Themelios is an international, evangelical, peer-reviewed theological journal that expounds and defends the historic Christian faith. Themelios is published three times a year online at The Gospel Coalition (http://thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/) and in print by Wipf and Stock. Its primary audience is theological students and pastors, though scholars read it as well. Themelios began in 1975 and was operated by RTSF/UCCF in the UK, and it became a digital journal operated by The Gospel Coalition in 2008. The editorial team draws participants from across the globe as editors, essayists, and reviewers. General Editor: D. A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Managing Editor: Brian Tabb, Bethlehem College and Seminary Consulting Editor: Michael J. Ovey, Oak Hill Theological College Administrator: Andrew David Naselli, Bethlehem College and Seminary Book Review Editors: Jerry Hwang, Singapore Bible College; Alan Thompson, Sydney Missionary & Bible College; Nathan A. Finn, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Hans Madueme, Covenant College; Dane Ortlund, Crossway; Jason Sexton, Golden Gate Baptist Seminary Editorial Board: Gerald Bray, Beeson Divinity School Lee Gatiss, Wales Evangelical School of Theology Paul Helseth, University of Northwestern, St. Paul Paul House, Beeson Divinity School Ken Magnuson, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Jonathan Pennington, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary James Robson, Wycliffe Hall Mark D. Thompson, Moore Theological College Paul Williamson, Moore Theological College Stephen Witmer, Pepperell Christian Fellowship Robert Yarbrough, Covenant Seminary

Themelios is an international, evangelical, peer-reviewed theological journal that expounds and defends the historic Christian faith. Themelios is published three times a year online at The Gospel Coalition (http://thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/) and in print by Wipf and Stock. Its primary audience is theological students and pastors, though scholars read it as well. Themelios began in 1975 and was operated by RTSF/UCCF in the UK, and it became a digital journal operated by The Gospel Coalition in 2008. The editorial team draws participants from across the globe as editors, essayists, and reviewers. General Editor: D. A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Managing Editor: Brian Tabb, Bethlehem College and Seminary Consulting Editor: Michael J. Ovey, Oak Hill Theological College Administrator: Andrew David Naselli, Bethlehem College and Seminary Book Review Editors: Jerry Hwang, Singapore Bible College; Alan Thompson, Sydney Missionary & Bible College; Nathan A. Finn, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Hans Madueme, Covenant College; Dane Ortlund, Crossway; Jason Sexton, Golden Gate Baptist Seminary Editorial Board: Gerald Bray, Beeson Divinity School Lee Gatiss, Wales Evangelical School of Theology Paul Helseth, University of Northwestern, St. Paul Paul House, Beeson Divinity School Ken Magnuson, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Jonathan Pennington, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary James Robson, Wycliffe Hall Mark D. Thompson, Moore Theological College Paul Williamson, Moore Theological College Stephen Witmer, Pepperell Christian Fellowship Robert Yarbrough, Covenant Seminary

Themelios is an international, evangelical, peer-reviewed theological journal that expounds and defends the historic Christian faith. Themelios is published three times a year online at The Gospel Coalition (http://thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/) and in print by Wipf and Stock. Its primary audience is theological students and pastors, though scholars read it as well. Themelios began in 1975 and was operated by RTSF/UCCF in the UK, and it became a digital journal operated by The Gospel Coalition in 2008. The editorial team draws participants from across the globe as editors, essayists, and reviewers. General Editor: D. A. Carson, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Managing Editor: Brian Tabb, Bethlehem College and Seminary Consulting Editor: Michael J. Ovey, Oak Hill Theological College Administrator: Andrew David Naselli, Bethlehem College and Seminary Book Review Editors: Jerry Hwang, Singapore Bible College; Alan Thompson, Sydney Missionary & Bible College; Nathan A. Finn, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Hans Madueme, Covenant College; Dane Ortlund, Crossway; Jason Sexton, Golden Gate Baptist Seminary Editorial Board: Gerald Bray, Beeson Divinity School Lee Gatiss, Wales Evangelical School of Theology Paul Helseth, University of Northwestern, St. Paul Paul House, Beeson Divinity School Ken Magnuson, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Jonathan Pennington, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary James Robson, Wycliffe Hall Mark D. Thompson, Moore Theological College Paul Williamson, Moore Theological College Stephen Witmer, Pepperell Christian Fellowship Robert Yarbrough, Covenant Seminary

Michael J. Ovey (1958–2017) served as the greatly loved and respected Principal of Oak Hill College, London, from 2007 until his unexpected and untimely death. He joined the faculty of Oak Hill in 1998 and completed a PhD in the field of trinitarian theology. He wrote few books: it was said that his students were his writing. This volume collects articles and lectures that demonstrate the depth and breadth of his intellect and originality. For Mike Ovey, in the same way that the earth is a ‘Goldilocks planet’, with conditions ‘just right’ to sustain life, so for theology we need a ‘Goldilocks zone’ which is ‘just right’, encompassing both ‘local’ and ‘global’ theologies. This is unpacked in the first item of this collection, which consists of fifteen ‘Off the Record’ articles for the online journal Themelios, seven Cambridge Papers, two essays on the gospel and the atonement, and three lectures given at the Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON). There are introductory pieces by Mark Thompson and Chris Green and an afterword by Dan Strange. Peter Jensen’s sermon at the thanksgiving service for Mike’s life and ministry is also included. This collection shows why Mike Ovey’s contribution to evangelical Christianity was so widely appreciated in the UK and around the world.

Well-known for his scholarly works on the formation of the biblical canon, Lee McDonald has written a carefully researched and reasoned explanation on the history of the formation of the Bible expressly for the interested pastor and curious layman. Combining a lifelong commitment to the Scriptures, both as a pastor and as a scholar, McDonald approaches his task with sensitivity to the importance of these sacred texts as well as with the thoughtful practice of a person steeped in the process by which these texts were brought together to form the Bible as the church knows it now. From the collection (and translations) of the Hebrew Scriptures through the collection of the New Testament Scriptures, and finally the process of settling on the final forms for these collections, McDonald leads his reader right up to the present moment.

Donald G. Bloesch is among the most important American theologians of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He calls himself a "catholic evangelical" and indeed, his appeal is as wide as those terms imply. His work has appeared in Catholic religious periodicals as well as many varieties of Protestant publications, both mainstream and lesser known. As a prolific author, Bloesch's writing is scattered across a large number of journals, many of which are difficult to access, and reviews of his work appear in an even larger range of forums. Donald G. Bloesch: A Research Bibliography collocates as many relevant resources on Bloesch's writing as possible. The book provides a chronological listing and description of each work written by Bloesch, as well as reviews of Bloesch's writing. Each entry gives the title, publication details, and notes about the relationship of the item described to other publications. Several indexes are also included, giving a checklist of books by Bloesch, a checklist of books to which Bloesch has contributed, and a list of book reviews that Bloesch has written about other authors. Finally, there is an alphabetical index of titles, names, and periodicals cited in the bibliography, making this the most comprehensive resource available on Bloesch.

“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.” That was the startled cry, circa 50 AD, from a hastily assembled mob in Thessalonica. These men who have turned the world upside: their description of Paul and Silas. Holy vandals on the loose, anointed marauders running amok, men out ransacking Roman cities with the gospel. You’d think they were heralding the arrival of Barbarian hordes, fierce Berserkers descending on poorly fortified villages, not two hungry men with no more than a fire in their bellies and a wildness in their eyes. These were just two ordinary men. But, as Paul says to the Corinthians, he was a man who preached “with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,” a man whose weapons were not of the world but had “divine power to demolish strongholds.” Two simple, ordinary men, walking in the power of God. A whole town in uproar because of them. It’s been a while since we’ve seen the likes of this. Your Church Is Too Safe is an ebook based on a simple idea: that God meant his church to be both good news and bad news, an aroma and a stench – a disruptive force to whoever or whatever opposes the Kingdom of God, and a healing and liberating power to those who seek it. That the church has not always lived this mandate is well-documented. That the church needs to recover this mandate is much touted. Your Church Is Too Safe is a plea, a celebration, and a manifesto. It’s an attempt to call the church to be the church. It is a tribute to the many churches that seek to be this. And it is a roadmap to become this. Above all, Your Church Is Too Safe is a biblical reflection and exhortation on why we should be this. Its main narrative is rooted in the story of how the early church, for all her failings and heresies and squabbles, managed to turn the world upside down. And its principal claim is that the modern church, for all her failings and heresies and squabbles, has every advantage they had, and maybe more, and faces no more challenges than they did, and maybe fewer.

This is an open access book. Council For Indonesian Christian Religious Higher Education (Badan Musyawarah Perguruan Tinggi Keagamaan Kristen Indonesia/BMPTKKI) has the vision to advance the academic abilities of lecturers who teach within the PTKK scope. All of them aim to implement the achievement of the Tri Darma Perguruan Tinggi. To fulfill this vision, the field of research and publication of the journal BMPTKKI designed International Seminar activities to upgrade lecturers’ abilities on the one hand and facilitate Christian Theological Seminary (Perguruan Tinggi Keagamaan Kristen/PTKK) lecturers to publish their academic work in the international arena.

What does it mean to think and live Christianly in a world of competing worldviews? Christian Contours answers this question by inviting readers to consider the understanding of reality proposed by the Bible. Though it is easy to divide life into separate compartments (religious and secular, theological and practical), faith invites us to view all of life in the light of that Biblical understanding. Presenting a clear, compelling case for unity in essential Christian tenets, the authors of Christian Contours guide the reader through developing, internalizing, and articulating a biblical worldview. This robust worldview enables the Christian to be a critically-thinking participant in culture and to be a faithful disciple of Christ with both heart and mind.

Many pastors in the provincial towns and rural villages of Malawi struggle to find practical relevance in the letter to the Romans. While the majority of church leaders have received little or no formal Bible and ministry training, they often face formidable challenges from African traditional practices, folk Islam, poverty and poor education – creating barriers to authentic Christian discipleship. Reading Romans at Ground Level uses field research to characterize pastoral ministry in provincial-rural Malawi. By examining current preaching practice, it shows that Malawian pastors mostly use individual verses from Paul’s letter within inductive needs-driven sermons or gospel calls for conversion. In this book, a three-horizon contextual approach is used to investigate how the letter might be applied biblically to address contemporary African socio-cultural and pastoral issues. It demonstrates surprisingly rich parallels between the way Romans might have been heard by its original recipients in the slums of Ancient Rome, and its potential meaning for Christians living in poverty in rural Africa today.