We’ve got a new book coming out! Its title is Moving Forward: Essays on Soteriology, Missiology, and Eschatology.
Moving Forward is a compilation of three essays that I have written for other projects. I brought them into one volume which we will be distributing soon. Here is the preface of the book:
New challenges are on the horizon for Christian missions. The world has been turning upside down with the anti-biblical agendas of wokeism and evangelicalism has been following suit. The debates that were prevalent a generation ago are still out there, but it has since become evident that by getting wrapped up in the debates of old, some Christians have become vulnerable to new and even more extreme teachings than the ones they originally opposed. International missions are an inevitable casualty, hence the need for this book from a missionary’s perspective.
The three essays in this book are on the topics of soteriology (the doctrine of salvation), eschatology (the doctrine of end times), and missiology (the philosophy of ministry). They have been adapted from essays that have been submitted for various volumes that The International Society for Biblical Hermeneutics (ISBH) has been putting out. ISBH is an organization that seeks to develop and promote dispensationalism globally. The first volume that ISBH put out was Current Issues in Soteriology, which is where the first essay in this book comes from. ISBH currently has a call for papers on Bible difficulties related to eschatology; the second essay in this book is part of that work-in-progress. The final essay in this book comes from an upcoming ISBH volume on developing a dispensational missiology. By the way, if you are interested in hearing more about ISBH, go visit the website and sign up for the newsletter at BiblicalHermeneutics.org. The doctrinal statement of Grace Abroad Ministries is also included in this volume as an appendix.
Essays on soteriology, eschatology, and missiology from three different volumes might seem a rather eclectic mix to bring into one book, but the thread of grammatical-historicism sews the ideas together in a way that I hope you will find edifying. The first chapter is “A Quadrant Model of Soteriological Compromises.” This essay originally set the boundaries for ISBH’s soteriology. In short, eternal life is available to everyone simply through and only through faith alone in Christ alone. A generation ago, there were great debates over the sufficiency of faith in Christ, and while that conversation is still out there, it seems that new threats to the gospel are emerging which say that faith in Christ is not necessary for salvation. The second chapter is “Defining the Kingdom.” The Bible is clear that the Messianic kingdom will be a literal kingdom here on earth, but many theologians have tried to spiritualize the kingdom into a current experience. Chapter two includes a word study on kingdom and surveys the progressive revelation of the Hebrew and Aramaic Scriptures relating to the description of the Messianic kingdom. The final chapter is “A Dispensational Critique of Woke Missiology.” Wokeism is an anti-biblical worldview that is penetrating evangelicalism. It turns out that evangelical forms of wokeism rely heavily on errant soteriology and eschatology. If we get soteriology and eschatology right, then several theological errors of woke missiology are glaring.
Since the Bible is the inspired Word of God, it is inerrant, authoritative, and sufficient to handle whatever challenges the world throws at us. It is my prayer that these essays will be beneficial in demonstrating how to turn to the biblical text for responses to current problems as well as whatever difficulties may surface in the future.
Paul
25 April, 2023