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.

Reasons to be Holy

I’ve been listening to Kevin DeYoung’s new book, The Hole in our Holiness. On my way into work I heard this, and I had to Google it to get the exact wording. This is definitely a money quote:

God doesn’t command obedience “just cuz.” He gives us dozens of specific reasons to be holy. God can prescribe many different medicines for motivation. If you’re struggling with por­nography, he might call to mind your identity in Christ or admon­ish you that the sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God. If you are fighting pride, God might assure you that he gives grace to the humble or remind you that you follow a cruci­fied Messiah. He can highlight your adoption, justification, rec­onciliation, or union with Christ. God can stir you up to love and good deeds with warnings and promises, with love and fear, with positive or negative examples. He can remind you of who you are, or who you were, or who you are becoming. God can appeal to your good, the good of others, or his own glory. You could prob­ably find a hundred biblical reasons to be holy. And the sooner we explore and apply those reasons, the more equipped we’ll be to fight sin, the more eager to make every effort to be more like Christ, and the more ready to say with the apostle John, “his com­mandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3).

Book Review: Found: God's Will by John MacArthur

My wife and I have reviewed two of John MacArthur's books previously (here and here). This latest review is of the audiobook, Found: God's Will.

A friend of mine describes John MacArthur as to the point, no fluff. He could have been talking about his book, Found: God's Will. Compared with other books of his, this one is a bit on the short side—only 64 pages or 1.42 hours. That's not to say he doesn't cover the material well. In fact, the shortness of the book goes to strengthen his point: finding the will of God for your life is not that difficult.

MacArthur uses Scripture passages from the New Testament that specifically mention God's will and extrapolates from them what God would have you do. Specifically, he addresses God's will for you to be saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, and suffering. The last chapter deals with God's specific will for your life in the day-to-day and even life-changing decisions you must make.

The narrator captures MacArthur's strong voice and even his sarcasm at times, which adds life to the book. Found: God's Will was a nice, short explanation of God's will that won't take long to read or listen to. If you want to know what the Bible says, this book will tell you. If you want a play-by-play explanation of what you need to do, you won't find it.

If you're looking for something a little longer on the subject, I strongly suggest you to check out Kevin DeYoung's Just Do Something. I reviewed it some months ago and liked it so much that I've purchased three print versions for gifting purposes. It was very good.

To order the audiobook, visit ChristianAudio (direct link).
To view more reviews, visit Amazon.com.
To view a preview of the book, visit GoogleBooks (direct link).

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from ChristianAudio as part of their Blogger Review Program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Book Review: Just Do Something

I've recently been accepted into the ChristianAudio Reviewer's program to download some audiobooks, listen to them, and write a short review. This is definitely a book I would recommend for people wondering what God's will is for their life. The book is available at Amazon.com and the audio version is available at ChristianAudio.com (and it's not expensive, either).

Kevin DeYoung presents a practical, down-to-earth presentation of what it means to find and follow God’s will. Or should I say “make decisions?” He presents a strong and common sense argument against over-spiritualizing our directionless meandering through life and just applying scriptural principles to our decision-making. His message is simple: Just do something. Through the course of the book he explains that there’s more to following God’s will than arbitrarily doing whatever you want, but he makes finding God’s will easier and more difficult at the same time.

It is easier in the sense that we don’t have to wait for God to give us an unmistakable impression that we need to go and do something. What God has chosen to tell us about His will is evident in the Bible. It is harder in the sense that we are called to live godly lives, not to wait for God to reveal our next step to us.

The narrator reads the book the way it should be spoken. He adjusts his tone, pitch, and inflection, so a question sounds like a question, and sarcasm, well, let’s just say I love this book.

Mr. DeYoung presents his arguments and then carefully qualifies them, which I found to be a “page-turner” (so what if it’s an audio book). He’d say something and I’d think to myself, “That sounds right, but I have a reservation or two.” He’d then go on to explain exactly what he means and what he doesn’t mean, clarifying it with Scripture and clearing up misconceptions. This is a great book, especially for people who are waiting for God to show them what to do. Just do something!