From the Author of The Pilgrim's Progress

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. By John Bunyan. Audiobook by christianaudio. Read by Simon Vance. 2013.

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Next to the Bible, John Bunyan’s classic The Pilgrim’s Progress is probably one of the most widely read books of all time. Generations have been encouraged by this allegory of the Christian life, but few know much about its author. Bunyan was a Baptist minister in the 1600s who spent much time in prison for operating outside the authority of the state-supported Church of England. During this his imprisonments he wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress. Sometime before, in 1666, he wrote an autobiographical account of his journey to faith, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.

Bunyun’s autobiography touches on his life both before and after placing his faith in Christ, and he gives an explanation as to how he came into the ministry and ended up in prison for preaching the Word. Much of what he writes centers on his struggle to accept Christ, believing that his sins committed after coming to a knowledge of Christ were unforgiveable. He hoped that his struggle, as well as his ultimate rest in Christ, would be an encouragement to others who may have similar worries about becoming a Christian.

Reading a book written three hundred fifty years ago would pose some challenges because of archaic spelling and language, but listening to it read by Simon Vance eliminates or reduces most of these. The spoken word is much more intelligible, and gives a more contemporary feel to the book than you get from just reading it.

Christians should become familiar with the lives of faithful believers from times past. Bunyan’s autobiography is a rich resource giving insight not only into the events of his life, but also his thought processes and inner struggles as well. A welcome insight into the man who wrote The Pilgrim’s Progress.

Disclosure of material connection: I received a review copy of this work from the publisher.

Book Review: The Hole in our Holiness

The Hole in Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness. By Kevin DeYoung. Wheaton: Crossway Books. pp. 160. 2012. ($17.99 Print | $11.99 Kindle | 12.98 Audio)

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Kevin DeYoung’s newest book is a conversational treatment on the role of holiness in the life of a believer. We’re often drawn towards either an “anything goes” mentality or a self-righteous pharisaism that misses the mark of Biblical holiness. DeYoung, on the other hand, aims to stay true to the Bible and do it in such a way that is clear and helpful to his readers.

One thing I most appreciate about DeYoung is his conversational manner of writing that can take a challenging and complex topic and explain it in such a way that you don’t feel like you’re reading a technical theologial work. His writing is witty and clear, and resonates well with an average guy like myself. Likewise, his stories and humor serve to teach and engage, not merely to break up a weighty paragraph or topic.

Regarding holiness, DeYoung takes readers to the Bible and brings into focus the key areas of motivation and empowerment, which helps us avoid those two pitfalls mentioned above. Although the book was a helpful resource, it didn’t feel as well unified as others he’s written or that I’ve read on the same topic of holiness. Maybe it’s because I listened to this shortly after listening to Jerry Bridges’ The Discipline of Grace, but after comparing the two, I’d have to give this book only three out of five stars because Bridges’ book was more unified, personal, and devotional than DeYoung’s.

Even still, I recommend DeYoung’s book, just not as much as Jerry Bridges’.

I received this book from christianaudio for the purpose of review.

The Discipline of Grace

To preach the gospel to yourself, then, means that you continually face up to your own sinfulness and then flee to Jesus through faith in His shed blood and righteous life. It means that you appropriate, again by faith, the fact that Jesus fully satisfied the law of God, that He is your propitiation, and that God’s holy wrath is no longer directed toward you.

I’ve been listening to Jerry Bridges’ book The Discipline of Grace: God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness. Although it’s been a little while since I last went through his book The Pursuit of Holiness, I’m enjoying this one even more than his more famous, prior work.

Bridges has an uncanny ability to take the deep truths of Scripture and make them accessible and understandable to everyone, from new believers on up. In this book he draws upon various passages in the Bible to teach on the gospel’s implications for believers. All too often we presuppose that the gospel is for those who aren’t Christians, but Bridges reminds us that the foundation of every step in the Christian walk is the gospel. The Apostle Paul, in Galatians 3:3, asks, “Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” In other words, Paul’s readers entered into fellowship with Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives through believing the gospel. Everything afterwards much be completed (perfected) by the Spirit through continued belief in the gospel. Bridges takes this deep truth and opens it up through passage after passage of Scripture that is clear and easy to understand.

Bridges is one of those authors that I can’t help but enjoy reading and learning from. I highly recommend The Discipline of Grace to everyone, and I believe that the earlier in your Christian walk that you read it, the better off you’ll be in the long run.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord

The book of Joshua is a popular source for Bible studies and programs about manhood and being a leader in the home. The culmination of one such Bible study I’m involved in makes reference to an oft-quoted (and shortened) verse at the end of the book:

Choose this day whom you will serve… As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (cf. Jos. 24:15)

I think that Joshua has plenty of positive applications for men. But I think there’s something very misguided about quoting this partial verse. This (edited) verse serves as an announcement that our purpose and our intention is to put God first. It’s a resolution of sorts, an act of defiance against a world system that elevates pride, material gain, power, fame; namely, self, over and above God.

Having said that, why would I think that using this verse as a proverbial line in the sand is misguided? Because the context in which the verse is found is anything but promising to the aspiring man and father. The book records the people’s response to Joshua followed by Joshua’s response to the people, and it isn’t very optimistic:

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods… Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”
But Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins.” (Jos. 24:16-19)

And the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and served the Baals. And they abandoned the LORD, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and bowed down to them. And they provoked the LORD to anger. They abandoned the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. (Judges 2:11-13)

But take a look at the reason why Joshua said they were not able to serve the Lord: “for he is a holy God.” Why would God’s holiness prevent them from being able to serve him? Because they, like us, were sinners. God, as the Bible describes him, does not appeal to our sinful human nature. We want to serve a God who serves us, or at least allows us to live as we please. We would certainly not want to serve a God whose standard of holiness surpasses what we can muster.

The problem with quoting that abbreviated verse is that it fails to take into account the truth communicated in the rest of Scripture: human beings are incapable of serving God. Our own sin gets in the way again and again. That’s why we have to always look to Christ. It is in Christ that God’s holy requirement was met and his wrath was satisfied. It is in Christ that we receive forgiveness of sins and the grace we need to live for him. Therefore our hope as men and as fathers does not depend on our ability, since that would mean total failure as the Isrealites discovered. Instead it depends on the redeeming work of Christ in and through our lives.

This is actually freeing, because instead of arrogantly stating that we will serve the Lord, we can make a humble confession that we are inadequate and we are looking to Christ as our source of manhood and strength in our families:

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

Joshua was right.The very next book in the Bible records what happened after Joshua died:

The Boldness of Micah

Micah was an unpopular prophet. Even in our day, as a member of the “Minor Prophets,” his book is often glossed over in favor of something more exciting and dramatic like Isaiah or Jeremiah. If it weren’t for Micah 5:2 in which Bethlehem is singled out as the birthplace of the Messiah, it is likely few of us would come into much contact with this book.

Micah’s unpopularity stemmed from his message. Although his detractors are nameless, even to this day, at the time they were the kings of cool. For a fee they would say the most wonderful things about their listeners—stating that their message was coming directly from God. Micah also claimed his message was from God. But unless God is guilty of doublespeak (Titus 1:2 says He’s not), that would mean that either Micah or his opponents were lying.

Micah’s message did not come with a price tag, and it didn’t contain the most positive words for his hearers. He recognized that his opponents were popular, but he argued their message was false—flattering compliments in exchange for a full belly and comfortable clothes. Micah’s message was entirely unflattering and he likely suffered for it. In comparison to the false prophets, he said,

As for me, however, I am filled with power by the Spirit of the Lord, with justice and courage, to proclaim to Jacob his rebellion and to Israel his sin. [Micah 3:8 HCSB]

In our day, a message about sin and rebellion is not popular. Instead preachers are encouraged to proclaim a message about the power of positive thinking. That kind of thinking will not lead to true repentance and faith that our righteous and holy God demands from us rebels and sinners.

We must stand firm to proclaim the gospel—all of it. Without recognition of our sinful condition, we can never trust in Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. There is no grace where there is no acknowledgment that it is needed.

The false prophets required food and drink, money and material things, before they would share their message. Micah required one thing—the Spirit of the Lord. It was the Spirit of God that gave him power, justice, and courage to stand firm with the message that Judah and Israel were under the condemnation of God for their sin.