Round the Sphere

Two from Gospel Coalition blogs.

The Lord’s Supper
We commemorate Christ by looking up, back, forward, outward, inward, and around. (Juan Sanchez at The Gospel Coalition Blog)

Social Justice
I’ve got to admit that trendy terms makes me queasy and this particular jargonish expression has a double dose of blechishness for me. If I had my way, we’d simply call it justice when we are giving people what is  rightly owed to  them, and works of mercy or compassion when we feed the hungry and provide clothing, shelter, etc. for the needy. Who knows what the term social justice really means, anyway? 

Still, I’m pointing you to Kevin DeYoung’s series of posts examining major “social justice” passages in scripture. “My contention”, he says, “is that these passages say more and less than we think, more about God’s heart for justice than some realize, and less about contemporary ‘social justice’ than many imagine.” All in all, DeYoung will look at seven texts, and these are the first three.

1. Isaiah 1
2. Isaiah 58
3. Jeremiah 22

Theological Term of the Week

concurrence
An aspect of God’s providence whereby he cooperates with created things in every action, directing their distinctive properties to cause them to act as they do1; God’s working in all things to accomplish his will in all events “without violating the nature of things, the ongoing causal processes, or human free agency.”2

• From scripture:

   [A]ll the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
   and he does according to his will among the host of heaven
  and among the inhabitants of the earth;
  and none can stay his hand
  or say to him, “What have you done?” (Daniel 4:34-35 ESV)

  Then the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now therefore go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall speak.” (Exodus 4:11-12 ESV)
  

• From The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 5, Of Providence:

  I. God the great Creator of all things does uphold,direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence….

  II. Although, in relation to the foreknowledge and decree of God, the first Cause, all things come to pass immutably, and infallibly; yet, by the same providence, He orders them to fall out, according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily, freely, or contingently.

  III. God, in His ordinary providence, makes use of means….

• From Systematic Theology by Louis Berkhof: 

  There is not a single moment that the creature works independently of the will and the power of God. It is in Him that we live and move and have our being, Acts 17:28. This divine activity accompanies the action of man at every point, but without robbing man in any way of his freedom. The action remains the free act of man, and act for which he is held responsible. … In a very real sense the operation is the product of both causes. Man is and remains the real subject of the action. 

Learn more:

1. J. I. Packer: Providence
2. James Mongomery Boice: God’s Providence
3. Wayne Grudem:  Providence (mp3)
4. Related terms: providence; compatibilism

1Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem
2Concise Theology by J. I. Packer

Today’s term was suggested by a reader in an email. Do you have a a theological term you’d like to see featured here as a Theological Term of the Week? If you email it to me, I’ll seriously consider using it.

I’m also interested in any suggestions you have for tweaking my definitions or for additional (or better) articles or sermons/lectures for linking. I’ll give you credit and a link back to your blog if I use your suggestion.

Clicking on the Theological Term graphic at the top of this post will take you to a list of all the previous theological terms organized in alphabetical order or by topic.

Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy 6

What do Christians mean when they say the Bible is inerrant? The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy tells us what leading inerrantist mean by inerrancy. I’ll be posting a section of this statement each week until I’ve posted the whole thing.

You can read previously posted sections of this statement in by clicking here. After a preface and a short statement, the Chicago Statement contains a section called Articles of Affirmation and Denial.

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Article IV.

We affirm that God who made mankind in His image has used language as a means of revelation.  

We deny that human language is so limited by our creatureliness that it is rendered inadequate as a vehicle for divine revelation. We further deny that the corruption of human culture and language through sin has thwarted God’s work of inspiration.