Items tagged book

Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 4

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 01:47:32 GMT

From the Westminster Bookstore blog:

"Thanks to Baker Publishing, we now offer you the chance to peruse the detailed Table of Contents and thorough Editor’s Introduction from the much-anticipated fourth and final volume of the complete English translation of Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics. Volume 4 is titled Holy Spirit, Church, and New Creation. It is due out this May."

Videos on "When Sinners Say 'I Do'"

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 08:26:11 GMT

Sovereign Grace Ministries has set up a YouTube page of videos related to Dave Harvey's book, When Sinners Say "I Do": Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage. Here are the videos:

Why I Wrote This Book

02:37

Why a book on marriage? And why talk so much about sin? Dave Harvey explains.

Chapter 1: What Really Matters in Marriage
02:41

What determines the quality of your marriage? Dave Harvey explains in this overview of chapter one: "What Really Matters in Marriage."

Chapters 2-4
02:29

Often the deepest conflict is the one we're not aware of, and our fiercest enemy is within our own hearts. Dave Harvey points us to the only hope for victory in this overview of chapters two through four.

Chapter 4: Taking It Out for a Spin
03:44

What actually causes conflict in marriage? You may be surprised at the answer in this overview of chapter four.

Chapter 6: Forgiveness, Full and Free
03:37

Is restoration possible after sin devastates a marriage? Hear one couple's story in this overview of chapter six.

Chapter 7: The Spouse in Sin
03:18

Growth in holiness is not a solo project. In this overview of chapter seven, Dave Harvey explains how to humbly, patiently, and courageously lead your spouse to repentance.

Chapter 8: Stubborn Grace
04:28

God's grace doesn't just bring you to conversion, then leave you on your own. In this overview of chapter eight, Dave Harvey explains how the grace of God provides staying power for your life and your marriage.

Chapter 9: Concerning Sex
03:01

Sex. It's a topic that has everyone's attention. But it's easy to forget that this topic has God's attention as well. In this (G-rated) overview of chapter nine, Dave Harvey explains what the gospel has to do with this part of marriage.

Chapter 10: When Sinners Say Goodbye
04:12

It's been said that all we need to do is live long enough, and we'll be bereaved. In this overview of chapter ten, Dave Harvey talks about maintaining hope when "death do us part" actually happens.

Understanding Dispensationalism

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 05:00:27 GMT

Vern Poythress's book, Understanding Dispensationalism, is now online.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Getting Dispensationalists and Nondispensationalists to Listen to Each Another
Chapter 2: Characteristics of Scofield Dispensationalism
Chapter 3: Variations of Dispensationalism
Chapter 4: Developments in Covenant Theology
Chapter 5: The Near Impossibility of Simple Refutations
Chapter 6: Strategy for Dialogue With Dispensationalists
Chapter 7: The Last Trumpet
Chapter 8: What is Literal Interpretation?
Chapter 9: Dispensational Expositions of Liternalness
Chapter 10: Interpretive Viewpoint in Old Testament Israel
Chapter 11: The Challenge of Typology
Chapter 12: Hebrews 12:22-24
Chapter 13: The Fulfillment of Israel in Chris
Chapter 14: Other Areas for Potential Exploration
Postscript
Bibliography

Free Christian Audio Book of the Month: Jonathan Edwards’ Religious Affections

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 01:05:21 GMT

If you have never read Jonathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections, here’s your chance to download the audio book for free. The folks at ChristianAudio write:

Use the coupon code: NOV2007 to receive the download format of Jonathan Edwards’ The Religious Affections for free. Simply add the download format of this product to your cart and enter the coupon code when prompted.

The Religious Affections is quite possibly one of the most important books ever written by America’s greatest theologian. Among the questions asked is, “What is the nature of true religion?” “What are the signs of a true revival?” and “How is the heart changed?” Edwards used his pulpit and his leadership of the Great Awakening to pen one of the most challenging and inquisitive books ever written.

Our Price: $0.00
List Price: $28.98

Covenant and Salvation

Thu, 27 Sep 2007 01:19:47 GMT

The third volume in Michael Horton's projected four-volume work on covenant and theology is now available. This entry deals with Covenant and Salvation: Union with Christ.

Here are a couple of blurbs I've seen:

Michael Horton has done more to demonstrate the ongoing viability of Protestant orthodoxy for contemporary theological reflection than any other current writer. . . . Even those who are not inclined in Horton's direction will find in these pages a rich and sophisticated theological vision that is worthy of careful attention.

—John Franke, Professor of Theology, Biblical Seminary

With his covenantal account of union with Christ, Horton cuts through the false dichotomy between forensic and participatory accounts of salvation. In its place, Horton forges a stunning synthesis of biblical, historical, and systematic argumentation which puts the Reformed tradition in conversation with prominent voices in Radical Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the New Perspective on Paul. This weighty work has broad ecumenical implications for some of today’s most pressing theological issues.

—J. Todd Billings, Assistant Professor of Reformed Theology, Western Theological Seminary, Holland, MI and author of Calvin, Participation, and the Gift: the Activity of Believers in Union with Christ

Major New Book from Horton. Covenant and Salvation: Union with Christ

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 21:19:38 GMT

Do I really have to say that you need this book?

Book Review—Comeback Churches

Thu, 30 Aug 2007 04:05:16 GMT

Reviewed by J.A. Ingold (Jack) Stetzer, Ed, and Mike Dodson. Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can Too. Nashville, Tenn: B & H Pub Group, 2007. 226 pages. $17.99 (Review copy courtesy of B&H Publishing Group) Purchase: B&H | CBD | Amazon ISBN: 0805445366 / 9780805445367 DCN: 260 Subjects: Church Renewal, Church Growth Ed Stetzer began serving churches 20 [...]

The Blogging Church - a Belated Review

Wed, 29 Aug 2007 20:16:58 GMT

Here comes a review that is several months overdue. Awhile back the good folks at Leadership Network sent me the book "The Blogging Church" by Brian Bailey and Terry Storch to review, and I wanted to say thanks to them and offer my apologies for the tardiness of this review.

The subtitle and the first few sentences on the back give a good idea of who the book is good for. The subtitle is "Sharing the Story of Your Church Through Blogs," and the blurb on the back says this:

The Blogging Church offers church leaders a field manual for using the social phenomenon of blogs to connect people and build communities in a whole new way. Inside you will find the why, what, and how of blogging in the local church.

Those lines give you a hint at the audience for the book - pastors and leaders who may need a little convincing that blogs are a valuable tool and who need some info on how to get started blogging and how to use their blogs.

As such, I wouldn't put this on the must-read list for the veteran blogger. The veteran blogger will already know most of the stuff in the book. However, the veteran may get some encouragement to keep blogging as well as some new avenues for using the blog from interviews with people like Mark Driscoll, Perry Noble, Mark Batterson and others.

But the one who would really benefit would be a pastor or other leader who is skeptical about the value of blogs, or feels technologically challenged. This book will give that person a rationale for having a blog as well as enough technical info to get up and running.

Hanegraaff's "The Apocalypse Code"

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 19:05:05 GMT

Several of you have asked me about my take on Hank Hanegraaff's recent book, The Apocalypse Code (Click here: Amazon.com: The Apocalypse Code: Find Out What the Bible REALLY Says About the End Times . . . and Why It Matters). So, here goes.

On the one hand, Hanegraaff does a very good job debunking the popular dispensational end-times scenarios set out by the likes of John Hagee and Tim LaHaye. Hanegraaff exposes the embarrassing problem faced by dispensationalists who claim to interpret the Bible literally, and who cannot make good on that promise. While John (Revelation 1:3; 22:10) tells us that the things recorded in his apocalyptic vision are soon to come to pass, dispensationalists are forced to tell us that "near" and "soon" don't really mean "near" and "soon." Instead, dispensationalists tell us, these things don't come to pass until the end of the age--a rather embarrassing problem given their insistence that they take the Bible (especially prophecy) "literally."

Hanegraaff does a very good job debunking the Israel-centered hermeneutic of popular dispensational writers. Hanegraaff capably demonstrates that Jesus Christ is the true hermeneutical center of all of Scripture and that many of the things dispensationalists assign to the future and the end of the age (i.e., in the millennium), are already fulfilled in Christ! This includes the land promise of the Abrahamic covenant, the fact that Christ is the true temple, and so on. Hanegraaff also effectively replies to the common dispensational rant that non-dispensationalists are intrinsically anti-Semitic.

In all of these regards, Hanegraaff's book offers an effective rebuttal to dispensational claims. Would that all those who read Lindsey, LaHaye, and Hagee, and think their stuff is gospel, would also read Hanegraaff and consider well the biblical evidence he adduces which undoes the dispensational system.

On the other hand, Hanegraaff's The Apocalypse Code, has several serious weaknesses. I hate to criticize Hank personally, since he was so gracious to me when I was a guest on the Bible Answer Man several years ago. Hank was still working through his position on these matters and gave me two full hours on national radio to make my case. He had read my first book (A Case for Amillennialism) from cover to cover, was thoroughly conversant with all of the key issues and was very nice to my teenage son who went to the studio with me. Dads remember such things and I am grateful.

That being said, in my opinion, The Apocalypse Code, has several serious flaws which weakens its overall impact and import.

First, the use of neo-logisms ("I coined the phrase Exegetical Eschatology -- e2", implying that dispensationalists don't do exegesis), the use of mnemonic devices (LIGHTS), and guilt by association arguments (LaHaye is juxtaposed with Bill Maher and Bill Clinton, among others) seriously undercuts the very point that Hanegraaff is trying to make--which is that LaHaye, Hagee, et al., can't be taken seriously. Inventing your own self-designation ("Exegetical Eschatology") requires that you do serious exegesis, not stoop to the sensationalist genre of those whom you are endeavoring to refute.

Refuting sensationalist eschatology with sensationalism might sell books, but this approach seriously detracts from Hanegraaff's overall case. The result is, in my opinion, Hanegraaff's book has a "snotty," condescending and sensationalist tone to it. This would make me reluctant to give The Apocalypse Code to a dispensational friend who was not yet at the point of re-thinking their entire eschatology.

Second, Hanegraaff adopts the partial preterist interpretation of the eschatological language of the New Testament. That's fine by me, since I too believe that the Olivet Discourse is primarily aimed to the disciples and that the events predicted there (with the exception of the Second Advent), are largely fulfilled by the events of A.D. 70. But Hanegraaff's "partial" preterism leads to the usual (and in my estimation, flawed) interpretation of a number of key points.

Preterists of all stripes are forced to argue for a pre-70 A.D. date for the Book of Revelation. I think the internal evidence points strongly for a date much closer to 95 A.D--although the dating of Revelation ultimately does not effect my overall eschatological position, which is Reformed amillennialism. I get the sense from writers like Hanegraaff (and Ken Gentry), that once you make the leap to some form of preterism, you've got to make the case for an early date for Revelation. You now have to "prove" this early date, not objectively examine evidence as to when John might have been given his vision.

Because of this preterist presupposition demanding an early date for the apocalypse, you get all kinds of far-fetched interpretations from Hanegraaff: Babylon (Revelation 17-18) is apostate Israel, not Rome; Nero and the current Roman Caesars fulfill in its entirety the beast motif (Revelation 13); and that the Jerusalem Temple was still standing when John was given his vision (based upon a misinterpretation of Revelation 11:1-3).

It is also highly problematic to argue that Christ returned (in a some form of parousia) with the events of 70 A. D. No doubt, the destruction of the temple marks the end of the Jewish era (not the end of "this age,") and it clearly led to the diaspora and the curse upon apostate Israel being tragically realized as foretold by Jesus in Matthew 23:37-39. But such does not constitute a "coming of Jesus." How many second comings are there? One or two? And isn't one of the criticisms of dispensationalists that they teach a "real coming" at the Rapture which no one sees?

Hanegraaff's The Apocalypse Code has enough weaknesses that I would be hesitant to give it to a dispensationalist who was not at the point of jettisoning their dispensationalism. I would give it (and therefore recommend it) to someone who was widely-read in this field, had thought about these issues for some time, and who understood most of the nuances and differences associated with these issues. The Apocalypse Code might just give that person the final shove they need.

Since this is my blog and I'm therefore entitled to make shameless appeals to those who read it, let me just say that I too have written a book which covers much of the same ground, and which I think is more exegetically based. Reformed amillennialism (i.e., Horton, Vos, Kline, Hoekema, Venema, Johnson, Beale) is not only able to deal with the "time is near" language of the Book of Revelation, it also does not strip the New Testament of those eschatological events which are yet to be fulfilled in the future.

You can find more information about my book, The Man of Sin, here: Click here: Riddleblog - Man of Sin - Uncovering the Truth About Antichrist

For Us and Our Salvation

Thu, 09 Aug 2007 22:05:06 GMT

Steve Nichols's new book, For Us and for Our Salvation: The Doctrine of Christ in the Early Church, just crossed my desk.

Here are the endorsements:

“In a world where the biblical depiction of Christ is often distorted or denied, this book serves as a tremendous defense of orthodox Christian belief. But its value is more than just apologetic. Its Christ-centered focus makes For Us and for Our Salvation a recommended read for anyone who wants a clear picture of the Savior.”
John A. MacArthur, Pastor-Teacher, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California

“With clarity and brevity, Stephen Nichols presents the intriguing development of the doctrine of Christ over the early centuries of the church. His account of the key councils and theological proposals is written in a very simple and readable style, and the reader is made aware of how much was at stake ‘for us and for our salvation’ in these very crucial debates.”
Bruce A. Ware, Professor of Christian Theology, Senior Associate Dean, School of Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“By interweaving original sources and explanatory chapters, Nichols has given us a genre of historical theology that is both informative and interesting.”
Millard Erickson, Distinguished Professor of Theology, Western Seminary, Portland

“A wonderfully readable book about one of the most important eras of the Christian church. I would encourage everyone—pastors, teachers, students, and laymen—to ‘take and read.’”
Brian Vickers, Assistant Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

“A great idea and a valuable contribution to the church. Stephen Nichols provides a wise selection of classic excerpts on the doctrine of Christ, and he places them in the context of a readable story with helpful explanations that ordinary Christians can follow.”
Dan Treier, Associate Professor of Theology, Wheaton College

The Life and Times of George Whitefield

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 17:46:18 GMT

The Life and Times of George Whitefield by Robert Philip

Book Review—The Majesty of God in the Old Testament

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 05:43:40 GMT

by Andy Efting Kaiser, Walter C., Jr. The Majesty of God in the Old Testament: A Guide for Preaching and Teaching. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007. 174 pages. $16.99 (Review copy courtesy of Baker Academic) Purchase: Baker | CBD | Amazon | WTS Special Features: Bibliographic references and index ISBNs: 080103244X / 97800801032448 LCCN: BT130.K35 2007 DCN: 231’.4—dc22 Subjects: Preaching, [...]

Book Review - The Truth of the Cross

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 04:05:22 GMT

Before I started into the text of The Truth of the Cross I read the three endorsements that came with it, one by Thomas Schreiner, one by Scott Clark and one by Bruce Waltke. It was Waltke's that caught my eye when he said, "The Truth of the Cross is the best book on the cross I have read." A man of Waltke's age, Christian maturity and status must have read more than a few books on the cross, making this no little statement. Having read the book, I know it was no exaggeration. The best book on the cross I've ever read is Frederick Leahy's The Cross He Bore, a book I'd consider a must-read for any Christian. Could this one be as good, as beautiful as that?

There are few people I'd rather read on this topic than R.C. Sproul. He has an unparalleled gift for explaining difficult theological concepts in a way that makes them accessible and easy to understand. I don't know of anyone else who does a better job of explaining Reformed theology and the theology of God's sovereign grace in the contexts of biblical theology and the history of the church. This book does just that. It convincingly unfolds the meaning, significance and power of the cross, showing the necessity of an atonement and providing a biblical defense for substitutionary atonement as understood by the historic stream of Protestant theology.

This message is timely. As Sproul says in the first chapter, "I doubt there has been a period in the two thousand years of Christian history when the significance, the centrality, and even the necessity of the cross have been more controversial than now. ... Never before in Christian history has the need for an atonement been as widely challenged as it is today." Yet it is clear from the Bible that if "you take away the cross as an atoning act, you take away Christianity." We can only understand the atonement if we know about the character of God. "If we are defective in understanding the character of God or understanding the nature of sin, it is inevitable that we will come to the conclusion that the atonement was not necessary." And so this book examines the character of God, the state of humanity, and the work that must be done to reconcile sinful men to a holy God.

Though the book is short, it is dense. And yet, because of Sproul's gift in teaching, it is easy to read and easy to digest. It shares the glorious doctrines that stand at the very heart of the Christian faith. It shares the great and glorious news of the gospel.

Is this the best book on the cross I've ever read? Perhaps. I don't know that I would recommend this in place of The Cross He Bore but it certainly would make a wonderful complement to Leahy's title. Less reflective and meditative, but with a greater emphasis on teaching theology, The Truth of the Cross will be a great addition to any library. This and The Cross He Bore could be read together every year and would undoubtedly bring great blessing with each reading. It is good to remember the cross and to come to a greater understanding of what it means and why it matters. The Truth of the Cross will center your thoughts upon the cross and upon the One Who went there willingly so that we could have life.

The Truth of the Cross is not sold through Amazon but is (or will soon) be available at Westminster Books. While you're there, why not also buy The Cross He Bore, currently listed at only $4.03.

Book Review—Beyond Suffering

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 08:05:08 GMT

by Tim Ashcraft Talbert, Layton. Beyond Suffering: Discovering the Message of Job. Greenville, SC: Bob Jones University Press, 2007. Softbound, 392 pages. $17.95 (Review copy courtesy of BJU Press) Purchase: BJU ISBN: 9781591666202 LCCN: BS1415.53.T35 2007 DCN: 223.107 Special Feature: Selected Bibliography Subjects: Job, Suffering Layton Talbert (Ph.D., Bob Jones University) is a professor of theology at [...]

Book Review: The Truth of the Cross by R.C. Sproul

Thu, 26 Jul 2007 16:05:17 GMT

Book Review
The Truth of the Cross by R.C. Sproul

[CCC: This book has been certified “Cross Centered” by The Shepherd’s Scrapbook meaning a substantial amount of its content directly relates to the perfect work of Christ as our Atoning sacrifice.]

————-

For me there is no redundancy with the message of the Cross because I am personally aware of my propensity to meander from the Cross rather than marvel in the Cross. To this end, R.C. Sproul’s latest book – The Truth of the Cross (Reformation Trust: 2007) – is a welcomed addition to the releases of 2007. Sproul explicitly states the centrality of the Cross at the outset:

“Within that field of study, when we want to get at the aspect that is most crucial, the aspect that we may call the ‘crux’ of the matter of Jesus’ person and work, we go immediately to the cross. The words crucial and crux both have their root in the Latin word for ‘cross,’ crux, and they have come into the English language with their current meanings because the concept of the cross is at the very center and core of biblical Christianity. In a very real sense, the cross crystallizes the essence of the ministry of Jesus … I doubt there has been a period in the two thousand years of Christian history when the significance, the centrality, and even the necessity of the cross have been more controversial than now. There have been other periods in church history when theologies emerged that regarded the cross of Christ as an unnecessary event, but never before in Christian history has the need for an atonement been as widely challenged as it is today” (pp. 2-3, 6).

Sproul makes no mention of the New Perspectives of Paul, N.T. Wright or others in the contemporary debate over the Atonement. The Truth of the Cross was intended as a lay-level reinforcement against modern attacks.

As expected, references to Christian giants like Anselm, Calvin, Luther, Aquinas and Augustine abound in this little volume, bringing Sproul’s keen historical perspective to the central matters of the Cross. Chapters focus on the justice of God, the ‘cosmic treason’ of our sin, our captivity to sin and need of redemption, the substitutionary work of Christ on the Cross, the Old Testament pointers to the Suffering Servant, a chapter defending Limited Atonement and then closes with a chapter of various questions and answers. Not surprising Sproul illuminates his subject with fresh illustrations and pointed personal applications of the Cross.

Good books challenge conventional thinking and at one place I was especially challenged. Late in the book Sproul is asks if God can die, a question prompted by the hymn lyrics, “How can it be that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?” To this question Sproul offered an argument in denial: “We should shrink in horror from the idea that God actually died on the cross. The atonement was made by the human nature of Christ” (p. 160). This caused me to stop and think for a while because I personally have no problem with the hymn lyrics. Paul tells us that “the Lord of glory” was crucified (1 Cor. 2:8). And in Acts 20:28 Paul tells us God has shed His own blood in the act of redemption. On this exegetical basis Calvin rightly warns us from peeling apart the two natures of Christ on the Cross (see Calvin’s commentary on Acts 20:28). That the God-man died for sinners is horrific, but not for its probability.

Where Sproul shines is by reminding us of the incomprehensible value of God’s holiness and justice. At the end of a chapter devoted the destruction of Sodom in Genesis 18:22-19:29, Sproul writes, “The Bible tells us that God couldn’t find ten righteous people among all the inhabitants of these cities. As a result, God’s judgment fell. It fell not because God is cruel, harsh, or lacking in love. It happened because God is just and righteous” (p. 28).

As we have seen recently, the penal substitutionary Atonement of Christ will only be questioned if we fail to grasp the pristine holiness of God and His perfect righteousness. “Because He is holy and righteous, He cannot excuse sin. Rather, He must pass judgment on it. The Judge of all the earth must do right. Therefore, He must punish sinners — or provide a way to atone for their sin” (p. 29). Sproul especially excels here.

Conclusion

The Truth of the Cross is an excellent overview of the Gospel. God is holy, sinners are in need of salvation from the guilt of their sin found only in the death of Christ, displaying the wisdom of God to the world. We need more books like this one — books that step into the heart of contemporary debate on the Atonement to clarify the most pristine truth at the heart of everything we cherish!

Sproul is known for his chalkboard and a passion to educate laypeople. He wants you to understand expiation, ransom, redemption, reconciliation, appeasement, substitutionary atonement, and propitiation because these are central to understanding the gospel. In Sproul’s newest book – The Truth of the Cross – you will discover the beauty of the crux like never before. But even more importantly, Sproul understands the implications to our faith if we don’t get it.

“A Substitute has appeared in space and time, appointed by God Himself, to bear the weight and the burden of our transgressions, to make expiation for our guilt, and to propitiate the wrath of God on our behalf. This is the gospel. Therefore, if you take away the substitutionary atonement, you empty the cross of its meaning and drain all the significance out of the passion of our Lord Himself. If you do that, you take away Christianity itself” (p. 81).

———–
[Related: Another “TSS Certified Cross Centered” book by Sproul — Saved from What? (Crossway: 2002) – is worth the investment.]
———–

Title: The Truth of the Cross
Author: R.C. Sproul
Reading level: 2.25/5.0 > moderate
Boards: hardcover
Pages: 178
Volumes: 1
Dust jacket: unknown (reviewed electronically)
Binding: unknown
Paper: unknown
Topical index: no
Scriptural index: no
Text: perfect type
Publisher: Reformation Trust
Year: 2007
Price USD: $15.00 from Ligonier
ISBN: 1567690874

Book Review: According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible (by Graeme Goldsworthy)

Sat, 14 Jul 2007 07:05:11 GMT

Graeme Goldsworthy’s “According to Plan: The Unfolding Revelation of God in the Bible” was published in 1991 and has sat on my “to read” pile since 2003. Boy, am I regretting having not picked up this book earlier!

In the introduction to the final section of the book, Goldsworthy states: “Once we have grasped some kind of biblical theological overview, it will permanently change our understanding of the Bible in general” (235).This is not overstatement.

I found myself feeling like the two on the road to Emmaus: “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?” Which is quite ironic since one of the foundational texts to Biblical Theology is found in this very context. “And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Biblical Theology, as Goldsworthy presents it, is essentially finding Christ in all the Scriptures – something akin to Spurgeon’s famous quote:

“A Welsh minister who was preaching last Sabbath at the chapel of my dear brother, Jonathan George, was saying, that Christ was the sum and substance of the gospel, and he broke out into this story:—A young man had been preaching in the presence of a venerable divine, and after he had done he went to the old minister, and said, "What do you think of my sermon?" "A very poor sermon indeed," said he. "A poor sermon?" said the young man, "it took me a long time to study it." "Ay, no doubt of it." "Why, did you not think my explanation of the text a very good one?" "Oh, yes," said the old preacher, "very good indeed." "Well, then, why do you say it is a poor sermon? Didn't you think the metaphors were appropriate and the arguments conclusive?" "Yes, they were very good as far as that goes, but still it was a very poor sermon." "Will you tell me why you think it a poor sermon?" "Because," said he, "there was no Christ in it." "Well," said the young man, "Christ was not in the text; we are not to be preaching Christ always, we must preach what is in the text." So the old man said, "Don't you know young man that from every town, and every village, and every little hamlet in England, wherever it may be, there is a road to London?" "Yes," said the young man. "Ah!" said the old divine "and so form every text in Scripture, there is a road to the metropolis of the Scriptures, that is Christ. And my dear brother, your business in when you get to a text, to say, 'Now what is the road to Christ?' and then preach a sermon, running along the road towards the great metropolis—Christ. And," said he, "I have never yet found a text that had not got a road to Christ in it, and if I ever do find one that has not a road to Christ in it, I will make one; I will go over hedge and ditch but I would get at my Master, for the sermon cannot do any good unless there is a savour of Christ in it." Now since you say amen to that, and declare that what you want to hear is Jesus Christ, the text is proved—"Unto you therefore which believe he is precious." (From “Christ Precious to Believers” - a Sermon

(No. 242) Delivered on Sabbath Morning, March 13th, 1859, by the REV. C. H. Spurgeon at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens.)

I know that is a long quote, but it makes the point that Goldsworthy teaches in this book – Christ is the object of the Word of God.

Now I realize there is some dispute over the place of Biblical Theology, with a few heavyweights like Carl Trueman suggesting that too much emphasis on Biblical Theology at the expense of Systematic and Historical Theologies has swung the pendulum too far. But that debate is for another place.

What many Christians lack is a sense of the overall plan of God – not just a fitting together of the Bible. Biblical Theology helps immensely in this and this introductory volume is just what is needed to get one thinking from “the bird’s-eye view.”

Those who love Jesus and love to “find the road in every text to Him” will love this book. I highly commend it with this caveat – you will need to read it more than once!

kerux noemata - the blog of pastor paul w. martin
thanks for reading!

Book Review—The Faithful Preacher

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 07:05:09 GMT

by Jason Button Anyabwile, Thabiti M. The Faithful Preacher: Recapturing the Vision of Three Pioneering African-American Pastors. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2007. Paperback, 192 pages. $15.99 (Review copy courtesy of Crossway Books) Purchase – Crossway, CBD, Amazon Special Features: Notes, Scripture Index, General Index ISBNs: 1581348274 / 9781581348279 LCCN: BR563.N4 A59 DCN: 277.3/08092396073 Subjects: Church History, Preaching, African Americans Thabiti M. Anyabwile is senior [...]

Pierced for Our Transgressions

Sun, 01 Jul 2007 18:05:16 GMT

The doctrine of penal substitution doesn't, on the face of it, sound too glorious. It is a doctrine involving curse, punishment, blood and death. It is little wonder that people object to it so strenuously. Indeed, this teaching has been at the very center of a rift within the church--a rift that seems to be growing ever-wider and ever more visible. Once the realm of scholars cloistered away in the ivory towers of academia, the battle against this doctrine has recently reached the popular level and it has come under attack by influential and popular evangelical leaders. Needless to say, controversy has followed, and for good reason.

Pierced for our Transgressions: Rediscovering the Glory of Penal Substitution is the product of Steve Jeffery, Mike Ovey and Andrew Sach, all of whom are connected to Oak Hill Theological College in London, England. It carries a Foreword by John Piper. The book, published by Inter-Varsity Press, is currently available only in the U.K. (though rumors abound that it is available at a few stores in this part of the world). Crossway has secured the North American rights and will be releasing it on this side of the Atlantic in the fall.

The book is written for the serious and thoughtful general reader. Those who aspire to read nothing more complicated than Yancey or Lucado may find this a challenging, though surely enlightening, read. Those who tend towards works of serious theology will find it eminently readable. Those hoping for an exhaustive scholarly treatment of the subject will be disappointed.

The authors do not keep the reader waiting to learn what this doctrine entails. The first sentence of the first chapter is this: "The doctrine of penal substitution states that God gave himself in the person of his Son to suffer instead of us the death, punishment and curse due to fallen humanity as the penalty for sin." They say, rightly, that this understanding of the cross stands at the very center of the gospel message as given us in the Bible. What may seem so coarse, so vulgar, so bloody is, must be seen to be beautiful by those whose lives have been transformed by the victory won at so great a cost. It is, as per the book's subtitle, a glorious doctrine and one the church would do well to rediscover. While relatively few have renounced the doctrine, too few have even been explicitly aware of its existence.

The book's content falls in two parts. In the first the authors make the case for penal substitution, looking to the Bible, to associated theology, to its pastoral importance and to its long historical pedigree in the Christian faith. In the second part they turn to the critics, answering the charges that have been lodged against the doctrine. While there is much value to be mined in the latter half, it is the former that is of most profound importance. It is here that the doctrine is laid out, it is here that it is defended. We see that this doctrine is found in both Testaments and that it is foundational to our understanding of Jesus' mission, both in the way it was foreshadowed in the Old Testament through sacrifice and prophecy and in the way it was fulfilled and applied in the New. Though the authors are unable to provide an exhaustive treatment, something which could easily run to several volumes, they do provide a valuable overview of this doctrine's biblical basis. They turn next to this doctrine's place in the wider context of Christian theology, showing how it is inexorably connected to other Christian doctrine. After touching on the pastoral implications of maintaining the place of this doctrine, anticipating the charge that this theology is but a modern addition to Christianity, they defend it historically, showing how it has a historical pedigree that spans the two thousand years of church history. Finally, with the theology firmly in place, they move deliberately and confidently through objection after objection, charge after charge, responding to the critics of this doctrine. They are nothing if not thorough.

Endorsed by a veritable who's who of conservative evangelicals, this book is sure to clearly delineate the divide between those who hold to the historic Protestant position on this doctrine and those who do not. It has already done this in the U.K. and we expect it to do the same on the other side of the Atlantic when it is released later this year. I pray that it is widely read, widely studied and widely influential. Jeffery, Ovey and Sach have done the church a service with this volume. I'm grateful for it and commend it to you.

Book Review - Grace (Eventually)

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 23:17:04 GMT

I really don't understand Anne Lamott's appeal. I'll grant that she is a talented writer but clearly this, in an of itself, cannot explain it. I suppose a good bit of her appeal probably stems from her gut-honest authenticity, her willingness to say exactly what she's thinking all the time. She's profound, she's profane, she's shocking and people seem to love her for it.

Her latest nonfiction book (she has also authored several novels) is entitled Grace (Eventually) and it is a series of essays. As such it is somewhat disjointed with incomprehensible section names and odd chapter titles. There is little cohesion. If there are common themes they revolve around some kind of faith in Jesus, the trials of being a single parent, the difficulties that come with life, and an overwhelming hatred of George W. Bush (along with various members of his administration) and everything he has done as President. I haven't done a word count, but I suspect the name Bush appears significantly more times than the name God (unless, perhaps, we also count the times she uses God's name in a profane way; that would even things up some.). The essays recount episode after episode where Lamott was depressed or angry or belligerent or foul-mouthed or, in many cases, all of the above. It's exactly as depressing as it sounds.

This excerpt, drawn from the beginning of a chapter, is quite typical of the book's content:

I woke up in a bleak place on Sunday. It was not the place of ashes, like the morning after the 2004 Presidential election, but there was no comfort anywhere. It was miserably hot, and the news couldn't be worse--a new crop of mutilations in Iraq, with 2,500 U.S. soldiers now dead, and a North Korean ICBM apparently pointed at the West Coast. Two of my dearest friends had terrible diseases. There was a nasty separation going on in our family, and a small distraught child. Also, my son had not obeyed his curfew and we had had words at two a.m.
...

In the face of all this, I did the most astonishing thing a person can do: I got out of bed. At least I could still walk. A better person would think, Thank you, Jesus. But I thought, God do my feet hurt. God, am I getting old. Then I had some coffee, to level the playing field of me and my mind, as it had had several cups while I slept, and now if felt like talking.

Then I headed to church.

And it was not good.

Lamott has proven to have wide appeal, writing for Salon, the Los Angeles Times and a variety of other periodicals. It should be exciting to see a professed Christian writing for what is clearly a largely secular audience. Sadly, though, the spiritual insights shared by Lamott are more shocking or embarrassing than exciting and inspiring. Here is a smattering of what the reader will discover:

On Jesus: "You've got to wonder what Jesus was like at seventeen. They don't even talk about it in the Bible, he was apparently so awful."
On abortion: "I wanted to express calmly and eloquently, that people who are pro-choice understand that there are two lives involved in an abortion--one born (the pregnant woman) and one not (the fetus)--and that the born person must be allowed to decide what is right: whether or not to bring a pregnancy to term and launch another life into circulation." "Then I said that a woman's right to choose was nobody else's goddamn business. That got their attention." "We must not inflict life on children who will be resented; we must not inflict unwanted children on society."
On euthanasia: "Mel was somewhat surprised that as a Christian I so staunchly agreed with him about assisted suicide: I believe that life is a kind of Earth School, so even though assisted suicide means you're getting out early, before the term ends, you're going to be leaving anyway, so who says it isn't okay to take an incomplete in the course?" In the chapter "At Death's Window" she eloquently describes assisting her friend in taking his own life by overdosing on barbiturates.

As we've come to expect from Lamott, there is a handful (or two) of uses of profanity spread throughout the book (using the name of God casually, several uses of language of the four-letter variety, and so on). Of course the book is not without its interesting insights. Readers will be able to identify with many of the difficulties Lamott has faced. They will laugh at some of her reactions to the situations she has encountered; they will roll their eyes at the same things that frustrate her. There are some notable quotes like this one: "A good marriage is supposed to be one where each spouse secretly thinks he or she got the better deal." But when it comes to spiritual content that is distinctly biblical and profoundly Christian, well, there is not much at all. Lamott seems to embrace a very wide faith that extends far beyond the bounds of Scripture. She celebrates things the Bible forbids and hates things the Bible commands us to love. Her self-loathing is so prominent it is easy to wonder if it isn't simply narcissism weakly disguised. In fact, with a fair bit of faith talk, but very little that is distinctly Christian, I suppose it is not difficult to understand why this book has wide appeal outside the church. I hope Christian readers are discerning enough to ensure it has little appeal within.

Book Review: 'The Life of John Murray'

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 05:29:03 GMT

This well-presented paperback of 240 pages is the first appearance of this book in an independent form for a while, but in its form as part of volume three of John Murray's 'Collected Writings', it has been around for quite a while. We applaud the Banner of Truth Trust for publishing this valuable little work as a book in itself - for such it is.
Those who already possess the four volumes of Murray's writings (we do, and they are exceedingly precious) will no doubt be satisfied with possessing this work inside the 'Collected Writings', but those who have not the time or the money for the four bulky volumes (and we recognise that includes students and pastors) will particularly welcome this separate printing. It is a book to put next to 'Redemption Accomplished and Applied'.
We have long counted Iain Murray as one of the greatest living popular writers of Church History and biography, and this book is one of his finest.
This book tells the life-story of a man who was without a doubt one of the greatest theologians of the twentieth century. We count him as perhaps the most gifted 20th century expositior of the doctrines known as Calvinism, though we are forced to disagree with him on a few points.
John Murray was a son of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, a hardy Highlander. Yet he spent most of his life somewhat alienated from that denomination, and associated with Westmister Theological Seminary. This book gives a vivid picture of the early years of that institution, and the founding of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. It shows a teacher of great heart and mind who still influences many today. Reading of his experience in the First World War (in which he lost an eye), and his love of manual labour on the family farm, helps the reader to recognise that Murray was no ivory tower theologian, but a man who had seen the real world, and a man who enjoyed getting his hands dirty - the sort of man whoalways remained true to his Free Presbyterian heritage in this - that he despised the secular academy and looked only to the Bible as his guide.
May God grant us more such men to stand for the faith.

'The Life of John Murray' by Iain Murray is priced at £ 7.25 and is published by theBanner of Truth Trust.

Book Review—Creation and the Courts

Thu, 21 Jun 2007 07:05:10 GMT

by Andy Efting Geisler, Norman. Creation and the Courts: Eighty Years of Conflict in the Classroom and the Courtroom. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007. Paperback, 400 pages. $22.00 (Review copy courtesy of Crossway Books) Purchase: Crossway; CBD; Amazon Special Features: Bibliographic references and index ISBNs: 9781581348361 / 1581348363 LCCN: KF4208.5.S34G45 2007 DCN: 344.73’0796 Subjects: Creationism; Evolution; Religion in public schools Norman Geisler is [...]

African Students' Book Reports

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 17:22:54 GMT

(Author: Terry)

Read the responses to Let the Nations Be Glad by several students at Westminster Theological College in Uganda. Dr. Dave Eby chose this as the textbook for the course he taught last semester, “Introduction to Missions.” He described its impact by quoting from some of the response papers he received.

Africa is now a center for sending missionaries to other parts of the world, including the western world. But we lack teachers and missionary training. By the use of this book, it will bring more change to my life and my (contacts). I believe some people around the world shall be reached because of the ideas of missions and missionary work in this book. By God's grace, the African church will change and the glory of God will be seen in Africa. (A.R. has a passion for evangelism and hopes to become a missionary to a Muslim nation, possibly Somalia.)

What you have given to this student community is a gift to the great continent and beyond. For Africa will be a great sender of the 21st Century. (D.K. intends to be a church planter.)

Missions took a new place in my heart. My focus for ministry is not how much I achieve in any mission enterprise; my focus is how much of God is seen and glorified in my missionary work. (H.B. is women's ministry leader in a Kampala church.)

I now see that my goal is to preach the Gospel to the nations as Matthew 28:18-20 says. (F.R. is a refugee from Congo who hopes to return to plant churches there.)

I really thank God for what I have learned from this book. This book has brought me to a stage where now I understand that worship is God's goal, but also that our daily life is war. (E.N.N. is F.R.'s brother and intends to join with him in church planting in Congo.)

It has given me the desire to be a missionary, especially preaching the Gospel to the Muslims. (J.G. is a convert from drugs, thievery and immorality.)

“It has inspired me to have a desire for prayer in missions as the fuel of missions. It has taught me about the supremacy of God in missions, through going or sending. (W.B. desires to return to Western Uganda to minister and plant churches.)

This book has changed my mind about missions. It has helped me know that the life of a believer is war against the world. It has helped me know how to reach the unreached people in the world through the ideas I have got from this book. (A.K. wants to return to Jinja to minister.)

It was very helpful and encouraged me more to be a pastor with a heart for missions. (J.M. age 50, pastored 9 churches before the civil wars in Congo. He plans to return to these churches.)

Please pray that God will mightily use these missionaries, Dr. Eby, and Let the Nations Be Glad to spread His name.

The Faithful Preacher, Book Review

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 19:05:12 GMT

The Faithful Preacher, Thabiti Anyabwile
(Crossway, 2007), pb., 191 pp.

I have not yet finished reading this book, but after reading the first sermon by Lemuel Haynes, I knew this is a keeper and one to commend to the readers of this blog.

In this book Anyabwile briefly introduces three pioneering African-American pastors and then gives us a selection of their sermons. The very first sermon in the book is an ordination sermon on Hebrews 13:17! This is a key text in my mind on pastoral ministry (hence the name of this blog), but I do not find it much discussed these days. This sermon on this text is incredible- searching, weighty, powerful- ingredients often missing but sorely needed in pastoral ministry today.

Appropriate to his text, Haynes expounds powerfully the need to fulfill our calling in view of the account we will one day give directly to God. As much as I talk about this verse, I desperately need exhortations like this sermon. Here are a few quotes:

The goal of preaching:

“It is the design of preaching to make things ready for the day of judgment . . . . We are fitting men for the Master’s use, preparing affairs for that decisive court.” (p. 29)

“When he studies his sermons, this will not be the inquiry, ‘How shall I form my discourse so as to please and gratify the humors of men and get their applause?’ but ‘How shall I preach so as to do honor to God and meet with the approbation of my Judge?’ This will be his daily request at the throne of grace. This will be ten thousand times better than the vain flattery of men. His discourse will not be calculated to gratify the carnal heart; rather he will not shun to declare the whole counsel of God.” (p. 32)

If we would heed this we would not be worried about giving a good performance and there would be no interest in downloading the sermons of others. I think much less time would be given to the frilly silliness so often seen and we would be in earnest to simply know what the text says and how to explain that to our people.

The importance of oversight:

“They who watch for souls as those who expect to give account will endeavor to know as much as they may the state of the souls committed to their charge, that they may be in a better capacity to do them good . . . . when they see souls taken by the enemy, they will exert themselves to deliver them from the snare of the devil.” (p. 33)

This aspect has been mentioned often here, but it is refreshing to hear yet one more faithful pastor from our past remind us that we must know our people and watch over them. The distant “preaching head” approach simply will not cut it.

Amusing Ourselves to Death

Tue, 19 Jun 2007 16:05:30 GMT

Amusing Ourselves to Death
Neil Postman
A Discerning Reader Editorial Review

It seems unlikely that a book labeled "Current Affairs" could have a shelf life of more than a few years. It seems preposterous that a book dealing with television and referring to Dallas and Dynasty could have anything to see twenty two years after being published. Yet Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death, now in it's "20th Anniversary Edition" continues to be read and studied and to hold influence. Even today it is used as required reading in many high school and college level courses. Though written by a man who made no claim to Christianity, few modern books written by an unbeliever have been more widely read and quoted by Christians. It truly is a remarkable little book.

Postman had that rarely quality of being able to see behind a fad, behind what was late and great. He saw the significance of the rise of the image and the fall of the word, the rise of amusement and the decline of discourse. He saw that television would soon saturate every area of our lives and taint the way we understand politics, religion, education and every other area of importance. As we now transition from a television-based culture to a computer-based culture the image remains central. Perhaps we have already amused ourselves past the point of no easy return. Television is remarkably effective at doing what it does best--entertaining. Postman had no argument with television is a tool of entertainment. In fact, the best things on television are its junk and no one is seriously threatened by this. Where television fails is in attempting to do the more serious work that has traditionally been carried by the written word.

Postman makes it his goal in this book to make the epistemology of television visible, demonstrating that television's way of knowing is hostile to typography's way of knowing, and not only that, but it is inferior to it. "Serious television" is a contradiction in terms for television speaks only in the voice of entertainment, never of serious, weighty, discourse--the kind of discourse that is essential to politics, religion and education. Television's influence has been relentless, transforming our culture so that every area is now considered a venue for entertainment.

Electronic media, led by television but being superseded by the computer, has changed the way we view the world and the way we carry on any kind of public discourse. Gone are the days when content was of overwhelming importance. Instead we deal with sound bites, with discordant images torn from any kind of context, and with style when in former days we relied on substance. Politicians win and lose election campaigns not on the basis of what they say, but on the basis of how they look when they say it.

Throughout the book is an interesting interplay between Huxley's Brave New World and Orwell's 1984. In the latter an oppressive regime dominates the world while in the former the people allow themselves to be overcome by levity, by entertainment and by pleasure so that they have no need of an oppressive regime. They were controlled by their amusements. Huxley, Postman argues, had it right. And I would tend to agree.

Amusing Ourselves to Death is a good read, a disturbing read, a thought-provoking read and, dare I say it, a must-read. It deserves its status as a classic and, though already two decades out of date, it is as timely as ever.

For further details and recommendations, see the full listing on DiscerningReader.com.

Review of Garretson, Princeton and Preaching

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 16:29:39 GMT

[You can also read Sinclair Ferguson’s foreword to this book on the Banner of Truth website.]

James M. Garretson, Princeton and Preaching: Archibald Alexander and the Christian Ministry. Edinburgh/Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2005. xxiv+280pp. $28.00, hardcover.

Published in SBJT 11.1 (2007), 93-93.

Archibald Alexander (1772–1851) was the first professor at Princeton Seminary, the first official Presbyterian seminary in the United States. The school began its first year with three students who met with Alexander in his home. Alexander was joined by Samuel Miller (1769–1850) in 1813, and the two served Princeton together for most of the first forty years of the seminary’s existence. Born to a pious family, Alexander could read the New Testament by the age of five and at seven had memorized the Westminster Shorter Catechism. He was apparently born again at the age of seventeen while reading John Flavel’s sermon on Revelation 3:20 aloud to an elderly Christian lady. He soon felt called to ministry and was tutored by his pastor, Rev. William Graham. He was licensed in 1791, and he then served as a missionary in the southern counties of Virginia and along the borders of North Carolina through 1794, when he was ordained, and installed pastor of the church of Briery. He had a passion for home and foreign missions.

From 1796 to 1806 Alexander served as president of Hampden-Sydney College. He then accepted a call to Pine Street Church in Philadelphia. While in Philadephia, Alexander helped establish the Philadelphia Tract Society, the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge among the Poor, and a Sunday School Association. He aided in the establishment of a Foreign Missions Society, helped develop a colonization plan for Negroes to return to Africa, and was involved with various Bible Societies. Though he would have preferred to remain at the church, he was called to Princeton in 1812. Archibald Alexander’s son James W. Alexander provided the English translation of the hymn by Bernard of Clairvaux which Paul Gerhardt had rendered into German, “O sacred Head, once wounded.” The great Princeton theologian Charles Hodge named his son Archibald Alexander Hodge.

The robust theology and warm piety of old Princeton owed much to Archibald Alexander, who has been called, “the fountain-head of the Princeton ministerial ethos.” Old Princeton trained generations of men for ministry, and when it shifted decisively to the left in the 1920’s, Old Princeton became the ideal that drove Machen in the founding of Westminster Seminary. The vision of Old Princeton also inspired early founders of Fuller Theological Seminary such as Harold John Ockenga and Carl F. H. Henry. After “Black Saturday” at Fuller (see George Marsden, Reforming Fundamentalism) the Old Princeton ideal was pursued at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School by several who had been at Fuller. Carl Henry’s decisive influence on R. Albert Mohler Jr., along with the fact that two founders of Southern Seminary, James P. Boyce and Basil Manly Jr. studied at Princeton under Alexander, extends the Old Princeton, Archibald Alexander influence well into the Southern Baptist orbit.

Several studies of Old Princeton exist, but books on Alexander are comparatively sparse. In the volume under review here, James Garretson provides a biographical summary of Alexander in chapter 1. From there Garretson provides chapters that summarize Alexander’s approach to the call to ministry, the qualifications for ministry, sermon preparation, the preparation of the preacher’s heart, the minister as shepherd, the content of preaching, ministerial deportment, the challenges of ministry, and the encouragements of the ministry. The concluding chapter draws together Alexander’s approach to training men for ministry and recommends it to our generation. This book would serve as healthy devotional reading. It is almost too rich to be read through quickly, so readers would perhaps be best served by savoring short passages for periodic encouragement. Let us heed the admonition of Hebrews 13:7 and remember those who have gone before, observing the outcome of their lives that we might imitate their faith.

Book Review: 'Letters of Thomas Chalmers'

Mon, 18 Jun 2007 11:45:59 GMT

This is without a doubt one of the most interesting Banner of Truth books published in recent years - and that says as much about the book as it does about the Banner of Truth. We think it one of the Banner's great strengths that, less pressured by financial concerns, they can publish books that otherwise would not see the light of day.
This is not a small book. Weighing in at 576 pages, it contains over 400 letters by Thomas Chalmers, some to public figures such as William Wilberforce, others to family members and close friends.
The presentation is excellent, an imaginitive, attractive dustjacket covers a well-bound hardcover in sober Presbyterian black. An introduction by Iain Murray, abridged from Murray's 'A Scottish Christian Heritage' (see previous review on this blog) precedes a reprint of the volume of Chalmers' letters edited by his son-in-law William Hanna.
The letters are arranged in blocks, with letters to the same person placed together chronologically, allowing the reader to follow the flow of correspondence. We have here Cahlmers the man and the pastor, writing to inquirers, to bereaved parents, to students of theology and to other ministers, not just in his own denomination, but Baptists, Congregationalists and Anglicans (including some bishops). Readers may recognise the names of J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, Charles Bridges and Dr. Ryland. Other letters were written to Dr. Rainy, father of Principal Rainy. We have here Chalmers' reflections on certain books, such as Romaine's 'Life, Walk and Triumph of Faith', of which he wrote: "Nothing can be more precious than Romaine. His three treatises on faith are all overrun with the flavour of the very essence of the Gospel." Of Jonathan Edwards he wrote: "Him I have long esteemed as the greatest of theologians, combining in a degree that is quite unexampled, the profoundly intellectual with the devotedly spiritual and sacred." (P. 443)
We also have Chalmers' remarks on those scenes in history in which he played a part. Here is his description of the Disruption, written to his sister: "You would have been struck with the contrast presented by our out-going clergy between their anxious and wo-begone aspect before they had taken their decision, and their perfect happiness and light-heartedness after it. Never was there a happier Assembly, with a happier collection of faces, than in our Free Church, with consciences disburdened, and casting themselves without care, and all the confidence of children, on the Providence of that God who never forsakes the families of the faithful." (P. 242)
We have here deep theological questions, such as whether or not man is responsible for his belief (P. 299) with passages of deep devotion, such as this from page 236: "How delightful the attitude in which the pitying Saviour is represented to the eye of faith, as touched with a fellow-feeling - as having been Himself tried even as we are - and as able (and willing as He is able) to succour them who are so tried. I know not a more precious expression of His character, did we but realise it, than that used by the Apostle when he tells us of the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Let us cast on Him, then, both the burden of our sufferings and our cares, and He, not permitting us to be tempted above what we are able, will provide a way of escape, that we may be able to bear it."

By its nature, this is not so much a book to be read through as one to be dipped into. And it is a book that will be dipped into again and again by discerning readers.
Yet this book is no substitute for a biography. It was intended to be a supplement to Hanna's 'Memoir of Dr. Chalmers', and we feel that the Banner of Truth would do the Christian Church a great service by bringing back into print that absolutely classical volume, if not in its full form, at least in an edited form. Alexander Whyte wrote in 1909, of "my regret and indeed distress, that this present generation of the readers of good books in Scotland is denied the purchase and the possession of one of the very best books Scotland has ever produced. And if the whole Memoir is too large and is too rich for this book-crowded day, might not 'The Journals' and 'The Letters' at least be kept in print and offered for sale?"
The Banner of Truth Trust has done an excellent job (just ninety-eight years later) of fulfilling a part of Whyte's desire. May we not pray they will fulfill the other?

Buy this book, it is a classic, with something in it for everyone who desires to be instructed, not merely amused.

'The Letters of Thomas Chalmers' is priced at £17.50 in the United Kingdom and is published by the Banner of Truth Trust.

Book Review - John Newton

Sat, 16 Jun 2007 22:02:10 GMT

While not everyone knows the name of John Newton, everyone knows his song and at least a bit of his story. Immortalized in the words of "Amazing Grace," the most-recorded song in history, everyone knows that John Newton was wretched and miserable until saved by a grace that forever transformed his life. Two centuries ago, fewer people knew his song, but far more knew his story. That story is told again and told afresh in Jonathan Aitken's new biography John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace.

John Newton lived a life that could only have been more dramatic if it were the product of fiction. Forced into naval service when he was young, Newton endeared himself to no one, living a life of utter disregard for authority. While attempting to desert he was captured and dropped to the lowest ranks of seamen. He eventually found a way to be released from the military and wormed his way onto a slave shape with which he sailed down the long coast of Africa. Being deserted for a time on that dark continent, he was made the slave of a slave-trader and suffered terrible abuse at the hands of his captor. After a time he was rescued and became the captain of his own slave ship. But then, during a long passage across the Atlantic Ocean, he began to read a Bible and underwent the remarkable transformation chronicled in the song he wrote years later.

Newton worked in secular employment for a time but soon felt the call to ministry and was ordained an Anglican priest, a position he retained until his death in 1807. In the intervening years he became widely-known through his biography and through his efforts to abolish the slave trade. He served as mentor to William Wilberforce who fought a long but ultimately successful campaign to ban the British slave trade. It was two hundred years ago that this battle was won and two hundred years ago that Newton died. As Eric Metaxas has written a new biography of Wilberforce to mark the occasion, Aitken has done the same with Newton.

And it is quite a good biography. Aitken, who has previously chronicled the lives of Richard Nixon and Chuck Colson is a recent convert who underwent quite a radical conversion. He does a fine job of bringing the life of his subject to a whole new generation. While it may lack the depth of some of the greatest biographies of the greatest Christians, it is eminently readable and enjoyable from the first page to the last. A unique contribution of this book is that it relies on diaries and correspondence that have previously been unpublished. Newton's own writing, and especially his letters, provide a good deal of the book's content and some of its most edifying. In fact, the content and depth of these letters persuaded me to seek out a volume published by Banner of Truth titled simply The Letters of John Newton.

The theme of this biography can be aptly summarized by the final words spoken by this hero of the faith. "I am a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior." This account takes us from Newton's days of joyous depravity to his dramatic conversion to his new life and ultimately to the moment he went to meet the great Savior he had come to know and love. It is a worthwhile addition to any library.

John Newton: From disgrace to amazing grace

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 04:19:16 GMT

Book Announcement
John Newton: From disgrace to amazing grace
By Jonathan Aitken

Today I’ve decided to try something a bit different in our frequent book announcement feature. These book announcements are intended to bring your attention the new releases that look excellent but not necessarily are going to get a full review.

The new look of the book announcement is the product of watching my friends come over and pick through my library looking especially for highlighted and marked pages in my books and reading the comments I write in the back cover. So today I’m going to attempt something similar online by pointed out a few pages from a new book that I found especially interesting and will show you these pages using the online browsing feature from the publisher.

The book under the spotlight today is Jonathan Aitken’s excellent new biography, John Newton: From disgrace to amazing grace (Crossway: 2007). Although Newton’s life is worthy of the cinema, even biographies of the slave trader turned preacher of the Gospel are quite rare. This biography by Aitken is a special treat … So like when you take a stack of books to a comfortable chair in the back of Barnes and Noble and relax for a browse, I invite you to brew some coffee, relax and take a few moments to look through these selected highlights:

… Read the interesting background of the author and why it makes him especially suited to write this bio (page 13).

… The song Amazing Grace was originally written in hymn form so its rich theological truths could be easily remembered by a few lace-makers and farmers (read page 351).

… Read about the powerful impact George Whitefield had upon Newton in 1777 when Whitefield passed through Liverpool (pages 133-137).

… Read Newton’s encouragement and exhortations directed towards William Wilberforce that prevented Wilberforce’s retirement from politics. Wilberforce would become famous politically for his role in the abolition of slavery and we have Newton ’s relationship to thank for this (see pages 314-317).

… Vivid pulled quote from Newton’s pamphlet, Thoughts Upon The African Slave Trade written in 1788 (on page 23). Being so familiar with the African slave trade and willing to talk about its horrors, it is no wonder Newton led such a powerful abolitionist movement himself.

… The introduction to Newton’s life (pages 17-24) and the epilogue of Newton’s life are especially good (pages 351-356).

Overall Aitken has written an excellent biography and will make for a great Summer read to marvel in the amazing grace of God. Highly recommended.

Title: John Newton: From disgrace to amazing grace
Author: Jonathan Aitken
Reading level: 2.0/5.0 > easy
Boards: hardcover (not cloth)
Pages: 400
Volumes: 1
Dust jacket: yes
Binding: glued (not sewn)
Paper: normal
Topical index: yes
Scriptural index: no
Text: perfect type
Publisher: Crossway
Year: 2007
Price USD: $21.99 from Crossway
ISBNs: 9781581348484, 1581348487

Pastoral Ministry According to Paul

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 19:05:13 GMT

Pastoral Ministry According to Paul, James W. Thompson
(Baker, 2006), pb., 174 pp.

I have previously commented on my appreciation of the basic direction of this book and its critique of common contemporary conceptions of pastoral ministry. I have more recently finished reading the book and submitted my review to the Southern Baptist Journal of Theology. I can’t post my complete review here before it goes to print, but I did want to briefly commend the book here. I have some key basic disagreements with Thompson, but he makes excellent points on goal of pastoral ministry as found in Paul’s’ letters (at least in the letters he is willing to ascribe to Paul).

Thompson does a good job of showing that Paul is not simply concerned to get professions of faith from large numbers of individuals. Paul is concerned to establish churches composed of healthy, godly members living in proper relation to one another. Paul’s vision is much more holistic than what we often witness today. Paul is clear that the success of his ministry will only fully be known on the final day. Thus he labors in view of eternity and not simply with a bag of quick fixes which may attract attention from denominational papers but will fade long before judgment.

Here are a few quotes:

His initial evangelistic work is therefore only the beginning of a process that will not be complete until the end of time. His work will be successful only if his congregations live out the consequences of the gospel through transformed lives and are fully transformed at the coming of Christ. Thus all theology is pastoral for Paul. – 24

Paul’s work is not only to evangelize but to participate in the transformation of the community. – 91

In the fourth place, Paul’s pastoral theology is ecclesiocentric and eschatological. Ministry is not done in isolation, and the goal of the pastor is not only the well-being of the individual. The goal of ministry is to ensure that individuals discover the resources for transformation within the community and that corporate well-being is the goal of the pastor. … The church has seen a glimpse of the end of the narrative, when it will be transformed into the image of the Son. To be engaged in ministry is to work with God toward this goal. – 118

The ultimate test for the effectiveness of our ministry cannot be measured by the standards of our culture or our peers but by whether our work survives the test. – 156

To build a church on the basis of the satisfaction of consumer tastes is to retreat to the self-centeredness of the old aeon. – 157

The worship service is not intended to appeal to individual consumer tastes but to build a lasting community. – 161

I encourage pastors to get this book and read it. There are parts to disagree with, but there is much to heed as well.

Book Review - Reconciliation Blues

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:05:09 GMT

I often wonder if my Canadian perspective keeps me from really understanding race relationships as they exist in the United States. Things are different here. I live in a city where over half of the population was born outside of this nation. A trip to any public location (or even a walk around the average neighborhood) will show an incredible variety of races and backgrounds and this seems to have been Canada's historical pattern. To be Canadian is to be diverse. Canada never embraced slavery and never had shockingly unjust Jim Crow laws to overcome. We had no Martin Luther King Jr. and, in a sense, never had as great a need for one. Racism was never systematized here as it was just a few miles south. So when I read about racial issues I read about something that comes from outside of the context I know best.

Reconciliation Blues is, according to the subtitle, "A Black Evangelicl's Inside View of White Christianity." The author, Edward Gilbreath, editor at large for Christianity Today, has written this book to give a glimpse of what it means to be both black and evangelical. "My hope," he writes, "is that this inside perspective on what I regrettably call 'white Christianity' can help both blacks and whites get a better sense of the condition of our racial reconciliation and the distance we need to travel to make it something more authentic and true."

This book weaves together several elements: Gilbreath's memoir, particularly as it pertains to his race, biographies of prominent black reconcilers such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson, philosophical musings on what reconciliation means to the church and whether it is even still necessary, and discussions of elements as diverse as music, politics, and the "whiteness" of evangelical institutions. It is, in a sense, a series of essays in which the author wrestles with the desire to embrace both his race and his evangelical beliefs. It is a book that celebrates the successes that have come, but laments the fact that much work remains.

And that, in essence, is what this book is about--the loneliness of being "the only black," and the frustration of being expected to represent your race but still being stifled when you try, the hidden pain of being invited to the table but shut out from meaningful decisions about that table's future. These "reconciliation blues" are about the despair of knowing that it's still business as usual, even in the friendly context of Christian fellowship and ministry.

I found Reconciliation Blues most valuable as a perspective on the experience of one man as he comes to terms with both his race and his religion--what it is like to be a black evangelical in the church today and to want to embrace both of those aspects of his identity. It surprises me to hear that this is more difficult than it may appear. The book gave me much to think about, and especially how about I, as a white Christian, may well not even realize how much my "whiteness" affects my faith. It is interesting food for thought to consider how much of the white evangelical experience is a product of being white and how much is directly biblical. Take this quote, for example:

The first thing I learned in Sunday school was that black is the color of our hearts without Jesus, red is the color of Jesus' redeeming blood, and white is the color of our cleansed hearts after we accept Jesus as our "Lord and Savior." There were even visual aids, construction paper cut-outs, that demonstrated the red blood washing away the black sin to reveal a brand-new white heart.

Have we ever considered the potential ramifications of portraying black as evil and white as pure and good? Is this portrayal a cultural preference or divine fiat? Is there a better or more sensitive way of expressing good theology but in using word pictures that do not offend as this one might? And if the evangelical outworking of the Christian faith really is to at least some extent a product of our "whiteness," what do we stand to gain by embracing more diversity?

The book can be provocative at times. For example, speaking of Jesse Jackson (and man who, according to Gilbreath, captures both the good and bad aspects of racial reconciliation in America) he writes, "In general, the African American Christian community has been more forgiving of its fallen members. Though few whites will admit it aloud, this is one of the things that sustains the fissures between black and white believers--the impression that blacks are lax morally, that they too easily excuse sin or fail to take responsibility for their behavior." This is more food for thought, an example of where white Christians may harbor subtle beliefs that influence the way they think of their black brothers and sisters in Christ.

Reconciliation Blues is a book that deals more with questions than answers, more with describing the current state than providing concrete suggestions for the way forward. Gilbreath is clear in stating that he believes racial reconciliation needs to remain a priority for the church. I trust that this book will at least cause people to think and to consider how they may have, however inadvertently, contributed to the problem and how they can now work towards a solution.

Book Review—No Legal Grounds

Thu, 14 Jun 2007 10:21:29 GMT

by Adam Blumer Bell, James Scott. No Legal Grounds. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007. Paperback, 339 pages, $13.99 (Review copy courtesy of Zondervan) Purchase: Zondervan, CBD, Amazon ISBNs: 0310269024 / 9780310269021 LCCN: PS3552.E5158 N62 2007 DCN: 813/.54 22 Subject: Fiction - Suspense/Mystery JAMES SCOTT BELL (www.jamesscottbell.com) is a winner of the Christy Award of Excellence in Christian Fiction and the bestselling author of several [...]

Discerning Reader News

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 16:05:08 GMT

As you probably know, I run not only this blog but also Discerning Reader, a site that, until now has focused entirely on book reviews. Just last week I relaunched the site with a whole new design and a bunch of new features. Most notably, we will now add new reviews every week (on Tuesdays) and will add other information on a near-daily basis. I expect to update the site at least three to four times a week. It will become (and, I hope, is already becoming) a place where you can keep up with what is new and exciting in the world of Christians books. If you visit the RSS page you can subscribe (via RSS or email) to receive update notifications for either articles or reviews.

You'll see that the subscription-based features I mentioned a few weeks ago are in place, even though the content is not there yet. I continue to gauge interest in that aspect of the site and, for the time being, am preparing to launch the first subscriber content next month.

Now, for some reason that remains unknown to me, Google has been hesitant to add Discerning Reader to its index. The primary way Google finds out about sites and gauges their importance is through links from other sites. And so I'm going to ask you, if you have a site of any kind, to link to Discerning Reader. Just to entice you a little more, I'll sweeten the deal. I've got a few copies of some great Steve Lawson books around here that I'd love to give away (because they are so good and because they are taking up a lot of space). So here's the deal. If you add a link from your site to Discerning Reader and send me an email proving you've done so, I'll enter you in a draw. If you are a blogger, don't feel obliged to mention us in an article or post. A simple link in your blogroll or on the main page of your site will be fine. A week from today I'll select three winners, each of whom will be sent a copy of Foundations of Grace, the first in the A Long Line of Godly Men series, along with a copy of The Expository Genius of John Calvin. This will get you a good start with this series that will build over the next few years. Even if you don't anticipate enjoying the books, I guarantee that you know someone who will. Hold on to them until Christmas and give them away then!

You can link to the site however you see fit. It would probably be most helpful if you would link something like this:

Christian Book Reviews or Discerning Reader. The search engines pay great attention to the actual content of your link text (which in the two examples I've given are "Christian Book Reviews" and "Discerning Reader"). If you prefer to link with a graphic, here is the logo in a few different sizes:

Discounted Book for Blog Readers

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:26:19 GMT

(Author: Abraham)

We would like to offer the book What Jesus Demands from the World for $2.97 to our readers. (It retails for $19.99 and we usually sell it for $12.49.)

This may be the first post you've seen here at the DG Blog or you may be a regular reader. Either way, we appreciate your interest and we would be very happy for you to take advantage of this special.

To get the discount, add the book to your cart in our store. Proceed through the checkout and on the payment page there will be a field to enter a coupon code. Enter the word blog and then click on "Apply Code."

Small print: This special is only available online. One discounted book per order. We've set aside 500 books for this, so it is a while-supplies-last kind of deal.

I also ought to add that you can always download this book for free (PDF) along with a bunch of our other books if you don't mind reading a couple hundred pages on your computer screen.

Review: Augustine Through the Ages

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 20:26:25 GMT

Review By. Monergism's B. K. Campbell

The book contains synopses of his ideas and outlines of his work and life. The format is alphabetical, topical with double columned text.

Augustine’s shadow is still on the land, his influence is scattered across the face of Christendom. His thought was deep, profound and original. He mastered everything from theology to apologetics. As a Christian thinker he remains second to none. “Augustine Through The Ages” is the only work I have ever seen that gets at every important aspect of his thought. If you have any inclination to know theology, defend your faith or understand the influence behind so much Christian thought this volume is a must for you. Augustine was the most important non-canonical Christian thinker; “Augustine through The Ages” is the most important encyclopedia on that thinker. If you yearn for access to his mind there is no better volume available than “Augustine Through The Ages”.

Brief Update on Upcoming Book

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 07:05:15 GMT

(Author: Abraham)

John Piper is just finishing his new book The Future of Justification: A Response to N.T. Wright. Lord willing, it will be published in time for the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in November.

Book Review—Same Lake, Different Boat

Fri, 08 Jun 2007 04:15:05 GMT

Hubach, O. Stephanie, and Joni Tada. Same Lake, Different Boat: Coming Alongside People Touched by Disability. Phillipsburg, NH: P&R Publishing, 2006. Paperback, 234 pages. $14.99 (Review copy courtesy of P&R Publishing) Purchase: P&R; CBD;WTS Bookstore; Amazon Notes & Glossary ISBNs: 1596380519 / 9781596380516 LCCN: BV4460.H83 DCN: 261.8′324 Subject: Disabilities; Church & Ministry Listen to a interview with the author on the “Joni [...]

Sam Storms Reviews Pierced For Our Transgressions

Thu, 07 Jun 2007 22:19:18 GMT

Sam Storms has written a two part review of PFOT. This is the must-read book of the year. It is not a light read, but it is on such a vital subject that every thinking Christian needs to get a copy. The review is in two parts. I will quote from the first, but the second part is also worth reading. Let me begin with the Foreword. Count on John Piper to say it straight and true. He pulls no punches