select portions of the Gospels to teach on because Jesus SEEMS to contradict what we think grace is all about - merely forgiveness of sins.

In our Protestant tradition, we are very reactionary toward the idea of effort (usually calling it "works") because we think it is somehow opposed to grace. But grace is not opposed to effort, it is opposed to earning.

We do not earn the grace of God. We enter into it and it transforms and empowers us. Yes, we are forgiven, but it is much more than that. Grace gives us the ability to be transformed and be conformed to the image of Christ, living and working in the power and authority of God for God's purposes.

In essence, the gospel of Jesus is "Repent for the Kingdom of God (aka 'the heavens') is at hand (available)." This means that the Kingdom of God is open to all who will come under God’s authority.

It is what John the Baptist preached (Matthew 3:1-2), what Jesus preached, (Matthew 4:17), and what Jesus told the Twelve to preach (Matthew 10:7).

The only definition of eternal life in the Gospels is in John 17:3 where Jesus is praying to the Father and says, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.”

This knowledge is not merely intellectual knowledge, but experiential knowledge. The way we know God is by living in obedient relationship with Him, under His Kingdom authority, learning to reign with God.

Those who are in rebellion against God can lay down their lives and find new and eternal life in Christ (Matthew 10:38-39).

We are then called to enter into training with Christ, to learn His ways (Matthew 10:24-25, 11:28-30 and 28:18-20) by following Him, that is living with Him (Matthew 4:18-22, 8:18-22, and 9:9).

Those who do not have a changed life (bear fruit) are not part of the Kingdom and face judgement (Matthew 5:20, 7:15-27, 12:33-37, 12:50, 13:24-30, 13:36-43, 13:47-50, 16:27, 21:33-44, 25:14-46).

We were created to reign under God’s authority (Genesis 1:26), we are called to be fruitful in the Kingdom of God (aka, Kingdom of the heavens) in this present age (Matthew 16:19-20, 18:18-20), and will reign forever with God (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 5:10, 20:6, 22:5). A helpful picture of how this works is given by the centurion's faith and understanding of authority (see Matthew 8:5-13).

 

PART TWF TWO

To see this clearly, let’s just follow the teaching of Jesus through one of the gospels. I do not cover every reference to the Kingdom of God/the heavens, but I hit about 95% or more of the references:

The Gospel of Matthew

3:1-2
"Now in those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'”

4:17
"From that time Jesus began to preach and say, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'”

4:18-22
The call of Jesus is to follow Him (discipleship).

4:23
"Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people."

5:1-12
Jesus announces that the blessings of God (the Kingdom) is available to all, no matter what their life situation might be.

5:20
“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."

5:21-7:12
Jesus illustrates that true righteousness is internal, not external. That is, one must be transformed into a different kind of person who naturally does the right thing.

6:33
We are to seek the Kingdom and the practical righteousness of God that He has been illustrating. Seeking and participating in the Kingdom brings transformation into practical righteousness where we become people who naturally do the right thing.

7:13-14
Jesus points out that you have to seek the Kingdom (the narrow gate), you don't just do what everyone else might be doing.

7:15-27
Jesus plainly teaches that how one acts is an indication of their relationship to God. One can do religious things (prophesy, cast out demons, perform miracles) but be utterly alienated from God.
Those who are going to be a part of the Kingdom must practice the teachings of Jesus.

8:5-13
The centurion amazes Jesus with his understanding of the nature of the Kingdom because of the similarity with the way the Roman Empire's earthly kingdom worked. He understood that the Kingdom of the Heavens (God) is a matter of taking direction from God, doing what God wants us to do, and using the authority of the Kingdom bestowed on those who are doing God's will.

8:18-22
The call of Jesus is to follow Him (discipleship).

9:9
The call of Jesus is to follow Him (discipleship).

10:7
Jesus sent the Twelve out with the same message He had been preaching, "The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand."

10:24-25
Those who follow Jesus are to become like their Teacher (discipleship).

10:38-39
Those who do not consider themselves dead ("take their cross") and follow Jesus (learn to keep His commands) are not worthy of Him.

11:11
No human up to that time was greater than John the Baptist, but those who are least in the Kingdom are greater than John the Baptist.

11:28-30
We are invited into the life of Jesus, to take on His yoke (training) and carry the light burden.

12:28
Jesus points to His ability to easily cast out demons as evidence that the Kingdom is being revealed in their presence, although they had blinded themselves to it.

12:33-37
The fruit of our lives and our words will condemn or justify us on the day of judgment.

12:50
Those who do the will of the Father are the true family of God.

13:1-53
Jesus illustrates various characteristics of the Kingdom of the Heavens in parables.

13:24-30 and 13:36-43
There will be those who look like true believers (except they don't bear the fruit of the Spirit), but they are not. They will be destroyed on the last day.

13:44-45
The Kingdom of the heavens is something you have to obtain by giving up all that you currently have to obtain it. It is a great exchange, but it is costly.

13:47-50
The Kingdom of the heavens will bring everyone to account at the end of the age, and the wicked will be separated from the righteous and destroyed.

13:52
The Kingdom of the heavens provides disciples with an abundance of understanding of the things of God.

15:11-20
Defilement comes from the inside, it is not something that comes from the outside.

16:19-20
Those who place their lives under the authority of Jesus are giving authority (the keys of the Kingdom of the heavens) to act according to God's will - what has already been established in the heavens.

16:24-25
Following Jesus requires considering oneself dead to his/her own passions/will and find life in Him.

16:27
Everyone will be judged according to their deeds.

18:1-6
One must enter the Kingdom of the heavens as a child - that is, without pretense and simply trusting God to provide for your needs as a child trusts his/her parents to provide for them.

18:18-20
The body of believers has the authority of the Kingdom of the heavens to do the will of God.

18:23-35
The Kingdom of the heavens requires forgiveness of other people - it is a characteristic of those who understood that they have been forgiven.

19:13
The Kingdom of the heavens is for people who others might consider unimportant or insignificant.

19:16-22
Eternal life requires more than external conformity to moral and religious codes, but a willingness to follow Jesus though it cost you everything.

19:23-26
Salvation is a work of God in cooperation with the will of humanity.

19:27-30
Those who have left everything to follow Jesus will be generously blessed in the fullness of the Kingdom of the heavens and will receive eternal life.

20:1-16
The rewards given in the Kingdom of the heavens are not apportioned according to seniority, but according to the pleasure of the King.

20:20-28
Those in the Kingdom of the heavens earn their greatness through service, not through control over others.

21:28-32
Obedience, not lip service, is what counts in regard to entering the Kingdom. Only those who actually obey will enter.

21:33-44
The Kingdom of God will be taken from those who only have the heritage of the Kingdom, but do not produce the fruit of it. Those who produce the fruit of the Kingdom inherit the Kingdom of God.

22:1-14
The Kingdom of the heavens is give to those who respond to the invitation, not just to those who are invited. And those who respond must respond in an appropriate way to the invitation (wearing wedding clothes).

25:1-13
The Kingdom of the heavens is for those who prepare for it.

25:14-30
The Kingdom of the heavens requires that participants be fruitful and active about the things the Master has entrusted to them.

25:31-46
Those who are in the Kingdom of the heavens naturally (even unconsciously) do good things for others because that is their new character.

28:18-20
Jesus told His disciples that all authority (that is, the authority of the Kingdom of the heavens) has been given to Him and His disciples are to make disciples of all people, teaching them to observe all of His commandments.