He said Savior and LORD

Perhaps you’ve heard that old saying: everyone wants to get to heaven, but no one wants to die to get there. In many ways it seems that we have dummied down the Gospel to the point that even though we have to die, we don’t have to change. It’s a simple omission. We invite people to invite Jesus into their heart, to accept Him as Savior, but we forget to tell them that they are also supposed to invite Jesus to be LORD of their lives.  Although we don’t use these words, the unspoken message is ‘say the prayer; congratulations, you’ve got the golden ticket to paradise, now you’re free to go forth and sin happily ever after. 

People are so anxious to do their part for the Kingdom, that they share the gospel, ask for a decision, but then forget to tell the rest of the story. We forget to tell them that eternity with Jesus starts at the moment of decision—not 5 seconds after you die. We forget to tell them about transformation, and how certain things are expected of Christians, not to earn salvation but out of gratitude for that free gift. We forget to tell them that being a Christian is more than an hour a week in a building that doesn’t look like any other place we visit during the week, singing music totally unlike anything we listen to from Monday to Saturday, and wearing clothes that just a short time ago we would have sworn would never be found on our bodies, or even in our closets. We forget to tell them about Jesus as LORD of our lives.

So, for those of you who have the ‘Jesus as Savior’ part of the good news down, but fall short when it comes to ‘Jesus as LORD’, Dr. Jason K. Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has done you a favor by writing Being a Christian: How Jesus Redeems All of Life (B&H Publishing, 2018).

The premise is simple. The Gospel is not only the Good News, it’s also the Best News in all of history, but there are still a lot of people who need help answering a simple question: What does it mean to be a Christian?  And so, Allen walks us through life with the gospel.  Our lives as Christians are not meant to be compartmentalized: marriage, family, work, money, play. These are not things that we should try to separate from the gospel. It’s not these hours are for family, these for work, these for sleep, these for recreation, and a couple of hours on Sunday for Jesus.  We are meant to be first and foremost Christians who have jobs, families, hobbies, and bank accounts. The trick is how to get them to work together.

Each short chapter deals with one area of our life which we are called to turn over to Jesus' LORDship. Why, based on scripture, and even a little bit of how. The gospel impacts all of life, so this is a good reminder for the mature Christian, and a good starting point for the new believer.  A good tool for a Sunday school class or a small group.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review.

4/5 

God's too big to fit in your box

This is a tough title.  How could God be ‘not God enough” but that seems to be the box that most people, at one time or another try to put Him in. Books have been written around the idea that the God we envision is way smaller than the reality of God.  We dream too small, and we pray too small. We expect too little of the God of the universe, the God that is bigger than anything that we can imagine. When we don’t believe in the greatness of God, we don’t believe that He is capable of caring for all of our needs, and so we try to take control.  And when mere humans tackle God sized jobs, thinking that God needs our help, the results are often disastrous.

                Using scripture, personal stories and the stories of friends and acquaintances, in Not God Enough: Why Your Small God Leads to Big Problems (Zondervan, 2018)  J. D. Greear talks about how we miss out on all that an infinite God can do when we try to understand Him with our finite minds. He reminds us of how big, how great God really is; and reminds us of God's promises to us. We might be small, but God is bigger than any of us can imagine. We say I can’t but God reminds us that what for man is impossible, is not a problem for God. With God in us, we can do so much more than anyone can imagine.

                This book is a call to humility. When we think we’ve got it all together we tend to forget that wee need God. When we’re humbled, broken, and convinced that we can’t, then we’re willing to turn to God, and let God do through us what we can't do for ourselves.

5/5

The God of Tomorrow offers hope

For years, I’ve been told to live in the present. The past is over, and there’s nothing we can do to change it (although at some point we might have to make some major apologies and amends over some of our poor choices). And the future—well it’s not here yet, so why waste a lot of time worrying about something that may or may not happen. (That is not permission to not plan ahead, just a caution about excessive futuristic, unfounded fear.)

                Then here comes Caleb Kaltenbach, reminding us that we have permission, and are even encouraged to have hope for the future. God of Tomorrow: How to Overcome the Fears of Today, and Renew Your Hope for the Future (Waterbrook, 2018), teaches us that if we truly believe that God holds tomorrow, and will care for us, then we can have hope. If we have hope, then we can share that belief and that hope with others. It’s amazing how we can let our hearts be broken by the things that break the heart of God, and come out better on the other side. 

                I imagine that the God of Tomorrow Principle: Since tomorrow belongs to God, we can graciously offer hope to people today” springs from the authors personal life.  This principle, according to Kaltenbach is what he believes that “Jesus would have you remember, as opposed to regretting the past and fearing the present and the future”.

                The book is full of life lessons that apply to most people, and even if we think we’re doing pretty well along the lines of having, living, and sharing hope, there is something in this book for almost everyone.

                I received an ‘uncorrected proof’ from the publisher in exchange for a review.

                Pleased to rate the book 5/5

Great Survey of Paul's Letters to the Churches

Color me nerdy, but I read this book for leisure reading. I happened to be in the office of a pastor friend, and the subject of Paul came up. He pulled this book off the shelf, and asked if I would like to read it. I’m glad he offered, and more than glad that I said yes!

               

            John B Polhill, when this book was published, was a professor of New Testament at a well-known theological seminary.  It’s obvious that he knows his stuff. Paul and His Letters (B&H Academic, 1999) is not the definitive “everything you always wanted to know about Paul” book. Nor was it intended to be. In his introduction, the author writes, “The purpose of this book is to provide a survey of all the information we have on the life and thought of the apostle Paul—from Acts, from his epistles and from seemingly reliable traditions that have been preserved in the non-canonical sources”. 

                

              Despite the introductory disclaimer that this book is “Not a ‘Life of Paul’”, Polhill does include some biographical material about the writer of much of the New Testament.  As we remember Paul as the one who, more than others, helps us to understand Christian Theology, it’s important to remember that as a Pharisee he was also familiar with Jewish theology of the time. Polhill helps the reader understand where Paul started, and how, over time, his understanding of the teachings of Jesus developed to the point where he recorded them in the form of these letters to the various churches that he had helped establish, or, in the case of the church at Rome, where he had some knowledge and a connection of some type.

              

              One of the things that I particularly enjoyed about this book is the way that Polhill examines each of the Pauline epistles in the context of Paul’s missionary journeys. Again, we have to remind ourselves that entire volumes, exploring every nuance of every word, have been written about each of the epistles. In this survey, there is a mere chapter covering each letter. Highlights of each letter are addressed, along with some of the criticisms and arguments—for and against—some of the interpretations of certain passages.  There is also a teaching outline included for each of the letters.

    In my opinion, one of the many purposes for a survey of this type is to expose the readers to ideas, questions, areas, of consensus, as well as controversies, and to encourage further study. Polhill does his readers a great service by including at the end of each chapter, a list of ‘suggested further reading’ or ‘selected commentaries’.

   Beyond the use of this as a text book in Bible Colleges or Theological Seminaries, I think this book would be a handy reference tool for pastors who are preaching from any of Paul’s letters, and Sunday School teachers and Small Group leaders should be advised to review Polhill’s “Study Outline” and highlights of each epistle as they prepare to lead the discussions.

A solid A+

5/5

A handy reference guide

As a Seminary student, and as a Pastor, I have read several “theology” books, including those by Elwell, Grenz, and Grudem, that are listed in Gegg R. Allison’s resource list. I learned a lot from them, but there is no way that I could ever suggest that the reading was pleasant. Allison’s book 50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith: A Guide to Understanding and Teaching Theology (Baker Books, 2018) may not dig as deeply into the various parts of a Christian Theology as the aforementioned resources, but this book is certainly easier to read.

                Any Systematic Theology addresses several doctrines, and this is no exception. Allison walks the reader through the doctrines of: Word of God, God, God's Creatures, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, Salvation, Church, and Future things. Each section addresses different parts of the doctrine, and is broken down into a simple to understand format. For example, the first section under the Doctrine of the Word of God, “The Inspiration of Scripture” includes a summary, a listing of the main themes, and a list of key scriptures pertaining to the topic. Then in the section called ‘Understanding the Doctrine’, the author addresses major affirmations, biblical support, and major errors. Allison also has a section labeled ‘Enacting the Doctrine’, followed by what is probably the main purpose of the book, ‘Teaching the Doctrine’.  This last section includes a ‘teaching outline’, very helpful for the Sunday school teacher, or a pastor who likes handy references on his bookshelf, rather than having to dig through the wordy volumes of most Theology texts.

                This book is definitely more ‘entry level’ study rather than Graduate study material, but it does serve as a handy reference, for those quick questions, or to help find the scripture references in a hurry.

                I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a review. I was not required to write a positive review.

4/5