The old Christ the Center crew met with Dr. Ben Shaw, associate professor of Hebrew and Old Testament at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary in one of those Carolinas, to converse about the Christological basis of the Old Testament sacrifices and festivals. It was a fascinating and enriching discussion about biblical hermeneutics and biblical theology, typology and eschatology, and the forward looking nature of Old Testament religion. Old Testament saints while saved in the same way as New Testament saints, lived with a sense of incompleteness and longing that would only be fulfilled with the coming of Jesus Christ.
Participants: Camden Bucey, Jeff Waddington, Jim Cassidy, Nick Batzig
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Though I haven’t finished listening to the podcast yet, I can say this is an interesting discussion. However, one question that lingers in my mind about the Old Testament sacrifices and their fulfillment in Christ is the propriety of then applying the principles underlying those sacrifices to New Covenant worship.
Those of us who are relatively new to Reformed theology (especially those of us who’ve come from the non-Reformed Baptist tradition) who have read a little (mostly on church websites) explaining the liturgy in terms of Old Testament sacrifices would like to know how the Reformed defend applying these principles to Christian worship. I realize that in the epistles various aspects of the Christian life are described in terms related to Old Testament sacrifices, but is that the entirety of the basis for so consistently sturcturing worship according to the prevailing Reformed liturgy? Where can I find a resource that goes into detail not only explaining but defending such an application?
It’s not that I distrust such an application, but were I to attempt to explain these matters to one of my Arminian Baptistic friends, I can hear them appealing to the Baptistic principle (at least among IFB’s) that “New Testament worship” should be based only on the New Testament alone–since Christ fulfilled the Old Testament sacrifices, aren’t they obsolete? Why then apply their principles to Christian worship?
Good discussion. Do you have any recommended readings for the subject of the feasts and festivals and their typological implications?
I appreciate your faithful discussions!
Dave
There is much more on the sacrifices than the feasts and festivals, isn’t there? I believe Dr. Shaw may have mentioned a few toward the end of the episode. Regardless, I haven’t read any myself.