Christian Book Notes

Dever, Mark, J. Ligon Duncan III, R. Albert Mohler Jr., C.J. Mahaney. Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2009. 192 pp. $21.99. Purchase from Westminster for $14.51.

Introduction

Do these men need any introduction to the evangelical community? The men who comprise the Together for the Gospel “movement” are Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, Al Mohler, and C.J. Mahaney. Contributors include Thabiti M. Anyabwile, John MacArthur, John Piper, and R.C. Sproul. Every two years, since 2006, these men have gathered in Louisville, Ky to exhort and challenge pastors and Christians to stand together for the gospel. In other words, be the unity that is called for in Scripture despite denominational “walls.”

Proclaiming a Cross-Centered Theology was the theme for 2008. This book is an adaptation of the messages presented at that three day conference. The audio can be downloaded and listened to here for free.

Summary

Beginning with the necessity of sound doctrine, Ligon Duncan offers an apologetic for the need of biblical doctrine to be taught on a regular basis. In what I thought was the best message of the conference, Thabiti discusses what it means to bear the image of God and how we, as Christians, need to be more explicit in doing. John MacArthur discusses the inability of the sinner to repent apart from the grace of God.

Mark Dever looks at five common mistakes from the pulpit by pastors trying to “improve” the gospel. R.C. Sproul looks at a controversial subject; i.e., the curse motif of the atonement–I thought the second best message of the conference. Al Mohler takes an academic look at the rejection of substitutionary atonement in recent years. Piper looks to the book of Hebrews to discuss how Christ will create in us a radical sacrifice. C.J. Mahaney concludes with the sustaining of the pastor’s soul–yet another quality message.

Review/Recommendation

Obviously, the charge can be brought against these men that they are all Calvinists. While that may be true, that does not mean that they are arguing against non-calvinists. Rather, they are showing how these doctrines give them an urgency to sharing the gospel in thought, word, and deed. I liked C.J. Mahaney’s comment at the conference when asked about the heresy of hyper-calvinism. His response was something along the lines of I thought hyper calvinism was just someone who got really excited about the gospel!

For those who disagree with these doctrines, then MacArthur’s chapter will not be for you. However, these messages will encourage your soul and exhort you to diligent study of the Scriptures.

I would recommend this book to anyone in pastoral ministry. As I stated earlier, you can download the messages for free and listen to them. Having attended the conference (and taking notes), I have found that reading the book is better for me as it allows me to interact a bit more with my thoughts and the thoughts of the speaker.

Finally, a reading (or listening) of Mahaney’s chapter on sustaining the pastor’s soul is a must for all in the ministry as well as those who attend church on a regular basis. Pastoral care is often not mentioned and taken for granted by many. Mahaney helps to change that.

Mohler, R. Albert.  Words from the Fire.  Chicago:  Moody Publishers, 2009.  201 pp.  $22.99.  Purchase at Westminster Books for $14.94.

Review

Too many Christians today feel as though they need not regard the Ten Commandments as binding.  Many believe that the Ten Commandments are useful insofar as evangelism is concerned.  After all, only those apart from Christ will be held accountable for there deeds and those are going to be judged against God’s commands, right?  Dr. Mohler argues that the Ten Commandments are just as binding on the New Testament Christian as they were the Old Testament Jew.

He writes with passion and conviction as he rightly divides the application of the Ten Commandments for the Christian today.  In looking at each Commandment individually, Dr. Mohler explains how the underlying message, the root of each commandment either teaches how we are to relate to God or how we are to relate to one another. Along the way, the reader will be challenged to discard unbiblical understandings of the application of the Ten Commandments and may very well learn just how much we have been sinning in our conversations about what God is doing in our lives, our worship to him, our use of the fifth commandment with our children, etc.

With every commandment explained and understood biblically, Dr. Mohler’s words will pierce to the heart and lead you to the cross of Christ where we can find true righteousness.  If you call on the name of Christ, you need to read this book.  It will show the magnificence of what He has done for us in dying for our sins (and oh are there many!) afresh.

You can listen to the sermon series that was the basis for this book by clicking on the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary’s resources web page.  (The current first sermon on this list is not part of the series by R. Albert Mohler.)

Mohler, R. Albert. The Disappearance of God. Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2009. 194 pp. $14.99. Purchase at Westminster Books for $9.89.

Dr. Albert Mohler is the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is perhaps the foremost authority on a biblical understanding of how we as Christians are to respond to our culture around us. You can read more of his thoughts at his (highly recommended) website, AlbertMohler.com.

In The Disappearance of God, Dr. Mohler details twelve ways in which God is slowly (though not as slow as one would think) disappearing from our culture and from within Christian churches. He takes a candid look at the loss of the doctrine of hell and eternal punishment, the disappearance of even the concept of sin from our pulpits and the distortion of a biblical understanding of true beauty. He discusses at some length the dangers of the Emergent Church as well as the loss of church discipline.

Mohler introduces these twelve reasons for the disappearance of God as a wake-up call to the church. We can no longer stand by and allow God to be removed from our lives. He looks at how things have progressed to this point and how we, as a called-out people, can reclaim God.

While some have labeled Mohler’s works as “too thick for the average Christian” I would argue that they are not. This book, in particular, is written as a conversation piece to open the eyes and ears of the so-called “average” Christian. Yes, he uses “big” words, but that should not be a challenge to anyone who wants to learn–and every Christian should always want to continue to learn. In The Disappearance of God, Mohler shows the importance of understanding cultural trends in and out of the church and reconciling what the eternal, never changing Word of God has to say about how we are to respond.

Basically, Mohler’s message for today is the same message of old, Christ alone will save us from ourselves. I believe everyone who reads this book will unmistakeably find themselves at some point on the pages. It is amazing how we allow, ever so slightly, false attitudes of God into our minds.

I would like to address a charge that has been circulating around the Internet regarding some of Dr. Mohler’s writings. It is true that you can find a good portion of this particular book on his blog. It is also true that when the book was edited, some things were changed from the original post. In no way does the fact that some of these chapters were originally blog posts alter in the least the need for this book to be in print.

First, while Mohler wrote quite a bit of these chapters four and five years ago, they were not brought together to give one stream of thought at one given time in one given setting. It is one thing for a skilled archer to shoot many arrows at different times from his quiver in the hopes of hitting one target. It is another to have that one archer shoot many arrows at the same time at one target. The immediate impact is felt deeper and resonates longer.

Second, it would be time consuming to search for each individual post and bring them together to be able to “read” this book on-line. This book is worth money to be able to own and write in. The more you read it, the more you will begin to see just how prophetic a voice Mohler has regarding these issues. The fact that some of these chapters were written three and four and five years ago goes to show how prophetic a voice Albert Mohler has become within Christendom today.

I would highly recommend this book to pastors, Sunday School teachers and any Christian seeking to make a difference in the church or his community. We must get off the fence and “choose this day which God you will serve.” Mohler has helped us to focus our efforts on the problems at hand and to elucidate a biblical response by the everyday Christian.