ROW FOR FREEDOM – Julia Immonen (2014)

ROWYou will never find me bungy-jumping, surfing, skydiving, or dangling from the face of the Half Dome in California.  However, I do enjoy reading about the adventures of other people who put their necks on the line for a thrill.  Row For Freedom by Julia Immonen is a classic example of adventure, courage, and sacrifice.  But the “thrill” of the row is secondary.  The author has a greater purpose in mind.  This purpose is in fact, the grand theme of the book.

Immonen recounts the true tale of her journey across the Atlantic with four other brave women.  What would motivate these women to risk their lives by rowing across the Atlantic?  First, they were shooting for a world record.  But what really grabbed my attention was the second goal, namely, to raise money to fight the horrible sin of human trafficking.

The author provides some biographical detail which concerns her life as  a child in Finland and her subsequent move to the UK.  Her dream to row the Atlantic is met with several challenges along the way but she and her sisters succeed.

The story is gripping, fast-moving, and begs readers to finish in one sitting.  The book is raw, emotion-filled, and challenging.

While the story is moving in many ways, I must confess that the most disappointing part was the gospel which is barely recognizable.  While the author is quick to give God credit, the gospel is never articulated in a clear terms.

Row For Freedom is a gripping book.  The real beauty of Row For Freedom, however, is Immonen’s obvious hatred for human trafficking.  It is her antipathy for this vile practice that motivated her to keep rowing, an antipathy that needs to spread to people of influence and conviction; people willing to make a difference one person at a time.  My hope is that the book will receive a wide reading and alert millions of people to the evil of human trafficking – a wicked industry that enslaves 30 million slaves around the world.  To that end, the Row For Freedom will not be in vain.  Slaves will be liberated and the world will be a better place.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLookbloggers®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. 

REPENTANCE – J.C. Ryle

J.C. Ryle was a man who would have been hated in this generation.  This cannot be jc-ryle_5
stated too  strongly.  For instance, consider a man such as Mark Driscoll, a man who makes mistakes like anyone.  But Driscoll is a bold preacher.  He calls sin for what it is and urges sinners to repent.  That bold message is met with stiff resistance by cold-hearted pagans and embittered people who name the name of Christ.  So like Driscoll, Ryle was man who was unafraid of speaking in plain terms, biblical terms.

J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) was best known for serving as the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool.  He was a prolific writer and a faithful pastor.  His book Repentance is representative of his work.  It is clear, biblical, and aims straight for the heart.  The basis of Ryle’s work is found in Luke 13:3 – “Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.”  Ryle notes that Christ’s words may seem “stern and severe.  But they are words of love, and may be the means of delivering precious souls from hell.”

The Nature of Repentance

The author reminds his readers that repentance was the first doctrine that came out of our Lord’s mouth.  He defines repentance as “a thorough change of man’s natural heart, upon the subject of sin.”  With the theological groundwork in place, Ryle continues by noting several marks of the penitent man.

  • True repentance begins with knowledge of sin.
  • True repentance goes on to work sorrow for sin.
  • True repentance produces confession of sin.
  • True repentance shows itself in a thorough breaking off from sin.
  • True repentance shows itself by producing in the heart a settled habit of deep hatred of all sin.

Ryle remarks, “Wherever faith is, there is repentance; wherever repentance is, there is always faith.”

The Necessity of Repentance

Ryle makes it painfully clear that every creature is required to repent.  Indeed, there are no exceptions: “The queen upon her throne and the pauper in the workhouse, the rich man in his drawing-room, the servant maid in the kitchen, the professor of sciences at the University, the poor ignorant boy who follows the plough – all by nature need repentance.”  The author does the reader a great service by setting forth this critical requirement before God.

Three concrete reasons are offered for each creature to repent:

  1. Without repentance, there is no forgiveness of sins.
  2. Without repentance there is no happiness in the life that now is.
  3. Without repentance there can be no fitness in the world that is yet to come.

The Encouragements to Repentance

Ryle recognizes that sinners are generally slow in coming to Christ and repenting of their sins.  He offers five encouragements for sinners who stand at the crossroads before a holy God:

  1. Hear for one thing, what a gracious Savior the Lord Jesus Christ is.
  2. What glorious promises the Word of God contains.
  3. What gracious declarations the Word of God contains.
  4. What marvelous parables our Lord Jesus spoke upon this subject.
  5. What wonderful examples there are in the Word of God, of God’s mercy and kindness to penitent people.

My hope is that this short review will entice many to devour Repentance by J.C. Ryle.  This short book is devotional, practical, and is food for the soul.  May Christ’s words in Luke 13:3 take root in your heart today – “Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish.”

HEAVEN’S DRAGNET – Jonathan Edwards (1751)

The text is Matthew 13:47-50.  The missionary to the Stockbridge Indians sets hisjonathan-edwards
doctrine up in advance:

The fisherman that cast the net are ministers of the gospel whom Christ appoints to gather men into his church.

Edwards draws an immediate contrast between the righteous and the unrighteous: “So God will save his saints and make much of them as precious to him, and as those that he dearly loves … But the bad fish men cast away, as those that were good for nothing.”

The judgment of the unrighteous is presented in vivid terms which are familiar to readers of Jonathan Edwards: “The fire shall be exceeding great and dreadful, for it will [be] the fire that God will enkindle by his great power, and in the fierceness of his great wrath for the wickedness of men, and therefore doubtless vastly more terrible than any fire ever seen in this world.”

Edwards describes what Jesus refers to as the “wailing and gnashing of teeth.”  He adds, “They will wail because their misery will be very dreadful and what they cannot bear; and also because they never shall have any hope of being delivered,  will know that there will be no end to their misery.”

Application

Edwards continues to utilize the metaphor drawn from the world of fishing, a metaphor that his hearers could certainly relate to: “The net has been let down and many of you have been gathered in it and brought in among the people of Christ, into the kingdom of Christ.”  He challenges his audience, “You can deceive men with a good outside when your hearts are rotten, but you can’t deceive God.”

He draws the sermon to a close by challenging the hearts of his hearers: “Therefore, take heed to yourselves that you ben’t at last found some of the bad fish that be cast away.  See to it that your hearts are right with God … Don’t rest in outward show but get a clean heart: a holy heart that hates all sin and loves Christ, and loves all the people of Christ, and loves all the ways of God … Unless you have a new heart, you never will be good.  Though you may be good in some things, yet if you han’t right hearts you will live wickedly in other things … That is the reason that some men reform their lives for a while only, and then never again.  Their hearts were never changed.”

 

LEADERSHIP LESSONS – Ralph Hawkins and Richard Leslie Parrott

1401677282_bLeadership Lessons, by Ralph Hawkins and Richard Leslie Parrott is a case study about the failure of King Saul.  The authors raise need at the beginning of their book by providing a biblical rationale for studying a failed leader.  Colin Powell reveals the test of leadership failure: “The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stop being their leader.  They have either lost confidence that  you can help them or concluded that you do not care.”  Leadership Lessons helps prevent Secretary Powell against.

The second part of the book introduces readers to ten failures on Saul’s part:

1. Saul failed to handle authority humbly

2. Saul failed to break out os his tendency to isolate himself

3. Saul failed to think before he spoke

4. Saul failed to act when the time was right

5. Saul failed to lead the people, but let them lead him instead

6. Saul failed to promote or make necessary changes

7. Saul failed to love the people

8. Saul failed to be true to his own ethics

9. Saul failed to admit failure or concede  to David

10. Saul failed to consult God

These ten leadership failures capture the essence of Saul’s life and his failure as the King of Israel.  The authors are to be commended for excavating these failures and warning readers from committing the same sins in their sphere of influence.

The third section discusses ways to avoid the pitfalls of King Saul and his leadership failures.  Boiled down, the authors argue that Saul’s failure can motivate and aspire leaders to excel in their respective arenas.  In other words, leaders can learn from Saul’s mistakes.

Leadership Lessons is filled with practical tips for serving people with humility.  One criticism that must be noted is the propensity to turn Saul’s sin into a personality disorder.  Whenever one promotes the notion of “personality disorder” the next step is some form of “therapy” to remedy that personality disorder.  But in Saul’s case, his leadership failure was the result of sin.  It was sin that led him down a path that ultimately destroyed his rule and reign.  It was sin that led to his untimely death.  And the cure for sin is not therapy.  The cure for is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

My hope is that leaders will benefit from this book.  Much can be learned from the sinful example of King Saul.  So much more can be gained by grounding our leadership is the saving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ!

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. 

 

THE PAGAN HEART OF TODAY’S CULTURE – Peter Jones (2014)

jonesPeter Jones has been writing about paganism for many years now.  While many are put off by the term “pagan,” Jones is simply offering the critical components of a worldview which is growing with a vengeance.  The troubling news is that many Christ-followers are either unaware the tentacles of paganism or could care less.

The Pagan Heart of Today’s Culture offers a clear look at paganism through the lens of three isms, postmodernism, Gnosticism, and polytheism.  Jones unpacks each worldview in a clear way and alerts readers to the deadly toxins that affect countless numbers of people.

Ultimately, Jones defines paganism as “direct mysterious-mystical access to ‘the Spirit.'”  The author demonstrates how the three worldviews described above intertwine and result in the strange but deadly brew we know as paganism.  He cites Romans 1:25  where Paul the apostle boils down two distinct approaches to spirituality:

  1. The worship and service of nature-creation – “Oneism.”
  2. The worship and service of the Creator – “Twoism.”

The first approach to spirituality results in the wrath of God for failing to honor God as we ought.  The second approach to spirituality is the path commended by Scripture.

Jones warns readers, “Any system of thought that attempts to describe the world exclusively by the world is in principle Oneist.”  Whenever the creature and the Creator are blended into some kind of synthesis, the spiritual results are not only devastating – the results are damning.

The author shoots a metaphorical flare in the hopes that Christ-followers will be alert and respond appropriately to the danger of paganism.  In so doing, he argues that Christians will need to do at least two things:

  1. They must have a clear understanding of the coherence of Oneism.
  2. They must affirm the glorious superiority of Twoism and fearlessly declare the gospel of reconciliation with the personal Creator, possible only through the atoning blood of Jesus the sole mediator between Creator and creature.

As usual Peter Jones does not disappoint.  His passion to equip believers is evident through the book.  I commend The Pagan Heart of Today’s Culture to Bible-believing Christians.  My prayer is that thousands will read and digest this excellent material with thoughtfulness and humility.

I received this book free from the publisher.  I was not required to write a positive review. 

 

The Preciousness of Time – Jonathan Edwards (1734)

Time is a precious commodity that must be treasured.  Such is the argument in jonathan-edwardsJonathan Edward’s piece entitled, The Preciousness of Time and the Importance of Redeeming It.

The subject of time was no stranger to Edwards.  He thought about the “improvement” of time often.  Even in his famous 70 resolutions, he addressed the matter of time.

Resolution # 5

Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most
profitable way I possibly can.

It would serve us well, then, to consider the precious matter of time from Jonathan Edwards’ perspective.

Section 1: Why Time is Precious

Jonathan Edwards states four reasons why time is precious.

  1. Because a happy or miserable eternity depends on the good or ill improvement of it.
  2. Time is very short, which is another thing that renders it very precious.
  3. Time ought to be esteemed by us very precious, because we are uncertain of its continuance.
  4. Time is very precious, because when it is past, it cannot be recovered.

Edwards argues in respect to to time, “…When once that [time] is gone, it is gone for ever; no pains; no cost will recover it.”  So typical is this eternal perspective that flows so freely from the pen of the Northampton preacher.  Tragically, many Christ-followers are not following the counsel of this godly man as they squander their time with worldly pursuits.  He reminds us, “Eternity depends on the improvement of time; but when once the time of life is gone, when once death is come, we have no more to do with time; there is no possibility of obtaining the restoration of it, or another space in which to prepare for eternity.”

Section 2: Reflections of Time Past

In section 2, Edwards encourages believers to reflect on time which has been granted in order to prepare for eternity.  Indeed, the argument goes, “Your future eternity depends on the improvement of time.”  He challenges readers, “How have you let the precious golden sands of your glass run?”

Section 3: Who Are Chiefly Deserving of Reproof From the Subject of the Preciousness of Time

Edwards begins section three with a discussion of how people waste their time: “There is nothing more precious, and yet nothing of which men are more prodigal.”  He demonstrates the kinds of people are who reproved for their negligence in this area.

  1. Those who spend a great part of their time in idleness.
  2. They are reproved by this doctrine who spend their time in wickedness, who do not merely spend their time in doing nothing to any good purpose, but spend it to ill purposes.
  3. Those are reproved by this doctrine, who spend their time only in worldly pursuits, neglecting their souls.

Section 4: An Exhortation to Improve Time

“Time is money.”  So goes the conventional wisdom of the day.  Edwards essentially agrees as he argues, “If you have a right conception of these things, you will be more choice of your time than of the most fine gold.”  He exhorts readers with four  bold propositions:

  1. You are accountable to God for your time.
  2. Consider how much time you have lost already.
  3. Consider how time is sometimes valued by those who are come near to the end of it.
  4. Consider what a value we may conclude is set upon time by those who are past the end of it.

Section 5: Advice Respecting the Improvement of Time

Edwards concludes his piece by offering three encouragements with respect to time.

  1. Improve the present time without any delay.
  2. Be especially careful to improve those parts of time which are most precious.
  3. Improve well your time of leisure from worldly business.

The notion of “improving” time is seen throughout the writings of Jonathan Edwards.  He gave a great deal of thought to it and chose to live wisely in light of his discoveries.  Indeed, Jonathan Edwards sought to “live with all his might unto the Lord.”  By God’s grace he accomplished resolution # 5: Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.

“Therefore, spend not such opportunities unprofitably, nor in such a manner that you will not be able to give a good account thereof to God.  Waste them not away wholly in unprofitable visits, or useless diversions or amusements.”

– Jonathan Edwards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DIARY OF A MADMAN – JOSEPH STALIN

BN-CX891_bkrvst_DV_20140523142333“His face lost its color.  His breathing became distorted.  He choked to death as we watched.  The death agony was painful.  At the last-minute he opened his eyes again, a terrible look, mad, or angry, and full of the fear of death.  His left hand rose, and seemed to be pointing upwards, or threatening us all … then his spirit tore itself from his body.”

The final moments of Joseph Stalin’s life, as recorded by his daughter, Svetlana.

Paul Johnson provides a valuable service in his book, Stalin: The Kremlin Mountaineer.  The book is a short summary of Stalin’s evil reign in the Soviet Union.  The book is not meant to be comprehensive by any stretch of the imagination.  However, he does provide enough detail to motivate readers to turn to other sources.  Such sources would include Young Stalin or Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, both by Simon Sebag Montefiore.

Johnson’s book is a reminder of where atheism leads and how unchecked power always leads to devastating results – in Stalin’s case the loss of millions of lives.

CHRIST IS TO THE HEART LIKE A RIVER TO A TREE PLANTED BY IT – Jonathan Edwards (1751)

jonathan-edwardsIn this short sermon prepared and addressed to the Stockbridge Indians, Edwards utilizes Psalm 1:3 – “He shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water.”  The doctrine is set forth at the beginning of the sermon:

Doctrine

Christ is to the heart of a true saint like a river to the roots of a tree that is planted by it.

Edwards explains his doctrine with five short propositional statements.

  1. As the waters of a river run easily and freely, so the love of Christ.
  2. Christ is like a river in the great plenty and abundance of his love and grace.
  3. Waters of a river don’t fail; [it] flows constantly, day and night.
  4. A tree planted [by a river] is never [dry]: so Christ is never [exhausted].
  5. [Water] refreshes; so [Christ] refreshes and satisfies [the heart], and makes it rejoice.

Application

In a brief application, Edwards challenges the Indians of Stockbridge with two concluding thoughts:

  1. Examine whether you are a true saint.
  2. If you are not in Christ, though you may be like green trees, yet by and by you will wither.

In a short sermon (unusual for Edwards), he demonstrates a remarkable ability to contextualize the gospel for his audience.  The sermon is filled with imagery that his audience would have immediately grasped.  These images are employed for the sole purpose of introducing people to the Savior.  The final exhortation ends abruptly.  But Edwards obviously wants this final thought to lodge in the hearts and minds of his hearers – “All your streams will fail you.”

EVANGELISM – J. Mack Stiles (2014)

The word, “evangelism” strikes fear in the hearts of many Christ-followers.  But 1433544652_bnothing could be more backwards, for the people of God possess the greatest news in the universe.  A holy God sent his Son, the Lord Jesus to die in the place of every person who would ever believe.  Sinners may receive the hope of eternal life by banking all their hope in Christ and the benefits he purchased for them on Calvary’s cross.

J. Mack Stiles helps Christians develop confidence in the responsibility to tell the nations about Christ in his excellent little book, Evangelism.  The author rightly responds to churches who turn the evangelistic endeavor into a mere program.  Rather, he encourages the church to develop a “culture of evangelism” which is “built on people filled with the power of God’s Spirit proclaiming the gospel of God’s grace in the context of their everyday lives and relationships.”  The main theme, then, is built around an entirely different paradigm; a mindset that can and should dominate every local church.

Stiles endorses a modified definition of evangelism that I rather like: “Evangelism is teaching the gospel with the aim to persuade.”  Such a definition works well in the pulpit, classroom, local park, and coffee shop.  Francis of Assisi may have been well-intentioned when he quipped, “Preach the gospel, and if necessary use words.”  But wordless evangelism is no evangelism at all (no offense to The Wordless Book – which actually uses words, in the final analysis).  Stiles speaks emphatically, “There is no evangelism without words.”  Such a gospel should include important words that include God, man, Christ, and human response.

The culture of evangelism that Stiles favors emerges clearly in chapter two.  The author dreams of churches committed to eleven ideals:

  1. A Culture Motivated by Love for Jesus and His Gospel
  2. A Culture That Is Confident In the Gospel
  3. A Culture That Understands the Danger of Entertainment
  4. A Culture That Sees People Clearly
  5. A Culture That Pulls Together as One
  6. A Culture in Which People Teach One Another
  7. A Culture That Models Evangelism
  8. A Culture in Which People Who Are Sharing Their Faith Are Celebrated
  9. A Culture That Knows How to Affirm and Celebrate New Life
  10. A Culture Doing Ministry That Feels Risky and Is Dangerous
  11. A Culture That Understands That the Church Is the Chosen and Best Method of Evangelism

Such a culture becomes a reality when God’s people put the gospel at the center of every activity.  The gospel emerges in every song, every sermon, and every classroom.  In this gospel-centered culture, people are equipped – prepared and passionate about presenting Christ to lost people.

J. Mack Stiles has written a fantastic book that I commend to Christians – not only to read, but also to absorb and apply.  Perhaps the harvest is just around the corner!

TRUE GRACE, DISTINGUISHED FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF DEVILS – Jonathan Edwards (1752)

Jonathan_Edwards_engravingOn September 28, 1752, Jonathan Edwards was invited to preach a sermon before the Presbyterian Synod of New York.  His son-in-law, Aaron Burr (who had recently married his daughter Esther) was the president of the College of New Jersey and undoubtedly had an influence in the invitation that Edwards received.

James 2:19 is the text that Edwards utilizes – You believe that God is one; you do that well.  Even the demons believe – and shudder!

Doctrine

Nothing in the mind of man, that is of the same nature with what the devils experience, or are the subjects of, is any sure sign of saving grace.

Edwards essentially argues this: there is no sign of grace in demons.  Three propositions drive the doctrine which he presents.

  1. The devils have no degree of holiness: and therefore, those things, which are nothing beyond what they are the subjects of, cannot be holy experiences.
  2. The devils are not only absolutely without all true holiness, but they are not so much as the subjects of any common grace.
  3. It is unreasonable to suppose, that a person’s being in any respect as the devil is, should be a certain sign, that he is very unlike, and opposite to him; and hereafter, shall not have his part with him.

Edwards includes a series of improvements or inferences which assist his hearers and instruct them in the Christian faith.

First, Nothing that damned men do, or ever will experience, can be any sure sign of grace.

Second, No degree of speculative knowledge of things of religion, is any certain sign of saving grace.

Third, For persons merely to yield to a speculative assent to the doctrines of religion as true, is no certain evidence of a state of grace.

Fourth, [Converted men] have been the subjects of very great distress and terrors of mind, through apprehensions of God’s wrath, and fears of damnation.

Fifth, It may be further inferred from the doctrine, that no work of the law on men’s hearts, in conviction of guilt, and just desert of punishment, is a sure argument, that a person has been savingly converted. 

Sixth, It is no certain sign of grace, that persons have earnest desires and longings after salvation.

Seventh, Persons who have no grace may have a great apprehension of an external glory.

Edwards demonstrates in stroke after stroke how and why the devils lack saving grace.  He applies his thesis to the hearts of men as noted above.  Once again, the Puritan divine accurately diagnoses the human condition apart from grace.  But he concludes by contrasting the graceless state of devils with the gracious state of a person who trusts Christ: “By this, above all other things, do men glorify God.   By this, above all other things, do the saints shine as lights in the world, and are blessings to mankind.”    It is here where Edwards draws his readers and those who would listen to this sermon – to the fountain of grace which never ends!