Here are links to three recent blog posts about BCS. Two from John Piper, and another from a friend:
Thanking God for Bethlehem College
and
Thanking God for Bethlehem Seminary
by John Piper, Chancellor, Bethlehem College and Seminary
Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church
Why Bethlehem College and Seminary is Important to Disability Ministry
by John Knight, Senior Director of Development, Desiring God
Dr. Peter Jensen, the Archbishop of Sydney (Anglican), will be speaking to students and staff in a BCS special lecture on Monday 14 December from 12:30–1:30pm in the sanctuary at the Downtown Campus of Bethlehem Baptist Church. All are welcome to attend.
Dr. Jensen was elected as Archbishop in 2001. His leadership of the Sydney Diocese has been marked by his passion for theological education and his deep commitment to Reformed evangelical theology. Dr. Jensen is the author of a number of books, including The Future of Jesus, a book based on a ABC lecture series aimed at challenging unbelievers to consider the impact of Jesus and, more centrally, to consider the claims of Jesus in the gospels. Audio from Archbishop Jensen, including a conference hosted by The Proclamation Trust where he spoke alongside Pastor John in 2003, is available here.
Archbishop Jensen, alongside Pastor John and evangelical leaders from all over the world, will be meeting at Bethlehem for a series of closed-door meetings the week of 14 December. These 20 evangelical leaders are meeting to compose the guiding document for the Lausanne Conference on World Evangelization which will convene in Capetown, South Africa in October of 2010.
When most people think of Moses' messages to Israel in the wilderness, they do not think of "good news/Gospel." Yet the writer to the Hebrews declares that "good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened" (Heb 4:2).
In a recent paper presented to the Evangelical Theological Society, our Associate Professor of Old Testament, Jason DeRouchie, attempted to articulate why Deuteronomy was one of the NT author's favorite books, and why Moses and Paul both could have affirmed that the law given to Israel was the "embodiment of knowledge and truth" (Rom 2:20)—"holy and righteous and good" (Rom 7:12)—and yet also "not of faith" (Gal 3:12). DeRouchie is committed to helping ministers rightly handle the Old Testament, and this paper, titled "The Pursuit of Lasting Covenant Relationship: A Summary of Deuteronomy's Theology," was an attempt toward this end.
The paper itself shapes the body of the chapter on Deuteronomy in a forthcoming Gospel-centered, thematic Old Testament survey that DeRouchie is editing (What the Old Testament Author's Really Cared About, due out in February 2011 with Kregel), and it also provided a forum for DeRouchie to synthesize his views as he embarks on a multi-year, discourse-analysis commentary on Deuteronomy that is targeted toward ministers and students (in the Hearing the Message of Scripture OT commentary series with Zondervan).
Deuteronomy is all about enjoying lasting covenant relationship with God. The six key points in the paper were as follows.
The author of Deuteronomy...
During the week before Thanksgiving, many of the BCS staff and some of our students attended the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in New Orleans, LA. Our Associate Professor of Old Testament, Jason DeRouchie, presented a paper that challenged members of the ETS to retain the biblical languages and original-language exegesis in their school curricula.
The paper, titled "Biblical and Historical Perspectives on Why We Still Need the Biblical Languages," clarified why DeRouchie spent the last five years of his life co-authoring A Modern Grammar for Biblical Hebrew with Duane Garrett (B&H, 2009). It also provided seven clear and forceful reasons from the Bible and from church historical greats like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and Machen as to why the church in every generation needs men and women who can use the biblical languages in the context of Gospel proclamation.
DeRouchie's seven reasons are listed below and are structured around the order of Ezra's resolve in Ezra 7:9c–10—"The good hand of his God was on him, for Ezra set his heart to study and to practice the Torah of Yahweh and to teach both statute and rule in Israel." Study the Word > Practice the Word > Teach the Word. The handout and audio version of the message (given earlier at BCS) may be downloaded.
The Uniqueness and Importance of God’s Book
1. Using the biblical languages exalts Jesus and affirms God’s wisdom in giving us his Word in a book.
The Priority of Studying God’s Book
2. Using the biblical languages enables us to observe more accurately and thoroughly, evaluate more fairly, understand more clearly, and interpret more confidently the inspired details of the biblical text.
3. Using the biblical languages allows us to use more efficiently and evaluate more fairly the best secondary tools for biblical interpretation.
The Necessity of Practicing God’s Book
4. Using the biblical languages fosters a depth of character, commitment, conviction, and satisfaction in life and ministry that results in a validated witness in the world.
The Responsibility of Teaching God’s Book
5. Using the biblical languages provides a warranted boldness, a sustained freshness, and a more articulated, sure, and helpful witness to the Truth in preaching and teaching.
6. Using the biblical languages equips us to defend the Gospel and to hold others accountable more confidently.
The Goal of a Bible-Saturated Life and Ministry
7. Using the biblical languages helps preserve the purity of the Gospel and a joyful glorifying of God by his Church into the next generation.
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