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How Old Is the Earth?
DesiringGod asked Dr. Wayne Grudem and me to offer arguments for our respective old-earth and young-earth views, and then respond to each other. You can access the full set of articles and responses on the “How Old Is the Earth?” series page. A full PDF is available at The Age of the Earth, and links to the individual articles and responses are below:
- Jason DeRouchie: “Our Young Earth: Arguments for Thousands of Years”
- Wayne Grudem: “A Response to Young-Earth Arguments”
- Wayne Grudem: “Our Old Earth: Arguments for Billions of Years”
- Jason DeRouchie: “A Response to Old-Earth Arguments” and “Additional Notes”
Related to this is a four-part teaching I did on “Creationism and the Age of the Earth.”
I pray these studies honor our Lord, clarify the Bible’s truth claims, indicate the weaknesses of scientific inquiry, and move many to embrace the belief in a young earth, while maintaining warm collegiality with brothers and sisters who hold a different view.
A Response to Old-Earth Arguments
Dr. Grudem usually uses Scripture to ground his Christian doctrine and ethics. However, he supports his belief in an old earth with almost no biblical evidence, dismisses the proposals of scientists guided by God’s word, and follows an interpretation of the observable data put forward by scientists who are calculating the universe’s age based on naturalistic uniformitarian assumptions.
(Due to the constraints of this article, I present the following responses in summary form. For further explanations and resources, see the additional notes on my personal website.)
OT Wisdom Overview Lecture
DeRouchie, Jason S. “Interpreting Old Testament Wisdom” (Christian Challenge Leader Training, Kansas State University, Jan 17, 2022).
Grasping the significance of the Old Testament’s wisdom literature is not just essential for understanding large swaths of the Bible but also for knowing how to live rightly in this world. I recently gave a presentation to college students that is part lecture and part Bible study overviewing the concepts and literature pertinent to wisdom in the Old Testament. To this end, I consider wisdom’s foundational principles, definition, and types and formats. I then provide different examples of interpreting wisdom literature by considering a dialogue (Job 1-2), a couple of monologues (Eccl 3:9-14; 11:7-12:1), and various proverbs. I hope the presentation will help anyone interested in learning about wisdom in the Old Testament.
(Audio / Notes / Handout / PowerPoint) “Interpreting Old Testament Wisdom”
The goal of learning about wisdom in the Old Testament is to grow in fearing God and treasuring Christ more. May God grant you this goal as you enjoy this presentation.
Zephaniah: Rejoicing In Hope (Lectures 1 & 2)
The annual Hugh D. Brown Lectures, Irish Bible College, Moira, Northern Ireland, Jan 13, 2022.
Over the past seven years I have given much time toward understanding Zephaniah. You can find some of the fruits of these labors here. Through this season, I’ve come to summarize Zephaniah’s message as being the “Savior God’s invitation to satisfaction.” More specifically, Zephaniah calls the faithful remnant from Judah and beyond “to seek the Lord together to avoid punishment and to wait for the Lord in order to enjoy satisfying salvation.” Recently, I was honored to give the annual Hugh D. Brown lectures at Irish Bible College, and for them I overviewed Zephaniah’s message and lasting relevance so that others may find satisfaction in the Savior God. In this first lecture I overview the setting for the Savior’s invitation (Zeph 1:1-18) and then consider stage 1 of this invitation to satisfaction (2:1-3:7). My goal in the second lecture was twofold: (1) Overview the charge to wait for the Lord (3:8–10) and the promises Zephaniah uses to motivate waiting (3:11–20b). (2) Consider how Christ fulfills Zephaniah’s vision of the Lord’s day and what that means regarding the timing and nature of the realization of Zephaniah’s hopes.
If you desire to understand Zephaniah and you seek to be satisfied in our Savior God, I hope you will enjoy listening to these two lectures. You can download the handout here. The audio and PDF links are below.
- Lecture 1 (audio/PDF): DeRouchie, Jason S. “Rejoicing in Hope: Understanding and Applying Zephaniah, Lecture 1: Seek the Lord Together to Avoid Punishment” (Zeph 1:1–3:7).
- Lecture 2 (audio/PDF): DeRouchie, Jason S. “Rejoicing in Hope: Understanding and Applying Zephaniah, Lecture 2: Wait for the Lord in Order to Enjoy Satisfying Salvation” (Zeph 3:8–20).
The Biblical Covenants in Salvation History – ETS – 2021
DeRouchie, Jason S. “The Biblical Covenants in Salvation History” (ETS Nov, 2021, Fort Worth, TX).
Understanding how the biblical covenants relate to each other is paramount to knowing how the Bible “fits together.” For this reason, at the 2021 annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society I gave this paper presentation about how the Bible’s storyline progresses through the historical covenants between God and his people. I argue that Jesus fulfills each covenant in different ways. The Adamic-Noahic covenant with creation establishes the crisis and context of global curse and common grace out of which the other covenants clarify God’s solution and saving grace. The Abrahamic covenant forecasts the hope of Christ and new creation through its conditional yet certain kingdom promises of land(s), seed, blessing, and divine presence. The remaining covenants clarify how God fulfilled these promises in two progressive stages. In the Mosaic covenant (stage 1) Abraham’s offspring is a single nation experience blessing and curse, which results in their exile from the promised land. The Davidic covenant recalls the promises of a royal Deliverer and declares the specific line through whom he will rise. Then the new covenant (stage 2) realizes these hopes in an already but-not yet way through the person and perfect obedience of Christ Jesus, whose kingdom work overcomes the curse with universal blessing, makes Abraham the father of many nations to the ends of the earth, and reconciles all things to God through the new creation. A time of question and answer follows the presentation.
Listen to this paper presentation by clicking here. Accompanying this lecture is a handout, and you can also access my paper by clicking here. May God use this paper to help you know how the whole Bible works together to communicate a unified message about Jesus and for his glory.
Greater is He: A Primer on Spiritual Warfare for Kingdom Advance
DeRouchie, Jason S. “Greater is He: A Primer on Spiritual Warfare for Kingdom Advance.” The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 25.2 (2021): 21–55.
Spiritual warfare is one of those topics that Christians are interested in but nevertheless have many questions about. What sort of authority does God have over the powers of darkness? What authority does Jesus give the believer, and how does that relate to the devil’s practices? Can the devil work against both unbelievers and believers, and can believers be demon possessed? Should the church expect to exercise authority over demons like Jesus did during his ministry on earth? And most importantly of all, what does the Bible say about such things? read more…
Understanding and Applying Exodus 19:4–6
DeRouchie, Jason S. “Understanding and Applying Exodus 19:4–6: A Case Study in Exegesis and Theology.” Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies 6.1 (2021): 85–134.
This essay seeks to interpret Exodus 19:4–6 passage within its immediate and broader biblical context, understanding and applying it as the Christian Scripture God intended (Rom 15:4; 1 Cor 10:11; 2 Tim 3:16–17; 1 Pet 1:12). The study also supplies a case study in exegetical and theological inquiry following the twelve steps outlined in my book, How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament. These twelve steps fit within five broader categories and provide the following outline for this article: read more…
Chipman’s SCRIPTURE STORYLINE
Chipman, Todd R. Scripture Storyline: An Invitation to Biblical Theology. Dallas: Fontess, 2020.
Are you looking for a Bible Reading Plan for the new year? Todd Chipman is my teaching pastor at The Master’s Community Church, and he also serves as Dean of Graduate Studies and Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where I serve. Amid a flurry of new volumes on biblical theology, this new one distinguishes itself in the way it guides people through a year of Bible reading and supplies commentary on almost every chapter of Scripture while seeking to trace the storyline of redemption as it develops from the Old Testament to the New. I wrote the book’s foreword, which includes the following paragraph: read more…
Introduction to the Old Testament and Zephaniah
DeRouchie, Jason S. “Introduction to the Old Testament,” The Gospel Coalition, December 2021, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/introduction-old-testament/
DeRouchie, Jason S. “Zephaniah,” The Gospel Coalition, December 2021, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/commentary/zephaniah/
Around one year ago, the Gospel Coalition published 250 essays overviewing all areas of biblical doctrine with a goal of serving the global church. I wrote two of these: (1) Interpreting Scripture: A General Introduction and (2) the Day of the Lord. You can access these articles here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/interpreting-scripture-a-general-introduction/ and https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-day-of-the-lord/.
Now, the Gospel Coalition is in the process of publishing a whole Bible commentary, book-by-book with introductory essays. I contributed the article titled “Introduction to the Old Testament” and the mini-commentary on “Zephaniah.” The commentary includes a very matured interpretation of the book in just 10 pages. In the introductory article, I briefly overview five critical issues pertaining to the Old Testament. read more…
10 Reasons Why You Should Read the Old Testament
If Christians are part of the new covenant, why should we seek to understand and apply the Old Testament (OT)? I’ll give 10 reasons why the first word in the phrase Old Testament must not mean unimportant or insignificant to Christians. read more…
DeRouchie’s Audio & Video Sites
with Tom Kelby & Jason DeRouchie
Where DeRouchie serves as Research Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology
Where DeRouchie Serves as Content Developer and Global Trainer
