Christian Book Notes

Lawrence, Michael. Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church: A Guide for Ministry. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2010. 234 pp. $16.99. Purchase at Westminster Books for $10.19.

Introduction

Michael Lawrence is associate pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington DC. He is also a co-writer of It is Well: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement with Mark Dever. The IX Marks ministry has been churning out numerous books to help the pastor in the local church to be able to preach, teach, and lead the congregation in a more biblical manner. Biblical Theology is yet another edition that was written for this purpose.

Summary

The book is divided into three sections. The first details the tools needed in order to be a sound biblical exegete. Here, Michael looks at the necessity of the grammatical-Historical Method and how that plays into our understanding of biblical theology. The next two chapters discuss the tools of biblical theology; i.e., what is being revealed to us about God through the canon of Scripture. The last two chapters of the first section is a helpful look at the biblical and systematic theology and why we need both.

Simply stated, the second part is the biblical theology–Creation, Fall, Love, Sacrifice, and Promise. The third section seeks to apply biblical theology to both preaching and teaching. Here, the reader is introduced to what this can look like in the local church. The book concludes with an extremely helpful “for further reading” section where he offers a descriptive bibliography for each chapter of other resources that will further educate the reader.

Review

Biblical Theology is an extremely helpful book in many areas. First, his chapter on the importance of both biblical and systematic theology helped me to wrap my mind around the idea that they are a both/and rather than an either/or. In other words, I had struggled with the thought of having to jettison one of the two manners of theology for the other thinking they were incompatible with one another. Michael really helped to put that misunderstanding to rest.

Second, his section on the theology of the Bible is a great help in introducing how one understands biblical theology in its “inner workings.” The five main points he offers (listed above) can readily be seen all throughout scripture over and over again.

Finally, as mentioned above, the descriptive bibliography at the end of the book is extremely helpful. He offers books that he does not necessarily agree with doctrinally. Mostly, he offers books by recognized, conservative evangelical authors, many of which I would have never thought to read as regards the use of biblical theology in the local church.

Recommendation

If you are seeking to go into the ministry, Biblical Theology in the Life of the Church will be a book you will want on your shelf. It will be a resource that you will come to refer to again and again to which your congregation will appreciate more than they know. Still, this book is not just for pastors. Sunday school teachers and mid-week bible study leaders can also glean quite a bit from the pen of Michael Lawrence and help to shape their lesson preparation and teaching.