Christian Book Notes

Murphy, Martin.  The Essence of Christian Doctrine: A Brief Study of the Apostle’s Creed and Basic Christian Doctrine. Dothan:  Theocentric Publishing Group, 2010.  192 pp.  $12.95.  Purchase at Amazon.

Introduction

I have had the pleasure of interviewing Martin Murphy about his books and his new publishing group, Theocentric Publishing.    You can check my review of his two other books, The god of the Church Growth Movement and Theological Terms in Layman Language.

Summary

The Essence of Christian Doctrine is a systematic approach to understanding biblical doctrine that is a bit more than a systematic theology.  Murphy begins with a short, but very helpful treatise on the Apostle’s Creed.  Using the Apostle’s Creed as the structural basis for the rest of the book, we are treated to an exposition of what each element of the Apostle’s Creed means from both a historical understanding as well as what it means for believers today.

There is one chapter on God followed by five chapters on Jesus Christ.  He then moves to the Holy Spirit and the church body.  Moving through the Creed, we come to the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection of the body to everlasting life.

At this point, Murphy moves from the Apostle’s Creed to the basic Christian doctrines.  Here he begins with the Bible and then moves to God’s plan from eternity past in His created order.  After establishing God as creator, the reader is treated to chapters on sin, salvation, sanctification, and church government.  The book concludes with understanding what it means to live by God’s law, biblical evangelism and the principles of reformation and revival (continually striving for a biblical understanding of the Christian life and church).

Review

I appreciated the style in which Martin wrote The Essence of Christian Doctrine. By sticking to the Apostle’s Creed, the first half of the book appeals to all Christians across a wide panorama of denominations.  He offers a fairly objective treatment on each doctrine but drives home the importance of understanding what the Bible says about each point found in the creed.

The second half of the book breaks away from the creed but offers some keen insight on the importance of Scripture and the doctrines such as sin and salvation.  Here, Murphy offers much technical information but does so in a way that anyone can understand what he is saying.

The book would have been made much better by including the Apostle’s Creed in its entirety somewhere within its pages. While he does offer the creed in part throughout the book in the respective chapters, it would have been extremely helpful to read it before delving into the study.(Editor’s note: with the third edition of The Essence of Christian Doctrine the author has included the Apostle’s Creed at the beginning.)

Recommendation

The uniqueness of this systematic treatment of Christian doctrine makes this book an excellent resource for the pastor, the Sunday School teacher, or the small group leader.  If you are going to teach through the Apostle’s Creed, this book will be an invaluable resource.  If you want to know more about historic Christian faith, The Essence of Christian Doctrine is perfect place to start.

Murphy, Martin. Return to the Lord: A Brief Commentary and Exposition of Hosea. Dothan: The Theocentric Publishing Group, 2010. 130 pp. $8.95. Purchase at Amazon.

Introduction

Martin Murphy is no stranger to the readers of Christian Book Notes. He has been reviewed and interviewed here a few times. You can read those reviews here. He is also one of the co-founders of The Theocentric Publishing Group.

Summary/Review

Just as the subtitle alludes to, this book is a commentary and exposition of Hosea. This is not like your typical commentary, however. What you will find is a guided tour of not just the main highlights of Hosea, but a gentle push to delve deeper into the Word of God.

As with any commentary, Martin’s “perspective” is inevitably obvious at some points though he leaves the door wide open for the reader’s interpretation. His use of pronoun’s like “I” is the main reason for this comment, but overall, he does an excellent job of remaining objective…a trait that is difficult when writing any commentary or expositional thoughts on a book of the Bible.

I appreciated most his questions sprinkled throughout the book. Those questions, while not loaded, will direct the reader to some profound thoughts on what it means to be in covenant with God. (As believers in Christ Jesus, we are in a covenant with Him!)

Recommendation

Return to the Lord can be used for personal edification or for preparing a lesson. What is more, this resource can be used for sermon preparation. It will not give you “Martin Murphy’s thoughts on Hosea” as many commentaries offer. Rather, it will lead, guide, and direct you as you seek to understand the central message of this Old Testament Prophet. In the end, you will be asking yourself, “Have we returned to the Lord?”

This week’s Winsday giveaway is sponsored by Theocentric Publishing Group. They are giving away an autographed copy of both The Essence of Christian Doctrine and Theological Terms in Layman Language. You can read my interview with the author and publisher here. Simply fill out the Contact form for your chance to win.