1993 issue 4 - sermon on luke 1:5-38 - the role of john the baptist in the gospel of christ -...

8/12/2019 1993 Issue 4 - Sermon on Luke 1:5-38 - The Role of John the Baptist in the Gospel of Christ - Counsel of Chalcedon

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IHE ROLE OF JOHN

mE BAPTIST

N m E

GOSPEL

OF HRISf

Luke 1:5-38 Introduction

A

The Threshold of the Most

Important Event of

All TIme

With

the announcement of the births

of john the Baptist and jesus Christ, we

stand on the threshold

of

the most

important thirty-three years in the history

of the world, the time in which jesus

Christ, our Divine-Human Savior would

accomplish the salvation of God's people

and of the entire creation. "The

p p e ~ r n c e

and

activity ofjesus on earth is the central

and

most

important

event of all time.

Everything that

had

gone before had led

up

to

it

. And everything that has followed

upon

it is onne ted

therewith .

"-

Geldenhuys

B. The Role

oflohn

the Baptist

in

Connection with the

Birth

oflesus

The ife and ministry ofjohn the Baptist

is the link between the Old Testament

and the New Testament.

In

him we learn

that the Old Tes tament revelation and the

New Testament

revelation are one

continuous movement in

the plan of God.

Luke's real Interest in beginning his gospel

with the

announcement of the birth and

ministry of john the Baptist

is

to show

how

all things have taken place in

accordance

with

a definite plan which

fulfills the redemptive history of the Old

Testament. The

birth

ofJohn t

he

Baptist

constitutes the

end

of the old covenant

and thebeginning of the revelation history

of the new, Luke 7:28; 16:

16. -Bo

Reicke,

The Gospel

ofLuke.

Luke's portrayal of john the Baptist

differs from that of the other Evangelists,

Matthew, Mark andJohn.

For

Luke, the

Forerunner

is not merely one who cries

in

the wilderness, he emerges primarilyfrom

the womb of the Temple, and in his own

person sums up

all that was essential to

the old covenant. - Thus Luke's

predominant interest is quite evidently

the continuity in the drama of redemption

between the old and

new

covenants. His

aim is to show how God made use of the

Tern pie, its worship, and one of ts priests,

to announce the coming of the precursor

of jesus. This emphasizes for us the

connection between the Old Testament

and the New

.

.early Christianiry loved the Old

Testament, and those who transmitted

the gospel

of

thekingdom were interested

in the history of electiori. - The dominant

note throughout (the early chapters of

Luke with their references to the

d.T.

their hymnsSo influenced by the O.T. and

theirfocuson the Temple),

is

the continuity

with the Old Testament. -Bo Reicke

,

I. TilE INTRODUCTION

OF

Z CH RI S AND ELlZABEIH (1 :5-7

A.

[ :5a

The

TIme

of

the

Birth

oflohn the

Baptist

Luke begins his gospel with a sharp

contrast between the beginnings of

Christianity and the political condition at

the time of

John

's birth.

John

the Baptist

would announce the dawn of the glOriOUS

Messianic Reign, which would produce

the

salvation

of the world; but

his

announcement would come at atimewhert

LO ' ' HE COUNSEL of Chalcedon

'

May, 1993

. he world was being brutalized by the

tyranriy, bloodthirstiness and immorality

of the infamous Herod the

Great:

who

was king of

juda.a

from 40 to 4 ,

B.

C.

Although Herod professed to be Jewish

and was responsible for rebuilding the

Temple in Jerusalem, he also polluted the

land

of Israel by buIlding temples to pagan

gods.

Hew.s

relentlessly cruel to any who

opposed

or

questioned his sovereignty.

And his last ye.rswere marked by bloody

family murders.

The expression, in the days of Herod

point to

"a

dark. ominous and calamitous

period in the history of the ewish nation.

Against this gloomy background Luke

now gives tne history of the dawn of the

new day in the life of

humanity-the

coming of Christ, which was prepared by

the advent of john the Baptist.

Geldenhuys

B.

:5b-7j

he

Name

and

DesCription oflohn s Parents

1.

Their Position and Lineage

john s father, Zacharias, was a levitical

priest who belonged to the order ofAbijah,

and his mother, Elizabeth, was also of

priestly descent. To be a priest and to be

married to a priest s daughter was quite a

distinction in Israel of tbat day. Here we

seeJohn's first linkwith the Old Testament

revelation in that hewas onevitical priestly

descent.

2.

Their Names

The names ofJohn's parents, by.God's

providence, are themselves pregnant with

significance, as they stood at the dawn of

the Messianic Age, after

such

a long time

of waiting

for

the O.T. people of God.

Zacharias. means The Lord remembers

His covenant, and Elizabeth means,

My

God is an oath,

i.e.,

My God is the

absolutely Faithful One.

3. Their Piety

ZachariaS and Elizabeth

were

both

righteous

in

the

Sight

of

God

walking

blamelessly

in

all

the commandments

and

requirements

of the

Lord

vs.

6.

John

came

from parents who, because of their

messianic faith and holy conduct before

God, were models of the highest form of

O.T. religion and piety. Here is John'S

second link with the O.T., in his parents

and himself he represented

the

purity of

O.T. faith, hope and practice. ;


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4. Their Barrenness and

Age

This godly couple were well up in

years and were childless, because Elizabeth

was barren,

vs.

7. How this must bave

grieved their hearts, especially since

children are a gift olthe Lord. Why? Had

they committed some great sin for which

God was punishing them? That seems

unlikely in the light of God's assessment

of them in verse 6. So, why were they

advanced in years, childless and barren?

Here is John's third link with the Old

Testament: He was a child of promise to

older parents,

who were childless,

and

whose mother was barren. This

immediately reminds one of Abraham,

Sarah,lsaac, and Rebekah. God promised

those two patriarchal couples children in

their advanced age and barrenness, as He

had to Zacharias

and

Elizabeth, and they

all had

to

look to God in faith for the

fulfillment of the promise of a child, who

wouldbe directly involved in the receiving

and transmitting of the covenant blessings

to

future generations.

lI [1:8 17J

TIlE ANGELIC

ANNOUNCEMENT

TO ZACHARIAS

A

{l:8 11J

The

Place

of the

Announcement oflohn s Birth

When the Angelic announcement

aboutJohn's birth

and

mission was made

to Zacharias,

he was in the Temple in

Jerusalem performing his priestly duty of

burning incense in the Holy Place. There

were so many priests at the time that they

had

to be

chosen

by

lot to perform this

duty, and each priest probably had this

privilege only once in his lifetime. So this

priestly service of offering the incense was

one of the most solemn privileges of

Zacharias' life.

The point is that the N.T. gospel begins

in the

TEMPLE

inJerusalem, the center of

the O.T. JeWish Theocracy, which now

becomes THE WOMB OF THE NEW

COVENANT. Throughout his gospel,

Luke deliberately relates Christ and the

Temple many times, as we have seen in

the Introduction

to

Luke.

Thus in a real sense John the Baptist

emerges from the womb of the Temple,

and in this respect his Old Testament

background is even more central than that

of any of his predecessors.

It

was,

moreover, in the holy place

that

the

announcementwas given, when Zacharias

stood with his censers in the presence of

the Lord. - The scene is thus

an

Old

Testament one from beginning to end.

The whole setting helps to create the idea

thatJohn is about to come on thescene as

a last fruit of the old covenant. -Bo Reicke

Thus we have

the

fourth link of

John

with the Old Testament, impressing us

with the fact that although a NEW

DAY

and a NEW COVENANT and a NEW

KINGDOM has come with the birth

and

life oJesus Christ, it is the FULFILLMENT

of

the old covenant;

and

t has

CONTINUITY with the redemptivehistory

and

the O.T. revelation that has gone

before it. There is not a radical break

between the O.T. and the

N.T.

The

N.T.

is the fulfillment and application of the

O.T.

TheN.T

.giveswhattheO.T. requires

(righteousness) and promises (Messianic

Reign).

B

11:11-17],

The

Actual

Announcement

oflo1m sBirth Ministly

1. The Identity of the One Who

Made the Announcement

The Angel of the lord appeared to

Zacharias

and made the announcement of

John'S birth. This is John's fifth link with

the O.T. In Genesis, (and Judges), The

Angel of the Lord is the most important

mode

of

divine

revelation. Sometimes

He

distingUishes Himself from God, speaking

of God in the third person. While, at other

times, often in the same utterance, he

speaks of God in the first person. He is a

person distinct from Jehovah, and yet He

is said to be Jehovah speaking. This is an

O.T. intimation of the Trinity, teaching us

that

behind the twofold representation

there lies a real manifoldness in the inner

life of the Deity. - Vas.

The Angel of the Lord in the O.T.

presupposes the trinitarian nature of God,

and at the same time anticipates the

incarnation of Christ, for when Jacob

wrestled with this angel in Genesis 32, He

is called a man, VS. 24, and God, and

Hosea r f r ~ to Him as an angel, Has.

12:4.

So

then, The Angel of the Lord is the

Divine

Word

of God, the Second Person

of the Trinity, the Son of God, in pre

incarnate appearances.

2. The Place Where He Was Standing

When He Made

the

Announcement

The Angel

of

the Lord appeared to

Zacharias in the HolyPlace in the Tern pIe,

standing to the right of the altar

of

incense, vs. 11. The Angel, who

s

representing God, takes the placeofhonar,

'Iat

God's right hand, and conveys a

message

to

Zacharias directly from God

Himself. Christ sits at the right

hand

of

God.

3.

The Response of Zacharias

to His Appearance

Zacharias was understandably

shaken

by this sudden, unexpected appearance of

the Angel radiant with Glory, straight

from the presence

of

God. It

would

cause

anybody to tremble

with

fear, vs. 12.

4. The Message of the Announcement

a. Your prayer has been answered

The first thing the Angel said

to

Zachariaswas: Don't be afraid,your prayer

has been heard by God,

and

is being

answered/' VS. 13. The: aorist tense

indicates that the Angel had one specific

request of Zacharias in mind. Was He

referring

to

Zacharias's prayer for

ason or

to his prayer for the salvation of God's

people in the Messiah? WhicheverHe had

reference to, both

were

about to

be

answered.

b.

Your wife

will

bear a son

and you will name him John

By

God's grace Zacharias and his wife

would have a son, who would

be the

predecessor and harbinger of the coming

Redeemer. The Angel instructed him to

name

his son, John which means The

Lord is merciful,

or

The gracious gift of

God. John's name, then, would remind

people of the grace of God that was about

to enter the world in Jesus Christ. His

name indicated that the grace of God,

soon to be reveal ed in theRedeemerwhose

coming

is

to be prepared by

John

is the

outcome

of

His remembrance

of

His

Covenant and

of His

absolute

faithfulness . Geldenhuys

c. You

will

have

joy

and gladness;

many will rejoice

t

his birth.

We

have already noted that Luke's

Gospel is a singing gospel, which begins,

1:14, ends, 24:52,53 with praise to the

May,

1993

TIlE COUNSEL

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Lord

and rejoicing in Christ. The gospel is

full of that ecstatic

joy that

comes with

the

advance

of

the

Kingdom

of

Christ.

In

fact,

all over

the

globe

and through

out history,

M NY

will rejoicein

the

salvat

io

n brought

by the birth, death and resurrection

of

Jesus

Christ.

d. He will be great

in

the

sight

o

the Lord

The Angel promises Zacharias

that

his

son, John, will be great in the highest

sense

of

the word

.

He

will

be

great,

and

of

universa l historical importance,

not in

the

assessment

o

men but

in

the assessment

of God.

. e. He

will drink no

wine or

liquor

It appears

that

John

the

Baptist was to

be

a Nazirite,

not only

for a specific time,

but

for all his life, as Samson and Samuel.

A

person

living

under the

Nazirite vow

was not to partake

of any product

of

grapes,

cut

his

hair

or

touch

dead bodies,

Numb.

6:3-12. (According to Edersheim

n

The Temple: Its Ministry

and

Services

as

They Were at the Time ofJesus Christ,

the

omission of

the command not

to

cut

his

hairor

ouch dead

bodies does not disprove

the

fact thatJohn was to

be

a Nazirite,pgs.

366ff.)

This is

John's sixth

link with

the

Old

Testament. A Nazirite was a person who

had

especially separa ted himself o acertain

life-style before God,

bound by

oath. The

presence

of

a Nazirite.

in

Israel was a living

testimony to

the

separated character

and

life

required of

th e Covenant People.

He

was incorporated into the organization of

the

Israelite society, so

that

as a N azirite,

he might become

a means of furthering

the

sanctification

of the

people n covenant

with

the Lord. Keil.

The

Nazirite taught

the

people

their duty of devoting

themselves entirely

to

the

Lord

in

all

the

facets

of

a holy life. The gospel testifies

this

to

the church today:

You

are bought

with a price, therefore glorify God in your

body

and

your spirit which

are

His. Later

Jesus

Himself would say to His disciples,

If

any

man would

come after

me, let

him

deny himself,

and

take up

his

cross, and

foUaw me, Mk. 8 :34.

f He

will

be

filled with the

Holy

Spirit

. while yet in his mother s womb

. , .

FromthewombJohntheBaptistwould

be

filled

with the

Holy Spirit.

In

the O.T.

the

Holy Spirit would co

me

upon

people

to equip

and

empo

werthem

for a specific

task or mission and when the mission

was accomplished and the task performed,

the Spirit would leave them . This was also

true with

the

O.T. prophets, of which

John was one and the last; hence aseventh

link with

the O. T. However, there would

be

a difference

with John,

to match the

New Messianic Age

and the

Baptism of the

Spirit .

on the

Church,

John

would

be

permanently filled with

the

Holy Spirit

from

the very beginning of his life in his

mother's womb. Implication; Children of

the

covenant may be regenerated before

they are

born

g.

He

will tum back many o the sons

o Israel

to

the Lord thier God; He will

tum

the hearts o the fathers back to

the children, and the disobedient

to

the

attitude

o

the righteous

Here

we

see

the

mission ofJohn

the

Baptist. He

Is

to

be

a prophet,

bu

t much

more than a prophet. His mission will

be

to

tum the

hearts

of

the covenant people

back

to the

Lord, from disobedience to

obedience

to the

Covenant. .

Israel had been for centuries apostate

andseparatedfrom God.

In

O.T. prophetic

fashion John was to call the people to

return to

God,Jer

. 3;7 , 10; Ezek. 3;19;

Dan. 9:13. Because

he

will be great in

God'ssight,

and

filled with

the

Holy Spirit,

hewill

be

successful in turning

MANY

of

the

sons

of

Israel back to the Lorrl in faith,

repentance and renewed obedience.

Notice.

he

will

tum

many, but not all:

because, as Paul later tells

us,

they are not

all Israel,

who

are descended from Israel:

Rom. 9:6.

We

have Seen that one of

the

secondary

motifs of

Lu k

e

is

the

particularity

of

salvation,Le., Jesus came

to save

the

elect. And Luke's use of this

word

many, 1:14,16,remindsusofthis

fact, as well as

of

Isaiah's promise

of the

particularity

of

Christ's salvation

in

Isaiah

53

:11. See also Mark 10:45.

John's

mission is

an

eighth link with

the O.T., for it

Is an

obvious reference to

the prophecy

of

Malachi ,

with which

the

O.T. closes,

Mal.

3:1; 4;5-6.

Behold,

I amgoing

to

sendMy

messenger,

and he will clear

the way

before Me.

And

the

Lord, whom you seek, will

suddenlyeome

to

I THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon I May,

1993

His Temple

;

and th

e

Messenger

of

the

Covenant, In

whom

you

delight,

behold,

He

is

coming, says

the

Lord

of

hosts.

Behold, Iam going

t send

you Elijah the

prophet before the comin

g

of the great and

terrible

day of the

Lord

. And

he

will

restore

the

hearts oft

hefathers to theirchildren, and

the hearts of he children to their athers,

lest

come and

smite

the

land

with

a

curse.

Notice the follOwing points from. this

O.T. prophecy which is fulfilled ihJohn

the Baptist and supremely inJesus Christ.

(1).

The Forerunner

1St

The Messenger

of

the Covenant

Malachi prophesies that God will

send

a forerunner

to

prepare

the

way [or the

coming of

the

Lord Himself

as the

messenger of the covenant,

3:1.

The

messenger of the covenant is JesUs Chr ist

according to

the

O.T. and

the

N.T., Exod.

23:20; Heb. 12:24;

Mk.

1:2. So Malachi's

prophecy coinCides with Luke's emphatic

fulfillment; The Lord's Christ is Christ the

Lord, whose coming is to

be

heralded by

John

the Baptist.

(2). The Coming of the Lord

to the

Temple

Malachi prophecies that

the

Lord will

suddenly cometo His Templein

theperson

of the messenger of the covenant, and

that

His coming to His Temple will have a

cleansing

and

refining effect

on

that

Temple, Mal. 3:2-3. Keep

in mind

Luke's

Temple motif, especially his emphasis on

Jesus' cleansing of

the

Temple at the

beginning

and

near the end of His earthly

ministry.

(3) . The Coming of Elijah

Malachi prophesies that God will

send

this forerunner

of

Christ as Elijah

the

prophet before the coming

of

the

great

and terrible

day of the

Lord, 4;5.

According to Malachi, this terrible day

of

the Lord is

the

day in which

the

Christ

came to His

Temple

immediately in

connection with the preparation

of

the

forerunner for

His coming 3:1-3 i.e.

l the

day of the first advent of Christ,

which

'

would bring

the

cleaning o[ His Temple ,

His House, I.e. His church, for the pollution

and guilt

of

her sin.

Luke makes unmistakably clear. tnat

the birth and ministry of

John the

Baptist


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in

the

first century is the fulfillment of

the

prophecy

of

the coming of Elijah. which

Malachi spoke of. Luke's words are: And

it

is he Oohn)

who

will go as a forerunner

before Him INTHE SPIRIT

AND

POWER

OF ELijAH ..... Lk. 1:17. who. like Elijah

before him. would tum

the

hearts of many

back

to

the

Lord.

There are those

who

believe that Elijah

will return to earth before the Second

Coming

of Christ;

and

they

use

this

prophecy in Malachi for their support.

But it is obvious in Luke that Malachi's

reference point is

not

the time

and

to

repentance. and by this means

broken family relationships will

be

healed.

But

John

means more than this?

By

fatherssurely the godly ancestors

of Israel

inJohn's

day

is

meant.

Theyare

separated from their children because

of

the apostasy in their children. Now.

through thepreachingofJohn,empowered

by

the

HolySpirit, manyofthese

c

hildren

of

the

covenant will

be

converted to God

and turn from their apostasy to Jesus as

their Messiah. :Johnwill bringthe present

rebellious generation into

religious

A. The

Unbelief

ofZacharias

The prophecy of the Angel sounded

incredible

to

Zacharias. Righteousthough

he

was,

he

could not believe it, because

of

his advanced age

and that

of his wife.

He

sinned bywatking by sight

not by

faith.

In

this instance

he

was

more

like Sarah, Gen.

18:12, while Elizabeth was

more

like

Abraham. Rom. 4:

18-20

.

The

incredible

audacity

of

Zacharias, asking for

more

proof regarding

the Word

of

The

Angel

of

the Lord.

B The

Rebuke

of the Angel of the Lord

1. The Name

of the

Angel

of the

final Consummation but

the time of the incarnation of

Christ and the preachingof] ohn

the

Baptist. LaterJesus Himself

says

of

John. that he was

the

prophet

Elijah. (figuratively

speaking).

of whom

Malachi

prophesied. Luke 7:27. Seealso

Luke 1:76.

By calling fathers

and

children back to

their covenant

heritage

in Jesus Christ,

and as

those

who

return

and renew their

In

direct contrast

with

the

unbelieving response of

Zacharias to the Angel's

prophecy,

I

am

an old man

the

Angel declares,

. / am

Gabriel who stands in the

Presence

of

God;

and

I

have

beens


5/6

12:7 i t appears as

i

Michael is

representative

of

Christ; therefore, it could

well-be that Gabriel is also representative

of

the

pre- incarnate Christ, since He is

The Angel of the Lord.

2.

The

Rebuke of

the

Angel

Because of Zacharias'

incredible

unbelief, Gabrielchastizedhim by making

him unable to speak until the day when

His angelic prophecy will come true, i.e.,

at

the

birth ofJohn

the

Baptist. Zacharias

wanted a sign from Gabriel confirming

His words, but Gabriel gave him a sign

whichwas a chastisement for his unbelief,

and which would cleanse him from his

unbelief. Zacharias' unbelief will in no

way hinder the fulfillment of the words of

God.

3.

The

Reaction of

the

People

The people who had gathered at the

Temple, while Zacharias was in the Holy

Place offering the incense began to feel

uneasy about Zacharias staying in the

Temple for so longa time. It was customary

for the priest, who offered the incense

alone

in the

sanctuary, to reappear as soon

as possible after

the

prayers were said to

prevent the people from worrying.

What

had happened to Zacharias? Why had he

not

reappeared? Had

he

been struck

down by God or seen an extraordinary

vision?

When

Zacharias finally came out of

the

Temple, the people qUickly saw that

he had experienced something remarkable.

Instead of receiving the anticipated

benediction from Zacharias,

the

crowd of

worshipers saw that Zacharias was dumb

and agitated. From his face

and

actions

the crowd concluded that he had seen a

supernatura l vision. Unable

to

speak, as

sooh as his priestly duties were completed,

he

went horne to await the fulfillment of

Gabriel's prophecy in the birth of his son,

John.

C.

The

Significance of this Incident

Why

did

Luke include this incident

in

his account of the origins of Christianity?

How does it

throw

light on the central

focus of the early chapters of Luke, the

birth

of esus? What is the significance of

Zacharias' silence and inability to speak

until

the

bir th ofJohn the Baptist? Luke is

not concerned merely with biographical

details, Zacharias has no Significance in

the birth-accounts other than as the father

ofJohn the Baptist.

On the day of Gabriel's announcement

of John'S birth and mission, Zacharias

( stands in the center of the

old

covenant

and ... ohn represents the final resurgence

of prophecy."-Reicke. According to the

postexilic prophets

the

divine voice of

prophecy would

be

silent from the last of

the O.T. prophets until the MessianicAge,

Zech.13:2-6. Therefore, whereas we must

try to discover allegories in every story of

the Bible, "in the present narrative,

however, there are so many allusions

to

the old covenant

and

in

the

subsequent

hymns so many predictions about the

reestablishment of the covenant after a

period of abasement that it will not be

unreasonable to suppose that such

n

allusion to

the

old covenant may also

underlie the silence of Zacharias." -Reicke

"Thus, it is a conceivable possibility

that Zacharias' skepticism and silence are

intended to reflect the incapacity of the

Jews to receive the revelation given them

during the last moments of the old

covenant right up to the coming of the

Baptist. -Reicke. In

other words,

Zacharias' silence as chastizement for his

unbeliefis to remind us of the four hundred

years of silence from the heavens because

of Israel's apostasy. God had sent no

prophet speaking His word to His people

for four centuries because their ears and

hearts were dulled by their rebellion. But

now the four hundred year silence is

broken by the explosive revelation of God

in the coming of the Forerunner and the

Messenger of the Covenant to bring

restoration to the covenant people.

N

[1:24 25] TIlE PREGN NCY

OF

ELlZ BETIl

A. The Fulfillment ofGabriel's Prophecy

After returning home, probably in a

small village in the mountains south of

Jerusalem, vs.

39,

from his tour of duty in

Jerusalem, in

due

time; Elizabeth became

pregnant with Zacharias' son. Surely

feeling as Abraham and Sarah, when they

found they were expecting Isaac, the child

of promise, in their advanced age, Elizabeth

and Zacharias rejoice that Gabriel's

prophecyhad come true. TheFo.rerunner

t

THE

COUNSEL f


6/6

faith fastens on God's promises directly

and

immediately, then faith will be

certain and unshakable. Then faith no

longer rest on a subjective, changeable

foundation but on an objective, abiding

foundation.

The

unshakableness of the

foundation is conveyed directly to the

person

who, rescued

from

life's

shipwreck,

plants

both

feet firmly

on

it

in faith. When the

plant

of faith is

allowed

to

take root in the

ground

of

God's promises (the gospel), it will

naturallybear

the

fruit o f certainty. The

deeper and firmer the roots anchor

themselves in this

ground,

the stronger

and

taller

it

will grow,

and

the richer will

be its fruit." Herman Bavinck, The

Certainty oj Faith,

Paideia Press, St.

Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 1980.

2.

The

gospel never stops making

an

impression

on

the hearts of rue believers.

3.

The

difference between faith and

unbelief is

not

one of insight

or

intelligence, nor is it because of the

obSCUrity of the biblical revelation.

It

is

a

matter

of ethical choice. Those who

chose to believe the gospel ofjesus do so

because of the grace of God enabling

them to do

so freely and gladly,

with

the

whole

heart. Those who choose not to

believe the gospel do so, because

they

will

to

do

so,

and

not

because they have

intellectual problems. The unbeliever

will

not

give

up

himself, his belief

in

his

own ultimacyand autonomy, and his sin

in

order to embrace

the

gospel by faith.

"The whole man is therefore involved

in believing---with his reason,

with

his

will, with his heart, in the core of his

being, in the deepest partofhisexistence.

Knowing himself to

be

guilty

and

lost,

man, in faith, surrenders himself wholly

to

God's grace

in

Christ. He ceases

fighting

the

war

he has longbeen waging

in

his conscience....

He

leads all his

thoughts captive to the obedience of

Christ." Herman Bavinck

4. Let Luke take you by the hand

and

lead

you

to Christ.

As

he leads you, pray

to

the Father ojesus

to

give you the faith

to believe in Jesus.

IjScripturewerenothingmore than

a narrative oj past events it could be

accepted only on historical grounds by

an historical jaith. But although it is

also ltistory,

in

that I.istory it

is

more

than a narrative, it is a Word ]rom God

that omes to man calling him to faith

and repentance. As such, it can be

known through genuine faith. Whoever

accepts its testimony confirms that God

is truth ul. Promise and faith are

correlates; they address themselves to

one another. The more the Christian

develops, the more he roots himselfin

that Word, learning to know

it

better

and to value it more.

In

the same act

of

faith he also embraces Christ, whose

likeness comes to him unadulterated

in

theScripture'switness

of

Him. "

Herman

BavinckQ

yron Snapp

ook Review

He Shall Have Dominion

by

Kenneth

L

Gentry ]r. Institute for

Christian Economics P.O. Box 8000 Tyler,

Tx. 75711 19.95hb. 584 ppwith index.

Many times

during

presbytery exams,

when

the examiner begins to ask questions

on

eschatology the one being examined

replies that he is pan-mil. This often

brings a wave oflaughter from presbyters.

While eschatology is a very difficult

subject, we must realize that the Bible

does speak directly to the subject. No

Christian should take comfort in hiding

behind a pan-mil description of his

eschatology.

All

three (o r four, including

dispensationalism) cannot be correct. It

is

important that

we study

Scripture

prayerfully to seek to understand

what

God has revealed

on

this

important

subject.

Mr. Gentry has authored a

well-written, book from a postmillennial

perspective. He treats those of

other

persuasions

with

respect while showing

that

their eschatological arguments are

not built

on

the

sound

foundations of

consistent Biblical exegesis.

The

authorbegins by pointingout the

importance of a biblical philosophy of

history.

The Christian understands

that

history is the working

out

of God's eternal

plan for his covenant people . This

involves creation

and

the fan of man.

After man's fan God reveals

through

Scripture that the Messiah is coming to

redeem a people to himself.

With

Christ's

coming, God's kingdom is established

and Satan is defeated as a result of Christ's

death

on the cross.

s

history

moves

towards Christ's return on the final day

of

judgment,

we can expect growth

and

advance

of

the

Gospel

by

means

of

regeneration

and

sanctification. This

results in the spiritual growth of

the

individual. This growth

will

lead to

cultural transformation as Christians seek

to live

out

every area of life in obedience

to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The

author rightly contends

that

covenant theo ogy, so evident throughout

Scripture, is important in

postmillen

nialism. The Covenant theologian sees

the unity of the old and new testaments.

"The Covenant concept runs throughout

Scripture. t frames God's creational

process, structures His dealings with man,

and most

important

for this

book's

thesis,

insures the success of His divine program

in history.... The decline of covenant

theology since the late

nineteenth

century

has

led to

the

decline

of Christian

influence in society. Postmillennialism is

fundamentally covenantal,

presenting

a

full-orbed Christianity in it pristine

authority and power." (p. 121)

Christ, God's eternal Son, fulfilled

the

covenantal duties of elect sinners. Thus,

Gentry points out the importance of

evangelism in postmillennial

thought.

"Cultural influence and change are to be

promoted

byGod's

people-who are saved

by

grace alone (Eph.

2:8-10)-at

large in

their callings

not

by the institutional

Church as such.

CONTlNVED P GE

4

May, 1993 THE COUNSEL

of

Chalce

1993 issue 4 - sermon on luke 1:5-38 - the role of john the baptist in the gospel of christ -...

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