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Preaching - Lesson 29

Redemptive Interpretation and Biblical Genre

In this lesson, we will discuss the importance of genre in biblical interpretation and how to apply redemptive interpretation to various biblical genres. Genre is an important aspect of biblical interpretation because it helps us understand the context, style, and purpose of a particular passage or book. We will explore the different types of genres in the Bible, including narrative, poetry, prophetic literature, wisdom literature, and apocalyptic literature. We will also discuss how to apply redemptive interpretation to these genres by understanding the historical and literary context, identifying redemptive themes and patterns, and applying these themes and patterns to contemporary life.

Bryan Chapell
Preaching
Lesson 29
Watching Now
Redemptive Interpretation and Biblical Genre

I. Introduction

A. Definition of Redemptive Interpretation

B. Importance of Genre in Interpretation

II. Understanding Biblical Genres

A. Definition of Genre

B. Types of Genres in the Bible

1. Narrative

2. Poetry

3. Prophetic Literature

4. Wisdom Literature

5. Apocalyptic Literature

III. Applying Redemptive Interpretation to Biblical Genres

A. Understanding the Historical and Literary Context

B. Identifying the Redemptive Themes and Patterns

C. Applying the Themes and Patterns to Contemporary Life

IV. Conclusion


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Transcript
  • Gain insights into effective preaching principles, covering history, essential components, styles, and techniques, and learn how to prepare and deliver impactful sermons.
  • Gain valuable insights on sermon construction, learn techniques for effective preaching, and understand the importance of continuous improvement for delivering impactful messages.
  • Through this lesson, you gain valuable insights into the process of text selection and interpretation for preaching, as well as learning practical techniques for delivering engaging and relevant sermons.
  • In this lesson, you gain insight into the process of creating a sermon, from text selection to delivery, emphasizing textual analysis and message relevance.
  • Through this lesson, you gain the skills to craft clear, engaging, and memorable sermons by mastering the principles of effective outlining and arrangement in preaching.
  • Through this lesson, you learn to craft effective propositions and main points, enhancing your preaching clarity and impact.
  • By exploring homiletical outlines, you'll learn to effectively develop and structure sermons, understand various outline types, and apply engaging presentation techniques for impactful preaching.
  • In this lesson, you gain insights into crafting engaging introductions for sermons, exploring their importance, characteristics, types, and the process of creating a compelling introduction that effectively connects to the message.
  • Through this lesson, you learn the importance of exposition in preaching, how to develop an expository sermon, and the role of the preacher for effective communication.
  • This lesson teaches you to create captivating sermon introductions using anecdotes, questions, and facts, guiding you through research, structuring, and presentation to maximize audience engagement and improve your overall sermon impact.
  • In order to understand the basic subdivisions of your sermon in expository development, it is important to it is helpful to see what the specific members of your sermon's body looks like in standard development.

  • By completing this lesson, you learn to effectively prepare and deliver sermons while focusing on personal growth, continuous improvement, and dependence on God.
  • Learn to effectively classify and develop sermons into topical, textual, and expository types, enhancing your preaching skills and audience connection.
  • In this lesson, you learn the significance of explanation in preaching and strategies to craft and deliver effective explanatory sermons while evaluating their effectiveness for continuous improvement.
  • By incorporating illustrations into your preaching, you engage listeners, clarify complex ideas, and enhance memory retention while learning effective guidelines to utilize various types of illustrations.
  • Explore this lesson to learn how to effectively use illustrations in sermons by isolating events or experiences, refining principles, and connecting with your audience through human interest accounts.
  • Through this lesson, you learn to effectively use illustrations in preaching to engage listeners, clarify concepts, and draw from various sources, while maintaining relevance, variety, and ethical considerations.
  • Gain insight into the importance of application in preaching, as well as principles and methods for effective application, to create impactful and relevant sermons that resonate with your audience.
  • Through this lesson, you learn to effectively apply biblical teachings to modern life, considering various approaches, overcoming challenges, and utilizing practical tips for context-sensitive and culturally aware application.
  • Through this lesson, you gain insights into crafting effective transitions in preaching and utilizing the dialogical method for increased audience engagement and message clarity.
  • Gain insight into various sermon presentation methods, their advantages and disadvantages, and learn to choose the right method and improve your preaching skills.
  • Through this lesson, you enhance your preaching skills by mastering vocal techniques and purposeful gestures, ensuring a connection with the audience while continually improving your delivery.
  • Learn the significance of dress and style in preaching and how to balance authenticity, appropriateness, and clarity to effectively communicate your message to your audience.
  • You learn to effectively repurpose old sermons, gaining insight into updating them for relevance, enhancing delivery, and managing time efficiently.
  • By studying this lesson, you gain insight into the crucial connection between the Word and Spirit in preaching and learn to balance them for effective and authentic sermons.
  • Through this lesson, you learn how to apply a Christ-centered, redemptive-historical approach to preaching, addressing common criticisms and enhancing your sermons.
  • Through this lesson, you learn to compose powerful redemptive messages that highlight Christ's work and connect biblical themes to modern audiences.
  • Through this lesson, you gain an understanding of redemptive principles in preaching, learning to identify them in Scripture and effectively apply them to your sermons while navigating potential challenges.
  • By exploring the importance of genre in biblical interpretation and applying redemptive interpretation to various biblical genres, you will gain knowledge and insight into the historical and literary context, redemptive themes and patterns, and contemporary application of different types of genres in the Bible.

Description

Dr. Bryan Chapell explores the unifying principle of grace that binds all Scripture together. He outlines and demonstrates the principles and practice of sermon-crafting and delivery to illuminate the message of grace in each passage, and to submit it to God's Spirit for the transformation of lives through preaching.

Dr. Chapell is making these recorded lectures available for you to access at no charge on BiblicalTraining.org. However, there is no personal interaction with Dr. Chapell in this format. The assignments and activities described are for classes that he teaches in person. We left the descriptions in for your benefit, but we do not offer personal or group interaction to participate in these activities. You can, however, sign up for his new preaching classes at BryanChapell.com/courses.

Dr. Chapell is helped in this course by Zachary W. Eswine, Assistant Professor of Homiletics and Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program (BSW, Ball State University; MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary; PhD, Regent University). Dr. Eswine served as senior pastor of Grace Church of the Western Reserve in Hudson, Ohio, for six years before joining Covenant Seminary's faculty in 2001. He has served as a campus minister with the Navigators, as a church youth director, and as a chaplain-evangelist in retirement facilities. Since arriving at the Seminary, Dr. Eswine has also served as interim pastor for Tates Creek Presbyterian Church in Lexington, Kentucky, as advisory pastor for the Chinese Gospel Church of St. Louis, and as interim pastor for Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in St. Louis. He has taught New Testament in Ukraine and served as a short-term missionary in the Caribbean. Dr. Eswine is a gifted preacher and has authored the book Kindled Fire: How the Methods of C. H. Spurgeon Can Help Your Preaching and numerous articles on homiletics. In addition, as an accomplished musician and songwriter, he has recorded three collections of original songs.

Philosophy and Goals of the Course

1. "Prep and Del" is an introduction to the basics of sermon construction and delivery. This is not primarily a course on the theology of preaching, but rather is a practical introduction to the tools, structures, and concepts that help preachers learn to put a sermon together. 

2. Because this course is introductory, certain standards of sermon construction are taught that I hope you will consider "foundational" rather than universal. There is not only one "right way" to preach. However, mastering the methods of this course will help you develop the tools needed for many kinds of future sermons. Students from many backgrounds and preaching traditions have found these tools helpful even as they prepare for other styles in the future. Other methods and styles will be taught and encouraged in future semesters.

3. In Dr. Chapell's seminary class, you would be asked to present some short oral assignments to the class in order to: a) begin integrating the information presented in lectures; b) begin honing your preaching skills; c) and, remove some of the intimidation of your first preaching experience next semester.

(At this time, we do not provide personal interaction to evaluate your progress. We included the suggested assignments and activities to give you direction as you apply the principles you are learning to your own sermon preparation and delivery.)

Recommended Books

Christ-Centered Preaching (text only) 2nd(Second) edition by B. Chapell

Christ-Centered Preaching (text only) 2nd(Second) edition by B. Chapell

Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon [Hardcover]Bryan Chapell (Author)

Christ-Centered Preaching (text only) 2nd(Second) edition by B. Chapell
Christ-Centered Sermons: Models of Redemptive Preaching

Christ-Centered Sermons: Models of Redemptive Preaching

Highly regarded preacher and teacher Bryan Chapell shows readers how he has prepared expository sermons according to the principles he developed in his bestselling...

Christ-Centered Sermons: Models of Redemptive Preaching

Dr. Bryan Chapell
Preaching
PR600-29
Redemptive Interpretation and Biblical Genre
Lesson Transcript

[00:00:00] This recording is provided courtesy of Covenant Theological Seminary. We're return to some key concepts at the end of the hour. But we don't want to do is listen to Edmond Clowney and you've read some of clowning around a little bit more. But here's quickly what we've said we're going to do. You're preaching on narratives and you know that when you're in narrative passages now, what you do is you're executing truth. From stated, but also exhibited truths. So when you're looking at a narrative, you're saying, all right, what principles are there? Remember principles in the text rather than just chronologically personalizing it. You're saying what what principles are here? So out of those principles, they may be from something stated, but they may be also from something exhibited. And you're going to begin to see, as we kind of walk through Clooney's message that a lot of what we've talked about in terms of illustrations being effective are also what happen in narratives. You're going to have descriptions of time, place, people, situation or plot development. So all of those things are communicating in some way. And we'll see how Clowney uses the aspects of the narrative to build what he is saying. We'll also see it occasionally in the dialog that the way that maybe one character speaks to another or even the way the narrator speaks to the reader. Now that's going to be more hidden in this passage you're going to look at, but we can still comment on it. But there are ways in which we've used illustrations to make points that you're going to now see in biblical narratives. They are doing very similar things, and clowning is great at retelling the story in contemporary terms so that we see the truth.

[00:01:48] Okay, so I'll kind of point some of these things out as we go and as we listen to clowning. One other thing about clowning. I'm not asking you to follow his method. All right. We're still going to have, you know, main points and some points from the text. We're still going to have no explanation, illustration, application or some version of that. Clowney, for much of his ministry, was the voice crying in the desert. Okay. He was kind of the first a major theologian in reformed American circles to be talking about redemptive historical method. And I must tell you, he would have thought for much of his career that just no one hurting. This just made no impact whatever later in his life, particularly when he hooked with Tim Keller, when John Sanderson, who was a student of of Edmund Clowney, came here, things began to multiply. But one of the reasons it's struggle of it was because while Clowney could exhibit redemptive historical method in amazingly wonderful ways, there really wasn't. And homolog the method that was easy to follow. And you're going to discover that when we're listening to his message. So regardless of what method you follow, there's still got to be a unity. There shall be some form of organization and argument. So we're going to follow him in these broad strokes. But please, I'm not asking you to copy his method, okay? Just just listen for the principles as they come. We're going to go so we can do several things today. So let me get things started here and I'll try to stop this frequently and make observations as we go. I'd like to talk to you tonight about Aaron. Very important here. A word from the Old Testament, the word devotion, a word that is often used in the context of the love of God for his people in the Old Testament.

[00:03:49] It's a word that's translated loving kindness. It's the Hebrew word hashtag. Now, of course, academic occasions you have permission to use a Hebrew word. Make that clear to students. No other occasions only. But on an academic occasion like this, we can bring in a Hebrew word, and the word is has said. And it's a good idea to get used to it because there really isn't any English word that's an exact equivalent. Loving kindness doesn't quite do it. I want you to think about that word and maybe we'll get a little better understanding of it as we reflect together tonight on the Scriptures. Okay, that was an introduction. What's this message going to be about? Okay. So it's going to be about Hassan. The English being. So we got different things. Loving kindness. Think the word you used the most was devotion. But he's kind of said, this is what I'm going to be talking about. Okay. So we get the theme announced, as it were, the unifying concept of the message as it begins to unfold. It might help you to take into understanding that the word a little better. I'd like to read a passage from the Word of God, a passage in which the word does not occur. But nevertheless, it's a passage that will help us to understand the word. Now, it's found in the 23rd chapter of the second Samuel, beginning with verse 32nd Samuel, chapter 23, verse 30 and three, and the 30 chief men went down and came to David in the harvest time unto the Cave of the Dollar and the troop of the Philistines was encamped in the Valley of Ruffians, and David was then in the stronghold and the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem.

[00:05:58] And David longed and said, Oh, that one would get knew where to drink at the Wall of Bethlehem, which is by the gate, and the three mighty men broke through the house of the Philistines and drew water out of the well, Bethlehem, that was by the gate and took it and brought it to David. But he would not drink thereof, but heard it out unto the Lord. And he said, David, far from the Lord that I should do this. Shall I drink the blood of the men that went in jeopardy of their lives? Therefore, he would not drink these things with the three mighty men. I think it's clear to you that here is a passage which describes for us the devotion that David's men had for him. A passage that also shows us the devotion David had for the Lord. So if we have the the organizational plan now, it's distant from you. So he may have trouble. Maybe. He said this passage is about two things. First, it's about the devotion of David's men to David. So he said, First of all, it's about the devotion. Of men. To man. He said. The other thing it's about is the devotion of do you remember what the other one was of David, of Man to God. Now, even though it went by quickly, that really is his organizational scheme for what's going to happen. So we're going to follow that, that organizational scheme as we go, where in this passage there is a gift of devotion that is brought to the king, a gift that devotion which the king offers in his devotion to the Lord. And I want to say with you about this matter of the vote for you see, the term passion means to begin with something like loyalty.

[00:08:25] It's the kind of term that could describe tribal loyalty. Okay. Whenever you start something, you say the meaning of the term is what what form of argument are you doing? The meaning is what? What are you doing now with your terms? You're simply defining. So to define what has said is we now have an argument that's running by the form of definition. Now I'll give you the scheme and then you'll start to see how it unfolds. He's going to do two things, Aaron. Now, this is this is just in that big space just to kind of help you get a sense of the message. So there will only be about 20 test questions on this material. I am teasing. Now, I just want you to have a scheme of what's here's what we're doing today. Okay? We're listening to this message. We're going to hear Clowney preach a very traditional message, and then he's going to tell us why it's not redemptive and then he's going to move back across it. Okay. So it's a great message to kind of hear what would redemptive versus non redemptive messages be like. Okay. So first, we're just kind of getting a scheme in front of us here. And so he's giving us his argument. Here's what he's going to do. He's going to retell this story and he's going to say, here's what he's said was like back then. And here's what it would be like in contemporary terms. And he's going to give positive and negative and positive and negative. So he's saying then and now he's going to say negative examples and examples and negative examples and positive examples today. Okay. So that kind of he's just going to give a long explanation, which is definition by retelling the story.

[00:10:06] And the definition is what is said, what is what is biblical devotion. And he already gave you one example. He said he is kind of like, what kind of loyalty? Tribal. So you'd say, well, okay, that's that's kind of a remove from us cultural understanding, tribal loyalty. So he's got to bring that closer and watch how he does it. He's really a master at this. It's this sort of thing that we encounter in our civilization, mostly in the sports world. Here you have the team known as the Cardinals, I understand. And now in Philadelphia, and we have the team known as the Phillies. And obviously the Phillies will become the champions. They will earn it by seniority and they call them the Queens kids. You know, the guy, the Philadelphia Phillies, the man of their fans, really. In fact, it's not enough to be mildly loyal. You're supposed to be a fanatic. And you see this in the sports world that now we do have a delegate in the United States and England. It's even worse. They tear down the stands at soccer matches in Liverpool. There has to be this intense loyalty for a team and we have some understanding of it there in a strange kind of caricature in modern life. Although, of course, I think perhaps it can be said that there's a little more patriotism around these days than was once the case. So maybe there is a little loyalty too, to our country, a little loyalty to America, and certainly around the world. Nationalism often expresses the great loyalty of men that for which they are willing to live and to die. And you see, there is a loyalty which can be carried to the pitch and devotion. And that's what you find in these men that we're with, David.

[00:12:25] We're not sure just what period this was in the life of David. Perhaps it was in the time after the death of Saul. And. Okay, so all they've done for right now is he's just said, all right in loyalty, he might know that his devotion might be something that's tribal. And he says, Well, compare it to sports. Compare it to patriotism. Positive and negative side of that. But actually, we're talking about David's men. So now we're going to say, what is devotion look like among David's men? Now, to make us understand that he's going to do a lot of the same patterns, he's going to begin to tell us the narrative. What is the time of this time? David's where? He's out in the desert. Saul's troops are after him, so he begins to describe a time and place and people and situations. Now, listen to it for a while. It's all going to be back there somewhere, just kind of. And then watch how he comes into our reality. How would that be understood in today's terms? And during the period before David had begun his wars against the Philistines at any event. David is out in the wilderness in his old homes where he had been when he was hiding from the King. Saul is beginning to rally men to him there in the desert. He's at a strong point in the desert, and men are coming to volunteer for his cause. And among them, there are these three men. Now, the passage that I read is not given to us in Scripture at the time that it happened. It's given where we have a kind of recap of David's mighty men. We're given the accounts of the Knights of David's round table, if you please.

[00:14:18] Those who had done great exploits in the service of David. And we're told that these men came to David as volunteers out in the desert and were making these three men. They heard David's say, and one afternoon. Oh, that somebody would get me a drink of water from the well in Bethlehem. Now, David is only expressing a wish here, obviously, and even the form of the language and makes that clear. But the three men here, here, and they are loyal. They have said with respect to the Lord United, with respect to the King David. And so they hear him saying, I'd like a drink of water from the well in Bethlehem. And one of them says to the other, You heard what the chief said. Yes, I heard once what he does from the. Well, exactly. Yeah, they're fellows. So I get it. But only so I get a clip and I go get the water. Now, of course, the problem is that the well, that Graham is in a town that's now occupied by the Philistines. And David, when he said he wishes he had water from the well of Bethlehem, is wishing for something that seems completely unattainable. It's a garrison city of the fullest. They can't get water from Bethlehem. Now, I don't know what David was thinking about when he wanted to have that water. I don't know if it's a little bit nostalgic for him. Was his home town, you know, and use it well. And he'd often had a drink there. Now all he's doing is talking about David wanting a drink of water from Bethlehem. Right. That's. That's all David's experience, right? He's already done something to make us understand the situation a bit more. He said David's mighty men are kind of like the accounts of the Knights of the Round.

[00:16:24] So we get something tying to our experience a little bit more. But now listen how he's going to push everything. Taste, smell, feeling, sentiment, everything that kind of make us understand what this ancient account is about. Because you like what some of you are nostalgic about a spring from the lands of your youth. Since I was raised in Philadelphia. I get nostalgia only when I go to the swimming pools because that only there you get the chlorine density that Philadelphia water. But nevertheless, there are some people that are very nostalgic and maybe they had great water in that well in Bethlehem, and they really wanted to take them. But, you know, I don't think it was just the stars if it was that. I think it's an expression of David's long. He is the Lord the. He knows that God has made him to be to override the way. And here He is, God's King. But he can't even control his own hometown. He can't even go to the well of his own hometown and get a drink of water and so on that hot afternoon. Of course, it didn't mean they didn't have any water there. They couldn't have had a strong point without some source of water. But on that hot afternoon, when David's thirsty, he's saying in his heart, Oh, Lord, Lord, Well, well, I think when your promises be sealed to me, when will I be able to go again to Bethlehem and drink the water from that familiar well by the gate. And that. But now you see these three men are on their current. They're heading out across the desert and they have to go. I don't know how the Mystic Army was organized. I don't know where they had the first line of defense or where there were people on Guy there likes to do this.

[00:18:31] But we know that they had to break through the house. So at some point, their approach was no, that at some point they had to begin fighting. And by battle, they had to make their way. And perhaps they broke through one line, I don't know. And then running up the road that night and back for him, because they had to go right to the gate and back Right. And the gate was always the command post of an ancient city. So that's where the generals would say that's where the captains of the house would be assembled near the well in Bethlehem. It's roughly analogous, you know, to saying, go get me a drink of water from the cooler in the Kremlin. I mean, this is isn't it is a way out on the periphery somewhere. This is all the way in if you follow me. So if they had to go and fight their way in and get to the lower level and I don't know whether they turned up the water or some woman drew the water for them while they fight off blisters and that they got the water and then the water in their possessions went out again. I suspect they had to fight their way out as well to fight their way in. And at last, they're clearing the Philistines and they're going back across the desert. And, you know, maybe that was the hardest part of all the last miles, carrying that water and not drinking it after all that fighting. But they had the water and they brought it back and they came today. Chief, you said you would like a little water from around him, you know. Well, here it is. We got it for you. We got it here.

[00:20:20] Here it is. And then there they did something that distresses some of the commentators, David Frost, the writer. And he poured it out on the ground. Oh, there's a little red space in the sand, you know. And the sun came out and it was a little dry space. Now, that is so simple, but it is so effective. I mean, can't you just see it in your in your mind's eye? First, there's a little wet spot in the desert sun. There's a little dry spot in all. It always gets a god is David, pour it out the water. But he wants you to feel what that was like, what that was about. What are other things he's done to kind of engage your present understanding with this Old Testament account? What's some other things that he's done to kind of bring it in close? Yes. Josh, he does a lot of rephrasing right in his retelling. He also rephrased is kind of outside the biblical language, but so that you can understand it. What else does he do? Yes. He feels in the action that you get fighting and finding out that he really is a master. So I listen to him at times and kind of say, Well, the Bible doesn't say that, but if it does, he'll always say something like, I imagine, or I don't know, but and he fills in necessary details. In other words, for the account to have happened, it would have had something like that would have had to happen. You know, I think if he just kind of totally filled and, you know, they met a woman there and she said, you can't go now. It doesn't say that, you know, but it it's I think it's creative storytelling within limits.

[00:22:07] It kind of gets near the boundaries at certain points, but probably within limits. What are other things he does to engage? You remember when he's retelling the story, what are things he does to say in your time? This is what it would mean to. Yeah. Yeah, It's just. It's just really good reference. By the way, this would have been, I think, 1982 graduation ceremony here at Cabinet Seminary. So I guess the Phillies in the cards were in some kind of race at the time, too. So I think those are the chief ones. Anything else? Oh, the dialog, you know, Chief wants some water. He does, you know. Well, let's get him some, you know, I mean, those words aren't in scripture, but they had to say something to one another that kind of reflected that. So he retells it in a way that engages us. Now, remember, all we're doing right now is we're just saying, what's the ocean look like? What's the definition of devotion? And how do we see it exemplified exhibited in this passage? So that's all we've done so far. Those men, at the risk of their lives, had got their good that weren't willing to drink so much. And yet when they brought it to you, when the drinking partners stated, I well, you know better than that. It wasn't thoughtlessness. They did exactly the right. That's why I because David said, no, I don't deserve this. I don't deserve this. This isn't just water. This is, as it were, your blood. You put your lives on the line to get this water for me. And I can't take it from you and drink it just like that. David said there's only one thing that I can do with this water.

[00:23:59] I can only give it to God. It's too early for any other use. What wonderful text they wrote, wonderful understanding, what a wonderful leader among men he was. What a wonderful king of God's country. You see what he did? He saw that this wasn't his right. He saw that this wasn't something he could take for granted, the kind of loyalty that these men had shown. But he saw that this was God's work in their hearts and in their lives. And therefore, he wanted to give it back to God for whom it had come. It's a wonderful lesson in this. Isn't David. A great guy. In in David a wonderful leader example. I mean, don't you just wish that you could only. Be like, David. Be careful. You are being led down the primrose path. And he knows exactly what he's doing. But what he does it, he begins to give us some application and he says, here's what such devotion would look like in leadership. Right. So he's going to begin to apply it to various forms of leadership. Now, so far, I'm thinking everybody's kind of nodding their heads on. That's right. You know, we see devotion. That's what you should be. That's what David was. And therefore, we should be leaders just like this. And now he's going to define the various places, apply the various places in which such leadership would be. And I think at the strength of this, it's instructional. We've got principal devotion, a sacrificial leadership. We've got a principal to work off with. Now, we're going to get situational specificity, too. He's going to tell us where you would apply this principle. So in terms of the four questions of application, he's doing real great on the first two.

[00:26:18] Listen to how to unfold, what to do and where to do it. It's going to be real clear. You. Young men are preparing to be ministers and the gospel and all of you, whether that's your purpose or some other form of leadership in the Church of Jesus Christ, others will honor you for the work in which you are engaged, and particularly those of you who may be called to the Ministry of the Gospel. The members of your congregation will show to you of great devotion. Great devotion. And you must like David receive that for what it is devotion given to you in the name of the Lord and therefore devotion to God. You must receive that gift of their devotion, and you must offer it to God in devotion to Him. Remember, that's what the Apostle Paul did in the letter to the Philippines. That is that send him a gift. You remember what the Apostle Paul said. The gift they had sent him was like an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice well pleasing to God. So when people serve you, you should recognize it's ultimately service to God. Devotion to God means accepting human service as ultimately what is being offered to God to honor. And these are pretty good universal truths. You know, these principles are just fine. Be aware of the Jim Jones mentality, Get positive experience, thinking that of course people will be devoted to you. Beware of thinking that you deserve to be treated with great respect and great sacrifice on the part of other people for, you know. What is it that binds the Church of Jesus Christ together? It's this kind of person. It's this kind of loyalty that its members have to one another and to their leaders and that their leaders must also have to them.

[00:28:35] You know, there are some people around who are so ready to serve. So ready to show real devotion. But you have to be a little careful what you say in front of, you know, some friends like that, if they want something and they'll just go get it. They were like, great, It's nice, man. You know, if it weren't for people like that, the ministry of the church would never go forward. I don't think that the ministry of the church really goes forward because so many ministries have learned they are part of arm twisting. Don't think that the church goes forward because people can be cajoled or browbeaten into doing the things that they have to do. If the work is to get done. Know what brings the work of the church forward is to both its has its people who show that kind of dedication. It's the kind of people around who are always ready to go and get water from that. Some of you may know that movement that's spoken of sometimes as the Washington Fellowship movement. It's a movement that has major in that very quality. And men who meet together for breakfast usually once a week and pray together and share with one another and become accountable to one another in their Christian lives. And then in those groups are ready to do anything for their brothers to drop anything, to go anywhere, to make any sacrifice for one of their brothers with whom they pray every week. And, you know, that's a good example to all of us. We must show the attitude that David's made it now. But when that attitude, by the way, now it's not just be like David, who is it? Be like feel like his mighty men.

[00:30:32] Now, again, these are not wrong messages in themselves. They are wrong messages by themselves. So we've really got nothing to criticize here. You know, we're saying these are you certainly don't want to be a selfish leader or a selfish poor, you know. But where's it going? Food is shown. Then you see it has to be received in the same spirit for how sad it is when you do find the attitude among Christian leaders who think that they have everything coming to the Christian leaders. You bring them water from that camp and they say, Where's the ice in that very can do enough no matter how you try to serve them. There's always a criticism. There's always something you didn't do. Right. Now listen to it on a Christian parents. Beware of that attitude. Sometimes we're so critical of our children, You know that even when they do something for us, we only can criticize the way they do it instead of realizing that they were trying to do to serve us. But White List David shows where he takes their devotion and he offers it to God. Isn't David a great guy? Okay. Now, look again at second. Samuel, 23, is going to take you somewhere that's important. If you're just going to say, be like David. All right. And of course, in doing that, David is also claiming God's own promises. He wanted the water from that for him because he wanted the sign of the victory that God had promised to give him. Well, if by God's power three men can go through the whole Philistine army, that God is going to give him the victory, and that what is in Bethlehem becomes the strength and the victory that they would have will be granted to him by God.

[00:32:41] Well, you see, I mean, look at the devotion of David's men to him. And I mean, look at the devotion of David to the Lord. We're tremendously impressed by that bond because it ties together the people of God's country. Okay, He said it again. My subject is devotion. And we we've been tremendously impressed by the devotion of men to men. And we've been tremendously impressed by the diversion of men to God. So that's what the account says and it certainly has moved us. But we're also drawn to something else. We're drawn to the fact that it is God who retains his promise to date. And we're drawn to an amazing truth that the word is. I know that does mean loyalty. And although it does mean the boat is used in the Old Testament scarcely at all about the devotion of men to men who are even and the devotion of men to God has seen a group of the Jews use this term today to describe their themselves as the devoted ones. But in the end, just this term is used almost exclusively for the devotion of gone to man. Think about that. God had promised them victory. It was the word that gave David Water from Bethlehem. It was God's space for this, for David. They gave him men like that and gave the men the ability to break through the host of the Philistines and those to David. The water from that. David. The lyrics are nothing new, but has said the loving kindness of God. I want to read to you just a few verses from the end of this chapter. Be patient with me. It may seem strange, but listen to these verses. Has ro the Carmelite. Herod died on the sun and Nathan observed Day nine the guide eight zero The Ammonite.

[00:35:09] When you arrive at the unified armor bearers to Joab the sun as they arise, our leaders rise during death ride you warriors, the Hittite 30 and seven. In all this chapter about David's mighty men. This chapter about the men who made the Valley to David and ready to lay down their lives for you. This chapter closes with this list of 37 1937, devoting one's €37 and they resign. And the last one to be named is Uriah, then his son in law, who that was done for later. When David was well-established in his kingdom and had the luxury of being able to remain back in Jerusalem in his palace while his army was in the field. Do you remember that, David? So that she's the wife and you're right there. Your time, baby. And he lasted after her and had her brought to him. And then when he learned that Bathsheba had conceived of that. David did that despicable thing. Remember what he did? He had Uriah brought back from the Army, assumed that Uriah would go home and sleep with his beautiful wife. But you didn't do it. He stayed in the palace. Why? Because of his passion. Because of his devotion. He was a soldier on service. David had brought him back from the army and didn't know that the chief had in mind that he was loyal. And he went back home because he was on duty. And then David said that that was his determined purpose. He sent him back to the army, you remember, with a message. All right. But a message to Joab to put him in the front of the battle and to retire from him so that he died. And Joab did what David requested, and so that his own generalship wouldn't be criticized later when he described the maneuver.

[00:37:47] He added the sentence, Your servant Uriah, is dead. Also, David murdered Uriah. So David's not such a good guy. Would David's side be like, David? But there are certain aspects of his life that are exemplary, but there are certain aspects of his life where God surely must rescue him. And the story is not complete until the rescue is fully known. You see friends? Why do we have this account from the Old Testament? This account that shows us God's faithfulness to David. But this account that tells us so frankly, so starkly. David's unfaithfulness to God. David's breach of cash for David. That shows that sympathy and understanding when he poured out that letter rather than drinking it. That same David could have another man just like that. And we're not even sure of the names. I don't know, maybe why it was one of the three. But he was ready to have one of his mighty men murdered so that he could have his wife. Why does the word of God give us this? You know why this is absolutely critical, right? He's answering the key question, So why is this really here? It's not just say be like, David, why is it here? It's because the Old Testament narratives of God's dealings with Israel are leading us forward to the great work of salvation that God would do when he sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, into the world. And we are giving, given that energy and the kinship only gave it in order that we might be prepared to show him who is God's truly anointed Jesus Christ and how. We may praise God tonight, my friends, that we have that picture, that incident from the life of David to remind us of Jesus Christ and the king that we have for you.

[00:40:11] See, we are not called to make our earthly loyalties. I submit. We see the danger of a nationalism that is I hear devotion. We see the danger that comes when men are totally devoted to another man. And there there's only one who deserves our ultimate devotion. And that one is the God's man. Jesus Christ. Now. It is really sweet that they're at the end of that. A count of David's mighty men. You have the name Uriah, right? I mean, you just kind of go, Wow. As a skilled biblical writer who's written that material in that way, right? I mean, it just is, you know, the cherry on top to kind of tell you what to look for. You know, it's just it's just so apparent. But let me ask you. If Uriah had not been mentioned right there like that. Could you have still preached this passage? Redemptive. There isn't always going to be the cherry on top, right? I mean, sometimes is going to be. So if you if you had the account, the narrative, but not the listing of names with Uriah there at the bottom. Could you have preached this passage redemptive, Like what would have been ways to do that? You still know how the story of David's going to go, don't you? You still know that David is going to fail and his children are going to fail. And at the end of his life, he's going to number his troops and step up. Eric. I mean, you still nothing in interpreting this passage says I have to suddenly go blind to the rest of David's life. I know. Okay. So to interpret this passage, apart from the rest of his life, is not actually to truly interpret. It has a context within the life of David.

[00:41:58] So that's that's kind of near context. Okay. If we were doing micro redemptive historical method, we would say, Alright, right here, fairly close in. I understand that David is not the ultimate leader. Okay. Now, even though David's not the ultimate leader, what promises have come to David? Already. He's going to have an internal kingdom. He will sit on the throne forever and his progeny will. So we know all the awful things about David, and still we know, despite his unfaithfulness. Even to the people who have been so good to him, his own people. God is still going to be faithful to David, and that is expanding a little bit further, isn't it? So that's taking it. And we're saying I can go a little further out and say redemptive historical method is letting me say, here's another way in which God is showing his grace today. What else could I do? I've kind of. Could I extend any further? Yes. Very good. So I could I could go backwards as well as forward to saying David is a chapter in the life of the covenant people that is much more extensive and that that covenant keeping God is again the hero of the text, despite David's failures here, plan to use the language, those different terms that you hear, kind of biblical theological focus. He said, This account is leading us from where I sit, leading us forward to a greater king. Okay, now that's kind of very familiar language so that we say not just God provided his king in this covenant succession and of understanding, but this account is leading us forward to the need for a greater king somehow. Quite often, as a matter of fact, I am preaching on Old Testament narratives.

[00:43:53] I will say something like Here's Grace in Old Testament clothes. All right. There's some way that God is acting that is showing us his nature in this account. And we know that about David is David loses kingship because of his. Affair with Bathsheba and murder of APS. Of murder of. Huh? You're right. But thank you. You're right. You're right. Thank you. I had a little mental slip there, and you'd say no. I mean, God is is still maintaining. Any other ways that you could go? There's little cues here and there. What? What if you hadn't even told the whole account where David is outside his own home city? Which is what? Bethlehem. Now without leapfrogging to Golgotha, is it significant that the Lord's anointed is not able to get in his own hometown? How's he going to ultimately get in his own hometown and rule over it? God's going to have to provide it for him because, you know, it's it's now the king of Israel is going outside. He can't do it. So God's got to act in David's behalf. I guess I'm just trying to say there are different ways of doing this. Could be the macro interpretation, but you could come in a lot closer and say, there may be things here that are showing me the grace, principles or patterns most fully represented in the Ministry of Christ. But what grace, principles or patterns could be right here as well. On the bottom of the sheet that you have, which was this today's lecture. I'm not planning on going through all this. I mean to give you something of a little almost index to Goldsworthy. And you're saying, All right, how do I learn to see grace, principles and patterns? In different types of biblical genre.

[00:45:48] We've looked at a narrative and we've recognized the problem almost always of saying, you know, just be like David. But but where do you begin to see in other forms of biblical material? So Roman to at the bottom, expounding various biblical genres with Christ centered lenses. You would say How are redemptive truths evident in historical narrative? Well, God's plan may be evident in biblical narratives various ways symbol and sacrament, promise leading to deliverance, an unconditional covenant being established in grafting of the undeserving like roof, right? Like rehab. You know, there are various ways in which God's plan is being exposed in biblical narrative. Second page God's character may be evident in some way in the biblical passage through his interaction with his with his people, through the behavior of some individual representing God. God's grace may be stated in some way in a biblical narrative. Maybe the narrator or say it may be a character within the story will say maybe just the way the plot unfolds, that God will be gracious toward the undeserving. How are redemptive truths evident in the gospels? Well, I'm not even going to roll through this. Right. I mean, it's identifying how Christ is being presented to his people and the role of that particular narrative in the gospel passages. And again, as kind of a reminder that sometimes the miracles are serving as proofs of Christ authority or identity, rather than a promise of repetition for all people for all time. How redemptive is evident in the Epistles? It may be by statements, by context, or even by key terms that are being used. That's page three at the top. Sometimes the Gospels will have key terms, the most key of which is in Christ the Union with Christ terminology, as well as all the doctrinal terms that you're familiar with how redemptive truths, evidence in poetry and wisdom, literature.

[00:47:51] Candidly, that's the toughest. Okay? Where it's just simple instruction, you know, train of a child, the way you should go. And when he's old, he'll not depart from it. You say, where is redemptive truth there? The way you begin to see it is recognized. You have to read the redemptive truth from the whole of a wisdom genre, not just individual verses. The redemptive truth is often a response to or a journey to understanding of God's mighty acts or his faithfulness or his love or his wisdom. Redemptive truth in prophecy is more obvious in terms of the prophecy when it deals with God's provision through Christ, etc.. Now I'm going through that very fast and you recognize it because I recognize if I went through it in detail, it wouldn't stick. You know, you're going to have to work through and preach those passages in order for you and hopefully never refer to a shit like that or to Goldsworthy and say, All right, here I'm going through Song of Solomon. How is redemptive truth here? And you almost got to work through it with some reference material and begin to see it. But there are some things I want you to be aware of that we're doing this semester. This hasn't changed. Okay. We're still going to do main points and some points from the text. So we're gonna say what in that account is proving that principle that you just said? That's not going to change. So main points have to be from that text and the sub points that you're establishing have to be. Exhibited or stated in that passage, exhibited or stated in that passage must be the sub points that you're making. The we will still have an illustration for every main point, and I can't remember who asked it the other day if it was Aaron or somebody made the narrative itself serve as the illustration.

[00:49:43] The answer's yes. If you kind of retell that portion of the narrative, it's possible the narrative itself could serve as the illustration. But still there needs to be an illustration for every main point. And we're still going to rain down key terms from these principles. In the main points and sub points, we're still going to rain down key terms in the illustration. Because we got to apply these things. These truths ultimately have to be applied. The main thing that you're being held accountable for this semester beyond obviously, is what you're saying from the text is are you answering all four questions of application? So what to do? Where to do that? Still there. But ultimately, are you motivating through these grace principles that you're discerning? Are you creating love for God? That is the motivation for following these instructions. And the harder question, the one that you'll probably wrestle with for the rest of your life, how do people do what they're told to do? Creating the love that is the power. Remember the explosive power of a new affection? To build love for Christ. That undermines the attraction of. Because if it does not attract you, it has no power over you. Now, there are other things, of course, practical suggestions of accountability and Christian disciplines, all of those. But even those are about building love for Christ, or they actually destroy true godliness. If they're just about earning brownie points with God, they actually destroy faithfulness. Instead of saying what I'm doing with all these even practical means of following, God is learning to love him more. The things that I would hope you would walk away from. I'm going to try to get done quickly here so you can ask questions about all we've talked about.

[00:51:38] If I said what? What do I hope you'll walk away with from these four lectures? If you get number one here, I'm pretty happy. God is the hero. Of every text. Gideon is not the hero. Joshua is not the hero. David is not the hero. Ultimately, God is the hero. The text is pointing to the rescue that God provides. Somehow that's occurring. And the reason we started with SCAF way back in prep in Bendel is because if you really identify the burden of the text of fallen this that requires the truth divine solutions must be given. So by dealing with an FCF, you will always force yourself to bring God to the rescue. Redemptive truth has to echo from what you're doing as you begin to look for redemptive truth. To use the two lenses just kind of standard say was this. Tell me about God. What does this tell me about me? What is the life of David tell you about God? He's amazing. Re patient, faithful covenant keeping true to his promise. True. All those things you know about God and ultimately providing for those who deserve none of it. What did we learn about ourselves? Even the best of us. Can be guilty of horrible betrayal of God. I learn about myself, I learn about God. I learn about the deadly bees that I. Now, listen, guys. I preach this stuff. And still sometimes I walk away from a sermon and say, What did I just do? All I did was I told them to straighten up and fly right. But at least have a tool to say. Now I know that routine and I walk away for I can recognize it for its error that if all it was was moral instruction, then I recognize that's insufficient for a minister of the gospel.

[00:53:35] People are Swiss cheese. They got holes in them. Are you going to tell them that simply doing better things is what's going to fill the hole? Ultimately it has to be the work of God, and that work of God will be revealed as you begin to look in passages for these grace principles. How is God's grace being displayed here ultimately revealed in Christ? But even here, how am I seeing the grace of God being displayed? And what changes you and I think changes your preaching is when you begin to recognize that if you've begun with that FCF, here's the burden of the taxed. Here's what people are struggling with that What my goal in preaching now is to take truth, to struggle. That's where you become this position of souls that so beautiful to your own heart. I'm taking truth to struggle, not just heaping more information or more behavior responsibility on people. I'm actually bringing the grace of God into their lives by dealing with that that hope that they need. And that's the final thing. Common denominator of all great preaching is what? It's about hope. It's giving people hope. Common denominator of all great preaching. And if that's what we're doing, well, we'll struggle mightily, even this semester. How do I preach that passage? Redemptive. But if you know that ultimately my my aim is to give people hope and their fallen this, then the struggle is well worth it. And your preaching becomes a beautiful thing. Now I want to back away a little bit and kind of let you all ask whatever questions you want on on this material. Where's Matt? I can't remember what you asked the other day that I remember kind of walking out of class and thinking, I don't think I answered that very well.

[00:55:23] Do you remember? Do you remember what you asked? For me, what often you find in how should I say, hyper voices in circles tend to be very technical. Here is you get such an emphasis on the why in the hell that the what the aware fall away. You know, there is no instruction in fact to give instruction is looked down upon. The other side of that is is kind of the straight legalism is where the why in the hell fall away and all we get is what and where. So what I think is, is the true Calvinist history and tradition is to say the law doesn't fall away. The law is the safe path. It's the path not only of God's law, it's the path of good for us, but what makes us not only walk down the path but not stray from it is love for Christ. So if you say, Yeah, how do I live out this love for Christ? You want to say. Well, he already said, If you love me, you'll keep my commands. So it's. It's glorious to him, but good for us. Even as loving my wife faithfully is good for me. So I. I want us to kind of keep both hands together. Right. Not say law or gospel. I want to say it's gospel motivation for what glorifies God and brings us good. But it is not, of course, ignoring why and how, which would say, oh, well, if I do. Good. You know, then got to love me more or make my life happier or something to say. Well, actually, that's making the law conditional. God's love Conditional upon your obeying the law, which is how most people live. And that's obviously I'm weighing in against that while trying to weigh in against the antenna communism at the same time.

[00:57:24] Go ahead, Matt. Okay, good. Other questions you all have. Logan. Logan saying, to what extent does the FCF actually have to come from the text? I think the wording of the FCF has to come from the text, not necessarily at all. But the meaning of the FCF has to be derived from the text. There must be something in technical context as part of text. Something to say. Why is this written? You know what was going wrong? What was a miss? What was the burden of the writer? Has to at least be determined by the text for its context. So the the the ultimate meaning of the FCF. Has to be you have to be able to prove it's there either by text or context, but you can word it a thousand different ways just the same, almost like we talk about a proposition, you know, a proposition to be worded a thousand different ways. But you got to say, I can prove that proposition is in the text. I've got to be able to prove the FCF is actually what the biblical writer had in view here. And that in itself is an exegetical task, either by text or context. Right. So, sure. So that you say the FCF in almost any given narrative, you would have multiple possibilities for the FCF. And I would go back to we're kind of back to the to the hermeneutic professors definition of the difference between meaning and significance. Meaning doesn't change, but its significance could have many categories. So as I'm looking at the FCF of a passage and I might say this passage is meant to deal with people's distrust of the love of God. You know, that's one possibility. Well, then I might, you know, I'm thinking pastorally now.

[00:59:19] How do I approach that? Well, I may be saying something about it's. Believing our circumstances show God is not loving. Well, that's kind of a significance of the truth that's there in the way that I worded that. So there could be multiple. Wordings of the FCF that deal with significance of that truth that's there. But still, we have to say, I've got to prove that that was the concern of the biblical writer, that that basic meaning question can't really vary and be true to the text. What are your greatest concerns about doing this this semester? You kind of go, Whoa, this this worries me. What worries you about. Doing redemptive, historical or Christ centered preaching. What worries you? Yeah, I didn't play the rest of them. We kind of stopped right when he said what was the purpose of the text. And I must tell you, it's the weakest part of the sermon. He kind of washes back over these applications real quickly and talks about it being motivated by the love of Christ to do this. But how should I say it? It's the weak part of the message. So once he's kind of given me my IT, it leads you forward to understand what Christ may do. You know, I didn't keep going through the brief remainder part of the message. But you're right to say how do you keep it from just a tack on or worse, do what Clowney did every week, go down this way and then back up and go that way, You know, You know, if you did that every week, people would just kind of wait for the ironic twist, you know? Well, where's he going to do it now? I think it's the recognition that there are different strategies to do this all legitimate.

[01:00:56] Sometimes we are going to say if Christ has provided his grace for you, what are the implications? So we may kind of lay the Grace Foundation right at the beginning. Other times we're going to kind of build the case all the way through. What else did God do for? What else had got to what else did God do? Other times we may do something of a clowning thing. We may we may say, Here's all these things you must do. But let me tell you something. If your heart is not right with the Lord, you've got absolutely no chance. And therefore, I have to tell you what makes your heart right with God that gives you any hope. So. I will say attack on is better than not at all. But his tack on was strategic. I mean, after all, he knew that Uriah was hanging down there at the end of the text, so he kind of wanted to lead us away where the impact would be the greatest. If your tack on is kind of the preach the law and then do an altar call at the end. That's where we all kind of feel. There's nothing in the text that gives you the basis for doing that. So yeah, it's certainly a danger, I think, to do the tack on, unless you're saying again, what in text for context allows me to point to the culmination of these grace principles. And that's a harder thing. But, you know, it's kind of the glory of kind of gospel eyes. And you'll hear it real soon right now, right. If you hear a sermon even this week, that is nothing but the deadly BS. You will automatically know it. I mean. Right. I mean, you almost can't walk away from this time in seminary and hear a purely moralistic message and not recognize it for what it is.

[01:02:31] Now, the hard part is, of course, how do you correct it? You know, how do you see the grace that's there? And that's where hearing each other and helping one another this semester, I hope, is part of the process of seeing it. Dale Oh, that's a good question. How often do you answer the questions? Why and how? I think. You got to do what I mean. You know, you're getting more license as you go through the curriculum here. But typically, most of us want to say, if I've spent all this time developing these truths, I want to do what and where in virtually every main point. Okay. The the why and how. I think you've got to do somewhere before the sermon ends. That there there are a lot less specific, I think, in terms of where they occur. I think you just want to say before that they walk away. I want to make sure I've done these. So it may be early or late or woven through these every main point. These. Somewhere in the sermon. I think that's right. I think I think the SCA often gives you the the insight into how you will be doing. The why in the hell. The why is I don't mean you can say it 10,000 ways, but the wise, almost always responsive love to the grace of God. The why is almost I mean, how many ways can you describe love? I mean, poets have done it for you for a thousand years in all kinds of ways. But the why is almost always the love of God. The how, I think is the tougher one to say to people, Here are these practical means here, these ways of getting information. Do it here, practices that will help you do it.

[01:04:09] But ultimately, even the how is out of a greater love for Christ, which is why the why can't be forgotten. To me, most of this course is about the why. You've already got the what? The wetness and the wear in mind. So much of this course is making sure that the Y comes into view. Oh, thanks. Yes. Do you hear the time management question? Just, you know, if you're going to preach Genesis to Revelation in every sermon, it is going to get a little long, you know? All creatures room, which should be there. If you're going to have a long main point, which one should it be? The first or the last? First, not last. You're accelerating. Okay. So you're accelerating for attention and impact in my senses. If. If you're going to do the redemptive truth at the end, it pretty much has to carry the whole freight of that main point. You know, it's got. It's just got to be. So you got to say that's the redemptive truth is the third main point. That's pretty much all I'm saying in that third main point. All right. If it's foundation on being interwoven, then your time management is not different than, you know, any other kind of major issue. But if it is not in view to the third main point. You know, it's going to have to be there and it's going to have to be kind of the main thing said, just as any time in the acceleration process to say much more. So that's one hint. If it's waiting for the third point, I think it pretty much the whole third point. Another major story. Have you discovered this the way that you're wording main points if you say something like.

[01:05:51] My my first main point is we must obey God. My second main point is we must honor God. And my third main point is we must trust God. The all the emphasis is upon what we must do, which makes it harder to interweave redemptive truths. But if the truth principles are what God has done. God redeems people. God forgives the unforgivable. You know, some grace principle is the wording of the main point. Then even your wording is carrying a lot of the exegetical baggage. Baggage around term exegetical. Wait, because you're proving that truth and then your application is an implication of that truth. But it's a natural unfolding of the truth that you've done. So stating your main point as grace principles or redemptive truths carries a lot of time help for you in the way things go. Yours is a great question. I haven't thought about it so much that way before, but I am aware that if I haven't done the redemptive truth to the third main point, that basically is the third main point because it doesn't have time for anything else at that point.