R. C. Sproul. Can I Know God’s Will. Crucial Questions Series, no 4. Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust, 2009. 102 pp. $7.00.
Has any question been asked more often or with more earnest desire than the question of how a Christian can understand what is the will of God? This topic matters, and so it was with great anticipation that I began to read volume 4 in R. C. Sproul’s Crucial Questions series. The little book, Can I Know God’s Will addresses a few important and sometimes neglected issues in the discussion of the will of God.
Positives
I love reading R. C. Sproul. He has a style of writing, a scholarly clarity, that many authors of today sadly lack. This book has logical thought, real-life illustrations, humor, and the occasional Latin phrase sprinkled in (one can’t have Sproul without Latin). Simply put, this is a book that is easy-to-read without being dull or overly simple.
Sproul addresses the topic of God’s will from what I would consider to be a very solid angle. In defining the concept of God’s will, Sproul speaks of God’s will of decree (that which God in his sovereignty makes happen), his will of precept (that which God commands people do), and his will of disposition (that which God desires to happen but will not force). Until those categories are understood, the question “What is Gods’ will” is a nonsense question. Sproul makes a solid argument for the distinctions between Gods’ will of precept and his will of decree, and shows that we want to know God’s will of precept and disposition while we have little right to attempt to find God’s will of decree.
For many Christians, the breakdown of the different kinds of will of God will be worth the book’s cover price. Far too often we desire to have God tell us the future. We want to know which decision we can make that will make our lives work perfectly without any struggle, difficulty, or pain. In this seeking, we are wanting less to honor God and more to simply have God work for us like a fortune-teller who steers us away from difficulties. However, God has not chosen to reveal the future or his secret decrees to his children, and we ought not think that we can find this “will” through any of our means.
In the other chapters of the book, Sproul addresses the question of God’s will versus man’s will. The author argues that, for God to be sovereign, man’s will cannot supersede God’s will. While mankind is free to choose according to man’s greatest desire, such choosing will never be outside the ultimate decreed will of God. Again, this is a concept that many Christians need to consider.
In the final two chapters, Sproul offers some very practical advice for Christians who are looking into issues of God’s will in career and marriage choices. Since many believers struggle mightily in these areas, Sproul’s points could prove to be valuable aids.
Negatives
While I agree with the points that Sproul makes in this work, I found myself disappointed in the overall construction of the book. When a person asks about issues related to determining the will of God, that person is generally trying to examine practical versus mystical means of hearing the voice of God in order to receive God’s guidance. It is good that Sproul makes it clear that the word of God, his preceptive will, is what we must learn in order to do what is right. Sproul makes a point similar to John MacArthur’s point in Found: God’s Will, the key to discerning Gods’ will is to obey God’s commands and then to act with godly freedom. Though Sproul makes this point in general, he makes it more weakly than I would like, and does not address the dangerous false methods that many use to attempt to discern God’s will. So, while Sproul’s point is solid, he fails to thoroughly deal with the questions that I think would be on the hearts of many of his readers.
I also question the 3 category approach of God’s will. While I understand Sproul’s use of the 3 wills, it seems to me to be simpler to refer to God’s will of decree and will of precept and to include God’s will of disposition in the will of precept. I wonder if adding this third category truly advances the discussion, or if it in fact might add a level of confusion for those who read Sproul’s work who will then seek to discover a hidden “disposition” that is somehow apart from Scripture. If believers attempt this task, they will then be back at square one, looking for a “will” that they have no way of objectively finding.
The chapters on career and marriage were very wise chapters to insert. However, I wonder if readers who pick those chapters up to read will feel satisfied. Sproul offers some wise questions and wise counsel; however, will readers who are looking for more understand that such wise questions and wise counsel are really what they need? Since Sproul does not deal strongly with the many negative methods that some would attempt to discover the will of God, he might not be able to satisfy readers who find themselves reading chapters 3 and 4.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Though I wish that Sproul had rearranged his work to spend more time on some of the mystical and non-scriptural means that some would suggest for discerning God’s will, I still love that he addresses for Christians to grasp that the will of God is not a secret path that we must stumble upon in order to live a successful life. I would that Sproul spent less time on the discussion of human freedom versus God’s sovereignty and more time on how Christians go about decision-making in general. But with those complaints aside, Christians who need a more philosophical look at the concept of the will of God and the freedom of man can certainly benefit from this work. It is easy to read through in a short time, and the concepts present are certainly solid.
Disclosure
Reformation Trust has given me a free copy of this work for the review that I am submitting.
Grudem’s Systematic Theology – A Review
Over the past couple of years, I made it a goal of mine to read through Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology. Grudem’s is one of the standard systematic theology books used in Bible colleges and seminaries around the world. I read Millard Erickson’s book in my theology classes in seminary, and thus wanted to take a look at Grudem’s work. Over the next few paragraphs, I will mention just a few impressions of the text that I have. I will not attempt a thorough review, as to review a 1,200 page work is not a task I relish.
Positives
The first thing that I will applaud in Grudem’s work is the way in which he made his book accessible for readers of all different levels. While some of the concepts are necessarily difficult to mentally wade through, Grudem did extremely well in making this book readable. I do not remember many times in which I felt I had to reread a paragraph or sentence simply because the prose was difficult. Yes, sometimes the logic was difficult, but never the language. Grudem does not revel in using bigger words than his readers can easily digest.
Another positive of the book is its devotional nature. At the end of each chapter, Grudem offers questions for reflection, Scripture to memorize, and even an applicable hymn for the topic being discussed. This demonstrates for us that Grudem does not consider theology something to be reserved for sterile academia. On the contrary, Grudem helps us to see that to embrace theology should necessarily include a deep life of worship of the Creator.
I must also say, though it sound self-promoting, that I enjoyed reading a work that I could so readily agree with. As the author took us through doctrine after doctrine, I found myself so regularly thinking, “Yes, that is exactly what I think.” Of course this is not every concept on every page, but for the most part, I found myself easily able to point back to Grudem and to say to people that this is a good place to see why my doctrine is what it is.
Negatives
In any work of this size, it is impossible to agree with every concept or argument. There are some doctrines or definitions given where I believed that Grudem may have shot wide of the mark. This is a difficult thing to write, however, as I assume Grudem to be much brighter than me, and thus he is probably right while I need the correction. Without getting into the issues, Grudem’s definition of the New Testament gift of prophecy and his handling of cessationism vs. continuationism is an example where I do not quite find myself lining up with the author’s assessment. I will say, however, that reading Grudem here has made me commit to review my position on the topic and examine my own understanding.
Perhaps the strangest criticism of this book is that some chapters feel too short. Yes, this book is already enormous. Many people will never open its covers for the simple fact of the intimidating mass of the tome. However, some of the latter chapters of the book feel like cursory overviews. This is the downfall of a single volume systematic theology. The point is, however, that many who look to this book for a defining answer on difficult issues such as eschatology will only find a starting point with Grudem, but will have to look to other, more focused works to find a conclusion. No, this criticism is not fair when we consider the book’s purpose, but it is still something that a reader may sense as he or she works through the volume.
Recommendation
I would recommend that Christians of all walks of life take a shot at working through Grudem’s Systematic Theology. Yes, the book is huge. But, if you will give yourself to simply one chapter per week, in 57 weeks, just over 1 year, you will have worked through deep thinking on some of the most glorious things that a person can consider. I have no personal hesitation at all in calling Christians to look to Grudem’s work as a great starting place for understanding the things of the faith.
Think – A Review
Do intellectual integrity and Christianity mix? In Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God, John Pipers says they do. Piper writes one of his most interesting recent works as he endeavors to show how a diligent scholarship is very much appropriate for one’s love of God.
Many believers do not see that solid thinking is important in the life of faith. Some argue that too much intellectualism will somehow harden a believer against the things of God’s Spirit. Piper, however, faithfully argues that God never called his people to be non-thinkers. While God clearly abhors the concept of human arrogance and men thinking they have found their own way to heaven, God loves when his people humbly use their mental faculties to know him better and love him more dearly.
If you are not much of a serious or deep thinker, reading this book could be a helpful exercise. Perhaps looking at Piper’s reasoning would encourage you to read more, to study harder, and to see how doing so will enable you to better follow God. This book may also help you to have a greater respect and appreciation for those who have been gifted by God as deep thinkers.
If you are more intellectual by nature, reading this work might help you both to better appreciate the gifts that God has given you while helping you to think more humbly about your own abilities. We cannot rely on intellect to make ourselves into anything. Yet, God demands that we work through our minds to love Christ appropriately.
I personally was encouraged by Piper’s work. Think helped me to remember that I cannot become mentally lazy in my faith. I would recommend this book to many different kinds of Christians, and especially to those who need to hear an argument that defeats anti-intellectual tendencies.
For this review, I listened to a free copy of the book as part of the Christian Audio reviewers program. The text was well-read and the quality was up to Christian Audio’s high standards.
The Millennials – A Review
In The Millennials, Thom and Jess Rainer take a look at the unique characteristics of the generation born between 1980 and 2000. Examining this generation, the Rainers uncover many facets of this group of young Americans that set them apart from their counterparts from the Baby Boom generation and Generation X.
The Rainers do what they do very well. The book is written with an engaging style that keeps the mountains of statistical data from boggling the mind or lulling it to sleep. Thom and Jess intersperse statistical survey data with enough personal interview highlights to keep the text flowing and keep the numbers making sense. At the end of each chapter, the authors offer summaries and conclusions that keep the reader tracking with their findings.
Negatively, this book is a statistically-driven work. If you do not like stats and demographic analysis, you probably will not enjoy this book. You can certainly still benefit from it if you will give it your time, but if numbers make your head spin, this work will not keep your attention.
The authors also acknowledge that no amount of statistical analysis can ever predict what God will do in and through a generation. So, while the work is helpful to show us that those born between 1980 and 1991 (the book limits itself to the older Millennial generation) are looking to make a difference in the world, tend to dislike institutional religion that does not impact the community, tend to shy away from harsh-sounding truth claims, and treasure their relationships with their families, we cannot know for sure what the Lord might do with such a generation. As the authors make clear, this generation is the least churched of any in American history. At the same time, this generation’s Christians are as radically committed to Christ as any generation in memory.
The Millennials is an interesting and helpful look at the differences in generations. The book has helpful insights into how churches might want to think regarding this younger generation. While no church should compromise its teaching or the commands of Christ in order to “bring in” the latest generation, a look at the facts of a generation as the Rainers have provided can certainly help church leaders to better understand the thoughts and motives behind those who may be quite different than they themselves are.
For this review, I was given a free download from ChristianAudio.com as part of their reviewers program. Ray Porter does an excellent job of narration and the recording is solid in every way.
If You Could Ask God One Question – A Review
Paul Williams and Barry Cooper. If You Could Ask God One Question. New malden, UK: The Good Book Company, 2007. 123 pp. $8.99.
At times, the best way to help people to understand your point is to anticipate their questions and answer them. Paul Williams and Barry Cooper have taken this strategy in defense of Christianity in their book If You Could Ask God One Question. I received a copy of this book at Together for the Gospel in 2008, and only got down to reading it two years later. I’m glad that I took the time.
Williams and Cooper write in a very easy-to-read and easy-to-understand style. They use humor well. They illustrate appropriately. The chapters seem to fly by, even as the authors work to explain some of the most important basic principles of Christianity.
Without attempting an overview, I will simply mention that the authors deal with some of the following important concepts:
· The existence of God
· The reliability of Scripture
· The problem of sin
· The existence of hell
· Why Jesus had to die
· Why Christians obey God’s commands
· Life after death
· Followers of other religions
· Faith not blind delusion
· The problem of evil
· Sex
· God proving himself through miracles
· What God might ask us
If You Could Ask God One Question is a simple and yet strong explanation of the faith for those who have only just begun considering Christianity. It could also be a helpful book for brand new Christians who need to begin to understand some of the basic points of theology. Obviously, the book cannot reach the depths of a good theology book since it only spans 123 pages; but the topics it covers are important and generally dealt with in a helpful way. I would have no problem recommending this book for those who do not know what they think about Christianity and for those who are new in the faith. It would also be a find study book for small group discussion if a group would like to again cover some of the most important basics of the faith.
Pursuit of Holiness – A Review [Repost]
Jerry Bridges writes a piercing, challenging, and practical charge for Christians to give their lives to be holy as God commands. In The Pursuit of Holiness, readers will find practical helps, biblical conviction, and realistically high expectations.
What I Liked
Bridges clearly points Christians toward a higher level of following Christ. Far too many believers fail to live a holy life because they have compromised their understanding of what it means to be holy. The command of God is not for us to be more holy than our neighbors, it is to be holy like God. As Bridges writes, “This is where holiness begins—not with ourselves, but with God. It is only as we see His holiness, His absolute purity and moral hatred of sin, that we will be gripped by the awfulness of sin against the Holy God” (20). One major help for any believer to grow in holiness will be to see God in his true, awesome, terrifying, holiness.
Bridges rightly calls believers to seek to be holy by submitting themselves to the word of God. He writes, “We express our dependence on the Holy Spirit for a holy life in two ways. The first is through a humble and consistent intake of the Scripture. If we truly desire to live in the realm of the Spirit we must continually feed our minds with His truth. It is hypocritical to pray for victory over our sins yet be careless in our intake of the Word of God” (75). Bridges also claims, “Obedience is the pathway to holiness, but it is only as we have His commands that we can obey them. God’s Word must be so strongly fixed in our minds that it becomes the dominant influence in our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions” (85). Again, Bridges says, “The Bible speaks to us primarily through our reason, and this is why it is so vitally important for our minds to be constantly brought under its influence. There is absolutely no shortcut to holiness that bypasses or gives little priority to a consistent intake of the Bible” (125). It is good, very good, for Christians to hear authors call them to sanctification through the Scriptures.
Though I could point out several other things, I’ll only list one more for right now. Bridges does an excellent job of calling Christians to accept the fact their sin is their responsibility. He argues, “We are to do something. We are not to “stop trying and start trusting”; we are to put to death the misdeeds of the body” (78). Bridges also writes, “So we see that God has made provision for our holiness. Through Christ He has delivered us from sin’s reign so that we now can resist sin. But the responsibility for resisting is ours. God does not do that for us” (57). Again, Bridges powerfully wraps up the book by asking, “Truly the choice is ours. What will we choose? Will we accept our responsibility and discipline ourselves to live in habitual obedience to the will of God? Will we persevere in the face of frequent failure, resolving never to give up? Will we decide that personal holiness is worth the price of saying no to our body’s demands to indulge its appetites?” (152).
What I didn’t Like
There are a few shortcomings in this book, though not very many. Bridges would have made an even stronger case for personal holiness had he done more to truly identify what it means that God is holy. Bridges aimed at this goal, and brushed up against it on occasion, but he never truly gave the reader a deep sense of awe of God’s holiness. I write this fully aware that Bridges was not trying to write Sproul’s The Holiness of God, but was instead writing a book aimed at calling us to be holy. However, I would have liked another chapter or two on the importance of what it means that God is holy.
At the end of the book, Bridges points out the other shortcoming that I will mention. He (or his publisher) points out that this book focuses mainly on how to put off sin, but does not focus as much on putting on the godly alternatives that will help a believer to live in righteousness. In the final pages, readers find an encouragement to read The Practice of Godliness for this kind of advice. However, if more of how to put on righteousness had been in this book, it would have been stronger.
My Recommendation
The Pursuit of Holiness is a book that any believer could benefit from reading. The chapters are short, easy-to-read, and power-packed. This book would be ideal for small group studies between friends or for personal devotional reading. I highly recommend this book to anyone who desires to have more joy in his Christian life by living more of what God calls him to be.
Audio
The review of the content came from a reading of the written work. However, I have also been given a copy of the excellent audio version of this work as part of the Christian Audio reviewers program.
Sexual Detox – A Review
In his book, Sexual Detox, Tim challies offers simple, biblical counsel for men who are struggling with the tragic impact of pornography on their sexuality. Challies understands the prevalence and the destructiveness of pornography, and he speaks in his book to the hearts of men who need God’s help to again view sex rightly.
Positives
Challies writes in a way that is open and frank without crossing the line into being crude. Often, in a book on this topic, the author, in order to prove he is a real guy with real guy struggles, will share too much with his readers in too descriptive a way. Challies does not fall into this pattern. This is good, as Challies performs the rare feat of talking about issues of lust without stirring up dangerous images in his readers’ minds.
Challies plan of organization in this work is also effective. Before he gets into the nuts and bolts of what men need to do, he spends two chapters helping guys to develop a biblical theology of their sexuality. This is good, as men need to first understand what God has taught on this issue before they can make lasting changes that honor God.
This book is also an extremely easy read. A pastor could give Sexual Detox to a young man who is struggling and not fear that the terminology will be too much. This book could possibly even be used with youth so long as the youth minister or a parent worked with the young men to get through some of the issues in the text.
Negatives
A slight negative that I have regarding this book is that, because of its readily accessible writing style, arguments are not always as thoroughly made as I might prefer. On occasion, Challies will tell us that “This is the reason that…”and I might feel that more reasoning should be given.
Challies also writes much about how men need to rely on others in their local church to help them with their struggle. This is absolutely right advice. However, Challies does not have as much to say to help those men whose local churches may not be ready to help them due to unbiblical leadership, lack of counseling, lack of church discipline, etc.
Recommendation
If you want to read the absolute best book on Christians and dealing with lust, I would recommend Josh Harris’ Sex Isn’t the Problem, Lust Is. However, if you want a very good book that is shorter and a bit more modern, I would certainly highly recommend Challies’ Sexual Detox. This really is good material to help men recognize the destructiveness of pornography and how they can begin to get away from it.
Audio
I listened to this book for free as a part of ChristianAudio.com’s reviewers program. Christian Audio always puts out great-sounding recordings. This book is read by its author. I personally seldom like recordings read by the author. There just seems to be something a little awkward in the delivery. It is as if the author wants to emphasize his thoughts, but is too bound by the text he has to read word-for-word. With that said, Challies’ Canadian accent is fun to listen to. And, if you have a player that will allow you to speed up the rate of the files, you might find this feature helpful to utilize.
A Praying Life – A Review
In A Praying Life: Connecting With God in a Distracting World, Paul Miller offers us a different kind of book on prayer. This book has things that I found wonderfully encouraging and helpful. At the same time, this work is not an exhaustive work on the doctrine of prayer.
Positives
So many books on prayer offer lists of how to pray without seeming to be a part of real, modern, human life. Miller’s book does not fall into this trap. Paul Miller is about as real in his description of his prayer life as any author I have read.
Miller’s work is full of helpful stories and illustrations that help us to connect with him in his prayer life. Paul and his wife have an autistic daughter. As you might imagine, his stories of praying with his wife for the benefit of their daughter are touching and helpful to others who have experienced prayers that were answered by God in different ways than they expected.
I personally found myself encouraged by the way that miller talked about prayer in such a non-mystical way. Sometimes, in books on prayer, readers may get the impression that those who do not pray for hours at a time are missing the point of prayer. Of course, there is nothing wrong with long seasons of prayer. Yet, Miller shows how prayer can be beautiful for a Christian in the middle of the confusion of daily life.
Negatives
While I enjoyed this work, it was not the deepest handling of the issues of prayer. Miller teaches us more from his experience than from a systematic theological strategy. Miller cautions readers against being mislead by their own impressions while “listening to God,” but then does not offer a deep theological defense of how this issue is to be handled.
Conclusion
I enjoyed A Praying Life, and would certainly recommend it to Christians who are struggling with their own lives of prayer. I think many will find the ideas present in this work encouraging and helpful. While the book is not as theological as some might want, it certainly has much to recommend it.
Audio
The recording of this work that I received as a part of the reviewers program from Christian Audio.com was well done as usual.
What Is the Gospel – A Review
Every Christian needs to have a firm grasp on the essentials of the gospel. Sadly not all do. In What is the Gospel, Greg Gilbert does an admirable job of helping Christians to grasp the essentials of the good news without over-simplifying things to a few booklet points.
Positives
This book is simply fun to read. Gilbert illustrates well, but not too much. He takes us on a simple tour of the atonement, pointing out the complexities without hurting our brains in the process. The author neither hides from difficult issues nor bogs down in minutia.
While I could write much that I affirm about each of Gilbert’s points, the thing that I will highlight here is different. This book was simply good for my soul. As I read through the essentials of the gospel, I was again reminded of God’s greatness, my sinfulness, Christ’s perfect work, and my need to trust in Jesus. I truly did praise God as I walked through this wonderfully familiar story.
Negatives
In the small details, one might find a point or two to pick at. I have a post-millennial friend (not my view) who would not like Gilbert’s handling of the kingdom of God or the believer’s role in bringing it about. I felt like Gilbert made a mistake when he identified the Passover as an example of “the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world,” as the Passover lamb was not a sin offering but rather a picture of substitution. Yet, these points would not in any way keep me from using this book in multiple settings.
Honestly, the greatest single weakness of this book is its brevity. This was intentional, obviously. Yet, it also is true that we are bound to miss points or gloss over points too quickly when we make a work as accessible as this one. I certainly could not have done it better, but we need to be honest about the limitations of a work of this size on a topic of this depth.
Recommendation
I highly enjoyed this work and strongly recommend it to others. This book would be perfect for a church’s new members class in order to see to it that those who join the church agree on the essentials of what it means to be saved. It would make a fine evangelistic tool for a person to work through with a lost friend, coworker, or family member. The chapters would make excellent background for a pastor’s teaching through the gospel. The book is readable enough for student ministers to make use of. Yes, it may be brief, but the book is power-packed, joy-filled, and God-glorifying.
Audio
For this review, I listened to the excellent recording from Christian Audio which I received as a part of their reviewers program. This work was well-read, short, and very useful.
Jesus, the Only Way to God – A Review
Is it necessary for a person to have actual, conscious faith in Jesus Christ in order for them to be reconciled to God? Do those who either refuse Jesus or who simply never hear of Jesus spend an actual eternity in hell under the wrath of Almighty God? In Jesus, the Only Way to God, John Piper addresses these questions in his inspiring, helpful, and typically thorough style.
Positive
Simply put, Piper nails this issue with the word of God. He is not arrogant, belittling of others, or sensationalistic in this work. Piper simply goes to the Scripture to explain what Christians have believed from the word of God for centuries.
Negative
In chapter 5, Piper addresses the question of whether or not Cornelius was already saved before Peter came to tell him the gospel. Piper eventually argues that Cornelius represents a special kind of person in the world, one who seeks after God in an extraordinary way. Piper then illustrates this idea by quoting a story of missionaries in Ethiopia. It is strange, then, that Piper does not explain this conclusion about lost God-seekers in the light of Romans 3:11 which declares that no one seeks after God.
Recommendation
People in our churches are actually asking whether or not one must have conscious faith in Jesus in order to be reconciled to God; thus, we need a work like this one from Piper to answer them. While the brevity of the work leaves a question or two unanswered, Piper does an outstanding job of answering what needs to be answered with biblical soundness, thoroughness, and readability. If you have any struggles with the question of the exclusivity of Christ and the necessity of conscious faith for salvation (or if you know someone who has these struggles), this book is an excellent resource for you.
Audio
I received an excellent copy of the audio recording of this work from ChristianAudio.com. The narration was very well-done and quite easy-to-listen-to.
Pastor Travis Peterson 