The Road To Emmaus

Top Ten Books of 2009

Chad — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:22:11 +0000

Here are my top ten reads from 2009.

Counterfeit Gods, by Tim Keller. Keller has a unique ability to take biblical truth and make it accessible to people through his preaching and writing. Keller’s new book is no exception. His book is thought provoking and sets Christ and the gospel before us as our only hope.

Why Johnny Can’t Preach, by T. David Gordon. A hard-hitting critique at why preaching is done so poorly in our day. I thought Gordon’s analysis was fair and found myself pondering the challenges he sets forth in the book.

A Praying Life, by Paul Miller. With so many books on prayer it would be hard to find something new on the subject, but Miller has managed to make an inspiring contribution to the subject. Miller does a good job teaching us about prayer, its importance, and practical ways to live a life of prayer.

Heralds of the King, ed. Dennis Johnson. A compilation of sermons in honor of the late Edmund Clowney. These sort of books are always helpful, because they show pastors how to responsibly preach Christ from the Scriptures. There are many good contributors to this volume (Tim Keller, Charles Drew, Harvie Conn, Iain Duguid, Dennis Johnson, et al).

The Acts of the Apostles, by David Peterson. Peterson’s commentary is an excellent contribution to the study of Acts. Peterson’s commentary is very insightful and accessible. I found myself agreeing with him again and again. Along with Bock’s commentary, Peterson’s commentary has become the evangelical standard for Acts.

From Age to Age, by Keith Mathison. A massive contribution to the study of eschatology in which Mathison seeks to show that eschatology is at the core of the biblical storyline. Although, I don’t agree with everything Mathison writes, he has a lot of good things to say in his book.

The Whole Counsel of God, by Richard Gamble. Gamble’s book is the first of three in which he seeks to do biblical theology while incorporating historical and systematic theology. I found this book helpful on many fronts, but believe the future volumes will do a better job of sustaining Gamble’s thesis.

Just Do Something, by Kevin DeYoung. A helpful little book on understanding and doing God’s will. DeYoung’s basic thesis is pursue Christ, be faithful, serve others and whatever you do will be according to God’s will.

Why We Love the Church, by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. DeYoung and Kluck have written a perceptive and clear book about the importance of the local church and why believers need to care about it.

The Trellis and the Vine, by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. I’ve recently started reading this book and have been encouraged. Although the message of the book is simple (gospel based ministry), it is a necessary reminder.

$1 Shipping at Westminster Bookstore

Chad — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:32:16 +0000

I don’t know if anyone else has seen this special, but WTS Bookstore has $1 shipping on all orders over $35. Not sure if this is a permanent change, but it is an incredible deal. See the deal here.

Hoekema on the Kingdom of God

Chad — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:43:35 +0000

Just finished teaching on the Kingdom of God at our church. In my opinion, Anthony Hoekema still has the best definition of the Kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God, therefore, is to be understood as the reign of God dynamically active in human history through Jesus Christ, the purpose of which is the redemption of God’s people from sin and from demonic powers, and the final establishment of the new heavens and new earth. It means that the great drama of the history of salvation has been inaugurated, and that the new age has been ushered in. The kingdom must not be understood as merely the salvation of certain individuals or even as the reign of God in the hearts of people; it means nothing less than the reign of God over his entire created universe.

Hoekema, The Bible and the Future, p. 45

John Currid on Numbers

Chad — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:08:54 +0000

John Currid’s commentary on the book of Numbers is due out later this month. It is the final volume of his series on the Pentateuch. See it here.

You can also view Currid’s other commentaries on the Pentateuch here. His commentaries are very useful.

The Letter to the Hebrews

Chad — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:48:49 +0000

Peter T. O’Brien’s highly anticipated commentary on Hebrews is due out March 2010 according to the Eerdmans site. See it here.

Quick to Hear, Slow to Speak, Slow to Anger

Chad — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:38:19 +0000

About two months ago I preached on James 1:19-27 (you can listen to the sermon here). James 1:19-27 is probably the most well-known passage in the whole book, especially verses nineteen and twenty. Most often believers understand James 1:19-20 to say that in our day-to-day relationships with people we should be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. In other words, listen carefully, consider how you speak to others, and be self-controlled.

While the Bible has a lot to say about our personal interactions with others (especially with our tongues), I don’t think this is what James has in mind. Remember James is writing to Jewish Christians who are facing persecution for their faith in Christ. The context of chapter one is how the church is to deal with trials.

James 1:2-4: Have joy in trials for God is making you complete.

James 1:5-8: If you lack wisdom in trials, ask God for it and he will give it freely.

James 1:9-11: Understand the nature of trials. Trials can come to all people.

James 1:12-15: Do not find fault with God in trials.

James 1:16-18: God is good and his goodness is demonstrated in our salvation.

I believe that 1:19-20 is a continuation of what James has been talking about in chapter one. In our trials we must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. In our trials we are to be quick to hear the gospel. We are to remember God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. We must be quick to hear (or remember) what God’s word says about our relationship to him in the midst of trials. A loving God brings trials into my life to conform me to the image of his Son (cf., Rom 8:29; Col 3:10; Heb 12:3-11). Likewise, we must be slow to speak. What do we often say in our trials? God is mad at me, he has forsaken me, and he has turned his back on me. We speak out of our frustration, rather than remembering that a merciful God does all things for our benefit. Finally, we must be slow to anger. When we fail to remember the gospel in our trials we are tempted to become angry, bitter, and resent God. When we face trials we must not become angry with God, but with a teachable heart learn what God has for us. It is certainly biblical to have a righteous anger toward injustice, but when we suffer because of injustice we should never assign evil to God. In the midst of our trials we must live out the truth of who God has already made us (1:18) and we must live in the good of the gospel, which reminds us of God’s love, mercy, and grace.

Asaph was faced with the temptation to speak without knowledge in the face of his trials. He wrote in Psalm 73:12-17:

Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

Asaph realized that he was in no position to be angry with God, but in his presence remembered God’s justice, mercy, and love. As we face trials in our lives we must remember the gospel. We must recall the truth of God’s love found in the gospel. We must not speak falsehoods about God in our trials, but recite gospel truths. Moreover, we must not become angry with God when we face trials of various kinds, but understand that our loving Father deals with us as sons so that we might share in his holiness.

I appreciate what Tim Lane and Paul Tripp have to say about trials.

Trials do not cause us to be what we have not been; rather, they reveal what we have been all along. The harvest the trial produces is the result of the roots already in our hearts. (How People Change, p. 102)

Will we remember the gospel in our trials or will we forget it? What will be revealed to be in our hearts in the midst of trials?

The Gospel and Biblical Theology

Chad — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:29:49 +0000

Graeme Goldsworthy summarizes the relationship and history between the two.

Because the gospel concerns the work of the historical Jesus Christ as the one who fulfils the OT promises, it is at the heart of biblical theology. When the plain meaning of the OT was lost to parts of the early church, often through the adoption of a dehistoricizing, allegorical interpretation of the Bible, the gospel ceased to be regarded as primarily what God has done in the historical Christ. The emphasis shifted to what God does inwardly in the human soul through piety and sacramental ministrations of the church. The Protestant reformers of the sixteenth century recovered the historical meaning of the OT and, with it, the historical gospel. A biblical theology which had its roots in the apostolic gospel was thus re-established.

Goldsworthy, “Gospel” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, p. 523

Canon Press Book Sale

Chad — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:47:52 +0000

Canon Press is having a sale on books. The books range from $1-5. Many good titles for an inexpensive price. See the sale here.

From Eden to the New Jerusalem

Chad — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 13:26:30 +0000

T. Desmond Alexander has a new book due out in October: From Eden to the New Jerusalem. Actually, I think it is the American printing of his previous work. See the new book here and the old book here.

Forgetting You Are a Sinner

Chad — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:13:59 +0000

To the degree that you forget you are a sinner, you will underestimate your daily need for Christ and the relationships in his body that are his tools of change.

Timothy Lane & Paul Tripp, How People Change, p. 12