Charles

When I first began reading this book I thought it might well be a good primer to read and recommend to anyone wanting to know more about the New Perspectives on Paul (NPP) movement. One of its leading proponents, N. T. Wright, has become quite well known in our circles in recent times. As I continued to read, I stood by my original thought but had to modify it the further I read. It is far more than a primer.

Not only do the authors do an outstanding job of explaining the weaknesses and errors of Wright’s thinking on Paul, known as the new perspectives, the doctrine of justification by faith is presented in a clear and challenging manner. Both authors demonstrate not only a good grasp of what Wright and the New Perspectives are saying, but they use the biblical historical explanation of justification by faith to counteract the New Perspectives which they agree is not really new after all.

As we stated when we reviewed Wright’s book on justification last year, you have to read carefully because it is a bit tricky. For example: Wright says much about things we believe and he does so in a manner that without discern and caution, one might think, that is what we believe. For example: Wright talks about the righteousness of God. We all believe God is righteous; however, his reference is not to God’s moral righteousness but to his covenantal faithfulness. His reference regarding justification comes from more of an ecclesiological position than a soteriological one.

Wright says things we readily appreciate and agree with until we see how they work themselves out in the NPP, and then we realize that we are not on the same page. Even the definition of faith differs from our biblically reformed perspective. How does this come about? Barcley and Duncan are helpful in demonstrating how Wright and the other proponents of NPP operate on a totally different framework in explaining the Bible. One of the simplest things one picks up on in the NPP is that Paul is not writing Romans or Galatians to combat legalism but rather as the authors of this book explain re: NPP, “Paul is simply arguing that one does not have to be a Jew to be righteous…Paul’s problem with Judaism was that it was not Christianity.” NPP maintains that the first century Jews’ religion was about grace and about legalism nor works. To read Galatians or Romans from the traditional position that it was, misses the point of the books. The focus is on God’s faithfulness in keeping his covenant. Therefore, the evangelicals, since the Reformation, have misread Paul.

As for the book’s structure, chapter one contains a helpful overview of the NPP. Further chapters discuss things such as: was Paul battling against Jewish legalism? Covenant, law and ‘works of the law’ in Paul’s theology. Another chapter deals with Wright’s approach to interpreting the Bible using a narrative approach. The book at this point explains how Wright, though using the covenant motif to talk about Paul’s meaning, he misses the essence of the covenant of grace and the authors suggest one of the ways this happens is because he leaves out the original covenant of works, which definitely impacts the understanding of the covenant of grace.

The last chapter in the book is an extremely helpful precise on the doctrine of justification. Because Wright believes that the New Testament adapts a first century Jewish worldview, he misses the whole story by focusing only on a part of the story. Justification has far more meaning than simply God keeping his covenant promise to Abraham.

The authors remind us that while Wright claims to be an evangelical and writing within the Reformed tradition, he says some good things, but in the final analysis he falls short of that tradition. They wrote, “Paul did not simply pick up and adapt the first-century Jewish world-view, as Wright claims. He radically rethought his own Jewish training and hopes in the light of the total biblical story! Or, perhaps better, divine revelation is and through him proved a better option than human stories. It was God’s revelation, not Paul’s own meditation, which led him to rewrite the basic storyline and world-view of his upbringing.” Translating this; justification is not a story or narrative, it is an act of God’s free grace. The Westminster Shorter Catechism has it right, “Justification is an act of God’s free grace wherein he pardons all our sins, and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, and received by faith alone.”

Read this book! Study this book! Discuss in your church and small groups.

The follow is an interview, conducted by Charles Dunahoo, CEP Coordinator, with Philip Yancey, New York Times best selling author. His recent book, What Good is God? In Search of a Faith That Matters, (Faith Words, 2010, 287 pages) sets the stage for the interview. Yancey is the author of numerous books that CEP recommends including: Disappointment with God, Where is God When It Hurts, Finding God in Unexpected Places are among the list of challenging, helpful, and available books.

Charles:Philip, I appreciated your candidness, honesty, and insights as I read What Good Is God. That is definitely a relevant question and title. What is the key message you would like for the readers to take away with them?

Philip: The question, “What Good Is God?” is asked by many people today: not only by skeptics like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, but also by people of faith puzzling over personal challenges and wondering why God doesn’t answer their urgent prayers. As a journalist, I look for real-world answers, and my travels have taken me to many to many countries. I’ve included some of the best answers I’ve found [in this book].

I answer the question on three levels. First, God is in the business of transformation, and I tell stories of individuals transformed by God’s grace, including prostitutes, alcoholics, Dalits (Untouchables) in India, and leprosy patients. No matter how low we fall, God’s grace goes lower still. Second, I see God’s goodness expressed in community. At a place of trauma, such as in Mumbai, India, or on the Virginia Tech campus, or in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, the church responds with hope and comfort as well as on-the-ground practical help.

Finally, as Jesus predicted, the yeast of the Gospel affects all of society. If you Google the statistics on countries that are the most prosperous, most free, most free of corruption, most just in gender issues, with maybe one or two exceptions you’ll find the top twenty countries are all countries with a strong Christian heritage. On all three of these levels, the goodness of God manifests itself among us flawed human beings. By reporting on these stories, I hope to encourage Christians and answer some of the skeptics-not by argument but simply by describing the fruit of the Gospel.

Charles:We share a common concern about Christians living in a bubble, isolating themselves or being isolated from the real world. You have seen this in your own experience and as you have traveled. What would you say the church needs to do to prepare Christians to live outside the bubble and take the faith into the marketplace?

Philip: I’ve often puzzled over Jesus’ strong criticisms of the Pharisees, who were among the most moral people of his day. They worked hard to obey all of God’s laws, and yet in the process they fell victim to pettiness, to judgmentalism, to lack of compassion, to rigid legalism. Reflecting on Jesus’ criticisms, I concluded that their main problem was that they hung out around other Pharisees all day!

In a nation like the United States, with a strong Christian population, we too can insulate ourselves and build safe “bubbles” to live in. The only cure is to get out into the real world. I work to find organizations and book groups so that I interact regularly with nonbelievers, both to understand their different perspective and also to try to practice what Jesus said, to act like yeast in bread, like the preservative of salt. Jesus spoke of small things when he described the Kingdom: the smallest seed in the garden grows into a great bush and the birds of the air come and nest in it. I don’t worry about the size of the church; rather, our calling is to be faithful, in the world, and let God grow the fruit.

Charles: Based on your experience and observation what advice would you give to those of us involved in education and discipleship as it relates to the “rising generations” whose religion has been described as “moralistic therapeutic deism?”

Philip: That’s a beautifully descriptive phrase-I think it comes from Christian Smith-and shows how the broader culture of the individualistic West has infiltrated the church. Mainly, we need to articulate what it means to be a counter-culture. We live in a celebrity culture that judges people on such qualities as fame, power, and beauty-exactly the opposite of Jesus’ approach. We live in a culture of personal fulfillment and satisfaction; after all, our country’s founding documents promise “the pursuit of happiness.”

The Sermon on the Mount is a good place to start. You can’t read that sermon and come away with a religion of moralistic therapeutic deism. Jesus describes a God intimately involved with our lives, and blows away our moralistic assumptions.

The PCA has a great respect for solid theology, combined with biblical knowledge, as Tim Keller is demonstrating so well. You have your work cut out for you in the current cultural climate, I know.

The best cure, though, is to get out into the real world and serve the needy, as Jesus did. Deism doesn’t do much for an alcoholic or sex addict struggling to get free. A therapeutic religion doesn’t do it for a young couple challenged by a child with serious birth defects. The church needs to become a truly caring community that puts the radical demands of the Gospel into practice.

If you look at the appeal to rising generations of people like Shane Claiborne or David Platt (author of Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream), it seems clear that young people especially respond to a more meaningful, even sacrificial faith. And, of course, short-term missions take young people to places like Haiti and India where a shallow, self-indulgent faith has no place.

Charles: Philip, I thank you for taking the time to respond to our questions. As I read through your book, I too was struck by the reminder of just how many people are honestly asking this question: What Good is God? Francis Schaeffer said that we must encourage honest questions and then provide honest answers. Your book will help us not only be aware but also enable us to respond more clearly to such questions.

Your responses to the people in the situations described in the book are both substantively and sensitively framed. Your travels and encounters set forth in this book, from Blacksburg, Va. and the Virginia Tech campus after the massacre, to Mumbai, India, to China, Africa, and the U.S. reflect a realism that will challenge the reader. Just to hear one say, “What good is God? He rescued me from sex slavery and drug addiction. God brought me back to life!” That’s what this book is all about, and we need to read it.

Philip, your closing words reach out to us in a heart wrenching way…”The question “What good is God?” is an open question whose answer god has invested in us his followers. We re the ones called to demonstrate a faith that matters to the watching world.” Thank you.

Following through with the lead article by Danny Mitchell and especially the “Almost Christian” review, this is a moment to call attention to this book (two booklets) by the late Francis Schaeffer. Actually as the title suggests, this little volume contains two of Schaeffer’s earlier works, first printed separately Crossway wisely combined them into a single volume.

I will mention the second, Two Contents, Two Realities first. This is a little book (booklet) that church leaders and Christians in general should read often or at least periodically. Schaeffer, in his challenging style, reminds us what Christianity and the church’s mission is all about. In his prophetic like insights, what Schaeffer wrote indicated that he knew what was going on in the world and how Christians should not only understand but to be prepared to respond.

In Two Contents and Two Realities he begins with an ongoing challenge. “There are four things which I think are absolutely necessary if we as Chrsitian are going to meet the need of our age and the overwhelming pressure we are increasingly facing.” His words continue to speak clear challenges to us. What does he mean?

The two necessary contents are sound doctrine and honest answers to honest questions. “Christianity is truth and we must hold that truth,” he says. He continues to say that we must understand that truth, not blindly believing, but to have a solid foundation. Of course he goes on to say that is the role of the church, and especially Christian education’s assignment to disciple people with the truth of sound doctrine. That has never been truer than this present time.

The second content necessary for today is to be able to give honest answers to honest questions. Two things undergird this content: 1. people do have genuine questions that Christians should be able to answer and 2. people often need help in knowing what and how to ask real substantive questions. The Apostle Peter teaches us to be able to give a reason to anyone who asks us, why we believe what we believe (1 Peter 3:15). Of course knowing what we believe and embrace from God’s truth are the keys to following through with this content. Both content areas are necessary if we are to take the truth seriously.

The two realities which grow from the two contents are true spirituality and human relationships. We must embrace a spiritual reality if we properly understand the two contents. This is important because some people believe that being intellectually self conscious and spiritual are antithetical. Not so says Schaeffer!

As the two contents impact our own spiritual live, so must they impact our human relationships. Schaeffer was fond of saying that Christianity not only produces true truth, but also beauty as well, especially in relationships, both with Christians and non-Christians-spouses, parents, co workers, fellow believers-every relationship. The church not only teaches the truth but it shows the alternative to the world around us.

Crossway Books did a good thing by combining this profound booklet with 25 Basic Bible Studies. In these studies, Schaeffer gives us the Scriptural foundation for the truths of what one might call systematic theology. Of course Schaeffer believes that Christianity is a religion of truth systematically embraced. Each part builds on and combines with the other doctrines to build the Christian faith.

The Bible studies are the best way to teach the two contents and underscore the two realities. The studies are appropriate for any age group from young people to adults. The studies begin at the beginning; study one, for example is, “The God of the Bible is personal.” This basic truth is followed by a number of biblical references to that point. Another example is, “This is the one who is our mediator. There is no other.” That statement is followed by topics and scriptures on Christ the Mediator.

This is a strategically important book. It follows in the line of thought of a book, Soul Searching, reviewed earlier in Equip to Disciple by Dr. Christian Smith, professor of sociology at Notre Dame University, formerly from University of North Carolina. It is built around the largest study to date on the American teenager from 13-17 years of age.

You will remember that Smith concluded that the religion of the American teenager could best be described as “moralistic, therapeutic deism.” Dean, as a part of that earlier study, builds on that theme and concludes that teen religion is all about being nice and good.

In spite of some claims that teenagers are not able to talk coherently or deeply about much, Dean says her research begs to differ. They have much to say especially about money, sex, and family relationships. They are not “naturally inarticulate,” says Dean. However, the research shows that among those teens, the Mormons and the evangelical Christians are the most articulate.

Dean says that teenagers share four things: a personal story about God, a deep connection to a community of faith, a sense of purpose, and a sense of hope about the future. Religious teens tend to do better in school, have a better relationship with their parents, and engage in less high risk behavior. Smith said they would even wear their seat belts, as a case in point.

Dean underscores it is a religion of “niceness.” God is a nice God, they say, and wants us to be nice. Nice people go to heaven. That’s the backdrop of Dean’s title Almost Christian. What teens are getting, especially from home and the church, is “almost Christian.” And she concludes that what needs to be done, in order for the teenagers not to be almost but fully Christian, is for the church to recover its sense of mission and model ways of being Christians that go beyond self-serving spiritualities by embodying God’s self-giving love for others.

One might be tempted to say, that doesn’t sound too badly; however, Dean points out at the beginning of the book, “Here’s the gist of what you are about to read: American young people are, theoretically, fine with religious faith -but it does not concern them very much, and it is not durable enough to survive long after they graduate from high school.” And do the facts ever bear that out! But sounding the same reminder as did Smith, she is quite clear where they get this “almost Christian,” or “moralistic, therapeutic deism.” The answer is from their parents and other adults who in turn are given an almost Christian message on a regular basis. But listen to her challenging conclusion:

“What Christian adults know that teenagers are still discovering is that every one of them is an amazing child of God. Their humanity is embedded in their souls as well as their DNA. Their family is the church, their vocation is a grateful response for the chance to participate in the divine plan of salvation, their hope lies in the fact Christ has claimed them, and secured a future home for them. If we, the church, lived alongside young people as though this were true-we would be the community Christ calls us to be. That would be more than enough.”

Now you see why I call this a timely strategic book to read and take to heart.

This parent/student handbook is an alternative to the traditional age-based Communicant’s Class, offering Reformed and Presbyterian churches of any size a way to bring students into the church as communing members when they are ready.

Covenant Discipleship gives the oversight of teaching the essence of church membership back to parents, providing them with the tools and resources to guide their children through the process of learning about the essentials of the faith, importance of church membership, and the core values and theology of a Reformed and Presbyterian church.

This book is being used in many of our churches as a tool for training parents in a small group setting. It does exactly what the subtitle describes – practically tells us ‘how the Gospel shapes and transforms parenting.’ Farley is deeply concerned that children raised in the church have grown up and left the faith. There have been thousands of books written on parenting but this one surely takes us to the heart of the problem.

Drawing upon his two life experiences of reading the Word and raising his own children in the church, Farley has this observation. The results of parenting has nothing to do with wherethe child was educated or how regular was their church attendance. The common denominator between success and failure seems to be the spiritual depth and sincerity of the parents, especially the spiritual depth and sincerity of the father.

“In my experience”, writes Farley, “the most effective parents have a clear grasp of the cross and its implications for daily life.” So, this writer begins his book with the Gospel and its power in your life. This is the perfect beginning to his fleshing out of Godly fear, holiness, love and grace as it affects every area of parenting.

Church leaders and parents should read and study this book. The one conclusion from this book that can not be overlooked is this: We must teach our children. Delegating that task to others will not work unless we are first doing it at home. This seems to be the clarion call ringing across the evangelical church today. Gospel-Powered Parenting gives clear and practical teaching to the need of the hour.

This is a twelve chapter book and would be perfect for a twelve-week study in your church’s adult education program. There are several excellent Study questions at the end of each chapter. If you are a parent, read it. The Gospel is rich and will bring power to what you are doing in your home every day.