Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life
The issue of spiritual disciplines confuses many Christians. Some view disciplines as rigid legalism. Others see spiritual disciplines as a practice for "super saints" only.
However, as Donald Whitney points out, the spiritual disciplines are biblical exercises designed for all believers to grow in the grace of Christ. While disciplines do not earn salvation, they help us become more like Christ.
Dr. Whitney discusses the importance and practice of Bible study, prayer, meditation, and joy in Christ among other disciplines. His practical guide to spiritual formation is a refreshing reminder of God's design for Christian growth.
Whether you are young or old, a new believer or seasoned saint, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will be a blessing to your relationship with Jesus Christ.
Raising a Modern Day Night
Robert Lewis has a passion for godly manhood. In his book, Raising a Modern Day Night, he lays out parenting principles for raising up such men. While most of the content is geared for fathers, the material would certainly benefit mothers as well.
Using the medieval illustration of knighthood, Lewis presents a stirring image of what God intends for men. He calls for strong character and clear vision while directing attention to a biblical purpose for manhood.
But Lewis doesn't stop at mere descriptions of what a man should be.Instead, he gives practical advice for parents on how to raise their boys to become such men. Suggesting "manhood ceremonies" that parallel the initiation rites of a knight, Lewis encourages men to mobilize their sons into manhood and to draw them into community with other exemplary men.
Raising a Modern Day Night is an inspiring work with a vital cause: biblical manhood. Every father and grandfather would benefit from reading this book.What is a Healthy Church Member?
This short volume makes a strong impact as it answers the question, "What is a Healthy Church Member?" Calling upon scripture, Pastor Thabiti Anyabwile addresses key issues in the contemporary church. Interestingly, these same issues were just as vital in the early church as well.
Anyabwile encourages members to take their role in the church very seriously and not to outsource their ministry responsibilities to paid staff. He emphasizes preparing for services, living out the gospel, and disciplining for godliness.
It is true that a church is only as strong as its membership. Therefore, What is a Healthy Church Member? is an excellent tool for building up the kingdom of God.
What About Those Who Have Never Heard?
Introduction
What happens to people who never hear the gospel on earth? What is their final destiny? This question has been one of the hardest questions for Christian theologians to answer in the history of the church. In the book, What About Those Who Have Never Heard? Gabriel Fackre, Ronald Nash, and John Sanders all answer this question from three different perspectives.
In general these three men all agree that salvation is ultimately through Christ alone, however they differ on whether or not you must have conscious faith in Christ prior to death in order to be "saved." Gabriel Fackre represents the position of "Postmortem Evangelism" which says that all people will have a chance to respond to the gospel if not in life, they will have an opportunity after death to receive Christ. Ronald Nash represents the position of "Exclusivism" which says that conscious faith in Christ is necessary for final salvation. In other words all who do not place their faith in Christ will not be saved. John Sanders represents the view of "Inclusivism" which says that even though salvation comes through Christ alone, it is possible for one to be saved apart from explicit, conscious faith in Christ.
Critique
The book is a very good introduction to a very difficult subject. The brevity of the book is both a strength and a weakness. It is a strength in the sense that it will hold your attention, but the brevity limits the depth of the material and is therefore a weakness.
The positions of "Postmortem Evangelism" and "Inclusivism" are positions that do not take seriously the warnings of Scripture on the fate of the unevangelized. The Scripture is plain that all people stand accountable before God to repent and believe in the gospel (Romans 1, John 3:18 and 35-36 etc.), and that we have a responsibility to share the gospel with all nations (Romans 10, Matthew 24:14 etc.). Therefore, the two positions mentioned above are "wishful thinking" that serves no other purpose than to make people feel comfortable in not sharing the gospel with all peoples. Exclusivism seems to be the most biblically straightforward and the most cautious reading of the Bible. For this reason Ronald Nash represents the most biblical position of the three.
Recommendations
This book is recommended for all who are pondering the question of the destiny of the unevangelized, or for those who are wondering what the question is to begin with. This short book is a good introduction to the subject. This book is available here on Amazon. For more sources you can see John Piper's book Let the Nations Be Glad! which devotes a section to this question and gives a very good defense of the exclusivist position. John MacArthur also has a short book defending the exclusive claims of Christianity called Why One Way? which would also be a great introductory defense of the exclusivist position. Some other sources on the position of inclusivism are in the writings of John Sanders, Clark Pinnock and even C.S. Lewis (which was one of his more odd views).
Not Even a Hint and Battling Unbelief
What does the life of holiness that God has called us to look like? More specifically, how does God want us to glorify Him in our fight against temptations of the flesh? Joshua Harris' book Not Even a Hint, is a very practical book on how to understand lust, and also how to fight against it.
Every man, and most women as well, struggle with sexual lust, but not many people really understand what lust is, how it operates, and most importantly how to battle it effectively. In order for us to fight against lust, we must "fight fire with fire." In other words, lust makes promises that it can't keep. When we believe it we are deceived, so the way to fight against the empty promises of lust is to trust in the sure and plentiful promises of God.
Harris walks the line between being a religious prude on the one hand and making light of the sin of lust on the other. He recognizes our sexuality as a good gift of God, but also clearly defines the limitations and boundaries that God has set for this precious gift. In the first half of the book he talks about the mechanics of lust itself, and in the second half he outlines practical strategies for overcoming lust.
This book would be great for every man young and old to read. It would also be helpful for women to read this for personal struggles, but also to understand more about what men go through in this area. It may enable them to help their brothers in Christ not to fall into this cycle of lust.
Another book that is based on the same principle of fighting sin is called Battling Unbelief by John Piper. In this book, Piper argues that all sin is the result of unbelief in the promises of God. The reason that any of us sin is because in that moment we don't believe that God will keep His promises to us. We believe that whatever sin we are committing can fulfill our needs better than our almighty God. The best way to fight against sin is to believe and experience that the promises of God offer you a superior pleasure than any sin that the world offers you. This book was written for a wider audience than Not Even a Hint because Piper distills sin down to its least common denominator- a distrust in God. We all struggle with sin and can be helped by the diagnosis and biblical remedy that he offers.
These books can be purchased on Amazon- Not Even a Hint and Battling Unbelief.
Can We Trust the Gospels?
Have you ever wondered how we got the Bible in the form that we have it today? How do we know that the words we have printed in our English translations of the Greek accurately reflect what the original authors wrote so many years ago? Are the accounts related in the gospels even reliable as historic documents?
Mark D. Roberts is the senior pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church. He has a Ph.D. in New Testament from Harvard Universityand teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is uniquely qualified to address the subject of the reliability of the four gospels. During his time at Harvard his conservative views of the Bible's authority were questioned and he even began doubting the truthfulness of the Bible. Through careful study and investigation his confidence in the Bible returned. One experience was especially important in his journey away from doubt, back to certainty. John Stott (author of "Basic Christianity") gave him a word of advice that proved to be a turning point in his life. Mark asked Dr. Stott about whether or not he should study out the history of the Bible, and Dr. Stott told him that "all truth is God's truth." In other words, Dr. Stott was saying that we as believers can trust that God knows everything that is true, and therefore there is no reason for us to be afraid to find out something that is true, that may undermine our faith in God.
In his book, Dr. Roberts explores 15 questions that may haunt Christians in relation to the reliability of the Bible as we have it. For those who are interested in how we got the Bible in form we have it today, and how we know that what is written there is actually what the gospel writers wrote, this book is a great introduction to this important topic. While it is fine for Christians to simply assume that the Bible is trustworthy, if you would like to know the reasons why we believe the Bible to be trustworthy, this would be a good resource for understanding the arguments both for and against biblical reliability. For those interested in this resource, here is a link to Amazon.
Man’s Search For Meaning
Victor Frankl was a holocaust survivor who was also trained in psychiatry. He wrote this book to help others who had gone through tough times to help them find meaning in their lives. In the first half of the book, he recounts some of his experiences at Auschwitz and other concentration camps from the standpoint of psychiatry. The second half of the book describes his method of psycho-analysis called "logo therapy," which seeks to help patients find meaning in their lives or to help them solve problems through "paradoxical intention."
The main point of this book is that as human beings, we have the special ability of what he calls "self-determination" - that is, no matter what circumstances we are in, we always have the freedom to decide how we react to our plight no matter how terrible it may be. Even in the worst of all possible situations we can seek to find meaning and a purpose. For some, the purpose may be reunion with a loved one. For others it may be completion of a project on which they have been working. He observed that people with a defined and very specific meaning were not only the ones that made it through the concentration camps, but were also the ones that made it through life when bad times would come.
His account of his experience during the holocaust has historical value, so the first half of the book is worth reading if only for his story. When comparing Frankl's method to most other secular psychiatrists, his is "better" because at least he believes that life has a meaning. He even leaves room for finding religious meaning and adamantly rejects any worldview that denies that human life has intrinsic meaning and value. Additionally, he saw much meaning in suffering and even deemed it a privilege and an opportunity for growth. Many other psychiatrists and psychologists have given up hope that there is any real meaning in life to be found; rather, they would say you have to "forge your own meaning" or give up on the category of "meaning" altogether. In their views, everything "just is" and there is nothing to explain nor any meaning to find.
Even though his method is "better" than most in the secular world, it still falls far short of a biblical understanding of meaning and significance. Frankl so wanted there to be meaning in life that he canonized his own experiences of meaning. While he tried to have a framework for meaning that was actually meaningful, he ultimately failed. His method was kind of like a beautiful seashell, as you look at the outside of the shell it is beautiful but when you look on the inside there is no life. Any meaning or purpose that does not arise from a biblical worldview, is not rooted in the glory of God, and/or is not radically God-centered and Christ-exalting will fall short in the final analysis. Dr. Frankl shared no gospel that was ultimately "good news." He had a few religious and sentimental experiences and testimonies of others who had been helped, but if our help does not come from God, then all of our manufactured happiness and solutions will have no lasting effect. One of the main problems with his method, indeed with all secular psychology, is that it does not properly understand the fallen nature of man. Without the reality of the sinful nature of man in view, any psychological method will ultimately be inadequate to answer the deepest problem that we all face - our separation from a holy God.
In summary, this book does not come highly recommended. There is some historical significance in the first half of the book, as the author recounts his experiences in the concentration camps. However, as far as a psychological method, it falls far short of the goal. For a better treatment of these issues, see works such as David Powlison's Seeing With New Eyes, and Ed Welch's Blame It On The Brain. For a theological treatment on the meaning of suffering, see John Piper and Justin Taylor's (eds.) Suffering and the Sovereignty of God.
Understanding the Culture Shift
In his book, Culture Shift, Dr. Albert Mohler provides a Christian perspective on the ever-changing values of modern culture. Using current events as illustrations, Dr. Mohler not only diagnoses this culture's issues, but also analyzes their origins and implications. The book's chapters range in subjects such as politics, law, torture, terrorism, public schools, science, abortion, and racism. At each turn, Dr. Mohler challenges the Christian reader to think on each subject from a biblical worldview. As a seminary president and regular guest of programs such as CNN's "Larry King Live" and FOXNews'"Hannity and Colmes," Dr. Mohler is more than qualified to speak on such issues. In fact, he is quickly becoming one of America's top theologians and commentators. This short book wonderfully engages the reader's mind. It is a perfect read for students preparing for college, parents training their children, and believers engaging in culture.
Living in God's Sovereignty
Life is full of difficult moments which challenge our faith. Many times it is difficult to understand the relationship between God's sovereignty, our responsibility, tragic events, and the need for prayer. Addressing these issues in "Is God Really in Control?," Jerry Bridge's writes,One night while working on this chapter, I watched the evening news on television. One of the top stories was about several powerful tornadoes that swept across central Mississippi killing seven people, injuring at least 145 more, and leaving nearly 500 families homeless. As I watched the scenes of people sifting through the rubble of what had been their homes, my heart went out to them. I thought to myself, "Some of those people undoubtedly follow Christ. What would I say to them about God's sovereignty over nature? Do I really believe it myself at a time such as this? Wouldn't it be easier to just accept Rabbi Kushner's statement that it is simply an act of nature-a morally blind nature that churns along following its own laws? Why bring God into chaos and suffering such as this?"
But God brings Himself into these events. He said in Isaiah 45:7, "I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things." God Himself accepts the responsibility, so to speak, of disasters. He does more than accept the responsibility; He actually claims it. In effect, God says, "I, and I alone, have the power and authority to bring about both prosperity and disaster, both weal and woe, both good and bad."
This is a difficult truth to accept as you watch people sift through the rubble of their homes or-more to the point-if you are the one sifting through the rubble of your home. . . . We obviously do not understand why God creates disaster, or why He brings it to one town and not to another. We recognize, too, that just as God sends His sun and rain on both the righteous and the unrighteous, so He also sends the tornado, or the hurricane, or the earthquake on both. . . . God's sovereignty over nature does not mean that Christians never encounter the tragedies of natural disasters. Experience and observation clearly teach otherwise.
God's sovereignty over nature does mean that, whatever we experience at the hand of the weather or forces of nature, all circumstances are under the watchful eye and sovereign control of our God.
What is a Healthy Church Member?
By: Tim Challies (This book is available in the Wyatt Bookstore)
There are many books available today that address the needs, the responsibilities and the health of the local church. While The Purpose Driven Church is probably the best-known of these, there are plenty of others as well, many of which were written in the aftermath of that book's unparalleled success. To this point the books have been largely focused at pastors and church leaders.
Where many books have been written describing a healthy church (among the most useful of which are Mark Dever's Nine Marks of a Healthy Church and The Deliberate Church), I cannot think of any that describe the state of a healthy church member. But that has changed with Thabiti Anyabwile's new book What is a Healthy Church Member? In this small 120-page book, Anyabwile one-ups Mark Dever's nine marks of a healthy church by providing ten marks of a healthy church member. The goals for this volume are made plain early-on. "This little book is written," he says in the Introduction, "in the hope that you might discover or rediscover what it means to be a healthy member of a local church, and what it means to contribute to the overall health of the church. … While Nine Marks of a Healthy Church primarily addressed pastors in the task of church reform, this book seeks to address the people that pastors lead and to encourage those people to play their part in helping the local church to increasingly reflect the glory of God."
Adopted for Life
A Book Review by Tim Challies.
In the years since I began reviewing books, I have read titles on a wide variety of topics. But it occurred to me as I considered Russell Moore's title Adopted for Life that I had never read a book that dealt entirely with adoption. Sure, adoption has factored into books on family and books on theology, but never had I read a full-length treatment of the subject. Having heard so much positive press surrounding Adopted for Life I thought it might be wise to give it a read. I'm glad I did.
It might be easy to write off a book like this one, assuming that it only has relevance to families who are actually considering adopting a child. But Moore's ambition goes beyond asking young families to adopt orphaned children. "In this book I want to call us all to consider how encouraging adoption-whether we adopt or whether we help others adopt-can help us peer into the ancient mystery of our faith in Christ and can help us restore the fracturing unity and the atrophied mission of our congregation." As Moore explains, "The gospel of Jesus Christ means our families and churches ought to be at the forefront of the adoption of orphans close to home and around the world." It is the gospel that calls us to adopt but it is also the gospel that teaches us how to understand adoption. In fact, "as we become more adoption-friendly, we'll be better able to understand the gospel." And so this book is for anyone and everyone.
It is important to note that this is not a how-to book; it does not provide step-by-step instructions for adopting (since there are already plenty of books that do just that and do it well). "Instead I want to ask what it would mean if our churches and families were known as the people who adopt babies-and toddlers, and children, and teenagers. What if we as Christians were known, once again, as the people who take in orphans and make of them beloved sons and daughters?" No one can claim that every person is called to adopt. But it does seem that all Christians are meant to think about the issue since we all have a stake in it. After all, God himself has a stake in it as the "Father of the fatherless" and the One who tells us that pure and undefiled religion is to comfort orphans.
Through nine chapters, Moore first lays theological groundwork for adoption and then turns to matters that are perhaps just a bit more practically applicable (not that I wish to draw too firm a line between theology and practice). In the first chapter he explains why you ought to read the book, even if you do not want to. In chapter two he explains what some rude questions about adoption taught him about the gospel of Christ. After that he turns to what is at stake in this discussion and then gives pastoral counsel on how to know if you or someone you love should consider adoption. He looks to practical aspects of navigating the adoption process (reassuring readers that it is not nearly as bad as most people seem to believe it is) and then covers some of the uncomfortable questions that arise-health concerns, racial identity, and so on. The seventh chapter explains how churches can encourage adoptions and the eighth shows how parents, children and friends can think about growing up adopted. He closes with some concluding thoughts which tie theology and practice into his own family (in which he and his wife adopted two boys before the Lord opened the womb and granted them two more, though he playfully insists he can no longer remember which of his sons are adopted and which are not!). In fact, Moore and his family figure prominently throughout the book as he describes the joys and challenges of welcoming adopted children to his family.
I know from talking to friends who have adopted that there are good books detailing the practicalities of adopting, whether that involves fund-raising or family integration or any other of the many factors involved. I know as well that there are many good books on the gospel and the doctrine of adoption. But I do not know of any that so perfectly put one within the context of the other. This book would make a valuable read for any Christian; perhaps I say that for too many books; I don't know. But I do know that every Christian stands to benefit from reading this one. I believe it is a must-read for anyone who has ever considered adoption and for anyone who has a friend or family member who is in the midst of it. It is a must-read for any young couple, even those who have never thought about adoption. And it ought to have a place in every church library.
When watching sports you sometimes hear a coach tell his players to "leave it all on the field (or on the court or on the diamond)." This coach expects his players to give it their best effort, to walk into the locker room at the end of the day knowing that they could not have done any better. And I really felt this is what Moore did here; I felt like he put a lot of himself into this book, that it took a lot out of him to write it, and that it really does represent a passionate effort on his part. And it shows. The book perfectly combines the theological foundation with the practical outworking of that theology. It has wisdom for the adopter, the adopted and the families, friends and churches of both. It is undoubtedly one of the best books I've read this year. I hope you'll consider reading it too.
When Sinners Say "I Do"
A Book Review By Adam Thomas
It is a regular occurrence at my house. I’m turning up couch cushions. I’m opening and slamming drawers and cabinets. My face is red and I’m muttering inaudibly. The wife and kids watch my depravity in full display. It may be a misplaced remote, a checkbook, or a pocketknife, but nothing sets my emotions off like a lost object. The scenario almost always plays out the same way. At some point during my frantic search, the blame will be directed towards my wife in a statement like, “Why do you move things around? It was right here yesterday!” Nine out of ten times things will calm down and I will find the object right where I had placed it. I then have to go to my wife and confess to her what a big idiot she married. Usually the fault lies with me, yet time and time again I bet on myself. Why?
Because, it is human nature to have a higher opinion of ourselves than reality dictates. Though we will all admit that we sin, can we really echo Paul in saying we are the “chief of sinners”? If we really plumbed the depths of our sinfulness, what would we find out about ourselves? What would we discover about God’s grace? What would it change about our human relationships, especially our marriages?
In Dave Harvey’s book, When Sinners Say “I Do,” he helps us discover the power of the Gospel for marriage relationships. We tend to gloss over what is haunting our marriages. We say we are having “marriage issues” or “marriage problems,” as if marriage is the problem. The real problem is that both parties in the marriage relationship are sinners who love their sin. When we turn to Christ, we receive the spirit but maintain our old sinful flesh. This is when the real battle begins, which will be fought across every battlefield of our lives. However, the battle will be most visible in our marriages. In no area can we display our old selfish flesh than with the one with whom we most intimately share our lives. While God has shown forbearance towards our rough edges, we demand that our spouses change now or else. Though God killed His Son to give us forgiveness, we refuse forgiveness to our spouse. What is wrong with this picture?
Dave Harvey has found the answer. Dr. Harvey has grasped what is missing from so much of marriage counseling: a nice, healthy dose of the Gospel.
What is the Gospel? It is the bad news that I am a wretched sinner followed by the amazingly good news that Christ took the wrath that I deserved so that I could receive forgiveness. Imagine the power of the Gospel harnessed for your marriage! Imagine examining yourself as a sinner before placing undue blame upon your spouse. And even greater, imagine that even when your spouse is to blame, you approach their sin in the same way that Christ approached ours - with amazing grace and extravagant forgiveness.
I strongly commend this book to married couples of all ages. From the newlyweds who have no idea their depths of their new spouse’s sins (or their own) to the one who fears they could possibly be married to the anti-Christ, we are all in need of the message of this book: the Gospel unleashed on our marriages.
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