Book reviews

Shepherding a church to Calvinism

Tony Reinke Book reviews, Books, BR > Crossway, Calvinism, Churches in Omaha

It’s exciting to see so many popular leaders taking a strong and clear stand on the doctrines of grace, also known under the title of ‘Calvinism.’ Many of you see the biblical accuracy of these doctrines but have a congregation requiring some convincing. Here are some resources you may find beneficial.

A book that may help. The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel by James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken (Crossway, 2002) does an excellent job in clearly explaining each of the TULIP doctrines. But it goes further by explaining why churches and culture NEED the doctrines of grace. It is an excellent book in showing the connection between these doctrines and how their demise brings theological liberalism in its place. The Calvinist’s life is one of humble service to the betterment of culture, they argue. It is a well-balanced book of doctrine and practice showing that Calvinism is not only biblically accurate but that the needs of the church and society require it, too.

Book #2. The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination by Loraine Boettner is a classic. I love the straightforwardness of it — biblically deep and simple. Answers objections thoroughly.

Sermons that may help. And on the same note, I would recommend you pay attention to how one pastor is leading his congregation into the doctrines of grace. This Sunday Ethan Burmeister, pastor of Core Community Church in Omaha, NE (Acts 29) began an expositional study through Ephesians. This series is very significant in the life of the church. If you are about to attempt this transition, you will find his context and approach beneficial. The audio versions of these sermons can be heard through their website here.

Book review: Unless You Repent, collected sermons of Jonathan Edwards (1567690602)

Tony Reinke Book reviews, BR > Soli Deo Gloria Pub., Great Quotes, Hell, Jonathan Edwards, Judgement of God

Book review

Unless You Repent by Jonathan Edwards

The faithful preaching of God’s judgment upon sinners sparks revival. America’s most spiritually traumatic era — the Great Awakening between the 1730s and 1740s — reminds us that when hell is prominent in the pulpit, souls are sobered, awakened and converted.

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758 ) was both one of the most prominent preachers of the Great Awakening and the author of one of the most powerful sermons on God’s judgment. Sinners in the Hands of and Angry God was his.

For Edwards, a firm understanding of hell was central to the message of the Cross, and central to preserving the justice and glory and perfections of God. In one way or another, every eternal truth is tied to God’s judgment in some way. And so God’s judgment retained a central place in the pulpit for Edwards.

Many of you may have already read Edwards’ most famous sermon on hell. But there are several other sermons that develop this same theme from different texts. Most of these have never been published! Recently, Soli Deo Gloria published a volume titled, Unless You Repent: Fifteen previously unpublished sermons on the fate awaiting the impenitent. The sermons were compiled and edited by Dr. Don Kistler.

I have seen a number of collections of previously unpublished Edwards sermons, and this volume stands as one of the best compiled and most helpful for the preacher.

Examples

Here are a few excerpts that stand out.

Speaking to a superficial, appearance-saturated climate similar to ours, Edwards pierced hearts by presenting the horrors of hell clearly.

“Just as bodies of the saints shall be made beautiful and glorious, like Christ’s most glorious body, so we may conclude that, on the contrary, the bodies of the wicked will be of a most hideous, ghastly appearance. In the world, sometimes a filthy, loathsome soul dwells in a beautiful body; but then they will appear externally as they are internally: as their souls are most deformed, so their bodies will be of a most odious form. They will appear frightful, like devils; there will be that in their aspect that will show the sinfulness and hatefulness of their disposition” (p. 108).

As you can see from this one example, these sermons are extraordinary in their description of hell. Specifically, this volume showcases Edwards’ unparalleled ability to illustrate the biblical terms of God’s eternal judgment (like winepress, furnace, etc). Here, Edward’s explains the worm that does not die:

“The expression of the worm’s not dying in the carcasses of these men [Mark 9:44; Isa. 66:24] alludes to this: when a dead carcass lies upon the face of the earth till it begins to putrefy, it will presently be overrun with worms; the carcass will be filled within and without with worms gnawing upon it. And the expression of their fires not being quenched alludes to the custom of the heathens when any of them died to burn them in a fire and so entomb their ashes. Now the prophet says that their worm shall not die. When a dead carcass lies putrefying upon the earth, after a while the carcass will be consumed and the worms will die; but the worms that shall gnaw upon the carcasses of these men shall not die, that is, their souls shall always be tormented. The similitude holds forth exceeding misery. How miserable must a man be to be alive and yet have his flesh, his bowels, and his vital parts all filled with worms, continually gnawing upon the body as they to upon a dead carcass” (pp. 128-129).

Such powerful imagery is fitting for the horrors of God’s eternal judgment and Edwards is competent to paint these images for his hearers.

Edwards sermons are clearly driven by the biblical language of hell. For Edwards, God’s judgment is fair and justified by the offenses of the sinner towards God. His judgments are self-glorifying and eternal in duration (Rev. 19:1). It is a judgment reserved for the next world and so it’s ignored by the foolish in this world. It is a judgment that rests upon each man, woman and child for each sin, even something so minor as calling your brother a ‘fool.’ It is a judgment necessary from a sovereign authority towards rebellion. It’s consistent with basic reasoning. His judgment is sworn, authenticated and confirmed by an oath. It is the due judgment upon sinners that rob God of His glory. Hell is misery to the soul, without pity or mercy from God. It is the unmixed winepress of wrath, where the vessels of wrath are filled to the brim with wrath. It is no mere candle flame but a stoked furnace of raging destruction. Hell is to be banished from everything that is good and perfect and pleasurable. It is a wrath of pure darkness, pure fire, intolerable and immediate. It is a judgment growing hotter each day upon sinner, a pain for both soul and body from head to toe. It is a judgment un-exaggerated by strong biblical language.

To continue unmoved by the doctrine of hell, is to continue upon a path towards it. It is a wakeup call to all sinners and it reminds us of the wrath poured out on God’s own Son for us. Hell exults the grace and mercy of God. Hell is central to God, central to Christ and central to the gospel.

As Edwards warns, “Unless you frequently think of it [hell], you will never take any considerable care or pains to escape it” (p. 115).

Format

Unless You Repent, contains fifteen total sermons. All are re-typeset. One sermon is a fragment (sermon #6) and one has already been printed (sermon #10 appears in volume 14 of the Yale edition of The Works of Jonathan Edwards).

An incredibly powerful book, filled with well-developed thoughts and expositions that you would expect from Edwards. And the cover? Let’s just say this is one of the few Edwards titles you can judge by its cover.

Edwards is not content with damnation, but turns the focus to Christ who takes all the ugliness of our sin upon Himself and opens the door of eternal joy. Unless You Repent is an excellent source of meditation upon the doctrine of God’s judgment. But it will also prove useful to reach the lost, especially church-goers who are awakened to their sin but have not ‘closed with Christ’ (to use a Puritan phrase).

If history is repeated, the fires of awakening in America will not flame again until the church allows God’s justice and the horrors of hell to once again become central in the pulpit. As one contemporary preacher says, our pulpits must be dipped in the blood of the Lamb and singed by the fire of hell. Throughout church history, Edwards here remains our most excellent pattern.

Title: Unless You Repent
Author: Jonathan Edwards
ISBN: 1567690602
Published: 2005
Binding: hardcover/cloth (light olive, gold gilding)
Pages: 232
Dust jacket: yes (best Edwards cover ever?)
Text: re-typeset
Topical Index: no (unnecessary; one-topic book)
Textual index: no (helpful, but unnecessary)
Publisher: Soli Deo Gloria, Ligonier Ministries

Book Review: The Complete Works of Thomas Boston (12 volumes)

Tony Reinke Book reviews, Books, BR > Tentmaker Publications, Great Quotes, Joel R. Beeke, Puritan CD-Rom, Puritans, Reading, Thomas Boston

Book Review

The Complete Works of Thomas Boston (12 volumes)

[note: The following review compliments The Puritan Study, a series on incorporating Puritan literature into expositional preaching.]

Thomas Boston (1676-1732) is not only one of my favorite Puritan authors, but has also proven himself to be one of the most important and useful Puritans in my expositional research.

Known for his excellent books like “The Crook in the Lot” and “The Art of Man-Fishing,” his works are both excellent examples of Boston’s deep understanding of the Christian life and his firm commitment to obedience to Scripture.

As a preacher I love Boston for both his depth and breadth. Depth, in his ability to apply texts so personally and powerfully to his hearers. Breadth, in the fact that he preached on almost every biblical theme. It seems every time I flip through Martin’s topical index (A Guide to the Puritans) I discover Boston preached a sermon on my current topic. Preachers will find Boston’s breadth and depth to be very useful for every sermon, no matter the sermon topic or text.

Incredible sensitivity towards applying the scriptures to his hearers, and tremendous balance and diversity of content make Boston an often-used resource in my expositional research. But what I also find impressive about Boston was his pastoral work in Ettrick, which, prior to his arrival, was an unstable and worldly town. As Dr. Joel Beeke writes in the introduction, “When Boston arrived in Ettrick, the town had less than 400 people. The roads were nearly impassable. The parsonage was dilapidated. Church services were irregular. When a service was held, the people often talked throughout it. Spiritual barrenness, pride, deceit, swearing, and fornication abounded” (p. I-5). What happened over the next 25 years was the result of Spirit-blessed preaching now preserved for us in these volumes.

Contents

The works of Thomas Boston (published by Tentmaker) include 7,400 pages of books, sermons and his own memoirs.

Volumes one and two comprise “An Illustration of the Doctrines of the Christian Religion” organized by the Shorter Catechism. These volumes are affectionate and deeply applicable on the main subjects like the authority of scripture, the trinity, creation, Christ, sin, justification, the Ten Commandments, self-examination, prayer, an experimental knowledge of Chirst, etc. These volumes are a treat to those of us who have seen systematic theology lacking experimental warmth and deep application. Boston abhors the thought.

Volume three is a collection of 37 sermons and two books: “The Crook in the Lot” and “The Unity of the Body of Christ.” Volume four includes 40 sermons and the book “The Distinguishing Characters of Real Christians.” Volume five includes books on discerning genuine believers from the false and “The Art of Man-fishing.” Volume six includes 16 sermons and a number of Q&As on various topics. Volume seven includes nine sermons and more theology similar to volume one and two, including discourses on “The Evil and Danger of Schism” (on 1 Cor. 1:10), “The Necessity and Foundations of a Throne of Grace for the Behoof of Poor Sinners, Pointed out and Illustrated” (on Psalm 89:14). Volume eight includes “Man’s Fourfold State” on the state of innocence, the state of nature (or sinfulness), the state of grace and the eternal state. Volume nine and ten are comprised of 88 sermons. Volume eleven includes diverse material on the covenant of grace and prayer. And the final volume comprises Boston’s excellent “Memoirs” where you can read more about his 25- year pastorate at Ettrick.

Example

One of my favorite sections of Boston is a little book titled, “A Soliloquy on the Art of Man-Fishing” in volume five. It is a great reminder of the duty and pleasures of the work of evangelism. At times through this short book I have been lost in his language. Here is one section I especially enjoyed:

“I find in my heart a flame of desires, Matt. 5:6. [1] After the righteousness of Christ. My soul earnestly desires to be stripped naked of my own righteousness, which is as rags, and to be clothed and adorned with the robe of his righteousness. This wedding garment my soul affects; so shall I be found without spot, when the Master of the feast comes in to see the guests. My soul is satisfied, and acquiesces in justification by an imputed righteousness, though, alas! My base heart would fain have a home-spun garment of its own sometimes. [2] After communion with him, Ps. 42:1. When I want it, my soul though sometimes careless, yet, at other times, cries out, O that I knew where I might find him! I have found much sweetness, in communion with God, especially at the sacrament of the Lord’s supper, in prayer and meditation, hearing the word, faithfully and seriously preached, and in preaching it myself, when the candle of the Lord shines on my tabernacle; then was it a sweet exercise to my soul. I endeavor to keep it up when I have it, by watching over my heart, and sending up prayers to God. When I want it, I cry to him for it, though, alas! I have been a long time very careless. Sometimes my soul longs for the day, when my minority [earthly life] shall be over-past, and I be entered heir to the inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away; to be quit of this evil world; to be dissolved, and to be with Christ, which is best of all; especially at three times. (1.) When I get more than ordinarily near God, when my soul is satisfied as with marrow and fat, when my heart is nobilitated, and tramples on the world. (2.) When I am wrestling and groaning under the body of sin and death, the evil heart: then fain would I be there, where Satan cannot tempt, and sin cannot enter; yea, when I have been much forsaken, at least as to comfort … (3.) When I preach, and see that the gospel hath not success, but people are unconcerned, and go on in their abominations” (5:17).

Boston opens his soul to answer the question: At what time is my heart aflame? It comes, he writes, as a result of my deep love for the imputed righteousness from Jesus. It comes when I have enjoyed the presence of God in a special season. And later, my heart is aflame for God’s presence in heaven when I am reminded of my own sin and weaknesses and long for eternity.

For Boston, knowing and preaching the truth alone are insufficient. He wants to see the effects of the Spirit at work as confirmation of his work. This expectation that the Word of God will become reality in the world is the experiential mark on all of Thomas Boston’s sermons and books.

For the expositor of God’s Word, these volumes (and especially the many sermons) make this set a priceless gem. Boston is a Puritan friend who is exegetically faithful and sensitive of the human heart. His depth and breadth make him one of the very few writers that will help you prepare any sermon on any text for any audience.

Binding: clothbound (maroon)
Volumes: 12
Pages: 7,400
Dust jackets: Yes
Binding: Smyth sewn
Paper: oversized and heavy weight
Text: facsimile printing of 1853 version (William Tegg & Co. of London)
Topical Index: yes (end of vol. 11)
Textual index: no
Biography: yes (“Memoirs” in vol. 12)
Publisher: Tentmaker (United Kingdom)
Price USD: $325.00 at RHB; $250.00 at TPB; $250.00 at Amazon
Want more information? An excellent introduction to Thomas Boston and his writing will be found in Christian Focus’ recent re-publication of “The Art of Manfishing.” J.I. Packer’s short introduction at the beginning of this book is beneficial. An extended biography and bibliography is included in Beeke’s new book “Meet the Puritans,” available by Christmas from Reformation Heritage Books.

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The Puritan Study (Part 10) Concluding Thoughts, part 1

Tony Reinke Book reviews, Puritan CD-Rom, Puritan Library, Puritans, The Puritan Study

Part 10: Concluding Thoughts, part 1

Now on to some concluding thoughts.

… to the electronic publishers

I want to take a moment and say, ‘thank you,’ to the many individuals that are working together to produce electronic versions of the Puritan works. Throughout this study I have met several of you. What you are doing is a wonderful service!

From all of us who think “THml” is a new seminary degree — we don’t know exactly what you do or how you do it, but we are thankful you do it. Keep it up!

One of these techies, Thomas Black at stilltruth.com, sent us links to the works of John Owen and Jonathan Edwards. These files work with Logos/Libronix digital Library and are searchable (a Mac version is yet to be released). The Logos/Libronix system is a great and growing resource for searchable Puritan works and many of these resources (like Owen and Edwards) are free because of the generous work of Black and others.

For more information you can check out our friends at StillTruth. They have a large selection of other free resources, too.

For those who are interested in publishing the Puritans in this form, let me encourage you with a few content suggestions.

The most important Puritan works in print that await OCR conversion, editing and tagging into THml include the works of Thomas Boston, Thomas Manton, John Flavel, Richard Sibbes, Thomas Brooks, and Thomas Goodwin. You will serve the church well if your efforts are directed towards these much-needed authors.

… to the print publishers

To my friends who work diligently to republish the Puritans in print format: There are a number of excellent Puritan resources that I cannot recommend because they are unavailable. About half of the Puritan works I would recommend as ‘excellent’ are not even in print format. The church would greatly benefit from the complete works of Stephen Charnock (beyond Existence), William Ames, William Bates, Anthony Burgess, James Durham, William Perkins and Samuel Rutherford (beyond Letters). Maybe the programmers and publishers could work more closely together in re-typesetting these works and simultaneously release the print and THml versions of the works at the same time? At the very least, these Puritans also need to be converted into searchable text formats.

If Puritan publishers and scholars (who favor printed volumes) and the techies who are converting the Puritans into free electronic files would open up in communication, both sides would benefit greatly. Could the two sides meet in a forum to exchange ideas?

On another note, some of the Puritan complete works sets are now being published in paperback form. Is there a way to continue cutting the cost of production? I would love to have every Puritan published in clothbound covers but maybe some these other works (named above) could be more economically printed. Even printed on-demand, maybe? How can technology help publishers cut costs and print more?

… on Puritan PDFs

I want to make one other note about why I recommend people NOT buy Puritan CD-Roms and DVDs (except in rare cases). Most of these files (like the works of Thomas Manton) are simple picture files of the pages. They are usually not text-recognized or searchable and almost never tagged into THml format. These files are both inferior to printed books and inferior to text files. They are a sort of in-between compromise that are not easy to read nor easy to search. This is why they are fading in importance. Focus now on accumulating the print volumes and, in time, the electronic text files as they become more readily available.

… on the value of e-Puritans

In 2003 the World Wide Web contained 170 terabytes of information. That’s 170 million megabytes or more than 200,000 CD-Roms filled with information. In comparison, the entire Library of Congress print collection is only about 10 terabytes in size. To look at it another way, the complete works of Shakespeare comprise only 5 megabytes. So the entire content of the WWW in 2003 (not including text messaging, emails and P2P file sharing) was the size of the complete works of Shakespeare multiplied 34 million times!

The natural consequence of these vast numbers is the devaluing of information. We now look at words as cheap and common.

The danger here is that we begin looking at the men who most faithfully expounded the Word of God as likewise having words that are cheap and common. They are not.

Many of the words of Bunyan were written in a solitary prison cell separated from his family. The words of Spurgeon were forged in years of faithful prayer and amidst painful debates and trials. Men like Sibbes and Calvin ministered during political upheaval and turmoil. The most powerful preachers in Christian history were purified in the fires of struggle and pain. Their words (unlike dozens of terabytes available on the Internet) are precious gold.

Publishers who release the Puritans in beautiful clothbound covers should continue this practice. And pastors need to continue to support publishers that treat the Puritan works with such respect. Publishers like The Banner of Truth, Tentmaker and Soli Deo Gloria remind us of the value of Puritan words.

As the Internet continues to grow by the terabyte and the electronic texts of great Puritans become more plentiful, we must beware this cheapening of Puritan words. We must always remind ourselves that these words were slowly and carefully sculpted in pain, out of a fear of God, through an intense study of His Word, and from a love of His glory.

(to be continued…)

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Next time … Part 11: Concluding Thoughts, part 2
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The Puritan Study (Part 9) The Strategy of Building a Puritan Study

Tony Reinke Book reviews, BP > Reformation Heritage Books, BR > Banner of Truth, BR > Reformation Heritage Books, BR > Soli Deo Gloria Pub., C.H. Spurgeon, Commentaries, David Clarkson, Edward Reynolds, Great Preachers, Great Quotes, Jeremiah Burroughs, John Bunyan, John Flavel, John Newton, John Owen, Jonathan Edwards, Preacher's study, Puritan CD-Rom, Puritan Library, Puritans, Reading, Richard Sibbes, Thomas Boston, Thomas Brooks, Thomas Goodwin, Thomas Manton

Part 9: The Strategy of Building a Puritan Library

I assume many of you are like me, lacking access to a solid library of Puritan literature. Here in my hometown we have no seminary and it is rare to find a fellow believer who has even heard of Spurgeon, not to mention Boston, Manton and Goodwin.

So building a Puritan library was my responsibility. I just started buying Puritans that I had indexes for and especially the Puritans published by The Banner of Truth. I learned from both my successes and mistakes.

The Strategy

First, I assume you already spend a fair amount of money on books right now. If you are like me, you probably look around your library with regret at some of the volumes that serve no purpose in your expositional research. For years, my library suffered from a clear game plan.

A poorly planned library will lack important reference books like commentaries and Puritan sermons. It will be heavy on contemporary controversies and issues books. Read blogs if you want to be up-to-date on the current trends in the church. Buy commentaries and Puritans if you want a solid expositional library.

A solid library that helps support the preacher or writer in their expositional work is no accident.

This post will help you define your own personal game plan.

Bottom line

The Puritan Study I have described in this series comes to a grand total of $1,500.00. That sounds like a lot but it figures out to $1.40 a day for 3 years (which is about what I spend at Starbucks). And to have this entire library in three years is pretty fast!

I’ve broken down my list of Puritans into $500 segments. Again, this list is ordered by availability and usefulness of each author. Your first $500 will be the best-spent money. The second and third $500 increments are important but not immediate.

(Note: What follows is a simple strategy for building a Puritan library. Specific reviews of each author and set will follow the Puritan Study series. Pictures of each set can be seen here. Updated (3/17/07): Note that most of these resources can be found at a more reasonable price through Monergism Books. Please check them before making any purchases.)

Here is my strategy, broken into three phases…

// THE FIRST $500

1. Charles Haddon Spurgeon (63 sermon vols.; CD-Rom)

I cannot begin with any more important preacher than Charles (C.H.) Spurgeon. The Puritans thoroughly impact everything Spurgeon preached or wrote. Look at his commentary on the Psalms (The Treasury of David) and you will see why Spurgeon is a priceless Puritan resource. He is the great Puritan synthesizer. Spurgeon’s complete works total about 150 volumes and you can download them all for $15.00 or buy the CD-Rom for $20.00 from Ages software. (If you have extra money, I would recommend buying some printed volumes from Pilgrim Publications but especially his autobiography and the classic book on pastoral ministry, Lectures to My Students.) [Read Piper’s biography of Spurgeon here]

2. Jonathan Edwards (2 vol. works; printed)

An extraordinarily rich resource! These two volumes of works by Jonathan Edwards are gems to the Puritan researcher. I would recommend the Banner of Truth volumes for their sturdy binding. You can buy volumes one and two here in the Banner of Truth editions or a cheaper version. The complementary text files can be found online for free. [Read Piper’s biography of Edwards here]

3. John Bunyan (3 vol. works; printed)

John Bunyan is most famous for his novel, The Pilgrim’s Progress. But he was also an incredibly gifted (and imaginative) preacher. These three clothbound volumes from the Banner of Truth are well built and come with an excellent topical index. You can find them for about $89.00. All of the associated text files can be found online for free. [Read Piper’s biography of Bunyan here]

4. Thomas Boston (12 vol. works; printed)

Jonathan Edwards considered Thomas Boston, “a truly great divine.” Boston is one of my personal favorites. These precious volumes have provided me many years of sermon quotes and exegetical thoughts on God’s Word. The entire 12-volume set has been recently published by Tentmaker in a beautiful cloth binding and is available in the United States for $325.00 here or $250.00 here. Worth every penny! You can buy the incredible Memoirs alone. [Read our full review of this set here]

5. Thomas Manton (22 vol. works; CD-Rom)

A set that is simply too large to make affordable in print format. The CD-Rom of Manton’s complete 22-volume set can be purchased for only $10.00. A great price for a must-have set of works! The first three volumes are avaliable in print.

// THE SECOND $500

6. John Owen (16 vol. but especially vols. 1,2 and 6; printed)

All of John Owen’s 16-volumes works are excellent. I especially have found volumes one, two, six and seven of great use. You can add other volumes in the future but these three are essential. The volumes are clothbound (as you would expect from the Banner of Truth) and run about $25.00 each or $75.00 total. The text files are available online for free but you will want to read these volumes cover-to-cover, making the printed works a must. [Read Piper’s biography of Owen here]

7. John Flavel (6 vol. works; printed)

Another excellent Puritan I have used on several occasions. Your meditations and sermons will be greatly blessed by Flavel. The Banner of Truth volumes are clothbound and beautiful. They sell for $150.00.

8. Richard Sibbes (7 vol. works; printed)

The “sweet dropper,” Sibbes was an incredible Puritan preacher. The Banner of Truth volumes are clothbound and run $126.00.

9. Jeremiah Burroughs (misc. books; printed)

Burroughs is the most difficult author on the list because his works are not collected and published by various companies. Several of his works comprise the Gospel Life series ($91.00). The six titles include Gospel Worship, Gospel Fear, Gospel Conversation, Gospel Revelation, Gospel Remission, and Gospel Reconciliation. Beyond this there are other Burroughs titles in print including The Sinfulness of Sin or The Evil of Evil ($17.00), The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit, Hope ($15.00), Irenicum to the Lovers of Truth and Peace ($22.00), The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment ($6.25), The Saints’ Happiness, The Saints’ Treasury and A Treatise of Earthly-Mindedness. All told, it would be easy to spend $180.00 on Burroughs alone. Still, his works are indexed and very valuable.

10. Thomas Brooks (6 vol. works; printed)

The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks in six volumes is available in cloth binding from Banner of Truth for $140.00. One Puritan scholar says of Brooks, “He had a body of divinity in his head and the power of it in his heart.” Incredible material!

// THE THIRD $500

11. Thomas Goodwin (12 vol. works; printed)

Reformation Heritage Books has recently reprinted the paperback version of Goodwin’s 12 volume works. This is a great service to the Puritan community and can be purchased for $240.00. I have yet to read a Puritan that glorifies the person and works of Christ more than Goodwin. [read our full review here]

12. John Newton (6 vol. works; printed)

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me” are the words of John Newton. An excellent preacher, his complete works are available in cloth binding for $144.00. [Read Piper’s biography of Newton here]

13. David Clarkson (3 vol. works; printed)

Not as experiential as the authors above, but well indexed and valuable. The works of David Clarkson are available for $62.00.

14. Edward Reynolds (vols. 1,4,5,6 of 6 vol. works; printed)

Like Burroughs, the complete works of Reynolds are not available. Today there are five volumes in print: Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Meditations on the Holy Sacrament of the Lord’s Last Supper, Preaching Christ, Sinfulness Of Sin and Treatise on the Passions and Faculties of the Soul. All these valuable volumes can be purchased for about $115.00. Spurgeon wrote, “Reynolds was a man of vast learning and thoroughly evangelical spirit.” The digital files are beginning to appear on Google books for free download.

Conclusion

By this point you may feel totally overwhelmed (and broke). Remember, this is a long-term goal.

I don’t even think it would be beneficial to buy all these works at once! Slowly add works as you grow comfortable with the ones you already have.

If you follow this plan you will spend your money wisely and have a storehouse of expositional material at arm’s-reach. This is my promise to you: Even if the Lord blesses you with 30 more years of expositional ministry, you will never exhaust the Puritan Study you built in three years.

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Next time … Part 10: Concluding Thoughts, part 1
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Book review: Salvation belongs to the Lord by John M. Frame (1596380187)

Tony Reinke Book reviews, Books, BR > P&R, Christian book review, Church discipline, Great Quotes, John Frame

Book review:

Salvation belongs to the Lord by John M. Frame

God is in sovereign control. He has the right to tell people what to do and what not to do. He is powerful, wonderful, holy and awesome (in the true sense of the word). This big-God matrix frames everything else in John Frame’s new systematic theology, Salvation Belongs to the Lord.

Written in a warm, conversational, and engaging style for readers, Frame explains the main subjects of systematic theology. It is a great book for beginners, though the content is consistent with seminary level courses.

The content is very similar to Wayne Grudem’s, Systematic Theology. Frame considers Grudem “The best one-volume systematic theology written in recent years” (p. 351), and quotes him in many areas. The two however, do not agree on all things. Frame writes from a cessational perspective and Grudem from the charismatic.

The book is divided into two halves: (1) objective and unrepeated and (2) the subjective and the repeated. For example, the division is between the incarnation of Christ (unrepeated in history) and regeneration (repeated over and over in history with each believer).

I especially enjoyed the section on the church. He argues for a plurality of elders in each church, and his section on church discipline is very clear and helpful. Frame explains not only how to do church discipline, but why church discipline is important. He writes,

“There are at least three purposes of discipline. The first is to restore a sinning believer (Matt. 18:15; 1 Cor. 5:5; Gal. 6:1; 1 Tim. 1:20; James 5:20) … church discipline is not a cruel thing but a loving thing. Second, discipline exists to deter such sins by others, to instruct the congregation as to what is and is not acceptable (Heb. 12:15; 1 Cor. 5:2, 6-7; 1 Tim. 5:20). Third, discipline exists to protect the honor of Christ and his church (Rom. 2:24; 1 Cor. 6:6; Eph. 5:27). When churches ignore sin, the world despises them and the reputation of Jesus Christ himself is dragged through the mud” (p. 243).

This excerpt reveals the biblical depth, firm convictions, and pastoral concern of Frame in engaging and contemporary words. The entire book is marked with these characteristics.

The book is solidly reformed, quotes frequently from the Westminster Confessions, and uses the ESV translation. Frame is not shy about rebuffing falsehoods like Roman Catholic ‘justification’ and annihilationalism. He argues for padobaptism and sides with Postmillinialists. Frame displays a full awareness of the distinctions between errors that undercut the central tenants of biblical Christianity (justification) from secondary issues (like spiritual gifts and eschatology). He is strong and resolute on the first, and open and fair on the second.

John Frame has given us a wonderful gift. Such a high view of God’s holiness and Lordship; such a reminder of God’s presence with us; such an enjoyable read! I heartily recommend John Frame’s Salvation Belongs to the Lord.

Binding: Paperback
Pages: 383
Topical Index: yes (excellent)
Textual index: yes (excellent)
Bibliography: yes (excellent)
Photos: 0
Charts: 1
Reading level: Adult / moderate
Publisher: P&R
Price: $24.99
Where this book fits into my library:
(1) Systematic Theology > General

Salvation belongs to the Lord, John M. Frame, 978-1-59638-018-9, 9781596380189, 1596380187, 1-59638-018-7