Enjoying God Blog

How is a Christian to act with regard to matters not explicitly addressed in Scripture? How is a Christian to conduct himself/herself in situations on which the Bible is silent, issues for which there is no explicit biblical guidance? This is the question Paul addresses in Romans 14. We could as easily ask: "What is the nature and extent of Christian freedom?" The NT speaks of freedom in a variety of ways. Here we are concerned with our freedom from the conscience of other Christians. We are addressing issues that do not affect our acceptance with God, i.e., they do not pertain to whether or not one is a Christian. They are what we might call secondary, as over against primary, issues. Keep reading...

[At the December 11, 2013, gathering of the Oklahoma chapter of the Gospel Coalition, I addressed the issue of liberty, legalism, and love, based on a close evaluation of Romans 14:1-23. Due to the length of the paper, I’ll divide it into several parts.]

How is a Christian to act with regard to matters not explicitly addressed in Scripture? How is a Christian to conduct himself/herself in situations on which the Bible is silent, issues for which there is no explicit biblical guidance? This is the question Paul addresses in Romans 14. We could as easily ask: "What is the nature and extent of Christian freedom?" The NT speaks of freedom in a variety of ways. Here we are concerned with our freedom from the conscience of other Christians. We are addressing issues that do not affect our acceptance with God, i.e., they do not pertain to whether or not one is a Christian. They are what we might call secondary, as over against primary, issues.

Such matters of conscience fall within the domain of Christi

This post is for those of you who may have missed the past several weeks during which I listed daily my top ten books of the year. If you wish, you can go back about two weeks ago, start with number 10, working your way down the list to number 1, while reading the brief reviews of each book that made it. If you don’t have the time, here is a listing without any comment, together with a few books that almost made it but didn’t (i.e., the “honorable mention” books!). Keep reading...

This post is for those of you who may have missed the past several weeks during which I listed daily my top ten books of the year. If you wish, you can go back about two weeks ago, start with number 10, working your way down the list to number 1, while reading the brief reviews of each book that made it. If you don’t have the time, here is a listing without any comment, together with a few books that almost made it but didn’t (i.e., the “honorable mention” books!).

(1) Living by Revealed Truth: The Life and Pastoral Theology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, by Tom Nettles (Ross-Shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2013), 683 pp.

(2) From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective, edited by David Gibson & Jonathan Gibson (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), 703 pp.

(3) Does God Desire All to Be Saved? by John Piper (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), 62 pp.

(4) The High King of Heaven: Discovering the Master Keys to the Great End Times Debate, Dean Davis (WinePress Publishing, 722 pp.).

(5) Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, by Kate Bowler (New York: Oxfo

Living by Revealed Truth: The Life and Pastoral Theology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, by Tom Nettles (Ross-Shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2013), 683 pp.

Selecting what I believe to be the best book of 2013 is somewhat arbitrary. Virtually any of the volumes listed from 10 to 2 could have made it to number 1. But that doesn’t mean I have any reservations whatsoever in placing this biography of Spurgeon at the top of the list. I’ve known Tom Nettles for a couple of decades and I always enjoy what he writes, whether it be on selected themes in Baptist history or the biography of some great Christian leader. But this has to be regarded as his best yet.

Living by Revealed Truth: The Life and Pastoral Theology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, by Tom Nettles (Ross-Shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2013), 683 pp.

Selecting what I believe to be the best book of 2013 is somewhat arbitrary. Virtually any of the volumes listed from 10 to 2 could have made it to number 1. But that doesn’t mean I have any reservations whatsoever in placing this biography of Spurgeon at the top of the list. I’ve known Tom Nettles for a couple of decades and I always enjoy what he writes, whether it be on selected themes in Baptist history or the biography of some great Christian leader. But this has to be regarded as his best yet.

Before diving into Nettles’s massive work, I had greatly enjoyed the biographies of Spurgeon by Arnold Dallimore and Lewis Drummond. Without in any way diminishing the value of these other two, I have to say that Nettles has forever set the standard by which all subsequent studies of Spurgeon must be judged. This massive text was more than fifteen years in the making. In fact, Tom gives thanks to hi

From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective, edited by David Gibson & Jonathan Gibson (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), 703 pp.

No, I haven’t yet read all 703 pages (actually, 667 of written text), but I’ve read enough to rejoice that a volume like this is now available to the body of Christ. What a monumental achievement this is! And why was such a book even necessary? In his Foreword, J. I. Packer provides the answer: “as the Reformed faith and its pastoral corollaries is the true intellectual mainstream of Christianity, so the belief in definite, particular, and sovereignly effectual redemption . . . is its true intellectual center” (13). Keep reading...

From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective, edited by David Gibson & Jonathan Gibson (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), 703 pp.

No, I haven’t yet read all 703 pages (actually, 667 of written text), but I’ve read enough to rejoice that a volume like this is now available to the body of Christ. What a monumental achievement this is! And why was such a book even necessary? In his Foreword, J. I. Packer provides the answer: “as the Reformed faith and its pastoral corollaries is the true intellectual mainstream of Christianity, so the belief in definite, particular, and sovereignly effectual redemption . . . is its true intellectual center” (13).

The contributors to this volume and the topics they cover are extensive, but some that are of special note include Paul Helm (writing on

Perhaps you’ve read something in the news of a lawsuit filed in August of 2013 against the state of Oklahoma by the Oklahoma chapter of the ACLU. The latter contends that the state has violated its own constitution which forbids using public property to support any system of religion “directly or indirectly.” The violation, allegedly, comes from the presence on the grounds of the state capitol building of a monument containing the Ten Commandments. But that lawsuit is not my reason for writing. Keep reading...

Perhaps you’ve read something in the news of a lawsuit filed in August of 2013 against the state of Oklahoma by the Oklahoma chapter of the ACLU. The latter contends that the state has violated its own constitution which forbids using public property to support any system of religion “directly or indirectly.” The violation, allegedly, comes from the presence on the grounds of the state capitol building of a monument containing the Ten Commandments. But that lawsuit is not my reason for writing.

It now appears that the Satanic Temple, an organization based in New York, has launched its own campaign to place next to the Ten Commandments a monument that reflects something of their devotion to Satan. According to a recent article in The Economist (December 14, 2013), titled, “Beelzebubba: Satan threatens the heartland”, the Satanic Temple “promised that the monument would be ‘public-friendly’ and something children could play on” (41).

Come again? “Public-friendly” and “something children could play on.” I have no comment on the legalities of the lawsuit, but I’m more than a little surprised by the incredible naivete of the Satanists themselves. That anyone with any degree of education could envision anything related to Satan as being “public-friendly” and suitable for children to “play on�

Does God Desire All to Be Saved? by John Piper (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), 62 pp.

This book is almost too short to qualify as a book, but don’t let that keep you from reading it. What Piper addresses in these few pages is one of the more important theological issues facing all Christians. In fact, I would argue that his thoroughly biblical distinction between God’s will of decree and God’s will of precept is a truth without which it is impossible to fully understand God’s saving grace and his intentions toward this fallen human race. Keep reading...

Does God Desire All to Be Saved? by John Piper (Wheaton: Crossway, 2013), 62 pp.

This book is almost too short to qualify as a book, but don’t let that keep you from reading it. What Piper addresses in these few pages is one of the more important theological issues facing all Christians. In fact, I would argue that his thoroughly biblical distinction between God’s will of decree and God’s will of precept is a truth without which it is impossible to fully understand God’s saving grace and his intentions toward this fallen human race.

Perhaps the best thing to do is to let Piper himself describe his aim in this book:

“My aim in this short book is to show from Scripture that the simultaneous existence of God’s will for all people to be saved and his will to choose some people for salvation unconditionally before creation is not a sign of divine schizophrenia or exegetical confusion. A corresponding aim is to show that unconditional election therefore does not contradict biblical expressions of God’s compassion for

The High King of Heaven: Discovering the Master Keys to the Great End Times Debate, Dean Davis (WinePress Publishing, 722 pp.).

When I was much, much younger it was always taken for granted that one must never vote for oneself in an election. I can recall being nominated for the Student Council at my school, and also for the presidency of the Letterman’s club. In both cases, I followed suit and voted for the other guy. He won both times! I can’t break free of this, and that explains why I declined to include my own book, Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative (Christian Focus), in my list of Top Ten Books of 2013. How’s that for shameless self-promotion! Keep reading...

The High King of Heaven: Discovering the Master Keys to the Great End Times Debate, Dean Davis (WinePress Publishing, 722 pp.).

When I was much, much younger it was always taken for granted that one must never vote for oneself in an election. I can recall being nominated for the Student Council at my school, and also for the presidency of the Letterman’s club. In both cases, I followed suit and voted for the other guy. He won both times! I can’t break free of this, and that explains why I declined to include my own book, Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative (Christian Focus), in my list of Top Ten Books of 2013. How’s that for shameless self-promotion!

Seriously, though, I’m very happy to include in this list the new book (released this week) by Dean Davis, The High King of Heaven: Discovering the Master Keys to the Great End Times Debate (W

Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, by Kate Bowler

This book is simultaneously informative and infuriating. It is the most comprehensive history of the so-called “prosperity gospel” and its purveyors yet to be published. Kate Bowler is Assistant Professor of American Religion at Duke Divinity School. She is to be commended for her meticulous research and the eminently readable way in which she portrays this deviant and profoundly unbiblical expression of American Pentecostal / Charismatic religious life. Keep reading...

Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, by Kate Bowler (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 337 pp.

This book is simultaneously informative and infuriating. It is the most comprehensive history of the so-called “prosperity gospel” and its purveyors yet to be published. Kate Bowler is Assistant Professor of American Religion at Duke Divinity School. She is to be commended for her meticulous research and the eminently readable way in which she portrays this deviant and profoundly unbiblical expression of American Pentecostal / Charismatic religious life.

Why is this book infuriating? Certainly not because it is inaccurate or misrepresents the people who promote this view of Christianity. Bowler is fair and forthright with her subject. It’s infuriating because it forces the reader to acknowledge the pervasive presence and influence of this perspective in America and the long-term destructive effects it will have on the lives of countless unsuspecting Christians.

Bowler is not a biblical scholar. She makes no attempt to refute the pathetic interpretatio

God’s Forever Family: The Jesus People Movement in America, by Larry Eskridge

There were times, in the reading of this book, that I was brought to laughter, and times where I nearly wept. Those of you who are old enough to remember the Jesus People movement may have a different response, but mine is one of both gratitude and joy. Keep reading... 

God’s Forever Family: The Jesus People Movement in America, by Larry Eskridge (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), 386 pp.

There were times, in the reading of this book, that I was brought to laughter, and times where I nearly wept. Those of you who are old enough to remember the Jesus People movement may have a different response, but mine is one of both gratitude and joy.

I was 19 years old in the summer of 1970. Two friends and I drove cross-country from Norman, Oklahoma, to Lake Tahoe, Nevada, to participate in a summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ. These were volatile times, in more than one way. Politically, President Richard Nixon was midway through his first term and the war in Viet Nam was escalating. Culturally, the 60’s had taken their toll on the country, especially on its conservative and more traditional folk. Spiritually, though, it was a revolution! Most experts date the full-blown explosion of the Jesus movement to the summer of 1970. Only divine providence could have arranged for this ultra-conservative, Southern Baptist, nineteen-year-old-soon-to-be-sophomore at the University of Oklahoma to be present when it happened.

During my time in Tahoe, I borrowed a friend’s car and drove by myself to Berkeley, Californi

Here it is, the day after Christmas. We’ve heard his name, sung of him in countless carols, and yet many hesitate, fearful that if they entrust themselves to his love and care he will abandon them or disappoint them or fail to live up to expectations. This challenge from Jonathan Edwards seems uniquely appropriate this year as we consider how to respond to the Christ of Christmas. Keep reading...

Here it is, the day after Christmas. We’ve heard his name, sung of him in countless carols, and yet many hesitate, fearful that if they entrust themselves to his love and care he will abandon them or disappoint them or fail to live up to expectations. This challenge from Jonathan Edwards seems uniquely appropriate this year as we consider how to respond to the Christ of Christmas.

"What are you afraid of, that you dare not venture your soul upon Christ? Are you afraid that he cannot save you; that he is not strong enough to conquer the enemies of your soul? But how can you desire one stronger than the 'mighty God' as Christ is called in Isa. 9:6? Is there need of greater than infinite strength? Are you afraid that he will not be willing to stoop so low as to take any gracious notice of you? But then, look on him, as he stood in the ring of soldiers, exposing his blessed face to be buffeted and spit upon by them! Behold him bound with his back uncovered to those that smote him! And behold him hanging on the cross! Do you think that he that had condescension enough to stoop to these things, and that for his crucifiers, will be unwilling to accept of you if you come to him? Or, are you afraid that if he does accept of you, that God the Father will not accept of him for you? But consider, will God reject his own Son, in whom his infinite delight is, and has been, from all eternity, and who is so united to him, that if he should reject him he would reject