Ally's #8: "Redemption Accomplished & Applied" by John Murray

Here's a truncated version of the book review I turned in for my theology class:

Looks can be deceiving, and upon first glance, I would not have anticipated such breadth and depth to reside within the cover of John Murray’s petite text, Redemption Accomplished and Applied. Admittedly, I also did not expect that Murray would be able to carry on a discussion of redemption that was so consistently profitable, systematic, and concise. As I pressed on into this text, I was delighted and challenged by Murray’s presentation, motivated to draw ever closer to the treasures of the atonement described therein.

Murray has a knack for knowing when to switch gears in order to be better understood, and he rather effortlessly flows between academic language and writing that is more accessible to the average reader. It was a comfort to know that whenever I saw phrases like “in other words,” I was about to receive clarification on a rather heavy point the author did not want me to miss. That is one of the beauties of this text. Murray genuinely desires to get through to his audience, as the eternal weight of the subject matter demands it.

While other books on doctrine and theology can be somewhat convoluted and thick enough to use as an end table, Murray allows readers to gaze into his own meditations in a format that is neither daunting nor drab. His immediate goal is to impart knowledge and understanding so that gaps might be filled and what is out of joint might be corrected; his ultimate goal is that God would be glorified as joy and marvel in Christ’s redemptive accomplishment abounds.

The book is divided into two distinct parts, which lends to Murray’s sense of organization and linear thought. Part one addresses four aspects of Christ’s redemptive accomplishment—its necessity, its nature, its perfection, and its extent—while part two addresses the application of redemption in the life of the believer. In general, each chapter launches into a series of questions. Murray then seeks to respond to those questions through Scripture analysis in a very sequential and progressive fashion. Often times, these answers expose additional questions, which Murray also addresses with great detail and attention.

So what does a reader walk away with after investing time and thought into this book? Certainly more than can be portrayed or deliberated in this review! In his preface, Murray explains that his goal in writing this book is to bring facets of the truth of Christ’s redemptive accomplishment into clearer focus. I would say enthusiastically that Mr. Murray has achieved his goal. Though I will have to read this book a few more times before I will fully be able to wrap my head and heart around all that is explained, the author’s meticulous efforts have helped clarify a great deal relating to the atonement and its application in my life.

The doctrines and biblical truths set forth in Murray’s book incite awe, celebration, and humility. Part I lays the foundation for such a response, then Part II serves as icing on the cake as it informs the reader of the initial, continuous, and future activity of the Godhead in the life of the believer. In Hebrews chapter 10, the author discusses the full assurance of faith for the redeemed. I sense that my assurance has increased over the course of this semester. I believe the Holy Spirit has used this text to open my eyes to the intricacies of the truth to which I am holding fast, thus making my grip more firm and empowering me to wield that truth more accurately as I live out the gospel message.

Jim's #12 and Ally's #7: The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Mark and Ron both had the Hiding Place in their top 10 from 2010 and when I saw that Christian Audio had it for free and we had a 4,000 mile road trip coming up, it seemed to make perfect sense to me.  Ally and I are so thrilled that we got to enjoy that book together.  There is so much to like, and I have a gut feeling that it will be going in my top 10 for 2011.

The story is of Corrie Ten Boom and her family in a small town in Holland where her father owns and runs a watch repair store.  They are a wonderful, Christian family whom you immediately fall in love with.  Their sympathies with strangers and love for life are simply incredible.

One of the characters in the story that we felt particularly drawn to was Corrie's father.  He is a man who truly cares about the people who come through his door. his love for Jesus, and his love for watches more than the money his business produces.  He seems almost naive at times, forgetting to charge people for fixing their watches, considering it a privilege to "simply work on a magnificent piece like this"; but then you realize that he simply has his passions, motivations, and outlook in the right place (or on the right person).  One of the greatest conversations in the book was between Corrie and her father after Corrie heard someone in a train mention sex sins:

“And so seated next to my father in the train compartment, I suddenly asked, ‘Father, what is sex sin?’

He turned to look at me, as he always did when answering a question, but to my surprise he said nothing. At last he stood up, lifted his traveling case off the storage shelf and set it on the floor. ‘Will you carry it off the train, Corrie?’ he said. I stood up and tugged at it. It was crammed with the watches and spare parts he had purchased that morning.

‘It’s too heavy,’ I said.

‘Yes,’ he said, ‘and it would be a pretty poor father who would ask his little girl to carry such a load. It’s the same way, Corrie, with knowledge. Some knowledge is too heavy for children. When you are older and stronger, you can bear it. For now you must trust me to carry it for you.’”

What a brilliant way to approach this subject.  You can see why her father is so endearing.

The rest of her family was the same way.  Corrie paints them all as so blissfully enraptured in the love of God that they fail to see the rest of the world as it is.  While Corrie is the more business-minded, type-A person, her sister Betsie, who she had never been separated from, was the kind and caring mother for all of the Jews they ended up hiding in their house.  At one time, in the concentration camp, Betsie started naming things to be thankful for amid their toil and thanked God for the fleas that infested their entire barracks.  While it may seem silly, you should read on and see what amazing things God did through those fleas.

In the same way, Corrie's sister Nollie had a faith in God that truly surpasses understanding.  In a time when a righteous lie can be understood when hiding Jews from near certain death or her sons from the Hitler youth, Nollie trusted that God would provide if she remained faithful to him.  When the Police came looking for her teenage boys, Nollie told the Police exactly where they were hidden, under the table.  Assuming she was lying, they left the family and moved on to the next house.  This book is full of stories like this of God's absolute provision through some incredibly difficult times; proof of his sovereignty in trouble fills the pages of this book and gives hope to many.

I hope you will take the time to read this book.  I believe it will strengthen your faith and increase your understanding of who God is and how He is constantly at work.  If nothing else, you can read the book for the beauty of writing within.  Corrie has such a tangible yet surreal way of writing that brings every sentence to life.  It's hard to believe that this is an autobiography considering how well it was written.  I hope someday, to read it again, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it just as much.

Ally's #6: Basic of Biblical Greek by William D. Mounce (2ed)

Want to learn how to read the New Testament in its original language?  Good news (no pun intended)!  The seemingly impossible feat can be accomplished in six to twelve months with this incredibly thorough grammar and a good dose of discipline.

William Mounce breaks the book down into five parts, each of which contains related material and builds on previous knowledge.  In Part One, he introduces the alphabet, pronunciation, punctuation, and syllabification.  In Part Two, he dedicates ten chapters to the Greek noun system.  Part Three covers the indicative verb system, Part Four focuses on participles, and Part Five discusses non-indicative moods and unique verbs.  As an encouragement at the beginning of each chapter, Mounce includes an exegetical insight based on the new information about to digested.  And when it seems like you have vocabulary flashcards coming out your ears, it's reassuring to see in each chapter summary the percentage of total words you know from the New Testament (NT).  By the end of the book, you know all 320 words that occur most frequently in the NT and 80% of all words appearing in the NT.

To accompany the textbook, a workbook bearing the same title is recommended.  The textbook comes with a CD filled with helpful goodies, like the workbook answer key, Greek fonts for your computer, and the like.  If you can't for the life of you think of any good reason to study biblical Greek, consider this note from the author and his wife:

"It is my wish that a study of biblical Greek will help to produce in you the same qualities that have been exhibited in the lives of both of my parents [to whom the book was dedicated]: a love for the Lord and His Word; and informed ministry based on His Word; a sense of urgency to share the good news of Jesus Christ with those they meet."

Ally's #5: A Woman More Precious Than Jewels

"A Woman More Precious Than Jewels" is an 88-page Bible study course devoted to the topic of Biblical womanhood.  The author, Bonnie Trude, thoroughly defines the principle theme of submission in a way that dispelled some misunderstandings I had of the topic and helped develop in me a greater appreciation for submission as a gift from God. The bulk of Trude's material is geared toward married or soon-to-be married women, though she does include a very helpful chapter at the end for single women.  Trude also takes great care to address the wives of unbelieving husbands and offers godly wisdom that speaks to their particular challenges and situation.  I have had the pleasure of going through this study with a very wise woman who has 25+ years of marriage under her belt.  I would highly recommend that anyone interested in doing this study to do it with a friend, a small group of peers, or a mentor.  This study is jam-packed with Bible references to support the claims Trude makes in each chapter.  While the chapters are relatively short (about 4-6 pages each), pouring over the related references can easily take an hour or longer.  If you're looking for a study on Biblical womanhood that is light on "fluff," than this is it.  I don't think Bonnie Trude even knows what "fluff" is--she's like Beth Moore on crack--in a good way!  For the ladies looking to go above and beyond, she also has assignments at the end of each chapter that include scripture memorization, prayer, self-reflection, and additional reading.

This lesser known Bible study was copyrighted in 1975 and revised in 2002, but has not been widely published.  To obtain copies of this study, you can request them directly from the author (write to: Mrs. Terry Trude, 100 Broadway, Wrenshall, MN 55797, or call: 218-384-4506).

Sample quotes:

"God, in his mercy and love towards women, put them under the authority of their husbands so they might have leadership, provision and protection.  Are we grateful for this privilege?  Remember that your response to your husband in these three roles is a mirror of your reactions to God as he longs to lead, provide for and protect you!"

"Too often we use other women, our pastors, Bible teachers, etc., as our sources of spiritual insight, to the exclusion of our husbands.  God intends for a married couple to be driven to the Word together, inspiring one another to search out answers, principles, promises, etc., and allowing the husband to supply his wife with the spiritual headship she needs."

"But for the grace of God, none of us would willingly and lovingly submit to any authority.  It requires the genuine humbleness and brokenness that God works in us if we are to be truly submissive to God or to human authority.  The flesh hates to humble itself--but this refusal cheats us and others out of the greatest of blessings."

Ally's #4: Radical by David Platt

Since the majority of the contributors on this blog have/will read and review(ed) this book, I'm going to instead discuss briefly the impact I've observed it making in our community. I'll start with my own family.

Since we were dating, Jim and I have enjoyed reading books together. The ones we enjoy most are those that stir up meaningful discussion and cause us to think deeply about how various aspects of our lives may or may not be aligned with what God desires and intends for us.  Over the past two months, I've seen God use this book in our family to challenge a mode of thinking that is so deeply ingrained that we often times don't realize the power it wields over us.  While I've read other books on having a Christian worldview, I appreciate Platt's intentional focus on the American dream.  Platt's clear, simple, and straightforward points have stimulated genuine contemplation and conversation about the chasm that lies between living the American dream and living biblically.

Among friends, I've heard stories of people reconsidering the reason and purpose for the accrued wealth sitting in their bank accounts.  Other friends are evaluating career and educational goals in a different light, questioning what will demonstrate obedience to God and reflect the love of Christ.  Some are even beginning to take steps toward the mission field as they've felt God gently nudging them in that direction.  People are making earnest commitments that will aid their spiritual growth and help them gain a proper perspective on what it means to live for Christ, and it's awesome to witness and be a part of.

The upcoming Harbor theology retreat on establishing a Christian worldview could not be more timely or appropriate as Pastor Mark just closed his "Radical" sermon series with a message on going to the nations.  I'm very much looking forward to seeing how God uses it to shape and stretch our community.

Ally's #3: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas (1200+ pages)

I love my Kindle...correction--Jim's Kindle...but it would ever so nice if I could actually see how many pages were in the books I'm reading!  I knew "The Count of Monte Cristo" was long, but I didn't realize the unabridged version was that long.  Nevertheless, I'm glad I read the book as it puts the film (starring James Caviezel) I enjoyed so much to shame.

Because the movie had to be whittled down so significantly, major parts of the story are either cut altogether or totally altered.  For example, in the film, the Count (Edmond Dantes) ends up dueling with one of his main adversaries, discovers he has a son, and is reunited with the love of his life to live happily ever after.  In the original version, however, Dantes doesn't have to lift a finger to exact revenge on his enemies.  He is so calculating that his seemingly benign actions cause his enemies to self-destruct.  As for a son, Dantes "adopts" the eldest son of his former boss, a man who worked tirelessly to see Dantes released from his wrongful imprisonment.  As for living happily ever after, the remnants of love that exist between Dantes and Mercedes can be felt in their brief interactions, but is never rekindled.  Instead, Dantes has the pleasure of living out the remainder of his life with a Greek princess whom he rescued from slavery.

The book can be broken down into three sections: imprisonment, plotting revenge, and exacting revenge.  The first and third are terribly interesting and go by quickly, despite the lengthy dialogues throughout.  The second, however, proved confusing and difficult to follow as a multitude of characters are introduced and extended conversations occur that seem to have no real point or purpose.  After that lull, all of the unrelated details find their meaning and purpose as we see Edmond Dantes make use of them to his advantage and to the detriment of his enemies.

One of the more touching scenes where we see the old gentle and sympathetic Dantes begin to break through the impermeable wall of his Count of Monte Cristo persona is when Dantes mourns the fact that his revenge has gone too far--the lives of six people in the home of the lawyer (Villefort) who imprisoned Dantes are lost to poison, the lawyer has a high-profile case to seek the death penalty against a criminal who turns out to be his own son, and he is forced to resign his position as the king's attorney.  Sounds like a pretty bad day to me!  The members of the Villefort family provide the most interesting scenes and chapters, especially those between Valentine and her mute, paralyzed grandfather Noitier.

If you're thinking "Wow, Ally, thanks for ruining that for me," think again!  This book is so long and so painstakingly detailed that whatever beans I just spilled are sure to be forgotten by the time you reach this point in the book.  I enjoyed this book so much, I may have to read "The Three Musketeers" later this year.  That one's only 700 pages :)