In Pursuit of the Truth

Available on Amazon

2010-10-25T20:02:00.000+01:00

"In Pursuit of the Truth" can now be bought new from Amazon.

If you would prefer the Spanish version, "En Busca de la Verdad" can also be bought from Amazon.

Stewardship article

2007-07-19T10:55:00.000+01:00

Stewardship Services is an organisation that has been established to assist Christian believers and the church as a whole in the matter of giving and financial administration. On their website, they say:

We see Stewardship as more than a service. It is a value - a lifestyle choice that recognises God's ownership of all that we have.

Our approach is twofold:

• Facilitating effective giving - serving over 20,000 donors, we distribute more than £30 million of giving into God's world every year.
• Promoting biblical principles and practice - of joyful giving, planned stewardship, and generosity.

Derek Bigg was invited by them to contribute an article for their website, "Christian Stewardship: A Biblical Perspective". The article explores some of the ideas covered in "In Pursuit of the Truth", relating to our use of money.

As we now consider what the way of grace means for us today, we must first of all accept that the New Testament contains no direct teaching on regular, long-term giving. We only have the apostle Paul’s instructions in his letters to Corinth regarding a special collection. As with so many practical issues, we must look for the basic principles underlying the specific teaching given in the 1st century. We then have to apply them to our own 21st century situation. In 2 Corinthians 8-9 we find five principles of major significance. Here they are:
• Adopt the right attitude.
• Let your heart be the arbiter.
• Give in proportion to blessing received.
• Aim for Christian equality.
• Follow the example of Christ.

Book launch in Spain

2007-07-02T21:20:00.000+01:00

The trip to Spain went well. Derek writes:

Our time in Spain for the launch of the Spanish edition of my book (En Busca de la Verdad) was very profitable. Francisco, representing the publishers, gave an excellent introduction and he felt that my own contribution was just right. A good number of books were sold not only on that occasion but also after the four Sunday services in the churches where I was preaching.

The publishers run a scheme whereby each member pays an annual subscription and receives in return a certain quantity of books each year at a greatly reduced price. My book is included in this year's plan. When you add the number of subscribers to the number of books sold before and during our visit, it comes to a total of around 600 (nearly two thirds of the initial print run). We're grateful to God for this token of his blessing.

En Busca de la Verdad...

2007-04-20T20:16:00.000+01:00

... is now available for sale from booksellers in Spain:

Libreria Cristiana

Casa del Libro

A notice of the meeting where Derek Bigg will be presenting his book can be found on the blog of Església evangèlica al carrer Génova.

The English version is available for purchase using the link in the sidebar.

Publication of "En Busca de la Verdad" in Spain

2007-03-29T22:39:00.000+01:00

Derek and Marjorie Bigg will be visiting Spain from 12-24 April. The main purpose of the visit is to attend the official launch of the Spanish edition of Derek’s book In Pursuit of the Truth. This is being organized by the Barcelona-based publishers, who are the Spanish equivalent of IVP. They form an integral part of Grupos Bíblicos Universitarios (GBU), the Spanish evangelical student movement (similar to UCCF in the UK). Derek will also preach in four churches, three of which he has preached in previously.

The book launch will be in Barcelona on Saturday 21 April, and will be chaired by Francisco Mira, General Secretary of GBU. Derek will speak for 30 minutes about the book. Invitations to the launch will have been sent to all the churches in the Barcelona area. Many of these will know Derek and Marjorie from their previous work in Spain.

In Pursuit of the Truth is still available in English, and can be purchased using the link in the sidebar.

Biblical theology books

2006-07-24T22:42:00.000+01:00

Here is an excellent, thorough review of three of the key "baseline" books on biblical theology - "God's Big Picture", by Vaughan Roberts, and "According to Plan" and "Gospel and Kingdom" by Graeme Goldsworthy.

Hat tip to Alan .

Article by Derek Bigg

2006-06-10T17:58:00.000+01:00

Affinity is an organisation committed to Bible-centred co-operation between churches. They are involved in various activities - more details can be found here - and publish several magazines. Their Theological Team publish both Foundations, a theological journal, and Table Talk, a concise briefing.

Derek Bigg, the author of In Pursuit of the Truth, has had an article entitled "Fulfilling the Law" published in these magazines. The material covered in these articles is developed in more detail in Part II, sections B and C of his book.

Geerhardus Vos

2006-06-01T13:18:00.000+01:00

Geerhardus Vos (1862-1949) was the author of "Biblical Theology" - which is one of the key books that has shaped this branch of theology. It is possible to find evidence of a biblical theological perspective in churches and organisations around the world which have little else in common, and which have little awareness of one another. But in most cases, only one or two degrees of separation lead back to Vos's writings.

Here are a couple of websites that provide more information about Vos.

Biblical Studies Ministries International, whose purpose is "to edify, to strengthen and bless God's people worldwide with His life-giving Word". A brief biography of Vos is available here, together with a link to Vos' inaugural address as Professor of Biblical Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary.

BiblicalTheology.org, a website which preserves Vos' writings, including the full text of some rare books.

two-age.org, "Biblical Theology and Redemptive Historical Hermeneutics", is a site dedicated to the labours of Geerhardus Vos.

Biblical theology for children

2006-05-30T16:22:00.000+01:00

Here is a rave review of the "Big Picture Story Bible". If Biblical Theology is a sound way of understanding God's purposes throughout history, then Sunday School teaching needs to move away from a series of disjoint stories with no connection and "quick moral fixes" to explaining how God's purposes unfold in the Bible.

Another useful resource from this point of view is "The King, the Snake and the Promise", an Australian enhanced CD which is published in the UK by the Good Book Company. This is a retelling of the story of the Bible through songs. Some aren't exactly singable by congregations, but the whole thing includes activities, and would make a good production for a church youth group. It has also been used for holiday clubs.

From the blogosphere

2006-04-18T20:08:00.000+01:00

Here is a new blog which is focused on Biblical Theology. Matt Harmon, the writer, is finishing his Ph.D. at Wheaton College.

Carla, in British Columbia, Canada, has in a couple of blogs been thinking carefully about the implications for Reformation principles of the Emerging Church Movement and the focus on multisensory worship driven by the Emerging Church.

How the Old Testament affects the New

2006-03-29T11:40:00.000+01:00

How sound is Biblical Theology? Is it just another way of reading the Bible - an arbitrary choice between several options - one of which might even be the postmodern approach in which the meaning of the text is found in the reader? Is it one of the more reliable ways of reading the Bible? Or is it actually the only way of correctly reading the Bible, with ultimately other methods only working when they happen to give the same results as Biblical Theology? This is a key question that people who read the Bible need to grapple with - because our definition of what Christianity is depends upon the way in which we interpret what God has revealed. I would argue that the latter option is the correct one; we should understand God as he has spoken, rather than according to the interpretation or structure which we place on his Word.

This essay, on the Between Two Worlds blog, looks (amongst other things) at the fact that Jesus and the apostles built much of their argumentation on Old Testament texts; and that we should follow their exegetical example.

The author writes, with reference to a collection of essays that address this question:

The starting point for much of the discussion is the idea that Jesus and the apostles--like their Jewish contempories--used non-contextual hermeneutical methods. That is to say, Jesus and the apostles (it is argued) interpreted the OT with a method that served their purpose but took those verses out of context. One of the purposes of Beale's essay is to suggest that such an idea is incorrect, and to propose a better alternative in its place.

He argues that "Jesus and the apostles had an unparalleled redemptive-historical perspective on the Old Testament in relation to their own situation". In other words, in effect (and squashing down a much more substantive argument!) they naturally adopted a Biblical Theological perspective to the Old Testament.

Biblical Theology - from other blogs

2006-03-27T21:47:00.000+01:00

Celucien Joseph recently posted an extract from a book by B.B.Warfield explaining a little about where Biblical Theology came from.

T. Robert Baylor has posted a review of Graham Goldsworthy's "According to Plan", which is quite often how many people are introduced to Biblical Theology. He also mentions Vos' Biblical Theology. There are various themes that Biblical Theology covers well - particularly such matters as the Kingdom of God, the people of God. In Pursuit of the Truth seeks to apply a Biblical theological approach to everyday parts of our Christian life.

Spanish translation

2006-03-26T22:20:00.000+01:00

A Spanish translation of In Pursuit of the Truth is being prepared for publication; it is expected that it will be published in 2007. The title will be En busca de la verdad. It is being published by Publicaciones Andamio - whose website is undergoing development at the moment. This is the publishing wing of GBU - Grupos Bíbilicos Unidos - the Spanish association of Christian Unions, which is affiliated to IFES. The GBU website is also undergoing maintenance at the moment!

2006-03-17T15:11:00.000Z

PREFACE: Let truth prevail

Part I First things first: A framework for thinking biblically

Part II By way of application: Some case studies

A. Divine guidance: An impossible dream?
B. The law: Obey it or fulfil it?
C. The Ten Commandments: God's law for today?
D. Work: Delight or drudgery?
E. Money: The answer for everything?

POSTSCRIPT: An open invitation

Scripture index

Book review

2006-03-15T22:31:00.000Z

For some decades now, reformed evangelical churches in the UK have been moving in the direction of what is called "biblical" theology. It is accepted that the name is not satisfactory; it implies that other forms of theology aren't biblical. The distinction that is made between systematic and biblical theology is that whereas the former seeks to present "a thematic arrangement of biblical truth in the form of basic Christian doctrine", the latter "traces the historical development of God's purposes from Genesis to Revelation." (p.7) Theology is something that we understand as God reveals it, rather than as humans arrange it.

There is no shortage of excellent literature that traces out the structure of biblical theology - from Geerhardus Vos' "Biblical Theology" through Graham Goldsworthy's books right up to Tim Chester's recently published "From Creation to New Creation." The problem up to now is that there has been little to tell us how this theological approach ought to be applied - how we should live in the light of God's unfolding revelation.

"In Pursuit of the Truth" is the first book that I have come across which seeks to correct this omission. The first, and shorter, part of the book is used by Derek Bigg to explain the basics of biblical theology. Although the books mentioned above do the same, the "principles of interpretation" that Derek uses to talk about God's unfolding plan were new and helpful. However, the real focus of Derek's book is the second part. This consists of a series of case studies, taking the principles that have been set out, and applying them to issues that face Christians. The areas which are investigated are: guidance; the role of the law and more specifically the ten commandments; and Christian attitudes to work and money. In many cases, the author argues, despite our stated commitment to sola scriptura,our behaviour as Christians has been shaped not so much by God's Word as by our culture, our traditions, at times even by the songs that we sing! Books that we read are often not informed by a consistent biblical theology, he argues, and he is not afraid to challenge inconsistency from respected teachers, where that is appropriate. So the conclusions that are drawn in this study are at times surprising and biblically radical.

I was entirely happy with these conclusions - though it ought to be said that this theological approach has had a direct impact on my Christian life for some years, so I am likely to be a willing reader! My only reservation about the book is that the helpful illustrations of how biblical theology works take on a life of their own in the book. It is hard to remember at times that the illustrations are derived from the Bible, rather than being ideas that are being imposed on the Bible by the author. This is an important distinction; if the illustrations are man-made, then they are just another way of looking at the text. If the illustrations are genuine reflections of the nature of the Bible (as I believe they are), then they are in a sense the correct way to look at the text.

In a post-script, the author is happy to acknowledge the provisional nature of his conclusions, and invite further discussion. He is raising these issues out of a desire to see ongoing reformation within the church. A growing seriousness about the content of God's Word and its impact on our lives and the lives of our churches is something that we all ought to be looking for. If the author's approach to interpreting the Bible is correct, then this book ought to have a major impact even within evangelical churches committed to the idea of ongoing reform, let alone in less Bible-based congregations. Whether this is so or not, the author's hope - and mine also, having read his book! - is that this book should be a starting point for further serious discussion about the impact of the Bible in the life of Christians.

The author has applied biblical theology to a limited number of areas of Christian life. It is natural to ask what would happen when the same principles are applied to other areas - the nature of the church; the nature of mission; baptism; church leadership; music. All sorts of areas of Christian life have the potential for reformation on the basis of a consistent understanding of God's communication with his people. I look forward to other books with the same theological foundation.

Review from "Beginning With Moses", previously published in "Evangelicals Now".

The Blurb

2006-03-15T21:52:00.000Z

Why do Christians often receive conflicting advice when wrestling with important decisions?

Why is there so much disagreement among Christans over the Sabbath and Sunday?

Why do some Christians feel obliged to tithe while others see tithing as an inappropriate approach to stewardship?

The commonest and most significant reason for such differences is the absence of a proper biblical framework for our thinking.

This book sets out six principles of interpretation, derived from the Bible itself, which together provide the kind of framework we need. The principles are fully explained, with illustrations, and then brought to bear on several key issues: divine guidance, the law, the Ten Commandments, work and money. Each chapter also includes incisive practical application relevant to the Christian life today.

The Author

2006-03-15T21:48:00.000Z

Derek Bigg lives in mid-Sussex and is married with three grown-up children. He has divided his working life between the City and Christian ministry. After graduating from the London Bible College (now London School of Theology) he spent some years in Spain as a Bible teacher. He is a member of Haywards Heath Evangelical Free Church, where his chief responsibility in retirement is the training of younger men and women.