Apr
22
Exegesis and lovers
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Exegesis is what I do. I bring the text of Scripture to bear upon my life and upon the lives of others. A dictionary definition of exegesis looks something like this:
explanation, critical analysis, or interpretation of a word, literary passage, etc., esp. of the Bible
I strongly prefer Eugene Peterson’s definition from Eat This Book:
Exegesis is the furthest thing from pedantry; exegesis is an act of love. It loves the one who speaks the words enough to want to get the words right. It respects the words enough to use every means we have to get the words right. Exegesis is loving God enough to stop and listen carefully to what he says. It follows that we bring the leisure and attentiveness of lovers to this text, cherishing every comma and semicolon, relishing the oddness of this preposition, delighting in the surprising placement of this noun. Lovers don’t take a quick look, get a “message” or a “meaning,” and then run off and talk endlessly with their friends about how they feel.
I love the title Eat This Book. My children, unaware of the allusion to Ezekiel 3 and Revelation 10, look at me quizzically as I read it, with a look that says, “If you decide to do what the title says, I want to be there to watch.”
Oct
18
Book review: The Dawkins Letters
Filed Under Apologetics, Books, Culture, Current Events, Evangelism, Reading, Resources | Leave a Comment
After spending days sifting through all the kind comments from my birthday last week, it’s time to get back to blogging…today a book review:
There is a resurgent, muscular, in-your-face brand of atheism running about these days, especially evident on the bookshelves and best-sellers lists, where one can find Christopher Hitchens’ God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, Sam Harris’ The End of Faith and Letter to a Christian Nation, and Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon by Daniel C. Bennett. But the ideological alpha male amongst today’s atheist authors is Richard Dawkins, whose book The God Delusion has enjoyed a lengthy stay on the New York Times’ Bestsellers List.
Now perhaps you’re not dealing with aggressive atheists in your life right now. I must admit that Kosciusko is no hotbed of such ideas (In fact, at a county ministerial association meeting earlier this week, I discovered that no one at the meeting had even heard of any of the aforementioned books!) . Having said that, let me recommend a short book (125 pages in pocket-sized paperback) that lets you in on the discussion with intelligent, thoughtful Christian responses to the atheistic arguments (specifically interacting with Dawkins’ The God Delusion): David Robertson’s The Dawkins Letters: Challenging Atheist Myths (Ross-shire: Christian Focus, 2007).
David Robertson is minister of St. Peter’s Free Church, Dundee, Scotland (the same church Robert Murray M’Cheyne pastored in the 19th century). Robertson read The God Delusion and then decided to post an open letter to Richard Dawkins on the St. Peter’s website. Soon Robertson’s letter found its way onto Dawkins’ own website, where it elicited an enormous amount of response. As a result, Robertson expanded his critique into the ten letters which compose The Dawkins Letters.
Each of the ten letters addresses a myth that forms the basis for Dawkins’ appeals. What makes Dawkins’ arguments especially contemptible is that these myths (such as the “cruel” Old Testament God, the inherent evil of religion, the immoral Bible, the conflict between science and religion, higher consciousness among atheists) are presented under the guise of science, rationalism and empirical study. What is presented as reason is actually an appeal to anti-religious prejudice. Again and again Robertson points out the contradictions and hypocrisy evident in the atheists’ claims. Particularly strong is his response to Dawkins’ accusation that the religious education of children is a form of child abuse more harmful than the sexual abuse of children.
The final chapter in the book is a wonderful, serious, and warm-hearted explanation of why he believes that Christianity is true and why you should believe. Reading The Dawkins Letters will open your mind to some current issues and equip you to answer challenges without fear or embarrassment.
You can view a ten-minute video Robertson has produced which summarizes his point of view here.
Oct
11
Title: The Gospel and Personal Evangelism
Author: Mark Dever
Forward by: CJ Mahaney
Publisher: Crossway
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 124
Audience: This book is a great resource for laymen of all theological reading levels. There is an appendix especially intended for encouraging pastors.
Mark Dever has written an excellent resource for personal evangelism. I bought this book having heard of Dever’s particular passion for personal evangelism. I was not disappointed. On the other hand, I was a little surprised. My perception of Dever is that of a pastor-scholar excelling at theological argumentation and biblical exegesis. Yet the power of this book is not in it’s scholarship or argumentation. Its peculiar strength comes from how personal, practical, and honest it is written.
Dever fills this book with stories of evangelistic successes and failures. Some of these stories are from Christian history and some are from his own life. He avoids complex theological terminology making this book readily accessible to layman and pastor alike. What is so disarming about the book is how frequently he inserts his own reflections on personal evangelism and even on writing a book about evangelism. At one point he breaks in mid paragraph to write:
“And just to drive this home, as I’ve been writing this, a non-Christian friend called and wanted to talk to me. We chatted for about thirty minutes, the whole time during which I was impatient to get back to writing this book on evangelism! Aargh! Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this wretched body of indifference? If we would evangelize more, we must love people more.”
When you add together the simple vocabulary, rich stories, personal reflection, and short chapters you get a book that is incredibly easy to read in a single sitting yet profound enough to stick with you for years to come.
This books is also, of course, profoundly Christ-centered. Each chapter repeatedly brings the reader’s attention back to consider the magnificence of the cross of Christ. Why should we evangelize? Consider Christ. What should we say when we evangelize? Consider Christ. What should we do if the response is less than positive? Consider Christ. What is the end goal of evangelism? Christ, Christ, Christ. It is a joy to read this book and join in Dever in his praise for the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ.
You will also find in this book helpful discussion on the relationship of God’s sovereignty and personal evangelism. Dever is very concerned to place personal evangelism soundly within the frame of God’s sovereign power in salvation. He does not want people to evangelize out of guilt. He does not want people to rely on their own sales tactics to bring the lost to Jesus. He wants the church to find tremendous encouragement and power in the truth of God’s sovereignty as it related to personal evangelism.
Another aspect of this book which was particularly welcomed was the way Dever addressed common excuses for not evangelizing. He doesn’t pull punches. He doesn’t excuse excuses. In multiple places he completelyannihilates the kind of thinking that leads Christians to live lives of un-evangelism. He leaves no other option to the reader but to say along with him, “It is the responsibility of every Christian to be involved in personal evangelism.”
Lastly, you will find this book very practical. Many of the chapters provide numbered lists of things to do as you prepare in, participate in, and follow up personal evangelism. Dever avoids the pitfall of pretending to provide a flawless step-by-step plan for cookie-cutter evangelism. Instead he provides biblical and practical help for growing in your desire for and skill in personal evangelism.
I highly recommend this book. I also suggest you purchase it and read it as I did. I realized my sinful habit to read about doing personal evangelism rather than actually doing it. I was therefore reluctant to buy this book for fear I would feed my own laziness in personal evangelism. In the end I bought the book but only with this caveat: “I will not read this book without allowing Mark Dever to be my teacher. I refuse to read this book without doing what Jesus calls me to.” To this end I purchased it and it is my prayer that the Lord will bless my further frail attempts at seeking to lead the lost to Christ.
Choice Quotes:
“First, and most basically, there is a certain balance that we want to strive for in our evangelism, a balance of honesty and urgency and joy.”
“Like a collector buying up a collection, we should desire to capture each fleeting hour and to turn it into a trophy for God and his grace.”
“The Bible presents the human problem as one that can never be solved by coercive force or imposition. Therefore, all I can do is present the good news accurately, live a life of love toward unbelievers, and pray for God to convict them of their sins and give them the gifts of repentance and faith.”
Choice Authors Quoted: Calvin, Ryle, Stott, Bunyan, Lloyd-Jones, Spurgeon, Flavel, Augustine
Table of Contents:
- Foreword
- Introduction: An Amazing Story
- 1 Why Don’t We Evangelize?
- 2 What is the Gospel?
- 3 Who Should Evangelize?
- 4 How Should We Evangelize?
- 5 What Isn’t Evangelism?
- 6 What Should We Do After We Evangelize?
- 7 Why Should We Evangelize?
- Conclusion: Closing the Sale
- Recommended Reading
- Appendix: A Word to Pastors
- Notes
Other books I recommend on evangelism:
Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God
Tell the Truth
The Art of Manfishing
Words to Winners of Souls
Sep
28
Don’t Read This Book
Filed Under Books, Christian Living | Leave a Comment
I just returned from vacation. I usually put a little bit of thought into what book I’m going to bring on vacation. This time I was trying to decide between finishing up Sin and Temptation by John Owen (ed. Taylor and Kapic) and beginning The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment by Jeremiah Burroughs. I figured that Sin and Temptation would be pretty heavy reading for vacation and I would rather have something more light and encouraging. Boy was I wrong.
I should have learned my lesson in college. I was a Chemistry major. When picking classes I learned early to take as few classes as possible that had required laboratory hours. For those English nerds majors out there, the lab work was in addition to the class work and usually entailed three to four hours in a lab followed by five to ten hours of producing a lab report. I hated labs almost as much as producing lab reports. That is probably one of the reasons I’m a pastor now and not a Chemist.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered on vacation that in the divine course registry of God, right beside The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, stood the words laboratory hours required. From the minute I read Burrough’s first page, I found myself in the school of Christ, the laboratory of God. I would close the book and immediately I was thrust into some new situation to test whether or not I was finding my contentment in Christ.
How did I do in this course? I failed miserably. I discovered, to my horror, that I am one of the least content people I know. This really was a significant shock. I mean, I read the Puritans, listen to John Piper sermons, and love the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. I’m a minister! Of course I’m content in Christ. Nope, nope, and double nope.
What I am content with is my sin, my circumstances when they are comfortable, worldly joys, earthly pleasures, a Saturday when UVA wins a football game, and krispy kreme donuts.
Enter the gracious and sovereign hand of God into my vacation.
At each turn I found God ordained frustrations. I was frustrated at the long drive. I was frustrated when my children didn’t do what I wanted them to do. I was frustrated with bug bites. I was frustrated with sleeping in a bed that was not my own. I was frustrated when I the mini-van I was driving was rear-ended on my last day of vacation.
Each of those frustrations was a lesson in the school of Christ. Each of those frustrations challenged me to consider where I found my joy. Though I detested them at the moment, I now count each of those frustrations precious.
The reason I count them precious is because they brought my wife and me to the realization that we were living a life that staked its hope on future pleasant circumstances. We’d be happy when we arrived. We’d be happy when the major driving was done. We’d be happy when our boys adjusted to the new environment. We’d be happy when we got home. At each of those moments what I was really saying to God was, “God, what you’ve given me right now really isn’t that great but I have high hopes you’ll get it right in the near future. I’m not content with what I have but I might be content if you give me better.”
What a bratty child I am to my heavenly Father. What a denier of God’s sovereign grace I am. What a snubber of God’s love I am. What a rebellious son I am to my ring bearing, fattened calf killing God.
After this sweet prick of the heart, what my wife and I began to say to each other way, “This is as good as it gets.” It wasn’t a phrase stolen from a movie. It wasn’t even a resignation to difficult circumstances. It was our honest attempt to see whatever we were immediately experiencing as the exact blessing that we needed at that moment directly delivered from the infinitely loving hands of God. This was the first lesson that I learned about Christian contentment. Contentment is not found in favorable circumstances. Rather contentment is knowing that in any circumstance, God is most favorable toward me through his precious Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This only makes sense at the Cross. The doors of God’s ultimate, infinite, and immutable love were opened wide upon me, of all people. And every minute of my life, every experience, every motor vehicle collision, is the very sweetest gift from precious savior and exactly what I need.
So, at all costs, don’t read Burroughs’s book. Unless you’re one of those people who actually believes that the rare jewel is worth finding. God was pleased to shine some of its radiant facets on my soul last week. I remain forever grateful, humbled, and longing for more.
Father, make me content in Christ alone.
Sep
24
Book Review: Blame It on the Brain?
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Who needs a book that informs and equips people to minister biblically to people dealing with issues such as depression, dementia, alcoholism, Alzheimer’s disease, ADHD, and homosexuality? A better question is: Who doesn’t need such a book? We are blessed that such a book has been written: Blame It on the Brain? Distinguishing Chemical Imbalances, Brain Disorders, and Disobedience (P&R, 1998) by Dr. Edward T. Welch of Westminster Theological Seminary. Blame It on the Brain is part of the Resources for Changing Lives Series, published in cooperation with the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation of Glenside, Pennsylvania.
Welch’s book consists of two parts. In Part 1 he lays a biblical foundation for understanding brain-related problems. He begins by reaffirming the teaching of Scripture that we are a unity of material and immaterial substance–body and soul. In this discussion he also interacts briefly but helpfully with some of the history of Christian thought in this area. Welch sees four important emerging from his mind-body discussion: (1) The brain cannot make a person sin or keep a person from following Jesus in faith and obedience; (2) Each person’s abilities, including brain strengths and weaknesses, are unique and worthy of careful study; (3) Brain problems can expose heart problems; and (4) Sinful hearts can lead to physical illness, and upright hearts can lead to health.
In Part 2 Welch applies the aforementioned principles to common brain problems, such as diseases or damages which affect behavior, psychiatric problems, and behaviors that once were called sin but now are considered either sickness or normal. In these applications he seeks to provide the reader with a template for sympathetic counsel that distinguishes physical weaknesses from issues of the heart. He subdivides Part 2 into three sections: The Brain Did It, in which he examines dementia from Alzheimer’s disease and head injury, Maybe the Brain Did It, in which he explains principles relevant to psychiatric diagnoses such as depression and attention deficit disorder (ADD or ADHD), and The Brain Didn’t Do It, in which he focuses on homosexuality and alcoholism as behaviors that have long been considered sinful but recently have been reclassified as either normal (homosexuality) or the result of disease (alcoholism and many other addictions).
Welch provides a great deal of helpful information regarding the science of brain injury, as well as the still murky science of depression and psychiatric disorders. In cases of the latter, Welch argues that “it is neither sinful nor a sign of spiritual weakness to take medication [to treat depressive symptoms]“[126]. He points out, however, that there is no evidence that such medications treat specific chemical deficiencies that cause depression in people. Further, counsel fed and led by Scripture will help a person to distinguish between physical and spiritual symptoms and then address heart issues and personal suffering in light of the Gospel.
The Sweet Dropper considers this book essential reading for pastors and elders.
As a bonus here are the lyrics to the 1989 hit by the rightly-despised lip-synching duo Milli Vanilli, Blame It on the Rain (I know many of you have already been humming the tune while reading my review):
You said you didn’t need her
You told her good-bye (good-bye)
You sacrificed a good love
To satisfy your pride
Now you wished
That you should have her (have her)
And you feel like such a fool
You let her walk away
Now it just don’t feel the same
Gotta blame it on something
Gotta blame it on something
Blame it on the rain (rain)
Blame it on the stars (stars)
Whatever you do don’t put the blame on you
Blame it on the rain yeah yeah
You can blame it on the rain
Get
Ooh, ooh (ooh)
I can’t, I can’t. I can’t, can’t stand the rain
I can’t, I can’t. I can’t, can’t stand the rain
Yeah, yeah
Should’ve told her you were sorry (sorry) huh
Could have said you were wrong
But no you couldn’t do that. No, no
You had to prove you were strong ooh
If you hadn’t been so blinded (blinded)
She might still be there with you
You want her back again
But she just don’t feel the same
Gotta blame it on something
Gotta blame it on something
Blame it on the rain that was falling, falling
Blame it on the stars that did shine at night
Whatever you do don’t put the blame on you
Blame it on the rain yeah yeah
You can blame it on the rain
Cos the rain don’t mind
And the rain don’t care
You got to blame it on something
(Blame it on the rain)
(Blame it on the stars)
Whatever you do don’t put the blame on you
Blame it on the rain yeah, yeah
You can blame it on the rain
Girl
Sep
18
Book Review: Mighty Men
Filed Under Books, Christian Living, Family, Men, Reading | Leave a Comment
The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14: Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. John Crotts, pastor of Faith Bible Church in Sharpsburg, Georgia, has written a booklet aimed at spurring men on in that direction called Mighty Men: The Starter’s Guide to Leading Your Family [Sand Springs, OK: Grace & Truth Books, 2004].
In Mighty Men Crotts hopes to give men something of a kick in the pants, but also give them a set of basic tools to set about the work of demonstrating Christ-like love and solid spiritual leadership at home. He correctly identifies the idolatry of laziness and passivity that grips so many men for what it is–idolatry! He also groups with it the laziness of what he calls ‘the Dictator Dad’–the ‘me Tarzan, you Jane’ approach to headship, which some numbskulls (pardon my use of technical theological terms) confuse with biblical headship. Crotts also addresses with warmth and compassion what I call the intimidation factor of Christian leadership. He writes, “My assumption is that men are so overwhelmed by inflated expectations of spiritual leadership, they don’t even try to take responsibility for the spiritual well-being of their homes” [37]. Crotts encourages men to think of themselves as managers of their home, working under the sovereignty of the owner. He goes on to apply this in some very practical ways.
The strong points of Mighty Men include:
- It is a booklet–only about 40 pages long. In other words, it is short enough that a man might actually read it! Alas, this short attention span is the norm among the majority of our men, and we must pray and labor that God would cure them of this malady! But in the meantime, it’s good to accommodate teaching to the capacities of the hearers.
- He is simple and illustrative in the points he makes.
- He urges healthy Christian growth through the ordinary means of grace as the foundation for the development of Christian character.
- His advice about family worship and prayer/Bible reading with your wife is some of the best, most practical that I have read.
A booklet such as this one might be faulted for what it does not say, but that is not fair. He sets the matter squarely on the table and within reach of any man. Men must go deeper than Mighty Men will take them, but Crotts work is an excellent, succinct resource for men who need to put the shovel into the ground for the first time. It’s time to act like men.