by Darryl on March 9, 2010
I read a sermon yesterday by Spurgeon based on Matthew 26:67: “Then they spit in his face…” Spurgeon applied this passage, in part, to our theology of the cross. Specifically:
There are many, in those days, who seem as if they cannot be happy unless they are tearing the gospel to pieces. Especially is that divine mystery of the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ the mark for the arrows of the wise men, I mean those who are wise according to the wisdom of this world. We delight to know that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered in the room and place and stead of his people…
Yet I have read some horrible things which have been written against that blessed doctrine, and as I read them I could only say to myself, “Then did they spit in his face.” If there is anything that is beyond all else the glory of Christ, it is his atoning sacrifice; and if ever you thrust your finger into the very apple of his eye, and touch his honor in the tenderest possible point, it is when you have aught to say against his offering of himself a sacrifice unto God, without blemish and without spot, that he might put away the iniquities of his people. Wherefore judge yourselves in this matter, and if ye have…ever assailed his atoning sacrifice, it might truly have been said of you, “Then did they spit in his face.”
Wow.
Just a few reflections:
Some of the theological debates we’re seeing have been going on a long time. There’s nothing new going on here.
There really are different and complimentary perspectives on the atonement, but all have substitution at the core. I don’t think Spurgeon is saying you have to affirm penal substitution and deny all other models or perspectives on the atonement. As Tim Keller writes:
My prof at Gordon-Conwell, Roger Nicole, used to say that there were many perspectives on the atonement, but the one theme that ran through them all was substitution. Christus Victor, for example, means Jesus fought for us, in our place, we didn’t do it, he did it. And so ‘penal’ substitution is the perspective of the law court, and ‘ransom’ substitution is the perspective of the marketplace, and ‘Christus Victor’ substitution is the perspective of the battlefield, and ’sacrificial’ substitution is the perspective of the temple/tabernacle. They all get at it differently, but the one commonality is substitution. God came and substituted himself for us–so we could be saved from sin. Nicole wrote this up in a little afterword to his festschrift The Glory of the Atonement.
I think Spurgeon is right in seeing this as a crucial part of the gospel. I realize that his language is strong – but if the atonement is as central to the gospel as he argues, I think his conclusions follow.
Interesting in light of some of the discussions going on these days. Thoughts?
by Darryl on March 7, 2010
It all started with Anne Lamott. She wrote Traveling Mercies, and since then we’ve had quirky memoirs. For a while, Don Miller was called a male version of Lamott. Now we have Sarah Cunningham, whose former book was called Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation.
Does Cunningham have anything to offer in this crowded genre?
Absolutely. For one thing, great writing. I read a lot of books, and a very few are characterized by the quality of writing in this book. A few pages into this memoir and I relaxed. It’s the same feeling you get (I imagine) when you’re being chauffeured by someone who really knows how to drive. You can settle back in your seat and enjoy the view, knowing that you don’t have to worry about the driver. I felt that way with Picking Dandelions. Cunningham has what it takes to guide us to her intended destination. This book is a pleasure to read.
I also loved reading about her life. I could relate to her, which is, after all, the whole point of a memoir like this. She writes about her childhood conversion, something she can’t remember and that really didn’t have much in the way of understanding or faith. “In some ways,” she writes, “my conversion was probably as real and trusting as any decision I’ve ever made. While most interests from my childhood have come and gone, my allegiance to Jesus is still with me each new day.”
I too remember childhood prayer meetings and even church business meetings, and the quirky things that go through your head as a child, which probably aren’t that different from the quirky things that go through your head as an adult. I enjoyed reading about her growth, landing almost by accident at a college, and then as an earnest social activist on staff as a church. I could locate her Dear Church book in the story of her life. It was interesting to read of her efforts to coordinate a community response to the 9/11 attacks, and then to read of her transition to teaching high school in her community.
I also love her theme. She longs for Eden:
I fondly remember the intentions of Eden. I remember that God wanted humans to live in a setting that could be described as “good” and that the primary tasks he assigned to us were simply to care for our earth and thrive, to build families, and to flourish…I think the longing for Eden is one of the oldest and most normal yearnings humans experience.
Picking Dandelions is a story of change. Her stories and transitions are ordinary and yet “point to the extraordinariness of Eden growing up among the everyday weeds of our lives.”
I enjoyed this book. As I neared the end – despite the great writing – I found myself getting nervous, wondering how the theme was going to resolve. In a sense, it does. Cunningham learns something from her grandmother that gives her a picture of what her life is becoming.
But in another sense, the story is not over. This is perhaps appropriate, given Cunningham’s stage of life. While this book was being edited, she welcomed a son into her family. The story is very much continuing. I’m sure we’ll be reading more in the future.
I also found myself wanting to find the point. I did but I didn’t. I found myself wanting more. This could be my problem. Maybe I just need to enjoy the story. But if you’re looking for a theological treatise you won’t find it. But you will find a superbly written account of one person’s search for Eden so far, someone who loves Christ and is growing in her allegiance to him.
If you can relate to the search for Eden, and to getting glimpses of the extraordinary in the ordinary, or if you just like good writing, you’ll enjoy this book. But don’t expect a neat ending. Expect a journey that’s still very much continuing.
By the way, Ed Cyzewski has a good review. If you’re interested in learning more, check out some of the other reviews in the blog tour.
More from Amazon.com | SarahCunningham.org
This book was provided for review by Zondervan
by Darryl on March 5, 2010
For the life of me, I can’t remember why I agreed to review The 5 Love Languages. (I have an even stranger selection coming in a few weeks). Maybe it’s because it’s one of those books that you’re going to hear about in pastoral ministry. And, to be honest, it’s a concept that I’ve found useful when counseling some couples.
The idea is simple: people speak different love languages. As you may have guessed by the title, Gary Chapman identifies five of them: words of affirmation, quality time, receiving gifts, acts of service, and physical touch. The idea is to figure out your spouse’s love language – you can use the handy quiz at the back – and begin to communicate love to your spouse using his or her language rather than your own.
The languages come from personal observation rather than Biblical reflection or sociological study, but that’s okay. A lot of this book seems to follow Peter’s advice to husbands to “live with your wives in an understanding way” (1 Peter 3:7). It’s hard to argue with the idea that we should figure out what communicates love to our spouse, and act according to that knowledge.
Before I could review this book, my daughter snatched it and devoured it in a few hours. Later that day she asked me my love language. I told her that it’s acts of service. She began to do all kinds of acts of service for me over the next day or two. What a book!
Of course, it ended pretty quickly – a good reminder that the problem in relationships often isn’t knowing what to do. The problem goes a lot deeper, right to the heart. But, when the problem is ignorance, this book will be a big help.
So here are my criticisms: This is a book that could have been a long article without losing much. It promises “the secret to love that lasts,” which is typical marketing nonsense (although similar promises are made in the book). It is simply not the panacea for all that ails us in our love lives. And I’m afraid that it might imply that love is primarily about romantic feelings, which is an idea that’s more dangerous to marriages than many of the mistakes this book aims to correct. I don’t think Chapman wants to communicate this, but I wish he had been more careful.
I also don’t like when a good idea becomes an excuse to pump out product after product.
So, in summary, this should have been an article, not a book or series of books. It over-promises. It’s misleading when it comes to the definition of love. And it doesn’t really deal with the core issues of the heart. But it does provide some good advice if you have a hard time knowing how to communicate love to your spouse.
If you think I’m being hard, you should read David Powlison’s review (in PDF).
Available now at your favorite bookseller
More from Amazon.com | 5LoveLanguages.com
This book was provided for review by Graf Martin
by Darryl on March 4, 2010
Maybe you, like me, can relate to what Chris Tomlinson writes:
I have always loved God and enjoyed learning about the Bible…But this was the sum total of my Christian faith: reading my Bible, going to church, staying out of trouble, and going on mission trips. It sounds like a good upbringing, and it was, but I didn’t have anything that came close to a life filled with an all-consuming desire for God.
Tomlinson has written a book out of his frustration with his own heart. He finds God, but then walks away. He believes he has the world’s greatest information – the gospel – but rarely tells anyone about it. He believes in a relationship with God but finds prayer difficult.
If you’ve ever been dissatisfied with the disconnect between what you believe to be true, and how you live, then I think you’ll relate to this book. Tomlinson writes with brutal honesty about his struggles and even his attempts to overcome his weaknesses. He disarms you with his honesty, and I found myself enjoying his sometimes quirky stories.
But he’s sneaky. Just when you’re enjoying a story, you discover that he’s delivered a payload of truth into your heart without you even realizing it. There’s theological depth in this book, but Tomlinson sneaks it all in through the back door. It’s a technique that Jesus used, and we probably need to use a lot more.
Crave is really a book that explores our need for more of God from a right-brained perspective. If you are linear and logical, you may find this book a stretch. But if you are creative, or willing to be stretched in how you think of some key issues, I think you’ll find this book helpful.
Tomlinson’s quest for more of God leads somewhere. He learns from his foibles and discovers some profound and counter-intuitive truths about the Christian life.
“I’m grateful you’ve joined me on this journey,” Tomlinson writes, “but to tell you the truth, the journey has just begun.” The journey to more of God is one that we all need, and I appreciate Tomlinson’s help in showing us the way to satisfy our deepest cravings with God.
More from Amazon.com | Harvest House | CraveSomethingMore.com
This book was provided for review by Harvest House Publishers.
by Darryl on March 1, 2010
I love this quote from George Whitefield:
Before you can speak peace to your hearts, you must not only be troubled for the sins of your life, the sin of your nature, but likewise for the sins of your best duties and performances. When a poor soul is somewhat awakened by the terrors of the Lord, then the poor creature, being born under the covenant of works, flies directly to a covenant of works again. And as Adam and Eve hid themselves among the trees of the garden, and sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness, so the poor sinner, when awakened, flies to his duties and to his performances, to hide himself from God, and goes to patch up a righteousness of his own…
But before you can speak peace to your heart, you must be brought to see that God may damn you for the best prayer you ever put up; you must be brought to see that all your duties – all your righteousness – as the prophet elegantly expresses it – put them all together, are so far from recommending you to God, are so far from being any motive and inducement to God to have mercy on your poor soul, that he will see them to be filthy rags…
I do not know what you may think, but I can say that I cannot pray but I sin. I cannot preach to you or any others but I sin. I can do nothing without sin; and, as one expresses it, my repentance wants to be repented of, and my tears to be washed in the precious blood of my dear Redeemer. Our best duties are as so many splendid sins. Before you can speak peace in your heart, you must not only be made sick of your original and actual sin, but you must be made sick of your righteousness, of all your duties and performances. There must be a deep conviction before you can be brought out of your self-righteousness; it is the last idol taken out of our heart. The pride of our heart will not let us submit to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. But if you never felt that you had o righteousness of your own, if you never felt the deficiency of your own righteousness, you cannot come to Jesus Christ. There are a great many now who may say, Well, we believe all this; but there is a great difference betwixt talking and feeling. Did you ever feel the want of a dear Redeemer?
Did you ever feel the want of Jesus Christ, upon the account of the deficiency of your own righteousness? And can you now say from your heart, Lord, thou mayst justly damn me for the best duties that ever I did perform? If you are not thus brought out of self, you may speak peace to yourselves, but yet there is no peace.
by Darryl on March 1, 2010
What an amazing game yesterday. Nice to see the excitement on both sides of the border. As my son said, it was anyone’s game. But I’m glad we won it in the end. We’ll be talking about that overtime goal for years.
Congratulations to Team Canada!
by Darryl on February 26, 2010
On April 24, 2010, The Gospel Coalition Ontario Chapter will hold its first conference in Canada. The theme of the conference is the centrality of the gospel in authentic Christian ministry. The purpose of the conference is to bring pastors and Christian leaders into an awareness of their responsibility for gospel-centered ministry and to challenge them to be faithful in exemplifying this in their ministries.
While the conference is aimed at pastors, leaders and students of pastoral ministry, all are welcome to attend.
Please join us at West Highland Baptist Church, 1605 Garth Street, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
more
by Darryl on February 24, 2010
If you haven’t listened to this MP3 of J.I. Packer yet, it’s well worth your time. Phoenix Preacher writes:
J.I. Packer is on one last crusade. He wants the church universal to recover the need for catechesis…life long learning of the doctrines and practices of the historic church.
According to Packer, we will not experience or sustain the renewal and outreach of the church unless we recover this lost practice. It’s that important.
Why? Packer argues that Christian belief and behavior are foreign and have to be learned. Not only this, but the fact that Christian belief and behavior are foreign is itself a foreign concept.
Catechesis has been part of the church’s practice, particularly in the patristic and Reformation eras. Every time our culture has become nominally Christian, the practice has been lost, which has led to all kinds of problems. Now that we live in a post-Christendom culture, catechesis is more important than ever.
Packer suggests that we need to adapt our methods, particularly when catechizing adults. The format of programs like Alpha and Christianity Explored may be useful.
We discussed this at Monday’s Theology Pub, and I’m convinced we need to get on this. Listen to Packer’s talk and see if you don’t agree.
The next step is harder: actually doing something about it.
