JRF's #22 - The Gospel Focus of Spurgeon by Steven Lawson

The doctrines of grace, often labeled Calvinism, have often and unfortunately been misused, misunderstood, and misrepresented throughout church history.  Some misunderstand the Scripture's teachings on election and predestination to mean that humanity has no responsibility for the state of their heart and behavior.  Others misuse the sovereignty of God to foolishly and blasphemously cultivate a pride that they are elect and others are not.  Still others suppose that the predetermined and unalterable plan of God's redeeming work in the world negates the need to be obedient to His command to preach the Gospel to all nations.  Perhaps most commonly, Calvinism is often misrepresented as portraying a cold, distant God whose eternal sovereignty overrides man's free will in a way that allegedly makes a truly loving relationship between Creator and creation impossible.

Charles Spurgeon stands in the pages of history with such greats as William Carey, Jonathan Edwards and Calvin himself as a example of one who was driven by a deep commitment to the doctrines of Sovereign Grace while not veering into the dangers of misunderstanding and misapplying them.  Not only did Spurgeon not see a contradiction between the absolute sovereignty of God and the absolute necessity of evangelism, his conviction of the former drove his passion for the latter.

Pastor Steven Lawson does an excellent job of showing this connection through navigating the reader through many well chosen quotes from Spurgeon himself.  There are so many quotes in fact that in fairness I think Spurgeon should be listed as the co-author of the book.

I highly recommend this book to all believers, but especially those who may have doubts about Calvinism and/or those who may have found that their version of Calvinism has sadly produced a cold numbness towards the lost.

"The Holy Spirit will move them by first moving you.  If you can rest without their being saved, they will rest, too.  But if you are filled with an agony for them, if you cannot bear that they should be lost, you will soon find that they are uneasy, too." - Spurgeon

"Spurgeon boldy declared that preaching unconditional election is evangelistic.  He said, 'I have never preached this doctrine without seeing conversions, and I believe I never shall.'  When people asked him how he reconciled preaching election with extending the gospel, he asserted, 'There is no need to reconcile them, for they have never yet quarreled with one another.'  He was right.  Divine sovereignty and gospel evangelism go hand in hand, the former preparing the way for and ensuring the success of the latter."

Mark's #20 - Sexual Detox by Tim Challies (2010)

In preparation for last weeks sermon on sexual immorality (Ephesians 5:3-14), I read this short book dealing with the issue of porn addiction. This is an issue that is the elephant in the pew in our churches today. Sexual immorality in all its forms is the most common issue I deal with as a pastor and counselor.

In this book, Tim Challies writes primarily to men struggling with porn addictions.  He shows the damaging effects this sin has on men, women, marriages, and families.  He guides guys to a path of hope and freedom from the vicious cycle.

The price of the book was worth it from this one paragraph alone:

Here’s a promise.  You will never stop until you begin to see the monstrous nature of the sin you are committing.  You will never stop until the sin is more horrifying to you than the commission of the sin is enjoyable. You will need to hate that sin before you can find freedom from it. That means you need more grace.  You need to cry out to be changed so you do see the monstrous nature of this sin, and then you need to act, in faith that God will meet you with grace as you seek to cut of the pornography and begin the reset.

Do yourself a favor and invest the few bucks and the hour or two it will take you to read this book, it will be worth it.

JRF's #37 - After You've Blown It: Reconnecting with God and Others - by Erwin Lutzer

In this small, practical book, Erwin Luzter (pastor of Moody church in Chicago) speaks Gospel truth to a situation that we all have experience in - sin - or  "blowing it".

This book was an encouragement to me as I tend to be the kind of person that easily focuses on the weight of sin and when I "blow it" I am prone to let the cloud of my sin eclipse the sun of God's grace and forgiveness.  This book was great reminder that not only is that foolish, but compounds my problem by thinking that by wallowing in misery I am somehow able to earn God's favor.  Truly realizing the seriousness of sin should not push us away from God but push us to to the Cross.

While it does not even come close to plumbing the depths of the Gospel and its implications for our daily lives and relationships - and here and there where a few cheesy catch phrases that I found unhelpful and misleading -  I was routinely impressed with how concisely Lutzer was able to illustrate and explain powerful truths and their applications in this short book.

For that reason I would commend this book to any and all who have ever felt that their sin is beyond forgiveness and that they have "blown it" one time too many.

(speaking about the Prodigal Son) "...the father's love cuts both ways:  It beckons him to return, but also magnifies his own rebellion.  If the young man returns, he will have to face his own guilt and shame in the presence of undeserved love.  Grace is often more difficult to accept than the law wielded with a heavy club." - p.20

"In light of God's grace, it is sheer arrogance for us to hang on to our guilt." - p.45

"Grace should create within us a passion for Christ that is greater than our passion to sin." - p. 67

Mark's #32 - Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson

Recently my wife Jennifer facilitated and all day workshop at The Harbor called Gospel-Centered Parenting.  In preparation for the event, this was one of the books we read and used to shape the day's messages.

Give Them Grace primarily addresses the role of the gospel in our lives as parents.  As the authors point out, the Bible has less to say directly about parenting then all the Christian books on parenting would leave us to believe.  Indeed, in the New Testament, there are only two verses that specifically address how we as parents should parent.  However, the Bible does have a lot to say about the gospel and how our understanding of the gospel should influence every area of our lives - including our parenting.

As such, the first third of the book the authors lay the foundation for the book by explaining and clarifying the reader's understanding of the gospel.  When you understand that God is sovereign and His grace is unconditional, then you as a Christian parent can and should feel the freedom that truth offers.  It's not on you to get your kid to follow and love Jesus.

The strength of this book was in the way the authors constantly apply and illustrate the gospel in the context of Parenting.  They show that if our parenting is to be truly 'Christian' then that approach should look radically different than the way mormons, muslims, and moralistic atheists parent their children  - the difference is our understanding, proclamation, celebration of the gospel within our family context.   Our goal as parents is not to produce nice little pharisees we can be proud of.  Our goal is to delight in our Savior and consistently speak of and point out the wonders of God, His grace, and His love.