{"id":22281,"date":"2025-08-01T14:40:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T18:40:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/?p=22281"},"modified":"2025-08-05T13:23:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-05T17:23:42","slug":"july-intermission-from-the-nicene-creed-to-the-four-gospels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christoverall.com\/article\/concise\/july-intermission-from-the-nicene-creed-to-the-four-gospels\/","title":{"rendered":"July Intermission: From the Nicene Creed to the Four Gospels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last year, The Daily Wire published twenty hours of Jordan Peterson and friends talking about the Gospels<\/a>. As Peterson and his erudite colleagues began the series, many of the panelists remarked on the way in which Christianity, the gospel, and the Gospels were experiencing a recovery of interest in the West. Whereas the New Atheism, which surfaced at the turn of the twenty-first century, largely rejected Christianity and its founding documents, even men like Richard Dawkins (one of the four horsemen of the \u201cNew Atheists\u201d) has more recently lamented<\/a> the loss of cultural Christianity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Accordingly, many non-Christians have begun to recognize the way that Christianity is a necessary source for the Western Tradition. Apparently, they have looked around to see militant Islam overrunning European cities, while transgender ideology has continued to mutilate children in America. Clearly, the cultural upheaval over the last few decades has made a few people wake up to what they have lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equally, there has been a rise in the public discussions about Christ and the Bible. For instance, Joe Rogan interviewed Bible apologist Wesley Huff<\/a>, while Russell Brand has confessed Christ as his Lord and has been seen commending the work of Joe Boot<\/a>, a regular contributor to Christ Over All<\/em>. In this cultural context, it may not be strange to see Jordan Peterson discuss the Bible with a dozen intellectuals. After all, he has been citing the Bible for years\u2014both online and on lecture circuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, for all the ways that the Bible has found a place in public discourse, the question remains: What are these Christians and non-Christians saying about the Bible? Are they rightly handling the Word of God? Or are they only using the Bible to prop up some other cultural project or to espouse their own ideological pre-commitments? In truth, this question is not new. At least, it is not new in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his two books on the Bible (In the Beginning Was the Word: The Bible in American Public Life, 1492\u20131783<\/em><\/a> and America\u2019s Book: The Rise and Decline of a Bible Civilization, 1794\u20131911<\/em><\/a>), Mark Noll identifies ways the Americans\u2014before and after the founding\u2014used the Bible for political and social ends. While the Bible played a vital role in the formation of America, it is debatable as to the ways in which pastors, politicians, pundits, and professors rightly understood it. Likewise, as Michael Legaspi framed it in The Death of Scripture and the Rise of Biblical Studies<\/em><\/a>, the \u201cacademic Bible\u201d became an object of scrutiny instead of retaining its role as a divine source of revelation and command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long story short, in a country founded upon and filled with biblical language, customs, and commitments, we must still ask the question: But what does the Bible mean? It is not sufficient to simple answer the postmodern question: What does the Bible mean to me<\/em>? We must understand Scripture on its own terms and then to help others to do the same. While we can celebrate the return of the Bible in popular conversation and spaces of intellectual debate, we cannot assume that its presence is sufficient to spark a revival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, no revival, spiritual renewal, or cultural restoration can be had without the Bible. Thus, we can and should celebrate these recent shifts, even as we pray that God would give spiritual light. Yet, if spiritual light is going to come, the Bible must be read and understood properly. For truly, it is not the presence of the Bible that brings life; it is the right preaching and believing of the Bible that brings change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And so, that means with this revival of interest in the Bible, and the Gospels in particular, we need to engage with what is being said. For that reason, we are devoting this whole month to the Gospels, including Jordan Peterson\u2019s recent work. We need to see what he gets right and what he doesn\u2019t. And who knows, maybe if he learns about our project, he\u2019ll want to talk to us. You can pray for that opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In short, our hope this month is to consider the four Evangelists\u2014Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Each year, Christ Over All<\/em> wants to devote at least one month to a biblical book (or books), and this year it is the Gospels. And so, we have recruited a host of New Testament scholars, pastors, and theologians to give us an introduction to each book and to help us understand the corpus, as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lord willing, this month will help you better appreciate and understand what the Gospels are, so that you might discern ways that the Gospels are misused or denied in the public square. All month long, we will be looking at these four witnesses to help us receive and believe the one true Gospel. And if you know anyone who would benefit from this month, please share it with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nicene Creed: 1700 Years of Homoousios<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

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Before moving on to August, however, let me offer a few reflections on the last month. In July, we looked the Council of Nicea (325), as well as the history and doctrine that emerged from the Nicene Creed. As we celebrate 1700 years of the homoousios<\/em>\u2014the fact that Jesus the Son is of the same<\/em> substance or essence<\/em> as God the Father\u2014<\/em>we have taken time to help scholars and Sunday School teachers alike to remember why this creed is so important. Even more, as some today have forsaken the Baptist faith citing the pursuit of Nicene orthodoxy, we have sought to provide Baptists with countless reasons<\/a> for affirming Nicea and the Second London Confession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, the Second London Baptist Confession, following the Westminster Confession of Faith, is thoroughly Nicene in its statements. And as such, Baptists should have no trouble reconciling the two. And expounding these biblical commitments, this month provided the pre-history leading up to the Council of Nicea<\/a> and the post-history that saw the debates of Athanasius and Arius lead to the Nicene Creed of 381<\/a>, when the bishops gathered again in Constantinople.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equally, our month provided reflections on each section of the creed, from the Father, to the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We looked at how a major distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism<\/a> really flows down from a difference in understanding the Trinity; Rome elevates Mary and the entity of the Roman Catholic Church to share roles reserved for members of the Trinity<\/a>. To better understand how to understand the Trinity, we also published on the person and nature distinction, and how it has been clarified over time. We also looked at the statement about the church\u2014\u201cone, holy, catholic, and apostolic<\/a>.\u201d And getting further into the details, we looked at how God the Son is distinguished from God the Father by eternal generation and whether Mary ought be called \u201cthe mother of God\u201d and why that matters<\/a>. We explored how the Nicene Creed contains the fundamental elements of the gospel<\/a>, how it helps us to read our Bibles better<\/a>, and how it is insufficient as the only grounds for unity<\/a>. We rounded out the month with a call to preach the Nicene Creed<\/a>, along with a few pointers on how to do this well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 1700 year anniversary of Nicaea was not the only milestone this month. This month we acknowledged the 100 year anniversary of the Scopes Trial<\/a>, a trial that sadly helped pave the way for a wider acceptance of evolutionism\u2014in part due to critical missteps of William Jennings Bryan. We also commemorated the homecoming of Pastor John F. MacArthur Jr., who died at age 86 after pastoring Grace Community Church for around fifty-six years. We mourn the loss of this giant in the faith, and we are grateful to God for his tenacious commitment to the Bible no matter the cost. While we have our respectful differences<\/a> in some areas, we have sought to share MacArthur\u2019s ethos by confidently apply the whole counsel of God to every area of life, both public and private. You can read our tribute here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Another way we have sought to imitate MacArthur is by occasionally addressing problems within the church\u2014or in our case, the group of churches that comprise the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). In March 2025, we published an entire month<\/a> on the SBC\u2019s public policy arm\u2014the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). The ERLC was led by Brent Leatherwood, who largely carried on the leftward-leaning political legacy of Russell Moore. Our goal was to soberly and civilly identify problem areas in the ERLC<\/a> along with possible solutions for its future<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Southern Baptist Convention a few months later in June of 2025, almost 43% of the messengers representing SBC churches nationwide voted to abolish the ERLC<\/a>. While that vote fell short, on July 31 of this year, Brent Leatherwood resigned as ERLC President. We wish Brent well for the future, and we hope that this development will lead to needed change in this entity. Would you pray with us for the trustees of the ERLC, that the new ERLC president they appoint will restore confidence in this entity and lead it to represent more accurately the interests of Southern Baptists in Washington, D.C.? This is a pivotal season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you missed any of this past month\u2019s article, or if you know of anyone who would benefit from them, we\u2019ve include the list below, with the longform essays and podcasts in bold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n