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.

The Priest with Dirty Clothes

The Priest with Dirty Clothes is a children's book written by R.C. Sproul and illustrated by Justin Gerard about the theological concept of justification. It is based on the passage of scripture in Zechariah 3:1-5. The author attempts to illustrate for children the concept of Christ removing our filthy garments of sin while placing upon us his righteousness garments so that we can be accepted by the Father. The concept is of vital importance and although it is a difficult subject to explain, the visual of outward clothing will help children to understand the "dirt" or sin of the heart that cannot be removed by one's own power.
The story begins with Darby and Campbell who find themselves on a rainy day in Scotland playing in the puddles. Soon they are covered with mud and hurry home to surprise their Mother. She of course is not happy to see her children's filthy clothes and tells them to go clean themselves, while the children are rinsing their Grandfather arrives. He begins to tell them a story about Jonathan, a man who was just about to become a priest. He was so excited to receive his brand new clothing and because he had been told that in a week who would preach for the King and all his household.
The day that Jonathan traveled to the castle there was a great storm and it was raining very hard- his horse stumbled causing Jonathan to fall into a great puddle of mud. Although he had tried to protect his new clothes, they were filthy from the mud. How could he preach for the King now? He continued to hurry to the castle in hope that he would be able to wash himself before he had to preach. Unfortunately, this was not the case because on the moment of arrival the bells began to ring announcing that it was time for him to preach. In shame he walked before the King and all the people in his dirty clothes, only to find the court magician yelling hateful things at him! Telling him that he had no right to stand before the King and all the people in his dirty clothes.
The King was more patient and kind than the magician and listened to the reason why Jonathan had come to the palace in his dirty robes. Yet, he too told Jonathan that he could not stand in front of Him with such dirty clothes, however, he gave Jonathan a second chance to return in a week with his clothes cleaned and then he could preach to the King and to his household.
Jonathan left hopeful and hurried home to clean his clothes. Despite all his effort the clothes were still dirty and stained. He took them to be washed but the cleaner also could not remove the stains! What could Jonathan do? He was running out of options.
This is the same position we find for our filthy hearts, despite our best effort we are unable to clean it. There was one more person that Jonathan would appeal to for help, the Prince. The Prince is also the answer to our own filth problem because as you will see in the story, he was the only one who could help Jonathan's situation. Yet, he didn't clean Jonathan's old garments because he would do something even more necessary and special for Jonathan.  

Parenting by God's Promises

Parenting by God's Promises is by Joel R. Beeke and is a shorter compilation of a teaching series he did with his Family Living Class in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In total the book contains twenty-two chapters that are split into four parts:

1. Part One: Covenantal Foundations for Parenting
2. Part Two: Parenting as Prophets, Priests, and Kings
3. Part Three: Practical Steps for Child-Rearing
4. Part Four: Practical Helps for Teenagers

Part One begins with the explanation of the covenant God made with Abraham in Genesis after he had fallen into a deep sleep. The idea is to remind parents that ultimately anything that is accomplished with your children is only through the grace of God. The idea is to walk by faith, finding your rest in the God who keeps his covenants. Also included in part one is the admonition to live out your faith actively in the home- to not only talk about Christ to your children but to also show them your obedience to Christ.
Part Two breaks down a parents responsibility in regard to raising their children in a Christ-centered home. The first responsibility is as prophet- to teach them the word of God, the second is as priest- to pray for them, and the third as king- to help children understand the God-given authority a parent has to instruct them. Every other chapter in Part Two is a further explanation of these concepts along with practical advice for living these ideas out in the home.
Part Three contains the Biblical roles of husband, wife, and children in the home. The author also mentions the importance of teaching children the importance of piety, how to listen, and taming the tongue. Also included in part three is advice on nurturing sibling relationships.
Part Four is meant for children who are older and in a position to begin making their own decisions. It begins with the importance of the child discovering for themselves God's will. Other topics mentioned are peer pressure and anger.
The book itself is an extremely thorough explanation of the role of covenant theology in parenting, as well as, a lot of practical advice for daily living. 

A View of American Churches from an Outsider

"This is quite characteristic of most of the churches I saw. So what stands in place of the Christian message? An ethical and social idealism borne by a faith in progress that- who knows how- claims the right to call itself "Christian." And in the place of the church as the congregation of believers in Christ there stands the church as a social corporation. Anyone who has seen the weekly program of one of the large New York churches, with their daily, indeed almost hourly events, teas, lectures, concerts, charity events, opportunities for sports, games, bowling, dancing for every age group, anyone who has heard how they try to persuade a new resident to join the church, insisting that you'll get into society quite differently by doing so, anyone who has become acquainted with the embarrassing nervousness with which the pastor lobbies for membership- that person can well assess the character of such a church. All these thing, of course, take place with varying degrees of tactfulness, taste, and seriousness; some churches are basically "charitable" churches; others have primarily a social identity. One cannot avoid the impression, however, that in both cases they have forgotten what the real point is."

- Written by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in 1930.

The Prince's Poison Cup

The Prince's Poison Cup is another children's book written by R.C. Sproul. This has been one of my favorites to read so far, from the fantastic illustrations to the intriguing plot it will keep anyone engaged in the story. The plot is based on Jn. 18:11, "Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?"
In the usual fashion of R.C. Sproul's books written for children; the tale begins with a little girl, Ella. However, Ella has a terrible sickness and doesn't understand why the medicine meant to make her feel better has to taste so bad. So as any little child she asks her Father that questions, to which he responds that it would be better to wait for Grandpa to come.
Once Grandpa comes he begins to share with Ella the story of the King of Life who had a beautiful park filled with happy people. Yet, there was one rule in this jubilant park- in the middle of the town was a crystal clear fountain, but the King warned his subjects that they were not allowed to drink from this fountain. Since there were many streams in the park the people for a time were content with not drinking from the fountain, but soon they became curious about this enticing fountain.
Disastrously, the King's archenemy comes to the park and begins to convince the people that there is nothing wrong with the fountain and that the King of Life unfairly wants to keep the best for himself.
The people are enraged by this and decided to drink from the fountain that the King had commanded them not to. Then a terrible thing happens, the people's hearts are turned to stone and they no longer love or want to be with their King. So they decided to leave the park and build their own city away from the King of Life.
The King of Life is angry when he sees what the people have done and would be completely just to destroy the people and their city since he had commanded them not to drink from the fountain. Yet, the King still loved his people and has a plan that involves his son, the Prince- and a terrible poison cup.
You will have to buy the book yourself to find out what happens to the Prince in his journey to the City of Man, but I have never read a children's book that so clearly details the truth of Jesus Christ in a way that even children will be able to comprehend. I found myself as an adult, thinking and meditating on the passages in John and about the wonderful mission that Christ completed when he came to earth and drink the bitter cup of God's wrath to save man's heart of stone.