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Latest Headlines From This Site Friday, August 22, 2008

2008 Top Posts Numbers 23 and 24


The 24th most read post on this blog is, ironically enough, a post that introduced my most popular posts of 2007.

Position 23 is filled by a post listing some books I think every Christian should read.

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Monday, August 18, 2008

Catching Up With Mark Driscoll


I have now published all the Mark Driscoll material from his recent visit to the UK. Don't miss the video interviews, and the Dwell material, as well as the talks from Brighton. There is a lot to absorb there. There are also three talks for church elders that I was not present at.

Since his return to the US, however, this man has been nothing short of busy!

He has interviewed J. I. Packer on Young Christian Leaders, and Homosexuality. He also wrote a series of blog posts on Spurgeon:
He has also preached a cracking sermon series which you can see here, and for which you can download notes by following the links. About fifty minutes into the first one he starts talking about our Newfrontiers prayer meeting. As he put it, it was like a prayer meeting on Pro-Plus. He then tells Mars Hill that some things are about to change around there, and gets them to pray for each other. Nice one!

Pray Like Jesus



The Lord’s Prayer



The Gethsemane Prayer



He has now departed for Australia for a well-earned holiday, but not before posting a blog from the airport, mentioning that his Macbook Pro is now loaded up with Logos software. (Get your Logos software from me with a 25 per cent discount if you are jealous.)

Oh, and I almost forgot. The cutest thing he has probably ever done is wave his built in MacBook Pro web cam at his rather noisy kids (where do they get that from???). The funniest bit is when he gets his wife to join in the fun. That expression is worth a thousand words! I hope his family enjoys him—he's all theirs now, at least until the Australian preaching tour starts!



The guy is like a dynamo, and on top of all that, Crossway now has nine books listed with Mark Driscoll as an author (although some are not out yet). The ones I've seen are uniformly helpful and engaging, and I commend them highly! One that is coming soon is Death By Love, and the website has just been released. Looks fantastic.

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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Pre-Order ESV Study Bible in USA or Europe


I haven't yet mentioned online the ESV Study Bible which Wayne Grudem and Justin Taylor, among others, have been working on furiously for what must seem to them to be an eternity. There is a whole website devoted to it where you can download samples of the work that will make you impatient for October when this will be shipped.

This looks to me to be the study Bible for the 21st century. Laid out in a visually attractive way and stuffed full of incredibly helpful material, I can't think of any reason why you wouldn't want to rush to get your pre-order in. Why not buy a few and give them as Christmas presents?

Primary Features of the Study Bible
  • 2,752 pages—equivalent to a 20-volume Bible resource library all in one volume.

  • 1.3 million words—written by 95 leading evangelical scholars and teachers.

  • 20,000 notes—focusing especially on understanding the Bible text and providing answers to frequently raised issues.

  • Over 50 articles—including articles on the Bible’s authority, reliability, and interpretation; on biblical archaeology, theology, worship, prayer, and personal application.

  • Over 200 full-color maps—created with the latest digital technology, satellite images, and archaeological research; printed in full color, throughout the Bible.

  • 200-plus charts—offering key insights and in-depth analysis in clear, concise outline form; located throughout the Bible.

  • 80,000 cross-references—to encourage easy location of important words, passages, and biblical themes.

  • More than 40 new full-color illustrations—including historically accurate reconstructions of the Tabernacle, the Ark of the Covenant, Solomon’s temple, Herod’s temple, the city of Jerusalem in Jesus’ time and throughout the history of Israel, and many more.
If you live in North America you can pre-order from the ESV Study Bible website or from Amazon.com using the following links, which seem to be offering significant discounts:



If you live in Europe, then visit Amazon.co.uk using the following links:

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Has Wayne Grudem Been the Victim of Internet Pirates?


A number of bloggers have been mentioning that Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology is online for free. I felt it was a bit suspicious, however, because of the web address that was being shared—it contained only numbers, i.e. in this type of format—202.202.202.202. That is generally not a good sign in a web address. I have deliberately NOT linked to that new site for the following reason:

I have made some inquiries with IVP, the UK publisher, and their initial response is that they are a bit concerned by this development and are looking into it. It is still possible that the site is legitimate and that permission was obtained by someone else within IVP and/or from Zondervan, the USA publisher. This is looking increasingly unlikely, however.

I am sure the rights and wrongs of this will emerge clearly with a bit more time. In the meantime, Christian integrity, not to mention the law of copyright, would require anyone who has innocently visited the site to desist from doing so again, and other bloggers to remove their links which, again, I am sure were innocently posted. If someone who becomes aware of this message has indeed made this file available in such a way without the publisher's permission, they ought to remove it immediately.

If you want an electronic copy of this resource, Logos Bible Software's version can be purchased for just a few dollars and will work even without one of their core software packages.

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Monday, April 21, 2008

New Iain Murray Book on Martyn Lloyd-Jones



Most Mondays I post something by or about Doctor Martyn Lloyd-Jones, one of my historical heroes. Today is an example of this habit. While I was preoccupied with New Word Alive, Martin Downes posted the chapter list for a new book on Lloyd-Jones by the Doctor's assistant. The book, entitled "Lloyd-Jones—Messenger of Grace," is broad-ranging, and will look at issues like Lloyd-Jones' attitude toward the Holy Spirit, preaching, and the impact of his sermons. It sounds like a very interesting book.

Lloyd-Jones is a bit like John Piper in that he refuses to fit neatly into any of our molds. His message still resonates today with cessationist and charismatic alike. I often wonder if today Lloyd-Jones would have identified himself as a reformed charismatic, although there is no doubt that he had serious reservations about some key charismatic beliefs.

To understand his sometimes unique position in relation to some of the controversies of his time is very instructive. You do not have to agree with Lloyd-Jones on everything, but you do have to take him seriously. Murray's two-volume biography of the Doctor is compulsory reading for those wanting to understand our Christian heritage of the last century.

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Sunday, March 16, 2008

How to Build Multicultural Churches


Thankfully, many people today seem to have moved on from the ideas of the "homogenous church growth principle." I never could see how that whole idea wasn't just a thinly veiled form of racism, or at the very least, an accommodation with the racism of others. I think I would prefer to be a part of a church aiming to be multicultural, even if that means it might not grow as quickly as one where people's eager desire to flock together with others like themselves is not challenged.

Having said that, it's not easy to build that kind of church. For a start, one has to live in a multicultural area, which is simply not true of every town—certainly not in the UK anyway. Even if you are in such an area, there are many hurdles to overcome.

The desire does seem to be growing for multicultural churches to be formed. There are even a few such churches springing up. It was great today, therefore, to attend a day conference at King's Church Catford aimed at stirring churches to rise to this challenge.

For once I decided not to live-blog the event, but I am told mp3s will be available online. It was great to greet one or two of my readers at the event also. Thanks for coming up and saying "Hi." It always means a lot to know that there are real people reading.

It's vital to remember when blogging that behind every page impression lies a human person with real emotions. It's because so many bloggers forget that, not only am I glad I banned comments here, but for now at least, I'm keeping away from the comment boxes elsewhere, too. Somehow forcing people to send me an e-mail if they want to contact me seems to have driven away the negative comments that I used to have to wade through.

I guess that little outburst was probably prompted by an illustration used earlier today:
From a distance I thought you were a monster. Then, when you got closer, I thought you were an animal. When you got closer still, I realized you were a human. Closer still, I realized I liked you. When you were right next to me, I recognized you were my brother.
A quick shout-out about a couple of books on the subject, neither of which I have had time to read completely, but I like what I have seen. First, Gracism by David Anderson (one of the speakers) and secondly, Dynamic Diversity by Bruce Milne.

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Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Chuck Colson Blog Book Tour


Chuck Colson has stopped by my blog on his blog tour to promote his new book, The Faith: What Christians Believe, Why They Believe It, and Why It Matters. So far the stops have included:Chuck Colson Today, I asked Chuck the following:

Adrian
Others have asked you erudite theological questions. I hope you haven't felt like you were facing some kind of theological inquisition! Welcome to the blogosphere, Chuck! I would like to be sneaky and ask you more than one question, although they are not as intellectual as some of the others.

First of all, will we ever see a Chuck Colson blog? Secondly, can you please tell us a bit about your hopes and aspirations for the book, i.e. how you came to be writing it, why you wrote it, who your target audience is, and what you hope the book will achieve in the Christian world?

Chuck Colson
There is a Chuck Colson blog right now; it's called The Point. Actually, it is run by a group here at Prison Fellowship, but it expresses my views completely.

The reason that I wrote The Faith is that I think the Church desperately needs, as Jim Packer said on his 80th birthday, to be catechized. We need to learn again the basics of our faith, those things which we hold in common through all the centuries, through all the denominations. It is what Lewis called mere Christianity. But people need to be grounded. Otherwise we can't defend ourselves and we can't live the faith out. So I think it's one of the most important books I've ever written.

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Tuesday, February 26, 2008

FREE BOOK COMPETITION - What's The Most Popular Post On My Blog?


The queries have started coming in. Readers are e-mailing me, wanting to know:
  1. Have I forgotten about the series of republished popular posts?

  2. What is the number one most-read post on this blog?
The suspense is building up . . . !!

So I've decided to launch a competition, offering four free new Christian books to the winners. The competition question? It's simple. As of now, which post is currently the most frequently read post on my blog? (There are only 2,990 or so to choose from!)

The first two bloggers who post the correct guess (with a link back to this post) will each be declared a winner and receive a Christian book through the mail. Two more books will go to the first two correct e-mail guesses. If there are fewer than two bloggers or e-mailers with the correct answer, the free books will switch to the other group. If no one gets the right answer, I will select some winners in a quasi random way (so don't sue me!).

Get thinking, and feel free to enter more than once! E-mail the post URL to adrian.warnock@gmail.com, or write your guess on your blog.

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Friday, February 15, 2008

3rd Most Read Post - The ESV: A Bible Translation for Everyone?


No. 3 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on July 10, 2005 and represented the first in my series of interviews with Christian leaders. I had no idea back in 2005 where the blogging journey would lead me. An exclusive offer to interview the translators of what was then a little-known, new, apparently niche-appeal translation was simply too good to turn down. The folks at Crossway were kind enough to offer me this amazing opportunity, which I grabbed with both hands!

For awhile, my blog was entirely devoted to the ESV. At the time, some people probably thought I'd never talk about anything else! They were wrong, of course, because although I often do go on and on about a subject for quite awhile, eventually the subject changes as the weeks roll into months and then years!

Here is that post in its entirety. For an exhaustive list of posts about the ESV on my blog, please click on the link provided at the end of this post.
This post is the final one in an extended series I have run on the English Standard Version of the Bible. The opportunity to interview the ESV translators has been great. We have one more answer to share on a video clip, and at the end of the post I will list links for all my previous posts on the ESV (including some that weren't directly to do with the interview).

I hope this series of posts will continue to be of use to others, so if you have enjoyed them please do consider linking to this post on your own blog.

If you want to know more about the ESV version of the Bible, these interview posts should be helpful to you. There is also a great ESV Blog which is run by the publishers.

If these posts have prompted you to buy yourself a new Bible, do let me know by e-mailing me at adrian.warnock@gmail.com. The choice of Bible translations is a very personal thing, and most serious Bible students will own more than one version. Comparing and contrasting differing translations of a passage is very helpful in trying to understand what the Bible means.

I hope that even if you do not decide to use the ESV as your primary Bible translation, you will at least look at it from time-to-time to compare it to your current favorite. It is available to read for free online, and can be bought online from Crossway or Amazon.

The Final Question
To what extent was the translation of the ESV Bible one consciously assisted by prayer and the Holy Spirit? How conscious of his work in illuminating and guiding our understanding of God's Word were you in working together on this translation?

Watch J. I. Packer respond (Windows Media).
I may say, we did make worship basic to what we were doing and started each day with a reading of Scripture, a word or two of application, and prayer together. And we thought that important. We wanted the blessing of God on what we were doing, and we were sensitive not to follow a procedure which would, in fact, leave God out of what we were doing.
Read more . . . The ESV—A Bible Translation for Everyone?

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Friday, February 01, 2008

8th Most Read Post - Interview With C. J. Mahaney


No. 8 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on October 10, 2005, when I had the honor of interviewing C. J. Mahaney via e-mail.

C. J. has, in recent years, been introduced to a new audience because of his friendship with Mark Dever and Company. I have known of him since the 1980's, and loved to listen to him live at early Newfrontiers Bible Weeks.

In January 2008, C. J.began blogging at the Sovereign Grace Blog—C. J. Mahaney's View From the Cheap Seats and Other Stuff. The headlines from that blog will be appearing in my Warnie Winners Box from now on.
Adrian
It is my great pleasure to welcome to the blog one of my greatest heroes in the faith, C. J. Mahaney. C. J. is well-known as a preacher and the leader of Sovereign Grace Ministries. More recently he has been gaining fame in the world of blogs as the husband and father of the writers of GirlTalk. He is also the mentor of another well-known blogger and author, Josh Harris, who I have also interviewed.

Welcome to the world of the blogosphere, C. J. It was great of you to join us for this interview. I would like to talk to you today about your new book, Humility—True Greatness. First of all, what prompted such a book? Whose idea was it, and how was it born?

C. J.
Adrian, I'm honored to be interviewed! I can assure you the idea for this book was not mine! I didn't volunteer to write this book, and there were countless times while writing it that I had the following thought: "You idiot! Why did you agree to write this book?" I was approached by my publisher to write the book, and I was encouraged by my wife and friends. After some initial reluctance, I agreed to do it. I can assure you that writing about humility is a humbling experience.

Adrian
It seems from what you are saying and from my reading of the book that humility is actually something of a lifetime message for you. Am I right in that assessment? Do you believe that one of the biggest needs of the Church today is for leaders to emerge who have the authority to lead, but the humility to do so graciously? If so, how will this book and other resources help in producing such leaders?

C. J.
Adrian, you ask good questions and you ask a lot of questions! It is true that I have been studying both humility and pride for many years for the purpose of weakening pride in my own life and cultivating humility by the grace of God. And I think Scripture is clear about the priority of humility, not just for leaders, but for everyone who professes to love and serve the Savior. In Isaiah 66:2 we read the following astonishing statement:
This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word."
Although God is aware of all things, he is searching for something in particular, something that acts like a magnet to capture his attention and invite his active involvement. And that something is humility. God is decisively drawn to the humble. It is my hope that this book will remind the reader of the priority of humility in the divine economy and the gracious promise of God "to give grace to the humble (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5).

Read more . . . Interview With C. J. Mahaney

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Thursday, January 24, 2008

Help for our Prayerlessness - by Sam Storms


Part of the reason for my blog holiday has been, hopefully, to fit more time for prayer into my schedule which, even without blogging, remains tightly packed. As usual, I have not found that as easy as I would like—although I am praying more than I normally do. What is it about prayer that we find so difficult?

I thought I would interrupt this blog break to bring you the following prolonged extract from Sam Storms' forthcoming book on Colossians. The daily devotions I am sharing here are all on the subject of prayer, and I have found them helpful to me as I look again at this vital subject. This is taken from The Hope of Glory: 100 Daily Meditations on Colossians, by Sam Storms, pp.309-324, © 2008. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, http://www.crossway.org/.

The Easiest Thing About Prayer
Colossians 4:2
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

The easiest thing about praying is quitting. Giving up seems so reasonable, so easy to justify. It’s always been that way, which is why Paul wrote in Colossians 4:12, “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.” Persevering in prayer when no one seems to listen strikes many people as a sign of fanaticism, if not mental instability.

Not long ago I received an e-mail from a friend who was facing the impending deaths of several people in his church. Soon after, I learned of the untimely passing of an incredibly godly Christian man who left behind a grieving wife and two young children. In any given week I hear the same stories you do: a loved one dies, a job is lost and another not found, bills go unpaid, relationships are shattered, dreams fail to materialize. Rain does not fall and crops fail. A teenager is loved and cared for, yet rebels and abandons God. What makes such incidents especially disturbing is that they all occur notwithstanding persistent and fervent prayer that they not. Why is it that a man or woman prays for relief or deliverance or some essential blessing to alleviate intense aggravation, but hears nothing? In humble faith, with sincerity of heart, not for a moment doubting that God is able both to hear and answer their prayers, they pray. But heaven is silent, or so it seems.

I recently saw the film The Island (that’s not a recommendation!) in which unsuspecting clones are nourished and sustained to serve as organ donors for their wealthy sponsors who aspire to live as long as possible. These “folk” know virtually nothing of the outside world or its ways. Two have escaped and are in conversation with a rather strange man who happens to mention “God.” “What’s ‘God’?” asks one of the clones.

“Oh, well, you know when you close your eyes and ask for something?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, God’s the one who doesn’t answer you.”

Dr. Sam StormsIt’s a bad joke, but for many people it rings all too true. People in Paul’s day faced the same temptation to quit that we do. But too much was at stake. Though defeated at the cross, Satan and his demons are still active. The weakness of the flesh abides. The threat of schism in the body of Christ is ever present. Great opportunities to share the gospel are at every turn. So, don’t quit, says Paul. Continue steadfastly in prayer. Keep watch at all times lest you despair. Be thankful for all God has done and will do in response to your petitions. Much has already been said in Colossians concerning perseverance in prayer, so I won’t repeat myself here. . . . Instead, I want to briefly address the reasons why a good God who can help often seems not to, or at least not to in accordance with our schedules. There are surely reasons other than these, but here are a few suggestions that I hope will encourage you to “continue steadfastly in prayer” (Colossians 4:2a).

First, we are a presumptuous people. We just assume that God ought always to do what we ask, when we ask, precisely in the way we ask. By delaying his response, God awakens us to the gracious character of all answered prayer. In other words, that God says or does anything at all in response to our petitions is sheer, undiluted grace. Resolute continuation in prayer, watchful perseverance, is often the best way for us to learn this invaluable lesson.

Second, steadfast endurance in coming again and again to the throne of grace is God’s way of cultivating in us a sense of absolute and utter dependence upon him. We are by nature self-reliant, self-sufficient folk. If God were instantly and at all times to answer our every prayer, we would gradually lose our sense of urgency. Truth be told, most of us would soon lose sight of the fact that it is God alone who is the source of all good. By suspending his response, God is saying to each of us: “Just how desperate are you? How conscious are you that I am your only source, your sole and all-sufficient supply?”

Third, persistent praying puts us in that frame of mind and spirit in which we may properly receive what it is that God desires to give. In other words, it isn’t so much that God is reluctant to give, but that we lack preparation to receive. Try to envision what a mess your life would have been if your parents granted you everything you asked for as a child! God often delays his answers because, quite simply, we are in no shape to receive them. Few of us are willing to admit that, but deep down we know it’s true.

Fourth, steadfast, watchful continuation in prayer helps us differentiate between impetuous, ill-conceived, selfish desires, and sincere, deep-seated, Christ-exalting ones. Persistence in prayer thus enables us to weed out improper petitions.

Fifth, endurance at the throne of grace purifies the content of our petitions. By repeating our prayers we are forced to think and rethink what we are saying. We are compelled to evaluate our motivation and aim for asking God for something in particular. It’s a bit like how I read, reread, and read yet again each of these meditations. It helps me identify mistakes, locate typographical errors, and rephrase something that otherwise might be false or misleading. I can almost envision God saying in response to my first articulation of a prayer, “Sam, are you sure you want me to answer that one? Think about it. Contemplate the long-term consequences of a yes. Then come back and ask me again in different terms, with a purified purpose.”

Sixth, perseverance cultivates patience. By withholding an immediate response, we learn how to wait on God. Waiting on the Lord is far from a passive posture. It’s an active, expectant, persistent pressing in to the heart and purposes of a loving God. How might we ever learn to do this were it not for steadfastness in prayer?

Seventh, oftentimes God wants to give, but not now. The answer will come in better circumstances, at a more opportune moment. By delaying his response, a greater and better and more God-glorifying end is secured than by an immediate answer.

Finally, even if none of the reasons given above makes sense to you, persevere anyway! God isn’t asking you to understand; he’s asking you to be faithful.


Pray Thankfully!
Colossians 4:2
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.

There’s always a possibility that someone reading this passage might walk away with the idea that prayer is an anxious, troublesome, fearful endeavor. Paul’s language might easily contribute to that, were it not for the final two words of the text. Let me explain.

If I were to exhort you concerning some spiritual activity and insisted, perhaps with great urgency, that you “continue steadfastly” in it and that you remain alert and watchful, you might be inclined to worry, perhaps wringing your hands, biting your nails, and pacing nervously back and forth in doubt of the ultimate outcome. Now let’s be clear about one thing: prayer is serious business. James put it pointedly: “You do not have, because you do not ask” (James 4:2). If we fail to pray, we most likely will not receive. It is utterly presumptuous to think that God will do for us apart from prayer what he has promised to do for us only through prayer.

But this reality must be held in delicate balance with the equally biblical truth that God is sovereign: nothing slips his mind or through his fingers. He will accomplish all his purposes. He “works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11).

This is the point, I believe, of Paul’s insistence that when we pray, and we should pray always and alertly, we should do so “with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2b). Why does he insist on this? And more important still, how do we do it? How does one pray thankfully?

First, I believe Paul includes this qualifying phrase because he wants to instill confidence in us rather than fear and uncertainty as we pray. It’s his way of saying, “Yes, by all means be faithful and fervent in your prayers. But know this: God is always and ever on his throne. The battle in which you fight is ultimately his, on your behalf. Let gratitude for what God has done and will do permeate your petitions. In this way you will never lose hope or fall into despair or live in fear that he has abandoned you in your hour of need.”

But second, and most important, how do we do this? What does it mean to pray “with thanksgiving”? Here are a few thoughts.

First, pray with gratitude that God is actually there, alive and alert and never asleep. We do not speak into a vacuum or to a God who is preoccupied with other, allegedly more important matters.

Second, pray with gratitude that God not only lives and loves but also actually listens to what we say. He hears us! “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. . . . He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you” (Isaiah 30:18–19). As you pray, therefore, thank God that he loves to listen and to be gracious.

Third, pray with gratitude that the God who lives, loves, and listens is also more than able to do above and beyond all we ask or think (cf. Ephesians 3:20). I’m so thankful that the God to whom I pray isn’t a wimp or a weakling, but an omnipotent and infinitely wise Father who delights in giving good things to those who ask (Luke 11:13).

Fourth, pray thanking God that he has chosen to include you in the process. God could have ordained that all his will be accomplished independently of our participation. But he didn’t. He has chosen to achieve his ultimate ends through means, the latter being primarily our prayers.

Fifth, pray thanking God for all the ways he is changing you as you pray. Wholehearted and humble intercession transforms the intercessor. Our ideas of God are elevated. Our awareness of personal dependency is intensified. The magnitude of God’s power and providence is manifest in ways that we otherwise might never behold. Our dreams and hopes and desires are cleansed and purified as we humbly submit to his will and crucify our own.

Sixth, pray thanking God that what you are asking him to graciously do in the lives of others he has already done in yours. If we are not grateful for the salvation and healing and mercy granted us, how can we possibly be fervent and diligent in asking that God do the same for others?

Seventh, and finally, pray with gratitude to God not simply for what he has done but for what he will do. Thank him in advance for what he will do in response to your requests. Without being triumphalistic or sinfully presumptuous, we should pray with Thank you, Lord!

The bottom line is this: it’s hard to be fearful when you are immersed in gratitude. Thankfulness turns the human soul toward heaven and away from self. Thankfulness, by its very nature, requires that we fix our focus on the fact that God is and who God is and what God has done and will do. Thankful prayer is necessarily theocentric.

Do you recall the incident in 2 Chronicles 20 where Jehoshaphat and the kingdom of Judah came under siege by the Moabites and Ammonites? After their prayer seeking God’s assistance, the prophet Jahaziel came to them with a bizarre word of counsel. “He appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, [to] say, ‘Give thanks to the Lord, for his steadfast love endures forever’” (2 Chronicles 20:21).

He instructs them to be thankful on the front end of the battle, before the enemy is ever engaged. Let the reality of God’s steadfast love fill your heart, he told them. Praise him for who he is. Rest peacefully in what he will do. “Stand firm,” he said, “hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf” (2 Chronicles 20:17).

Thus, “when Paul says our praying is to be done with thanksgiving, he means that we should keep our eyes on the victory of God. We do not fight as losers or even as those who are uncertain. We know God will win. And if we have eyes to see, we will recognize the path of his power again and again.”


Just Do It!
Colossians 4:3–4
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

Now, wait just a minute. We all agree that God loves lost souls and wants them to hear the gospel of salvation in his Son. So why does he suspend the opening of an evangelistic door on the prayers of the Colossians? I’m tempted to say, in the words of the Nike commercial: “God, ‘just do it!’” Or, perhaps more reverently, “God, why don’t you directly open these doors rather than telling Paul to tell us to ask you to do so? What’s the point of our asking you to do what you’ve already revealed is in your heart to accomplish? As I said, Lord, ‘just do it!’” I suspect God’s response to me would be: “No, Sam. That’s not how I operate. Yes, of course, I could ‘just do it’ directly and instantaneously, without your involvement or anyone else’s. But I prefer to do it when you ask me to. In fact, in most instances I won’t do it unless you ask me to.”

Dr. Sam StormsHere’s another question that comes to mind. Why does Paul encourage the Colossians to pray for him? What’s the point of his asking them to ask God to open a door for the Word? Why does he urge them to pray that God would give him clarity of speech? Isn’t it enough that he ask God himself? I’m assuming he did, but he evidently believed that it would greatly help his cause if others joined him in beseeching God for this blessing. Does this imply that God is more inclined to say yes to our requests if more people are united in asking him for them? That seems odd.

Or is it primarily to aid his cause that Paul enlists the prayers of others on his behalf? Could it possibly be that for the sake of God’s greater glory he makes this request of the Colossians? I’ll return to that momentarily.

Let’s be clear about one thing. I didn’t ask these questions because I intend to solve the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. I couldn’t solve it even if I wanted to, and how prayer factors into the equation is ultimately something beyond my intellectual ken.

Rather, I’m concerned about the nature of prayer. Or, more accurately, I’m concerned about the purpose of prayer. Why has God chosen to incorporate it into the way he governs the world and accomplishes his purposes?

One thing we know: God loves to be asked, and there’s good reason for it. Consider Psalm 50:12, one of the most sarcastic verses in Scripture. God says to the Israelites: “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine,” which is to say, if God were hungry (which, of course, he’s not), he wouldn’t need the Israelites to provide him with a meal. “Every beast of the forest is mine,” says the Lord, “[not to mention] the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10).

So, if God doesn’t need us or our prayers, why does he create us and then command us to ask him for things? That’s a pretty profound question, but it comes with a fairly simple answer.

In Psalm 50:15 God says again, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” When you’re in trouble, says God, when you have needs and problems and trials and obstacles to overcome, pray to me and ask that I intervene and make provision. If you do, I’ll deliver you. And in your obvious dependence upon me I will be glorified. We both win. You get delivered. I get glorified. You receive a blessing. And people and angels and demons see that I’m the all-sufficient supply, the infinitely resourceful God, the one being in the universe who exists to overflow in abundant goodness to weak and needy people like you!

It’s amazing how asking a few questions about the nature and purpose of prayer drives us directly into the reason why God created the universe. God didn’t create us because he was needy or lacking in some profound way. We don’t supply God with anything. “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything” (Acts 17:24–25).

So, that being true, why did he make it all? He made it all so that in its (our) utter and absolute dependence on him for everything, his glory as God might be seen and savored. Our need magnifies his supply. Our lack draws attention to his abundance. God honors and glorifies himself by overflowing in bountiful blessings to those who otherwise deserve only death. And how do we get these blessings? By praying for them! God suspends his work on our prayers not because he can’t do it alone but because our prayers highlight our dependence and his supply. We are humbled as dependent and he is exalted as depended upon.

Not only does he get the glory for being depended upon but we get the gladness for being dependent. Yes, please read that again. There is no greater joy than getting what God gives (and he is himself, of course, the greatest gift). And there is no greater glory than for God to be giving.

Jesus commanded his disciples to pray, and here’s why: “Whatever you ask in my name, this will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). Although there are undoubtedly other reasons why God chose to incorporate our prayers in the accomplishment of his purposes, his glory is preeminent.

One more thing: earlier I asked why Paul felt it important to enlist the prayers of the Colossians on his behalf. It’s not because God is stingy and Paul thought that a multitude of intercessors might have greater success in prevailing on God’s otherwise reluctant heart than would he alone. Once again, it’s all about God’s glory. In 2 Corinthians 1:11 Paul wrote, “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”

Note carefully why it’s important that the Corinthians (like the Colossians) pray for him. It is so that “many will give thanks” for the “blessing” that God grants to him in response to their prayers. God’s glory is more readily seen and known and savored when many rise up in unified gratitude for what he has done than if only one or a few do. So, when we pray for one another we get gladness in receiving what God gives and God gets glory for giving what we get.

Open Doors for the Gospel
Colossians 4:3–4
Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

Political correctness notwithstanding, Christianity is an evangelistic religion. Its aim is to proclaim the good news that there is eternal life in only one: Jesus Christ. Its aim, by the grace of God, is to bring about the deliverance of men and women out of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of light. There are some things, no doubt, for which we as Christians ought to apologize, but declaring that faith in Jesus Christ alone is essential for eternal life isn’t one of them. We should never hesitate to proclaim the “mystery of Christ” or shrink back from seeking the conversion of every soul.

Here in Colossians 4:3–4 Paul solicits the prayers of these believers, not for his own health or freedom or prosperity but for the opportunity and clarity to proclaim Jesus as Lord to lost and dying people. There are two elements in Paul’s request that call for our attention.

First, he asks them to ask God to open “a door for the word” that he might proclaim “the mystery of Christ” (v. 3). This isn’t the first time he’s used this imagery for evangelistic opportunities (see also Acts 14:27; 1 Corinthians 16:8–9; 2 Corinthians 2:12).

The “door,” evidently, is closed. This may suggest political opposition; social, cultural, and educational barriers to sharing the faith; adverse weather that hinders travel; or any number of factors that make evangelism difficult from a human perspective. It may be that Paul is asking God to grant him favor with those who have the authority to give him access to certain arenas of activity or platforms from which he might declare his message. In any case, Paul believed that God is sovereign over all such circumstances and that he can remove obstacles and overcome resistance and restrain the enemies of the faith when asked to do so by his people.

That an apostle, no less, would ask ordinary Christians like these Colossians to pray for his evangelistic success is stunning. Paul refused to trust in his skill or eloquence or theological knowledge alone. He needed the intercessory support of other believers. It’s almost as if he’s saying, “I’m helpless if you don’t ask God to help me.” Amazing!

And what might Paul do should the door be opened? He has one goal, one solitary purpose: to proclaim the mystery of Christ. The word mystery doesn’t mean what it does in a P. D. James novel or in a Sudoku puzzle. Paul typically uses this word when he has in mind a truth formerly hidden but now made known in Jesus Christ.

The mystery of Christ is the revelation of what God has done in and through his Son to make possible atonement for sin and its forgiveness. That the Word should become flesh (John 1:14) is a mystery now made known for our salvation. That God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19) is a mystery now revealed for our justification. That faith alone in a crucified Messiah is the power of God unto salvation is a mystery now made known for our eternal welfare.

Where Christ is not proclaimed, the gospel is not known. No matter how psychologically soothing a sermon may be, if the mystery of Christ is not center stage, the gospel has not been preached. The focus of our message is not self-esteem, social justice, the plight of the poor, or world peace (as important as those issues are in their own right), but Jesus Christ crucified and risen for the salvation of lost souls.

Paul’s second request is that they ask God to enable him to proclaim this mystery with clarity (v. 4). “Pray that God will work in me,” says Paul, “that I might have the words to speak in the most persuasive manner and at the most appropriate time. Ask God to operate in my heart and mind and soul so that my message will ring true and will reverberate with passion and conviction and courage.”

Stunning, isn’t it, that a man of Paul’s spiritual caliber and gifting felt so desperately dependent on the prayers of others for his effectiveness in ministry! He made a similar plea to the Roman church, appealing to them to strive together with him in their prayers to God on his behalf, that he might be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea and that his service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the
saints (Romans 15:30–31).

His request of the Colossians raises an interesting question: What precisely might serve to inhibit or hinder his clarity of speech or prevent him from proclaiming the gospel in the way he desired? It may be that he anticipated trick questions from a hostile crowd and needed the assistance of the Spirit to see through their deception and speak truth into the fog of error. It may be that he sensed the importance of using just the right illustration or parable or analogy to make a point that would penetrate a closed and calloused heart with the truth that brings light and life. Paul, no doubt, felt confused at times and needed the quickening ministry of the Spirit in his mind. “Pray that God would clear my head of intellectual cobwebs and overcome any sluggishness of speech that would be unworthy of the gospel I proclaim. Pray that the Father would fill me with the Spirit of boldness and confidence and drive from me all fear of man and concern for my own reputation or physical safety.”

If he felt this burden, how much more you and I! Have you committed to praying consistently for your pastor each time he preaches? Have you interceded for that Sunday school teacher who tells the story of Jesus to indifferent and mocking junior high students? Have you petitioned God for yourself as you prepare to share your testimony with an unsaved neighbor? We are all desperately in need of such anointing and spiritual support from on high every time we open our mouths to speak of Christ.

“O, grant us open doors, Father, that we may speak boldly and clearly and joyfully of your Son and all that you have done for sinners in and through him! Work in us by your Spirit that we might have just the right story, the most telling illustration, the most persuasive phrasing as we declare the mystery of Christ Jesus! Amen.”

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Wednesday, January 16, 2008

20th Most Read Post - Twelve Literary Features of the Bible


No. 20 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on October 25, 2007, and introduced us to a remarkable new approach to a study Bible, brought to us by Crossway. As of January 2008, I'm still working my way through this Bible, reading it from cover-to-cover. I'm enjoying it very much.
ESV Literary Study BibleCrossway has made the preface of its new ESV Literary Study Bible available online. They have also made the text available for electronic purchase. I am very impressed with the introductions they offer to every passage in the Bible. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Too many Christians think that the literary study of the Bible necessarily implies that we do not believe it is inspired by God. This is, of course, not true. The Bible is, after all, a book. You will almost certainly find the comments in this new work totally different to those you have read in any other study Bible. As far as I know, this is the first truly literary study Bible.

Crossway has kindly given me permission to share the following extract here. It explains twelve literary features of the Bible which together make it unique:
  1. A unifying story line.

    Although the overall genre of the Bible is the anthology of individual books and passages, the Bible possesses a unity far beyond that of other literary anthologies. The technical term for a unifying superstructure such as we find in the Bible is metanarrative (big or overarching story). In the Bible, the metanarrative is the story of salvation history—the events by which God worked out his plan to redeem humanity and the creation after they fell from original innocence. This story of salvation history is Christocentric in the sense that it focuses ultimately on the substitutionary sacrifice and atonement of Christ on the cross and his resurrection from death. The unifying story line of the Bible is a U-shaped story that moves from the creation of a perfect world, through the fall of that world into sin, then through fallen human history as it slowly and painfully makes its way toward consummation and arrives at the final destruction of evil and the eternal triumph of good.


  2. The presence of a central character.

    All stories have a central character or protagonist, and in the overarching story of the Bible God is the protagonist. He is the unifying presence from the beginning of the Bible to the end. All creatures interact with this central and ultimate being. All events are related to him. The story of human history unfolds within the broader story of what God does. The result is a sense of ultimacy that comes through as we read the pages of the Bible.


  3. Religious orientation.

    The subject of literature is human experience, and this is true of the Bible, too, but a distinctive feature of the Bible is that it overwhelmingly presents human experience in a religious and moral light. Events that other writers might treat in a purely human and natural light—a sunrise, a battle, a birth, a journey—are presented by the authors of the Bible within a moral or spiritual framework. Part of this moral and spiritual framework is the assumption of the biblical authors that a great conflict between good and evil is going on in our world and, further, that people are continually confronted with the need to choose between good and evil, between working for God's kingdom and going against God.


  4. Variety of genres and styles.

    Every literary anthology of the Bible's magnitude displays a range of literary forms, but the Bible's range may well top them all. We need to be alert to this, because the religious uses to which we put the Bible can easily lull us into assuming that the Bible is all one type of writing. The list of individual forms, if we include such specific motifs as the homecoming story or trickster or love poem, keeps expanding. (A complete guide to these literary forms as we find them in the Bible is Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III, eds., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1998].) The variety that we find in the Bible stems partly from the large categories that converge—history, theology, and literature, for example, or prose and poetry, realism and fantasy, past and future, God and people.

    Read more . . . Twelve Literary Features of the Bible

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Friday, January 04, 2008

Discernment: Coming Soon to a Blog Near You!


I just received the following announcement in my e-mail about a blogging tour that Tim Challies will be taking next week. I have previously highlighted Tim's book here on my sidebar, and in my review of it, in which I said:
"Tim Challies takes us from the turbulent marketplace of ideas that is the modern western church back into the world of the Scriptures. Sadly, today many people fall into the trap of being naively blown from one wind of teaching to another. Others become so expert at straining out the gnats of what they believe to be error that they are unable to learn from anybody. Instead they believe themselves to be the guardians of "true" doctrine. Tim shows us from the Bible itself how to avoid both errors. Tim's reliance on the Bible is refreshing in an age when doctrinal pillars of our faith are being challenged by prominent preachers, and there is a constant search for novelty in parts of the Church. This book, like no other I have seen, aims to give ordinary Christians like you and me the tools we need to learn how to discern truth from error. I wholeheartedly urge you to get yourself a copy and read it, and then buy one for a friend."

RELEASE FROM CROSSWAY

Most Christians are a little fuzzy on the topic of discernment. We know that someone should apply discernment to the media, to teachings, and to important decisions. We've heard of discernment ministries, and we may have even used the phrase "the gift of discernment." The general tenor of our conversations could lead us to conclude that discernment is best left to the professionals.

Perhaps this conversation needs to be re-opened. Leading evangelical blogger Tim Challies initiates the dialogue with his new book, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment, which contends that discernment is the call of every believer. In conjunction with the book's release, Challies is taking his message to the blogosphere. His two-week blog tour will start on Monday, January 7th and will run until Friday, January 18th. Watch for Challies on the following sites, and submit your comments to participate:

Jan 7: Evangelical Outpost

Jan 8: Tall Skinny Kiwi

Jan 9: A-Team

Jan 10: Adrian Warnock

Jan 11: Gender Blog

Jan 14: Jollyblogger

Jan 15: Between Two Worlds

Jan 16: Team Pyro

Jan 17: Internet Monk

Jan 18: Church Matters

Tim has written more about his tour and some foolish comment controversy some have been stirring up about his book. All I want to say for now is that a team of professionals built the Titanic. A single amatuer built the ark.

In my interview with Wayne Grudem he said something pertinent to this latest controversy over "professionalism" in the church:
". . . it is always wise to have a governing structure where the highest governing offices in the church and the highest positions of influence are open to lay people as well as ordained people. The denominations where only clergy have the highest of authority seem to be the ones that are never able to be brought back once they drift into liberalism because the ordinary lay people who have common sense and are reading their Bibles every day don’t have any way to regain control of a denomination that has gone astray if it has that kind of structure."

—Wayne Grudem

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Friday, December 14, 2007

Christmas Present Ideas - Bible Software


I have already told you how much I love books. Every book needs a Christian owner who will cherish it, care for it, place it lovingly on a bookshelf, and, ideally, even read it! But the truth is, with so many great books on the market today, most of us simply don't have time to read every book from cover to cover. Of course, it's good to sit with a book and just read it. But there are also times when we want to dip into books. Times when perhaps we are studying a certain passage in Scripture. This is when Bible software comes into its own. The ability to search a book or a collection of books for a subject or specific Bible reference is invaluable.

There are several different types of Bible software available. They each provide a different tool that is designed to do a different job. Comparing them is a bit like comparing a screwdriver and a chisel. Sure, you can use a screwdriver to do some jobs for which a chisel would be more appropriate, but if you tried it the other way around, you'd notice the difference! There is overlap in the design, but they are very different. I'm only going to talk today about two Bible software programs. Both of these are serious programs that, most importantly to me, make it possible to search through a remarkably large number of books. These two programs are Accordance and Logos Bible Software.

I should declare at the outset a significant bias. I have used Logos for a number of years and have a relationship with them whereby purchasers from this blog get a significant discount, and I obtain a referral payment. I have no such arrangement with Accordance.

Because I have been using it for so long, Logos has enough of a hold on me that it delayed by years my inevitable final switch from a PC to a Mac. "What would be the point of a computer without it?" I would have said. Parallels, a virtual PC program for Macs, means that I can run Logos alongside all my other Mac programs. Of course, it still doesn't look as elegant as the Mac programs, but it works better and faster than it did on my reasonably high spec PC. Macs just don't crash very much. There is no other way of saying it—Logos on a parallels virtual PC is fantastic. It is faster to open, and runs most searches more quickly than it ever did on my reasonably specked PC!

It is probably unfair for me to compare the interfaces of the two programs as I have only recently begun using Accordance and I am already very familiar with Logos. I can say that Logos is a fairly typical Windows program, using Internet Explorer as its base. Accordance, on the other hand, is a native Apple Mac program. Users who are passionate about one platform or the other will tend to like one or the other of the programs' interfaces.

The fact is, the two interfaces are not at all alike. If you are used to one of them, the other will seem quite strange, since the interface philosophies between the two applications are very different. The Accordance team has focused their attention on what they call the "work flow" in studying and getting information on the Bible or a specific Bible tool in depth. Some people I know who are more familiar with it than I am definitely love it.

By spending a bit of time learning the ropes it is possible to do many of the same searches. I find, however, that I still like the simplicity of Logos' passage guide, although you have to do some work identifying groups of books and adding them to the search to actually mine the depths of your library. Being able to simply enter a passage, hit the search button, and watch Logos search for that verse through the immense library of books I have amassed over the years is a major bonus.

Accordance, although its historical focus has centered less on a 'library' motif and more on searching individual books, does, in fact, have a similar feature with its "search all" function (available from "File - New" for some reason, rather than "Search"). The results are similar, although they are presented in a different manner. Until recently I thought that one thing which neither software program appeared to do well was to focus that search to a specific Bible verse rather than an entire passage, especially in theology journals. A search for Ephesians 1:3 would often return results on the whole of Ephesians 1, or worse yet, on the entire epistle. In Accordance, however, a new search in the "all tools" section provides a format which can say "Ephesians 1:3 <NOT> Ephesians 1:2." This will do what I described by excluding references to that verse, and it will also exclude references to the chapter as a whole. A recent improvement to the Logos search engine allows a very similar function. You need to call up a basic search and type something like Bible="Ephesians 1:3."

Please do not complain about the speed of either program in performing this mammoth task. Just think how long it would take you to do this from a manual approach! Get up, walk downstairs, put the kettle on, and it will probably be done before the kettle even has a chance to boil. If you have a Mac, it may finish before you even leave the room! The only drawback with a big library is that you can return too many results to sift through. But when studying an obscure verse and wanting to know what thousands of writers have had to say about it, having this information at your fingertips is invaluable. You simply couldn't do it at all without Bible software, so to complain about the interfaces seems a bit churlish.

On the other hand, I did like the ability of Accordance to select a few verses and generate a report on the relative importance, frequency, and uses elsewhere in the Bible of the words found in it. Logos has a similar feature which is more graphical and is apparently based on CIA technology for analyzing the importance of large volumes of data. There are some search features for specific books that Accordance has which are very different to those which Logos has implemented.

To be quite honest, neither program really excites me in its user interface. The truth is, both Logos and Accordance are not quite as easy and intuitive to use (especially for the more complex searches) as someone who hates to read manuals or watch video training would like! Logos intends to port their software to the world's best operating environment. But don't hold your breath waiting for the much delayed end result, and certainly don't delay buying a Mac for that reason!

For me, the key reason to purchase Bible software is because of the number of books you can get with it. In that regard, Logos wins hands down. The range and breadth of materials available is simply stunning, and massively outweighs the list available for Accordance. Some of the most important ones (such as the Word Biblical Commentary series and the Theological Journal Library) are available for both programs. (I am told that in the latter on Accordance it is possible to search by author, something which I haven't yet figured out in Logos.) But there are a number of helpful scholarly resources not available for Logos that are available for Accordance. These include (most importantly) Zondervan materials such as the Essential, Personal Growth, and Scholarly Bible Study Suites, and two standard lexicons, NIDNTT and NIDOTTE, as well as some other scholarly resources.

Few pastors or serious students of the Bible would be anything less than ecstatic to receive a gift like this, provided they are not so computer-phobic that they simply use it as a very expensive tea coaster! Perhaps you could club together with members of your church to gather sufficient funds to invest in a copy of one of these programs for your leader.

If you can afford it, and already own a Mac, you should seriously consider buying both programs. It is worth buying Parallels and Win XP just so you can use Logos! If you don't have a Mac, the choice is simple—buy the biggest Logos Bible Software package you can possibly afford, since you can always bring it with you if you do ever make a jump to the Apple platform.

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Thursday, December 13, 2007

Christmas Present Ideas - Books


I thought I might make a few suggestions about things that your Christian friend might want for Christmas. It is no surprise that I suggest books first of all. I love receiving new books. When the doorbell rings, I thunder downstairs, hoping that tell-tale flat-box will be in the postman's hand, announcing another book has arrived!

If you are looking for inspiration about what book to buy, I would obviously love you to go and scroll down through the rather long page which contains a number of my book review posts. But there are so many other great books out there.

I thought I would share a list with you of some of the books which I don't think I have reviewed yet. These books are on my shelves at home. Some of them I devoured eagerly from cover to cover, but just never got around to reviewing. Others were ones I started to read and found the bits I read to be helpful. Still others I have only skimmed through, but they look interesting to me!

I thought I would intrigue you by simply sharing the ISBN number and title only. If any of them tempt you, simply copy the ISBN number and search within your favorite online bookstore to find out more about these books.
  1. 9781844741663
    Central Themes in Biblical Theology: Mapping Unity in Diversity

  2. 9781844741281
    Darwin's Nemesis: Phillip Johnson and the Intelligent Design Movement

  3. 9780670915538
    England: The Autobiography. 2,000 Years of English History By Those Who Saw It Happen

  4. 9781581344080
    Interpreting the New Testament Text: Introduction to the Art and Science of Exegesis

  5. 9781581348095
    Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

  6. 9780737500684
    Who's Afraid of the Holy Spirit?

  7. 9780830833856
    Mastering Monday: A Guide to Integrating Faith and Work

  8. 9781852403683
    Rebuilding the Walls: A Challenge to the Church from Ezra and Nehemiah

  9. 9781581349344
    Rethinking Worldview: Learning to Think, Live, and Speak in This World

  10. 9780801065330
    Escaping the Matrix: Setting Your Mind Free to Experience Real Life in Christ

  11. 9781852404666
    Does God Approve of War?

  12. 9781581349276
    The Great Exchange: My Sin for His Righteousness

  13. 9780801027987
    Christ-centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon

  14. 9781844741915
    Total Church: A Radical Reshaping Around Gospel and Community

  15. 9781903725757
    Our Eyes Fixed on Jesus

  16. 9781581348309
    Parent Fuel: For the Fire Inside Our Kids

  17. 9780310270164
    Confessions of a Reformission Rev: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church (Leadership Network Innovation Series)

  18. 9780310256595
    The Radical Reformission: Reaching Out Without Selling Out

  19. 9781852404376
    The Christian, Israel and the Hope of World Revival: Israel in Romans 9-11

  20. 9780842371513
    Through Gates of Splendor: 40th Anniversary Edition

  21. 9781581347739
    The Great Work of the Gospel: How We Experience God's Grace

  22. 9781576737262
    Finishing Strong: Going the Distance for Your Family

  23. 9781844741458
    Gospel-centred Hermeneutics: Biblical-theological Foundations and Principles

  24. 9781852404505
    Anger: How Do You Handle It? (Truth & Freedom)

  25. 9781590523650
    Stop Dating the Church (Lifechange Books)

  26. 9780976758266
    When Sinners Say "I Do": Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage

  27. 9780830824106
    The Message of Evil and Suffering: Light Into Darkness (Bible Speaks Today Bible Themes)

  28. 9781850787297
    Twenty-four: Integrating Faith and Real Life

  29. 9781852403782
    The Parables of Jesus: A Guide to Understanding and Applying the Stories of Jesus

  30. 9780830826216
    Shepherds After My Own Heart: Pastoral Traditions and Leadership in the Bible (New Studies in Biblical Theology)

  31. 9780785262565
    Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible, and What He Wants to Do with You

  32. 9780875527154
    The Heart of a Servant Leader: Letters from Jack Miller

  33. 9781857923100
    Charles Simeon (HistoryMakers)

  34. 9781860243400
    Work: Prison or Place of Destiny?

  35. 9781601780003
    Meet the Puritans: With A Guide to Modern Reprints

  36. 9780825415876
    What Jesus Demands from the World

  37. 9780007150649
    Statecraft

  38. 9780830829316
    A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on Titus, 1-2 Timothy and 1-3 John: 1 (Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians Set)

  39. 9780830825820
    The Expansion of Evangelicalism: The Age of Wilberforce, More, Chalmers and Finney (History of Evangelicalism)

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Tuesday, December 04, 2007

BOOK - Sam Storms Interprets Edwards' Classic on the Spirit


Copyright Tony S. Reinke, 2007


My buddy, Jesse, has recently completed a nine-part series of posts on Signs of the Spirit, in which Sam Storms interprets Jonathan Edwards' classic work on experiential Christianity, The Religious Affections. Here are the links:

1. True spirituality is a hunger for God

2. Public gathering, prayer, preaching, and singing

3. You're not a Christian just because you...

4. Sign 1) A new spiritual 'sense'

5. Sign 2) A love for the things of God

6. Experience, emotion, Edwards and public worship

7. Signs 3-5) Moral excellency, right understanding, conviction.

8. Sign 6) Genuine, evangelical humility

9. Remaining 6 signs of genuine religious affections

Book photo courtesy of Tony S. Reinke, The Shepherd's Scrapbook. Used by permission.

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

BOOK - Piper on Wright, Conclusion: What is Justification?


Copyright Tony S. Reinke, 2007

I have now come to the end of my series responding to John Piper's new book, The Future of Justification. Here is a list of the previous posts:

  1. John Piper, N. T. Wright, and Gracious Discernment

  2. John Piper Challenges N. T. Wright on Justification

  3. Piper Explains the Classic View of Justification Versus N. T. Wright's View

  4. Piper and Wright: Does Justification by Faith Save Us?

  5. John Piper: Is N. T. Wright Preaching Another Gospel?

  6. Legalism Versus Grace in First Century Judaism

  7. Hard and Soft Legalism

  8. Legalism, Racism, and the First Century Jew

  9. 2 Corinthians 5 and Romans 5—Two Critical Passages on Justification

  10. The Christian and the Law

  11. Piper Gets Passionate with the ETS on Justification

  12. Tom Wright's Response to John Piper

  13. Does Piper Neglect the Resurrection?

I would like to conclude by sharing a great summary quote from Dr. Piper which is a fitting climax to what, at least to me, has been an interesting journey through an important book. I hope many of you will go out and buy this book, but remember, buy Pierced for Our Transgressions first! This book will stretch you, but to be stretched is sometimes a good idea!

So, what is the crux of the doctrine of justification, according to Piper?
“Our only hope for living the radical demands of the Christian life is that God is totally for us now and forever.John Piper Therefore, God has not ordained that living the Christian life should be the basis of our hope that God is for us. That basis is the death and righteousness of Christ, counted as ours through faith alone. On the cross Christ endured for us all the punishment required of us because of our sin. And in order that God, as our Father, might be completely for us and not against us forever, Christ has performed for us in his perfect obedience to God all that God required of us.

This punishment and this obedience are completed and past. They can never change. Our union with Christ and the enjoyment of these benefits is secure forever. Through faith alone, God establishes our union with Christ. This union will never fail, because in Christ, God is for us as an omnipotent Father who sustains our faith, and works all things together for our everlasting good. The one and only instrument through which God preserves our union with Christ is faith in Christ—the purely receiving act of the soul.” (p. 184)
Book photo courtesy of Tony S. Reinke, The Shepherd's Scrapbook. Used by permission.

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Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Applying Discernment - Far From Simple


If there is one thing that the discernment debate between the Pyromaniacs and myself has confirmed these past few days, it is surely that discernment is far from easy!! It’s a good thing Tim Challies has written a book on it. I really like the following extract from his book, which I think totally sums up what I think has been happening over at the fire-lovers’ place. Of course, the whole point about wisdom and discernment is that it is very situational, so I am quite sure that some others see things very differently from me on that matter! Please note that I am not trying to claim that Tim would or should side with me in this debate; rather I am choosing to apply these words to the situation at hand as they seem relevant to me.


“It is easy, when attempting to be discerning, to neatly categorize people into two camps: safe and unsafe or good and bad. We then implicitly trust the people in the good camp and entirely reject anything said by those in the bad camp. To do so, though, is to ignore the common grace God gives whereby even those whose views are far different from our own can still be wise and can still speak the truth. While we need to read their words with care and discernment, we can and often should still read their words. We need to rest in the security of the Spirit’s guiding and protecting ministry in our hearts rather than in sheltering ourselves from views that do not always accord with our own.” (Tim Challies in The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment)
Tim then goes on to quote Dennis E. Johnson, Professor of Practical Theology and Academic Dean at Westminster Seminary California, in an article on Common Grace and Theological Scholarship as follows:


Dennis E. Johnson, Ph.DWe cannot simply compile a list of “safe” authors, stamp them with the Reformed equivalent of imprimatur or nihil obstat, and then confine our reading to them. We must do the hard work of exercising discernment—sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, argument by argument. Facts, insights, perspectives, and methods must all be tested in the light of the principles of Scripture. And we must keep alive our consciousness of dependence on Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Our safety is not in avoiding the ideas of the unbelieving world; our safety is in union with Christ, who transforms the mind of those who trust in him.

There is hard work to be done in sorting and sifting the teachings of other humans, especially when we realize that we cannot simply cubbyhole the unpleasant or challenging ideas away and ignore them. But this hard work, like other exercise, gives us the necessary muscle tone to serve and lead God’s people. “Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil (Hebrews 5:14).

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Thursday, October 25, 2007

Twelve Literary Features of the Bible


UPDATE
In January 2008, the following post was identified as the 20th all-time most popular post with readers of this blog. The 21st most popular post was my interview with Mark Dever.

This post introduced us to a remarkable new approach to a study Bible, brought to us by Crossway. In January 2008, I'm still working my way through this, reading it from cover-to-cover. I'm enjoying it very much.

***************

ESV Literary Study BibleCrossway has made the preface of its new ESV Literary Study Bible available online. They have also made the text available for electronic purchase. I am very impressed with the introductions they offer to every passage in the Bible. I cannot recommend this highly enough. Too many Christians think that the literary study of the Bible necessarily implies that we do not believe it is inspired by God. This is, of course, not true. The Bible is, after all, a book. You will almost certainly find the comments in this new work totally different to those you have read in any other study Bible. As far as I know, this is the first truly literary study Bible.

Crossway has kindly given me permission to share the following extract here. It explains twelve literary features of the Bible which together make it unique:
  1. A unifying story line.

    Although the overall genre of the Bible is the anthology of individual books and passages, the Bible possesses a unity far beyond that of other literary anthologies. The technical term for a unifying superstructure such as we find in the Bible is metanarrative (big or overarching story). In the Bible, the metanarrative is the story of salvation history—the events by which God worked out his plan to redeem humanity and the creation after they fell from original innocence. This story of salvation history is Christocentric in the sense that it focuses ultimately on the substitutionary sacrifice and atonement of Christ on the cross and his resurrection from death. The unifying story line of the Bible is a U-shaped story that moves from the creation of a perfect world, through the fall of that world into sin, then through fallen human history as it slowly and painfully makes its way toward consummation and arrives at the final destruction of evil and the eternal triumph of good.


  2. The presence of a central character.

    All stories have a central character or protagonist, and in the overarching story of the Bible God is the protagonist. He is the unifying presence from the beginning of the Bible to the end. All creatures interact with this central and ultimate being. All events are related to him. The story of human history unfolds within the broader story of what God does. The result is a sense of ultimacy that comes through as we read the pages of the Bible.


  3. Religious orientation.

    The subject of literature is human experience, and this is true of the Bible, too, but a distinctive feature of the Bible is that it overwhelmingly presents human experience in a religious and moral light. Events that other writers might treat in a purely human and natural light—a sunrise, a battle, a birth, a journey—are presented by the authors of the Bible within a moral or spiritual framework. Part of this moral and spiritual framework is the assumption of the biblical authors that a great conflict between good and evil is going on in our world and, further, that people are continually confronted with the need to choose between good and evil, between working for God's kingdom and going against God.


  4. Variety of genres and styles.

    Every literary anthology of the Bible's magnitude displays a range of literary forms, but the Bible's range may well top them all. We need to be alert to this, because the religious uses to which we put the Bible can easily lull us into assuming that the Bible is all one type of writing. The list of individual forms, if we include such specific motifs as the homecoming story or trickster or love poem, keeps expanding. (A complete guide to these literary forms as we find them in the Bible is Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III, eds., Dictionary of Biblical Imagery [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1998].) The variety that we find in the Bible stems partly from the large categories that converge—history, theology, and literature, for example, or prose and poetry, realism and fantasy, past and future, God and people.


  5. Preference of the concrete over the abstract.

    While the New Testament contains a great deal of theological writing, the general preference of biblical authors is for concrete vocabulary. This is especially true of the Hebrew language of the Old Testament. In the Bible, God is portrayed as light and rock and thunder. Slander is a sharp knife. Living the godly life is like putting on a garment or suit of armor. Heaven is a landscape of jewels. To read the Bible well, we need to read with the "right side" of the brain—the part that is activated by sensory data.


  6. Realism.

    The prophetic and apocalyptic parts of the Bible give us a steady diet of fantasy (flying scrolls, for example, and red horses), but the general tendency of the Bible is toward everyday realism. The Bible displays the flaws of even its best characters (Oliver Cromwell famously said that the biblical writers paint their characters "warts and all"). Although the Bible does not delineate the sordid experiences of life in the extreme detail that modern literary realism does, it nonetheless covers the same real experiences, such as violence, murder, sexuality, death, suffering, and famine. Of course the Bible differs from modern realism by showing us that there is a realism of grace as well as a realism of carnality. In other words, the Bible is not content to portray the degradation of a world that has fallen into sin without also portraying the redemptive possibilities of a world that has been visited by the grace of God and is destined for glory.


  7. Simplicity.

    Although the Bible is certainly not devoid of examples of the high style, especially in the poetic parts, its overall orientation is toward the simple. The prevailing narrative style is plain, unembellished, matter-of-fact prose. Shakespeare's vocabulary is approximately twenty thousand words, Milton's thirteen thousand, and English translations of the Bible six thousand. Biblical writers often work with such simplified dichotomies as good and evil, light and darkness, heroes and villains. Of course there is a simplicity that diminishes and a simplicity that enlarges. The simplicity of the Bible paradoxically produces an effect of majesty and authority.


  8. Preference for the brief unit.

    Linked with this simplicity is a marked preference for the brief literary unit. Biblical poets tend to write brief lyrics, for example, not long narrative poems. Most long narratives in the Bible such as the story of Abraham or the Gospels are actually cycles of stories in which the individual episodes are briefer and more self-contained than what we find in a novel. The prophetic books are actually anthologies of self-contained oracles and snatches of narrative. Other familiar biblical genres reinforce this tendency toward simplicity—proverb or saying, parable, lists of individual commands or rules, summaries of what various kings did, occasional letters (epistles) in which the author responds to a list of questions that have been asked or a crisis that has arisen in a local church.


  9. Elemental quality.

    The Bible is a book of universal human experience. It is filled with experiences and images that are the common human lot in all places and times. The Bible embraces the commonplace and repeatedly shows ordinary people engaged in the customary activities of life—planting, building, baking, fighting, worrying, celebrating, praying. The world that biblical characters inhabit is likewise stripped and elemental, consisting of such natural settings as day and night, field and desert, sky and earth. Even occupations have an elemental quality—king, priest, shepherd, homemaker, missionary.


  10. Oral style.

    Even though the Bible that we read is a written book, in its original form much of it existed orally. This is true because ancient cultures were predominantly oral cultures in which information circulated chiefly by word of mouth. The literary forms of the Bible show this rootedness in an oral culture. The prevalence of dialogue (directly quoted speeches) in the Bible is without parallel in literature generally until we come to the novel. Everywhere we turn in the Bible, we hear voices speaking and replying. The spare, unembellished narrative style of the Bible arises from the situation of oral circulation of the stories. Additionally, many of the nonnarrative parts of the Bible show signs of oral speech—the prophetic discourses and oracles, the psalms (which were sung in temple worship), the epistles (which were read aloud in churches), and the Gospels (where the words of Jesus are a leading ingredient).


  11. Aphoristic quality.

    An aphorism is a concise, memorable statement of truth—in the words of English poet Alexander Pope, “What oft was thought, but ne'er so well expressed.” The Bible is the most aphoristic book of the Western world. It is filled with sayings that are part of the common storehouse of proverbs and idioms: “pride goes before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18); seeing “eye to eye” (Isaiah 52:8); a “house divided against itself” (Matthew 12:25). This quality is present not only in the wisdom literature of the Bible, but in all parts of the Bible and most notably in the sayings of Jesus.


  12. The literature of confrontation.

    When we read Shakespeare or Dickens, we find ourselves moved to agreement or disagreement, but we do not ordinarily feel that we have been confronted by someone or something that requires us to make a choice. By contrast, when we assimilate the Bible we feel as though we have been personally confronted with something that requires a response. While this choice is ultimately for or against God, the ideas of the Bible, too, require us to believe or disbelieve them. The Bible displays a vivid consciousness of values—of the difference between good and evil—with the result that it is virtually impossible to remain neutral about the ideas that confront us as we read the Bible.
Summary
Perhaps none of the twelve features noted above is unique in itself. But if we put them together, they produce a book that is unique. Reading the Bible is not just like reading another book. It has an affective power and aura of authority that cannot be duplicated. It possesses a quality of encounter that other books do not display, so that as we read we are confronted with the voice and presence of God and are virtually compelled to believe or disbelieve what we are reading. The Westminster Confession of Faith provides an apt summary of the things that make the Bible unique: “the heavenliness of the matter, the efficacy of the doctrine, the majesty of the style, the consent of all the parts, the scope of the whole [which is to give all glory to God], the full discovery it makes of the only way of man's salvation, the many other incomparable excellencies, and the entire perfection thereof, are arguments whereby it doth abundantly evidence itself to be the Word of God.”

From The Literary Study Bible, copyright 2007 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For more information see also my previous posts on the ESV Bible.

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Friday, October 12, 2007

New Crossway Books For This Fall


The fall 2007 edition of The Book Report went online a couple of weeks back. In case (like me) you missed it, I thought I'd link to it here. There are a number of brief interviews concerning books being released this year, including:
  • Leland and Phil Ryken (The Literary Study Bible, ESV)

  • Kelly Kapic (Communion with the Triune God)

  • Justin Taylor (The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World)

  • Graham Cole (He Who Gives Life)

  • J. Mark Bertrand (Rethinking Worldview)

  • Paul Gould (The Two Tasks of the Christian Scholar)

  • Ajith Fernando (The Call to Joy and Pain)

  • Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington (The Great Exchange)

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Wednesday, September 12, 2007

BOOK - Shopping For Time by Carolyn Mahaney and Daughters


This is the last day of Mrs. W. as Adrian is back tonight. I recently read the book, Shopping For Time (by Carolyn Mahaney, Nicole Whitacre, Kristin Chesemore, and Janelle Bradshaw). They are also the authors of girltalk, a blog for Christian women. It is written by a mother and her grown-up daughters about "How to do it all and not be overwhelmed." As a mother of five young children, you can imagine I thought this was worth a read!

The book is very easy to read and fairly short. It is centered around five tips to help get your life in order, and is directed at women of all ages and stages of life. The five tips are as follows:
  1. Rise early. Having implemented this tip in varying degrees since having read the book, I can certainly vouch for its effectiveness. It is possible to get up and spend time with God without any interruptions, and having done this, to plan the day and get some jobs done early.

  2. Sit still. This is about spending time at Jesus' feet, and how vital this is, before beginning the activities of the day.

  3. Sit and plan. I have implemented this and have bought a diary instead of relying on my calendar. So after sitting at Jesus' feet, then I can sit with my diary and plan how to most effectively use the time available.

  4. Consider people. This tip was about the importance of evaluating who you are spending time with, and in what proportions. It talks about who you can be influenced by, who you are influencing, and the benefits of planning and thinking about this carefully and deliberately.

  5. Plan to depend. We should not be seeking to complete our 'to do list' more than glorifying our Saviour, and he is the one on whom we depend for help. I am still learning, but this book has provided me with a lot to think about and practical encouragement.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book; it is highly practical and firmly grounded in biblical truth. It is an easy read, with personal stories and humor, but packed full of things to think about, pray about, and apply in our own lives. It is available from Crossway Books.

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Thursday, September 06, 2007

BOOK - ESV Literary Study Bible: Editor, Leland Ryken


Literary criticism has a bad reputation amongst evangelical Christians. This is, of course, misplaced since viewing the Bible as literature is not an option. It is, after all, a book! Anyway, the good folks at Crossway have decided to do their best to help us understand how a literary view of the Bible is essential. Here is an extract of an early review of the book which is coming out next week.
"The premiere benefit of the LSB is viewing Scripture as literature, without reducing Scripture to the level of mere literature. In Leland Ryken fashion, rebuttals are given to show that viewing Scripture as literature (1) does not show a liberal bias, (2) reinforces Scripture's view of itself as literature, (3) does not reduce Scripture to fiction, (4) does not reduce Scripture to another mere piece of literature, (5) nor deny the inspiration of Scripture. In fact, the editors argue that an accurate interpretation of Scripture first requires an understanding of the many literary features of Scripture.

"To approach the Bible as literature as this literary Bible does is not like dessert — something pleasurable to add to more important aspects of the Bible. The literary approach is the first item on the agenda — the starting point for other approaches to the Bible. This has been a point of neglect among Bible readers and Bible scholars that this literary Bible aims to correct."

Because, the editors make clear, "meaning is conveyed through form, starting with language itself but moving beyond that to a whole range of literary forms and genres" and "There is no meaning without the form in which a piece of writing is expressed." Forms directly impact interpretation.

The number of identifiable biblical genres in Scripture "readily exceeds one hundred" and that does not include archetypes, motifs, styles, rhetoric, and artistry. Scripture is a wonderfully diverse collection of literature with great variety. None are better qualified to bring these to the surface than Leland Ryken."

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Wednesday, September 05, 2007

BOOK - Sane Spirituality by Stuart Bell


This book started life as a series of sermons. It is an encouragement to me to see that publishers seem to be reviving the sermon-book, which at one point looked to me like it was fading from use. Bell's book is definitely aimed at the popular market, but any reader can learn much from what he has to say. If you are interested in how a charismatic interprets and applies 1 Corinthians, then this is a good place to start.

He has a simple definition of charismatics which he has borrowed from David Pawson — "Those who recognise that the gift of the Spirit is to be received and the gifts of the Spirit are to be exercised."

The whole book is a paperback with less than 130 pages. Some of the chapter titles should draw you in:

“The Mess Called Church”
“Challenges Facing Charismatics”
“Order!”
“The Clay Element”.

Stuart Bell is a writer who speaks from many years of experience and wisdom as a leader of leaders—don't let his engaging and easily understandable style make you think this is a simple book. I was encouraged by reading it and found myself stirred once more to eagerly desire spiritual gifts, and especially prophecy. (1 Corinthians 14:1)

This is the first of a series of briefer bite-sized book reviews that I intend to share with you. To read more about this book or buy it online why not visit Sovereign World Christian Book Publishers.

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Sunday, July 08, 2007

ESV Quadruples Sales Growth


Crossway Books and Bibles today announced, "Growth of the ESV Bible continues to accelerate . . . worldwide sales and distribution have increased four-fold over the past two years . . . and the ESV moved up to the number three position on the CBA bestseller list in June . . . ." As a result, Crossway has outlined its new organizational structure "which focuses on two new publishing divisions and on a new strategic plan and leadership in Sales and Marketing . . . ."

According to the press release, Crossway will now be organized into two major publishing divisions, one for books and the other for Bibles. The new Bible publishing division (Crossway Bibles) will be led by Randy Jahns, as the Sr. Vice President for Bible Publishing. The new book publishing division (Crossway Books) continues to be led by Allan Fisher, as Vice President for Book Publishing.

Download the full announcement.

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Thursday, June 07, 2007

Sam Storms Reviews Pierced For Our Transgressions


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 as to why this issue is necessarily at the forefront of evangelical dialogue: "For if God did not punish his Son in my place, I am not saved from my greatest peril, the wrath of God" (14). That may strike some as odd language, but only because we have lost sight of that from which we most need to be saved and delivered: God! We have only one hope, says Piper and it is "that the infinite wisdom of God might make a way for the love of God to satisfy the wrath of God so that I might become a son of God" (14).

I suppose I should begin as the authors do with a definition of penal substitution. In the opening paragraph of the Introduction, they write: "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" (21). You may find it shocking that this would even be up for debate, for "this understanding of the cross of Christ," say our authors, "stands at the very heart of the gospel" (21).

There simply can be no Christian gospel apart from the truth that Jesus Christ has endured and suffered in himself, on the cross, the wrath of God due to sinners, thereby propitiating or satisfying said wrath on behalf of those for whom he died. Yes, indeed, it is shocking that professing evangelicals should call it into question or, worse still, describe it as tantamount to "cosmic child abuse."

Among those who have questioned or utterly rejected penal substitutionary atonement (hereafter, PSA), thus calling for this book to be written, are C. H. Dodd (from a generation ago), Stephen Travis, Eleonore Stump, Colin Gunton, Paul Fiddes, Vernon White, Stephen Sykes, Timothy Gorringe, Tom Smail, Joel Green, Mark Baker, J. Denny Weaver, John Goldingay, Steve Chalke, Alan Mann, and Brian McLaren.


Those who in past years have come to the exegetical and theological defense of PSA include Leon Morris, Roger Nicole, John Murray, J. I. Packer, John Stott, Mark Meynell, Henri Blocher, David Peterson, D. A. Carson, Tom Schreiner, A. T. B. McGowan, Robert Reymond, and numerous others, all of whose books are mentioned in the Introduction. One volume in particular, written to honor the life and ministry of Roger Nicole, is especially important: The Glory of the Atonement, edited by Charles E. Hill and Frank A. James III (IVP, 2004).


The focus of Pierced is summarized by its authors: "In brief, we argue that penal substitution is clearly taught in Scripture, that it has a central place in Christian theology, that a neglect of the doctrine will have serious pastoral consequences, that it has an impeccable pedigree in the history of the Christian church, and that all of the objections raised against it can be comprehensively answered" (31).

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Wednesday, June 06, 2007

INTERVIEW - The Authors of Pierced for Our Transgressions


UPDATE - I have commented on criticism this post has received in a post entitled "Who is preaching another gospel?"

The history of the Church is quite simply the history of unlikely heroes who God raises up to meet the challenges of the hour. It was a great delight for me to recently spend some time with two such heroes—Dr. Andrew Sach and Dr. Steve Jeffery. They are both Anglican ordinands studying at Oak Hill Theological Seminary and yet, together with their new Principal-Elect, Dr. Mike Ovey, they have written a book that is shaking the evangelical world.

As we sat and ate mushroom soup in a very ordinary flat, I couldn’t help but give thanks to an extraordinary God who uses ordinary people for His purposes.

Pierced For Our Transgressions is a substantial theological book, yet it outsold its first print-run in just a few days. It has also had the longest list of endorsements of any recent evangelical book. When I spoke with Andrew and Steve, it had not been long since N. T. Wright had issued his strong rejection of their work as “profoundly unbiblical.”

I asked the two of them how they felt about Wright’s rejection of their work and the acclaim it had received from others. They both exuded the quiet, unconcerned response of those who know they have been commissioned by God. Yes, they had expected opposition, but no, they hadn’t realised it would come from N. T. Wright. As far as the long list of endorsements is concerned, this was to them not so much a reflection on the quality of the book itself as on the absolute importance of the topic to such a broad sweep of evangelical leaders. This is what Andrew said:
“We’ve been teased a bit about the length of the endorsements list! And some people have misunderstood it, thinking that it’s there just as a marketing ploy, or as evidence that we are very insecure! But those pages and pages of names at the start of Pierced for Our Transgressions are not there primarily because everyone loves the book. They are there because those people believe that penal substitution is of critical importance, and they fear that the Church will lose the Gospel if it is abandoned. The fact that such a range of people is represented—bishops, seminary professors, church leaders, songwriters, charismatic and non-charismatic, Baptist and Presbyterian, British, American, African, Australian—is testimony to the consensus that exists: penal substitution is fundamental ...

On another level, the endorsements do help with our insecurities! We’re not Old Testament specialists, and so to have top-rate scholars like T. D. Alexander or Tremper Longman III say “They got that right!” is a huge comfort. The same goes for the likes of Don Carson or Peter O’Brien on the New Testament. We’re humbled and surprised by the calibre of people who have backed us, to be honest, but if that strengthens the credibility of our work, especially in the face of opposition like that we’re getting from N. T. Wright, then we’re thankful.”
Their sense of commissioning by God was so palpable that it was no great surprise to hear from them a very similar story to what I had heard from Liam Goligher about the origins of his book on the atonement.

Andrew’s involvement in the current atonement controversy began at Spring Harvest Word Alive in 2004, when Steve Chalke’s book, The Lost Message of Jesus, first hit the shelves. One of his friends in their chalet read out the now infamous portion which speaks of penal substitution as “cosmic child abuse,” and Andrew realised that some kind of response was needed. A couple of weeks later he teamed up with his tutor, Mike, to write a review of the book for the newspaper Evangelicals Now.

Later that year, the Evangelical Alliance hosted a public debate in response to the furore caused by The Lost Message. During the debate, a friend leaned over to Steve and simply asked, “Where is the book that responds to this?” To Steve this came as a challenge that wouldn’t leave his mind. Whilst there were plenty of books that taught penal substitution—John Stott’s classic, The Cross of Christ, for example—they did not deal with recent objections. Steve felt an unshakable conviction that he should do something—he put it down to “providence.” At this point we had a good laugh about how what he had called providence I might well have called prophecy.

Before long Steve had Andrew and Mike on board and the book was born. A publishing contract with IVP UK was obtained, and the American rights have now been taken up by Crossway (rather than American IVP, who have recently published material opposed to penal substitution). Andrew and Steve spoke glowingly of the joy writers experience when they have a publisher behind their book who really cares about the message and not just the profit margin. They were eager to thank the team at IVP UK that helped them so much.

The style of the book is a little different from many previous theological works. They have revived an old model of doing theology which states your position and then interacts with every possible objection to it. At times it almost reads like blogging. I think a book like this serves us well in the age of the online conversation. Interaction and discussion can only help to bring clarity, and ultimately strengthens us theologically. Whilst the writers cannot possibly anticipate every objection, certainly the major ones are highlighted and addressed.

Andrew and Steve are two charming, gentle men who are, however, clearly passionate about our view of the cross. We spent some time discussing the implications of recent events in the evangelical scene—especially in the UK. We all agreed that a reconfiguration of the evangelical culture seems inevitable. Old alliances have broken, and new ones will be forged. Suddenly the old dividing lines do not seem to be as important as what is quite definitely the most important issue facing evangelicalism today. Andrew said:
“We were worried that things could split along charismatic versus conservative lines. Prominent critics of penal substitution, such as Steve Chalke in the UK and Brian McLaren in the States, have most influence in charismatic circles, whereas Steve, Mike, and I—and Liam Goligher for that matter—would probably be identified as “conservatives.” The fact is, though, that there are many charismatic brothers who stand exactly where we are. Mike Pilavachi of Soul Survivor has identified himself as an ally; Greg Haslam from Westminster Chapel has written a passionate article supporting penal substitution for Christianity magazine; New Frontiers are with us, and many in New Wine.

In the States they have this thing called “Together for the Gospel” which has brought together Christians from very different places on the charismatic/non-charismatic spectrum, united by their common commitment to the evangelical essentials. I think we’re beginning to see the same thing over here with New Word Alive. It’s very exciting.

But, yes, there are those who have taken the other side, and we must have the courage to part company with them.”
These two gentlemen do not pull any punches when required, as this short extract from the book which interacts with the now infamous section from Steve Chalke shows:
Consider this extract from Steve Chalke and Alan Mann's book, The Lost Message of Jesus:
John's Gospel famously declares, 'God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son' (John 3:16). How then have we come to believe that at the cross this God of love suddenly decides to vent his anger and wrath on his own Son? The fact is that the cross isn't a form of cosmic child abuse—a vengeful Father, punishing his Son for an offence he has not even committed. Understandably, both people inside and outside of the Church have found this twisted version of events morally dubious and a huge barrier to faith. Deeper than that, however, is that such a concept stands in total contradiction to the statement 'God is love.' If the cross is a personal act of violence perpetrated by God towards humankind but borne by his Son, then it makes a mockery of Jesus' own teaching to love your enemies and to refuse to repay evil with evil.” (Steve Chalke and Alan Mann, The Lost Message of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003), pp. 182-183.
This example has it all. First, penal substitution is criticized, but in vague and unspecified terms; it is said to contradict the Christian teaching about God's love, but we are not told exactly how; it is said to be 'morally dubious', but we are not told why; it is said to contradict the Sermon on the Mount, but there is no careful exegesis to enable us to assess this claim.

Secondly, penal substitution is misrepresented. Whoever said that God's decision to punish his Son was 'sudden,' as if to imply that it was a capricious outburst of rage? Certainly no proponent of penal substitution we have read. Was the penal suffering of the cross not carefully planned, even prophesied in Isaiah 53 many centuries before the event?

Thirdly, there is the ultimate example of guilt by association. Penal substitution is portrayed as 'a form of cosmic child abuse.' This sticks in the mind, tugging at the conscience, for there are few crimes more despicable than violence towards an innocent, defenceless child.

The fact is that none of it is true. Nowhere in Chalke and Mann's book do they even attempt to argue that it is true. The above quotation amounts to a form of verbal bullying, a scare tactic calculated to coerce people into abandoning long-held beliefs out of fear of being associated with something nasty.”
That kind of courage and direct talking is much needed in the Church today. I am very glad that Steve, Andrew, and their Principal-Elect, Mike Ovey, have been raised up by God to make such a spirited and needed defence of the Gospel.

It struck me that despite the fact that the church I attend is just a few miles from Oak Hill, if it had not been for the recent attacks on the atonement, I would probably not have met these too delightful servants of God. Sometimes theological controversy in the Church has a helpful outcome. If there had not been ancient heretics, we would never have had the creeds.

Our opponents think we are divided, think that we care more about modes of baptism and the definition of prophecy than we do about the cross. They are wrong. There is a newfound mood of determination among many confessional evangelicals such as Andrew and Steve; the list of endorsements shows a willingness for people from across the evangelical spectrum to unite around the Gospel.

Whilst many in the evangelical movement in the UK are eager only for peace and would prefer that we did not speak about issues like the atonement, the words of people like Andrew and Steve are definitely finding a resonance in many ears. A new generation is rising up who are not prepared to be silent. A generation who are saying “Enough is enough!” A generation who are convinced that our views of the cross must not be modified to become more acceptable to the culture.

As I left them I couldn’t help but be grateful for the way God chooses unassuming people like Andrew and Steve for great tasks in His Church. I suspect that they never dreamt that they would write a book which would become something of a touchstone for a generation of Christians. This issue and this book of theirs demands a clear response that will bring definition to a movement rapidly drifting into oblivion.

Where do you stand? Will you join arms with Andrew, Steve, and a whole generation of those of us who feel this issue is quite literally one of life and death?

Or will you seek to compromise, maybe downplay the importance of precisely how Jesus saves us, and adopt a gospel message that, whilst sounding more acceptable to the modern ear, is in the opinion of many of us nothing less than “another gospel.”

The stakes couldn’t possibly be higher.

“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8)

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Tuesday, April 03, 2007

BOOK - How Much Does God Foreknow? by Steve Roy


There is little doubt as we continue a short look at the attributes of God, inspired by the Together for the Gospel Statement, that possibly the attribute which currently has the most controversy surrounding it is that of God’s foreknowledge.

For some neoliberals, it is preferable to think of a God who is every bit as surprised by the actions of people as we are. God can — according to some of them — sympathize with people's hurt because He, too, is shocked by how events unfold. He is either powerless to stop certain events or has chosen to limit His power. It is my belief that this view of God strips Him of His dignity and sovereignty and creates a “god” in our own image who no longer deserves the name of the God of the Bible.

Steve Roy’s book, published in 2006, aims to be a comprehensive biblical study on the subject of the foreknowledge of God. I believe he achieves his goal in every way. Roy is not afraid to address the concerns of the “open theists,” and lists their arguments, addressing the Scriptures that they commonly use to support their view of God.

Roy doesn’t merely counter the arguments of the detractors, he restates, explains, and supports from the Bible the traditional Christian view of a God for whom the whole of time is as a twinkle in His eye — who knows the end from the beginning.

I cannot recommend this book strongly enough. It was such a help for me when I was preparing for my talk on
the attributes of God.

Here are just a few quotes from the book:

“God knows the future! His foreknowledge has rightly been prized hy Christians of all generations. Much of the confidence, hope, and joy of the Christian life traditionally has heen based on the conviction that God knows the future . . . Thus throughout the various traditions of the church, Christians have taken great comfort in God's response to their prayers, precisely because He knows all things perfectly, including all of the future. Indeed, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus encourages his disciples to a robust life of prayer precisely because "your heavenly Father knows what you need before you ask" (Matthew 6:8).

“In what ways could God's repentance be different from human repentance? John Calvin is helpful here. He seeks to understand how humans might come to change their minds and then asks whether any or all of those factors might be present in God. Calvin proposes that a change of mind can come in a human being when one is "ignorant of what is going to happen, or cannot escape it, or hastily and rashly rushes into a decision of which he immediately needs to repent.” In other words, human beings might repent if they learn something new that they had been previously ignorant of, or if they realize they do not have the power to do what was originally planned, or if they develop a new perspective in which what was originally thought to be a good plan is now understood to be not so good. Calvin, then, argues that none of these conditions (lack of power, lack of knowledge, lack of a proper perspective) apply to God. "Concerning repentance, we ought so to hold that it is no more chargeable to God than is ignorance, or error, or powerlessness ...”

“So how should we understand the repentance of God if we affirm his foreknowledge of free human decisions? I suggest that divine repentance denotes Gods awareness of a change in the human situation and his resulting change of emotions or actions in light of this changed situation . . . this does not necessarily imply that the changed human circumstances were unforeseen by God and that God has learned something new as a result of these free human decisions.”

The book ends with the following words from Isaiah 46, which seem to me to be pretty conclusive:

“I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose’
...I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.”

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Thursday, March 29, 2007

Books to Help You Read The Bible


We have been speaking about preaching and the importance of Christians understanding the message of the Bible. We are drawing near to the end of this extended series. I felt, however, that I should not leave the series without sharing a few resources with you that are still fairly new and will definitely help you to study the Bible yourself.

The last year or so has been a great year for Christian publishing, with some fantastic books being published. The following list is some of the best of these newly-published books that will serve as good tools to help you explore the Bible.

My only regret is that, as far as I know, only one of the following books is available as an electronic version that will work with
Logos Bible Software. These days I prefer to have books that I can search on the PC, but I know that is not everyone's desire. It is also nice to have a row of good reference books on the shelf to turn to for years to come.

ESV Reverse Interlinear

First up is a revolution in publishing. I'm talking about the ESV reverse Interlinear edition of the Bible — which is also the only book with a Logos-compatible edition. The concept is a simple, yet revolutionary, idea. Instead of jumbling the English words as a traditional Interlinear does, why not reorder the Greek words so that it is easy to read the English translation? The words are numbered so that in the unlikely event that you know enough Greek to understand the rare times that word order actually can change the meaning, you can reorder them in your own mind. For most of us, though, having the Greek re-ordered really doesn't make any difference.

If you have this book you will probably be as impressed with it as I am. It comes from a collaboration between my two favorite Christian companies — Crossway and Logos Bible Software. You guys both rock — please do more together!

The ESV version of the Bible is taking the theological circles I move in by storm, and for good reason. Owning this will help you see why. Even as a non-expert, you can begin to understand how almost every word in the ESV New Testament corresponds in some direct way to a Greek word in the original.

You do not even have to be able to read Greek letters as there are three lines — one the ESV, the other re-ordered Greek words to correspond to their English counterparts, and the final one a transliteration

Even my 8-year old son, Henry, understands the concept and has been caught having taken this Bible into his bed to read. He is learning how some of the Greek words are translated. He is beginning to value the original words, asking me once, "Why is kai left out of the English sometimes, Dad?"

This version will give the advocates of non-literal translations a headache as it will allow even non-Greek experts to understand something of the way in which our English versions come to us. Once we begin to value the original words we will want our translation to be as close as possible to the word-for-word meaning of those words.

They say knowing a little Greek is a dangerous thing (and, no, I don't mean the guy who runs that kebob shop round the corner!) but surely it is less dangerous than knowing none at all?

Apart from my wide-margin journaling ESV with its growing collection of notes and underlinings, this is my favorite paper Bible.
The Logos edition of the Interlinear (only available with the library compilations) allows me to search the Bible for an individual Greek word and get a list of verses in English as a result, among all kinds of other tricks. If you just want to sit down with a paper Bible and study on your own, this is an invaluable buy.

Mark Dever — Promises Made and Promises Kept, The Message of the Bible

It is one thing to read the Bible, it is another thing to understand it. The next two books I want to recommend are both by Mark Dever. Many people want to buy a guide to the Bible, and it is good to do so — I will, in fact, be recommending a couple further on in this review. Dever has gone a step further, and in the course of these two books helps us understand the unifying message of this book.

I like this series because it is based on a series of sermons — one per book of the Bible, and overviews of each Testament and the Bible as a whole. Because of this route in preaching, the books make the Bible live today in a way that a more purely academic guide cannot. If you can only buy one "introduction" to the Bible, this should be it.

I cannot commend these books highly enough, but I thought I would include a few testimonials about them which speak for themselves:

"Many Bible readers are familiar with individual trees, while failing to see the forest. They are in great danger of misinterpreting the parts of the Bible they read because they do not see the entire structure of a Gospel like John or an Epistle like Ephesians. Mark Dever fills a gaping need with his sermons on each of the individual books." (Thomas R. Schreiner)

"These expositions are theologically rich, biblically faithful, and loaded with superb introductions, illustrations, and applications." (Ligon Duncan)

"Whether you are a Christian seeking a better understanding of the Bible, or a pastor seeking to preach 'the whole counsel of God,' this unique and invaluable resource provides a wealth of insight that will serve you for years." (C. J. Mahaney)

"Is biblical exposition a lost art? Not if this book is any indication. This book is a gem and it belongs on every Christian's bookshelf." (R. Albert Mohler, Jr.)


Moo and Carson's Introduction to the New Testament

Moo and Carson are surely two of the most widely respected evangelical scholars of today. This new introduction to the New Testament certainly lives up to the expectations we would have of such men of God. It deserves its place on my shelf, and will be dipped into for years to come.

Full of information and references to the published literature, yet simple to read, this is a textbook that I am sure will serve the seminary student, as well as the beginning student of the Bible. Due to its recent publishing date, it is more up-to-date with scholarship than many similar resources from the past.

Don't look to this book to have the same pastoral wisdom as the two books by Mark Dever I have already mentioned. It is not written with that in mind — and as such, if budget is not an issue, having both of these on your shelves is a good idea.

Alec Motyer - Discovering the Old Testament

A small paperback of just 200 pages, this is an accessible and concise introduction to the Old Testament. The book describes its mission as taking the reader on a journey through the Old Testament. Its aim is to show how the Old Testament has the same message as the New. Motyer is well known to us through his commentary on Isaiah. This popular treatment of the message of the Old Testament should be understandable by all.

Unfortunately, it seems to only be available
from IVP books in the UK at the moment.

IVP Introduction to the Bible
This book has the advantage that it is a single volume covering the Bible — and a slim one at that. It does, of course, mean that it is not as in-depth as some of the others. I will forgive it for using the TNIV. I am convinced that it is a useful introduction for the student of the Bible. It has earned a place on my shelf and will be referred to from time-to-time for years to come.

I thought one of the most helpful ways you could compare and contrast these books would be to share short excerpts from each of them on two books in the Bible. I have chosen Genesis and Ephesians.

GENESIS

"Interestingly, the early church presented Noah's ark as a symbol of Christ. Some of the earliest drawings of Christ are representations of an ark affixed to a cross, indicating that Christ is our ark. He is the vessel of mercy that we, once inside, can safely ride through the floods of God's judgment. God has always been merciful, and never more so than by giving Himself in Christ. Our only hope is God's mercy. As Christians, we have no ground for pride. We have sinned against God and are morally bankrupt. We have completely spent our small resources and now cannot provide for our most basic spiritual needs. We are entirely dependent upon God's mercy and grace for salvation.

This is why the cross of Christ must always be at the center of our worship, whether public or private. I don't mean a physical cross for us to stare at, but an understanding and a pronouncement of what God has done in the cross of Christ. These first chapters of Genesis present no hope for the human race apart from God's mercy! We know today with clarity what the characters in Genesis only dimly perceived: how God would specifically accomplish our salvation by giving himself in Christ. So we should praise God as Creator and Redeemer. We should sing of His truth and His mercies. We should praise the Lamb who was slain for us. As we sing in the hymn, God, All Nature Sings Thy Glory — "Our sins have spoiled Thine image; Nature, conscience only serve as unceasing, grim reminders of the wrath which we deserve. Yet Thy grace and saving mercy in Thy Word of truth revealed claim the praise of all who know Thee, in the blood of Jesus sealed." Isn't that a marvelous truth about God? The holy one is the merciful one! Yet this leaves us with another question: How can he do that? How can God act with such holiness and mercy?" (Mark Dever — The Message of the Old Testament)


"We must now step back into the shorter opening section of the Pentateuch, the eleven chapters with worldwide themes, with which Genesis opens. As with all Bible history-writing, we are not told everything we might wish to know, but only what we need to know. The narrative fixes our attention on three typical events: the fall (Genesis 3-6), the flood (6-9), and the scattering (11:1-9). They are all stories of loss: how mankind, by sin, lost its home in God's Garden, brought destruction on his world, and shattered human fellowship. Each loss found us blameworthy and brought us under divine judgment, but each time judgment was inexplicably mingled with mercy.

God is Still on the Throne
The theme of these chapters is not really the world at all, but the sovereignty of God over the world. It is one of their most striking features that when, in Genesis 3, the great rebellion has taken place and mankind, in the individual Adam, has made its bid to be 'like God', the Lord God steps into the Garden with his sovereignty unimpaired. The once voluble serpent is now silent, and neither the rebellious human pair nor anything else in all creation can resist the sovereign will which decrees a curse upon a world of sinners (3:14-19). Yet the curse is not the whole story." (Alec Motyer — Discovering the Old Testament)


"The contribution of Genesis to a biblical understanding of both God and humanity cannot be underestimated for it establishes the basis and agenda for redemptive purposes in the world. Genesis poses other questions, which can only be noted here without discussion. Its historical veracity has often been assessed negatively on the grounds that no known extra-biblical sources confirm the Genesis record of the patriarchs. While this is undeniably so, we are dealing with accounts that relate to around 2000 B.C. and are largely concerned with the lives of a semi-nomadic family that migrated from north Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan. Not surprisingly, archaeological investigations and extant texts are highly unlikely to provide explicit evidence about the biblical patriarchs and their families. Such limitations need to be remembered when assessing views for and against the truthfulness of the Genesis record.

Other considerations need to be taken into account when considering the historicity of the early chapters of Genesis. This is especially so regards ch. 1, given modern theories about how the world was created. We need to appreciate that this chapter sets out to answer the question, 'Why did God do it?' not 'How did God do it?' As many biblical scholars now recognize, the entire chapter is a literary-artistic representation creation, designed to establish the status, in relation to each other, of objects and creatures mentioned within it. Since ch. 1 is not an attempt to describe the 'how' of creation, the chapter sheds little light on the mechanism by which God created the world. We need to remember the biblical writers want to communicate particular truths. As readers we need to attune ourselves to what these ancient authors wished to say, not impose our present-day agenda on their writings. We must not expect the biblical text to answer questions that its authors were not addressing." (IVP Introduction to the Bible)


EPHESIANS
"Wow, doesn't that get your heart? There is Paul in prison, an old man, praying and asking others to pray that God would make him fearless. "Paul," you might ask, "how much more fearless can you get? You are giving your whole life away, choosing to be in prison because you want to reach people like me, a Gentile, with the gospel." Paul knew courage was needed to continue, and he knew God's Spirit had to provide what did not come naturally. So he asked for it. It was plain and obvious that sitting in prison was his duty, given by God. His suffering could not obscure God's design. Indeed, Paul's instructions on submission in this letter were hard-won. Languishing in prison, Paul certainly knew what was involved in submission, as much as any slave. Yet he knew he had the freedom to obey. No authority on earth could take that away from him.

Is it an accident that two of the New Testament's clearest statements on God's sovereignty come from the pens of two older men in captivity—John exiled on Patmos in the book of Revelation, and Paul in a Roman prison here? When this world exerts its fullest powers to oppose the gospel, it only serves to reveal the powerlessness of rebellion against God." (Mark Dever — The Message of the New Testament)

"The letter's emphasis on the church is unmistakable; Ephesians clearly tells us more about the church than do other writings in the Pauline corpus. This has generated a great deal of discussion. For many, this focus on the church is a natural and acceptable development, but for Kisemann (among others) it is a distortion of the real Christian message. In Ephesians, he writes, "the gospel is domesticated." The world "may be its sphere. But it is so only as the frame into which the picture of the church fits." He goes on to complain that here "Christology is integrated with the doctrine of the church .... Christ is the mark towards which Christianity is growing, and no longer in the strict sense its judge." Yet in some ways this is too narrow a perspective. The massive vision of a new humanity, a new household of God, rising together to reconcile warring human beings to each other and to God (chap. 2)-and all of this the product of God's predestining love (1:3-14) and unqualified grace (2:8-10)-is entirely in line with Pauline emphases on God's sweeping sovereignty in constituting his people (Rom. 9-11) and giving them the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5). More theologically telling are those studies that recognize distinctive emphases in Ephesians, but relate such emphases to central themes in the Pauline corpus. For example, Lincoln examines what it means to be seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Eph. 2:6) and concludes that it is a kind of spatial equivalent of inaugurated eschatology. Caragounis and Bockmuehl have examined many traditions that are reflected in the letter. Peter T. O'Brien finds that much of the language of the prayers in Ephesians can be paralleled in the Qumran literature." (Carson & Moo — An Introduction to the New Testament)


"Paul wrote Ephesians from prison (3:1; 4:1; 6:20). The letter is fairly general in content and may even have been a kind of circular letter intended for several congregations in Western Asia Minor since some early manuscripts do not have 'Ephesus' as the specific destination in 1:1. However, certain emphases in the letter do suggest some of Paul's reasons for writing. The emphasis on the unity of Jewish and Gentile Christians may well be intended to address tensions in the church. Additionally, the fact that the devil and various 'powers' are mentioned sixteen times in the letter suggests a concern to encourage believers in their struggle with pernicious spirit-forces. Acts 19 associates demonic activity with Ephesus, and archaeology has uncovered ancient Ephesus as a center for magical practices, the Artemis cult, and a variety of Phrygian mystery religions and astrological beliefs. Paul wrote Ephesians to celebrate God's mighty work of redemption, which includes the forgiveness of sins and raising up of believers, both Jews and Gentiles, to new life in the power of the Spirit . . . The letter has a basic two-part structure, with chs. 4-6 setting out conduct appropriate to the gospel which Paul expounded in chs. 1-3. The transition comes in 4:1: 'I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling [to salvation] you have received.'

Ch. 1 opens with an inspiring thanksgiving for the gift of salvation, planned from eternity past and now being realized in the lives of believers. Paul then prays for the spiritual progress of his readers in light of Christ's supreme power in the universe. Ch. 2 recalls the readers' hopeless situation of death and condemnation and God's astounding deliverance. The barriers between Jews and Gentiles have now been demolished and their reconciliation through the cross has been achieved. Those who believe in Jesus are now united in one body on an equal basis. (IVP Introduction to the Bible)

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Monday, November 20, 2006

Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Logos Bible Software


Regular readers of my blog will be aware of my love for Doctor Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Back in August I did a summary post listing my regular posts from the Doctor. I thought that today I would link to the posts I have written and then speak about an exciting way that you can easily get your hands on a wealth of material from the Doctor. (If you want to cut to the chase see the following two links: Selected Works of Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Exposition of Ephesians.)

It is important that I stress that the Doctor is not merely someone of interest to one section of the church or another. During his life and subsequently, he was almost unique in his time for his appeal to people from all different denominational backgrounds. He truly was a gift of God to the whole church, and if you have never read or listened to the Doctor you need to right away! So to whet your appetite, here are some posts since August 2006 in which I mention him:

25% off Logos Scholar's Library!

The Doctor was a great believer in the need for us to think carefully and study carefully God's Word. There is no doubt that the books of his sermons and talks are some of the most perceptive, well-argued, and yet passionate materials ever written. As an example of his love for the truth of the Bible here is a quote taken from Authentic Christianity (1st U.S. ed., page 53, Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books.)

"So the first effect of Christianity is to make people stop and think. They are not simply overawed by some great occasion. They say, “No, I must face this. I must think.” That is the work of the Spirit. The people in Acts thought again. They repented—the Greek word is metanoia—they changed their mind completely. The Spirit always leads people to think, and, as I have been showing you, the greatest trouble is that men and women go through life without thinking. Or they think for a moment but find it painful, so they stop and turn to a bottle of whiskey or television or something else—anything to forget.

Is it not obvious that the world, speaking spiritually and intellectually, is in a doped condition? In all sorts of ways men and women evade the facts. They can do this with great energy, they can be very intellectual, but ultimately they end up with nothing.


What does the Spirit make us think about? Well, not first and foremost about ourselves. I must emphasize that Christianity does not start with us. It does not say, “Do you want to get rid of that sin that is getting you down? Do you want happiness? Do you want peace? Do you want guidance?” That is not Christianity. That, again, is the approach of the cults. No, these people in Jerusalem were made to think about Jesus Christ! They were given the objective, historical facts about this person . . .

The next point is that the . . . Spirit now makes us go on to realize the relevance of Jesus Christ, and everything concerning Him, to ourselves personally . . .

You can sit in a chair and read a book about Jesus Christ, you can read about Him in your Bible, and you can read books of theology. Very interesting. To an intelligent person there is no study more entrancing. It has been the occupation of some of the greatest minds of the centuries. But you can do all that and still not be a Christian. It is the Holy Spirit who makes each of us see the relevance of Jesus to ourselves, so that we are no longer spectators, no longer critics, no longer people taking a wonderful, objective view. No, no, I am under criticism myself. The relevance of this has come to me. I see that I am involved in all this, and I had not realized it."

Now, it may well be that having read so many quotes from the Doctor here, you are eager to get a hold of his books. They can, of course, be purchased from Amazon.com, and many of his audio sermons can be downloaded from the Martyn Lloyd-Jones Recording Trust. There is no doubt in my mind that reading his material will do you good and help you to, as he puts it, "think".

In the rest of this post, I want to introduce you to another way that you can get a hold of some of the amazing books that have been produced from his sermons. This is, of course, to purchase electronic copies of two fantastic resources from Logos. Logos has two Lloyd-Jones CDs available. The first of these is
Selected Works of Martyn Lloyd-Jones and is a collection of no fewer than ten separate books by the Doctor, including more than 3,300 pages of Lloyd-Jones' highly relevant and well-loved works. Imagine being able to easily search all the following books at once for either a Bible verse key word, or a specific subject that you are interested in. These are some of the Doctor's most well-known and well-loved works.

  • Revival - this book is based on a series of talks given on the 100th anniversary of the Great Revival which started in Wales and swept across England, throughout the United States, and to the far corners of the world. It is a critical book for us to read if we want to understand the biblical view of revival - "I do not think that our age has seen any more powerful or profound treatmentof revival than this book."—Dr. J. I. Packer
  • The Assurance of Our Salvation - Based on John 17, this book explores how we as Christians can be sure of our salvation. The book is practical, pastoral, and inspiring.
  • Great Doctrines of the Bible (3 vols.) - This is a complete systematic theology written by the Doctor and it will help you grasp the theological and emotional impact of the message of the Bible.
  • Studies in the Book of Acts (4 vols.) - These sermons will inspire you as you consider afresh the birth of the church, the coming of the Holy Spirit, and the advance of the early church.
  • Seeking the Face of God - The Doctor brings his scapel to nine passages from the Psalms. You will discover just why the book of Psalms is so precious to many of God's saints.

The second, Exposition of Ephesians series, is about 3,000 pages worth of in-depth analysis of the book of Ephesians and is one of the most thorough commentaries available on this vital New Testament book. Based on years of careful preaching verse after relentless verse. One of the Doctor's most well-known sermons is contained in this series. He managed to preach an entire sermon on the phrase "But God" from Ephesians 2!

"With these two words we come to the introduction to the Christian message, the peculiar, specific message which the Christian faith has to offer to us. These two words, in and of themselves, in a sense contain the whole of the gospel. The gospel tells of what God has done, God’s intervention; it is something that comes entirely from outside us and displays to us that wondrous and amazing and astonishing work of God which the apostle goes on to describe and to define in the following verses." (Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (1972). God's Way of Reconciliation chapter 2, page 59) Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)

Lloyd-Jones shows how the book of Ephesians gives us a unique overview of Pauls's teaching. Many critical subjects are covered, including our salvation, predestination, the work of the Spirit, the Church, spiritual warfare, and many other aspects.

All these books mentioned above are a treasure trove, but their size makes them somewhat unwieldy - particularly if you want to use them in a 21st century manner. I am sure that for many of my readers going through a big book sequentially is just not something that they are going to do. As helpful as a paper book is for reading from beginning to end, increasingly many of us want instead to dip in and out of a book when we are interested in a particular subject. Locating that passage that you know is in one of your books that you have read is hard enough. Imagine being able to find a highly relevant passage in a book you haven't even read yet!

You can search the entire series of Lloyd-Jones books by word, passage, or topic, so you’ll never have to hunt through countless pages looking for that certain quote. What's more, all Bible references function as hotspots, immediately presenting the cited verse whenever the mouse cursor rolls over them. And by clicking on the citation, your favorite Bible translation will immediately open to the chapter and verse. This transforms your electronic library into a searchable index of amazing passages and chapters that are at your fingertips when you most need them.

Of course, these books work hardest when they are included on the same system as one of the core libraries. Then, you can quite literally type a Bible verse into the passage guide, click "go," and within seconds results will be flooding you from Lloyd-Jones and all your other books! This is not to encourage plagarism which everybody knows is when you copy one person. When you are inspired by and integrate ideas from many people into your own work it is not plagarism, it is scholarly research!

For some reason when I installed these items a collection was not automatically formed - but fortunately it is a simple matter to create one yourself (tools-define collections) and then to include that collection in the resources that are searched on a home page when you click passage guide (preferences on the homepage).

If you love Lloyd-Jones material, these works will stand on their own, but will be so much more useful as an add-on to a fuller Logos library system. At very least, you need a Bible to work with them. Even without what they call a "core library" - a critical mass of Bibles, commentaries, and lexicons - these two resources will still allow you to browse the books, search, annotate, Copy/Paste with Footnotes, Visual Mark-up, Topic Browser, Reference Browser, History, Favorites, Bookmarks, Define Collections, Zoom, and Auto-Lookup. From the right-click menu, standard functions like Copy, Print, Speed Search This Resource, etc. will work.

It really is the search that will wow you - you can search an individual book, the MLJ collection, or your entire library by word, phrase, topic, and Bible verse. Where relevant, there will be hot-linking within and between texts, footnote pop-ups, and Bible reference pop-ups (if you own at least one Bible). For example, simply enter a search like topic (Trinity) and it will find all the places MLJ talks about the topic of the Trinity - some of which may not be where you expect! If such a search doesn't return enough hits, simply search for the keyword "Trinity" instead, perhaps adding an "OR 'Father Son and Holy Spirit'" or something similar!

Navigation within and between the books is a breeze, and the convenience of not needing yet more shelving should mean your spouse's vote is with digital over paper every time! These resources are on sale at Logos and are not part of the 25% reduction given to readers of my blog on core libraries.

To Purchase materials from Logos Bible Software visit

  • Selected Works of Martyn Lloyd-Jones
  • Exposition of Ephesians.
  • 25% off Logos Core Libraries

    More information about Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is availabe from Wikkipedia.


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    Tuesday, September 26, 2006

    BOOK - Surprised by the Power of the Spirit - Jack Deere


    Today I begin a series of book and other resource reviews for those who want to study further following our recent charismatic debate.

    I begin with this well-known, easy-read paperback. I first read this a number of years ago, and still recommend it today as a good introduction - especially for those coming from a cessationist background.

    It is important to point out that due to the wide spectrum of different opinions and interpretations — especially on some of the more minor points — I do not necessarily endorse every point of view made in all the resources I am going to review. I will, however, be concentrating on those resources that come from a more moderate charismatic position. I would be interested in any of my cessationist readers recommending books that may change my mind in such a way that Dan Phillips has so clearly failed to do!

    The following comes from the back cover of this book:
    "What caused a former Dallas Seminary professor to believe that the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit are being given today? What convinced someone sceptical about miracles that God still speaks and heals? A dramatic change took place in Jack Deere's life when he took a fresh look at the Scriptures. He discovered that his arguments against miraculous gifts were based more on prejudice and lack of personal experience than on the Bible. As soon as Deere became a seeker instead of a sceptic, the Holy Spirit revealed Himself in new and surprising ways. In Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, Deere provides a strong biblical defence for the Spirit's speaking and healing ministries today. He also describes several reliable cases of people who were miraculously healed or who heard God speak in an unmistakable way. Finally, he gives sound advice for using spiritual gifts in the church. Written in a popular style, with the care of a scholar but the passion of personal experience, this book explores: the real reason Christians do not believe in miraculous gifts, responding to charismatic abuses, whether miracles were meant to be temporary, and why God still heals."
    This book has been much criticised by some cessationists, which is perhaps precisely why, like many others, I continue to recommend it! The book does interact with the biblical material and makes exegetical arguments, but it is definitely a popular book aimed at the mass market.

    Deere begins by telling the story of how a single phone call took him on a journey from being a “dry” traditional cessationist to becoming a fully fledged charismatic. As all good cessationists know, no one is safe — even the most ardent opponent of the gifts can be converted on this issue!

    Deere is careful to point out that he was convinced not by an experience - as in fact many are -but rather by a phone call with the author, John White, which he describes in a most engaging manner. Deere was discussing with him the reasons for his cessationist views, but realised that his first argument was an argument from silence. He then quickly examined the next three arguments he would usually use and realised that each of them was fatally flawed. He then says something that inspires me greatly when it comes to this blog. He says ". . . my belief that miraculous gifts had ceased had never seriously been challenged before. I had never needed to examine these arguments that closely because everyone in my circle accepted them as true."

    This blog exists, at least in part, to challenge your opinions on the charismatic issue, and indeed other issues. I love having my doctrinal positions challenged as I am convinced that if I go back to the Bible I will always be on firm ground. After that phone call, Deere went back and studied the Bible for himself. I would encourage you to do the same thing. Reading others' descriptions of their journey in this area and of their understanding of the biblical data is a great help to this process as well, however. I think you can do a lot worse than starting with this book and its sequel, Surprised by the Voice of God.

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    Wednesday, September 13, 2006

    BOOK - What Jesus Demands from the World - John Piper


    Crossway has now put the contents page of What Jesus Demands from the World by John Piper and, indeed, the rest of the text of the book online. Pre-orders are being taken and the book should be out in a few days' time.

    This is going to be an imporant book. It is 400 pages long. It covers 50 direct commands given to us by Jesus Himself. When God speaks to us, we would do well to listen and obey!

    I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of this book. Here is
    what the Crossway website has to say about it:





    In What Jesus Demands from the World, John Piper has gathered many of Jesus' demands from the four Gospels. He begins with an introduction that puts the demands in a redemptive-historical context, then concisely examines each demand. The result is an accessible introduction for thoughtful inquirers and new believers, as well as meditative meat for veteran believers who want to know Jesus better.

    The four Gospels are filled with demands straight from the mouth of Jesus Christ. These demands are Jesus’ way of showing us who He is and what He expects of us. They are not the harsh demands of a taskmaster. For example, the demand that we come to Jesus is like the demand of a father to his child in a burning window, “Jump to me!” Or like the demand of a rich, strong, tender, handsome husband to an unfaithful wife, “Come home!” What Jesus demands from the world can be summed up as: “Trust and treasure me above all.” This is good news!

    “The Christian gospel is more than just a wonderful offer of saving grace; it is a demand for supreme loyalty, for surrender to the lordship of Jesus. We forget this too easily in our contemporary church, besieged as we are by a philosophy of pluralism that rejects ultimate authority and a culture of rights that scorns submissiveness. But John Piper reminds us of the real truth: obedience to Christ’s commands is our absolute duty; yet, paradoxically, in His service is perfect freedom and joy!”
    William J. U. Philip, Minister, St George’s-Tron Church, Glasgow, Scotland, UK.

    “John Piper reveals in his ‘Word to Biblical Scholars’ his familiarity with the literature and subject matter of the life and teachings of Jesus, and in his comments on the individual demands of Jesus he applies them to everyday living.”
    Robert H. Stein, Senior Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

    “This is now my favorite book by John Piper. In the best tradition of Adolf Schlatter’s Do We Know Jesus? and his ‘hermeneutic of perception,’ What Jesus Demands from the World has changed my life and will certainly change yours because it is based on the pure words of Jesus as revealed in the four Gospels. A must-read for every true follower of Christ.” Andreas J. Köstenberger, Editor, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society; Professor of New Testament and Director of Ph.D. Studies, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

    “This book is a special gift from the pen of John Piper. How long has it been since you carefully reflected upon the authoritative commands of Christ? Through these pages you will encounter the Savior and experience the transforming effects of the gospel. Few endeavors are more worthy of your time.”
    C. J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries.

    “Scholars, popularists, and now even novelists are falling over each other today in a blind passion to discover an alternative Jesus to the One so magnificently portrayed in the biblical Gospels. In stark and refreshing contrast, John Piper clear-sightedly grasps the obvious—the biblical Jesus is worth living for and dying for.”
    Sinclair Ferguson, Senior Minister, The First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, South Carolina

    “This is a peculiar book. It assumes that the four Gospels are true and unified. It assumes that Jesus not only does things for us but also makes demands of us. And it assumes that Jesus has authority over everyone regardless of their religion, gender, race, income, sexuality, nationality, or culture. You will likely not agree with every point. But you will hear from a Jesus who is more than a soft-spoken, effeminate, marginalized, Galilean hippie-peasant in a dress and has the peculiar notion that He alone is Lord.” Mark Driscoll, Pastor, Mars Hill Church, Seattle.

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    Monday, July 10, 2006

    Preach the Word - A Book on Preaching, Edited by Greg Haslam


    This newly released 600-page book needs to quickly become part of the library of every preacher who wants to learn what some of the most influential preachers in the UK think of our shared art, which some have called the highest calling any man can ever receive.

    Based on an extended preaching conference, this book includes contributions by a wealth of the very best UK preachers.

    Editor Greg Haslam begins the book with an introduction to preaching and ends it with appendixes on the relationship between being filled with the Spirit and preaching and on the so-called "Ephesians 4 ministries." Greg spent over twenty years pastoring a newfrontiers church, so if my recent coverage of the Together on a Mission conference has whetted your appetite, the book is worth buying just for this section.

    John Stott follows up with a chapter on the paradoxes of preaching. It is amazing to think that he is still preaching. I will never forget hearing him in the flesh — as he put it, "a preacher preaching to preachers about preaching.”

    Liam Goligher surveys preaching in church history and argues that preaching presupposes a view of the Bible as the "book that speaks for itself.” Mark Stibbe discusses the gift of teaching and what we can learn from Jesus' model of preaching.

    Michael Eaton explains his view of "God-centered" preaching, and introduces us to expository preaching through books of the Bible. Phillip Greenslade focuses on the priestly effects of preaching and how to "preach the big story.”

    Greg Haslam asks, "What makes a good sermon?" whilst David Pawson describes how his own style of preaching evolved over the years through several different forms, and also how to preach to the whole person.

    Terry Virgo boldly describes three of the ascension gifts of Jesus — the apostle, prophet, and evangelist — and focuses in on what he calls apostolic preaching, as well as what it means to give ourselves to the word of God and prayer.

    An entire section is devoted to the anointing of God and preaching for a response — David Holden and Colin Dye contribute much of this. This is followed by a very practical section about the "nuts and bolts" of sermon preparation and connecting with the real world, brought to us by Stuart Reid, Chris Wright, Mike Pilavachi, Greg Haslam, and Jeff Lucas.

    Preaching can bring both unity and division in local churches and between different types of churches. Joel Edwards (head of the UK's Evangelical Alliance) hopes for the former — but with Haslam's chapter on prophetic preaching, we may have to concede sometimes the latter is appropriate! Doug Williams explores Pentecostal and black preaching, as well as the spiritual warfare aspects.

    Another big section is devoted to preaching into the culture, and the evangelistic effects of preaching. J. John, Michael Ramsden, and Mark Stibbe bring their insights here.

    The book itself ends with a section on the making of a preacher — the famous answer to that question we all hate: "How long did it take you to prepare that sermon?" "Thirty years!" springs to mind here. Steve Brady, Jeff Lucas, and Greg Haslam discuss the calling, making, maturing, and where necessary, recovery of the preacher.

    I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is available online from a UK website, but will be posted anywhere in the world. Buy a copy for yourself, for your pastor, for your missionary friend overseas — in short for anyone with an interest in preaching!

    The book is available from Sovereign World, who will deliver it to you wherever you are and I will close with what they say about it themselves:

    In changing times, one thing does not change: the quiet, but insistent, call of God to preach the Gospel. Yet there has been a widespread loss of confidence in the Scriptures and growing confusion about their message. As a result, our witness has often been muted, timid, and unclear.

    One of the greatest casualties has been the decline of bold, authoritative, and powerful popular preaching. Many critics have predicted the total demise of preaching from church life altogether, since it is increasingly seen as an outmoded relic of a former age. The result of this loss has been a widespread leakage of spiritual power, declining numbers, and stunted spiritual growth in many churches.

    In the autumn of 2003, at Westminster Chapel, we embarked upon a preaching school that sought to provide a remedy for this problem. It was simply called Preach the Word! My hope was that it would help raise the calibre, profile, and effectiveness of authentic biblical preaching across every denomination and stream in the Body of Christ.

    A wide range of outstanding teachers, preachers, and communicators were invited to share their skills, wisdom, and strongest convictions on a host of themes related to this great task, and a large number of delegates gathered each month to give them an enthusiastic hearing. The transcripts of these teaching sessions have been edited and distilled into this single volume in an effort to reach and engage an even wider audience. These presentations will encourage renewed confidence in the importance of this ministry, and impart practical know-how in its development, both in beginners just 17 starting out on this call, as well as those considerably more experienced in the work. Men and women of all ages who are called to this task will benefit greatly from this extraordinary collection.

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    Saturday, June 17, 2006

    John KpiKpi God's New Tribe - A Christian Book Review


    A regular speaker at newfrontiers conferences, John KpiKpi is a man dear to my heart. He is someone who has run after his dream and is well on the way to seeing it fulfulled. John leads a church in Ghana, and oversees the work of newfrontiers in West Africa.

    His book is well summarised on the newfrontiers resource site as follows:

    God is about a great work in the earth which encompasses all the tribes and nations of the world. But just what is the nature of this work and what is God�s goal? What should be the relationship between us and our tribes after we have been joined to God�s people through the cross of Christ? What is the relationship between us and people through the cross of Christ? What is the relationship between us and people from other tribes and races who have become joined to God�s people? And what about cherished customs and traditions of the tribes we come from? Do we continue with them? Do we select some and drop the others? In this book, John Kpikpi grapples with these questions, which he believes are foundational issues for the planting and building of local churches all over the world. There is a prophetic call to God�s �called out� ones to discover their true identity in Christ, and in Christ alone, and to live out the full implications of their new life to the glory of God and the one and only Son of God who loved them and gave himself for them.



    John challenges our perceptions that the only problem we have to face is racism. Rather, our prejudice about the tribe we belong to is a real barrier to God's purpose to build a truly multi-coloured church. The principles in this book are as relevant to the West as they are to the African context in which they are written.

    John explains the problem as follows:

    "One such horror is that, disturbingly, we seem to be able to live quite comfortably with tribalism, the idea that one's own tribe is superior to all the other tribes. Widespread discrimination, injustice, division and wars have resulted fromt this sinful belief that has taken root in people's minds. Furthermore, the exhalting of our tribal identities prevents us from fully embracing God's way of life, which He has clearly revealed to us in His written word. As a result we allow our customs and traditions to take precidence over the holy word of God."

    John goes on to detail specific examples of this. He bemoans the fact that so many churches are monotribal and do not integrate different kinds of people. This does not, in his view, reflect the heart of God.

    "...it seems the restoration of the people of this world should involve the reuniting of these scattered peoples under one God with the shared intention of pleasing and hounouring God rather than one of making a name for themselves (or for their tribes!)"

    If you are serious about building a multicultural church that is welcoming to those of different backgrounds to yourself, this book is an essential read. It is available to purchase wherever you are in the world direct from the newfrontiers website.

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    Sunday, April 30, 2006

    T4G - books given to delegates


    The Indigent Intern: has a list of books given to the delegates which I presume is accurate - I have been blessed to receive some of these already as free books to review by publishers - the rest do sound interesting and I would be open to review any more if any marketeers are reading!

    This list of books has every mark of being very carefully chosen and we would do well to consider begging borrowing or buying any of them we dont already have! If you have any thoughts on this choice of books do feel free to share them!

    The MacArthur Study Bible
    Not yet seen this! I wonder if it is the same as the electronic version available with libronix?

    A paperback copy of the ESV translation of the Bible
    I love it of course! Extensively reviewed by me HERE

    The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter
    I am almost certainI read this one more than a decade ago- I really ought to read it again!

    The Deliberate Church by Mark Dever
    Fantastic! Reviewed by me HERE

    Getting the Gospel Right by R.C. Sproul
    Not heard of this one....

    Why Only One Way? by John MacArthur
    Nor this.....

    God is the Gospel by John Piper
    A GREAT book - reviewed by me HERE

    Counted Righteous in Christ by John Piper
    Some quotes and comments on this book with a link to the free PDF HERE

    Give Praise to God edited by Ligon Duncan, Derek Thomas, & Philip Ryken
    Another new one one me!

    Humility by C.J. Mahaney
    An absolutely ESSENTIAL read - reviewed by me HERE.

    Sex, Romance, & the Glory of God by C.J. Mahaney
    An abreviated form of this book appears as two chapters of Sex and the Supremacy of Christ which I reviewed HERE.

    Speaking the Truth in Love by David Powlison
    This I HAVE to get my paws on, I have heard such good things about him but never read him.

    Women's Ministry in the Local Church by Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt
    New one on me....

    Pathway to Freedom by Alistair Begg
    Again, another new one!

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    Wednesday, March 29, 2006

    Living the Cross Centered Life by CJ Mahaney - a book every Christian should read


    Every now and then an author writes a book that so hits the mark that I conclude that in my humble opinion every Christian should read them at least once in their life. This year Mahaney has gone and written two.

    Regular readers of my blog will remember my review of Humility and my interview with CJ. Today, I will review his new book �Living the Cross Centered Life�.

    The cross is so central to CJ�s ministry that up until now two of his books were about it. This new volume combines the material in both of these books and incorporates new material to make what is arguably the definitive introduction to the doctrine of the cross. Certainly as a practical book which applies the doctrine to our daily lives this has no equal in any book I have read.

    CJ begins his book by quoting Stott �The Cross is the blazing fire at which the flame of our love is kindled, but we have to get near enough for its sparks to fall on us
    He then challenges us to consider what is the main thing in our lives- what defines us? CJ then reminds us that according to Paul that which was of first importance was simply this �Christ died for our sins�.

    �If there is anything in life we should be passionate about, it�s the gospel. And I don�t mean passionate only about sharing it with others; I mean passionate in thinking about the gospel, reflecting upon it, rejoicing in it, allowing it to colour the way we look at the world and all of life�

    Perhaps like many Christians you feel that you have grasped the implications of the cross and are looking for fresh insights elsewhere. Mahaney shares one of his favourite quotes with us �We never move on from the cross, only into a more profound understanding of the cross�.

    CJ is not at all embarrassed to stand with Anslems view of the cross:- �The debt was so great that while Man alone owed it only God could pay it�. Not for him any modern doubts about substitutionary atonement. CJ is clear about the implications of a wrong understanding of the gospel of the cross � he quotes a friends letter which says of his pastoral experience �very small errors in a person�s understanding of the gospel seemed to result in very big problems in that persons life�.

    For Mahaney, a proper understanding of the gospel begins with a proper understanding of our sin. �For when you are deeply aware of your sin, and of what an affront if is to God�s holiness, and of how impossible it is for Him to respond to this sin with anything other than furious wrath- you can only be overwhelmed with how amazing grace is.

    But don�t think that pastoral sessions with this father in the faith are all doom and gloom. CJ is clearly eager to point out the love of God to people: �As a pastor few things affect me more than interacting with those who�are unaware of Gods personal love for them. Normally there isn�t a week that goes by where I�m not talking with someone who hasn�t understood this truth �Christ loved me and gave himself for me�- in personal experience

    Our personal experience is a vital part of being a Christian. CJ describe the ways we can lose our focus on the cross and hence lose our joy. One of the chief of these is legalism which he defines excellently

    Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God and justification before God through obedience to God. A legalist is anyone who behaves as if they can earn Gods forgiveness through personal performance�It says to God in effect �Your plan didn�t work. The cross wasn�t enough and I need to add my good works to it to be saved�legalism is essentially self-atonement for the self-glorification and ultimately for self-worship.

    CJ shares as part of the antidote to legalism a wonderful quote from the prince of preachers �All the love and acceptance which perfect obedience could have obtained of God, belong to you because Christ was perfectly obedient on your behalf

    CJ is keen in this book not to merely teach theology but goes on to explain how to live a cross-centred life one day at a time. This little book is a wonderful, wonderful book that can only benefit the reader. Buy yourself a copy, buy your friend a copy, buy your pastor a copy. I suspect this is a book that I shall read many times over the next few years.

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    Monday, October 31, 2005

    Humility: true greatness by C.J.Mahaney - one of the books every christian should read


    There are few subjects that are both as critical to the church and as poorly understood and practiced as humility. There are few men more qualified to teach us on the subject than C.J.Mahaney. When I had the priviledge of an interview with CJ by email a few weeks back I was again reminded of his amazing humility and have not been disappointed in the content of his new book.

    As I discovered a couple of years ago when it fell to my lot to preach on meekness there is little in print on such subjects. I understand and sympathise with the pain that CJ had to bear but am glad that he went through it and produced this fantastic book.

    I guess when you are plucked from obscurity as he was and end up leading a whole group of churches without any formal training it is going to send you one of two ways. You will either think "now I finally arrived....." or you will be forever in awe of the amazing grace of God that can take you to places you never imagined possible. Despite his attempts to claim to be a man who has struggled more than most with pride I am convinced that C.J. has taken the latter view.
    Why is humility so critical? C.J. launches straight in to tell us in the opening of his book- because "humility draws the gaze of our sovereign God"

    ...this is the one to whom I will look:he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. (Is 66:2)


    C.J is most helpful in his definition of humilty which he says is "honestly assessing ourselves in the light of God's holiness and our sinfulness".

    C J quotes Jerry Bridges definition of pride as "contending for supremacy with God" and elaborates that pride seeks "to rob God of legitamate glory and to pursue self-glorification"

    Seen this way, and given the fact that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble it is little wonder that C.J. aggrees with Stott's assessment that "pride is our greatest enemy and humility our greatest friend"

    Mahaney wisely points us towards a sermon Spurgeon preached on the subject of pride and humility and thanks to my friend Phil Johnson we can read it online. Spurgeon's sermon is based on a revealing scripture:

    "Before destruction the heart of man is haughty, and before honor is humility."�Proverbs 18:12.


    C.J. urges us to learn to simply "serve others for the glory of God" urging us to realise that pride is quite out of place for the Christian - C.J. quoted Carl Henry as saying "how can anyone be arrogant when he stands beside the cross"

    C.J. masterfully outlines some practical ways for us to cultivate humility and holds before us another reason to do so "the humble are genuinely care free"

    One of the things my pastor Tope Koleoso has taught me to do is to look for the gaps- ie to look for the throw away comments which may not be on the subject at hand but which reveal much that has not been fully said. Sometimes these throw away comments tell us something which comes so naturally to the person that made the comment that they almost do not think it needs explanation. For the rest of us, though that hidden wisdom is sometimes the pearl worth seeking in the whole book. One such pearl that C.J. writes in this book is "I guess I never do anything passively. Im never just observing". I pray God will help us to be so purposeful in our approach to life.

    C.J.s deliberate pursuit of the God of the humble has achived much in his lifetime. We can all do well to learn from the wisdom distilled in this, his finest book so far.

    I have no hesitation at all in adding this book to my list of books I feel every Christian should read at some point in their Christian lives.


    This book review was organised by the diet of bookworms where you can read more reviews by bloggers.

    Other Books every Christian should read

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    Sunday, September 25, 2005

    "God is the gospel" by John Piper : book review


    With this book Piper raises the bar. It is clearly his argument that Joy in God is the goal of the gospel itself. He really did mean it when he said the chief purpose of man is to glorify God BY enjoying him forever. Now, he makes plain that it is God himself who makes the gospel good news. Before we get into the review proper, why not

    Piper's book opens as follows:

    From the first sin in the Garden of Eden to the final judgment of the great white throne, human beings will continue to embrace the love of God as the gift of everything but himself. Indeed there are ten thousand gifts that flow from the love of God. The gospel of Christ proclaims the news that he has purchased by his death ten thousand blessings for his bride. But none of these gifts will lead to final joy if they have not first led to God. And not one gospel blessing will be enjoyed by anyone for whom the gospel's greatest gift was not the Lord himself.

    "Gospel" means good news ?but what makes the good news good? What is the goal of the gospel, without which it is no longer good? It is that Christ's death brings sinners to God! Were it to bring us anywhere else we would be left hopeless. But the gospel is that God gives us himself Christ died to give us Christ, and this self-giving is his highest mercy to us and the best news for us! The most profound, most exceedingly gracious, final and decisive good of the good news is Christ himself as the glorious image of God revealed for our endless satisfaction."

    This morning my pastor Tope preached on a similar theme. He said that the "one thing" that is necessary is God. We must seek presenceense and worship more than everything else. When we do this everything else will fit into its own place. By the end I was convicted. He challenged his hearers to respond by raising a hand if they wanted to recommitt to putting God first in their lives. It was only my foolish pride and the fact that he used the word "backslidder" in his description of the people he wanted to respond that stopped me from raising my own hand.

    Foolishly we put many things above the "one thing" - work, family, even Gods good gifts can take the place of God. We can busy ourselves with much serving and miss the real presence of God in hurry. Even salvation itself is not the goal.

    Piper says "The gospel is not a way to get people to heaven; it is a way to get people to God."

      When we have experienced the good news like this, it will thrill us and change our lives. Piper is eager that this gospel is proclaimed in all its fullness, and says that if we have heard it right it is inevitable we will want to share it. "That is what a person does who has heard good news. He tells it"

      In support of his central thesis, Piper examines the use of the greek word euangelion and highlights that the biblical gospel includes at least the following (you may recognise some of this from my own attempts at summarising the gospel here and here.

      • There is a God who created the world (Acts 14.15)
      • God God reigns and his sovereign rule is being revealed (Ro 10.15, Mk 1.14)
      • Jesus has arrived on planet earth (Lk 2.10-11) it is the gospel of Christ (Gal 1.7)
      • Jesus paid a ransom for us with his life (Mk 10.45)
      • Jesus was raised from the dead (1 Cor 15.1,3-4)
      • The Holy Spirit has been sent to guarentee what is coming. (Lk 3.16,18)
      • Salvation is available by the power of God for everyone who believes (Ro 1.16)
      • True peace can be found only through Jesus (Acts 10.36)
      • All types of people are to be blessed through the gospel (Gal 3.8)
      • It is the gospel of the undeserved grace of God (Acts 20.24)
      To Piper two 2 Cor 5.21 makes it very clear that substitutionary atonement and justification is the heart of the gospel. As it also says in 1 Pet 3.18 "Christ suffered once for sin, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God"

      Piper is very clear in his statement though that "Until the gospel events of Good Friday and Easter and the gospel promises of justification and eternal life lead you to behold and embrace God himseld as your highest joy, you have not embraced the gospel of God"

      He seems to imply that our churches might be full of false converts- something which obviously concerns Mark Dever as well.

      To Piper, the The gospel of Galatians and the rest of the New Testament can be summarised
      by the declaration of Is 40.9 which in the LXX has two uses of the word we translate "evangelist". Thus, the whole Gospel can be summed up in one catchphrase: "Behold your God"

      The gospel is only good news because it brings us to God.

      Piper puts his cards firmly on the table, declaring that he believes those who do not prize God above all things have not been truly converted. The gospel is only good news he says because it is the way back to a relationship with God.

      Piper also refers to 2 Cor 4.4-6 to support the notion that the gospel is about seeing the glory of God. The gospel is the glory of Christ and a work of creation has occurred in our hearts causing us to see the light of Gods glory in the face of Jesus. Seeing that light is according to Piper
      what liberates us from the power of Satan.

      Says Piper "The gospel is Gods instrument for liberating people from exulting in self to exulting in Christ."

      Piper goes onto explain the work of the Holy Spirit in pursuading us of the truth of the gospel. Today many exponents of rerformed theology are curiously silent about the work of the Spirit. Not Piper, who quotes Calvin as follows "...the Word will not find acceptance in mens hearts
      before it is sealed by the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit".

      He also believes that the work of the Holy Spirit in causing us to value Christ is essential to our lives as Christians. "The work of the Holy Spirit in changing us is not to work directly on our bad habits but to make us admire Jesus Christ so much that sinful habits seem foreign and distasteful"

      Although in this book he doesn't explicitly mention the Baptism in the Holy Spirit, he certainly has elsewhere. Like many others, it is clear he believes we need a clear, conscious and distinct experience of the Holy Spirits work in our lives.

      As I read all this, it made me think of hero-worship. We have a natural tendancy to value our heroes so highly that we want to be like them. Thus, if we value Christ we will also want to be like him. This puts an interesting perspective, not explored by Piper on how we should relate to
      those more mature than us in the Christian faith. Where our admiration of them points behind them to an admiration of Christ it would seem entirely reasonable to use the understandable desire to be like them as a motivation for life change. After all Paul says to his hearers "follow me as I follow Christ"

      The passion that Piper feels is infectious. He could almost be a member of a pentecostal or charismatic church like mine. Yet, in his wisdom he ensures that his writings have a much wider impact than merely appealing to that growing section of the church. You will not feel alienated if you are a cessationist, although I challenge any "strict" cessationist to demonstrate the reality of a relationship with God as outlined here.

      Piper is eager to point out, however, that with all his talk of delighting in God he is no triumphalist. He believes that for the Chrisitan sorrow and joy are actually entwined. Our joy in Christ produces regret and sorrow over sin which in turn produces the joy of forgiveness. According to Piper "life is a battle for joy in the midst of sorrow". We are in the words of 2 Cor 6.10 "Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing"

      A true understanding of the gospel "does not make a person presumptuous-it makes him meek. It produces brokenhearted joy."

      There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this book is the most important I have read this year. I would urge everyone who can to read it. I feel it is the best book that Piper has written so far. Reading it will cause you to understand in a fresh way the gospel of Christ. No matter where you are on your Christian journey this book will be of great assistance.

      I pray the book may unsettle us from our passivity and cause us not to want to settle for a flat, emotionless Christianity. I come away from this book, and my pastors sermon this morning with a fresh hunger for an encounter with the God I say I believe in.

      It is a real challenge to us. Can we say truthfully to people who we meet that they should come to our church, or even look at our lives and in so doing see God's activity. Is there a sense of awe in our meetings so that we could turn to each other and say "Behold your God".

      Do we really believe in a God who acts today? If so, lets cry out to God for more of his active presense in our personal lives, and in the lives of our churches.

      I have no hesitation whatsoever in commending this book in the highest possible terms. It has been added to my list of books I feel every Christian should read. Go and buy yourself a copy as soon as you can. This book review was organised by diet of bookworms where you can read other bloggers views.


      Books every Christian should read

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      Saturday, September 24, 2005

      Study Guide eddition of Nancy Pearcy's TOTAL TRUTH hits bookstores


      Nancy's acclaimed book has hit the shelves with a new study guide eddition. Here is my previous interview with her, and here's the press release:

      World Journalism Institute is happy to announce that the study guide edition of Total Truth:Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity is now in bookstores. Total Truth is an award-winning book on Christian worldview by Nancy Pearcey, WJI's Francis A. Schaeffer Scholar.

      The new study guide edition is a great resource for Sunday School classes and study groups. It goes far beyond the typical guide by offering 30 pages of significant new content--fresh stories, examples, and illustrations to bring the book's themes to life. Each chapter also suggests on-going activities to guide readers in detecting worldview themes in their work and daily experience.

      Nancy Pearcey has "road-tested" the material with students in WJI's journalism courses and their feedback has been highly enthusiastic. Many say it greatly enhanced their reading of the book.

      "Virtually every day I get emails from readers who want to know if there is a study guide available for Total Truth," Pearcey told WJI. "The book is being used by churches, schools, and study groups around the country--even by reading groups among Capitol Hill staffers."

      The study guide edition is an outstanding tool to help readers dig deeper into the text and learn how to be equipped with a Christian worldview. It is available from your local Christian bookstore or Borders, or online from Amazon, Christianbook.com, Barnes & Noble, and other bookstores. Total Truth won the Award of Merit in the Christianity & Culture category in the Christianity Today Book Awards for 2005, and the ECPA Gold Medallion Award for best book of the year in the Christianity & Society category.


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      Monday, September 19, 2005

      Childrens book review: most of all Jesus loves you


      "Most of all Jesus loves you" by Noel Piper is simple and to an adults eye I initially thought it would not interest many of my kids. With four kids ranging from 4-8 we have a fairly good laboratory to test books out.

      When I first read this book to our two year old Joel and our four year old, Charis it was a real hit. Charis asked all kinds of questions about God, and we had one of the best chats yet.

      After having it read to him, our six year old Henry asked to take this book to bed with him. For several nights he read the book to himself after we had said goodnight. He said that he sometimes thought about bad or scary things and that this book helped him to feel better. Reading Jesus loves him helped him to conquer some of these fears which he hadnt even told us about.

      Even our eight year old likes to read this book to her younger brothers and sister. It is colourful, engaging, simple but taught an important truth to my kids. I cant recommend it highly enough, especially for the 6s and under age group.

      This book review was organised by diet of book worms where you can read what other bloggers thought.

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      Thursday, September 15, 2005

      Book review- The Deliberate Church, Mark Dever


      This book was for me a book of two halves. The first half outlined the thesis of the authors, namely that it is God's word and in particular the gospel that should be allowed to set the direction of the church. The opening chapters were quite simply outstanding. I liked the fact that Dever is clear that we do actually need to do something quite deliberate if we want healthy churches that will grow in the right way. The following quote is in my opinion worth its weight in gold-

      "In whatever we do we want to be careful about allowing Gods word to set our trajectory, power our progress and govern our methods........When the gospel enjoys functional centrality, the church gains traction in the culture, because the gospel is the power of God for salvation.......The gospel fights the church's enemies, such as doctrinal error and moral wickedness..... In short. Gods word, encapsulated in the Gospel, builds the church......... Our goal as preachers and leaders is to keep our methods basic and plain so that the Gospel is cast in bold relief against the backdrop of our own admitted weakness"

      Mark Dever outlines and explains 4 Ps which he told his church was what he would rely on to build the church- Preaching, prayer, personal discipleship and patience.

      When I finally get to sharing my thoughts on Rick Warren, you may be surprised to see the overlap between what Warren and Dever actually say. Take this example: Warren encouraged pastors to stay put for the long haul. He believes that God is always playing the long game, and sometimes we need to learn to do the same. God is not in a hurry, and according to Rick

      "We tend to overestimate what can be accomplished in a year and underestimate what can be accomplished in a decade."

      In his book, Dever says

      "The best way to lose your place of influence as a pastor is to be in a hurry, forcing radical (even if biblical) change before people are ready to follow you and own it. It would be wise for many of us to lower our expectations and extend our time horizons........God is working for eternity and he has been working from eternity. He's not in a hurry, and we shouldn't be either. So it is wise to show care for the congregation and concern for the unity of the church by not running to far ahead of them that people start falling behind. Run at a pace that the congregation can keep. Of course, there are some things you might need to change rather quickly. But as much as possible, do these things quietly and with an encouraging smile, not loudly and with a disapproving frown...... Make haste slowly......and kindly.....patience in the pastorate requires thinking in terms of twenty, thirty, forty or even fifty years of ministry"

      You might also be surprised to know that Rick Warren describes preaching as the number one factor in how healthy your church will be. Mark Dever says

      "The one thing necessary is the power of Gods word. That's why preaching and prayer will always be paramount- no matter what fad tops the charts. Stake your ministry on the power of the Gospel"

      Mark is also passionate about us ensuring our hearers actually understand the gospel rather than assuming they know what it is-

      "...when we assume the Gospel instead of clarifying it, people who profess Christianity but don't understand or obey the gospel are cordially allowed to presume their own conversion without examining themselves for evidence of it- which may amount to nothing more than a blissful damnation.....being a Christian in name only has spread in our churches like gangrene, and misunderstandings about the gospel abound among professing evangelicals."

      He sums up the gospel in four words "God, man, Christ, response" and says "Remember its not evangelism without the evangel"

      "Benefit evangelism fills our churches with people who are taught to expect everything to go their way just because they became christians. But Jesus promises persecution for following him, not worldy perks"

      He is dismissive of gimmick and techniques-
      "The gospel of Christ has never needed the gimmicks of man to effect conversion in the soul"

      "Churches are most healthy when the gospel is most clear, and the gospel is most clear when are evangelistic methods are most plain"

      Mark describes his approach to ensuring his people are genuinely Christians. On his arrival at the church not only did he decide to interview personally every new member, but also to work through everyone already in the church- to ensure they had all responded to the gospel. In these interviews he asks to hear their testimony and for them to explain the gospel in 60 seconds or less. He describes his motivation for this process by referring to 1 Tim 4.16.

      As you can probably tell from the number of quotes in this review, I was deeply impressed by this book, particularly its first half. Placing the preaching of the gospel at the centre of our church life is absolutely vital. This book does a fantastic job in sounding a clear call for a restoration to our churches of the centrality of the good news of Jesus. I would commend this book to any Christian to read, particularly the first few chapters.

      The second half of this book seemed slightly less relevant to me since it became increasingly focused on being the main full-time pastor in a a particular kind of church structure. Not coming from such a church, nor being a pastor the rest of the book was not as engaging as the first part. Having said that, for those who are in such a position I think you will not find many books on running a church that are as practical and as thoroughly biblical as this one, and I would thoroughly commend it based on my limited understanding of the principles Mark Dever explains.

      This review is part of a group of reviews at diet of book worms where you can find out what other bloggers thought of it.

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      Friday, July 15, 2005

      What is Reformed or Calvinist theology- a book review of a modern defence of Calvinism


      R.C Sprouls book "What is Reformed Theology is the best available simple explanation of Reformed Theology I have seen. You may have never heard of Reformed theology or you
      may have rejected out of court what you believe Calvinism stands for. The truth is that despite its current neglect the theology Sproul so clearly explains in this book has been immensely influential in the centuries since the reformation. Sproul explains what the so-called "solas" mean, and outlines each of the so-called "five points" that make up the acronym TULIP. It is an important book to read since even if you find yourself disagreeing with Sproul, you will at least have a clearer understanding by the end of the book of what is meant by reformed theology

      The core question of this book is the same as that of books like Galatians in the bible and it is this- how and why are we saved?

      Is salvation that is entirely about what God has done for us? Is any of it about what we have done for him? Do we contribute anything to our salvation except our sin? Is even our faith a gift from God sovereignly dispensed by him with no consideration of any form of merit in us?

      I am sure that regular readers of this blog can guess what my answers to these questions are and will not be at all surprised to hear that when I read Sprouls book I found answers that were remakably similar to the answers I would give. Sproul has done a masterful job of expressing those answers in a way that is accessible and easily understandable.

      Some quotes that stuck out to me were as follows-

      Luther described the state of the believer "simul iustus et peccator", at the same time (simultaneously) just and sinner"

      On judgement and mercy "No one receives punishment at the hands of God that they do not deserve. Some receivce grace at his hands that they do not deserve. Because he is pleased to grant mercy to one does not mean the rest "deseve" the same. If mercy is deserved it is not really mercy, but justice. "

      Sproul quotes J.I.Packer who describes the difference between Reformed and Arminian theology as follows "One proclaims a God who saves, the other speaks of a God who enables man to save himself"

      Sproul also quoted the Westminster Confession on assurance of salvation which discusses the availability to a believer of "an infallible assurance of faith founded upon the divine truth of the promises of salvation, the inward evidences of those graces unto which these promises are made, the testimony of the Spirit of adoption witnessing with our spirits that we are the children of God, which Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption." This made me think of my post on 1 John

      There is no better book that I have come accross to introduce reformed theology to the modern reader. It will not convince every reader of the truth of calvinism, but will leave its readers in absolutely no doubt about what it is. There are a lot of books which distort the views of their opponents, so you may be surprised to discover what calvinists ACTUALLY believe. This book is so good and covers such a crucial subject that I have added it to my list of books every believer should read.

      This review is part of a group book review organise by Diet of Bookworms where you can read other bloggers reviews.

      Other Books every Christian should read

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      Monday, July 11, 2005

      Book review: Work Excellence by Charles Garriott


      Every now and then a book comes along that does exactly what it says on the tin. Work Excellence is one of those boooks. Most Christians pay too little attention to what goes on in the workplace. Garriott redresses that balance with a little book all about work. It addresses our need to abolish the work/secular divide, to work with all our might to glorify God and to look for opportunity to live and share the gospel.

      The book is a great introduction to what the bible has to say about work. More is clearly needed on this subject and I hope we will see many more books written that will flesh out some of the fantastic material in this book with practical examples, and application.

      It makes me think again of Nancy Pearcey's book which argues the need for us to learn to be Christians with all of our lives and minds. At some point I really must get that book out and finish reading it!

      So many unfinished books, so many unfinished blog series. Whats a man to do?

      This review is part of a series of reviews of this book organised by the diet of bookworms where you can read what other bloggers thought of it.

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      Sunday, July 10, 2005

      The ESV - A Bible Translation for Everyone?


      UPDATE
      In January 2008, the following post was identified as the 3rd all-time most popular post with readers of this blog. The 4th most-read post was one in a series of posts cataloguing an online debate about baptism and church membership among theological heavyweights, including John Piper, Sam Storms, Wayne Grudem, and Mark Dever, among others.

      This third-ranked post represents the first in my series of interviews with Christian leaders. I had no idea back in 2005 where the blogging journey would lead me. An exclusive offer to interview the translators of what was then a little-known, new, apparently niche-appeal translation was simply too good to turn down. The folks at Crossway were kind enough to offer me this amazing opportunity, which I grabbed with both hands!

      For awhile, my blog was entirely devoted to the ESV. At the time, some people probably thought I'd never talk about anything else! They were wrong, of course, because although I often do go on and on about a subject for quite awhile, eventually the subject changes as the weeks roll into months and then years!

      ***************

      This post is the final one in an extended series I have run on the English Standard Version of the Bible. The opportunity to interview the ESV translators has been great. We have one more answer to share on a video clip, and at the end of the post I will list links for all my previous posts on the ESV (including some that weren't directly to do with the interview).

      I hope this series of posts will continue to be of use to others, so if you have enjoyed them please do consider linking to this post on your own blog.

      If you want to know more about the ESV version of the Bible, these interview posts should be helpful to you. There is also a great ESV Blog which is run by the publishers.

      If these posts have prompted you to buy yourself a new Bible, do let me know by e-mailing me at adrian.warnock@gmail.com. The choice of Bible translations is a very personal thing, and most serious Bible students will own more than one version. Comparing and contrasting differing translations of a passage is very helpful in trying to understand what the Bible means.

      I hope that even if you do not decide to use the ESV as your primary Bible translation, you will at least look at it from time-to-time to compare it to your current favorite. It is available to read for free online, and can be bought online from Crossway or Amazon.

      The Final Question
      To what extent was the translation of the ESV Bible one consciously assisted by prayer and the Holy Spirit? How conscious of his work in illuminating and guiding our understanding of God's Word were you in working together on this translation?

      Watch J. I. Packer respond (Windows Media).
      I may say, we did make worship basic to what we were doing and started each day with a reading of Scripture, a word or two of application, and prayer together. And we thought that important. We wanted the blessing of God on what we were doing, and we were sensitive not to follow a procedure which would, in fact, leave God out of what we were doing.
      MY OTHER ESV POSTS

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      Monday, June 13, 2005

      Lets talk about sex..............and the supremacy of Christ


      They say that the Victorians loved to talk about death but never mentioned sex. In the modern world we have reveresed that trend. Todays group book review from diet of bookworms is of a substantial work bringing together contributions from some outstanding Christian authors on the subject of sex and the supremacy of Christ.

      Contibutors include John Piper, Scott Croft, David Powlinson and Albert Mohler so you should know immediately that you are in for a treat.

      I often feel that books containing the views of several authors sacrifice a consistent flow for am invaluable sense of community. In fact unusually for books of this nature S and S of G reads as one book. It is easy to forget that it started life as a series of talks given at a conference.

      The book covers Gods view of sex, addresses sexual sin and brokeness, addresses men and women, then ends with a section on the history of the christian view of sex. This book is a vital step in us developing a Christian worldview of this vital subject. I hope that many will read it and that it will be the subject of much discussion between friends and online.

      In an age that makes sex into a God, this book shows us that God is interested in sex. He invented it after all, which is probably proof positive that God does have a sense of humour. The book manages to steer clear of any notion that Gods love for us is in any way sexual. If you are anything like me, you may have gone "Eeewww" when someone has tried to spiritualise a particularly sensual bit of the song of songs. If so, you will no doubt be pleased the book claims that Solomon was celebrating sexual love not describing his relationship with God. God really does intend for us to enjoy sex within the appropriate boundaries he has placed on it.

      The book is perhaps slightly less practical than the last book on sex I reviewed- Hedges. Having said that CJ and Carolyn Mahaney contribute a chapter each both of which are very practical. If you are a wife you will want your husband to read C.J's chapter. If you are a man you will bribe your wife to read Carolyns!!

      There are some great quotes in the book, but my favorite is this from Piper:

      "There are many practical strategies for being sexually pure in mind and body. I don't demean them. I use them! But with all my heart I know, and with the authority of Scripture I know, that the tiny spaceships of our moral strategies will be useless in nudging the planet of sexuality into orbit unless the sun of our solar system is the supremacy of Christ."

      Overall I strongly recommend this book, and it came very close to being included in my list of books I believe every chrisitian should read.


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      Monday, June 06, 2005

      How pyromarketing fueled the success of Purpose driven Life


      For a frank and fascinating discussion of the methods used by Zondervans marketing guru have a look at some powerpoint slides and a script made available by Greg Stielstra.

      Tim might be accused of allowing his personal dislike of this book to influence his view of this marketing approach. The fact that it has been possible to put a christian book of any description on the best seller list is amazing and we need to learn from it how to communicate more successfully in our modern world.

      The approach is about targeting individuals most likely to be interested and makes use of individuals and their gathering into groups of like-minded people. In my view it is an absolutely brilliant approach which deserves much careful examination.

      If Tim Challies and others dont like the fact that this book is getting more success than it in their view deserves then why not help publishers utilise this approach with other books? Actually, on a small scale that is exactly what Tim is doing with his great book review scheme over at diet of bookworms. A certain kind of blogger is being fed a certain kind of Christian book with the hope that reviews spread accross Christian sites will generate "heat" and interest around these titles. Crossway have embraced Tims approach and speaking as one of the bloggers who are the "dry tinder" for some of these resources I am thrilled. The innovative way Crossway are using the ESV Blog is also surely another example of this.

      Of course the notion of using groups of like-minded individuals to catch a vision and then spread it with their friends ought to remind you of something. It was exactly the strategy Jesus used to get the gospel communicated. Whether using online communities or reall face to face communities the best way to communicate any message is by exciting groups of people who are more likely to receive it well, creating a relationship between these groups and the message and then sending them out to share it with others.

      I doubt that there is any group of people more readily available to such a strategy than the church. This is why the church can change the world. It is important that we recognise the power of this and utilise it for great materials and for that matter blogs that we want to have a wider audience. The trouble is that we Christians have become bad at telling each other let alone outsiders about what has excited us. Each of us can have a ripple effect and we need to take seriously the roll we have in getting excited about the right things and spreading the right kind of fire to both out christian and non-christian friends.

      Lets all become pyromaniacs and spread the fire!

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      Monday, May 30, 2005

      Book Review: Hedges by Jerry Jenkins


      The next group book review organised by Diet of bookworms is published today, this is my contribution, if you want to learn more about what other bloggers think about this book then why not pop over there.

      Hedges by Jerry Jenkins is a book of practical strategies to guard your marriage. It is one man honestly speaking from his struggle to urge all men to take seriously the chance that they too might fall to sexual immorality.

      It is a vital subject, and this is definitely an area where men need to be very careful if they think they are standing, as a sexual fall according to this book is not so far from any of us.

      One central theme of the book is that no mature how mature a man is he will never stop finding women attractive and that he shouldn't even try. Indeed the book even argues that it is possible to admire the handiwork of God in womankind without lusting. The author implies that by trying to deny this natural attraction for the female form and attempting to not even look at
      women we meet in the street, we merely encourage lust. Men are encouraged to be released to recognise that they will never stop being drawn to admire the beauty of women other than their wife.

      The supposition that men will always be drawn to women like bees to honey is I am sure true. I have never yet met a heterosexual man who claims to have totally conquered lust. I remember I think it was John Piper stating how a single image of a woman accidently seen can be imprinted on his mind for months. Is the answer to steal a brief look at a decently clad beautiful woman we randomly meet, thank God for his handiwork and remind ourselves that, if married, we have better things waiting for us at home?

      This advice reminds me of some that was passed to me as a young man apparently orignally from Billy Graham "Its the second look that's sinful". I will never forget the glint in the eye of the man who told me this and went on to elaborate "...he never said you couldn't have a long first
      look!"

      Some may disagree with the pragmatic honest approach of the author. Indeed at least at first sight one has to ask is it consistent with Job 31:1 �I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?"

      However, I doubt any of my male readers can honestly say that they are free of the urge to admire the beuuty of women. Certainly the bible says we should "flee from the temptation of lust. Hedges explains a number of practical ways the author has found to do this

      I am pleased that the "hedges" are not offered as law but merely an example which each man shoulld adapt to his own personal circumstances. In many ways the most important issue is not that you adopt these hedges, but that you go through a process of working out for yourself what your hedges should be.

      Here are the authors "hedges"
      1. Not to dine or travel with a woman alone unless an unavoidable complication makes this impractical, and then to tell his wife first
      2. To only ever hug another woman in front of others
      3. To never compliment another woman on her looks, only her clothes
      4. To avoid any kind of flirting except with his wife and to engage in as much flirtation as possible with his wife.
      5. To remind his wife often of his wedding vows orally and in writing
      6. To get home early and spend time with the children every day before bed
      7. To share his story often

      Not every hedge may seem practical, necessary or helpful, but to consider each of them is surely helpful for evey marriage. The book is full of other practical tips, which again need to be taken in the way they are intended- as helpful pointers and not unchangeable laws. As an example, the writer suggests asking a hotel room receptionist to lock out porn channels on check-in. Personally, I have a totally different strategy which also has the advantage of not requiring terrible embarassment at checkin- I simply never turn on the TV. If I have a few good books with me, why would I want to channel hop anyway?

      This book is a useful read for any christian man, I am not sure whether women will want their illusions about the spiritualiuty of men shattered. Indeed, one area where I am less sure about is the idea that you should speak about your struggles with your wife. My wife of ten years says she would rather not know if there are other women I find attractive. She knows that if necessary I have men I can talk to about these things. Having said that, there is even a danger in talking with other men as it could degenerate into a conversation focussing on the merits of various women and become almost tittilating! Sometimes the best apprioach as advocated in this book is to simply run and then fill your mind with something else.

      As helpful as this book is, it only contains one half of the story. As Piper says in Sex and the suppremacy of Christ (which incidently is a book I am currently reading)

      "There are many practical strategies for being sexually pure in mind and body. I don't demean them. I use them! But with all my heart I know, and with the authority of Scripture I know, that the tiny spaceships of our moral strategies will be useless in nudging the planet of sexuality into orbit unless the sun of our solar system is the supremacy of Christ."

      Hedges is a book that is well worth a read, but must not be seen on its own as the answer for our struggle with lust. Actually, probably a major solution to our problem is learning to grow more in our quietness and trust in Jesus.

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      Tuesday, May 24, 2005

      Books every Christian should read : Recovering biblical manhood and womanhood


      Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism (Edited By John Piper and Wayne Grudem) is essential reading to help you form your own position in what may be one of the most important debates in the church at the current time- how to respond to feminism.

      What I like about the book is it doesnt simply assume that a 1950s view is correct. Instead, examining from all kinds of angles the book attempts to do what it says on the tin. Preaching a view that says women and men are complementary to each other the book is the best yet to aim to construct a biblical view of this thorny issue.

      You may not agree with everything you read here, but you must hear these arguments and respond to them if you aim to be true to the bible in your view of the role of men and women. Honest christians may well disagree on this subject, but the rabid femminism described so ably in "The feminist Mistake" will take no prisoners and we must construct a robust philosophy on this issue that will stand.

      I would like to have seen more in this book on the workplace, where my instinct is to welcome with broad arms the greater participation and equality of women that we have seen. But then, very few Christian books these days address workplace issues- presummably as so many of them are written by people without a "secular" job.

      Amazingly the book is available free online in PDF form, but you may want to still buy yourself a book to thumb through!

      Other Books every Christian should read

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      Book review- The Feminist mistake


      As part of a project with the diet of bookworms I have been reading The Feminist mistake

      The author does a good job of cateloguing the thought of secular and religious feminists. It is clear that to the author the last fify years is a story of how a biblical view of feminism has been erroded and replaced with a form of femminism that has more in common with paganism than christianity. I found the story this book portrays deeply disturbing, and there were parts of it I simply could not read- particularly when the author was detailing the sncretism of pagan goddess worship in some femminist church circles.

      I am sure I came to the book with the wrong expectation however, the reason I found it so disturbing was that it was painting such a bleak picture. Right until the end there was no explanation of what a biblical view of women and men ought to look like. Without reading the last couple of chapters the book might even convert some people to the cause of feminism, which is clearly far from the desire of the author.

      I was expecting more of an attempt to construct a biblical theology of man and woman. The "Complementarian" view is not even discussed. Feminism like most other errors arrose to correct a pre-existing error. The "good old" days of male-female relationships were not quite as rosy as some might like to imagine. The author does not assume that everthing was fine before feminism but does not try to explain the errors of that time and what christians today should think of men and women in the home workplace and church. The bible view of women is not the same as the 1950s view of the west.

      If you are looking for a history of feminism this is a great book, but if you are looking for a book that will equip you to engage with the important issues of men and women and their relationship to each other and God, this is not the right book- nor did it set out to be.

      This book is well worth a read for those interested in a disection of the views of feminists inside and outside the church. If on the other hand you are looking for a theology of men and women, then this book is not aimed at you. If you are looking for such a theology, I would recommend you read "Recovering Biblical manhood and Womanhood"

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      Monday, April 11, 2005

      Books every Christian should read: Spurgeon's Sermons


      The Metropolitan Tabernacle pulpit and New Park St Pulpit include 3200 sermons by Spurgeon and are one of the marvels of English language publishing.

      Widely believed to be the greatest English-speaking preacher ever known Spurgeon
      expected to win souls with every message. His preaching created a stir in Victorian England and beyond. He was every bit as well-known as any televangelist of today.

      These two series of sermons together are encyclopedic in their extent. I will never forget first seeing them stretching out on the bookshelf of my mentor Henry Tyler. He admitted to me that he had rarely if ever preached without reading any sermons spurgeon had preached on the passage. Many a preacher has the same "guilty" secret.

      Spurgeon's sermon structures alone are worthy of study- he surely new how to rightly divide the word of truth. The simplicity yet profundity of his language still potently resonates through the years. His reformed doctrine, far from discouraging evangelistic fervor gave him the confidence to appeal to souls to flee to Christ.

      There is no preacher who would not benefit from a study of Sprurgeon. The best thing is that whilst these books can be purchased by those with shelf space, the CD version is available from Ages for a ridiculously low price, and to sample a few sermons online for free visit www.spurgeon.org

      Do your favorite preacher a favour, buy him a copy if he doesn't already have one. Evern if you are not a preacher, you can do a lot worse than studying preaching as it is meant to be. You can buy books by Spurgeon at Amazon, but sadly, most of the modern sermon collections are just overpriced collections of just a handful of sermons which you can get for less via the Ages CD.


      Other Books every Christian should read

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      Sunday, April 03, 2005

      Books every Christian should read: The Soulwinner


      Many years ago, I participated in a week of outreach led by Lex Loizides at the end of the week he presented everyone with a copy of a paperback Christian book- C. H . Spurgeon's the soulwinner. Why that book you might well ask. Why would a book written during the Victorian era in London make my list of books every christian should read?

      Quite simply there is no book more calculated to unsettle us from our willingness to accept a form of chrisitanity that was as alien to Spurgeon as it was to Paul, that when week after week no one gets saved in our churches. Spurgeon expected salvations every time he preached and got them.

      Spurgeon outlines the kind of preaching we need to preach, but also the kind of people we need be to win souls. If you want your heart stirred to greater faith, and greater work for souls there is no better book to read. It is short and a great introduction to this man of God who was probably the greatest English speaking preacher to have ever lived. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

      Spurgeon is no hyper-calvinist urging a message that says "whosoever may come" but at the same time he is no Arminian either. His faith in the sovereignty of God in ordaining both salvation and the means of salvation inspires his confidence that God intends to save many by the means of us his servants.

      Be warned, if you read this book and respond to its message you will find yourself dissatisfied with the state of the church today. If it drives you to your knees crying out to God to help us to see a restoration of soulwinning preaching it will have done its job well- as it has with many before you.

      You can buy books by Spurgeon at Amazon. I have recently been reading The Soulwinner online, and you can find links to the various chapters and extensive quotes in a number of my blog posts listed below

      Other Books every Christian should read

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      Friday, April 01, 2005

      Books Every Christian Should Read: Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology


      In my mind, the book that every Christian should read, and second in value only to the Bible, is Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology. Even the casual reader of the Bible has asked questions of the "I wonder what the Bible has to say about . . ." nature. Systematic Theology may sound offputting to some, but all it means is that the author is attempting to answer that question in an organized manner.

      It is sad that so many Christians today do not wrestle with the issues of what they believe. If you are already convinced that the Bible is the starting place from which we frame our beliefs,you will find this book engaging and largely persuasive. It is the nature of things that almost everyone will find something to disagree with in this book. (I certainly do!) The book is fantastically useful in its method, however.

      Grudem assumes little or no knowledge, frames questions, states some of the answers given by Christians, examines the Bible's teaching (actually quoting it rather than simply listing proof texts), and states his own opinion on every issue he addresses. He doesn't use any theological words without explaining them—a very welcome feature.

      This is a book any student of the Bible can dip into and refer to, but if you are serious about learning what the Bible has to say, why not read the book from cover-to-cover. Take your time though, there is at least as much depth of material here as 100 typical modern Chrisitian paperbacks.

      You really can't go wrong with this book, and Grudem is one of those writers with whom you should disagree only very cautiously and after much careful thought and consulting of other godly teachers. I don't think he's right about everything, but I found surprisingly few occasions in the book where I would be willing to go on record as publicly disagreeing with this wonderfully humble man.

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      Books every Christian should read : The Bible (ESV)


      I have decided it is time I share my thoughts with you about books. I love books. There is something rather satisfying about sitting down with a real book flicking through its pages, which despite my love of everything electronic is not quite replaced by looking at a PC screen.

      I have benefited so much from books over the years that I thought I would share a little about books that I have read and loved and that I feel every Christian should read.

      I wont be placing these books in any order, but if I did there is no doubt in my mind that todays recommendation would be right at the top. It is an obvious thing to say, but I am not averse to saying obvious things- the bible should be the most precious book in every Christian's library. But which translation? In my view this is also a no-brainer! The ESV Bible is without a doubt the best English translation to be released in my lifetime. It is my primary translation and the one I read from almost every time I preach.

      Translations vary between being literal translations and so called "dynamic equivalence". The ESV is as close to being word for word as it is reasonable to be without compromising on both readability and the accurate conveying of the sense of the words. As a preacher I feel that other translations often tend to do a little bit of my work for me, which can be fine and certainly I love referring to them, but if I want to get as close as possible to the original word of God I reach for the ESV every time.

      Using the ESV I quickly realised that on almost every occassion where a commentator said "what the original really means here is...." the ESV had got there already. It is almost enough to stop a man reading commentaries!

      With scholars like Dr. Wayne A. Grudem, Dr. J. I. Packer, Dr. Gordon Wenham on the oversight committe, perhaps there is little wonder that the result has been this good. The ESV has been endorsed by an impressive array of great teachers, including John Piper who has switched his church to this version.

      Those of us who grew up on the King James Version or one of its derivatives (NASB, RSV, etc) will recognise much of the style of the English. The thees and thous and other archaic words are all removed, but where phrases are familiar to us and accurately translate the original why change them? The version began with the RSV and attempted to update this and improve on its accuracy.

      I can't recommend this version of the Bible highly enough, please if you don't already have one go out and buy one immediately- you won't regret it.

      You can read more about the ESV and sample its text on the Crossway website or buy your own ESV Bible at Amazon.

      UPDATE
      It seems I am not the only one who likes the ESV, sparked in part by John Piper an impressive array of other bloggers who like me love the ESV have been posting on the subject!

      More of my posts on the ESV are now available

      Other Books every Christian should read

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      Thursday, February 17, 2005

      Christ our Righteousness


      John Pipers book Counted Righteous receives some rave reviews at the beginning of the freely available PDF. I am glad to see that I am not the only one agitated about the attacks on the biblical doctrine of imputation of Christs righteousness (and by the converse the imputation to Christ of our sin) AS John Stott puts it, surely 2 Cor 5:21 should be enough to settle this argument once and for all and send the detractors scurrying back to either openly denying that the bible is true or converting back to the evangelical fold.

      "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."
      (2 Cor 5:21, ESV)

      �Now I know something of the shock Augustine must have felt when he initially read
      Pelagius. My heart is pained that the cardinal doctrine of the Christian faith is called
      nonsense and pass� by friends. Without imputed righteousness Christianity is not
      Christian, divine justice is made a folly, and sin is requited by mere human sincerity. It
      is too much to surrender the wonderfully comforting, biblically clear truth that we stand
      before a holy God clothed and complete in the righteousness of His Son. I thank God
      that someone has spoken out!�
      JOHN D. HANNAH
      Department Chairman, Distinguished Professor of Historical Theology
      Dallas Theological Seminary

      �This is a superb work, wonderful in its clarity, remarkable for its faithful, thorough
      treatment of the biblical texts, and powerful in the force of its argument. Dr. Piper�s simple,
      potent answer to the recent attacks on the historic Protestant understanding of justification
      by faith will cure a host of theological ills. This is surely one of the finest and
      most important books to be published in many years.�
      JOHN MACARTHUR
      Pastor, Grace Community Church, Sun Valley, California
      President, The Master�s College

      �This is certainly the most solid defense of the imputed righteousness of Christ since the
      work of John Murray fifty years ago. I�m delighted that Dr. Piper has established that
      important doctrine, not as a mere article from the confessional tradition, but on the solid
      foundation of God�s Word.�
      JOHN M. FRAME
      Professor of Systematic Theology and Philosophy
      Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando

      �Does Christ�s lifelong record of perfect obedience to God get �credited� to your account
      when you trust in Christ and are �justified� by God? This has been the historic Protestant
      understanding of the �imputation of Christ�s righteousness,� but John Piper warns that
      we are in danger of losing this doctrine today because of attacks by scholars within the
      evangelical camp. In response, Piper shows, in careful treatment of passage after passage,
      that the imputation of Christ�s righteousness to believers is clearly the teaching of
      the Bible, and if we abandon this doctrine we will also lose justification by faith alone.
      I am thankful to God for John Piper�s defense of this crucial doctrine.�
      WAYNE GRUDEM
      Research Professor of Theology and Bible
      Phoenix Seminary

      �With John Piper, I think that as the doctrine of justification by faith alone is a vital
      means to the church�s health, so the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ is a vital element
      in stating that doctrine. Therefore I gladly welcome Dr. Piper�s carefully argued
      reassertion of it.�
      J. I. PACKER
      Board of Governors Professor of Theology
      Regent College

      �The Gospel must be defended in every generation. Today, as in the sixteenth century,
      the central issue is the imputation of Christ�s righteousness. John Piper clearly and powerfully
      proves this is the view of the Bible and not merely of orthodox Protestant theology.
      The church must say �No!� to those who declare that imputation is pass�. If
      imputation is pass�, then so is the Gospel.�
      R. C. SPROUL
      President, Ligonier Ministries
      Distinguished Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics
      Knox Theological Seminary

      �I am thankful for John Piper�s zeal for the glory of Christ and the good of the church,
      and for his careful exegesis of the relevant texts. For myself 2 Corinthians 5:21 is
      enough, affirming the glorious exchange that the sinless Christ was made sin (by imputation)
      with our sins, in order that in Christ we might become righteous (by imputation)
      with his righteousness. In consequence Christ has no sin but ours, and we have no righteousness
      but his.�
      JOHN STOTT

      �While evangelicals sleep, people we once trusted have been sowing seeds of false doctrine
      in the church. Responding to the latest departure from the faith, John Piper challenges
      those who have abandoned the pivotal doctrine of the imputation of Christ�s
      righteousness. What is at stake here is nothing less than the integrity of the Gospel.�
      RONALD H. NASH
      Professor of Philosophy
      The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

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      Sunday, January 02, 2005

      Book "review"- Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity


      I have just discovered what I suspect is the best currently available tool to clear the haze that our culture so cleverly exudes and allow many to see a truly Christian worldview for the first time.

      Too many Christians simply don't reason enough today. Thinking through our underlying assumptions and value systems is just not something we are often encouraged to do in the world or in the church.

      Viewed by many as the Francis Schaeffer of her generation, I suspect Nancy Pearcey's book TOTAL TRUTH-Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity will become essential reading for all serious-thinking Christians.

      It is rare indeed for me to write so warmly about any book, let alone one I have only had a chance to read one chapter of so far. But then, this book is described in the foreword by Phillip E. Johnson as "a book of unusual importance by an author of unusual ability."

      I have quoted extensively from that chapter which masterfully explains how it is our tacit acceptance of the sacred/secular divide which has been our biggest error in becoming culture-bound. I have not read any treatment of this subject that more thoroughly but graciously dismantles the notion that Christians with a job are second class citizens in the kingdom of God.

      But Nancy also covers Christian engagement in Politics- where I am sure there has to be a middle ground between the USA approach of near total-identification of Evangelicals with a certain political party and the UK approach of sticking our heads in the sand and pretending it will go away.

      I look forward to see how extensively Nancy deals with emergent Christians, but I suspect she would see them as no less culture bound than many "traditional" evangelicals. I wonder if she would go so far as to call them neo-liberals?

      Far from suggesting that we back away from Truth claims, she states that we must fight to establish once again a view of Christian truth that affects every aspect of our lives- the so-called "Total Truth".

      Examining world views is not an optional extra- as the forward of the book states

      It would be an understatement to say that worldview is an important topic. I would rather say that understanding how worldviews are formed, and how they guide or confine thought, is the essential step toward understanding everything else. Understanding worldview is a bit like trying to see the lens of one?s own eye. We do not ordinarily see our own worldview, but we see everything else by looking through it. Put simply, our worldview is the window by which we view the world, and decide, often subconsciously, what is real and important, or unreal and unimportant......

      Only a very gifted author is capable of writing a book about worldview analysis that will make exciting reading for the ordinary person, but which is also sufficiently informed by scholarship to convey a deep understanding of the subject rather than merely a superficial acquaintance. Everyone is aware that American culture changed enormously during the twentieth century, but very few people understand how the change was brought about by ideas and habits that seemed at first to be eccentric or of only minor importance, but that eventually crept into the popular culture and proved to be almost irresistible. The situation we find ourselves in today has deep roots in the thinking of earlier times......

      With that much of an introduction, I invite you to read Nancy Pearcey. You will find not only pleasant reading but all the elements and basic information necessary to produce a Christian mind with a map of reality that really works. When Christian parents, pastors, educators, and other leaders learn to give this subject the importance it deserves, and to practice it even as they teach it thoroughly in the home, from the pulpit, and in every classroom, then Christians will find that they are no longer fearful and timid when they have to address claims of worldly wisdom. So let?s get started.

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      Saturday, January 01, 2005

      Brian Maclaren- A Generous Orthodoxy or dangerous neo-liberalism?


      Challies Review of - A Generous Orthodoxy. This review really lays down the guantlet. Challies quotes the back cover of hte book which states that Brian Maclaren "argues for a post-liberal, post-conservative, post-protestant convergence that will stimulate lively interest and global conversation among thoughtful Christians from all traditions." Whilst I have never read the book this is exactly what I mean by neo-liberalism.

      "In short, it is awful. I consider it, in terms of content, one of the worst I have ever read and it stands as damning evidence of what passes for Christian reading in our day. Though it was easy to read, and even enjoyable at times, throughout the text Brian McLaren has consistently, deliberately and systematically dismantled historical Protestantism. From Sola Scriptura to hell to biblical inerrancy, nothing is sacred. At this point, those who are devotees of McLaren, The Emergent Church and post-modernism, will no doubt already have felt their blood boil and will be ready for a fight. I would encourage those people to keep reading. Those who are more traditional Christians will be grappling with an all-too-familiar feeling that this book represents yet another attack on the faith. And that is exactly what this book is. The remainder of this review will concern itself with showing how this book does away with biblical faith, replacing it with something far less godly and far more human. In short, something that is simply not Christianity.

      It is difficult to critique the writing of people like McLaren because discerning what they actually believe is far more difficult than finding what they do not believe. Settling on those beliefs is akin to nailing Jello to the wall - it is a near impossible task as the Jello has no consistent form or shape, always changing, always conforming to what contains it. We are often left to read between the lines, interpreting what the author believes in light of what he rejects.......

      He teaches false, anti-biblical doctrine throughout this book. The faith of Brian McLaren is not the faith of the Bible and only bears the most vague resemblance to Christianity.


      So then, as seems to happen often in the blogosphere (maybe because somewhere someone is thinking similarly to you!) this issue seems to be coming to the fore in a number of blogs. Are the Emerging Christians dangerous heretics or are they the future for the church? Lets discuss this in the interconnected tangle that blogging does best.

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      Sunday, November 09, 2003

      Does the future have a church?


      Some quotes from a new book by Terry Virgo I have been reading lately.

      On leadership
      Its part of the leadership gift that communicates confidence and expectation of success.

      On the church
      'We will never stop researching the wonders of the universe. The angels will never stop researching the church'

      'In a day when people want to give up on church, or simply ignore it, I want to exalt the church because it is exalted in Scripture. It is the bride of Christ: a reflection of the glory and the beauty of the love within the Trinity'

      On prayer 'When we start by worshipping and being thrilled with God it becomes natural to ask God to be true to his character and power and take action in this world'

      On selfishness (quoting Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
      'Most of our troubles arise chiefly from the fact that we persistently start wit ourselves...sin puts man himself in the centre'

      On pastors and teachers'the pastor loves people and the teacher loves books'

      On church governement Having quoted Alec Motyer 'we have a remarkably full summary of the constitution of the New Testament Church: the body of believers, the local church officers, the over-arching apostolic work or Paul, and the occasional ministry of a person like Timothy coming into the local situation from the outside' he then quotes GK Chesterton 'The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting, it has been found difficult and left untried' and then states 'Maybe this is true also of the biblical pattern of church life so simply described here by Alec Motyer but so manisfestly ignored by most exxlesiastical systems in our day'

      On evangelism
      'Some people argue very strongly that in our evangelismwe must proclaim a very pure presentation of the gospel to the unsaved, implying that only a very thorough and detailed proclamation of the gospel, including a painstaking inclusion of every aspect of its truth will produce authentic converts. I beg to differ. I am amazed how people are genuinely saved by exposure to the merest fragment of gospel content....what makes a healthy convert I submit to you is being added to a healthy, vibrant church where people are fully aquainted with apostolic christianity and are living it out corporately. The newborn baby begins to pick up the family's style and values. Healthy churches will tend to produce healthy converts.'

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