Small Faith, Great God

I know there is a lot of debate that has gone on in the Evangelical world about NT Wright and his theology, especially when it comes to Justification, but I must say, this man's brain is amazing. His thoughts on God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are deep and profound and I enjoy reading his writing, even if I don't agree with all of his thougths on Justification.


  This book, which is a second edition from his work done in the 70's is just as impactful as his other works. Small Faith, Great God is a collection of sermons based on faith and the great God who inspires our faith. It may be a short book, but that in no way negates its powerful message.

  Section one of the book is called: "Faith in a Great God", where NT expounds on God's greatness from both the Old and New Testaments, reminding the reader that we can have faith in God, because He alone is Great, Wonderful and trustworthy. NT does a great job of making this huge concept of God and His Greatness smaller and more understandable.

  Section two of the book is called "Faith to Live and Love" which is a discussion on how our faith should change the way we live and how we love others. Our faith shouldn't be something we simply talk about, but something we fully live out. One of the best ways to see the fruit of our faith is in how we love others and love the lost. NT has great illustrious stories that hit this point well, both from his life and from the Scripture, making the reader step back and ask if the faith they claim to have is really changing the way they live and love.

  Section three is called "Faith to Walk in the Dark" which is a dialogue about how even when things seem out of wack, we can rely on God in the dark times as well as the good times. God is a promise keeper, not a promise breaker so if he vows to guard and prtect us, he will do just that and we can lay back fully secure in his arms, even when life seems to be telling a different story than that of security.

  As I said before and have said several times even before that: I enjoy reading NT Wright's works. God has gifted him with a great ability to preach, teach and tell stories and his ability to see Scripture and translate it to everyday understanding is incredible. I think this is a great book to read and encourage any believer about their faith, because even if our faith is small, our God is Great. God fills all our lackings with himself and is our All in All.


  Being reminded how Big our God is was very encouraging to me. It was an excellent reminder that my God can and will handle everything. I get so stuck on what can I do, or how can I help myself get out of this or that mess and I neglect to rest in the arms of my God who so desperately desires me to trust him. I find myself relying on my own fallibility and forgetting how Big and infallible my God is.



Our God is BIG and GREAT! Let us rejoice in his Goodness!

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Knowing God- A Review

I recently read the book Knowing God by J.I. Packer and I must say, I am blown away.  It's pretty sad for me to say this, but I never heard of Knowing God until I recently looked in the IVP (InterVarsity Press) catalog.  I actually thought it was a newer book when I asked to read it for a review...but it's not.

  The original was written by Packer back in the 70's and was re-done in 1993 but even though there is a gap of 17 years to now and more so for the original, the content was powerful!  J.I. makes great efforts into making God personal and known.  He teaches theology as well as application to said theology int he pages of this book.  His writing style is easy to read and he is gifted at penetrating the issue he desires to bring to the reader.

  His basis for writing thie book was clear on page 23 when he said: "Our aim in studying the Godhead must be to know God himself better. Our concern must be to enlarge our acquintance, not simply with doctrine of God's attributes, but with the living God whose attributes they are".

  J.I. reminds us that we can easily succomb to knowledge about God and lose sight of Knowing God for himself.  This book goes to not only the doctrinal level of understanding but shows the personal nature of God throughout this learning.  He breaks the book into 3 parts; 1. Know the Lord; 2. Behold Your God; 3. If God Be For Us.  Each one has a distict feel to it and makes sense into the whole idea of Knowing God.  The first is the encouragment of getting away from the sunple knowing about and actually getting to know God himself.  The second portion displays who God is in thought as well as in personally to our lives.  The third part of the book shares how deeply our sin has effected our relationship to God and how painstakingly God has set out to make this right byt sending Jesus.

  I greatly appreciate J.I. for this work and believe that this will be one of the books I hand out to teens who are hungry for knowledge of God, not just about God.  It is a deeply personal book and I highly reccomend reading it for any believer!

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Justification- A Review

Many of the pastors I read/listen to over the years have taken umbrage with the way in which N.T. Wright views and teaches Justification.  One such pastor: John Piper went as far as writing a book titled: The Future of Justification: A Response to N.T. Wright (Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 2007) where he takes a part N.T.'s view on Justification.

  This book by N.T. Wright is the rebuttal to the argument as presented by Piper. The first 53 pages of this book is the sum of the debate between the two and why N.T. felt compelled to write a response.

  After laying down the "Rules of Engagement" as N.T. titled it, he begins to share his position by starting with Israel, and going forth from there.  N.T. believes that to fully and Biblically exegete the doctrine of Justification, one must go back to the source of the discussion, which is of course the Old Testament.

  N.T. lays down thickly his views on the importance of the old covenant and how it wraps into the new covenant all the while reminding the reader that Israel still has an important role in this whole realm of Christendom.  He then moves effortlessly into his treatise of Justification.

  There are two main issues in N.T.'s mind where most of the Reformed pastors and Theologians have gone awry with the Doctrine of Justification.  One is the forgetfulness of the covenant context, in which God calls the people of Israel to bless all people...which they (in N.T.'s mind have yet to do) and the other is the imputation of the righteousness of Christ.  N.T. doesn't believe in the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the believer, he believes that the doctrine of Justification is a the right standing only of the believer and the Righteousness in which we will receive comes later (as in death, not in life).

  This then is the main point of contention in my estimation of this whole argument.  The imputation of Christ's Righteousness unto the believer at salvation has been a long standing view of the church as it pertains to the doctrine of Justification.  Piper believes firmly (as do I) that when we are saved, we are regenerated (2 Cor. 5:17) in which we become completely new.  He also believes (again, as do I) that part of this process is in fact the imputation of Christ's righteousness unto the believer, not only making the believer a person in right standing with God, but a person possessing the full Righteousness of Christ.  1 John 1:9 says that “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”.  This then would suggest that if all UN-righteousness is gone, it must be replaced with its opposite, which is righteousness.  This verse sadly is completely ignored by N.T. Wright in a book about Justification that is refuting the truth of the imputation of Christ, I would've loved for him to wrestle with this verse at least for a page to flesh out how he can justify his beliefs of it's meaning.

  After N.T. fleshes out his beliefs on Justification, he then takes the most popular portions of Scripture on the doctrine of Justification and exegetes them to show why he in fact believes the way he does.  I love his exegesis and enjoy his writing.  I, through reading this have gained vast amounts of knowledge on the Pauline Epistles and their discussion on both covenant theology and justification.  I think N.T. ignored the 1 John passage and others because he wanted to be strictly Pauline in his approach to his rebuttal, which I commend, but also wish he would have explained his thoughts on those other verses.

  Alas, just as with any author one must take what they can learn and chuck the things they disagree with.  This is not to say that I am not wrestling with the evidence in which N.T. brought forth, because to do so would be foolish, but it is to say that if we try to take all the views our heroes take (because I think N.T. has done GREAT work) we would be confused people.  God has given us our own minds to wrestle with things and come to our own conclusions with.  I agree with N.T. on most of his views on the issue of Israel and their place in Christendom, but I can not agree with his argument against the imputation of Christ's righteousness to the believer.

  I deeply enjoyed this work and loved being challenged on my own views and thoughts.  His exegesis of the Scriptures is definitely top notch and very thought provoking.  If you are a pastor, lay leader or someone interested in doctrine, I recommend this book very highly.  If you are not one of those people, this book would be boring to you and make little sense, but you are welcome to join in the conversation!

  Awhile back, I wrote a whole blog on the doctrine of justification, check it out as well:  Justification

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Wired for Intimacy

  It's no secret that our society is saturated by pornography nor is it a secret that the main audience for porn is men.  In his book: Wired for Intimacy William Struthers delves into the deep corners of the male mind and explains how porn effects the male brain and why it has such a grip on men.

  InterVarsity Press has allowed me to review this book and I'm glad I got this chance because it was a very good read.  Struthers takes a difficult task: understanding the male brain on pron; and makes it simple to understand.  Although he is a genius and a true student of the mind he doesn't bog this work down with medical jargon simply to make himself sound smart.  Struthers makes this book accessible to the mass population and allows the reader to easily connect to the content.

  For me personally the first half of the book is what struck me the hardest because Struthers talks in the first half about: society being saturated by porn; how porn corrupts (NOT helps) intimacy; the consequences of porn and the male brain on porn.

  These chapters are filled with stats and quotes that caused me to keep my highlighter in my hand the whole time I was reading it.  I was less struck by the second half of the book (and if I'm completely honest a bit disappointed by it). I think this is because there were bits and pieces of practical advice as to how to stop looking at porn but not much.  It was in the last chapter of the book, but it felt like a side note. 

  The reader is struck hard by all the content of the first chapter and shown how negative porn really is to a man, but is left with little to no assistance in how to get free from the constant attention porn desires to have on the male life.  I'm no fool thinking that it will stop being a temptation for us, but I would've like some more "how to's" after hearing how bad it is for me.

  OK, little negative sermon over.  The first half of the book really did blow me away and gave me some great insight into my own mind and the mind of men everywhere.  I know I can utilize this information to really help me understand the teens I work with and I believe I can use the information given to learn how to better help these young boys through their struggle with porn.

  I think my favorite quote in the whole book comes in chapter 2: The Corruption of Intimacy on page 59.  Here Struthers says: "Each time a man views pornography he impairs the ability of the Holy Spirit to direct him towards sanctification, and he slips further into depravity (1 Thess 5:19).  The more a man views pornography, the less likely he will be inclined to seek out God and live a life of holiness."  I've seen this true time and time again in the lives of men who struggle with porn...they just stop wanting Jesus.  It's like Jesus said: "No one can serve two masters." (Matthew 6:24)  Granted Jesus was talking about money but I think the principle applies to anything we try to serve above and over Christ.
 
  Another great quote comes in the 3rd chapter where Struthers says: "Porn is a whispered promise.  It promises more sex, better sex, endless sex, sex on demand, more intense orgasms, experiences of transcendence.  Time spent with porn prevents the user from engaging in real relationships with real people who can better meet their needs." (Pg. 69)  This is another sad reality of those who struggle with porn...they start ignoring people and married men ignore their wives and don't have sex with their wives so they can view porn...it just seems ludicrous...but that is the power that this demonic thing called porn has.

  Lastly, Struthers shares how viewing porn opens up neurological pathways to the brain and the more people view porn, the more this highway of pathways opens up.  It gets wider and wider, causing the pathway to transcend the secret of a room into the reality of real life where men can't really stay in reality.  Struthers says: "As men fall deeper into the mental habit of fixating on these images, the exposure to them creates neural pathways.  Like a paths is created in the woods with each successive hiker, so do the neural paths set the course for the next time an erotic image is viewed.  Over time these neural paths become wider as they are repeatedly traveled with each exposure to pornography.  They become the automatic pathway through which interactions with women are routed." (Pg. 85)  That idea scares me, especially with teenage boys who already struggle to keep their actions in check.

  All in all this book is an educational read and well worth the time.  I still struggle with the second half of the book and wished there was more.  However, the first half of the book was well worth the entire book and is well worth the price of the book itself.

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Jonathan Edwards- A Book Review

  InterVarsity Press has been generous enough to give me 5 books to review for the summer and this is the second one I've read.  I was lucky enough to choose my books, so it may seem as you read these reviews that they are all pretty positive.  I wasn't paid to like these books, but I did choose books I was pretty sure I would like.

  Being a follower of Mark Driscoll and other reformed pastors, I've been excited to read and hear about some of the old reformers and that is why I chose this book.

  Doug Sweeney in this book basically takes himself completely out of the picture and paints the picture of Jonathan Edwards' life wonderfully.  I knew next to nothing about this great American Pastor, Theologian and Christian thinker until I read this book, so all the content was fresh and brand new to me.

  As I read, I noticed myself feeling the same burning passions that Edwards himself felt; his life was and is contagious.  His desire for the Word of God and the Spirit of God are like a burning disease that his life seems to endlessly spread to those who are close enough to him.  I feel like this book brought the proximity close enough to be excited, not about Edwards, but the God Edwards served.

  Like I said before, I knew next to nothing about Edwards' life, so I knew very little of what he actually taught and wrote, but Doug tied each piece of Edwards writing directly into the narrative of Jonathan's life.  I was able to see the literary growth of Edwards and I now have a deep desire to go out and read the mans books because I have a background solid enough to know what the books are about and where in the life of Edwards they landed.

  Seeing the passion Edwards had for God, as well as his warts made him real to me.  This biography reminded me of my favorite biography of all time: A Passion for God- The Biography of A.W. Tozer and brought me to the same place as that book: desiring God more than I did before.  When a man's life points ever upward, you know he lived his life well and in a manner worthy of his calling!  I didn't desire to be Edwards, I simply desired to posses the same passion that he had for the living God!

 Mark Dever who is the senior pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church summed this book up perfectly when he says: "Doug Sweeney has written a fine introduction to Jonathan Edwards' life and theology.  Accessible and accurate, this introduction is a good place to start in trying to understand Edwards as a man, a Christian, a theologian and a pastor." (Taken from the back jacket)

  It is 200 pages exactly but it is rich and meaty, giving the best of edwards' life and like I said before a great taste-test of the man himself making you to desire more for this great man.

  At the end of the book Doug did something different than most biographical books out there; he wrote up 7 Theses for discussion based off of Edwards' life.  I will write them out below because seeing these may just push you over that edge and make you want to get this book for yourself.

"Thesis #1: Edwards shows us the importance of working to help people gain a vivid sense, an urgent impression, of God's activity in our world

Thesis #2: Edwards shows us that true religion is primarily a matter of holy affections

Thesis #3: Edwards shows us the advantage of keeping an eschatological perspective on our lives

Thesis #4: Edwards shows us how God uses those who lose their lives for Christ

Thesis #5: Edwards shows us that theology can and should be done primarily in the church, by pastors, for the sake of the people of God

Thesis #6: Edwards shows us that even the strongest Christians need support from others

Thesis #7:  Edwards shows us the necessity of remaining in God's Word" (Sweeney, pgs. 197-199)

   I loved this addition to the biography because it gave the reader 7 very applicable take-aways from the life and ministry of Jonathan Edwards.  I am extremely grateful to IVP for letting me review this book. I strongly recommend this read to anyone and everyone.  It reaches a wide audience and I am sure it will spark a desire within most readers to go out and read more of Edwards' work for themselves!

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Evil and the Justice of God

  N.T. Wright is easily one of the most prolific and articulate Theologians and writers we have today.  He has taken on huge tasks both for preaching and for writing and has made those tasks seem easy to understand. N.T. Wright has a passion for the Risen Christ and making that Christ known.  This book is no different in it's depth, breadth and understandability.

  Evil and the Justice of God takes on the huge question of "What is evil?" as well as "What's God's response to Evil?"  Through this book, Wright takes simply 5 chapters to exegete these theological questions as well as their implications.  Although it is a small number of chapters, don't be fooled.  It is deep, explanatory as well as rich in content.

  I will briefly summarize each chapter so you can get a taste of this book and want more, because it is that good.

  Chapter 1- Evil is Still a Four-Letter Word- Wright defines out that evil is still among us, despite the attempts to fool us into thinking it is not. He says: "...people still continue to this day to suppose that the world is basically a good place and that its problems are more or less soluble by technology, education, "development" in the sense of "Westernization,: and the application, to more and more regions, of Western democracy-and, according to taste, of either Western social-democratic ideals or Western capitalism, or indeed a mixture of both"  Thinking that these certain things can be the "hero" that fights evil is simply looking for a Saviour in the wrong place.   He then concludes this idea with this: "The big question of our time I have argued, can be understood in terms of how we address and live with the fact of evil in our world."  Evil is among us, we can see it, we get hit with the effects of it and it is hard to deal with an understand.  How will we live having this knowledge?  Can we ignore it and live our lives in purposeful ignorance so we don't need to do anything?  This, says Wright is the challenge.

Chapter 2- What Can God Do About Evil?- Here, Wright undertakes a quick overview of the entire Old Testament to show how God dealt with evil then, and how God began to unveil His ultimate plan of crushing evil altogether. Wright says of the Old Testament: "It's written to tell the story of what God has done, is doing and will do about evil."  Throughout the entire OT, we see evil people oppressing the Israelites and God coming to their defense by crushing the evil pagans who would stand against the Israelites, but Wright reminds us that laced within the whole of the OT is a story of evil that is much deeper than an "us" vs. "them".  We have within ourselves this evil that must be crushed, it's not merely those "against us".  Wright also shows with great skill how in fact the Old Testament sheds light on God's ultimate goal for evil, and God's ultimate plan for dealing with it.

Chapter 3- Evil and the Crucified God- This, the crescendo of the entire book and Wright's answer to how God will deal with it is amazing.  I noticed that Wright, having used 5 chapters, placed this (the most important chapter) dead center...with 2 chapters before it and 2 chapters after it.  I don't think this was a mistake, Wright wants the reader to understand that this is the crux, the center of this entire idea of evil and God's justice.  You can't ask the question about evil and the justice of God without talking about the crucifixion. N.T. says: "...the story the Gospels are trying to tell us is the story of how the death of Jesus is the point at which evil in all its forms has come rushing together.  Jesus' death is the result both of the major political evil in the world...and of the dark, accusing forces which stand behind those human and societal structures, forces which accuse creation itself of being evil, and so try to destroy it while its Creator is longing to redeem it."  God's ultimate goal is to redeem this fallen world and he does this through the cross!  He goes into much more detail that you have to read.  This chapter alone is worth the read;  because it is so rich with content.

Chapter 4- Imagine There's No Evil- These next two chapters, I will summarize more quickly.  This was simply a chapter getting the picture in their head of a world without the evil that is so prevalent today.  Wright defines out the Biblical understanding of the new world and how it applies to us today.  It was a chapter of looking at how all of creation corporately will be redeemed in the end and how evil will be broken.

Chapter 5- Deliver Us From Evil- This chapter surrounded the individual.  How do we personally deal with evil?  How does it effect our lives?  Wright says that through forgiveness, all these things can be wiped away.  In fact, to quote him, he says: "When we understand forgiveness, flowing from the work of Jesus and the Spirit, as the strange, powerful thing it really is, we begin to realize that God's forgiveness of us, and our forgiveness of others, is the knife that cuts the rope by which sin, anger, fear, recrimination and death are still attached to us."

  This is a great book and a poignant read during these evil days.  N.T. Wright has much to say about evil, God's plan to deal with it and Jesus' defeat of it.  I enjoy how readable this book is, yet without diminishing the deep quality of the thoughts presented.  I hope to be able to somehow transform this book into a series for my teens...it's just that good!

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