Herbert W. Bateman IV - Four Views on the Warning Passages in Hebrews

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Herbert W. Bateman IV

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Grant R. Osborne

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Buist M. Fanning

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Gareth Lee Cockerill

......................... 157

Randall C. Gleason

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Buist M. Fanning

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Grant R. Osborne

.......................... 233

Gareth Lee Cockerill

......................... 246

Randall C. Gleason

........................... 257

Gareth Lee Cockerill

........................... 293

Grant R. Osborne

........................... 307

Buist M. Fanning

......................... 322

Randall C. Gleason

.......................... 336

Randall C. Gleason

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Grant R. Osborne

........................... 396

Buist M. Fanning

.......................... 415

Gareth Lee Cockerill

....................................................... 430

George H. Guthrie

..................................................... 446

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The society provides a medium for oral exchange and written expression of thought and research in the general field of theological disciplines as centered in the Scriptures. The irenic presentations in this book on the warning passages in Hebrews between four men of Arminian and Reformed persuasion epitomize what I appreciate most about the society: an opportunity to agree to disagree via frank and yet congenial discussions about biblical issues.

Four Views on the Warning Passages in Hebrews contains four exegetical presentations, each of which is followed by three responses. They are written by four internationally known biblical scholars: Gareth Lee Cockerill, Buist M. Fanning, Randall C. Gleason, and Grant R. Osborne. It concludes with reflections by George H. Guthrie.

Naturally, works like this one involve many people. Four Views on the Warning Passages in Hebrews has been a group effort from its earliest stages, beginning with a discussion between Randall Gleason and myself in November 2003, with subsequent input from Buist Fanning and Grant Osborne, and the willingness of Gareth Cockerill, the point person for our Hebrews Study Group, who graciously agreed to devote our 2004 Hebrews Study Group section to the warning passages. Thus I extend a sincere thank-you to all four men who contributed to this work, all of whom shared considerably in the book's formative stages and helped to make this work a reality. Second, I wish to extend an exuberant thank-you to Jim Weaver, the academic and professional book editor for Kregel. His encouragement to pursue the project, his insightful suggestion to include responses, and his wise counsel about the project during the summer of 2004 has paid off. Thank you, Jim! It's been an honor to work with you on yet another project. Finally, to Jeremy Wike, my teaching assistant, a sizeable thank-you is warranted for proofreading this work. Jeremy's tenacity for detail made an immense contribution in helping to prepare this manuscript for Kregel. He exhibits the traits of a lifelong learner and is a person I have grown to appreciate.

Yet this book would never exist were it not for my family, who tend to make sacrifices regularly so that I might teach, preach, and write on the weekends and during the summer months. Thus my deepest sense of gratitude I extend to my wife, Cindy Ann Bateman, and to my daughter, Leah Marie Bateman. It is to them that I dedicate this work. I am a blessed man.

-HERBERT W. BATEMAN IV

Herbert W. Bateman IV is professor of Bible at Moody Bible Institute. He is the author of Early Jewish Hermeneutics and Hebrews 1:5-13, and the editor of Three Central Issues in Contemporary Dispensationalism and Authentic Worship. He has published on the book of Hebrews in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society and Trinity journal. He is responsible for "Hebrews" in the forthcoming Bible Knowledge Commentary Key Word Studies: General Epistles. Bateman is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society, Institute for Biblical Research, and Society of Biblical Research.

Gareth Lee Cockerill is professor of New Testament and biblical theology at Wesley Biblical Seminary and an ordained minister of the Wesleyan church. He has published a commentary on the book of Hebrews in A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. He is also slated to comment on Hebrews in the New International Commentary on the New Testament series (Eerdmans). He is the New Testament editor of The Wesley Bible and the author of Guidebook for Pilgrims to the Heavenly City. He has written articles and reviews in the Tyndale Bulletin, Bulletin for Biblical Research, Journal of Biblical Literature, The Evangelical Quarterly, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, Interpretation, and Missiology. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society, Evangelical Missiological Society, Institute for Biblical Research, Wesleyan Theological Society, and Society of Biblical Literature.