About 6 weeks ago, Crossway came out with their new ESV Study Bible.  We’ve been looking forward to it for a while now.  With the help of Desiring God (where I worked this summer) and a Cornell alum, we were able to give out 80 study Bibles to all of the students in Campus Crusade at Cornell’s Bible studies!  

This does several things:

• Every student has the same translation – the English Standard Version – which we’ve been encouraging for years now.
• Every student has a solid study Bible for use in personal Bible study and devotions – they can learn how to use and benefit from all the different reference systems – footnotes, study notes, crossreferences, concordance, charts, maps, book intros, etc.
• Each Bible has dozens of helpful articles about Christian ethics, theology, how to read the Bible, etc.  At a conference we just went to, the speaker (a prof from Gordon Conwell) said something to the extent of “if you read and learn all the extra articles in the ESV Study Bible, you’ll get the equivalent of a Bible College education.”  

The top of the stack of boxes (14 of them!):

One of our Bible studies getting their Bibles:

When you have 80 of the same Bible floating around, marking up the outside is helpful…

-Ben

The sticker on the back puts it in the “Psychology” category.  This is not your average Christian Psychology book.  Some quotes (bolding mine):

The sad fact is that many of us are simply not biblical in the way we use the Bible!  Being biblical does not mean merely quoting words from within its pages.  Being truly biblical means that my counsel reflects what the entire Bible is about. The Bible is a narrative, a story of redemption, and its chief character is Jesus Christ.  He is the main theme of the narrative, and he is revealed in every passage in the book.  This story reveals how God harnessed nature and controlled history to send his Son to rescue rebelious, foolish, and self-focused men and women.  He freed them from bondage to themselves, enabled them to live for his glory and gifted them with an eternity in his presence, far from the harsh realities of the Fall. - page 27

It is because our sin problem is so pervasive and so deeply ingrained that we need more from Scripture than insight, principles, understanding, or direction.  An encyclopedic, problem-solving approach to Scripture is totally inadequate for the true depth of our need.  We need something that will change us from the inside out – we need Christ!  Only his person and work can free us from our slavery to self and our tendency to deify the creation. - page 27

From the rise and fall of governments to tomorrow’s weather to the exact location of every human being, the universe is under God’s control.  He has the power and authority to do exactly what pleases him, andwherey he chooses to do it.  God’s sovereignty is not only about power and position, but also about a plan.  Scripture clearly teaches that God has a plan for his world and the people in it.  God is calling a people to himself, forming them into his likeness, and preparing them for an eternity with him.  This is his overarching plan of the ages, revealed in history, present in current events and in the lives of everyone who has ever lived.  At any moment in time, the right answer to the question, “What is God doing?” is, “Accomplishing his plan.” - page 29

But the story of Scripture is the story of the Lord’s glory.  It calls me to an agenda that is bigger than myself.  It offers me something truly worth living for.  The Redeemer has come so that glory thieves would joyfully live for the glory of Another.  There is no deeper personal joy and satisfaction than to live committed to his glory.  It is what we truly need. - page 35

-Ben

Tom Carson planted churches in French-speaking Canada, a Roman Catholic stronghold.  His son documents his life, his work, and his struggles.  Struggles through discouragement and controversy and disapproval and loss – and that are meant to be met with utmost assurance that God is in control and knows what he’s doing.  Read and watch Tom do that.

A lot stuck out to me, but I’ll simply give you one journal entry from two weeks after his wife died that gives a glimpse into his theology and priorities and values and view of God:

Monday, Jan. 15, 1990
On my knees I am often crushed.  David said, “My sin is ever before me.”  And mine are ever before me…. My wife was a magnificent woman: she rested utterly in the absolute assurance that God had fully forgiven all her sins: “What need I fear when thou art near / And thinkest, Lord, of me?”  And I found rest in meditating on Psalm 51.

I guess that isn’t how I usually see people described as “magnificent”: “she rested utterly in the absolute assurance that God had fully forgiven all her sins.”

When you’re describing someone as “magnificent” or “awesome” or “amazing”, what do you mean?  What should you mean?

I got my copy of the ESV Study Bible Gospel of Luke today.  Crossway sent a bunch over to DG, so we all got copies.  BBC Bookstore also has a handful out on display.

This thing is really pretty amazing.  I now understand why Driscoll couldn’t wait to talk about it once he got his hands on it.  And why BBC has brochures for it EVERYWHERE.  And churches all over the place are selling preorders.

Once you see it, you’ll want one.

There are very low-tech ways to do the Bible – just present the text, the verse numbers, the headings, and maybe some translational footnotes and/or crossreferences.  Those have their place – they allow you to study the text on your own without footnotes forcing their interpretation on you.

And there are varying levels of non-low-tech Bibles, with different types of notes, maps, charts, etc.  I’ve owned an NIV Life Application Study Bible, an NIV Study Bible, and the ESV Literary Study Bible… This blows them out of the water.

This is the Google of Bibles. (Can I say that?)

People did search before Google… then Google came and changed the way you thought of search.  People did webmail before Google… then Gmail came and changed the way you thought of webmail.  This will change the way you think of study Bibles.

The intros are long, helpful, and meaningful – you’ll want to read them.  The diagrams are BEAUTIFUL – the inside of my sample copy has rendering of “Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus”, with markers detailing and explaining where all sorts of important features/locations are.  There are supposedly over 200 little full-color maps inline with the footnotes – how often do you actually flip to the back of your Bible to look at the maps there?  I never have.  Hopefully this will teach me the importance of location location location.  The footnotes are also full of charts with titles such as “Parallels in the Ministries of Jesus, Peter, and Paul in Luke-Acts”, “Predictions, Reminders, and Proofs of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke”, and “Jesus and Prayer in the Gospel of Luke.”

Crossway has the book’s introduction online here.  You can check out one of the diagrams here.  Learn about lots more features at the ESV Study Bible website.

Why is this all important and worth getting excited over?

God tells us about Himself in His Word by telling us Truth.  Ultimately, what we want is more of God – seeing Him and knowing Him (not just knowing about Him) more clearly and more fully and more deeply.  This will help that, I believe, for many people, as the notes and the articles and the maps and the diagrams explain things of God through the Word and the Holy Spirit opens eyes to understand and marvel at who God is and what He has done.

All the cool new features that this Bible has are worthless if they don’t teach you more about Jesus and cause you to treasure Him more.  Treasure the Giver and be thankful for the gift that helps us treasure the Giver more!

-Ben

There are two main kinds of Bible translations. The first is commonly referred to as (1) “word-for-word” (or “formal equivalence”) translation, the second as (2) “thought-for-thought” (or “dynamic equivalence”) translation. The main difference between these two translation philosophies is that the first one places the primary emphasis on what the words of the original say and mean (in their context), while the second one places the primary emphasis on the main thought or idea in the phrases of the original.

As an “essentially literal” translation, the ESV is committed to the principle of “word-for-word” translation, as the translation philosophy that most accurately conveys the Bible’s own understanding that “all Scripture is breathed out by God” (2 Timothy 3:16), or as Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).

The ESV is available in about 120 different versions, which you can buy here.  The most interesting one, however, is the new ESV Study Bible that’s coming out in October 2008.

Primary Features (From their website)

• 25,000-plus notes—focusing especially on understanding the Bible text and providing answers to frequently raised issues.
• Over 50 articles—including articles on the Bible’s authority, reliability, and interpretation; on biblical archaeology, theology, worship, prayer, and personal application.
• Over 200 full-color maps—created with the latest digital technology, satellite images, and archaeological research; printed in full color, throughout the Bible.
• 200-plus charts—offering key insights and in-depth analysis in clear, concise outline form; located throughout the Bible.
• 80,000 cross-references—to encourage easy location of important words, passages, and biblical themes.
• More than 40 new full-color illustrations—including historically accurate reconstructions of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, Solomon’s temple, Herod’s temple, the city of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time and throughout the history of Israel, and many more.

Endorsements

“The ESV is a dream come true for me. The rightful heir to a great line of historic translations, it provides the continuity and modern accuracy I longed for. Now the scope and theological faithfulness of the ESV Study Bible study notes is breathtaking. Oh how precious is the written Word of God.”

John Piper, Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bethlehem Baptist Church

“The ESV Study Bible is the most important resource that has been given to the emerging generation of Bible students and teachers. The ESV Study Bible is the best. Period.”

Mark Driscoll, Preaching Pastor, Mars Hill Church; President of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network

“I can’t imagine a greater gift to the body of Christ than the ESV Study Bible. It is a potent combination indeed: the reliability and readability of the ESV translation, supplemented by the best of modern and faithful scholarship, packaged in an accessible and attractive format. A Christian could make no wiser investment for himself, a pastor could recommend no better resource for his congregation.”

C. J. Mahaney, President, Sovereign Grace Ministries

“The ESV Study Bible is the finest study tool I have seen in fifty years of Bible teaching. The notes, articles, maps, and illustrations are all of the highest quality. It is a great achievement!”

Jerry Bridges, speaker, bestselling author of The Pursuit of Holiness

“Outstanding! The ESV Study Bible is a treasure-a beautiful volume, filled with a wealth of resources. It will be just as useful for the seminarian and long-time pastor as it will be accessible to the brand-new Christian.”

R. Albert Mohler Jr., President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“Like the ESV itself, this Study Bible sets a new standard in excellence. The craftsmanship invested in every page-from the insightful articles and informative notes to the crisp design and gorgeous illustrations-makes it an invaluable tool for students of God’s Word. As a pastor it’s my goal to get one into the hands of every member of my church.”

Joshua Harris, Senior Pastor, Covenant Life Church

-Ben

This could become one of my favorite books, I think.

I’ll post much more thoroughly from it in the coming days, but let me leave you with the following thoughts/quotes (bolding mine, italics not):

“Only those who are aware of God’s wrath are amazed at God’s grace.”

In a chapter on feeling:

“Lloyd-Jones reminds us that ‘what we have in the Bible is Truth; it is not an emotional stimulus…and it is as we apprehend and submit ourselves to the truth that the feelings follow.’”

“Lloyd-Jones then proceeds to this profound application: ‘I must never ask myself in the first instance: What do I feel about this?  The first question is, Do I believe it?’”

“Knowing and wholeheartedly believing the truth will always bring you, in time, to a trustworthy experience of the truth.  But if you trust your feelings first and foremost, if you exalt your feelings, if you invest your feelings with final authority – they’ll deposit you on the emotional roller coaster which so often characterizes our lives.”

“‘Have you realized,’ [Lloyd-Jones] observed, ‘that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?’”

“On a daily basis, we’re faced with two simple choices.  We can either listen to ourselves and our constantly changing feelings about our circumstances, or we can talk to ourselves about the unchanging truth of who God is and what He’s accomplished for us at the cross through His Son Jesus.”

And the next few chapters….

“John Calvin wisely instructs us, ‘When we behold the disfigurement of the Son of God, when we find ourselves appalled by his marred appearance, we need to reckon afresh that it is upon ourselves we gaze, for he stood in our place.” 

“When you’re tempted to doubt God’s love for you, stand before the cross and look at the wounded, dying, disfigured Saviour and realize why He is there.  I believe His Father would whisper to us, ‘Isn’t that sufficient?  I haven’t spared My own Son; I deformed and disfigured and crushed Him – for you.  What more could I do to persuade you that I love you?’  That’s how far God’s love goes.”

“R. C. Sproul wrote that the most perplexing theological question is not why there’s suffering in this world, but why God tolerates us in our sinfulness.  Considering how our sin must appear in the pure sight of the righteous and holy God who created us, why are we even still here, alive and breathing?  God’s mercy is indeed an incredible mystery.”

“When you tell non-Christians, ‘God loves you,’ they aren’t surprised, they aren’t perplexed, they aren’t stunned.  Regrettably, the same is true among most evangelicals, who simply assume this gracious disposition of God – and therefore presume upon it.  And we’ll continue to do this until we learn to see our condition more fully from God’s perspective.”

I’ll comment on these, and undoubtedly have more to post, in the coming week.

-Ben

A few first observations: it’s easy to read, it’s short (160 small pages), Ensor writes in the first person and shares many of his own experiences, he relies heavily both on the Bible and on other poets and authors, most notably Shakespeare.  It seems to me to be doctrinally sound – nothing he said made me cringe.  On the back, it’s endorsed by Tim Challies (a prominent blogger of good repute) and CJ Mahaney, a pastor I trust.  He quotes John Piper several times and references the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womenhood.

Very simply, Doing Things Right seeks to define biblical manhood and womanhood, with the lens of “how does this apply to marriage relationships.”  Quoting Ensor’s quoting of Piper (from Piper’s What’s the Difference?) on page 75:

He writes of manhood:

At the heart of mature manhood is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for, and protect women in ways appropriate to a man’s differing relationships.

He writes of womanhood:

At the heart of mature womanhood is a freeing disposition to affirm, receive and nurture strength and leadership from worthy men in ways appropriate to a woman’s differing relationships.

That is, a biblical view of manhood and womanhood affects all male-female relationships – not just marriage relationships.  But having a proper understanding of proper gender roles is crucial in marriage.

Being a Christian Hedonist, the chapter that stuck out to me/resonated with me most was chapter 14 – “He Seeks His Happiness in Hers…. She Seeks Hers in His.”  That is, what should make us most happy is our spouse’s happiness.  But beyond that (something that Ensor didn’t really get into, as he wasn’t making an attempt to explain Christian Hedonism),  what should make us most happy is our spouse’s happiness in Christ.  This can be said about any relationship – our desire should be to point/encourage one another to know Christ more, because He is most satisfying.  And that should apply in marriage too.

Ensor does sort of hit on that theme, though, in this quote that ends that chapter:

Love is basically seeking your own happiness in the well-being of another.  It may be more than that, but it will never be less.  Selfishness, the deadly enemy of love, is not “seeking your own need.”  Selfishness is seeking your own need separately from the needs of others, or at the expense of others, or apart from God.  This is the kind of self-seeking that is condemned (Romans 2:8).  The opposite of selfishness is not selflessness.  That is often the lofty language of altruistic idealism run amok.  The opposite of selfishness is self-fulfillment in the holy joy and well-being of others.  This is doable.

Seek your happiness in the holy happiness of the other.  Sacrifice and submit to that end, and you can no more be divided than you can go out to dinner and leave your stomach at home.

With that, I’ll say that I enjoyed this book, and learned a lot from it.  It helped put many random ideas that I’ve had/been learning into a framework, so that my thinking can be structured, and brought up many “obvious” things that I hadn’t thought of before.

I would recommend it to everyone (even those with the gift of singleness….)

-Ben