Peter Goeman
Peter serves at Shepherd's Theological Seminary in Cary, NC as the professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages. He loves studying the Bible and helping others understand it. He also runs The Bible Sojourner podcast and Youtube channel.
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7 Beliefs that Don’t Define Dispensationalism
Readers of this blog may be curious as to what makes someone a dispensationalist. Simply put, dispensationalism is a set of doctrinal beliefs that deal with hermeneutics (how to read Scripture), ecclesiology (how the church operates), and eschatology (what the end times look like). Hence, a dispensationalist holds a distinctive set of beliefs about understanding Scripture, the role and function of the church, and about the end times. I have written elsewhere about how one can define dispensationalism, but in this post I want to highlight seven fundamentally errant beliefs that are sometimes associated with dispensationalism. These are charges that are often leveled against dispensationalism in a variety of circles. I have listed them in their accusatory forms. Dispensationalism teaches multiple ways of salvation. Unfortunately, this myth is often repeated, but has no basis in reality. Some people accuse dispensationalists of believing OT saints were saved by keeping the Law…
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Where was the Altar of Incense Located?
In Hebrews 9:3-4 we are told that the Holy of Holies (aka Most Holy Place) contained the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant. This Holy of Holies was entered only once a year on the Day of Atonement by the High Priest (Heb 9:7; cf. Lev 16). However, we see from other Scriptures that the altar of incense was used much more frequently than once a year (cf. Lev 4:7; Exod 30:7-8). In fact, in God’s instructions for the altar of incense, Israel was instructed to put the altar of incense outside of the Holy of Holies, separated from the Holy of Holies by a curtain (cf. Exod 30:6; 40:5). How are we to understand these apparent contradictions about the placement of the altar of incense? Although there are a variety of ways people have dealt with this issue, I believe the best solution is to…
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Church Fellowship in an Age of Technology
Technology saturates our world. It has infiltrated our churches and replaced biblical fellowship. This isn’t really surprising since technology has captured the minds of the younger generations. Studies have shown that the average high school student is on the Internet nine hours a day! The iPhone and the next generation of smart phones have completely revolutionized how we view the world. You pick your music, you pick what you want to read, you pick who you “friend” or “follow” on Facebook and Twitter. In essence, the technological culture around us today makes us mini-creators. We mold our environment, and whatever we don’t like we don’t allow. This technological revolution affects our church life (and specifically our fellowship) more than we realize. Even before COVID-19 it was far easier to sit down and live stream a service rather than to actually get up and go to church and sit next to…
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Can We Trust Our Bible Translations?
Can we trust our Bible translations? This question naturally belongs as part of our previous series on the King James Version. Some people claim that the King James Version is without any errors in it, thus being the authoritative, inerrant Word of God. However, as we demonstrated previously, there are mistakes in the translation of the KJV. This brings up the question, how can we trust other Bible translations (any of them) if there might be errors in them? This question not only applies to the KJV, but also the newer Bible translations (NASB, ESV, NIV, etc.). In order to work through this question, it will be helpful to consider the following points. 1. God’s Word is Inerrant Only in the Original, not in Translations Because every word of Scripture was given through prophecy, and since prophecy is considered authoritative and accurately representing God (cf. Deut 18:22; 2 Pet 1:21-22),…
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Book Review: Forsaking Israel
One of the main reasons I came to Shepherds Theological Seminary was because of Dr. Larry Pettegrew. He had an impeccable reputation as a humble scholar who loved the Lord and his family. The most recent effort which validates his well-deserved reputation is the book, Forsaking Israel: How it Happened and Why it Matters (Kress, 2020). Forsaking Israel contains years and years of research and study on behalf of Pettegrew and some other distinguished colleagues at Shepherds Theological Seminary. The book is divided into two main sections. The main thrust of the first section is church history, and a discussion of the Church Fathers and why Israel began to be neglected in early church history. This section of the book also includes one of the most detailed analyses of the history of Covenant Theology and how the theology itself contributed to a downplaying of Israel as God’s chosen people. The…
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Ahithophel and Dealing With Bitterness
Ahithophel is one of those lesser-known characters in Scripture. But he is an excellent example of how bitterness can corrupt the soul. Bitterness is an issue we all need to deal with. This post on Ahithophel and bitterness was originally posted by Dr. Varner on his now-delinquent blog many years ago. He gave permission to repost it, and I always appreciate the way Dr. Varner spells things out. I hope you do too. The Tragedy of Ahithophel Following David’s awful sin of adultery with Bathsheba and the ensuing arranged murder of her husband, Uriah, he was confronted by Nathan the prophet. Among the consequences of his sins were that from his own household enemies would arise against him (2 Sam 12:10-11). Three of his sons – Amnon, Absalom, and Adonijah – each caused serious problems for him and his successor, Solomon (2 Sam 13; 14-17; 2 Kings 1-2). There was…
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Following the Principle of the Law
We have looked previously at the clear testimony of Scripture that the believer’s relationship to the Mosaic Law has drastically changed. In fact, because the Mosaic Law was tied to the Mosaic Covenant, when the Mosaic Covenant passed away, the believer was no longer under the Law (cf. Gal 5:18). But, yet we see Paul and the other Apostles constantly being influenced by and appealing to the Law. How can this be? It stands to reason that although the Law is no longer binding, this does not mean there is no more usefulness to the Mosaic Law. In fact, I would argue that the Mosaic Law retains its didactic purpose and helps instruct mankind how to live in light of the creation principles. In other words, the Law stops functioning as a law code, but it retains its pedagogical function, giving the Christian insight into the character of the…
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The Bible Says God Will Judge Sin
One of the fundamental, life altering questions people ask is, “Will God judge my sin?” But additionally, we should be asking whether God will judge the sins of others? Both questions have tremendous ramifications. Thankfully, the Bible speaks with tremendous clarity on whether or not God will judge sin. God will judge personal sin. The Bible is clear that individuals who practice sin will be judged. For example, after a large laundry list of sin in Romans 1:29-32, Paul clearly states that God will judge those who practice those things (Rom 2:2-3). Revelation 21:8 also gives a list of those who practice sins such as murder and idolatry—all who practice these things have a portion in the lake of fire. Likewise, Hebrews tells us God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous (Heb 13:4). To top it all off, Jesus himself says the one who rejects Him will be judged…
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Does the Old Testament Law Apply Today?
How does a Christian apply the Old Testament Law today? This is a bit of a complicated question. Given the fact that the Law reflects creation principles, we should not be surprised that it remains relevant. Indeed, Scripture unequivocally teaches the positive role of the Mosaic Law in the life of the Christian. “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law” (Rom 3:31) “the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (Rom 7:12) On the other hand, there are also clear Scripture passages which indicate the believer’s relationship to the Mosaic Law has drastically changed. “Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17) “You are not under the law but under grace” (Rom 6:14) “Christ is the end of the law” (Rom 10:4) “But if you are…
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How Did Jesus Fulfill the Law? (Matt 5:17-18)
What does it mean that Christ came to fulfill the Law? In Matthew 5:18 Jesus promises, “Until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” The KJV translates this verse as, “one jot or one tittle shall no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” The “jot” is likely referring to the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet, the yodh, which looks like ” י “. The “tittle” is probably referring to the part of the Hebrew letter which differentiated nearly identical letters. For example, the difference between ר and ד is only the smallest stroke at the upper right part of the letter. Apparently, some people were questioning Jesus’ motives in His early ministry. In Matthew 5:17 He begins correcting the people who were supposing that He was attempting to subvert or abolish the Law and/or the prophetic…