Believing God

Believing God by R.C. Sproul Jr. describes twelve promises given in scripture that many Christians endeavor to understand, to believe, and to live out in their daily lives. A very interesting part of the book is the preface, which contains a very personal look into the life of the author. He attempts to make it clear that his purpose in writing the book is because he often fails to believe God in these areas and gives as an example a difficult time of his life when he needed above all things to believe God. The preface is worth reading first because it gives a clarity to the content of the book.

The First chapter conquers the promise that "all scripture is profitable". The author begins with the question, "where did it all go wrong?" and explains that many have their minds fixed only in decades, but ultimately that question goes back to Genesis where Eve ate the fruit and gave to her husband with her.

 In the same manner, as noted above, we look at the progress of the kingdom of God in terms of decades rather than centuries. While things may not be as good here as they were fifty years ago, we would be wise to remember that four hundred years ago you could count the number of those on this continent who were, by God’s grace, among the flock of God on your fingers and toes. The conquest of all things by Jesus is not a straight, ascending line. Rather it is like a stock ticker that has both ups and downs, and yet has an upward trend. (pg.2-3)

 The Third chapter deals with confession, forgiveness, and cleansing. He starts with the false teaching that began with a man named, Pelagius. He rejected the doctrine of original sin and believed that man was able to complete all of God's laws, even the one that tells us to be perfect as He is perfect. The problem is that this idea is still prevalent today, it comes out of a false interpretation of Rom. 3:23 "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." We read the last half and think of it as a marathon runner who could see the finish line in his sight, but falls just before crossing because of exhaustion. So close- but so far. Yet, this is a completely false picture from what the Bible teaches us. The picture ought to look more like a marathon runner who isn't even on the path! We don't come anywhere near to the glory of God! This is why confession is so important, we must confess that we are filled with sin, that we are unable to remove the sin from our hearts, and that only through the imputed righteousness of Christ can we be made clean.

The Sixth chapter envelopes the promise found in Psalm 37:4, the desires of your heart. This promise has been twisted to say things that it was never meant to say. We must go back to the ultimate purpose of man- that our lives should bring glory to the Father. Although it is easy to say, how do we practically go about bringing glory to God and making him the true desire of our heart? How do we develop the pray of Augustine, "our hearts are restless, O Lord, until they find their rest in Thee."?

This has been one of my favorite books to read from Reformation Trust publishing, the writing is very engaging and even reminds me a little of C.S. Lewis. He is able to take a deep theological truth and make it understood through the simple things that we see, hear, and touch throughout the day. These are promises that at times need to be clarified- but that we need to hold to constantly.

*I will receive a copy of the book from the publisher for writing a review.