JRF's #40 - The Truth of the Cross by R.C. Sproul

 

This short but potent book is an explanation and apologetic of the doctrine of the substituionary atonement of Jesus Christ.  It does a good job of being accessible and simultaneously profound.

As Sproul points out, "the words crucial and crux both have their root in the Latin word for 'cross,' crux, and they have come into the English language with their current meanings because the concept of the cross is at the very center and core of Biblical Christianity."

There's a lot packed into this little book.  I recommend it to anyone interested in deepening their understanding of the necessity, meaning, and implications of the cross of Christ, from the new believer to the seminary student.

JRF's #16 - Jesus Himself by Andrew Murray

Andrew Murray was a pastor, author, and missions leader in South Africa around the turn of the 20th century.  In this collection of sermons Murray compels his hearers and readers to move beyond mere knowledge about Jesus to a heart satisfied with nothing less than the living and present Jesus Himself.

The first half focuses on the disciples' encounter with the risen Jesus on the Road to Emmaus (Luke 24).  Murray draws out four stages of the Christian life from this account.  The first stage is that of the sad and troubled heart.  This is the heart that sees Christ dead on the cross - and is rightly sorrowed at his death and our sinfulness that required that death - but fails to see that Christ is no longer hanging lifeless on the tree but is risen and living.  Next comes the heart that is slow to believe - those who have heard the Good News about Christ but think they still need to feel something or do something more to be able to fully commit to believing.  They have yet to realize that Christ can not be discovered, but must be revealed and simply believed.  Thirdly, the burning heart.  This is the person who has had one or multiple experiences or tastes of the living Christ, but is trusting and chasing after the experience and not Christ.  They have felt the glow and warmth of Christ's light, but have yet to see Christ Himself.  Finally the true Christian comes to rest with a satisfied heart.  This is the point at which those who have been drawn to Christ finally see Him revealed as the risen Savior and King that He is and find his joy in His presence alone.

Part two exposits Christ's promise to be with His followers "always, even to the end of the age" (Matt 28:20).  Murray declares that this promise "is the secret of the Christian's strength and joy".  He points out that by ascending to Heaven and sending the Holy Spirit, Christ is able to do what He was not able to do while on earth - be in intimate fellowship with every believer throughout the world.

This book makes a good companion to Rick Holland's Uneclipsing the Son which I read earlier this year.  Both books have helped grow and spur on a deep, unshakable satisfaction in King Jesus.

"Oh, the difference between a burning heart, which becomes cold after a time, which comes by fits and starts, and the blessed revelation of Jesus Himself as my Saviour, taking charge of me and blessing me and keeping me every day!"

"Jesus, reveal Thyself that we may know Thee Thyself.  We ask not only to drink of the Living Water, we want the Fountain."

You can get it free for the kindle here

Mark's #6 - The Prophets Speak of Him: Encountering Jesus in the Minor Prophets by Anthony Selvaggio

I picked up this book as a study aid for a recent sermon series through the twelve books of the Old Testament known as the minor prophets.  The book and my sermon series shared the same goal: to display the prophetic glimpses of Christ contained in each book.

            To be sure, on the surface, the Minor Prophets are often difficult and confounding to understand.  Of the Prophets, Martin Luther once remarked, "The prophets have a queer way of talking… like people who instead of proceeding in an orderly way ramble off from one thing to the next so that you cannot make head or tail of them."  This book served to clarify some of this confusion.  It is an easily accessible read for most people, and a helpful tool for digging deeper in a section of God's Word that often get's neglected in our spiritual lives.

JRF's #38 - Vintage Jesus by Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears

Our community group read through this book together over the last few months.  I had previously read it when it was first published and had enjoyed it, so I was looking forward to reviewing it with the group.  Overall I would say the experience was good.  The simple truths about Jesus’ nature, message, work, and impact are explored and explained in blunt Driscoll style.  It was refreshing to meditate on the uniqueness and glory of the God/Man.  In addition it was thrilling to see some in the group discover different truths, perspectives and implications about Christ for the first time.

I used to be one of those guys who would rush to Driscoll’s defense whenever his unorthodox methodology was under attack (which is often).  I find myself compelled to defend Driscoll less and less these days.

When I read Vintage Jesus as a young youth pastor, I delighted in the funny and shocking stories Driscoll uses to illustrate his points ("the kids will think I’m cool when I use this one!").  I won’t go into detail describing these illustrations, that would make me guilty of the same borderline filthy talk that I am accusing him of.  Suffice it to say that I believe his points could have been made without the explicit details of child sexual abuse, MTV, details of the contents of supermarket magazine racks, and postulations about Jesus farting with his disciples.  I know that Driscoll would (and has) said that he is just trying to make the timeless truths of Scripture relevant to the wicked culture in which we live, however the longer I walk with the Lord, the more I see that the purpose of God’s condescending revelation of Himself is not to drag Him down to our level but to call us up to His.  The ultimate purpose of the incarnation was not for Christ to become more like us, or even more palpable to us, it was for Him to make a way for us to know Him, be known by Him and be conformed to His likeness.  The revelation of Christ’s light shows us the depth of our darkness and displays the true relevance and irrelevance of all else.  Driscoll seems to be trying to illustrate the brightness of Christ’s light by detailing more of our darkness – effective up to a point but ultimately counterproductive in my opinion.  For example, to end the book with a reference to Sean “Puffy” Combs instead of exalting the glorious Risen Christ about whom this book is about is a dumb distraction at best.

Perhaps the reason Driscoll's crassness so clearly bothered me this time around is that "coarse jesting" is a sin with which I am increasingly being convicted of in my own life.

With that rather large caveat (which could probably be applied to most of Driscoll's ministry, although he has seemed to tone things down the older he gets) I would recommend this book to you for the purpose of expanding your understanding and awe of the person and work of the One King to whom every knee will eventually bow.