One of the most common misconceptions of the Bible is the idea that Old Testament teaches salvation through works (i.e. obeying the Mosaic law) while the New Testament is all about grace and love. This is a misconception that goes back to John Calvin and Martin Luther.
Yet, it is a misconception as the entire Bible is about grace.
Yes, God did put certain laws in place through Moses. But these laws were built upon a foundation of grace and mercy as it was through His grace that He delivered the Israelites from Egypt. Paul highlights this unity in Galatians when he draws attention to Abraham’s ‘salvation’ experience in Genesis 15 where his belief in God was counted upon to him as righteousness.
It is this covenant of mercy and grace that drives Daniel Fuller’s book “The Unity of the Bible: Unfolding God’s Plan for Humanity.”
Drawing upon the first half of Genesis, Fuller lays out a pretty complete agreement showing the unity of the Bible. However, while his theology is pretty sound, I couldn’t help but feel a bit stifled. Fuller seemed to have an answer for every situation; shoot, it seemed that he spent most of the book defending God and His actions – which seems a tad off to me as I think God can defend Himself with out our help.
In a nutshell, I think he removed the Story from the Bible.
Which bring me to my next point about the book; it is written from a very modern theological worldview that places a lot of value on logic and answers. There is nothing wrong with this view point as it met a very real need in the culture at the time. I’m just operating from a different worldview that relishes in the mystery of God and joining IN the Story versus learning about the Story.
It is one of those times where it is not right or wrong, just different.
Oh – I must also point out that it looks to me like Daniel Fuller was the one of the main proponents of the New Calvinist Movement. As a Bible professor of Fuller Theological Seminary (his father, Charles, was the founder of the school), Daniel Fuller had an influence of folks like John Piper, Bill Bright, Ralph Winter and Richard Halverson.
Note: As mentioned previously, John Calvin taught that the Old Testament was a covenant of works while the NT was a covenant of grace. The New Calvinist Movement rejects this traditional Calvinist teaching and tends to highlight the overarching nature of grace and the unity of the Bible.
In ending, “The Unity of the Bible” by Daniel Fuller is a great resource and book drawing together the two ‘halves’ of the Bible.