A Comment on Gospel Centered Hermeneutics

I've noticed that a common objection to Christocentricity is that it is synonymous with “allegorizing” or “spiritualizing” I think it would be helpful if we define allegory. An allegory is a story of symbollism whose characters and events represent certain realities or main ideas. The Pilgrims Progress isan example of allegory. On the contrary, reading the Bible through the lenses of the gospel IS NOT allegorizing, it is the mandate of Jesus in Luke 24:44. If someone follows the reasoning that Christ should only be found in those passages which explicitly testify of him, then it is impossible to find Christ in either the law, prophets, or the Psalms. Anallegorical interpretation is world’s away from a theological interpretation which views the New Testament as the guiding norm for interpreting the Old. Otherwise your interpretation of the Old Testament is no different than a Jewish interpretation. I apologize if my previous statements indicated that I believe every single text of Scripture testifies to Jesus Christ. I do believe that we can find specific Christocentric, gospel centered, applications for our lives in every text yet I don't believe that every text and every word reveals Christ. For example, I believe that the Songof Solomon is a beautiful portrayal of covenent love within the context of marriage. What I AM saying is that if we believe that the nature of revelation is indeed progressive, and that the New Testament provides a commentary or "interpretive grid" through which we can understand the true meaning of the Old Testament, we will see that the New Testament views the Old Testament as much more than just containing “redemptive threads.” Sometimes I hear the objection, "If you desire to be gospel centered and only preach Christ, then you're leaving out the other members of the Trinity when they need recognition."This indeed might have some legitimacy at first glance, but it is my contention that to view the Trinity in this way is to view the Trinity in categories that are radically foreign to the Bible's teaching on the Trinity. What these kind of statement's implicitly affirm is that there is some kind of rivalry within the communion of the Trinity, and that if Christ is exalted inour exposition, then the other members of the Trinity are somehown jealous. What this kind of statement fails to see is that God the Father andGod the Holy Spirit are working within the Trinitarian communion of joy to exalt and glorify Jesus Christ. Likewise, the Holy Spirit and the Son are both working together to glorify the Father. The question is, "Through what means is the god-head as a whole supremely glorified?" I believe that God (three in one) is supremely glorified through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Rom. 3:21-26 testifies to the fact that it is only through Christ that God the Father can be both "just and justifier." Thus it is only through Jesus Christ that God the Father can be seen and savored in all His glorious excellencies. We should preach the triune god-head in our messages indeed. Yet the Father cannot be talked about APART from the light of the gospel and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Why? Because the Father’s desire is TO BE glorified through Jesus Christ His Son. Preaching the Father apart from Christ leaves you with nothing but justice, wrath, and condemnation. There's no hope when you preach the Father apart from Christ. There are two ways that the Father can deal with the problem of sin. He can sweep it under the rug and thus cease to be just, holy, righteous, etc. Obviously this is not an option for God. He can condemn the human race to an eternity in hell. Or, he can remain just and justifier by dealing with sin in the person of Christ and pouring out His wrath for our sins upon him. We see the Father through the person and work of Jesus Christ, there is no other way.Preaching the Holy Spirit apart from Christ often leads to a"touchy, feely" approach to Christianity with little or no substance.. Apart from Christ there is no gospel and if there is no gospel then there is no hope. If we take Christ out, what are we left with? If we fail to preach "Christ and him crucified" then what’s left is a moralistic approach to Christianity without the essential component of the gospel. A common dispensationalist claim is that the central theme of the Bible is the glory of God and not redemption. This fits nicely into their seven dispensation schematic with different "programs" at different times. My question is this, "Can we bibically and faithfully make this dichotomy between redemption and the glory of God?" Obviously redemption is not the only means by which God glorifies Himself. I believe God's election of certain individual's salvation is "to the praise of his glorious grace" while his passing over of others is "to the praise of his glorious justice." Yet I would assert that making this dichotomy between the glory of God and redemption does not do justice to the Bibe's view of redemption. I would assert that the central theme of the Bible is redemption through Jesus Christ starting from Genesis 3:15-Rev.22. The gospel promise of redemption is the first message proclaimed after man fell into sin. This gospel promise is the foundation for all God’s future interaction with man. Back to the question of the glory of God as relates to redemption... The redemption of man and the glory of God are never dichotomized in the Bible. If someone approaches the Bible from a semi-Pelagian, Arminian, perspective, then redemption would indeed be man centered. Yet I’m a Calvinist and I believe that the Bible’s view of redemption is radically God centered. Rom. 3:21-26explicity testifies to the fact that redemption is about “the righteousness of God.”

“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it-the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a proptitation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

Paul’s view of redemption is radically God centered. Redemption can be summarized like this: God died for God so that the church might be redeemed to put on display the glorious wonders of God throughout all eternity. A Redemptive approach is anything BUT man centered. I would rather be of the persuasion that an Ethnocentric interpretation of the Bible as found in dispensationalism could logically be categorized as "man centered." Yet this kind of ethonocentrism as found in the writings of some dispensationalists, is not found in the writings of all dispensationalists so please don't misinterpret me as thinking that all dispensationalists view the Bible within the context of ethnocentrism. I don't think that redemption is merely about "getting saved." "Getting saved" is a subsequent end not an ultimate end. Being saved "to the praise of His glorious grace" is an ultimate end and the end for which God created the world. Tim, I would definitely agree with you that all of history and eternity are about the renown of God's name. But I would ask you a question, "Is God glorified in Scripture apart from Christ? Or rather, is it the desire of the Father to be glorifed apart from Jesus Christ? I think that the end of Romans 11 was mentioned to substantiate the point that all of history is about God. In this particular verse, Paul is arguing in the context of theprevious 11 chapters in Romans which testify more explicitly than any other New Testament book the gospel of God revealed in Christ.Ultimately the issue boils down to this: HOW is God glorified? Through what means is God the Father most supremely exalted? I think the Bible teaches that God the Father is glorified through Jesus Christ His Son.