Tag: Religion

Lost in a Good Footnote: The Final Number of the Saved

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

Have you ever read something in a footnote that was just too good to leave there? If you are like me, you can get “lost in a good footnote.” This post focuses on another great footnote.

Conservative evangelicals share the traditional position of the Church down through the centuries with respect to a literal Hell. Universalism (the belief that all people will be eventually be saved) has had its proponents but has always been a minority position in the Church. The Bible teaches that there is a literal Hell where the unbelieving will endure conscious torment in punishment for their sins. Such torment is never-ending (Matt. 25:46; Mk. 9:43,48; 2 Thess. 1:8-9). While we don’t know exactly what Hell will be like, the pictures painted in Scripture aren’t pretty. And there is little basis for the annihilationist position either (the belief that the lost will have their existence mercifully ended rather than suffer continually). Jesus spoke more of Hell than of Heaven, and evangelicals traditionally have included a warning of Hell along with their appeals to believe in the gospel.

The idea of eternal torment is hard to stomach in our contemporary world, and it seems unjust by human standards. This makes the doctrine of Hell something that believers have always grappled with. Alongside a belief in Hell stands the assumption that the Bible also teaches that the majority of humanity will end up there. Such a belief is widespread in Christian circles, and many former Evangelicals condemn Christianity for it. They rejoice in denouncing as harmful a religion they see as teaching that a spiteful God gleefully consigns most of humanity to Hell.

But does the Bible explicitly teach that most of humanity will ultimately miss out on salvation and an eternity with God in heaven? Many Christians will point to the Sermon on the Mount and Jesus’ explanation that a wide road goes to destruction with many are on that road; but a narrow road leads to life and few are the ones who find it (Matt. 7:13-14). To this is added the common experience of the Church over the years as being a “remnant” and a marginalized slice of society.

Here is where the footnote I mentioned comes in. In William Boekestein’s new book The Future of Everything: Essential Truths about the End Times (Reformation Heritage Books, 2019), we find the following in his chapter on Hell:

Other Reformed theologians have been even more optimistic: on the basis of God’s electing grace, “we have reason to believe…that the number of the finally lost in comparison with the whole number of the saved will be very inconsiderable. Our blessed Lord, when surrounded by the innumerable company of the redeemed, will be hailed as the…Savior of Men, as the Lamb that bore the sins of the world.”17 “In the lack of people is the downfall of a prince” (Prov. 14:28). Will God have such a problem? Will He not be honored by a multitude?

…The diverse and often unexpected ways God has fulfilled past promises “should render us modest in our interpretation of those predictions which remain to be accomplished; satisfied that what we know not now we shall know hereafter.”18
(p. 93-94, bold emphasis added)

This hints that it is possible that more than just a few will be saved. I was interested in hearing more and found the following footnote quite instructive:

17 [Charles] Hodge, Systematic Theology, 3:879–80. B. B. Warfield also affirms that “the number of the saved shall in the end be not small but large, and not merely absolutely but comparatively large; …to speak plainly, it shall embrace the immensely greater part of the human race.” “Are They Few that Be Saved?” in Biblical and Theological Studies, ed. Samuel G. Craig (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1968), 349. In this essay Warfield argues that the texts (e.g., Matt. 7:13–14) frequently adduced to sustain the argument that the total number elected are few, in fact merely reflect the situation of pervasive unbelief current in Jesus’s day. Most pointedly, they urge the hearers not to prognosticate about the proportion of the elect but that “salvation is difficult and that it is our duty to address ourselves to obtaining it with diligence and earnest effort.” He adds, “We can never learn” from these texts “how many are saved” (338). On a related text, Matthew 22:14, Calvin recognizes that while the apparent ratio of saved to unsaved persons varies throughout the ages, Jesus’s words, “For many are called, but few are chosen” ought not prompt us to “enter… into the question about the eternal election of God.” Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1989), 2:175.
18 Hodge, Systematic Theology, 3:850–51.
(pg. 94, bold emphasis added)

I then found that the essay from B.B. Warfield is available online. It is a relatively quick read, you can find it here: Are They Few That Be Saved?

Warfield gives a treatment of the three passages most often claimed to support the idea that few are saved: Luke 13:23, Matthew 7:13, and Matthew 22:14. His treatment of Luke 13:23 and its immediate context is quite convincing, and serves to provide the background for his treatment of the other passages. His case is bolstered by appeal to others who agree with his position. His main point in the essay is to point out how weak the basis is for the doctrine that only few will be saved. Such a position “crumbles when subjected to scrutiny” (p. 10).

While Warfield does not make a case for why we should believe that the majority of mankind will be saved, he does offer some brief thoughts: “Christ must reign until He shall have put all His enemies under His feet—by which assuredly spiritual, not physical, conquest is intimated” and Christ came “to save the world [and] nothing less than the world shall be saved by Him” (p. 10). Earlier in the essay he does look to the Kingdom parables of the mustard seed and the leaven as pointing toward a world-wide conquest of the Gospel as well.

Now this doesn’t answer all our questions around Hell, but it does underscore that the question about how many shall be saved has not been explicitly addressed in Scripture. We can trust in God, whose wisdom is exceedingly above our own. He will right all wrongs and settle all scores – and we can trust in His goodness and kindness.

You can read my review of Boekestein’s book here.

UPDATE: The Gospel Coalition just published an article today (3/13) by William Boekestein on this very subject: Are Only Few People Saved? This is an expanded treatment of the topic I bumped into while reading his footnote. Go read his whole post!

“The Future of Everything: Essential Truths about the End Times” by William Boekestein

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

Everyone knows what conversations to avoid at a family gathering: discussing religion or politics will surely cause trouble! When it comes to church potlucks, however, the surest path to controversy is to start talking about your view of eschatology (the study of last things).

In his new book, The Future of Everything: Essential Truths about the End Times, William Boekestein points out three ways that Christians typically go wrong when it comes to end times theology. They “are tempted to engage in speculative eschatology,” they champion “argumentative eschatology,” or they simply avoid eschatology altogether (p. 3-4). As for why people avoid thinking about the end times, many find it complicated while others fear contemplating such weighty matters as death and the hereafter. In contrast, Boekestein sees eschatology as a vital doctrine with very practical benefits:

With God’s help eschatology can chill our blood at the thought of sin and judgment, and it can warm our hearts with God’s gracious work of redemption… The way Scripture and the church’s historic confessions teach eschatology is much more like gazing upon a dazzling sunset than analyzing and describing the chemical properties of the sun. (p. 5)

The Future of Everything is an accessible study on the end times that provides a helpful introduction to eschatology and examines a variety of themes related to the topic. Death and the intermediate state, heaven and hell, the return of Christ and the millennium, the resurrection and the judgment — all these and more are covered. The book wraps up with an application of eschatology to the theme of God’s kingdom, and to the mission of the Church.

The book presents a Reformed amillennial position on the end times. Other views (particularly traditional dispensationalism) are interacted with but there is no extended argument or defense of the position. The bulk of the work offers a conservative evangelical position in its approach to hell, annihilationism and the resurrection.

Practical application abounds in this book, and a wide variety of helpful asides are also provided. Thought is given to contemporary funerals and the question of cremation, for instance. Boekestein also laments that people today don’t speak frankly about death (p. 31). A brief discussion of purgatory (and its roots in the Roman Catholic doctrine of penance) is offered (p. 40), as is a helpful explanation of the Hebrew word sheol. He also presents Warfield’s intriguing position that the saved will outnumber the lost, in his chapter on Hell.

The author is a pastor in a Reformed church and that comes through both in the volume of quotes from Reformed catechisms, confessions and authors, as well as from the quoting of several hymns that the typical evangelical would not be familiar with (p. 30). The following quotations provide a sense of what you will encounter in this helpful book:

[Our] view of the millennium is not our eschatology but merely an aspect of it. Our apprehension of the last things should be much richer and broader than how we understand the relationship of Christ’s return to this thousand years. (p. 57)

[We] must resist the temptation to hyperliteralize the Bible’s descriptions of hell, as if orthodoxy demanded a commitment to the most ghastly interpretation of the verses in question. (p. 91)

Any vision of an intangible heaven ill-suited to fully embodied humans radically underestimates the vision of Scripture. (p. 105)

In Scripture, wrote Richard Baxter, “heaven is set open, as it were, to our daily view” for our encouragement, that we might long for the city of God (Heb. 11:10) and enter therein. This longing for glory does not distract us from godliness but infuses in us the kind of hopeful disposition necessary to follow God and rejoice in the hope of His glory (Rom 5:2). (p. 111)

This book encouraged me to look at eschatology differently. It challenged me to apply the big, indisputable end-time truths to my soul rather than chase after the best arguments for my preferred position on the questionable points. The study questions included for each chapter would make the book ideal for use by a small group or Sunday School. Consider picking up a copy of this book for yourself or as a gift for others. I highly recommend it.

Book Blurbs:

“This is definitely a book I’d give my friends who want to understand the end times from a biblical perspective. Grounded in Scripture, The Future of Everything is immensely practical — at least for everyone who will die one day. I heartily recommend it!” ~ Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Theology, Westminster Seminary California

“A brief simple book on the end times? Is that possible? You have it in your hands, and with just a little effort you can soon have it in your head and heart. It will not only prepare you for the end
but also equip you to prepare others for eternity.” ~ David Murray, professor of Old Testament and practical theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

“William Boekestein’s The Future of Everything is a gem of a book. This is a ‘once-over’—a survey of the whole field of eschatology — yet it doesn’t treat the topics lightly. In addition to discussing our Lord’s return and the millennium, Boekestein addresses death and dying, the intermediate state, as well as the nature of heaven. He includes a very helpful discussion of the kingdom of God as well when he addresses how our views on eschatology should inform our understanding of the church’s mission. I highly recommend it for personal use (and even devotions) as well as church study groups interested in the topic. Well done, Rev. Boekestein!” ~ Kim Riddlebarger, senior pastor at Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim (URCNA), co-host of the White Horse Inn, and visiting professor of systematic theology at Westminster Seminary California

“This volume succeeds admirably in presenting biblical teaching on the end times for a broad readership yet without sacrificing substance. It rescues ‘eschatology’ from becoming an abstract word by emphasizing throughout the relevance and practical implications of what will take place at Christ’s return for the present life of Christians and the mission of the church in the world. The series of questions that accompany each chapter make it ideal for individual and group study.” ~ Richard B. Gaffin Jr., professor emeritus of biblical and systematic theology, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia

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Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

In the Box: New Titles from Crossway Books

~ Bob Hayton ~ Leave a comment

“In the Box” posts highlight new books I’ve received in the mail.

In this post, I want to showcase two of the new titles that at arrived at my doorstep in the last few weeks. I’m truly blessed to be able to read so many great books, and Christian publishers seem to never let up in their race to get high quality materials out the door. We are truly blessed with an abundance of Christian resources to help us in our walk with Christ.

The Love of Loves in the Song of Songs by Philip Ryken

This book is a meditation on Song of Solomon, and helpfully includes the entire biblical text (ESV) of that book. Ryken’s style is easy to read and he shares a wealth of insight from others on this fascinating (and often troubling) book. I appreciate that from the start he does not shy away from appreciating the parallels between Christ and the Church that have historically dominated the interpretation of this book, even as he rejects outright allegoricalism. He also does not eagerly proclaim the book as a manifesto on sexual liberation either, finding its instruction on marital love appropriately muted by the poetic nature of the book, and not as graphic or explicit as quite a few modern writers envision.

UPDATE: Read my review of this book here.

For more about this book, check out the book’s product page at Westminster Bookstore, Christianbook.com, Amazon or Crossway Books.

Note: This book is currently 50% off at Westminster Bookstore.

Parenting with Loving Correction: Practical Help for Raising Young Children by Sam Crabtree

The next Crossway title I received is by Pastor Sam Crabtree of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis (where I was a member for several years). Knowing Pastor Crabtree personally, I am eager to dig into this work. Like the title of his other book Practicing Affirmation, Pastor Sam is warm and encouraging, and I expect his parental advice to be refreshing and uplifting – while also insightful.

To learn more about this book, check out the book’s product page at Westminster Bookstore, Christianbook.com, Amazon, or Crossway Books.

Note: This book is currently 40% off at Westminster Bookstore through Feb 28.

Sermon Download: An Unshakable Joy (1 Peter 1:3-12)

~ Bob Hayton ~ 1 Comment

I again had the privilege of opening God’s Word and filling the pulpit yesterday. My theme was on joy in trials, something I have preached on before (see this sermon on James 1). The text this time was in 1 Peter in a section of verses that Charles Spurgeon described as a “string of pearls” (1 Peter 1:3-12). The bountiful blessings of salvation, in which we rejoice, are celebrated in these verses; and the joy we have is strong enough to endure all of life’s trials.

I hope by sharing this message, others may be blessed in their consideration of the trials of life and the unshakable joy we can have through them. If you don’t have time to listen to the entire sermon (46 minutes), please do look over my notes.

Place: The Heights Church, St. Paul
Date: Jan. 27, 2019
Title: An Unshakable Joy
Text: 1 Peter 1:3-12
Notes: Download PDF
Audio Link: Click to listen (right click to download)

“CSB Day by Day Chronological Bible” with Daily Readings by George Guthrie

~ Bob Hayton ~ Leave a comment

Holman Bible Publishers will soon be releasing the Day by Day Chronological Bible. The brown imitation leather edition is being launched later this month. Now through January 25, there is an opportunity for one of my readers to win a free copy of this Bible, compliments of the publisher. Enter the giveaway here.

Have you ever read the Bible through in a chronological order? You may not know that the books of our English Bibles are not arranged chronologically. Genesis through 2 Kings are mostly in chronological order, and Ezra through Esther are from roughly the same time-frame: but the arrangement of the Old Testament books are made by type (law, history, poetry and prophecy) rather than time. Daniel comes before Hosea, but was written later. Ezra comes a few books before Isaiah, but is closer to Haggai and Malachi’s era. The Gospels often tell the same story three (or four) different times, and are followed by Acts: but the rest of the New Testament is composed of letters grouped according to author.

In the Day by Day Chronological Bible, the Old Testament books are given in their chronological order (with respect to the historical unfolding of God’s dealings with Israel). Psalms and Proverbs are interspersed throughout (where their theme complements that day’s reading). The prophetic books appear in the time periods when the prophet was ministering. For example, Isaiah has some sections which describe King Hezekiah’s interactions with the Assyrians. These sections are parallel with similar accounts in both 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles. The three accounts appear together in this Bible. Also, since Isaiah had a long ministry which overlapped with other prophets, the book of Micah is found in its entirety within the Isaiah readings in this Bible. (On another note, Isaiah 40-66 is treated as written by Isaiah in the same time period – which is in line with most conservative interpreters). For the New Testament, the Gospel accounts that describe the same events are arranged together, and the epistles are interspersed with Acts in the order of when they were likely written.

Reading the Bible chronologically gives a fresh perspective and is quite enjoyable. This endeavor is made much easier when you use a “day by day” Bible like this one. The chronological arrangement of the books of the Bible is spread out and divided into daily readings. Each reading is numbered in two separate ways. First, there are 52 weeks of readings, with 7 days per week. (The Bible text is actually divided into just 6 textual readings per week, so if you miss a reading it is easy to catch up.) Then the readings are also arranged according to acts and scenes. There are three acts: God’s Plan for All People (Gen. 1 – 11), God’s Covenant People (Gen. 12 – Mal. 4), and God’s New Covenant People (Matt. 1 – Rev. 22). The acts are further divided into scenes, with readings making up the content of those scenes. A final word about the arrangement: the readings are numbered and not dated. This means you can pick up this new Bible in February or June and start reading it then (no need to wait for January 1).

What makes this particular edition especially helpful are the guided readings by Dr. George Guthrie (Professor of New Testament at Regent College, Vancouver and author of several commentaries – learn more about him here). Guthrie introduces each week’s reading plan, and each individual day’s reading – highlighting themes to be looking for and points to pray or meditate over. His thoughts are typically a short paragraph or two to get you going with that day’s reading. He provides somewhat longer introductions for each act and brief introductions for each scene as well. Aside from these introductions, there are no additional study helps outside of a Scripture index and a few maps in the back.

The look and feel of this Bible is really nice, and the text is uncluttered and easy to read (9 point font). Often daily reading Bibles don’t get the royal treatment. And while this is not actually leather, the brown imitation “leathertouch” feels like the real thing and is nice enough to bring along on Sunday morning. There are two ribbon bookmarks which is nice (but do you need two if you are following the daily reading?). I absolutely love the single column text with a nice wide margin. My main critique is that there are no footnotes or cross references. The CSB Bible normally comes with footnotes that provide additional information about the Greek text and alternative renderings, and many editions have cross references. Perhaps it was determined that notes and references get in the way of just reading the text day by day. I can sympathize with that, and a Bible like this may be aimed more for those new to Bible reading. But I still miss the notes, and feel that readers miss out on the inter-textual parallels that the cross references provide.

The Christian Standard Bible (CSB) text is noticeably improved from the earlier Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) of which it is a revision. I never liked the free use of “Yahweh” to refer to the LORD, and it seems the translation “Messiah” was inconsistently applied (used only in Jewish contexts). These idiosyncrasies have been abandoned for more mainstream translation choices, and the publisher’s name was removed from the work as well. This translation aims to be both readable and literal (using “optimal equivalence“) and compares well with the ESV, my translation of choice.

I highly recommend this exceptional Bible. It provides a user-friendly tool for reading the Bible chronologically with understanding. May it encourage people to read the Bible more and enlighten them on the big picture of what the Bible is really all about.

For more information on the Day by Day Chronological Bible, see this interview with George Guthrie on reading the Bible chronologically, and check out the sample daily readings in the images included in the ChristianBook.com product page. For more information on the CSB Bible translation, see this interview with the publisher (Trevin Wax), check out the FAQ page at CSBible.com, or read this helpful review.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the publisher. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a positive review.

Where to Buy: