Archive for the 'Gons, Phil' Category
Robert Letham. The Work of Christ. Contours of Christian Theology. IVP, 1993. 284 pp.
Letham’s The Work of Christ continues a series of theological studies (Contours of Christian Theology) that seeks to cover the main themes of Christian doctrine (9). The books of this series are intended “for theological students of all levels” (9). An attempt has been made to avoid overly technical language and a purely academic style. This book in particular seeks to give a fresh and contemporary analysis to the issues related to Christ’s work showing its practicality and relevance for every age.
Continue reading ‘The Work of Christ | Robert Letham’
Like this post? Subscribe to our feed 
.
R. C. Sproul. Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification. Baker, 1997. 221 pp.
Sproul has produced a very lucid and insightful theological work dealing with the Reformation teaching concerning sola fide in relationship to the situation facing the modern day church. It is written on a level that can be read with profit by pastors, teachers, students, and laymen alike. In our age of tolerance and neglect of “divisive” doctrine, Sproul’s book is a much needed cry for the importance of dealing with the doctrines of salvation with knife-edge precision.
Continue reading ‘Faith Alone | R. C. Sproul’
Like this post? Subscribe to our feed .
Leon Morris. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross. Eerdmans, 2001. 318 pp.
Morris has written a very thorough and scholarly linguistic and exegetical study of some of the most important soteriological terms related to the cross work of Christ. Though many scholarly works undermine the authority of Scripture and call into question the fundamental doctrines of the faith, this work is thoroughly conservative and evangelical in its defense of the historic doctrines of soteriology. However, it defends these doctrines not on the basis of tradition but on the basis of a fresh analysis of the relevant data.
Continue reading ‘The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross | Leon Morris’
Like this post? Subscribe to our feed .
James A. Borland. Christ in the Old Testament: Old Testament Appearances of Christ in Human Form. Moody, 1978. 195 pp.
James Borland’s work is the first to deal systematically with the majority of the Old Testament passages on the human form theophanies from a conservative perspective. The book is academic in nature, yet it maintains a readability that makes it accessible to the non-scholar. The Greek and Hebrew words, however, are not transliterated and sometimes not clearly defined. Borland’s states his thesis in the introduction: “All Old Testament theophanies that involved the manifestation of God in human form were appearances of the second person of the Trinity, and as such their purpose was not only to provide immediate revelation but also to prepare mankind for the incarnation of Christ” (3–4).
Continue reading ‘Christ in the Old Testament | James A. Borland’
Like this post? Subscribe to our feed .
George Smeaton. The Doctrine of the Atonement According to the Apostles. Hendrickson, 1988. 548 pp.
This book is the sequel to his former book The Doctrine of the Atonement According to Christ—both of which form an extensive two volume biblical theology of the atonement. In the first volume Smeaton deals with nearly every passage in the Gospels that refers to the death of Christ. In this second volume he handles the majority of the passages in the rest of the NT. Being a biblical theology of the atonement, it is more academic in nature and will not be light reading for the average layman. However, this kind of careful, contextual analysis will profit any reader who is willing to take the time necessary to wade through the discussion. With the goal of coming to a comprehensive understanding of the atonement, Smeaton sees a “biblico-historical” approach as absolutely essential and to be preferred to the “artificial construction [of] which systematic theology” often is guilty (v).
Continue reading ‘The Doctrine of the Atonement According to the Apostles | George Smeaton’
Like this post? Subscribe to our feed .
G. Campbell Morgan. The Crises of the Christ: The Seven Greatest Events of His Life. Wipf and Stock, 2005. 477 pp.
The well-known British Congregational minister, George Campbell Morgan (1863–1945) authored more than sixty books and booklets. Yet this work, The Crises of the Christ, stands above them all as his signature work. Virtually all who have read it over the last century agree that this is Morgan’s magnum opus. Morgan has included an unusual blend of the scholarly along with the devotional.
Continue reading ‘The Crises of the Christ | G. Campbell Morgan’
Like this post? Subscribe to our feed .
Horatius Bonar. The Everlasting Righteousness. Banner of Truth, 1993. 211 pp.
Bonar’s book, which bears the alternate title, How Shall Man Be Just With God?, is a helpful exposition of the doctrine of justification. It is written in a non-technical, devotional style so that Christians of all levels may read it with intellectual and spiritual profit. Written in the tradition of the Reformation doctrine of justification, this book sets forth the perfect righteousness of Christ as the only “relief of conscience” and acceptance with God for the needy sinner (iii). This doctrine concerns not only man’s initiation into a right relationship with God, but also his sanctification and progress in such a state, both of which are accomplished by the same thing-the substitutionary righteousness of the cross of Christ (iv).
Continue reading ‘The Everlasting Righteousness | Horatius Bonar’
Like this post? Subscribe to our feed .
Robert L. Reymond. Jesus, Divine Messiah. Christian Focus, 2003. 552 pp.
For the first time, Robert Reymond’s work on the deity of Christ has been published in one volume. Originally unable to publish it collectively, he published the separate volumes, Jesus, Divine Messiah: Old Testament Witness and Jesus, Divine Messiah: New Testament Witness, in 1990 with Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Company. Reymond rewrote some sections, added new material, and inserted transliteration of the Hebrew and Greek. This volume is academic in nature, including a plethora of footnotes, frequent citations of the original languages, and no shortage of interaction with higher critical theories. It would function well as a seminary level textbook. The book is a defense of the deity of the Messiah as presented in both the Old and New Testaments.
Continue reading ‘Jesus, Divine Messiah | Robert L. Reymond’
Like this post? Subscribe to our feed .
Edwin H. Palmer. The Five Points of Calvinism. Baker, 1972. 132 pp.
Palmer’s book is a small summary of Reformed soteriology written as an introduction for the uninformed layman, containing an average of twenty study questions at the end of each chapter. It is not for the theologically astute, although it does have some good insights, especially in the latter chapters. The title of the book can be misleading, because five points cannot adequately express what Calvinism is, and because the five points were not Calvin’s devising (5). The breadth of Calvinism is in a sense as broad as the Bible, and Calvinism is, at its heart, really “an attempt to express all the Bible and only the Bible” (5). Calvinism is not and was not a novelty or an invention, but rather a rediscovery of truths that were for many years absent from the church (6).
Continue reading ‘The Five Points of Calvinism | Edwin H. Palmer’
Like this post? Subscribe to our feed .
John F. Walvoord. Jesus Christ Our Lord. Moody, 1969. 318 pp.
This volume, written by well-known author and dispensational theologian John F. Walvoord, is a theological work on the person and work of Christ that systematically presents key Christological themes. Christ’s person occupies the bulk of the discussion, though Walvoord does address His life and work as well. Although it is not overly technical, neither is it casual reading. It is suited for the college level, but both pastors and more learned laymen would profit from it as well.
The portion of the book relevant to this review covers the subjects of recent trends in Christological discussion, the person of Christ, Christ in eternity, in Old Testament history, in typology, in prophecy, and the incarnation.
Continue reading ‘Jesus Christ Our Lord | John F. Walvoord’
Like this post? Subscribe to our feed .
