Near the beginning of his 1830 publication on the pastoral ministry (The Christian Ministry), Charles Bridges discussed the trials and difficulties of the ministry.  In this section he wrote that for pastors, “the greatest difficulties derive their origin and power from ourselves.”  This whole section is outstanding, and very much worth reading.  One part of... Continue Reading

“Therefore every prescription of virtues and duties, all exhortations and dissuasions, all reproofs and threatenings also all the promises of a reward in recompense of perfect obedience, belong to the law. But to the gospel appertains whatever can give a sinner the hope of salvation, namely, the doctrine concerning the person, offices, states, and benefits... Continue Reading

For fitness fanatics, fitness fakers, and everyone in between, the searching questions and robust exegesis of Theological Fitness contain a workout plan for the soul. Writing about 1 Pet. 3:15, Byrd explains: “There are two qualifications of fitness here: knowing God’s truth, and the patient endurance of suffering for the sake of it. This requires... Continue Reading

“The book is technical but it is not too difficult. One might be tempted to be discouraged by the number of times White quotes Greek or seems to split exegetical hairs to make a big point, but we shouldn’t be. He is doing the heavy lifting and careful reasoning to make us more confident in... Continue Reading

The amount of evidence that Gray covers is vast and can hardly be reproduced in a single blog post. But we can summarize his findings with respect to the narrow view of “the least of these.” He concludes that if one sets aside references to the “least of these” that are unspecified, “then it is... Continue Reading

Normalizing homosexuality and getting marriage wrong isn’t just a matter of mishandling a few texts, then. It’s a matter of undermining the entire storyline of Scripture—a storyline that begins with a marriage in Genesis 1 and ends with a marriage in Revelation 21. As DeYoung writes, “If God wanted us to conclude that men and... Continue Reading

Living Without Worry doesn’t offer a magic cure-all but encouragement to remember God’s character, and promises and to live in that light of those truths.  For the non-Christian reader, this book also clearly presents the gospel especially as it relates to the weight of guilt and the fear of eternity.  I thought this was a... Continue Reading

Family Driven Faith (FDF) offers solutions to these errors which are problematic on three fronts. First, FDF over-generalizes the issue by equating all involvement in age-graded ministry to children/students with abdication of parental responsibility. Second, FDF sets ministry within the family and within the church at odds. And third, FDF convolutes clear biblical mandates and... Continue Reading

There are serious foundational problems with the teaching in this book. The most serious are discussions of the Trinity. The authors then use their understanding of the Trinity as the foundation for their teaching on biblical manhood and womanhood. Probably the next most troubling thing is that the authors use the relationship between husband and... Continue Reading

In her introduction, Kruger writes what should be the heart-cry of every godly mom: “In the midst of my weaknesses, I need the soul-strengthening refreshment that can come only from time spent with Jesus. I need reminders of his love for me, so that I can love my children well. I need to know that... Continue Reading