Paul Maxwell, M.Div. General
When Paul Maxwell was studying at Moody Bible Institute, he wanted to join Dr. Greg Beale for his postgraduate work. In his correspondence with Dr. Beale, he was encouraged to consider Westminster’s graduate program. With that encouragement, and with Dr. Beale coming on staff at Westminster, Paul enrolled in the M.Div. program at Westminster in 2010.
A lot has changed for Paul since he came to Westminster. “Having been here for a year, if I knew what I know now about Westminster before I came here, I would have come here for completely different reasons.” Initially, Paul thought he would be able to simply get in some Bible courses and fulfill a prerequisite to eventually get a Ph.D. in New Testament studies, but when he came to Westminster he was struck by the systematic theology classes. “I wanted to get my PhD in New Testament studies when I came here, but now I’d actually like to stay here for my Ph.D. and get it in Systematics with either Dr. Oliphint or Dr. Tipton.”
One thing that has particularly impacted Paul in his studies here, through classes with Dr. Beale and conversations with Dr. Tipton, was “the idea that the apostolic hermeneutic, the apostles’ interpretation of the Old Testament, was valid and normative for us today.” The Christocentric reading of the text, both Old and New Testaments, showed him the organic unity within all of Scripture, and gave him confidence in the self-revelation of the Triune God. “When Westminster does systematic theology, they’re not doing philosophical speculation about the doctrine of God, or about the doctrine of salvation. As Tipton says, it is ‘radically non-speculative’ systematic theology: heavily exegetical, heavily biblically-theologically qualified. I couldn’t do systematic theology anywhere else and maintain a good conscience.”
Paul has found that the theology taught at Westminster also has significant application in daily Christian living. Specifically, he sees the Westminster Confession of Faith section 5.5 as having significant pastoral implications. “The pastoral aspect of 5.5 is that even our sin is under God’s sovereign plan for our sanctification, to humble us and teach us that we’re sinners, such that when we talk about sin in the church, we don’t have to allocate all of our language about sin to the forensic realm; we don’t have to talk only about justification. And that’s a huge pastoral application of what is necessarily Reformed. My entire life is under the canopy of sanctification, and when I’m pursuing holiness I’m not bringing as many aspects of my life under the realm of sanctification as possible. They’re already there, and they’re already in my life to prepare me to minister to people.”
While he hopes to get a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology, his goal is not to teach at the academic level. He sees a great need in his hometown of Hyde Park, NY for a solidly biblical church, and he hopes to be part of a church-plant there in the future. So while he is here, he’s taking advantage of the diversity of courses offered. “Even though I’m in the General ministries M.Div., I’m taking as many CCEF classes as I can. CCEF is just blowing my mind!”
Since Paul graduated from a Christian college, he has a lot of friends in other Christian post-graduate institutions. However, he has been disappointed in what he has seen, “All of them, in the past year or two that they’ve been there, have come to the place where they have more questions about what they believe than they do information or confessional convictions. They have deteriorated in their view of Christ and the Old Testament, in their view of the sovereignty of God, and in the sinfulness of man.” Westminster, however, has provided a solid foundation, built upon a confessional model, which Paul greatly appreciates. “Not only does Westminster have a method of confessionalism, I think our confession is biblical and correct. I adhere to the Westminster Confession [of Faith].”
On a more personal level, he has learned so much outside the classroom since coming to Westminster. While at Moody Bible Institute, Paul “went from year to year growing in knowledge, growing in competence, and growing in the church. I got used to being looked up to by freshmen and sophomores while teaching and being a Teaching Assistant. I had a respectful reputation on campus. What I was really letting go unchecked was my heart; I was getting so self-righteous.” When he came to Westminster though, he was humbled by those who were around him. “Seeing the way that guys like Oliphint and Tipton do theology and converse about theology, they are so humble and they’re not looking for glory in any sense.” Dr. Ed Welch’s class, Helping Relationships, also provided a huge paradigm shift for him in how he relates to his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
Continue to pray for Paul and the rest of the Westminster student body as they study God’s Word, and train to proclaim the whole counsel of God throughout a changing world.
