On the Old Testament

This is the first book in the series of small books from Mark Driscoll titled, "A book you'll actually read..." This book is for the purpose of a beginner trying to understand the Old Testament and to do it in roughly an hour of reading. This is obviously just a starter book to get a quick understanding of some important topics that discuss the background of the Old Testament.

The book is broken up in three parts and actually covers a lot of material, not exhaustively, but still provides a Reformed understanding of the Old Testament. The three parts are:

I. Answers to Nine Common Questions about the Old Testament

Who wrote the Old Testament?

What does the Old Testament say about the Old Testament?

What does the New Testament say about the Old Testament?

What does Jesus say about the Old Testament?

How were the Old Testament books chosen as Scripture?

What is the central message of the Old Testament?

How did we get the Old Testament in English?

Why are there different Bible translations?

II. How to Read the Old Testament

In this section Pastor Driscoll gives a quick, like two or three sentence quick, synopsis of every book in the Old Testament. He spends a little more time on discussing the Pentateuch overall and the overall understanding of Prophets and what they were used for. My only "gripe" would be that he leaned more on the "Inward testimony of the Holy Spirit" to discern false prophets. I think this can be very dangerous if this is the way that we test them. He did give other ways, but by ending as this being the way we can do this today, left me scratching my head how this would transfer to a new Christian.

III. Appendix 1: Building a Theological Library

This is a great resource. Driscoll gives a clear and distinct way to build a library for the student of Scripture. He gives the book, the title, and usually why it is an outstanding resource. This is actually worth getting the book alone.

Buy the book, read it, and then give it to a new Christian or someone looking into reading the Bible. Well worth it and they will, as the title suggests, actually read it. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy.

The Law and Its Fulfillment: A Pauline Theology of Law

This book was very well done. Whether or not you agree with Dr. Schreiner or not, you will definitely get an exegetical explanation of the understanding of Pauline Theology and Law. Mostly, this book was a polemic against Sanders and others that try and show that Pauline theology when looking to law is not only controversial, but contradictory to his own writings and others.

Although this book was written in 1993 and deals primarily with older works by Sanders and no new works by N.T. Wright, Schreiner gives great explanation of why Pauline writings were indeed writing and preaching against a legalistic Judaism. Sanders, and now N.T. Wright, both try and point to the fact that Second Temple Judaism was not legalistic, but saw its works as an outworking of loving the grace of God. Schreiner shows exegetically why this cannot be true through looking at key texts within the writings of Paul. Schreiner, like most, do agree that it was God's plan for this to take place, but the Jews, by the showing of Paul's writing were not following the plans of God in the outworking of the grace shown to them. Because of this you will see explained what works and grace meant to Paul and what justification, grace and works of the law meant to Paul and the bottom line that is answered masterfully is: Why does the Law exist?

Schreiner meticulously goes through much in this book to try and show the real purpose of the writings of Paul and his view of Law. Even though there have been many writings after Schreiner's to this point, Schreiner's work will stand pretty firm because it went from more an exegitical argument instead of a mere argument from the writings of others.

Anytime you get into the writings of Paul or the commentaries in respect to them, you will find it to be a very difficult read. I believe though that Schreiner's work was done in a way for the reader to understand easier than other works that I have encountered. This work is a great read for anyone desiring a better understanding of some of the arguments against the New Perspective of Paul and why the historic reading of the law and Paul still stand. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy.

Chapter Titles:

1. The Meaning of the Term Law in Paul
2. Why the Works of the Law Cannot Save
3. The Purpose of the Law
4. Is Paul Opposing Jewish Legalism?
5. The Temporary Nature of the Mosaic Covenant
6. The Fulfillment of the Law by Christians
7. Did Paul Teach Justification by Works?
8. Soundings from the Rest of the New Testament

Game Day for the Glory of God

This book is a very compact book (95 pages), but is packed with godly wisdom in our understanding of sports. The author, Stephen Altrogge, conveys a deeper understanding of why we have sports and how a Christian should represent Christ through them, not apart from them. He successfully shows the impact we can have as we play and watch sports for the glory of God, and what impact we can have if we do it for the glory of ourselves.

Sports provide us with opportunities to grow in godliness. Few things allow us to grow in humility, conquer our anger, discipline our bodies, persevere in the face of adversity, and pursue excellence, all in the span of an hour or two. Sports expose our sinful pride and desire for personal glory. They reveal our sinful self-sufficiency, self-worship, and self-centeredness. They also present unique opportunities to grow in humility, a character trait that deeply pleases God. Sports also expose our anger, impatience, and sinful cravings, thus enabling us to grow in God-honoring self-control.
Stephen Altrogge, p. 103

He not only draws attention to the person actually playing the sport, but also to the parent that is to be training the child in glorifying God in all things. This is very helpful as I am a dad, past his prime in playing sports, but can have a lasting impact on my two sons who are now getting into watching and playing feverishly.

Don't simply drop them off and pick them up from practices and games. Don't think that your responsibility ends with attending games. Rather, before each practice or game take a few moments to help your children prepare their hearts. Remind them of the need for humility, self-control, passion, encouragement, and trust. Help them see how sports fit into the bigger picture of life, eternity and God's glory. If time permits, pray with your children before each practice or game. In doing so you will help your children grow in godliness while playing sports. Hebrews 12:14 tells us to "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Sports provide us with an opportunity to strive for holiness. Let us take full advantage of that opportunity.
Steven Altrogge, p. 105

The chapters in this book break down like this:

1. A Life for the Glory of God
2. The Source of All Talent
3. The Joy of Sports
4. Game Day Priorities
5. Winners and Losers
6. Parents, Children, and the Glory of God
7. Tying it All Together

Appendix by C.J. Mahaney

The appendix, only 4 pages long, is very helpful as Pastor Mahaney puts forth a quick list of things he goes over with his son before every sporting event or practice:

- Humbly receive correction from your coach, and ask your coach how you can grow in character as well as athletic skill.

- Thank your coaches for the way they have served you. And thank the referees after each game.

- Encourage your teammates for their display of godly character and athletic skill-in that order of priority.

- Encourage your opponents during and after the game. If you knock someone over, extend your hand to help him up.

- Play the game passionately and unselfishly. Serve your team by playing aggressive defense (his father never did this) and passing the ball on offense (again, his father never did this).

- Humbly respond when the referee calls a foul on you. Do not complain or disagree in word or by facial expression (unfortunately, his father always did this).

- No inappropriate celebrating after you score; instead recognize that others played a role (his father never did this).

- Thank the team manager for the way he served, and recognize the humility and servanthood he is displaying at each game. Remember that true greatness is sitting on the end of the bench.

The whole of the book is filled with information like this and draws on stories of major events in sports history, great quotes from some Christian athletes and of course the personal stories from Altrogge that makes you cringe and laugh (especially when you can see yourself in his stories).

Overall it is a very practical book that points to the glory of God. When a book can look to sports in this way and point us to the Creator of sports, it is already starting in the right direction. I would very much recommend this to any parent or teen that is involved in any kind of sport in any way. As a father I am excited to take these truths and apply them to my family as I train my boys to be glorifying God in all things, especially sports. Highly Recommended. Link to Buy

The Future of Justification

This book is a tough one. The reason I say this is because I totally agree with John Piper's view, and the Reformation's view of the Pauline theology of justification by faith. I agree with Piper's and the Reformation's view of the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the believer. I also disagree with N.T. Wright's, which ultimately started with Schweitzer, Wrede and Sanders, view of Pauline theology and the link they believe it has with second century temple Judaism. Although I do like their premise of trying to understand Old Testament Judaism. I believe though that they get confused in what God intended with the Law and how the Jews misused it.

So, now that I have stated all that, you would expect me to really like Piper's book on the topic. The problem is that I think it is a little too early to try and refute what Wright is coming out and saying. The reason for this is because no one really has a clear understanding of what Wright believes (at least those who I have talked to). Piper even praises Wright for many of his views of Scripture, and also the high view that Wright places on Scripture. But, there are many places in here that Piper says that he "thinks" Wright means this, or that Wright "might" believe that. I would think that it would be better to go ahead and wait this out until we find what Wright is really saying before we try and refute him outright.

With all this said, I also understand why Piper desired to come out with a refutation. I just believe it was too soon. I believe he would have been better to come out with a short intro to some disturbing beliefs of Wright and then wright a polemic on the justification of God and the imputation of Christ. I know that Piper has a couple of books that do this, so maybe an update to those books with this intro would have served better.

The book, because of the confusion of Wright's beliefs, is very hard to follow. There are even parts in the book where I would probably either agree with what Wright is saying, confused on what the problem is, or just am completely confused on what Wright really believes. The book really makes you feel like Piper is as confused as you are with what Wright is trying to say.

I honestly wouuld not recommend this book to anyone trying to get a grasp on what Wright believes, it was very confusing. Because of this, Piper's refutations come out very confusing as well. The best part of the book was the end, when Piper gives a small defense of the imputation of the righteousness of Christ.

I believe that this book will be something that will be forgotten and will need to be thrown away once we understand more on what Wright is trying to get across in his views of Justification and Pauline theology. Once a better understanding is seen, I would ask Piper to try again. Not Recommended. Link to Buy.

The Legacy of Sovereign Joy

This is the first of the series of "The Swans Are Not Silent." This series is a series of books that are quick bios on the the lives of different people in the history of Christendom. The reason for the title of this series comes from a quote from Eraclius. Piper tells us the following:

At the age of seventy-one, four years before he died on August 28, A.D. 430, Aurelius Augustine handed over the administrative duties of the church in Hippo on the northern coast of Africa to his assistant Eraclius. Already, in his own lifetime, Augustine was a giant in the Christian world. At the ceremony, Eraclius stood to preach, as the aged Augustine sat on his bishop's throne behind him. Overwhelmed by a sense of inadequacy in Augustine's presence, Eraclius said, "The cricket chirps, the swan is silent."

The reason that Piper chose to title this series, "The Swans are NOT Silent" is because the legacy of understanding of the sovereignty of God by Augustine has been anything but silent. So, the idea behind this book of biographies is to show that the swans from Augustine to Luther to Calvin were not silent but heralded the truth of Sovereign Joy.

In this book, Piper gives three biographies in Augustine, Luther and Calvin. He focuses on four topics to which he really wants to drive home in these men:

1. Do not be paralyzed by your weaknesses and flaws

Piper does admit that the men being studied in this book are flawed. They are not perfect. Which is good, because they are not Christ, and we, as humans, can learn from them and their understanding of working out their salvation with fear and trembling. These men, although imperfect, continued to bear fruit for the sake of the glory of God.

2. In the battle against sin and surrender, learn the secret of sovereign joy

This was shown most clearly in the life of Augustine. Although he went from complete paganism and the love of women, to believing in complete heresy, God brought him through this to his side for the glory of God. Augustine saw this as God's complete work of salvation through him, which if it weren't for God, Augustine would have never come to God on his own.

3. Supernatural change comes from seeing Christ in his sacred word

Luther was the found in the light of this thesis statement. Luther focused in on the sacred study of the word of God. He saw that this is where Christ was to be found through the Holy Spirit, prayer and meditation. He made sure that people, especially those caught in the bounds of Catholicism, realized that our only hope is found in the Word of God and not in the knowledge and tradition of men.

4. Therefore, let us exult over the exposition of the truth of the gospel and herald the glory of Christ for the joy of all peoples.

Piper shows this in the life of John Calvin. When Calvin found Christ in the Scriptures and was caught up in Reformation doctrine, he did what he only knew he should do: Preach. John Calvin's life was known for his preaching. Preaching for John Calvin was faithful, verse by verse, exposition of the word of God. Here he found that through this preaching the exaltation and glory of Christ was found and given for us all to enjoy. So much so that when he was preaching in Geneva, he was banished by the city council. When he was allowed to return three years later, he picked up the exposition in the next verse. John Calvin firmly believed in the preaching of the word of God.

This small book was a great quick intro to the lives of these men. By no means it is exhaustive, but that wasn't its intent. I would recommend this to anyone who either wants a quick refresher or for those who know very little about these men. You will notice that the overall these in these pages is the Sovereign Joy of our God. Recommended. Link to Buy.