BOOK REVIEWS
When, on the best evidence, the word originated with the wtx, it is
marked as a neologism ('neol.'). If it is probably a neologism, and the word
is not known prior to Polybius, it is marked as 'neql?'
The review volume alreadymmes with an inserted corrigenda; but,
alas, it falls short of listing the typographical errors, of which there are too
many. The print quality of the review copyis uneven, and quite weak in
places, placing undue strain on the user. It is paper bound, and not
designed for the constant use it deserves. A hardbound volume of the
completed series would be very useful, especially for libraries.
Compared to LSJ, this is a veritable vade mecum and a joy to use.
Having used LSJ extensively for the past several years, I find it wonderful
to have direct access to all the LXX vocabulary without anything
extraneous. Many scholars have dreamed of this day. Now they have a key
tool enabling them to explore one of the largest bodies of koine Greek. Not
only has it been done; it has been done well.
Loma Linda University Church
Loma Linda, CA 92350
MacArthur, John Jr. Rediscovering Expository Preaching. Dallas: Word
Publishing, 1992. xviii + 410 pp. $19.99.
This is a unique book in that the one whose name appears on the
cover is neither the author nor the editor. John MacArthur, president of
The Master's Seminary and pastor at Grace Community Church in Sun
Valley, California, is a contributor, albeit the major contributor, with the
Introduction and seven of the nineteen chapters under his name. The
editors, Richard L. Mayhue and Robert L. Thomas, together with the other
six contributors, are all members of The Master's Seminary faculty.
Obviously, MacArthur, appreciated in evangelical circles and beyond for
his dynamic preaching, and a great champion of Bible inspiration and
authority, was the prime motivator for the book.
The volume is divided into five parts. Part I establishes the rationale
for expository preaching. Parts 11,111, IV, and V cover the waterfront, from
preparation of the preacher, processing and principalizing the Biblical text,
and preparing the sermon, to preaching the exposition. The appendix
contains a plus, the reproduction of MacArthur's own handwritten notes
from which he preached "The Man of God," based on 1 Tim. 491-14 (the
actual sermonic event is available on audio cassette).
The fundamental question at issue is: must pastors preach what
people want to hear or what God wants proclaimed? Based on 2 Tim. 4:3,
the authors insist that expository preaching must be rediscovered and
reaffirmed "for the coming generation of preachers facing all the spiritual
opportunities and satanic obstacles of a new millenium" (6-7). If they must
preach what God wants proclaimed, where do they find His message? The
252 SEMINARY STUDIES
answer, of course, is in the Bible as a whole, with the preacher focusing on
a specific text for each sermon.
The authors posit that the expository method is the most reliable way
to discover what God wants proclaimed for the shaping of His message in
sermonic form, and its delivery is relevant and applicable to the
contemporary hearer.
This kind of exposition has five minimal elements: 1.Scripture as the
only source. 2. Careful exegesis to extract the message from the text.
3. Correct interpretation of Scripture in its normal sense and its context.
4. Explanation of the original God-intended meaning of Scripture.
5. Application of that meaning for today.
The heart of the book, relative to the relationship between such
exposition and the authority of Scripture, is chap. 2, by MacArthur himself,
'The Mandate of Inerrancy: Expository Preaching." His thesis is stated
thus: ''The existence of God and His nature requires the conclusion that He
has communicated accurately and that an adequate exegetical process to
determine His meaning is required. The Christian commission to preach
God's Word involves the transmitting of that meaning to an audience, a
weighty responsibility. A belief in inerrancy thus requires, most important
of all, expositional preaching that does not have to do primarily with the
homiletical form of the message. In this regard expository preaching differs
from what is practiced by non-inerrantists" (22).
Inerrancy for MacArthur rests on five postulates: 1. God is. 2. God
is true. 3. God speaks in harmony with His nature. 4. God speaks only
truth. 5. God spoke His true Word, as consistent with His true nature, to
be communicated to people (23). Thus, inerrancy for MacArthur has to do
primarily with the quality of the message communicated by God and
received by the biblical writers, namely, its truth as truth. If the written
Word of God began as truth and was transmitted as truth, then only an
exegetical approach is adequate for accurate exposition. If the Bible does
not possess the quality of truth, it is disqualified as a reliable souxe of
truth. How, then, could its message be preached? No preacher could
approach the pulpit with any confidence regarding the responsibility of
communicating truth from God to a congregation hungry for spiritual
nourishment. To sum up, "The expositor's task is to preach the mind of
God as he finds it in the inerrant Word of God" (34).
To know the mind of God requires the kind of exegesis defined by
MacArthur as "the skillful application of sound hermeneutical principles
to the biblical text in the original language with a view to understanding
and declaring the author's intended meaning both to the immediate and
subsequent audiences" (29).
What are the "sound hermeneutical principles" that will guide the
faithful expositor to a discovery of God's truth that can be preached? First,
is the expositor's scrutiny of the context in a search for the indication or
intent of the text (123-125). Second, is the study of the grammatical
construction of the text (125-126). Third, is the careful study of each word
BOOK REVIEWS
of the text, and in particular key words, in relationship to each other and
to the wider context (126-129). Fourth, is to distinguish between the literal
and the figurative (129-131). Fifth, is awareness of how progressive
revelation operates in Scripture, in which later passages integrate details
into the stream of velat ti on (131-132). Sixth, is cross-referencing based on
the commitment to Scripture interpreting Scripture, thus avoiding the
danger of making invalid connections (132-133). Last, is to see what the
text says in its own culture, so that the expositor can help listeners know
how God's truth applies where customs differ (133-135). In addition, are
checking dependable sources, probing for biblical validation, and allowing
Scripture rather than experience to regulate doctrine.
The rest of the book demonstrates, in practical terms, how belief in
biblical inerrancy ought to impact preaching. The chapters move from that
belief, through the application of that belief in the preacher's study, to the
actual preaching of God's Word to contemporary congregations.
At a time when listeners are subjected to pulpit froth, to charismatic
but contentless preaching, to therapeutic rather than doctrinal sermons,
Rediscovering Expositoy Preuching is a welcome challenge to every preacher
determined to proclaim the Word of God.
Andrews University C. RAYMOND HOLMES
Sanders, E. P. Judaism: Practice and Belitf, 63 BcE-66 CE. London: SCM
Press; Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1992. xix + 580 pp.
Hardcover, $39.95; Paperback, $29.95.
One of the more unlikely areas for radical reinterpretation is that of
first-centuryJudaism. Nevertheless, Sanders is convinced, primarily on the
basis of his rereading of the writings of Josephus, that scholars have
fundamentally misunderstood the evidence. His thesis is twofold. First,
real power for the day-today running of Palestine lay with the common
priests and the common people. Second, and conversely, though they
caught the limelight of history, the leaders of the named parties, along
with the Sanhedrin, played little if any substantive role in leadership.
The volume consists of three sections, along with endnotes,
bibliography, and indexes. The first section is a brief but comprehensive
historical prologue explaining the time-frame of the book (from the
conquest of Jerusalem by Pompey in 63 BCE to the outbreak of revolt
against Roman rule in 66 CE) and the events that shaped the period.
In Part II, the heart of the book, Sanders works out the details of his
thesis. Rabbinic Judaism termed the disenfranchised, the 'amme^ ha'ares,
people of the earth, and considered salvation to be beyond their grasp. In
sharp contrast, Sanders contends that the normative Judaism of the day lay
outside the domain of the rabbis and found practice and expression at the
hands of the common (non-partisan) priests and the common people. He
