Here is a book that has caused quite a stir in evangelical circles. It is written by a young pastor of a 4,000 member megachurch in Birmingham, Alabama who has had his life radically affected by what he has experienced on some short-term mission trips to very unglamorous locations around the globe. His missions experience includes trips to the Sudan, China and India. As a result of his missions experience he has rethought his approach to the church and the Christian life. This book is his call to believers to take their commitment to their Lord to a new level.

One strength of the book is that the author David Platt in an incurable God-lover. This truth oozes through the pages and is very encouraging to the heart of a God-loving reader. He also emphasizes the concern that we not get trapped into a life of the pursuit of comfort and ease. This is a valid concern for us believers who live in America. The warning in Philippians 2:12-13 to work out our salvation with fear and trembling would seem to be referring to such a concern that David was expressing, which is that we not get overtaken by our culture. Also the emphasis on evangelism is always good in that it sensitizes us to our responsibility to take the good news to a dying world. Finally, his concern that we increase our awareness that we are part of a global plan of salvation is a good reminder. It is easy to become “provincial” in our outlook and not look broader than our own immediate situation. These are the positive things that I took from this book and my walk with the Lord is better for it.

Now I turn to the dark side. What are my concerns regarding David’s work. Unfortunately, they are multiple. My first problem is his use of scripture. He does seem to take verses out of context. This really concerns me since it gives the impression that he is “using” scripture to make his points rather than carefully handling the word of God to see what God would have us believe and do. In the first part of the book this can be seen in his use of Luke 9 and Matthew 10. David also makes many statements that though they sound good they are a bit off. He seems to be a man of passion but not one that gives careful thought to what he says. He also uses guilt to motivate his readers. What is strange is that after he makes guilt motivating statements he will then seek to qualify what he said. This is a good thing but then he goes on to use more guilt motivating statements. His emphasis on evangelism does seem to come from his own ministry emphasis.  But the problem as I see it is that each believer does not necessarily have the same ministry emphasis. Some believers may emphasize a ministry of helps, some teaching, some mercy and some evangelism. One believer’s ministry emphasis is not necessarily another’s and each ministry emphasis is equally valid and important.

In closing, David Platt’s work is all about encouraging the believer to push the envelope in what it means to live for Jesus Christ. That is a praiseworthy aim but the book contained too many problems for me to recommend it as the book to read on that subject. I would recommend the book by John Piper “Don’t Waste Your Life” as a far better book on the same basic subject. David Platt is one of the good guys but good guys do not always write good books.

But when we come to the law of Christ in the New Covenant era we do not find the priority of law in the teaching passages. Why is this so? I would say that this is so because in the New Covenant era the issue of primary importance is not law but the new heart. The law of Christ has relevance in that it is in the keeping of the law that we show that we have a new heart (1 John 5:3). But it is the new heart that provides the motivation to keep the law of Christ (Romans 8:5-14, Romans 7:6). It is also the new heart which is the visible evidence that Jesus died for our sins and that we are the people of God (1 John 3:9-11. This is why the teaching passages of the New Covenant era have a different flavor than that of the Old Covenant era.

In the Old Covenant era the motivation was external, the Mosaic law, whereas in the New Covenant era the motivation is internal, it is the work of the Spirit in the life of the believer. The internal motivation is also called the “law in the heart” (Hebrews 8:10-11).

When these times hit it especially important to have believers in your life that will come aside to encourage and edify you. Hebrews 10:23-26 says Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

It also during these times that I’m not thankful to God for all that He is, all that he is doing and will do. Hebrews 12:28 says, Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and fear.

My way out of these times is to meditate on my favorite Scriptures that remind me of what was purchased on the cross for me by Jesus Christ (Matthew 27: 33-53; Romans 8; Ephesians 1:1-12; Hebrews 12: 1-13). I also reflect on who my God is (Isaiah 40). Brady Tyler

I will always encourage Christians to read biographies of other believers because we can learn many lessons of their walks with the Lord. Some biographies only give the good things that a person has accomplished in their life which diminishes the usefulness of the book. Scripture does not take that approach and neither should writers of biographies. Are we not all glad for the example of King David?

I am a big fan of the writings of D.A. Carson. A Call to Spiritual Reformation made tremendous impact on the way that I pray. The biography is about his father, Tom Carson, who was primarily a Pastor in Quebec. The book is not just about his life as a Pastor but also about him as a husband and father. One of the reviews of the books that came from a person who helped transcribe the diaries of Tom Carson said “…after reading your Dad’s diaries, The Lord has given my heart a far loftier goal: Simply to be faithful. I know we as men are but dust, but what dust the man I read about in these diaries was!”

Tom Carson was not well known in comparison to his son but clearly had a tremendous impact on him. His ministry was mostly in French Canada (Quebec and Ottawa) in small congregations. He had a series of trials while he was doing his church planting and trying to reach his world with the Gospel. Most of his life he kept journals which led to the writing of this book. He was not one of those men who was a great missionary or preacher but who neglected his wife and family. He seemed, for the most part, to do both well which is great encouragement to us husbands and fathers. His wife developed Alzheimer’s and in Monday February 16, 1987 he wrote, “ I still purpose to go on, with this one great assurance, that God is really God, sovereign, in complete control, and will complete the warp and woof of His perfect design, always, and in spite of appearances, I repeat, in full control. Any other consideration is amusing to Him: He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh.”

Please read the book, you will not regret it. Brady Tyler

We, who live in the New Covenant era, are to do what Jesus would have us to do. This means that we are to obey those laws that apply to us in this era (from Pentecost to the 2nd Coming). So, when we are describing the law of Christ we first of all mean that we are to love as Jesus loved. But having said that, we also mean that we are to live out the details of the law of Christ which are found in the teaching passages of the New Covenant era. An obvious example of the details of the law of Christ would be found in Ephesians 3:25-32 where we are given detailed instructions on how we are to care for one another. Some teachers seem to be saying that the law of Christ is the new heart of the believer. By this they mean that the motivation to live for Jesus Christ, which comes from the work of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:5-14). It is true that all believers are God lovers, but this motivation only drives us to live for our Lord. The way we show our love for our Lord is to keep his commandments (John 14:21) and therefore obey the law of Christ.

The Big Picture Story Bible by David Helm is a children’s book. You might be wondering, what is In-Depth Studies doing in reviewing a children’s book? Admittedly, this is not the sort of book that I would typically review. To be honest, I am usually a bit disappointed at most children’s books. The reason for my disappointment is that children’s books tend to be theologically deficient. You might be thinking, why is it so critical to be theologically correct in a children’s book? The answer is that everything we do is supposed to be done in a manner that brings glory to our God (1 Corinthians 10:31). The Big Picture is a Bible Story book. The illustrations are wonderful and the book is well put together. The wording on the pages is minimal so that this book would work well for young children. But, the strength of this book is its handling of the Old Testament. It sees all the Old Testament as pointing toward the ultimate story of the cross of Jesus Christ.  All the stories in the Old Testament were guiding us to the greatest of all stories, the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross to pay for the sins of all those who were going to believe. I recommend this book to all parents and grandparents as a very useful tool to help you in your quest to ground those entrusted to you with the amazing message of Scripture.

]]> http://idsblog.com/?feed=rss2&p=209 2 http://idsblog.com/?p=204 http://idsblog.com/?p=204#comments Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:07:49 +0000 Geoff Volker http://idsblog.com/?p=204 James 1:13-15

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown , gives birth to death.

In this blog I want to explore the relationship between a temptation and a test in the life of the believer. In seeking to understand the relationship between these two concepts it must be pointed out that the same event can be for the believer both a temptation and a test. How can this be so?

In my previous blog on the problem of evil I pointed out that our God is the first cause of all things, even evil, yet when evil is done those who do the evil and they alone are to be blamed for the evil. God can never be blamed for the evil as he is a holy God (1 John 1:5). When a believer encounters a temptation he is being tempted to dishonor his God. The source of this temptation comes either from the remaining evil within the believer or from evil outside of the believer. So, from the point of view of responsibility God cannot be blamed for the temptation since temptation is only concerned with the enticement to do evil. But, from the point of view of God as the first cause of all things, the same event that has been described as a temptation is also a test brought into the life of the believer by a loving Father who would never bring anything into the life of the believer that was not motivated by his love and for their good (Romans 8:28). The test is brought into the life of the believer in order to build him up not tear him down.

A temptation is also a test and a test is also a temptation. It all depends on your point of view. When we are tempted to do evil we must resist this temptation for we are being enticed to do something that dishonors the God whom we love (Hebrews 12:4). But, from another point of view the temptation can be also viewed as a test that our Father in heaven has brought into our lives in order to cause us to become more Christ-like and to increase our love for Him (Romans 8:28).

The ultimate example of how Scripture handles the problem of evil can be seen in the event of the cross of Jesus Christ. The event of the cross is at the same time the greatest evil ever committed and the greatest good ever done. Jesus was the only innocent person to have ever existed (Hebrews 4:15). His going to the cross was the result of the sin of many folks (Acts 4:27) and therefore the greatest evil ever committed. At the same time his death on the cross is the greatest good since it resulted in the salvation of many folks (Hebrews 10:14). The death of Jesus on the cross was a determined event by the God of Scripture (Acts 4:28). God determines all things, including evil, yet when evil is done only those who do the evil are to be blamed.

Some older biblical writers use the word “permit” when they are talking about God and evil. When they phrase things in this way they are seeking to emphasize that man is truly responsible for his sin. But, while they are saying this they are also clear that in a way that we do not fully understand our God does determine all things and evil is a part of his predestined plan.

We are not allowed to blame a holy God even though he has determined the event. This is a true mystery in Scripture for the God of Scripture is not like us in his being. In only some ways are we made like him. He is not like us and he does things that we cannot do. We must affirm what Scripture says and not try to smooth out the problem. When asked to explain this beyond what I have already said I simply give them my “theological shrug” and that is the end of that. I love the God of Scripture even though and I cannot neatly explain him.

It has been a while since I have enjoyed a commentary like this one. Dennis Johnson, who teaches at Westminster Theological Seminary in California, has written a commentary on the book of Revelation from an amillennial point of view. This commentary is not difficult to read or to follow. Dennis does an excellent job in showing how the book of Revelation reveals God’s plan for the end in the form of visions. These visions, by there very nature, are not to be taken literally. He shows how the apostle John took imagery from Ezekiel, Zechariah, Daniel and the plagues of Egypt to teach us about the fulfillment of history from Pentecost to the 2nd Coming, the New Covenant era. It is true that Johnson, who is an advocate of Covenant Theology, is at times a bit handicapped in his understanding of how the Old relates to the New and especially the role of Israel in the plan of God. It would be better if he understood Israel as a temporary unbelieving picture of the people of God. But, do not let this criticism deter you from this quality commentary. 

One of the great strengths of Triumph of the Lamb is its handling of the book of Revelation as literature. Once you grasp that Revelation is a series of visions that are not meant to be taken literally and there order of appearance is not necessarily chronological you will begin to see the wonders of the unfolding plan of God.

I see the book of Revelation as first and foremost a devotional book. We live as it were in the “cheap seats.” Our ability to see the big picture is handicapped by our point of view. The book of Revelation gives us a glimpse behind the scenes. What we see is that our God has all of history under his control and that his plan is infolding right on schedule, a German train schedule. The children of God are protected and only experience what their Father in heaven, in his love, has determined for them. The wicked, contrary to what we typically see, do not get away with their sin. There eternal judgment is guaranteed and none get away.

BOOK REVIEW

The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller, published by Dutton, 2008, 139 pages, clothbound.

I am not a big fan of writing a negative book review, but in this instance I am making an exception. The book Prodigal God is very popular in Calvinistic circles. And since I live in those circles I feel compelled to say a few words about the book. Tim Keller is a PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) pastor at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in downtown New York city. He is an excellent writer who is easy to read. He is a good communicator. He understands the necessity of the new heart in the life of a real believer. But having said all this I must now share my thoughts regarding his book

Prodigal God is a short book about the parable of the lost son or “prodigal son” in Luke 15:11-32. Tim Keller misses the point of the parable and spends the rest of the book addressing issues that have nothing to do with the parable. Let’s first discuss his handling of the parable. Parables are folksy stories from everyday life that all of Jesus’ hearers would understand. Every parable teaches something about the kingdom of God. In response to a question from his disciples as to why he taught in parables Jesus says that he taught in parables to hide these truths about the kingdom from the Israelites and fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 6:9-10. It was God’s plan that Israel not believe (except for a remnant) and parables had a role to play in fulfilling that prophecy. Parables tell us something about the kingdom. The details of the parable are not relevant except that they do tell a story. Each parable has something to say about the kingdom. Unless Jesus interprets the details, as he does in two of the parables (sower and weeds) we cannot read into the details for we would only be guessing as what they might mean for us today. Scripture interprets itself, or to say it another way, God is his own interpreter.

The parable of the prodigal son is all about God rejoicing over one sinner who repents. In Luke 15 we have three parables that follow the criticism of the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law regarding the time Jesus spent with tax collectors and “sinners.” Jesus response is to give three parables, the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. Each of these parables says the same thing through three different stories. The point of the parables is that the repentance of one sinner causes all of heaven to rejoice and therefore that would explain why Jesus spent his time with those who knew that they were in great need. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law did not see their need.

Tim Keller seeks to show that the parable of the lost son is all about two different types of unbelievers, and he spends the bulk of this time on the “religious” unbeliever as represented by the elder brother. He then seeks to find signifcance from all of the various details of the parable. To try to get something from the details of the parable is to guess as to what the parable might be trying to say. There is no way to verify his conclusions. They are just guesses. He then goes on discuss various issues regarding the church that have no relevance to the parable of the lost son.

The book Prodigal God is a book that seems to be a forum for Tim Keller to share his views and is looking for a text to justify his conclusions. I cannot recommend the book. Tim Keller is a very good guy but his handling of Scripture is not very good. As I close I would encourage you to let God be his own interpreter and to resist the temptation to guess as to what a particular Scripture is saying. The parable of the lost son is a wonderful parable to remind us of that most important truth, that of entering the kingdom of God by saving faith, and this is what causes all in heaven to rejoice. That is why it says, For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. (Luke 19:10)