Quotes of Note

Each Monday, we share quotes we found encouraging, convicting, thought-provoking, or all of the above.

Persis:

A quote from Devoted to God by Sinclair Ferguson:

If we are to understand the nature of sanctification and successfully pursue it, we must immerse ourselves in appreciating the grace of God expressed to us in Jesus Christ and applied in us by the Holy Spirit. Our response is dependent on it and motivated by it. This alone empowers us to grow in the kind of holiness of which Paul is here speaking. [Rom. 8:3-4] Justification, forgiveness, acceptance, and union with Christ, are the logical and actual grounds for sanctification and obedience - not the other way round. (pg. 35)

Kim:

I'm researching for a paper on Genesis 15, and my professor recommended the book Kingdom Through Covenant. He suggested I read the pertinent sections, but I began reading from the beginning, and found helpful this passage about the link between systematic theology and biblical theology:

Systematic theology involves a twofold task. First, in order to apply Scripture properly, we must interpret Scripture correctly. This requires the doing of biblical theology, namely, as related above, describe for us how God's plan unfolds. This is why biblical theology provides the basis for theologizing and doctrine, since we are not drawing proper theological conclusions unless we first correctly understand all that the Bible teaches in the way the Bible presents it. Yet our reading of Scripture presupposed theological commitments consistent with Scripture and orthodox theology.  Second, systematic theology is more than just the mere repeating of Scripture or the doing of biblical theology since it involves the application of Scripture to all areas of life. Systematic theology inevitably entails theological construction and doctrinal formulation, which is grounded in biblical theology and done in light of historical theology but which also includes interacting with all areas of life -- science, psychology, ethics, and so on.

I remember when I took systematic theology two years ago, I was struck by the truth of that last sentence: that it touches on all areas of life. The systematic theologian has to be a very diverse thinker.

This looks to be a great book. So far, I'm learning a lot about the difference between dispensationalism and covenant theology, something I've long been wanting to do.

Rebecca:

In the Greco-Roman world, the idea that anyone divine would have any relationship with suffering was shocking. To associate himself with suffering seemed beneath a perfect God. The author of Hebrews, then, felt it necessary to explain that it was right for God to cause Jesus to suffer:

For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering (Hebrews 2:10 ESV).

We may not find this particular concept counterintuitive, but still, we need to be careful not to presume we know what God ought to do. In F. F. Bruce's commentary on this verse, he reminds us that

[t]here are many who are ready to tell us confidently what would and what would not be worthy of God; but in fact the only way to discover what is a worthy thing for God to do is to consider what God has actually done. The person who says, "I could not have a high opinion of a God who would (or would not) do this or that," is not adding anything to our knowledge of God; he is simply telling us something about himself. We may be sure that all that God does is worthy of himself . . . .