Matthew W. Bates (PhD, Notre Dame) is Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary with expertise on the gospel and salvation. His book Why the Gospel? (Eerdmans, 2024) won the Christianity Today award in popular theology and was Outreach magazine’s “Resource of the Year” in theology and Bible. His acclaimed academic titles include Salvation by Allegiance Alone (Baker Academic, 2017) and The Birth of the Trinity (Oxford University Press, 2015). He also co-founded and co-hosts the popular OnScript podcast.
After completing a B.S. in Physics from Whitworth University (1999), Bates began a career in electrical engineering. His life took a swerve when he enrolled in a biblical studies program. In 2005, Bates began PhD studies in Theology at the University of Notre Dame, specializing in Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity (CJA). His primary research training is the New Testament and second-century Christianity with secondary in the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) and Second Temple Judaism.
Upon graduation (2010) he was named the winner of the Shaheen Award in the humanities, the top graduation prize at Notre Dame, competitive across all disciplines (press release). From 2011-2024 Bates served as Professor of Theology at Quincy University. In 2024, he was appointed Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary.
Bates’s research interests include the gospel, Jesus, soteriology, the Apostle Paul, early Christology, the Trinity, prosopological exegesis, the use of the Old Testament in the New, theological interpretation of Scripture, and Justin Martyr.
Dr. Bates enjoys hiking, baseball, and chasing around his seven children.