Joshua W. Jipp – Saved by Faith and Hospitality

Episode: OnScript welcomes one of its favorite guests, Joshua Jipp, back to the microphone. Host Matthew Bates asks Josh pointed questions that all OnScript listeners are dying to know. Like, “Why, Josh, didn’t you title your book Salvation by Allegiance Alone (and Hospitality) rather than Saved by Faith and Hospitality?” And, “In light of your book’s thesis, when I wanted to visit Chicago this past summer, and I asked if I could stay with you, why did you say ‘no'”? They also get around to less important topics like xenophobia, the effects of Trumpism, immigration policy, and what an everyday Christian can do to be more hospitable.

Guest: Joshua W. Jipp (PhD, Emory) is Associate Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Josh also holds a ThM from Duke Divinity School, an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a BA from Northwestern College. In addition to Saved by Faith and Hospitality, he is the author of Christ is King (Fortress, 2015) and Divine Visitations and Hospitality to Strangers in Luke-Acts (Brill, 2013).

The Book: Joshua W. Jipp, Saved by Faith and Hospitality (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2017). Foreword by Christine D. Pohl. Publisher’s description: Too few Christians today, says Joshua Jipp, understand hospitality to strangers and the marginalized as an essential part of the church’s identity. In this book Jipp argues that God’s relationship to his people is fundamentally an act of hospitality to strangers, and that divine and human hospitality together are thus at the very heart of Christian faith. Jipp first provides a thorough interpretation of the major biblical texts related to the practice of hospitality to strangers, considering especially how these texts portray Christ as the divine host who extends God’s welcome to all people. Jipp then invites readers to consider how God’s hospitality sets the pattern for human hospitality, offering suggestions on how the practice of welcoming strangers can guide the church in its engagement with current social challenges—immigration, incarceration, racism, and more.

The OnScript Quip (our review): I was a stranger and you invited me in. The stark clarity of Jesus’ words slices through our confusion. Although the global reality is large-scale immigration, fear of the other remains an ominous cloud. What is urgently needed is a theological reflection on hospitality for the sake of church and world. Jipp’s book is Christ-centered, wise, and timely. Read, and find yourself more welcoming to the stranger. — Matthew W. Bates, Quincy University, OnScript

Jipp’s photo: (c) 2012 Kathleen Murray


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