Category Archives: Book Reviews

Book Review – Fight Clubs (Jonathan Dodson)

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I guess many readers of my blog will already have seen the announcement of Fight Clubs as a free e-book. You can get hold of it from the Resurgence, although it appears that the free offer isn’t available any more, which is a shame, but you can buy the e-book or a printed copy (sadly last time I checked the postage wasn’t particularly cost effective for UK buyers).

The book is subtitled “gospel-centred discipleship”, and in it Jonathan Dodson sets out his vision for how believers can get together in twos and threes and help each other fight sin and enjoy God.

He tells of how some “accountability groups” he had been part of in the past tended towards either legalism on one hand, or simply a therapeutic confessional booth that never addresses the root issues of the sin. Or as he puts it, we tend towards being wimps or bullies.

The heart of his approach is that we must identify the lies that we are tempted to believe which cause us to sin. And then confront those lies by believing the promises and warnings of Scripture, which are given to us as a means of grace that we might fight sin. Ultimately, we prevail as “we fight to believe that Jesus is more precious, satisfying, and thrilling than anything else his world has to offer.”

This is not really a book about technique though. In fact, the concept of the “fight club” groups of two or three people is only introduced at the end. The majority of the material simply sets out how a solid understanding of the gospel is foundational to fighting sin. Dodson draws heavily on John Piper and Tim Keller, with plenty of Puritan influences evident.

Overall I would say this is an outstanding short book. I have organised two “fight club” nights with some men from my church where we have discussed the content of the book. We haven’t yet attempted his formula, but I really like the idea of approaching accountability and discipleship from an explicitly gospel-centred perspective.

Check out Jonathan’s talks from the LEAD 09 conference, in which he gives a seminar on Fight Clubs, as well as expounds on his concept of three aspects of conversion – conversion to Christ as Lord, to the church, and to mission.

Book Review – The Ordinary Hero (Tim Chester)

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I’ve just finished my fourth Tim Chester book now, and have to admit up front that I am becoming a big fan of his writings. Here’s my other reviews of his books…

This one, his latest, subtitled “Living the Cross and Resurrection”, seeks to show how the pattern for Christian living is modelled on the cross of Jesus, and our hope for the future is based on the resurrection. The book is broken up into five main sections.

The first section seeks to explain the message of the cross, how it demonstrates God’s love for us, and gives us a new status. He shows how an appreciation of the cross gives us humility and confidence, as we look at God and ourselves in the light of the cross.

The second section then expands on how we live the way of Jesus, which is the way of the cross – a life characterised sacrifice, submission, self-denial, service and suffering. A powerful chapter entitled “Everyday Martyrdom” illustrates very practically what it means to follow the way of the cross each day. Counter-intuitively for our culture, this way of self-denial is actually the way of joy.

The way of the cross impacts on both our big life choices and our small daily actions. It really does include both martyrdom and washing up.

The third section, explores the pattern of the cross and resurrection – suffering followed by glory. There is no route to glory that avoids the cross, and so all evangelism must include the call to follow the way of the cross. Although our mission takes place in the power of the Spirit, it is to be characterised by humility, service and love.

It is in this section that some of his slightly controversial material is to be found. He is strongly critical of the desire to win the world by appearing successful, large, or powerful, and much of what he argues for in these chapters cuts right across the grain of what you might hear in many contemporary evangelical and charismatic churches, especially within the “church growth” movement. In fact, if anything, he seems to be suggesting that being small and weak are an integral part of our witness to the way of the cross.

The fourth section is on the power of the resurrection – power to be weak. Again, this may not be what you are used to hearing, with most teaching on power being related to how we overcome and are victorious in life. Tim Chester points out how often New Testament verses that promise power immediately go on to talk about suffering. We have power to suffer, power to be weak. It is not power for victory over suffering, but power to follow the way of the cross. Again, he is critical of the modern church that has taken its model of leadership from the world, rather than following the pattern of the cross.

The fifth section deals with the promise of the resurrection and hope. Here, he includes a very helpful chapter clearing up some common misconceptions of “heaven”. Our hope is not to go to heaven, but for a future when heaven will come down to earth. Our hope is for a future world characterised by justice, love and joy. This is a world worth living and dying for. It is a world taking risks for. We are to consider ourselves pilgrims, and store up heavenly treasure by being generous with earthly treasure.

Already Not Yet?

There are a few points that will make for difficult reading for charismatic evangelicals such as myself, as he is critical of “power evangelism”, and charismatic “highs and healings”. The difficulty lies in answering the question “to what extent can or should we expect the age to come to break into the future”? Chester does admit to there being a foretaste of what is to come, but seems to have a much lower expectation of God’s power to heal, or even his willingness to relieve us from present suffering, or to bless us in any way that is earthly. I do feel that there are many in charismatic circles who have an “over-realised” eschatology, assuming that we can just claim freedom from suffering and sickness automatically. But I do not believe that there is any problem in our desiring to see signs of the kingdom. As Chester himself acknowledges, the resurrection is not just a future hope, but a present experience.

Conclusion

Despite my slight reservations that he might underplay some of the blessings we can now enjoy through the Spirit, I would say this is another gem of a book from Tim Chester. Seeing the way of the cross as the pattern for the Christian life is thoroughly biblical and it is a tragedy that much of the church has marginalised this message. Also, the call to be a people of hope, based in the resurrection, is too rarely heard, resulting in Christians who live for this age that is passing away, rather than for eternity.

Book Review – The Unquenchable Flame (Mike Reeves)

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Anyone who has heard Mike Reeves speak will know that he is a superb teacher of theology and church history, and has a knack for presenting it in a highly entertaining and humorous way. To sample his teaching, check out the historical theology section at The Theology Network website. So I was delighted to get hold of a copy of his new book on the Reformation.

Despite the fact that he could undoubtedly write a much larger volume, he has opted to keep it accessible and cover the whole reformation period in six chapters: 1 – The Background to the Reformation; 2 – Martin Luther; 3 – Ulrich Zwingli and the Radical Reformers; 4 – John Calvin; 5 – The Reformation in Britain; 6 – The Puritans.

I was pleased to discover that he is just as good a writer as he is a speaker, and there are plenty of laugh out loud moments as he highlights some of the eccentricities and curiosities of the times.

Reeves makes no secret of the fact that he views the Reformation as a work of God, but does not gloss over the faults and failings of the reformers. He is keen to explain clearly what the main theological points of contention were, and why they mattered so much. He clearly highlights the ways in which various reformers and supporters of the reformation differed from one another.

I certainly learned a lot from it, especially in the British history chapter, which I am particularly hazy on. Reeves shows how the Reformation hinged on Luther’s understanding of the doctrine of justification. If Luther was right, everything must change.

Which brings me to the seventh chapter of the book. Reeves concludes by asking whether the reformation is over? The Puritans, who were the main driving force for continual reformation, died out after being denied access to education. With many modern Catholics describing themselves as evangelical, and many Protestant denominations glad to agree to an ecumenical statement on justification, has the need for reformation gone away?

Reeves argues not. He shows that the fundamental difference between Luther’s justification and the Roman Catholic position has not gone away. The sticking point is the word alone in the phrase “Justified by faith alone”. Moreover, modern attempts to say that Luther’s solution was to a uniquely 16th century problem do not convince Reeves. Though we may have denied human “guilt” our desire for acceptance is just as strong as ever. And it is to this point that the gospel speaks most directly. With eternal matters hanging in the balance, justification can never be viewed as a peripheral issue.

So if you’re looking for an accessible, engaging, entertaining and theologically stimulating introduction to the Reformation, this is the book to get. Here’s hoping that he’ll do a follow-up on the early church fathers soon.

Book Review – Holy Spirit Power (Charles Spurgeon)

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This short book contains six Spurgeon sermons on the Holy Spirit. As usual his sermons are deeply devotional and full of insight. Nevertheless, (dare I say it), I wouldn’t rank these as the best of his that I have read. There are plenty of good collections of his sermons available on Amazon, or simply visit the Spurgeon Archive.

For those wondering whether he will be a charismatic or a cessationist, well he says a few things that will please each side, and a few things that will concern each side. One advantage dead preachers have is that they can be enjoyed by a wide spectrum of people, as they do not nail their colours to the mast on current hot potato issues. The cessationists probably have the better claim to him though:

I have heard many fanatical people say that the Holy Spirit has revealed this and that idea to them. This is revealed nonsense. The Holy Spirit does not reveal anything fresh now. He brings old things to our remembrance.

Rather than reviewing the sermons, I will make three brief observations about Spurgeon’s preaching.

First, he digs deep. Most of the sermons deal with a single verse or phrase. Rather than expositing a whole chapter, he likes to meditate on a small portion of Scripture. As he does this, he brings in to play his thorough working knowledge of the whole of the Bible, which allows him to bring in supporting texts and prevents him from taking things out of context or contradicting other Scriptures.

Second, he is Christ centred. Again and again he gets us back to looking at Christ, and the gospel. You will not find lengthy anecdotes, illustrations or even very large amounts of practical “application”. What you will find is lots about the gospel, lots about how wonderful Jesus is, and what he has done for us. It does not matter that the main “subject” of these sermons is the Holy Spirit. They are also full of Christ. I recently came across a delightful quote of his on the importance of Christ-filled sermons:

A sermon without Christ in it is like a loaf of bread without any flour in it. No Christ in your sermon, sir? Then go home, and never preach again until you have something worth preaching.

Third, he is evangelistic. He does not make the assumption that all his hearers (even professing Christians) are truly saved. Again and again, he differentiates between the person who has truly been born again and who hasn’t. He calls us to examine ourselves. Clearly, he does not want anyone to have false assurance. This seems to be the opposite approach to that taken by many modern preachers. Clearly he believed, like Tim Keller, that there are “two ways to be lost”, and one of them is a very respectable religious way.

Book Review – Glorious Freedom (Richard Sibbes)

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This is an exposition of 2 Cor 3:17-18 by the Puritan Richard Sibbes. Unlike some others in the Puritan Paperbacks series, this one has not been abridged, and has only had minimal editing. His method is to explain the meaning of a few words, and follow it up with some application (which he calls “uses”). Like all the Puritans, he is very thorough, seeking to mine the Scriptures for all the riches he can find. It does require a bit more focus than reading a modern book due to the sometimes dated use of language, but it is well worth persevering. Here’s my brief summary of the contents of his exposition.

Sibbes starts off contrasting the law and the gospel. The law cannot change our hearts, nor can it remove our blindness to the gospel. The ceremonial law aimed at Christ, and the moral law is meant to drive us to Christ. Interestingly, he sees Psalm 119 as referring not to the law on its own, but to the law plus the Spirit.

He argues that it is Christ, not the Holy Spirit that the phrase “the Spirit of Lord” refers to. Jesus is given this name because as a man he was filled with the Spirit without measure. To have more of the Spirit, we must go to Christ. More Spirit means more Christ and vice versa.

There is then a substantial section on liberty. Gospel freedom is freedom from sin and its consequences, it is freedom to do good. He criticises the idea that the Spirit works by simply persuading us. Rather, he works internally, changing us from the inside. The Word of God is the charter of our liberty and without the Spirit, we have no liberty. If we have the Spirit, we can enjoy freedom from the dominion of any particular sin.

A man till he is in Christ is a slave, not of one man or one lord over him, but he has as many lords as he has lusts.

More than victory over sin, Christian liberty gives us freedom to “fulfil all our duties with a full heart”, courage to overcome opposition, and boldness to approach God. It also frees us from the fear of man.

The next major section is on “our communion and fellowship with God in Christ”. He explores the meaning of glory, and highlights various aspects of the glory of the gospel, the glory of God, and the glory of Christ. God is especially glorified in displaying his mercy.

When Satan tempts us to run from God and discourages us, as he will do at such times, then keep this in mind: God has set himself to be glorious in mercy above all other attributes. … Though sins after conversion stain our profession more than sins before conversion, go still to the glorious mercy of God. … Let us never be discouraged from going to Christ.

The gospel, or Christ, is the “glass” referred to in the verse (KJV). We could not look directly at God, for without Christ, God is a terrifying sight. And the best way to see Christ, is to look at the Word.

The final, and largest section of the book, deals with our conformity to the image of Christ. He emphasises the vital importance of being made completely new. You cannot accept the gospel in the first place if you do not desire to be completely changed.

We must have new judgments and new desires, new esteem, new affections, new joys and delights, new company.

There is also a double change – “real” and gradual. The first refers to the new birth, while the second refers to the inevitable growth in holiness that must take place in the life of a believer. He says that we cannot come to Christ just wanting pardon for sin, but not change of lifestyle:

Some weak notions would place all the change in justification. They separate Christ’s offices, as if he were all priest but not a governing king; or as if he were righteousness but not sanctification; or as if he had merit to die for us and to give us his righteousness, but no efficacy to change our natures; or as if in the covenant of grace God only forgave our sins but did not write his law in our hearts. But in the covenant of grace he does both.

He also rejects the idea that God doesn’t interfere with our will. No, “grace works on the will most of all. … If the will is not inclined and bent to go the best way, there is no work of grace at all”.

What we are being changed into is the image of Christ. Christ is God’s masterpiece, the prototype. Previously we bore the image of Satan, and the image of Adam, and have a natural tendency to let ourselves be transformed into the image of the world.

God has ordained that we should be like [Christ] in a threefold degree: in suffering, in grace, and in glory.

Sibbes reflects on many aspects of the life of Christ that we should meditate on, and emulate. His resolution to do the Father’s will. His zeal and goodness. The things he loved and enjoyed. His wonderful love and wonderful hatred of sin displayed at the cross. But we do not work up the power to be like him in ourselves. “Nothing can change us but the gospel.”

He warns that if you are not changing then you have not had the new birth, but does acknowledge that sometimes growth is slow, or imperceptible. He even sees occasional fallings into sin as a sovereign way that God humbles us and causes us to grow further.

wherever the knowledge of God in Christ is real, there is a change and conversion of the whole person. There is a new judgment and new affections. The bent and bias is another way than they were before.

He looks at how being transformed into the image of Christ makes us more and more glorious. A person who is like Jesus shines. The key to this transformation is the work of the Spirit. All change comes from the Spirit. Even Jesus himself did everything by the power of the Spirit.

All his grace as a man was from the Holy Ghost. He was conceived, anointed, sealed and led by the Holy Ghost into the wilderness; he offered himself by the Spirit, he was raised by the Spirit; he was full of the Spirit.

Therefore, we need to test ourselves to see whether we have the Spirit (i.e. are we changing?). And we need to “beg” God to grant us more of the Spirit, as we recognise our complete need of him.

Book Review – Breakout (Mark Stibbe & Andrew Williams)

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This book tells the story of how St Andrews Church in Chorleywood transitioned from meeting weekly as a whole church in their building, to becoming a collection of “mid-sized communities” (MSCs, later rebranded “mission-shaped communities”), meeting at various locations in the community, and only gathering as a whole church once a month.

The reason that they got started on this venture was that their church building was due to be refurbished, so they would need to move out for a period of time. What started as an idea for the interim, became so successful that they continued the model once back in the church.

The authors take it in turns to write a chapter, and the story itself is a very interesting one, particularly due to their reliance on prophetic words as they decided what to do. Their vision could be described as changing the church from being a cruise ship into a fleet of lifeboats. The church needed to change from an attractional (come to us) model to a missional one (“go to them”).

Their church websites describes the MSCs in the following way:

Each MSC has a name, a clear mission purpose and is no larger than fifty adult members. Led by teams from the church family, MSCs are bringing the Father’s love to the lost and the poor in diverse and creative ways. We have MSCs that are serving neighbourhoods, children, the elderly, the deaf community, prisoners, young people, adults with special learning needs and the homeless.
MSCs meet out in the community in a variety of venues across an increasing geographical area. Most meet on Sundays but others meet during the week. Everyone gathers at St Andrew’s on the fourth Sunday of the month for a celebration service.

Whilst the story is interesting enough in its own right, I imagine that many readers of this book are asking two questions – “how exactly do these MSCs work?” and “could this be implemented in my local context?”.

In answer to the first question, the book was good at giving examples of the sorts of things that these MSCs got up to. Some met in coffee shops, some worked with the homeless, while others formed out of pre-existing groups within the church such as those working with mothers and toddlers. They also explained that the groups needed to be vision-led by lay-leaders. These small gatherings allowed a much greater variety of people to exercise preaching and worship-leading ministry, and develop their giftings. When the church gathered as a whole once a month, they watched short video clips of what was happening in the MSCs.

One question that I felt went unanswered was how, if at all, this related to cell / home groups. Many churches already have these small communities in place, and they were not mentioned, so I am assuming that MSCs served as a replacement for cell groups. In many ways it makes sense. I am not sure there would be the time and energy available for churches to simply add MSCs on top of existing small groups. It also takes the pressure off finding quite so many people willing to lead, as the group sizes are three-four times larger. Interestingly they do seem to have drawn inspiration from St Thomas’ Crookes in Sheffield, who do make use of three levels – cells, clusters (MSCs) and celebrations. I expect Mike Breen’s new book “Clusters” will shed further light on this.

As for the question, “could this work in my context?”, that also is unclear in my mind. For one thing, the simple fact that their church building was unavailable was probably an important factor in helping people to be willing to give it a try. Also, Mark Stibbe is an outstanding Bible teacher. It is clear that he produced copious amounts of training material for MSC leaders as well as provided outlines for the preachers in the MSCs on Sundays. I don’t imagine every church will be quite so well positioned to resource their small group leaders.

Overall, I would say that this book is a fascinating read for anyone who is looking for some fresh ideas for how they can reinvigorate small groups and create a better missional presence in the local community. It doesn’t provide a blueprint, but it does provide some inspiring examples and some honesty about mistakes that were made along the way. It also continually emphasises the need to be led by the Spirit, rather than to look for the next “technique” that will usher in a new phase of church growth.

Book Review – Run to Win the Prize (Thomas Schreiner)

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The question of “once saved always saved” has to rank as one of the trickiest theological issues to answer satisfactorily. On the one hand, you have the clear passages that teach the eternal security of the believer, and on the other, you have the dire warnings of Hebrews of the consequences of apostasy.

Evangelicals have typically gone in one of three directions on this issue:

  1. The Arminian position – it is indeed possible to lose your salvation, if by your own free will you walk away from God.
  2. Calvinist position 1 – Those who fall away were never truly saved, hence the warnings speak to false believers, or are only theoretical.
  3. Calvinist position 2 – The warning passages only speak of loss of reward, not salvation.

As a Calvinist, I am unable to accept the first position, but the second two also are unsatisfying, as they seem to rob the warnings of much of their force. As Mike Ovey points out in the foreword to this book, we must walk a tightrope. One the one hand, there is the danger of complacency regarding our salvation, and on the other is the danger of presenting perseverance as a way of earning our salvation.

In this book, Schreiner attempts to show, from a reformed perspective, how these warnings really do apply to believers, really do warn of loss of salvation, and yet do not compromise the reformed doctrine of assurance of salvation. The book functions as a condensed version of his larger work on the same subject The Race Set Before Us, and he also seeks to respond to some (in his view unfair) criticism of that book, which suggested he was teaching perseverance as works-righteousness.

The first chapter seeks to show that exhortations to persevere are commonplace throughout the New Testament. When a person becomes a believer, they are not told that they will inherit the kingdom no matter what they do. Rather, they are urged to remain and continue in the faith. For example, he cites the example of Barnabas seeing the grace of God, but nevertheless encouraging the recipients of that grace to persevere:

When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose (Acts 11:23 ESV)

In a second chapter on how to understand the warnings, he points out that warnings directed at believers are also commonplace throughout the New Testament. Such warnings are not just found in Hebrews, but examples are to be found in the gospels and Paul’s epistles. The warnings in Hebrews, though strongly worded, function in exactly the same way as these other warnings. Schreiner argues that these are clearly warnings of loss of salvation. He gives a brilliant quote from Spurgeon who says that the Spirit had a very good reason for giving us these warnings. We do need to hear them, in order that we may cling to Christ, just as a child whose father warns him of the certainty of death if he falls off a cliff-edge responds by saying, “hold on to me daddy, don’t let me fall”.

The third chapter argues for what is unlikely to be a controversial point, that the call to persevere in faith does not mean that perfection is required. The believer may truly persevere despite occasional sin. Interestingly he suggests that the petition “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” in the Lord’s prayer, is a request that we be protected from falling into temptation in such a way that we apostatise. 

In the fourth chapter he seeks to set the record straight on works-righteousness. The need for perseverance should not in any way be understood as us earning our salvation. He argues that the NT teaches that obedience is necessary for salvation, but that obedience springs from faith – faith is the root, and works are the fruit. Works thus function as an indispensible ‘evidence’ of faith. However, we should beware trying to calculate ‘how much’ obedience is required as evidence. The Christian life is from start to finish a call to trust God. Perseverance consists in continuing to trust in the cross of Christ. Works-righteousness then is a form of apostasy just as much as denying Christ is, and it is this that Paul warns against in Galatians. Assurance, therefore, does not come from looking at how well we are obeying, but rather by continually looking to Christ.

In a fifth chapter he returns to the question of assurance. If these warnings are to be taken seriously, how can we have assurance? He begins by rejecting the Arminian position that salvation can be lost, looking at texts such as Phil 1:6. But then he moves to what perhaps is his key argument – the warnings function as a means by which God keeps us trusting in him to the end.

the warnings are one of the means God uses to keep his own trusting him and persevering in faith until the end.

He anticipates the objection that if no one will actually be lost, then the warnings are rendered void, by giving several examples of how a warning that is heeded does not make the warning pointless. For example, in Acts 27, Paul is told by God that no one on the ship would be lost. However, that does not stop him warning soon afterwards, that if the sailors fled the ship, the remaining passengers would not be saved. The warning did not contradict the promise of God that all would be saved. However, the means of the passengers being saved involved the sailors staying on board.

He argues that this is very similar to what Calvinists believe about evangelism. Just because our salvation is based on the sovereign grace of God, it does not follow that the means of preaching the gospel become unnecessary. Similarly, though our perseverance is also based on the sovereign grace of God, the warnings which are one of the means of that perseverance do not become unnecessary. The book closes with a sermon on Gal 5:2-12, developing several of the themes of the book.

Ultimately then, he does take the Calvinist position that those who fall away prove they were never truly saved, citing, for instance, 1 John 2:19, as evidence for this position. But he still maintains that the warnings are intended for the ears of true believers, that by our hearing them, we will be stirred to keep trusting in Christ.

Overall I have to say I thought this book presents a very persuasive argument, perhaps the clearest I have heard on this subject. His approach seems to me to do justice to the solemnity of the warnings presented to us throughout Scripture. It avoids making the warnings in Hebrews “special cases” to be explained away, but treats them as of a piece with many other warnings and encouragements to persevere throughout the New Testament.

I found as I read it that it drove me to pray that God would keep me faithful to him, and keep trusting in Christ alone. It made me wonder whether we have failed in our duty to impress the importance of perseverance on new Christians and established believers alike. When we understand that such exhortations are not contrary to grace, but in fact the means by which God graciously enables us to persevere, then these warning need not be seen as an enemy of either assurance or salvation by grace.

Book Review – Death by Love (Mark Driscoll)

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The first thing that stands out about this book is the striking artwork (some of which is on display at the book’s website). From the cover design to the typesetting and illustrations at the start of each chapter, this book is comfortably one of the best presented Christian books I have come across.

A similar high standard of creativity is on display in the way the book is organised. This is a book on the doctrine of the atonement, and works its way through some detailed theology. But the way it is presented is quite unique.

Each chapter starts by briefly telling the story of a person known to Mark Driscoll. Some are Christians, others are not. Many are struggling with the consequences of shocking episodes of their past, whether that be being betrayed or abused, or being an abuser themselves. But a broad spectrum of people are covered (including “good Christian” David, and “pastor’s kid” Gideon), so it is likely that most readers will find at least someone they can identify with.

Having introduced the person, Mark Driscoll writes them a letter. In it he seeks to explain how a specific aspect of the doctrine of the atonement is directly relevant to their situation. These letters are forthright and direct, but also heartfelt and rich in biblical theology. Those who have heard Driscoll preach will know what to expect. He never minimises or excuses sin, and is quite willing to speak of God’s anger at it and the threat of hell, but holds out the good news of grace and forgiveness through Christ for even those who have committed vile offenses.

At the end of each chapter, Driscoll’s co-author, Gerry Breshears answers three or four common questions relating to the doctrine presented in the chapter. The questions are well chosen, and the short and helpful answers complement the letters nicely.

So what does the book teach about the atonement? Well right from the start, Driscoll emphasises that it is multi-faceted. One description or metaphor alone will not do justice to the cross. At the same time, the concept of substitution is clearly presented as the primary model. He takes the example of the scapegoat and sin offering from the day of atonement to illustrate that propitiation and expiation go hand in hand.

We are of course living in times where there is controversy over the doctrine of the atonement, with the idea of penal substitution coming in for severe criticism. This book robustly defends it as a fully biblical concept, but does not fall into the trap of ignoring or minimising other ways in which we should reflect on the significance of the cross. For example, the first chapter in the book deals with Jesus as Christus Victor, while another presents the concept of Christus Exemplar.

I won’t go into all the topics he covers, but suffice to say that there are some very clear explanations of many important doctrines in this book. Driscoll has a knack for presenting familiar material in a fresh way, and the fact that he writes each chapter as a letter to a real person keeps it very practical, and never merely abstract theology.

While I wouldn’t say this book has knocked John Stott’s “The Cross of Christ” off the top of my list of favourite books on the atonement, it deserves a special place of honour simply for the superb presentation of the material. It would be beneficial for anyone who wants to teach on the atonement, or who is involved in counselling to read this book, to see more clearly how to apply the message of the cross to a variety of difficult situations. But this book is also appropriate for any Christian who simply wants a deeper understanding of the message of the cross.

Book Review – The Language of God (Francis Collins)

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Francis Collins is head of the Human Genome Project, a highly respected scientist who is an expert in the study of DNA – the “instructions for building a human being”. In this book, he seeks to set forth in layman’s terms why he, as a scientist, believes in God.

He starts off by telling the story of how he came to be a believer in God, from an atheistic background. He was strongly influenced by the arguments of C. S. Lewis, but also was profoundly impacted by seeing the faith of the dying in his work in a hospital.

He devotes a chapter to providing brief answers to some of the common atheistic objections to faith. Isn’t belief in God just wishful thinking? What about the harm done in the name of religion? How can a good God allow suffering? How can a scientist believe in miracles. He doesn’t have the space to address each of these in depth, but gives a brief outline of how he would resolve these questions.

He then moves on to some scientific material, starting with the origins of the universe. The big bang cries out for a divine explanation, since the universe seems fine-tuned for life, despite this being wildly improbable. In a chapter on the origins of life on earth, he is critical of “intelligent design”, seeing this as a form of the “God of the gaps” argument.

Next is his speciality subject, the human genome. This is a fascinating chapter, and a good introduction to DNA if like me you know very little about it. As part of this chapter, he explains why he sees the DNA similarities between humans and other animals as compelling evidence for evolution.

Then follows a series of chapters dealing with different beliefs about the origins of the universe. He points out that the church once thought that the Bible taught that the sun revolved around the earth, but came to realise that the Bible in fact taught no such thing. He is of the opinion that a similar realisation is required with regards to the origin of the universe.

In a chapter on atheism and agnosticism, he accuses Dawkins of using straw man arguments, and insists that science, let alone evolution, cannot disprove God. His chapter on Young Earth Creationism dismisses it as incompatible with modern science. He remains civil but it is evident that he has very little time for this view. He also is unimpressed with the “Intelligent design” movement, arguing that many so called mechanisms of “irreducible complexity” may indeed be reducible.

He presents a fourth option, traditionally called “theistic evolution”, but which he prefers to term “biologos”. He sees the hand of God in the anthropic principle – the fine tuning of the universe for life, and in the ways that humans are unique that defy evolution (moral law plays an important part in his argument). He closes with a plea to all people to live as seekers of the truth, and not just stopping at those truths that science can determine.

A fascinating appendix deals with some of the ethical dilemmas raised by science, with a particular focus on DNA related issues such as cloning. As throughout the book, he is very humble in his arguments and seeks to strike a conciliatory tone as he presents opposing views.

What can I say about this book? He is of course going to upset many atheists on the one hand and many creationists on the other with his views. But both groups will at the very least find food for thought. It certainly is a good book for someone who is questioning various viewpoints and wants to hear a simple and respectful argument from a theistic evolutionary perspective.

From an evangelical perspective, what one makes of this book will depend largely on whether you are prepared to join him in reading Genesis 1 and 2 more as a “morality play” than as literal history. It seems to me that evangelicals are in the midst of a period of reconsidering their hermenuetics of Genesis in the light of scientific consensus, and there are a lot of options on the table.

The theistic evolutionary position has the strong benefit of being in complete agreement with the majority view, but from a theological perspective raises some very tricky problems. (not least at what point was there a being “in God’s image”, and whether there could be death and disease before “the fall”). These are questions that I don’t feel Collins tackles in sufficient depth to persuade most young or old earth creationists. Evangelicals will also perhaps question the way that Collins seems to have a somewhat ambiguous view towards the truth claims of other faiths, and can seem noncommittal on various aspects of bioethics (such as the point of the conception of life).

Overall I would recommend this as an interesting read from a scientific point of view (especially as an introduction to DNA), and also an introduction to the theistic evolutionary position (albeit without addressing the theology in sufficient depth). It may prove helpful to share with those who consider evolution to be a barrier to them exploring the Christian faith more seriously. It is a helpful contribution to an important debate, and one that has provoked me to read a little more on the subject, both from the same and competing viewpoints.

Book Review – Finally Alive (John Piper)

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Finally Alive is yet another recent publication from prolific pastor/author John Piper. Not only is he prolific, but passionate. In all his writing there is an intense seriousness and earnestness. Don’t expect a book of jokes to liven up your sermons from Piper any time soon!

In this book he seeks to explain the doctrine of the new birth, or regeneration. What does it mean to be born again? Piper notes that recent Barna research claims that born again Christians are not living any differently from the world. He takes issue with his use of the phrase “born again”. He contends that the New Testament has absolute certainty that the new birth radically changes people. If we are not changed, what evidence is there that we have new life? The book is broken into five major sections. I will summarise his argument briefly, before giving some concluding thoughts:

What is the new birth?

The new birth is God’s work, not ours. It is not the improvement of your old human nature, but the creation of a new human nature. You are still you, but new. The born again are born of “water and Spirit”, signifying the cleansing of the old, and the creation of the new. Because we are still ourselves, cleansing and forgiveness is necessary. But to be transformed, we must also become new.

Why must we be born again?

In short we were dead, spiritually lifeless. This means we love darkness and hate light, we are hard-hearted, cannot submit to God or accept the gospel, we are slaves to sin and slaves of Satan. Repentance is necessary, through which we are awakened to see the ugliness and danger of sin, and the beauty and worth of Christ. In the new birth, we become alive – our faith is awakened, we are justified, we become legal heirs and spiritual children, we love others and enjoy eternal fellowship with God. Because of the new birth, our final perfection is secured. The new birth produces the fight for purity.

How does the new birth come about?

We can’t make it happen – we need the sovereign grace of God. The new birth will happen to all creation, not just to human beings. Our activity in the new birth is faith in Christ, but it is God’s prior act of begetting that causes our believing. We come to faith through hearing and believing intelligible good news.

What are the effects of the new birth?

The book of 1 John gives many evidences of the new birth. We are not perfect, but we walk in the light. The commands of God are not burdensome to us, because we find obedience to them desirable. We overcome the world and this enables us to love God and others. The new birth sets us free from the practise of sinning. For the Christian, we should not allow the presence of ongoing sin to allow us to drift either into complacency or despair. If we are born again, we will love others with the love of God, because love is the nature of God, and our new nature too is to love.

How can we help others be born again?

It is God who opens blind eyes, but he sends us to tell people the gospel. However capable or inadequate we feel for this task, we must remember we are simply jars of clay, the treasure is the gospel. Several practical tips for evangelism are given, including the suggestion of giving away books.

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In terms of structure, this is a well put together book. The chapters are short, and broken nicely shorter sections of a few paragraphs with headings. He repeatedly summarises the argument so far and the direction he is going in. All this makes it very accessible even to those who want to read it in just five minute chunks.

As for its message, arguably there could be no more important doctrine for us to understand. It is full of Scripture, and the arguments are plainly presented. The conclusions he draws are hard to argue with, as they so plainly follow from the verses quoted. He makes extensive use of the gospel of John and 1 John.

I hope the legacy of this book will be a clearer understanding of the nature of the new birth. He also tackles the very important issue of how a Christian’s behaviour relates to the new birth. I believe he draws a biblical line of insisting that salvation is all of sovereign grace, that Christians are not yet perfect, but that there will always be evidence of the transforming work of the Spirit in the new birth, because the new birth is a reality, not merely a concept.