New Book Reviews

Future Grace by John Piper

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How would you like a book that takes the concept of grace and interweaves it through the whole of Scripture? By that I mean what grace really means to us. How does faith play out to bring the dramatic power of grace into our lives? How does grace, faith, sin, and the promises of God interrelate to make the Christian life the awesome thing it is? I assure you that Mr. Piper makes one of the strongest explanations I have seen in that regard.

Not that I would agree with everything he writes (I don’t), but he takes you to thoughts that need to be entertained though you have never thought them before. That interrelation of key Bible concepts I spoke of is the volume’s greatest asset. He connected a few dots for me.

Though he ties many things together, his theme is one: we must live by faith in the future grace of God. We find that that simple theme brings great clarity to the Christian life as expressed in the Scriptures. Or as he further explained, “…the faith which justifies also sanctifies, because the nature of faith is to be satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus.”

I can at best whet you appetite in this review of the things he brings out. For example, he describes sin as what you do when you are not satisfied with God. We sin, he says, because we believe we will find happiness there. That presupposes a lack of faith in what God said. If we believed His grace will deliver what it promised, it would be impossible to think that the sin in question could bring happiness. I can see that truth, can’t you?

Perhaps you will be as shocked as I was to follow his discussion on the debtor’s ethic. He justly describes how we so often try to motivate ourselves and others by saying that we owe the Lord for what He did for us. Though what He did for us is monumental beyond description, he shows that is not at all how the Bible seeks to motivate us. No, he rightly argues, our problem is always a lack of faith, not a lack of gratitude, when it comes to the matter of radically following and obeying Jesus Christ.

Pride, he goes on, is a specific form of unbelief that is a turning from God to self. With that goes a loss of faith that comes a foolish faith in the promises of self. That ties the hands of grace’s work. Building on C.S. Lewis he tells of the “itch of self-regard and the scratch of self-approval.” He quotes: “The pleasure of pride is like the pleasure of scratching. If there is an itch one does want to scratch; but it is much nicer to have neither the itch nor the scratch.” He explains how the craving of the praise of others is a loss of faith in future grace.

There is so much more. He goes all the way to a faith in future grace that can triumphantly lay down one’s life for the glory of God as many martyrs before us have done. How did they do it? They believed the promises of God and the grace they contain.

Besides a few points of disagreement, I love this book. I find it superior to his writings on Christian hedonism, though he believes they are connected. It is 400 pages that I had to read slowly, but it is worth it. He has conveniently given this work in 31 chapters if you want to take a month with it. That might be the best way.

This volumes re-establishes how my faith in what my Lord has told me is so essential to the overall success of my Christian life. For that, I thank Mr. Piper.

 

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 .

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Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart– A Book Review and Personal Observations

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forlornstop asking jesus in your heart

Well, can one really know if he or she is saved? Can those lingering doubts ever be put to rest? Must we have to make that fifteenth profession of faith? Or in a few weeks will it be what it always comes to–the pain of just not being sure if you are going to Heaven or not?

Perhaps this issue is the ultimate elephant in the living room for Christians. Over the years I have come to the opinion that it touches more Christians than it does not. I have not personally dealt with it in my own heart, but I have certainly worked with those who have. That I have not doubted has nothing to do with living so highly that I was insulated from it. To the contrary, I have done plenty enough to raise doubts since I was saved all those years ago. I credit an incredibly clear presentation of the Gospel for sparing me. I have always known it was Him and not me. I praise God for it too.

Still, many have a storm raging in them. Happiness always runs just out of reach. It makes sense. Who could be happy if you just didn’t know if you would open your eyes in Heaven or not someday? To make it worse, it is hard to fathom exactly what is at stake if we lack assurance. Our entire Christian life gets tied up in knots if we can’t get out of this struggle. Obedience struggles too because obeying to gain salvation is flawed and doomed to failure. It can only thrive when we know where we stand.

A book I recently read, “Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart” (reviewed below), got me thinking about it again. I have read plenty on it, but apparently we don’t have enough written on it as of yet.

I don’t think we can give generic advice as all cases of doubting one’s salvation don’t spring from the same place. If you battle a lack of assurance, I suggest you figure which category you are in:

1. Confused

You hear much preaching and teaching that throws you onto the merry-go-round. Just when you think you got it, along comes another sermon and presto, there you go again! It is not a matter of not really wanting to be saved, or of being insincere, or any such thing. It is an intellectual misunderstanding of a heart that truly loves Christ.

2. Backslidden

Since salvation is as eternal as the fact of physical birth, The Lord uses different means to reach us when we go the wrong path. A lack of assurance is actually a tool from His toolbox to help us. Such a lack of assurance really traumatizes and can lead us back. First John is a whole book about dealing with a lack of assurance and joy.

3. Unsaved

Of course it is an option. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 7:23, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you:depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” These folks have a false assurance. Surely at times they hear the little voice that says you are not saved. To trust something other than Christ can’t satisfy,and in such a case, a lack of assurance is a glorious gift.

Now let’s talk solutions to these cases of doubting one’s salvation (in reverse order):

1. Unsaved

You need to see your condition before a Holy God and throw yourself on His mercy provided in the Person of Jesus Christ. There is no other hope for you! ( please write me if you have questions).

2. Backslidden

I imagine you know exactly what to do. Just remember this gnawing will never go away till you do!

3. Confused

You likely are putting yourself through needless torture. Do you love Jesus? Do you want desperately His salvation? Do you really think One as loving as Him wants to make it so hard? We are the ones who make it so hard by always thinking that some of His work is ours to do. Ours is but to see the absolutely helpless conditions of our souls, the gory depths of sin in ourselves, and the infinite grace of Jesus Christ. Run to Him! If you did, He did save you as He expressly promised in His Word.

Examine your heart. Are you downplaying your sin and imagining that you just need a little help? If not, I think you can trust His Word. Spend your days looking at Jesus. Learn of Him. Don’t stop until you learn once and for all what grace is. Until you do, the torture may dog you.

The main thing is that it is Jesus, not you. You bring your brokenness, He brings His peace; you bring your failure, He brings His righteousness. You don’t contribute to your salvation, you only bring your lostness. It might be that you just need to remember your part (nothing) and remember His part (everything). It can be no other way.

And by the way, heaping more guilt on yourself will only add to the problem. Being ashamed of your situation is pointless too as you are one of so many. The right approach is dealing DIRECTLY with the problem with no One other than Jesus! Get the other voices out of your head and His voice will be kind, calm, loving, and will lead you back to peace.

BOOK REVIEW:

J. D. Greear has given us a thought-provoking volume. The title (Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart) alone titillates! I do not agree with everything he says (there is some Calvinism), but he helps us get away from a life of multiple professions that plague so many. The book digs into the subject and helps us wrestle with this critical subject.

Searching For Tom Sawyer–Help Keeping Boys In Church

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“How parents and congregations can stop the exodus of boys from church” reads the subtitle and sums quite nicely the theme of “Searching For Tom Sawyer” by Tim Wright and published West Bow Press. You read much these days about how men are shunning the church, and even some about what we might do to make our churches more palpable to men. This volume looks to solving the problem before it begins–with boys.

Mr. Wright begins by presenting a solid case for males and females having distinct differences designed by the Lord, even though both are of equal worth to Him. He repines our culture’s mistaken emphasis on sameness at the expense of differences. These differences must be considered if we are to have a church that reaches men and women.

He even digs into the differences in how our minds are wired. Boys develop a little slower than girls and most Sunday School classes are geared more toward girls. Girls begin reading earlier so boys naturally don’t like getting called on to read and be embarrassed in front of those same girls. As time goes by, boys are by their Creator’s design likely to squirm and hate being forced to sit still. Again, we often set things up this way. So, boys start hating church at a very young age. The author makes some suggestions about setting things up differently. Whether we would exactly follow his instructions or not, these are issues worthy of much thought.

I appreciate that in his recommendations he discusses lower-cost ideas for those of us who don’t have massive budgets. The model of mega-wow factor simply won’t work for us all. The book ends with a few sample lessons designed to appeal to boys.

Our culture almost seems embarrassed by manhood. No amount of indoctrination, however, will ever remove how God made us. It is particularly ridiculous to organize church against what we know to be true! This is a helpful book that we should consider carefully.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 .

Related Post:
Why Men Hate Going To Church why men hate going to church

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Coffee With Jesus–A Book Review

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Here is a book to aid with your devotions. It is written by Lucinda Berry Hill and published by West Bow Press. It is designed to be used over the course of 52 weeks. You have an original poem by Mrs. Hill and a corresponding Scripture. Obviously, this isn’t made to be the whole of your devotions, but a supplement to it. She wants to bring inspiration to your devotions.

Not every one gets into poetry I know. Others find great inspiration in it and have favorites from the years. If you enjoy poetry at all, I recommend this book to you. I met Mrs. Hill on social media and she is always a kind, encouraging person there. The book comes with scriptural and topical indexes as well to help you find something for the occasion. She has been writing poetry for years that has been read on special occasions and even run in the newspaper.

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Did The Devil Make Me Do It? –A Book Review

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How would you like a down-to-earth volume that would make sense of the Devil and demons? One without bizarre extremes but still fully believed in demonic reality? Then you need this volume by Mike McKinley and published by The Good Book Company in its Questions Christians Ask series.

He gives background on the issue and even tells how African Christians laugh at Westerners who disbelieve the reality of demons. He strikes the right balance between understanding what we need to know about such things without getting obsessive or too deep into it. He respects that The Lord has told us what we need to know and asks us to be simple concerning evil beyond that.

He tells us of the origin of Satan and explains the names of Satan. He describes him as trying to destroy God’s creation as his vigilant motivation. He outlines the tactics Satan uses against us while remembering that the Devil is not all-knowing.

He talks about what he feels demon possession really is, and he distinguishes it from mental illness. Demonic strongholds are discussed without them seeming as insurmountable as some present them. He offers sane advise if you feel you come in contact with demonic activity.

The book is helpful and aimed at laymen. I might disagree on a few small points, like his
explanation of Isaiah 14, but I still recommend this volume.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 .

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By Grace Alone by Derek Prince–A Book To Help Purge Legalism In You And Me

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by grace alone

This book isn’t what you think, though it may likely be what you need. You would imagine that a witch hunt for who should be labeled a legalist would be what you would find, but that is not the case at all. No, what you have is what grace really is and what it could never be.

The tone is respectful throughout, but the issue is faced head on. He doesn’t try to ditch the Law of God, but use it as the Lord intends. Here is the irrefutable fact: Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness.  Christ, of course, fulfills the Law, but He ends it as a source of righteousness for you and me.

Most Christians I know grasp that as it pertains to salvation. The problem is that we think the opposite when we try to live the Christian life. We try to earn God’s favor, we think we must be worthy of His love. The problem is that we are as in need of grace as before. As Mr. Prince so ably points out it can’t be both. You may get to the Lord through grace or the Law–it is one or the other, now and always!

Here is his definition of legalism: “the attempt to achieve righteousness with God by keeping a set of rules.” Well, that definition alone makes it folly. I once believed that legalism was a concept that only applied to salvation, but I was wrong. Like the foolish Galatians, I can go back as a believer and live as an ardent legalist!

The purpose of the Law is not for the purpose we use it. A teacher, yes; a deliverer, never. In fact, the Law only brings condemnation. Liberty comes from Christ.

He shows how when a Holiness lady, who may love the Lord, doesn’t wear makeup and holds that up as her approval with the Lord, she makes this error. (He kindly never mentions we Independent Baptists who have a few of these ourselves). He does show how this is exactly the same as the orthodox Jew who won’t eat ham.

What really makes this book so valuable is how Mr. Prince teaches in the latter chapters how to receive God’s grace in your life and how to apply it.

If you have been hearing all the debate about legalism and you are at a loss for how to process the debate, I highly recommend this book. If you just want to straighten out your own thinking, then I recommend it even more. 

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 .

Believe and Belong by Clarence Sexton

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believe and belong

Here’s a timely subject where you wonder why more hasn’t been written on it before. In this volume entitled Believe and Belong by Pastor Clarence Sexton the subtitle says it all: “The Joy of Church Membership.”

It is a needed corrective to the prevailing notion that church membership is irrelevant at best and unbiblical at worst. It is born of our excessive personal independence that scorns even the most gentle accountability. The interdependence that is inherent to the idea of the local church is just too much for many. No doubt, the loss is truly theirs.

As a pastor, I appreciate his emphasis as this is a battle we all face in dealing with folks. Pastor Sexton writes with the intensity and candor you might expect from someone who has been in it over 40 years.

He makes a good case for membership as well as what a church really is. That is foundational to the local church ever being both what it can be and what The Lord intended it to be. His discussion on God’s Word being our guide is critical in a day when many forget that our cry should be sola scriptura (“by the Scriptures alone”).

He actually covers most of the things found in a discussion on the local church: baptism, the Lord’s Supper, prayer, the pastor. He warns of “grievous wolves” and ends on a push for the Great Commission. Along the way comes out strongly for soul liberty and the priesthood of the believer, which, strangely, is rare among Baptist pastors today. Yes, that was Baptist people’s most unique feature in previous generations.

This book is fine for new Christians as well as seasoned Christians who need to consider a subject they have thought little of in the past. Pastors, we will find ideas here of how we might present this truth. I recommend this book.

DISCLAIMER: Unlike other books I have reviewed on this blog, I know this author. While that could be some bias, I still feel this a truly helpful book.

clarence sexton

Humble Orthodoxy by Joshua Harris

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humble orthodoxyWhich one do we need: orthodoxy or humility? Both says Joshua Harris! In fact, we don’t have the luxury to choose one at the expense of the other. Or as the subtitle of this volume published by Multnomah says, we should be “holding the truth high without putting people down.” So what does that leave as the goal? What he calls humble orthodoxy.

This is actually a reworking of the last chapter of his Dug Down Deep. If I were  forced to choose I would prefer that volume to this one as I really enjoyed reading it. Still, this book has something to say and I need to hear it.

Our tendency to be a Pharisee, our latent idolization of self,  our propensity to be so impressed with who we are and what we know, he exposes with care. He says, “The message of Christian orthodoxy isn’t that I’m right and someone else is wrong. It’s that I am wrong and yet God is filled with grace.” Ouch!

He demonstrates how at our core we are about God being on our side. That is a world of difference than wanting to be on God’s side. If it is about God being on my side, then I will argue and fight till my last breath. Sadly, at that point our lives are no longer about God and His glory. We live for what he calls “the tiny kingdom of self.” In that setting, of course, “Knowledge puffeth up.”

We have the wrong focus to make correct theology, as critically important as it is, the goal. Our Lord is the goal. Any other goal is inferior and little more than misspent effort. If correct theology is the goal I can so easily look down on others who I know has less theology than me. I know I have fallen in that trap before and am glad I had Mr. Harris to take me to task for it.

He attacks “arrogant orthodoxy” as actually falling short on the orthodoxy scale rather than the other way around. He sees true theology as telling me that repentance must start with me. Well, he has us there!

He sees a interlocking link between orthodoxy and humility. More orthodoxy leads to more humility and more humility leads to more orthodoxy. When our pride grows, what, then, does that tell us about our orthodoxy? That is a painful, yet particularly helpful, insight.

As much as I want to have my theology right, there is enough remaining sin in me to keep me humble, he says. You can speak for yourself, but that really describes me. A critical spirit, though a spirit quite at home in our age, is pure nonsense in a sinner like me. I must defend my faith without reducing myself to a critical spirit that denies on many levels the very faith I defend.

He also says: “Friend, the truth is not about us. It’s not self-determined. It’s not an accessory. It is about God.” That will help us not develop a Christian subculture with all the weirdo that can accompany it. He also says: ” In eternity we’ll see the silliness of self-righteousness and quarreling over the nonessentials.” That sums it nicely for a book well worth your time to read.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 .

Bound Together by Chris Brauns

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Bound Together

I hesitate to tell you that this book tackles with verve the theological ideas of original sin and union with Christ. I can hear the groans–another theology tome. Please reroute your thinking as this volume is so much more than academic exercise. In Bound Together by Chris Brauns and published by Zondervan we have so much more!

There’s real life questions here. In discussing how we are tied to others in both good and horrifying ways, we find the questions tough. We all know on some level, and are actually glad about it, that blessings have come our way over the choices of some. But when someone’s choice rips our family down the middle, or the choice of a leader lands the whole nation in peril, well, that is another matter. The deeper question is why the Lord designed our world so. Like it our not, He did.

Mr. Brauns uses the analogy of the rope. We are tied together. In some ways if one goes over the cliff, we all will. While that is not true on some levels (personal accountability), it definitely is on others. He shows that what happened to us when Adam fell demonstrates this very thing. Before we sink in despair, we should see the upside of the rope. CHRIST!

We are now tied to Him and as he triumphs over sin He literally pulls us up out of or own sin. You see, the rope rescued us. If you could remove the rope from God’s Universe, you would do yourself far more harm than good. So we praise Him for the rope even if on occasion it appears unfair. He also explains that the new rope in Christ is far stronger than our old rope tied to Adam.

No, he explains, this doesn’t extinguish personal responsibility. I can’t just blame the rope, but I can trace how my choices have the potential to pull up or down. In his one chapter on marriage you see how the home might be the greatest length of the rope. Any idea that I am just my own person and can do as I please is absurd. There are too many hurting children in our world, for example, for this to be true.

He offers hope to hurting families too. He uses Rahab as an illustration. The rope can be used by me for good. She made a daring decision and her entire family was spared. This may not always work out so, but at least it is a shot.

In the latter parts of the book he explains how something so valued in our culture, and truly good on some levels, could be the very thing that is destroying us. That thing is individualism.

He pulls off the theology too. By the book’s end you will add to your obvious knowledge that your personal sin affects you and others as well as the truth that original sin affects you too. That affect is only overcome through Jesus Christ. This is a great book.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Tower of Babel by Bodie Hodge

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Tower of Babel
How would you like a book that addresses parts of the Bible that you have always found difficult to get anything out if? How about, for example, genealogies? How about questions on the races and languages of our world and how exactly the Tower of Babel episode really played out and shaped the world we know today? Then you might really enjoy The Tower of Babel by Bodie Hodge and published by Master Books.

I’ll confess some of the material may be too narrow in its appeal your taste. Discussing how to pronounce “Babel” may not be a question you have had a burning desire to have answered, but I assure your other parts like chapter 13 entitled ” What about Extra-Biblical Tables of Nations and Genealogies That Go Back to Noah?” are riveting. Finding the names of the Biblical genealogy is exciting. I didn’t need that discussion to believe myself, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy reading it.

Mr. Hodge is good at seeing what is really at stake. The authority of God’s Word is, as always, the heart of the issue for these type discussions. When he shares what might at best be esoteric knowledge at least he confesses when he is speculating and he faithfully brings us back to core issues.

He may at times revisit subjects that we thought we had a handle on, like the division of the continents being in Peleg’s day or the dating of the Book of Job, but whether you agree with him or not, you will be given substantial food for thought. There may also be places that are too detailed, like an in-depth analysis of the genealogy as it relates to today, but it still makes a wonderful reference to pull off the shelf. Too bad there isn’t an index.

The last chapter is short but ends where it should: Christ. In other words how does this fit in the big picture? How does it fit in me? Put this down as a fun read.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

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