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Category: Book Reviews

1 Peter: A Commentary for Biblical Preaching and Teaching

1 Peter: A Commentary for Biblical Preaching and Teaching. Kerux Commentaries. Timothy E. Miller and Bryan Murawski. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Ministry, 2022. 294 pp. Cloth, $32.99. Miller is an Associate Professor of NT at Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary. He handles the exegetical portions of this commentary. Murawski teaches Bible and ministry courses at Cairn […]

The Biblical View of Self-Esteem, Self-Love, Self-Image

The Biblical View of Self-Esteem, Self-Love, and Self-Image. By Jay E. Adams. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1986. 143 pp. Paper, $6.95. One of the striking things about the self-esteem movement is its tremendous appeal to those both within and without the Church. Like their counterparts in the world, many Christian psychologists (and even many pastors, […]

Heaven

Heaven. By Randy Alcorn. Wheaton , IL : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004. 516 pp. Cloth, $22.99. The book’s 476 pages are distributed over 46 chapters and two appendices. The depth of Alcorn’s study is attested in 363 footnotes, a thirteen page subject index, and a helpful six page scripture index. A lengthy bibliography with 140 […]

Money, Possessions, and Eternity

Money, Possessions, and Eternity. By Randy Alcorn. Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1989. 451 pp. Paper, $10.95. As a pastor, Alcorn set out to preach a three-message series on money. His study led to this twenty-one chapter book with five appendices and a study guide. As a pastor, I too set out to preach a three-message series […]

Pro Life Answers to Pro Choice Arguments

Pro-Life Answers to Pro-Choice Arguments. By Randy Alcorn. Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1992. 294 pp. Paper, $8.99. In all the media coverage of the rhetoric and actions surrounding the abortion controversy, one might even get the impression that pro-lifers believe abortion to be an “evil work” somehow crucial to a person’s eternal destiny. Some in […]

The Grace and Truth Paradox: Responding with Christlike Balance

The Grace and Truth Paradox: Responding with Christlike Balance. By Randy Alcorn. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2003. 93 pp. Cloth. $9.99. Popular author Randy Alcorn has tackled an important subject. In the prologue of John’s Gospel we are told that Jesus, the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us, is “full of grace and […]

The Law of Rewards

The Law of Rewards. By Randy Alcorn. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2003. 135 pp. Cloth. $11.99. The Law of Rewards is a brief treatment of the doctrine of rewards with special emphasis on financial giving as an eternal investment. In a previous work, Money, Possessions, and Eternity (Tyndale House, 1989; revised and updated, 2003), […]

No Holiness, No Heaven! — Antinomianism Today

No Holiness, No Heaven! Antinomianism Today. By Richard Alderson. Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1986. 108 pp. Paper, $6.58. Richard Alderson, a British professor of English as a foreign language, has written an insightful, albeit highly erroneous, discussion of the Gospel in this fascinating little book. The author understands the Free Grace position […]

Gentle Persuasion

Gentle Persuasion. By Joseph C. Aldrich. Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1988. 247 pp. Paper, $7.95. The Church desperately needs new models for evangelism. Dr. Aldrich, the leading advocate for what has been called “relational evangelism” in the conservative camp, provides a consistently biblical and refreshingly creative alternative to “Tuesday evening visitation.” Convinced that only 10% […]

The Hospitality Commands

The Hospitality Commands. By Alexander Strauch. Littleton, CO: Lewis and Roth Publishers, 1993. 64 pp. Paper, $6.99. What kinds of spiritual practices should Christians emphasize? In this short, but powerful, booklet, Alexander Strauch explores what the NT says about hospitality. Unlike popular spiritual disciplines that do not have clear Scriptural bases, Strauch shows that hospitality […]

Bewitched: The Rise of Neo-Galatianism

Bewitched: The Rise of Neo-Galatianism. By David R. Anderson. N.P.: Grace Theology Press, 2015. 384 pp. Paper, $15.95. The back cover of the book says that this book “proposes that all serious Christians struggle with legalism in one form or another, although they may not be aware of it. Whether Catholic, Arminian, Calvinistic, or otherwise, […]

Free Grace Soteriology

Free Grace Soteriology. By David R. Anderson. NP: Xulon Press, 2010. 383 pp. Paper, $20.99. Designed as a textbook for college and seminary classes, Anderson’s book meets a significant need. Hopefully textbooks for the nine other major doctrines will soon be produced by Anderson and others. The book has the following chapter titles: the meaning […]

Keep the Fire!

Keep the Fire! By Don Anderson. Foreword by Dr. Howard Hendricks. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Books, 1994. 288 pp. Paper, $8.99. The present reviewer has no trouble reading small print, but admittedly does belong to what the author calls “approaching your senior years.” Anderson has a masters degree in theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and a […]

Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World

Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World. By Andy Stanley. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018. 332 pp. Hardcover, $24.99. Normally when I review books, I am confident that I understand the author’s main point. In the case of Irresistible by Andy Stanley, I am confident I understand at least a few of […]

God in 60 Seconds: One-Minute Answers to Faith Questions

God in 60 Seconds: One-Minute Answers to Faith Questions. By John Ankerberg and Dillon Burroughs. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2010. 138 pp. Paper, $6.99. In the increasing spiritual vacuum which is 21st-century America, attempts to communicate truth to those caught up in the busy-ness of modern society are popular. John Ankerberg, host of the […]

Doubt, Faith, and Certainty

Doubt, Faith, and Certainty. By Anthony C. Thiselton. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2017. 160pp. Paper, $20.00. Thiselton is a professor at the University of Nottingham in England and is a well-known NT scholar. The title of this book caught my eye. I was interested in how Thiselton defined faith and whether he felt a believer […]

Are You Going to Heaven?

Are You Going to Heaven? Sacramento, CA: Double Visions Productions, 1994. 35- minute video. $19.95. The title of this video is catchy. There are a number of fine things about it as well. The production quality is good; this is not something put together hastily. It has an appealing, professional look to it. The interviews […]

The Gospel Driven Man

The Gospel Driven Man. By Ralph “Yankee” Arnold. Hull, GA: Send the Light, 2005. 200 pp. Paper. $12.95. Ralph “Yankee” Arnold is a man who has a passion for clarity in Evangelism. He is a graduate of Florida Bible College from back in its glory days. He has pastored and founded and taught at a […]

Muslim Conversions to Christ: A Critique of Insider Movements in Islamic Contexts

Muslim Conversions to Christ: A Critique of Insider Movements in Islamic Contexts. Edited by Ayman S. Ibrahim and Ant Greenham. New York, NY: Peter Lang, 2018. 532 pp. Hardcover, $77.17. Ibrahim was raised in Egypt and is a professor of Islamic studies at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Greenham is a professor of missions and Islamic […]

Free Grace Theology on Trial: A Refutation of “Historical Protestant” Soteriology

Free Grace Theology on Trial: A Refutation of “Historical Protestant” Soteriology. By Anthony B. Badger. NP: np, 2017. 370 pp. Paper, $24.95. This is not designed to be a general work covering global aspects of the Free Grace vs. Calvinism vs. Arminianism theological debate. If one is seeking that kind of work, I highly recommend […]

No Other Standard

No Other Standard: Theonomy and Its Critics. By Greg L. Bahnsen. Tyler, TX: Institute for Christian Economics, 1991. 345 pp. Paper, $9.95. No Other Standard is a response to the various objections that have been leveled at Bahnsen’s first book, Theonomy in Christian Ethics (Nutley, New Jersey: The Craig Press, 1977) and to theonomy in […]

To Follow Him: The Seven Marks of a Disciple

To Follow Him: The Seven Marks of a Disciple. By Mark Bailey. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 1997. 171 pp. Paper, $11.99. Discipleship continues to be a buzzword in churches which that that Jesus Christ told them to make disciples. However, there has not been much consistency in approach. Some discipleship literature and courses emphasize the […]

Spiritual Maturity: The Road to Wonderland

Spiritual Maturity: The Road to Wonderland. By Bruce Baker. Larkspur, CO: Grace Acres Press, 2009. 376 pp. Paper, $27.95. Prior to each of the seven parts of the book, there appears a fictional story highlighting struggles faced by Christians today, serving to illustrate concepts presented in the book. And prior to each chapter, we find […]

Biblical Faith and Other Religions: An Evangelical Assessment

Biblical Faith and Other Religions: An Evangelical Assessment. Edited by David W. Baker. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2004. Paper. 176 pp. $12.99. Biblical Faith and Other Religions is a compilation “of written records of oral presentations” from six different authors (p. 9). These topics were presented at the 2002 Evangelical Theological Society Annual Meeting. David M. […]

Secure Forever, Revised Edition

Secure Forever. Revised Edition. By Harold Barker. Long Green, MD: Timeless Publications, 2004. 261 pp. Paper. $12.99. Although not the most persuasive or consistent in explanation, Harold Barker has spoken to almost every passage dealing with the security of the believer. He generally lets each verse speak for itself with only minimal commentary as he […]

The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary: Volume 2: New Testament

The Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary: Volume 2: New Testament. Edited by Kenneth L. Barker and John Kohlenberger III. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994. 1243 pp. Cloth, $32.99. This one-volume commentary on the NT is an abridgment of the 5 volumes of the Expositor’s Bible Commentary which cover the NT. As its title indicates, it […]

The Power of Vision

The Power of Vision. By George Barna. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1992. 184 pp. Cloth, $14.99; Developing a Vision for Ministry in the 21st Century. By Aubrey Malphurs. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992. 256 pp. Paper, $11.95. Two books have appeared this year which will be a source of great help to pastors or […]

Today’s Pastors

Today’s Pastors. By George Barna. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1993. 169 pp. Cloth, $15.99. George Barna is not a pastor. How, then, can he write a book about pastors and designed for pastors? The answer is because George Barna is not a pastor. The best way to arrive at unbiased, objective conclusions is to distance […]

The Health and Wealth Gospel

The Health and Wealth Gospel. By Bruce Barron. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1987. 204 pp. Paper, $6.95. The gospel of healing and prosperity is the parent and child of the modern “faith movement” which has attracted millions of people and spawned some highly visible-and controversial-ministries. Barron’s purpose in writing about the movement is to […]

Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife

Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife. By Bart D. Ehrman. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2020. 326 pp. Hardcover, $28.00. What can an agnostic historian with atheist leanings tell us about heaven and hell? To those of us who believe the Bible, not much. Yet, he can tell us two important things. […]

Theology the Lutheran Way

Theology the Lutheran Way. By Oswald Bayer. Edited and translated by Jeffrey G. Silcock and Mark C Mattes. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007. 302 pp. Paper, $34.00. Oswald Bayer is professor emeritus of systematic theology at the University of Tübingen, in Germany. A well-known Luther scholar, Bayer has attempted to combat what he […]

Quest for Full Assurance: The Legacy of Calvin and His Successors

Quest for Full Assurance: The Legacy of Calvin and His Successors. By Joel R. Beeke. Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth Trust, 1999. 395 pp. Paper. $14.99. For those that have it, assurance of eternal life is one of their most prized possessions. But, for those who don’t, it becomes a quest. The history of this […]

What Angels Wish They Knew: The Basics of True Christianity

What Angels Wish They Knew: The Basics of True Christianity.By Alistair Begg. Chicago: Moody Press, 1998. 207 pp. Paper, $5.99. The title of this book comes from 1 Peter 1:12, where the apostle states that the wonders of our salvation are things “which angels desire to look into” (NKJV). Begg has borrowed (and revised) this […]

A Layman’s Guide to the Lordship Controversy

A Layman’s Guide to the Lordship Controversy. By Richard P. Belcher. Southbridge, MA: Crowne Publications, 1990. 123 pp. Paper, $6.95. On the surface, this book promises the layman a grasp of the Lordship Salvation controversy. What will quickly grasp the uninformed layman, however, is a limited presentation of the Lordship Salvation debate and thus a […]

Calvin and Scottish Theology: The Doctrine of Assurance

Calvin and Scottish Theology: The Doctrine of Assurance. By M. Charles Bell. 33 Montgomery Street, Edinburgh: The Handsel Press, 1985. 211 pp. Cloth, no price. Few recent books are more significant for the doctrine of salvation than this one. The author is currently a Presbyterian minister in California and this volume is a revision of […]

The World Needs Monasticism

The World Needs Monasticism. By Father Benedict. Blanco, TX: New Sarov Press, 1993. 36 pp. Paper, $4.95. Father Benedict was one of the founders of The Christ of the Hills Monastery in Blanco, TX, which belonged to the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia but has since closed down. In the booklet, The World Needs […]

Leaders in the Making: A Workbook for Discovering and Developing Church Leaders

Leaders in the Making: A Workbook for Discovering and Developing Church Leaders. By Paul N. Benware and Brian Harris. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991. 120 pp. Paper, $8.99. As the subtitle indicates, this is a workbook designed to be used by churches to discover and develop church leaders. The book is divided into four major study […]

The Truth Is Out There

The Truth Is Out There, By Thomas Bertoneau and Kim Paffenroth, Grand Rapids: Brazo Press, 2006. 272 pp. Paper, $18.99 This book was obviously written with a view towards science fiction fans with watered down faith. The authors attempt to show Christian undertones in popular science fiction T.V. shows and movies and even specify a […]

Help for the Small-Church Pastor

Help for the Small-Church Pastor. By Steve R. Bierly. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995. 110 pp. Paper, $10.99. I really liked this book! As someone who has pastored two “small” churches now for almost 15 years, I read it thinking, “At last, someone in print who has walked in my moccasins!” At one level […]

Grace Intervention: Understanding God’s Beautiful Gift of Grace

Grace Intervention: Understanding God’s Beautiful Gift of Grace. By Bill Giovannetti. Uhrichsville, OH: Shiloh Run Press, 2015. 250 pp. Paper, $14.99. The title of this book caught my eye. Giovannetti is a pastor and has a heart for what is going on in Christian churches. He says that legalism is the biggest and most destructive […]

Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship: How to Understand Some Difficult Bible Passages

Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship: How to Understand Some Difficult Bible Passages. By Charles C. Bing. NP: Grace Theology Press, 2015. 290 pp. Cloth, $17.00. Charlie Bing has written a book that is extremely helpful in explaining many difficult passages. There is a Scripture Index, which is very helpful. It makes it easy to find what […]

Simply by Grace: An Introduction to God’s Life-Changing Gift

Simply by Grace: An Introduction to God’s Life-Changing Gift. By Charles C. Bing. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2009. 160 pp. Paper, $18.00. As the subtitle suggests, this book is directed to people who are new or relatively new to Free Grace issues. The author’s style is significantly different from many of the Free Grace books […]

Getting Grace Daily: A Daily Devotional

Getting Grace Daily: A Daily Devotional. By Brad Bird. Columbia, SC: MarketLife Ministries, 2014. 366 pp. Paper, $15.00. This book caught my eye because I have often been asked by people if there is a good daily devotional available for Free Grace people. In the military, I saw that soldiers often read Our Daily Bread. […]

James. Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament

James. Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. By Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2008. 280 pp. Cloth, $24.99. The Epistle of James has long been a key support for the teaching of Lordship Salvation. For the most part this commentary does not wade into a discussion of what one […]

Jesus According to Scripture: Restoring the Portrait from the Gospels

Jesus According to Scripture: Restoring the Portrait from the Gospels. By Darrell L. Bock. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002. 704 pp. Cloth. $39.99. This book is essentially a commentary on the four Gospels. The Synoptic Gospels are handled together and John by itself. Bock precedes one passage at a time. This is a very impressive […]

Recovering the Real Lost Gospel: Reclaiming the Gospel as Good News

Recovering the Real Lost Gospel: Reclaiming the Gospel as Good News. By Darrell L. Bock. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2010. 146 pp. Paper, $16.99. I’ve known the author since he was one of my professors in the doctoral program at Dallas Theological Seminary (DTS). In the late 1990s he and I had […]

Interpreting the New Testament: Introduction to the Art and Science of Exegesis

Interpreting the New Testament: Introduction to the Art and Science of Exegesis. Edited by Darrell L. Bock and Buist M. Fanning. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006. 480 pp. Cloth, $29.99. This work was done to honor Dr. Harold Hoehner, the Chairman of the New Testament Department at Dallas Theological Seminary for many years, including the […]

An Ember Still Glowing: Humankind as the Image of God

An Ember Still Glowing: Humankind as the Image of God.Harry R. Boer. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1990. 187 pp. Paper, $14.95. This book is a direct but friendly attack on the bedrock doctrines of Reformed theology by one who is himself a Reformed theologian. Boer writes boldly in an effort to salvage […]

Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace: Recovering the Doctrines That Shook the World

Whatever Happened to the Gospel of Grace: Recovering the Doctrines That Shook the World. By James Montgomery Boice. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2001. 224 pp. (Cloth), $17.99. During the first message presented at Ligonier’s Conference in Orlando last June, Dr. R. C. Sproul indicated that Dr. James Boice, a scheduled speaker at the conference, was […]

The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel

The Doctrines of Grace: Rediscovering the Evangelical Gospel.By James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2002. 240 pp. Cloth. $17.99. The Doctrines of Grace by the late James Montgomery Boice, and his successor at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia , Philip Graham Ryken is an explanation and defense of Calvinistic theology. I […]

Jesus Under Siege

Jesus Under Siege. By Gregory A. Boyd. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1995. 140 pp. Paper, $4.99. Jesus Under Siege is a popular defense of the authenticity of the Gospels and a refutation of the conclusions of the so-called Jesus Seminar. It is a summary of the author’s more detailed book, Cynic Sage or Son of God: […]

Boyd’s Handbook of Practical Apologetics: Scientific Facts, Fulfilled Prophecies, and Archaeological Discoveries That Confirm the Bible

Boyd’s Handbook of Practical Apologetics: Scientific Facts, Fulfilled Prophecies, and Archaeological Discoveries That Confirm the Bible. By Robert T. Boyd. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997. 251 pp. Paper. $13.99. None of us comes to believe the Bible by learning everything there is to know and then seeing if the Bible fits the data. Inability, lack […]

No Other Gospel!: Christianity Among the World’s Religions

No Other Gospel!: Christianity Among the World’s Religions. By Carl E. Braaten. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1992. 146 pp. Paper, $10.95. No Other Gospel is a theological response to religious pluralism. Braaten is intimately acquainted with pluralist, liberal, neo-orthodox, and orthodox views of Christ. Through a series of papers that were later put together for this […]

Home Coming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child

Home Coming: Reclaiming and Championing Your Inner Child.By John Bradshaw. New York: Bantam Books, 1990. 288 pp. Cloth, $18.95. This is not a Christian book. However, it is a book being read by many Christians and which certainly presents itself as a spiritual book. For these reasons, I believe it deserves a review. As one […]

Perspectives on Israel and the Church: 4 Views

Perspectives on Israel and the Church: 4 Views. By Chad O. Brand, Tom Pratt, Jr., Robert L. Reymond, Robert L. Saucy, and Robert Thomas. Edited by Chad O. Brand. Nashville: B & H Academic, 2015. Vii + 317 pp. Paper, $29.99. As Charles Ryrie explained in his classic work on Dispensationalism, the first aspect of […]

The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ

The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ. By Brant Pitre. New York, NY: Image, 2016. 256 pp. Hardcover, $23.00. Brant Pitre had a crisis of faith while studying theology at a liberal school (Vanderbilt). His teachers told him that the Gospels were anonymous, and that Jesus never claimed to be God. […]

Blessed Calvary: A Full Color Visual Presentation of Salvation Invitations

Blessed Calvary: A Full Color Visual Presentation of Salvation Invitations. Streamwood, IL: AWANA Clubs International, n.d. 23 minute video. $14.95. Dave Breese, head of Christian Destiny, Inc., narrates this excellent training video. It is used by AWANA Youth Ministries to train those who work with children and young people in how to share the Gospel […]

Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God: The Scandalous Truth of the Very Good News

Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God: The Scandalous Truth of the Very Good News. By Brian Zahnd. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook, 2017. 209 pp. Paper, $14.99. This book gives no indication of any theological education by Zahnd. A website search indicates that he is self-taught. Regardless of education, Zahnd is a very good […]

The Message of Obadiah, Nahum, and Zephaniah: The Kindness and Severity of God

The Message of Obadiah, Nahum, and Zephaniah: The Kindness and Severity of God. The Bible Speaks Today. By Gordon Bridger. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 2010. 303 pp. Cloth, $18.00. Having never heard of Gordon Bridger or this series, I did not know what to expect from this commentary. I was very pleasantly surprised. Most […]

The Gospel for Real Life

The Gospel for Real Life. By Jerry Bridges. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002. 201 pp. Cloth. $19.00. Bridges is the author of The Pursuit of Holiness, which has sold over one million copies. So when a best-selling author like this tackles the gospel, JOTGES readers are surely interested in what he has to say. What we […]

Transforming Grace: Living Confidently in God’s Unfailing Love

Transforming Grace: Living Confidently in God’s Unfailing Love. By Jerry Bridges. Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1991. 207 pp. Cloth, $14.95. Very few things catch the attention of modern man more than the offer of something free. When we hear the phrase “free, no strings attached,” our first reaction is usually healthy skepticism. Most of us believe […]

Christianity Is The Gospel of the Grace of God, Not the Gospel of the Kingdom

Christianity Is The Gospel of the Grace of God, Not the Gospel of the Kingdom. By Robert C. Brock. St. Petersburg , FL : Right Division, Inc, nd. 32 pp. Paper. $1.00. The author staunchly defends justification by faith alone for this age. In his view, from the time of Moses until the regeneration of […]

A Queer Thing Happened to America: And What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been

A Queer Thing Happened to America: And What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been. By Michael L. Brown. Concord, NC: EqualTime Books, 2011. 691 pp. Cloth, $27.99. After speaking at a church recently I received a glowing recommendation of this book. Thus I was anxious to read it, especially since homosexuality is such a major […]

Hard Sayings of Jesus

Hard Sayings of Jesus. By F. F. Bruce. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1983. 265 pp. Paper, $10.99. The obvious purpose of F. F. Bruce’s Hard Sayings of Jesus, is to make difficult teachings of Jesus easier to understand. Yet, Bruce’s theology makes them impenetrable. Don’t misunderstand, the bookdoes offer some valuable insights. Bruce’s historical […]

The Dark Side of Calvinism

The Dark Side of Calvinism. George Bryson. Santa Ana , CA : Calvary Chapel Publishing, 2004. 398 pp. Paperback. $14.95. The Dark Side of Calvinism by George Bryson is another light in the spectrum of books dispelling the gloom of Calvinism. Up until a few years ago, there were very few books challenging the labyrinth […]

What Happened to the Word BELIEVE?

What Happened to the Word BELIEVE? By Donald H. Bunge. Self-published, 1999. 54 pp. (Paper), $1.50. The “Gospel (good news) is that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Then what is our part? […]

The Coming Economic Earthquake

The Coming Economic Earthquake. By Larry Burkett. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991. 230 pp. Paper, $15.26. What would you do if the U.S. Government declared bankruptcy because the interest on the budget deficit equaled the Gross National Product and our country could no longer pay its bills? What if the Stock Market crashed and all U.S. […]

In the Presence of My Enemies

In the Presence of My Enemies. By Gracia Burnham with Dean Merrill. Wheaton : Tyndale House Publishers, 2003. 307 pp. Cloth. $22.99. Martin and Gracia (pronounced “gray-sha”) Burnham became known worldwide. This book tells the story of their kidnapping and being held hostage for one year and eleven days. It also tells of their courtship, […]

Theological Anthropology: Sources of Early Christian Thought

Theological Anthropology. Sources of Early Christian Thought. By J. Patout Burns. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1981. 130 pp. Paper, $9.95. The more fully we understand human sinfulness, the more profound must be our understanding of God’s grace. Grace is God’s solution to our problem of sin. Likewise, a trivializing of sin leads to a trivializing of […]

Butterworth Gets His Life Together: But it falls apart before he can show his friends

“BUTTERWORTH GETS HIS LIFE TOGETHER” But it falls apart before he can show his friends By: Bill Butterworth, Multnomah Books, 1996   This book can repudiate and perhaps teach those who believe Christianity is best verified by one victory piled upon another. The foundational principle of Free Grace is that faith alone in Christ alone […]

Making Life Rich Without Any Money

Making Life Rich Without Any Money. By Phil Callaway. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1998. 255 pp. Paper, $12.99. How can you enjoy your life without spending any money? That is the question Callaway seeks to answer for us with this vast assimilation of stories, tips, anecdotes and humorous narratives that seek to explain how […]

John

John. By John Calvin. The Crossway Classic Commentaries. Alister McGrath and J. I. Packer, Series Editors. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1994. 473 pp. Paper, $13.99. This commentary was originally published in 1553, over 450 years ago. In his introduction, series editor J. I. Packer says, “This commentary is one of Calvin’s best pieces of work, and […]

One-Minute Answers to Skeptics

One-Minute Answers to Skeptics. By Charlie H. Campbell. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2005/2010. 122 pp. Paper, $10.99. Do you ever have trouble defending your faith? Do you feel unprepared to provide sound Biblical answers to those who question the faith? Believers are clearly exhorted to “always [be] ready to make a defense to everyone […]

Unveiling Islam: An Insider’s Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs

Unveiling Islam: An Insider’s Look at Muslim Life and Beliefs. By Ergun Mehmet Caner & Emir Fethi Caner. Grand Rapids : Kregel Publications, 2002. 251 pp. Paper. $12.99. As the title suggests, the authors (who are brothers) were raised in a Muslim home, which gives this book an authentic flavor. In fact, the strength of […]

The Parable of Joy: Reflections on the Wisdom of the Book of John

The Parable of Joy: Reflections on the Wisdom of the Book of John. By Michael Card. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995. Pp. 259. Cloth, $19.99. Especially after reviewing the emasculated “Inclusive” Oxford variant of the NRSV and the loose and racy Message, I find musician Card’s book reverent, artistic, and accurate. His work is a […]

The Omega Reunion

The Omega Reunion. By Frank D. Carmical. Dallas, TX: Redencion Viva, 1986. 101 pp. Paper, $3.95. Technically a short novel, The Omega Reunion combines the best features of fantasy, science fiction, and biblical eschatology and blends these features into a practical study of the speculative future. Those who enjoy this particular genre of Christian literature […]

The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism

The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism. By D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996. 640 pp. Cloth, $24.99. Most books on pluralism deal with specific issues such as the biblical response to it or its philosophical problems. Carson has traced the origin and effect of pluralism in our society. He considers pluralism […]

Crazy Love

Dangerous Words: A Review of Crazy Love by Francis Chan1 Bruce Bauer Lancaster, CA I. Introduction A. Drenched in Hype “Waking up the sleeping church!” “Potent paradigm shift.” “A clarion call to ‘on-fire’ living for Christ!” These are a sampling of glowing tributes found on online book sites about Francis Chan’s Crazy Love. A minority […]

The Explicit Gospel

The Explicit Gospel. By Matt Chandler with Jared Wilson. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012. 237 pages. Paper, $17.99. Matt Chandler is the Pastor of a megachurch in a Dallas suburb called The Village Church. In addition to a main church campus in Flower Mound, TX, there are three satellite churches which feature “Flat Matt.” Those churches have […]

To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain

To Live Is Christ, To Die Is Gain. By Matt Chandler. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2013. 224 pp. Hardback, $11.99. This book by Matt Chandler, the pastor of The Village Church in Dallas, TX, is a devotional commentary on the book of Philippians. However, it does not provide an exposition of the book. […]

Fishing For Life: Insights for Living from a Jerk at the End of a Line

Fishing For Life: Insights for Living from a Jerk at the End of a Line. By Charles C. Bing, Burleson, TX: GraceLife Ministries, 2020. 112 pp. Paper, $8. This title caught my eye. I am an avid fisherman who has fished for trout in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains my entire life. There are not […]

Forged From Reformation: How Dispensational Thought Advances the Reformed Legacy

Forged From Reformation: How Dispensational Thought Advances the Reformed Legacy. Edited by Christopher Cone and James I. Fazio. El Cajon, CA: Southern California Seminary Press, 2017. 582 pp. Paper, $39.95. In addition to an introduction and conclusion, this book is made up of 16 essays by various writers (Thomas Ice, Patrick Belvill, James I. Fazio, […]

The First Letter to the Corinthians. The Pillar New Testament Commentary

The First Letter to the Corinthians. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. By Roy E. Ciampa and Brian S. Rosner. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2010. 922 pp. Cloth, $65.00. First Corinthians is a book that is of great interest to Free Grace people because this epistle was written to a very immature church, […]

Solving Church Education’s Ten Toughest Problems

Solving Church Education’s Ten Toughest Problems. By John R. Cionca. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1990. 192 pp. Paper, $7.95. John R. Cionca is Dean of Students and a Christian Education professor at Bethel Seminary. In addition to his teaching experience, the author has also pastored several churches. The basis for this book is the author’s […]

Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock—What Does the Bible Say?

Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock—What Does the Bible Say? By John Claeys. Sister, OR: VMI Publishers, 2010. 275 pp. Paper, $14.99. Though Claeys does discuss the nearness of Christ’s return in the Epilogue (cf. pp. 209-19), that is not the focus of the book in spite of the fact that the […]

Faith and Saving Faith

Faith and Saving Faith. By Gordon H. Clark. Jefferson, MD: The Trinity Foundation, 1983. 118 pp. Paper, $5.95. Of the perennial queries that surface in the ongoing debate over the nature of the Gospel, perhaps none is as fundamental as: “What constitutes saving faith?” No recent work responds as effectively to this end as Gordon […]

Philosophers Who Believe: The Spiritual Journeys of Eleven Leading Thinkers

Philosophers Who Believe: The Spiritual Journeys of Eleven Leading Thinkers. Ed. by Kelly James Clark. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993. 276 pp. Cloth, $24.99. We live in a skeptical age. And there is no more skeptical crowd living in our skeptical age than philosophers! That’s one of the factors that makes Philosophers Who Believe […]

The Calvinism Debate

The Calvinism Debate. By David W. Cloud. Port Huron, MI: Way of Life Literature, 2006. 125 pp. Paper. $4.95. It is always a welcome sight to see new books written in opposition to Calvinism since for too many years Calvinists have had a monopoly on books on the subject. The latest work on the subject […]

A Cultish Side of Calvinism

A Cultish Side of Calvinism. By Micah Coate. NP: Innovo Publishing, 2011. 330 pp. Paperback, $19.95. This book has an all-star lineup of endorsers including well-known Evangelicals Tim LaHaye, Earl Radmacher, Paige Patterson, and Jerry Vines. In addition to Radmacher, several other Free Grace leaders endorse the book: Charlie Bing, Dave Anderson, Fred Chay, Gordon […]

Images of Salvation in the New Testament

Images of Salvation in the New Testament. By Brenda B. Colijn. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2010. 335 pp. Paper, $25.00. Having seen and been impressed by an article I had read by her previously, I was very interested to see what Colijn would have to say about images of salvation in the NT. I […]

The Body: Being Light in the Darkness

The Body: Being Light in the Darkness. By Charles Colson with Ellen Santilli Vaughn. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1992. 455 pp. Cloth, $19.99. Colson and Vaughn have written a powerful and thought-provoking work about the Body of Christ, the Church. It has three parts: “Part 1: What Is the Church?,” which addresses the identity crisis within […]

The Ultimate Deception

The Ultimate Deception. By Ray Comfort. S. Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Publishing, Inc., 1993. 269 pp. Paper $5.95. This book is by an itinerant preacher from New Zealand, living in Southern California, who is burdened about the Gospel and the need to proclaim it clearly. We are in total agreement on that. He is against what […]

Talking to God: What the Bible Teaches About Prayer

Talking to God: What the Bible Teaches About Prayer. By Thomas L. Constable. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995. 190 pages. Paper, $11.99. Talking to God is not just another motivational book on prayer. It is a biblical theology of prayer that is the culmination of 20 years of teaching at Dallas Theological Seminary as well […]

Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII

Hitler’s Pope: The Secret History of Pius XII. By John Cornwell. New York: Penguin Books, 1999.426 pp. (Paper), $15.00. Anyone interested in the papacy must read this fascinating book. It is an eye opener regarding the inner workings of the Vatican. Cornwell, an award-winning journalist and a Roman Catholic, was given access to secret Vatican […]

Refreshing Grace: God’s Will, Our Will, in Focus

Refreshing Grace: God’s Will, Our Will, in Focus. By John Correia. Phoenix, AZ: Biblical Framework Press, 2012. 192 pp. Paper, $14.99. One of the solutions to reconciling God’s sovereignty and human responsibility in salvation is the doctrine of middle knowledge, sometimes known as “Molinism” after Luis de Molina, who first articulated the idea. John Correia’s […]

The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work

The Heavenly Good of Earthly Work. By Darrell Cosden. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 2006. 148 pp. Paper. $17.95. Most Christians throughout the history of the church have truly struggled to bring their spiritual lives into a healthy balance with the everyday matters of work life. Darrell Cosden has written an enriching glimpse of “a […]

Dictionary of Premillennial Theology

Dictionary of Premillennial Theology. By Mal Couch ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1996. 448 pp. Cloth. $23.99. Published in 1996, this book continues to be a handy resource for anyone seeking to understand dispensational theology. Indeed, it might well be re-titled, “Dictionary of Dispensational Theology.” Fifty-six scholars contributed more than 180 articles on such […]

The Historical Reliability of the New Testament

The Historical Reliability of the New Testament. By Craig Blomberg. Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, Lexham Press, 2016. 783 pp. Paper, $39.99. Since my view of inerrancy is stricter than that of Blomberg, I began reading this book wondering if he would regularly question the historicity of the NT (i.e., would he say that […]

Lordship Salvation: The Only Kind There Is!

Lordship Salvation: The Only Kind There Is! An Evaluation of Jody Dillow’s The Reign of the Servant Kings And Other Antinomian Arguments. Curtis I. Crenshaw. Memphis, TN: Footstool Publications, 1994. 170 pp. Paper, $9.95. Crenshaw was a contemporary of Jody Dillow at Dallas Theological Seminary. By his own testimony, the author converted to the Reformed […]

Saving Calvinism: Expanding the Reformed Tradition

Saving Calvinism: Expanding the Reformed Tradition. By Oliver D. Crisp. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2016. 165 pp. Paper, $18.00. This book has a fascinating title and subtitle. The dedication is even more fascinating: “To Robin Parry: Evangelical Universalist, Dear Friend.” Crisp is a Professor of systematic theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. And he considers […]

Four Views on Hell

Four Views on Hell. Edited by William Crockett. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992. 190 pp. Paper, $10.99. Four Views on Hell discusses the literal, metaphorical, purgatorial, and conditional views of hell. Each view is presented by a proponent and then critiqued by the proponents of the other three views. John Walvoord defends the literal […]

Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography

Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography. By John Dominic Crossan. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1995. 209 pp. Paper, $12.00. John Dominic Crossan is one of the more influential members of the “Jesus Seminar” (a group of 74 scholars who have recently voted that Jesus spoke only 18% of what is attributed to Him in the NT). Crossan has […]

The Origins of Dispensationalism: The Darby Factor

The Origins of Dispensationalism: The Darby Factor. By Larry V. Crutchfield. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1991. 236 pp. Library binding, $49.00; paper, $25.00. In this book Crutchfield has put together a thorough survey of Darby’s views on Dispensationalism and compared and contrasted them with both C. I. Scofield and normative Dispensationalism. It contains […]

Secure Forever! God’s Promise or Our Perseverance?

Secure Forever! God’s Promise or Our Perseverance?. By Thomas M. Cucuzza. St. Cloud, MN: Xulon Press, 2007. 175 pp. Paper, $13.99. I love the title. Is being secure forever contingent merely on God being faithful to His promise, or on us faithfully persevering to the end of our lives? Cucuzza, a Free Grace Pastor in […]

The Created Cosmos: What the Bible Reveals About Astronomy

The Created Cosmos: What the Bible Reveals About Astronomy. By Danny R. Faulkner and Lee Anderson, Jr. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Publishing, 2016. 352 pp. Hardcover, $19.99. As can be determined by the title, this book is heavy on apologetics. With degrees in physics and astronomy, Faulkner is a professor at the University of […]

Replacement Theology: Critical Issues Concerning the History, Doctrine, and Dangers of Replacement Theology

Replacement Theology: Critical Issues Concerning the History, Doctrine, and Dangers of Replacement Theology. By David Dunlap. Port Colborne, ON: Gospel Folio Press, 2012. 146 pp. Paper, $10.00. As the subtitle indicates, David Dunlap addresses historical, doctrinal, and practical concerns with Replacement Theology. Dunlap defines Replacement Theology as the view that “the Church has permanently replaced […]

A Victorian Dissenter: Robert Govett and the Doctrine of Millennial Reward

A Victorian Dissenter: Robert Govett and the Doctrine of Millennial Reward. By David E. Seip. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2018. 253 pp. Paper, $32.00. As the subtitle states, A Victorian Dissenter (AVD) is about Robert Govett (1813–1901), who lived in England during the Victorian Age. He was a dispensational dissenter against the Church of England. […]

Lordship — What Does It Mean?

Lordship—What Does It Mean? By R. Alan Day. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1993. 118 pp. Paper, $8.99. The author, Alan Day, is the pastor of a 3,500-member congregation, the First Baptist Church in Edmond, Oklahoma. He has also been an instructor in theology at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. This book is well written, easy to […]

Perseverance in Gratitude: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews

Perseverance in Gratitude: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews. By David A. DeSilva. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2000. 460 pp. Paper. $40.00. This is a book that can most aptly be described as a “glorious ruin.” It is “glorious” because it attempts to interpret the book of Hebrews […]

The Unsaved Christian: Reaching Cultural Christianity With the Gospel

The Unsaved Christian: Reaching Cultural Christianity with the Gospel. By Dean Inserra. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2019. 203 pp. Paper, $14.99. I have often said and written that most Evangelicals need evangelizing. So, I agree in principle with Inserra. However, there is a major difference in how he and I identify an Evangelical who is […]

The Unsaved Christian: Reaching Cultural Christianity with the Gospel

The Unsaved Christian: Reaching Cultural Christianity with the Gospel. By Dean Inserra. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2019. 203 pp. Paper, $14.99. I have often said and written that most Evangelicals need evangelizing. So, I agree in principle with Inserra. However, there is a major difference in how he and I identify an Evangelical who is […]

Without a Doubt: How to Know for Certain That You’re Good with God

Without a Doubt: How to Know for Certain That You’re Good with God. By Dean Inserra. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2020. 79 pp. Paper, $7.99. Great title. Great subtitle. But then I read the book. There are some Calvinists like David Engelsma who believe in the certainty of everlasting life. Calvinists like Engelsma base assurance […]

Without a Doubt: How to Know for Certain That You’re Good with God

Without a Doubt: How to Know for Certain That You’re Good with God. By Dean Inserra. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2020. 79 pp. Paper, $7.99. Great title. Great subtitle. But then I read the book. There are some Calvinists like David Engelsma who believe in the certainty of everlasting life. Calvinists like Engelsma base assurance […]

Civil Government: God’s Other Kingdom

Civil Government: God’s Other Kingdom. By Daniel M. Deutschlander. Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2001. 215 pages. Paper, $16.50. Daniel M. Deutschlander is a Lutheran pastor and retired professor of history, German, and religion at Martin Luther College. His book, Civil Government: God’s Other Kingdom, defends a distinctly Lutheran view of the role of civil […]

Final Destiny: The Future Reign of the Servant Kings

Final Destiny: The Future Reign of the Servant Kings. By Joseph Dillow. [USA]: NP, 2012. 1094 pp. Paper, $36.95.1 This massive work is a much expanded and revised version of Dillow’s earlier best-selling book The Reign of the Servant Kings. Though that first version had over 600 pages and was pricey, it has sold over […]

Israel and the Church: The Origin and Effects of Replacement Theology

Israel and the Church: The Origin and Effects of Replacement Theology. By Ronald E. Diprose. Waynesboro, GA: Authentic, 2004. 265 pp. Paper, $18.00. In the Preface, Diprose says that in Christendom, “During the early centuries, Israel was thought to be a renegade nation that should be treated with contempt. However, after the Shoah [the desolation, […]

The Challenge of Postmodernism

POST-EVANGELICALISM CONFRONTS THE POSTMODERN AGE A Review of The Challenge of Postmodernism ZANE C. HODGES Associate Editor Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society Mesquite, Texas In the cloistered halls of academia one of the newer buzz words is postmodernism. Postmodernism expresses the widely held view that modernity has somehow come to an end and that […]

The Righteousness of God: The Heart of the Lutheran Reformation

The Righteousness of God: The Heart of the Lutheran Reformation. By Don Matzat. O’Fallon, MO: Good News Books, 2017. 61 pp. Paper, $3.99. Don Matzat is a Lutheran pastor and radio host. In this booklet, he explains the Lutheran doctrine of justification by faith apart from works. In chap. 1, Matzat begins by giving a […]

Shepherd the Flock

Shepherd the Flock. By Donald Norbie. Port Colborne, CO: Gospel Folio Press, 2010. 38 pp. Paper, $1.59. This booklet summarizes the NT teaching about the roles of elders in the local church. Norbie has four chapters, “The Motivation,” “The Qualifications,” “The Work,” and “The Discipline of the Elders.” For the most part, Norbie’s observations are […]

Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions

Religion Saves: And Nine Other Misconceptions. By Mark Driscoll. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2009. 287 pages. Hardback, $19.99. Mark Driscoll is the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. He wrote this book in response to a series of questions he asked visitors to the church’s website. He wanted to answer their most controversial […]

Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe

Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe. By Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breshears. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010. 464 pp. Cloth, $22.99. The positives of Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe, are that it is conservative, it is written in a way that is accessible to the layperson, there is an extensive scripture index in the back along with […]

The Assurance of Things Hoped for: A Theology of Christian Faith

The Assurance of Things Hoped for: A Theology of Christian Faith. By Avery Dulles. New York : Oxford University Press, 1994. 299 pp. Paper. $14.95. What a fascinating book this is. Avery Dulles, a well-known and highly respected Roman Catholic theologian, presents a Catholic view of saving faith that is in places quite similar to […]

Devotions on the Greek New Testament: 52 Reflections to Inspire & Instruct

Devotions on the Greek New Testament: 52 Reflections to Inspire & Instruct. Edited by J. Scott Duvall and Verlyn D. Verbrugge. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012. 154 pp. Paper, $16.99. Thirty-one different authors present fifty-two different devotions based on the Greek text of the NT. The articles are arranged in canonical order. There are ten articles […]

The Rise of Babylon: Sign of the End Times

The Rise of Babylon: Sign of the End Times. By Charles H. Dyer with Angela Elwell Hunt. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1991. 236 pp. Paper, $8.95. More and more in recent decades the world has been watching the Middle East. The Bible leads us to believe that more and more we will continue […]

Baptism: The Believer’s First Obedience

Baptism: The Believer’s First Obedience. By Larry Dyer. Grand Rapids , MI : Kregel Publications, 2000. 92 pp. Paper. $3.95. In this short booklet, Dyer adeptly and succinctly addresses the doctrine of Christian baptism. The book answers several important questions about baptism such as: What is it? Why do it? What is the mode of […]

Embraced by the Light

Embraced by the Light. By Betty J. Eadie. Placerville, CA: Gold Leaf Press, 1992. 147 pp. Cloth, $16.95. This book, subtitled on the dust cover “The Most Profound and Complete Near-Death Experience Ever,” has been widely read and was for several weeks the number-one best seller on the New York Times Bestseller List. The book […]

Heaven: Your Real Home

Heaven: Your Real Home. By Joni Eareckson Tada. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995), 215 pp. Cloth, $13.95. According to many authors, believers will spend eternity doing little more than singing all the time. This is not the picture presented by Joni Eareckson Tada (hereafter referred to as Joni). Joni says that believers “will be […]

No Condemnation: A New Theology of Assurance

No Condemnation: A New Theology of Assurance. By Michael Eaton. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1995. 261 pp. Paper, $16.99. In a postscript to his commentary Ecclesiastes (IVP), Eaton cited Luke’s words in Acts 17:32-34: “Some…sneered…Others said, ‘We want to hear you again,’…A few…believed.” I believe his book will produce the same diverse responses. Many […]

Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism

Myths and Mistakes in New Testament Textual Criticism. By Elijah Hixson and Peter J. Gurry, Editors. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019. 372 pp. Paper, $40.00. While in seminary, I became very interested in NT textual criticism. Initially I held to the eclectic approach, which is basically a Critical Text (CT) approach. Later I became […]

Keys to Kingdom Greatness: An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount

Keys to Kingdom Greatness: An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount. By Steve Elkins. Coppell, TX: Allie Grace Publishers, 2014. 428 pp. Paper, $19.95. The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5–7) is the longest extended discourse given by Jesus in all of the Gospels. Over the centuries, it has generated more diversity of interpretation […]

Loneliness

Loneliness. By Elisabeth Elliot. Nashville: Oliver-Nelson, A Division of Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1988. 158 pp. Cloth, $12.95. When a person reads a number of books by the same author, even if they are works of fiction, such as the mysteries of Agatha Christie or the novels of Georgette Heyer, to a certain extent one gets […]

Hyper-Calvinism & the Call of the Gospel

Hyper-Calvinism & the Call of the Gospel.Revised Edition. By David J. Engelsma. Grand Rapids: Reformed Free Publishing Association, 1994. 216 pp. Paper, $13.95. The author, a committed Calvinist, on the one hand rejects that hyper-Calvinist view that God is not calling everyone to believe in Christ and be born again. However, on the other hand […]

The Gift of Assurance

The Gift of Assurance. David J. Engelsma. South Holland, IL: Protestant Reformed Church, 2009. 61 pp. Paper, free upon request ($1.00 each suggested donation for additional copies). Engelsma is a five-point Calvinist. For 25 years he pastored two different Protestant Reformed Churches (1963-1988). Then he taught theology and Old Testament for 20 more years at […]

God in Three Persons

God in Three Persons. By Millard J. Erickson. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995. 356 pp. Cloth, $29.99. The doctrine of the Trinity separates Christianity from all other religions. It is also one of the most difficult doctrines to understand. Millard Erickson writes not only a contemporary interpretation of the Trinity but also interacts with liberal […]

How Shall They Be Saved: The Destiny of Those Who Do Not Hear of Jesus

How Shall They Be Saved: The Destiny of Those Who Do Not Hear of Jesus. By Millard J. Erickson. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996. 278 pp. Paper, $19.99. One of the questions I heard over and over again from college students during my four years on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ was “What […]

We Will Not Be Silenced

We Will Not Be Silenced. By Erwin W. Lutzer. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2020. 280 pp. Paper, $14.43. Erwin W. Lutzer served as senior pastor of Moody Bible Church for 36 years. He is a featured speaker on radio and has written several books. This is his most recent. There is a spiritual, cultural, […]

Are Blacks Spiritually Inferior To Whites? The Dispelling of an American Myth

Are Blacks Spiritually Inferior To Whites? The Dispelling of an American Myth. By Anthony T. Evans. Wenonah, NJ: Renaissance Productions, 1992. 158 pp. Paper, $7.95. I commend Evans for the courage to go public with his unpopular biblical views. His impeccable credentials will confirm his conservative evangelical scholarship, since he earned both a Master’s and […]

Why Believe? Reason and Mystery as Pointers to God

Why Believe? Reason and Mystery as Pointers to God. By C. Stephen Evans. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdman’s Publishing Co., 1996. 154 pp. Paper, $13.00. This popular apologetics work was written in response to one of the author’s former students who committed suicide as a result of struggles with faith. This real life tragedy is […]

Free at Last: Experiencing True Freedom Through Your Identity in Christ

Free at Last: Experiencing True Freedom Through Your Identity in Christ. By Tony Evans. Chicago: Moody Press, 2001. 209 pp. (Hardcover), $19.99. Dr. Tony Evans, pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship and president of the Urban Alternative, has distinguished himself as an excellent communicator. On top of that, he is a strong advocate of the […]

Faith in Jesus: What Does It Mean to Believe in Him?

Faith in Jesus: What Does It Mean to Believe in Him? By Edwin Aaron Ediger, ed. Roy B. Zuck. Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2012. 430 pp. Paper, $30.95. This is a tough book to review. On the one hand, Ediger does a great job of explaining and defending many Free Grace interpretations of tough texts. […]

The Naked Gospel: The Truth You May Never Hear in Church

The Naked Gospel: The Truth You May Never Hear in Church. By Andrew Farley. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2009. 237 pp. Paper, $14.99. This book has a catchy title: The Naked Gospel. The cover itself is odd. Though softback, it has a transparent plastic dust cover (evidently illustrating the naked gospel), which nonetheless is printed on […]

The New King James Version: In the Great Tradition

The New King James Version: In the Great Tradition. By Arthur L. Farstad. Foreword by G. Michael Cocoris. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990. 171 pp. Paper, $8.95. The highly esteemed editor of the GES Journal, Dr. Arthur L. Farstad, has now written his first book. Those of us who have known him for years are […]

The Rod: Will God Spare It?

The Rod: Will God Spare It? Second Edition. By J.D. Faust. Hayesville, NC: Schoettle Publishing Co., 2003. 454 pp. Paper. $22.00. What happens when a Christian sins? Depending on the nature and extent of the sin, a Calvinist would say that the Christian is not a Christian at all—he was not saved to begin with […]

Listening to the Spirit in the Text

Listening to the Spirit in the Text. By Gordon D. Fee. Grand Rapids , MI : Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2000. 180 pp. Paper. $12.00. Gordon Fee certainly needs no introduction. He is considered one of the greatest NT exegetes of our day. Although much of Fee’s work is aimed at a scholarly audience, he also […]

Philippians. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

Philippians. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series. By Gordon D. Fee. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1999. 204 pp. Paper, $17.00. This commentary, though written for a popular audience, and though lacking extensive mention of the Greek, reveals great depth of insight by Fee. One senses that he is merely sharing a small fraction about […]

Continuity and Discontinuity: Perspectives on the Relationship Between the Old and New Testaments

Continuity and Discontinuity: Perspectives on the Relationship Between the Old and New Testaments. John S. Feinberg ed., Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1988. 410 pp. Paper, $17.50. Although escaping the notice of some, it is widely acknowledged that dispensational theology has undergone progressive stages of development in the last century (see, for example, Craig A. Blaising, […]

Lordship Salvation and the Gospel of the Grace of God

Lordship Salvation and the Gospel of the Grace of God. By Joel Finck. Rapid City , SD : Grace Bible Church , 1998. 83 pp. Paper. No price. The Free Grace movement is housed under a pretty big tent. Finck represents Free Grace believers, who are sometimes referred to as Ultra-Dispensationalists. (Finck actually calls himself […]

Galatians: A Verse-by-Verse Commentary

Galatians: A Verse-by-Verse Commentary. By Thomas W. Finley. NP: NP, 2016. 162 pp. Paperback, Free. Thomas Finley has written this commentary on Galatians and offers it free of charge. It can be downloaded for free at www.seekersofchrist.org. It caught my attention for two reasons. The first is that it is written from a Free Grace […]

Jehovah’s Witnesses on Trial: The Testimony of the Early Church Fathers

Jehovah’s Witnesses on Trial: The Testimony of the Early Church Fathers. By Robert U. Finnerty. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1993. 164 pp. Paper, $8.95. Robert Finnerty writes specifically over the early church fathers’ views of the Trinity, Jesus’ deity, the Holy Spirit’s personality, the soul, bodily resurrection and eternal punishment. As the title […]

Divine Sovereignty & Human Freedom

Divine Sovereignty & Human Freedom. By Samuel Fisk. Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1973. 175 pp. Paper, $5.99. “Brethren, be willing to see both sides of the shield of truth. Rise above the babyhood which cannot believe two doctrines until it sees the connecting link. Have you not two eyes, man? Must you needs put one […]

These Are the Generations: The Story of How One North Korean Family Lived Out the Great Commission for More Than Fifty Years in the Most Christian-Hostile Nation in Human History

These Are the Generations: The Story of How One North Korean Family Lived Out the Great Commission for More Than Fifty Years in the Most Christian-Hostile Nation in Human History. By Mr. and Mrs. Bae with Eric Foley. Colorado Springs, CO: DotW Publishing, 2012. 120 pages. Paper, $9.95. To most people, North Korea is shrouded […]

Evangelical Catholics

Evangelical Catholics. By Keith A. Fournier. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990. 223 pp. Cloth, $15.95. Two major events in the early 1960’s precipitated a large-scale paradigm shift within the Roman Catholic Church in America: the Second Vatican Council and the charismatic revival. As a result of these two historical phenomena, a movement has emerged within […]

The Gospel of John. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture

The Gospel of John. Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture. By Francis Martin and William M. Wright IV. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2015. 366 pp. Paper, $24.99. The average Free Grace believer may see no reason for acquiring this book. However, knowing how Catholic priests are likely to explain John’s Gospel can be quite helpful. […]

Simply Tuesday: Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World

Simply Tuesday: Small-Moment Living in a Fast-Moving World. By Emily P. Freeman. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing, 2015. 256 pp. Paper, $14.99. Emily Freeman is a Wall Street Journal best-selling author. Her writing is personal and gracious. She uses charming stories from her own life and home, and is not afraid to laugh at herself […]

Ariel’s Bible Commentary: The Messianic Jewish Epistles – Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, Jude Peter, Jude: Exposition from a Messianic Jewish Perspective

Ariel’s Bible Commentary: The Messianic Jewish Epistles – Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, Jude Peter, Jude: Exposition from a Messianic Jewish Perspective by Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum, Th.M., Ph.D. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries, 2005. 477 pp. Hardback. $35.00. GES readers will generally appreciate this commentary. Arnold is in the free grace camp, although there are […]

Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology

Israelology: The Missing Link in Systematic Theology. By Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum. Tustin, CA: Ariel Ministries Press, 1993. 1,052 pp. Cloth, $30.00. The purpose of this book is to fill a conspicuous gap in the historical development of the systematic theology of Protestant Christianity. The author’s legitimate claim is that, of the twelve accepted categories of […]

Colossians and Philemon

Colossians and Philemon. By G. K. Beale. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2019. 514 pp. Cloth, $54.99. This commentary is well laid out, making it easier to find the discussion of a particular verse. The publisher has put the start of a discussion of a new verse in the margin in bold font. So, the […]

By Faith, Not by Sight: Paul and the Order of Salvation, 2nd Ed.

By Faith, Not by Sight: Paul and the Order of Salvation, 2nd edition. Richard B. Gaffin, Jr. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2013. 141 pp. Paper, $9.99. Gaffin is the Professor Emeritus of Biblical and Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. Not surprisingly, he comes from a Calvinistic and Reformed perspective (p. 4). Mark […]

A Theology of Mark’s Gospel: Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God

A Theology of Mark’s Gospel: Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God. By David E. Garland. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2015. 651 pp. Cloth, $44.99. David Garland teaches at Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University. This beautiful and massive book is a Biblical Theology of Mark and not a commentary. The difference is […]

The New Testament in Seven Sentences: A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic

The New Testament in Seven Sentences: A Small Introduction to a Vast Topic. By Gary M. Burge. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019. 144 pp. Paper, $15.89. Gary Burge is the dean of the faculty and a professor at Calvin Theological Seminary. He wrote The New Testament in Seven Sentences to get a broad, bird’s […]

When Cultists Ask: A Popular Handbook on Cultic Misinterpretations

When Cultists Ask: A Popular Handbook on Cultic Misinterpretations. By Norman L. Geisler and Ron Rhodes. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1997. 365 pp. Cloth, $24.95. When Cultists Ask: A Popular Handbook on Cultic Misinterpretations is a companion volume to When Critics Ask: A Popular Handbook on Bible Difficulties by Norman Geisler and Tom Howe, and […]

Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics

Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. By Norman L. Geisler. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1999. 841 pp. Cloth, $49.95. Baker Book House has several excellent reference works that compose their Baker Reference Library. No doubt, many readers of this journal are familiar with some of these popular works which include the Evangelical Dictionary of […]

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist. By Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek. Wheaton : Crossway Books, 2004. 447 pp. Paper. $15.99. In his first epistle, Peter commands believers to “sanctify Christ as Lord in [their] hearts, always being ready to a defense to everyone who asks [them] to give an account […]

Growing in Grace

Growing in Grace. By Bob George. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1991. 215 pp. Paper, $6.95. This book by noted counselor and radio personality Bob George attempts to help believers understand who they are in Christ, how to experience freedom-from guilt, sin, etc.-and how to go on to maturity. As the title indicates, the author […]

Doing Theology with the Reformers

Doing Theology with the Reformers. By Gerald L. Bray. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2019. 277 pp. Paper, $23.99. Bray is a professor at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Alabama. In this book, he discusses how the various strands of theological thought in the Reformation of the sixteenth century were the basis of the different […]

The New Christian Zionism: Fresh Perspectives on Israel & the Land

The New Christian Zionism: Fresh Perspectives on Israel & the Land. Edited by Gerald R. McDermott. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2016. 349 pp. Paper, $22.55. This book is made up of twelve articles by ten different authors. These articles are in four parts: theology and the history of Christian Zionism; theology and the Bible; […]

Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Critique of Dispensationalism

CALVINISM EX CATHEDRA: A REVIEW OF JOHN H. GERSTNER’S WRONGLY DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH: A CRITIQUE OF DISPENSATIONALISM1 ZANE C. HODGES Associate Editor Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society Mesquite, Texas John H. Gerstner is a well-known and prolific writer/theologian from the Reformed tradition. His recent book, Wrongly Dividing the Word of Truth, is […]

Outgrowing the Pain: A Book For and About Adults Abused As Children

Outgrowing the Pain: A Book For and About Adults Abused As Children. By Eliana Gil. New York: Dell Publishing, 1983. 88 pp. Paper, $5.95. Authorities now suggest that one in three adults today was abused as a child. What impact does this abuse have on adults who are believers? This is not a Christian book. […]

An Introduction to the New Covenant

An Introduction to the New Covenant. By Gary Gilley, David Gunn, Don Trest, Christopher Cone, Charlie Clough, and George Gunn. General editor Christopher Cone. Hurst, TX: Tyndale Seminary Press, 2013. 375 pp. Paper, $27.00. This is a book by Dispensationalists who espouse a particular view of the New Covenant for Dispensationalists of every stripe. The […]

What God Wishes Christians Knew About Christianity

What God Wishes Christians Knew About Christianity. By Bill Gillham. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 1998, 382 pp. Paper. The author of the popular “Lifetime Guarantee” has written another Christian living book designed to get Christians to think. In the course of eighteen chapters, Gillham shares eighteen principles that he believes God wishes Christians recognized and […]

Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith

Becoming Orthodox: A Journey to the Ancient Christian Faith. By Peter E. Gillquist. Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, Publishers, Inc., 1989. 185 pp. Paper, $9.95. Gillquist and a number of other former Campus Crusade leaders started churches and then a denomination called the Evangelical Orthodox Church. Later the whole denomination, some two thousand people spread […]

The New Testament and Psalms: An Inclusive Version

The New Testament and Psalms: An Inclusive Version. Ed. by Gold, Hoyt, Ringe, Thistle-Thwaite, Throckmorton, and Withers. New York: Oxford University Press, 1995. 55 pp. Cloth, $14.95. Since this book is a further revision of the NRSV in the interest of even more inclusive language than was there allowed, perhaps it would be germane to […]

Govett on Philippians

Govett on Philippians. By Robert Govett. Miami Springs, FL: Conley & Schoettle Publishing Co., Inc., 1985. 127 pp. Paper, $5.95. This practical study on Philippians is part of a series of commentaries by Robert Govett (1813–1901) published by Conley & Schoettle. Other works include commentaries on Isaiah, John, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Hebrews, 1 […]

Sermon on the Mount Expounded

Sermon on the Mount Expounded. By Robert Govett. Hayesville, NC: Schoettle Publishing Co., 2001. 386 pp. (Cloth), $22.95. Robert Govett lived from 1813 until 1901; however, this book was originally published three decades after his death, in 1934. We are indebted to Schoettle Publishing Company for specializing in reprinting Free Grace works that have long […]

Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart: How to Know for Sure You are Saved

Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart: How to Know for Sure You are Saved. By J. D. Greear. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing Group, 2013. 128 pp. Hardcover, $12.99. The blurbs about this book make it sound like a Free Grace primer on assurance. Note the promising title and subtitle. Yet the book takes […]

Evangelism in the Early Church

Evangelism in the Early Church. By Michael Green. Grand Rapids: Win. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970. 349 pp. Paper, $7.95. Evangelism in the Early Church by Edward Michael Bankes Green has been around for some time. However, since this book will be of great interest to the readers of JOTGES, it justifies a review. To […]

One to One: How to Share Your Faith with a Friend

One to One: How to Share Your Faith with a Friend. By Michael Green. Nashville: Moorings, 1995. 118 pp. (Cloth), $9.99. This is an attractive book. And it on an important topic: evangelism. The author clearly has a heart for personal evangelism. He urges that we take the initiative in sharing our faith with our […]

Full Pardon: The Harry L. Greene Story

Full Pardon: The Harry L. Greene Story. By Harry L. Greene and Robert C. Larson. Richmond, VA: Good News Publishing, 2001. 183 pp. Cloth. $14.95. Harry Greene is a former felon who received a full pardon and now heads one of the largest prison ministries in the world, Good News Jail & Prison Ministry (GNJPM). […]

Darkness Is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness

Darkness Is My Only Companion: A Christian Response to Mental Illness. By Kathryn Greene-McCreight. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2006. 176 pp. Paper, $18.99. My interest in Darkness Is My Only Companion was piqued both by the title (from the Good News translation of the final verse of the “darkest” Psalm, number 88), and by […]

50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith

50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith. By Gregg R. Allison. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2018. 426 pp. Paper, $29.99. This is a condensed book on systematic theology. Its purpose is to guide in teaching theology to others. Each chapter contains an outline to help in that goal. The audience in mind is the […]

Preaching Christ from Psalms: Foundations for Expository Sermons in the Christian Year

Preaching Christ from Psalms: Foundations for Expository Sermons in the Christian Year. By Sidney Greidanus. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016. 595 pp. Paper, $40.00. Sidney Greidanus is professor emeritus of preaching at Calvin Theological Seminary. He is well known for advocating a redemptive-historical approach to preaching, and has a series of books showing how to […]

Preaching the New Testament: An Exegetical and Biblical-Theological Study

Preaching the New Testament: An Exegetical and Biblical-Theological Study. By Jonathan I. Griffiths. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017. 152 pp. Hardcover, $44.99. The purpose for this book is not to show how we are to preach God’s Word today. Instead, Griffith’s concern is more basic. He asks, “Could it be that such convictions concerning […]

The Testament

The Testament. By John Grisham. New York: Random House, Inc., 1999. 533 pp. (Paper), $7.99. This is yet another in a long line of novels by Grisham, who has become a fixture at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. Many of his previous titles have become blockbuster movies—The Pelican Brief, The Firm, […]

Deceived by the Light

Deceived by the Light. By Doug Groothuis. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1995. 203 pp. Paper $8.99. This excellent book is both a detailed biblical response to the popular (but sadly heretical) bestsellerEmbraced by the Light by Betty Eadie, and a synthetic analysis of “Near-Death Experiences” (NDEs) generally. In a review published in the Autumn […]

Jesus In An Age of Controversy

Jesus In An Age of Controversy. By Douglas Groothuis. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1996. 374 pp. Paper, $10.99. Groothuis systematically presents and then refutes unbiblical views of Christ that are gaining popularity today. Everyone seems to make Jesus out to be a proponent of his or her own view. Since everyone cannot be right, […]

Evangelical Feminism & Biblical Truth

Evangelical Feminism & Biblical Truth. By Wayne Grudem. Multnomah Publishers, 2004. 864 pp. Paper. $29.99. Every pastor and theologian should have this book in their library. In 864 pages, Grudem uses his biblical scholarship to provide a thorough response to the current views expressed by evangelical feminists. In 1992, his book entitled Recovering Biblical Manhood […]

Politics According to the Bible

Politics According to the Bible. By Wayne Grudem. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010. 624 pp. Cloth, $39.99. In this book, Wayne Grudem seeks to answer the question, “what does the Bible say about politics?” More specifically, Grudem is primarily dealing not with basic political philosophies but specific issues in the modern American political scene (his […]

No God But God. Breaking with the Idols of Our Age

No God But God. Breaking with the Idols of Our Age. Edited by Os Guinness and John Seel. Chicago: Moody Press, 223 pp. Cloth, $16.99. The preacher of Ecclesiastes, Qoheleth, warns us that the writing of many books is endless and wearying to the soul. But here is a welcome exception. In No God But […]

If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person

If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person. By Philip Gulley and James Mulholland. San Francisco, CA: Harper, 2010. 256 pages. Paper, $14.99. The authors are liberal Quaker ministers. Though the book is co-authored, they write in the first-person singular. As the subtitle indicates, they argue for universalism. “I believe God will save […]

The Gospel of Grace and Truth: A Theology of Grace from the Gospel of John

The Gospel of Grace and Truth: A Theology of Grace from the Gospel of John. By Michael D. Halsey. Duluth, MN: Grace Gospel Press, 2015. 339 pp. Paper, $15.95. Halsey, as the subtitle suggests, is writing a Biblical theology of John’s Gospel. As such what he aims to do is discuss the way in which […]

Five Things Theologians Wish Biblical Scholars Knew

Five Things Theologians Wish Biblical Scholars Knew. By Hans Boersma. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2021. 152 pp. Paper, $15.59. Boersma is a deacon in the Anglican church. In general terms, a Biblical scholar is seen in the book as one who uses historical-grammatical exegesis to find the authorial intent of the Biblical author. He […]

How Firm a Foundation: The Dispensations in the Light of the Divine Covenants

How Firm a Foundation: The Dispensations in the Light of the Divine Covenants. By Hal Harless. New York : Peter Lang Publishing, 2004. 318 pp. $73.95 Hal Harless has done a nice piece of work by making an original contribution to the current scholarly debate between covenantal and dispensational theologians. As a dispensationalist Harless’ main […]

Jesus as God: The New Testament Use of Theos in Reference to Jesus

Jesus as God: The New Testament Use of Theos in Reference to Jesus. By Murray J. Harris. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992. 379 pp. Cloth, $24.99. Murray Harris has made a valuable contribution to the study of the deity of our Lord, focusing on passages that use the word Theos in relation to Christ. […]

Deconstructing Evangelicalism: Conservative Protestantism in the Age of Billy Graham

Deconstructing Evangelicalism: Conservative Protestantism in the Age of Billy Graham.By D. G. Hart. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004. 224 pp. Paper, $24.99. Hart has captured in this book the essence of evangelicalism from around 1942 to date. His assessment is powerful and, in this reviewer’s opinion, right on the mark. Hart shows how the term […]

50 Things You Need to Know about Heaven

50 Things You Need to Know about Heaven. By John Hart. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 2014. 137 pages. Paper, $9.99. John Hart is a Professor of Bible at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago. I love the idea of fifty very short chapters dealing with fifty important questions about eternity future. Each chapter can be […]

Evidence for the Rapture: A Biblical Case for Pretribulationism

Evidence for the Rapture: A Biblical Case for Pretribulationism. John Hart, editor. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2015. 276 pp. Paper, $19.99. John Hart is a Professor of Bible at Moody Bible Institute. He has taught at MBI for over thirty years. He is the editor of this work as well as one of its authors. […]

It’s Greek to Me! An Easy Self-Study of the New Testament Language. Volume 1.

It’s Greek to Me! An Easy Self-Study of the New Testament Language. Volume 1. By John Hart. Chesterton, IN: Hart and Home Publishers, 1993. 97 pp. Paper, $20.95 (includes shipping and handling). This is a fun book. A middle school or high school student could realistically learn the basics of Koine Greek, the Greek found […]

Unmasked! Recognizing and Dealing with Imposters in the Church

Unmasked! Recognizing and Dealing with Imposters in the Church. By O.S. Hawkins. Chicago: Moody Press, 1989. 99 pp. Paper, $5.95. I have mixed emotions after reading this book. On the one hand, I am very much in agreement with the author on the dreadful spread of liberalism in conservative churches, schools, and denominations. It’s important […]

Dictionary of Paul and His Letters: A Compendium of Biblical Scholarship

Dictionary of Paul and His Letters: A Compendium of Biblical Scholarship. Edited by Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, and Daniel G. Reid. Downer’s Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993. 1067 pp. Hardcover, $60.00. This dictionary has substantial entries on numerous topics in Paul’s letters. For example, the entry on baptism is over 600 words, while […]

Heavenly Rewards: Living with Eternity in Sight

Heavenly Rewards: Living with Eternity in Sight. By Mark Hitchcock. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2019. 183 pp. Paper, $14.99. Hitchcock is an associate professor at Dallas Theological Seminary. The book’s title immediately caught my eye, due to my interest in the doctrine of eternal rewards. The book begins with many outstanding statements about this […]

Philippians: Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament

Philippians: Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament. By Joseph H. Hellerman, Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishing Group, 2015. 297 pp. Paper, $29.99. The book of Philippians is of interest to readers of the JOTGES because of certain verses that are often taken to indicate that works are either necessary for eternal life or […]

Exit Interviews: Revealing Stories of Why People Are Leaving the Church

Exit Interviews: Revealing Stories of Why People Are Leaving the Church. William Hendricks. Grand Rapids: Moody Press, 1993. 305 pp. Cloth $17.99. When I opened my mailbox and saw Exit Interviews, the subtitle gripped my imagination: “Revealing Stories Why People Are Leaving the Church.” This book did arouse my attention. So much is written on […]

I Was Raised a Jehovah’s Witness

I Was Raised a Jehovah’s Witness. By Joe Hewitt. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997. 192 pp. Paper. $9.95. In this revised and updated version of the 1977 book of the same title, Hewitt gives a frank and compelling account of his life as a Jehovah’s Witness and his subsequent persecution and excommunication after he decided […]

The Complete Book of Bible Prophecy

The Complete Book of Bible Prophecy. By Mark Hitchcock. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999. 243 pages. Paper, $11.99. JOTGES readers might question the relevancy of reviewing a prophecy book in a journal that typically confines itself to issues related to eternal salvation. Yet, why not review a book on prophecy? After all, biblical salvation includes […]

Getting the Gospel Wrong: The Evangelical Crisis No One Is Talking About

Getting the Gospel Wrong: The Evangelical Crisis No One Is Talking About. By J.B.Hixson. NP: Xulon Press, 2008. 405 pages. Paper, $21.99. I. Introduction I’ve known J. B. Hixson since his early days as a seminary student at Dallas Theological Seminary. We’ve been friends for a long time. Hixson is the Executive Director of the […]

Freely by His Grace: Classical Free Grace Theology

Freely by His Grace: Classical Free Grace Theology. Edited by J. B. Hixson, Rick Whitmire, and Roy B. Zuck. Duluth, MN: Grace Gospel Press, 2012. 615 pp. Hardcover, $29.95. Fourteen authors (one of whom is the late Lewis Sperry Chafer) contributed one or more chapters to this work. Three of those authors, J. B. Hixson, […]

You Are Chosen: The Priesthood of All Believers

You Are Chosen: The Priesthood of All Believers. By Herschel Hobbs. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1990. 123 pp. Cloth, $15.95. As pastor of a Southern Baptist Church, I was deeply interested in Hobbs’s presentation of the priesthood of the believer for two reasons. First, Herschel Hobbs is a definitive writer of Southern Baptist thought. […]

Absolutely Free! A Biblical Reply to Lordship Salvation

Absolutely Free! A Biblical Reply to Lordship Salvation. By Zane C. Hodges. Dallas and Grand Rapids: Redención Viva and Zondervan Publishing House, 1989. 238 pp. Cloth, $14.95. If salvation is an important subject to Christians (and it is!), this is a very important book. Zondervan was wise to publish both sides of the current controversy […]

Dead Faith: What Is It?—A Study on James 2:14–26

Dead Faith: What Is It?—A Study on James 2:14–26. By Zane C. Hodges. Dallas: Redención Viva, 1987. 32 pp. Booklet, $1.95. The Church has never been fully satisfied with traditional understandings of James 2:14–26. Foreboding practical questions have loomed large. How could we honestly share a Gospel of pure grace and full assurance when in […]

Did Paul Preach Eternal Life? Should We?

Did Paul Preach Eternal Life? Should We? By Zane C. Hodges. Mesquite, TX: Kerugma, Inc, 2007. 32 pp. Paper, $3.95. In the movie Quigley Down Under, Quigley (played by Tom Selleck) was a long-distance rifle marksman who moved to Australia. At one point, he was challenged to a pistol competition. He replied that he did […]

Faith in His Name: Listening to the Gospel of John

Faith in His Name: Listening to the Gospel of John. By Zane C. Hodges. Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2015. 149 pp. Paper, $15.00. The author of this book, Zane Hodges, died in November 2008. He was in the process of writing this commentary on the Gospel of John. At the time of his death, […]

Grace in Eclipse: A Study on Eternal Rewards

Grace in Eclipse: A Study on Eternal Rewards Third Edition. By Zane C. Hodges. Irving, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2007. 140 pp. Paper, $8.95. Many, this writer included, consider this to be one of the best books written on eternal rewards. This is surely one of Zane’s best books in terms of content, style, and […]

Harmony with God: A Fresh Look at Repentance

Harmony with God: A Fresh Look at Repentance. By Zane C. Hodges. Dallas, TX: Redención Viva, 2001. 133 pp. (Paper), $9.95. In the movie A Beautiful Mind, John Nash scolded a brilliant fellow graduate student for publishing material that had not a new or innovative idea anywhere within it. One cannot make that charge concerning […]

Jesus, God’s Prophet: His Teaching about the Coming Surprise

Jesus, God’s Prophet: His Teaching about the Coming Surprise By Zane C. Hodges. Mesquite, TX: Kerugma, Inc., 2006. 64 pp. Paper, $4.95. Though short in length, this book makes a profound point. Zane’s point is that the prophetic teaching we find in the NT epistles does not come via the Spirit revealing new truths to […]

Power to Make War

Power to Make War By Zane C. Hodges. Dallas, TX: Redención Viva, 1995. 135 pp. Paper, $8.95. Those who have read the writings of Zane Hodges have come to expect certain things. One of those things is that Hodges will carefully look at the Scriptures, often pointing out things that the reader may not have […]

Second Peter: Shunning Error in Light of the Savior’s Return

Second Peter: Shunning Error in Light of the Savior’s Return. By Zane C. Hodges. Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2015. 142 pp. Paper, $15.00. This commentary is a compilation of writings on Second Peter that were published in Zane Hodges’s newsletter, The Kerugma Message. Hodges spends very little time on introductory matters. But it is […]

Six Secrets of the Christian Life: The Miracle of Walking with God

Six Secrets of the Christian Life: The Miracle of Walking with God By Zane C. Hodges. Mesquite, TX: Kerugma, Inc, 2004. 80 pp. Paper, $4.95. Summarizing years of insight distilled from decades of exegetical refinement and experience of truth in the lab of life, Zane Hodges left us with a wonderfully practical book on how […]

The Epistle of James

The Epistle of James By Zane C. Hodges. Irving, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2007. 140 pp. Paper, $8.95. A few years after Jesus’ crucifixion, James wrote his short epistle. In the centuries that have followed, scholar after scholar has commented on that book. In any well-stocked seminary library, there will be dozens and dozens of […]

The Epistles of John: Walking in the Light of God’s Love

The Epistles of John: Walking in the Light of God’s Love. By Zane C. Hodges. Irving, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 1999. 312 pp. Cloth, $17.95. Those familiar with the writings of Zane Hodges have come to expect excellent scholarship combined with unusual insight and practical relevance. Readers of this commentary on the letters of John […]

The Hungry Inherit: Winning the Wealth of the World to Come

The Hungry Inherit: Winning the Wealth of the World to Come. Third Edition. By Zane C. Hodges. Dallas, TX: Redención Viva, 1997. 135 pp. Paper, $8.95. The hungry inherit. What does that mean? Hodges starts with examples of the gift that God offers to all in the illustration of “living water” and our thirst for […]

The Riddle of Grace

The Riddle of Grace. By Scott Hoezee. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996. 164 pp. Paper, $14.00. What does it mean to be “saved by grace” and then—as a result of that salvation—to live “graciously”? Do Christians know what it means to be a “graced people”? This is the basic thrust of the […]

Imitating God in Christ: Recapturing a Biblical Pattern

Imitating God in Christ: Recapturing a Biblical Pattern. By Jason B. Hood. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013. 232 pages. Paper, $22.00. Hood is writing for all three sides of Christianity: “the latitudinal left,” “the massive middle,” and the “reluctant or resistant right” (pp. 14-15, 183-89). He suggests that all three miss the significance of […]

Not Ashamed of the Gospel

Not Ashamed of the Gospel. By Morna D. Hooker. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1995. 143 pp. Paper $10.99. Reading this book reminded me of the first line of A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The good news about this book (“the […]

Putting Amazing Back into Grace: Embracing the Heart of the Gospel

Putting Amazing Back into Grace: Embracing the Heart of the Gospel. Second Edition.By Michael Horton. Grand Rapids : Baker Book House, 1991, 1994, 2002. 280 pp. Paper. $15.99. In this second edition of his defense of Reformed theology, Horton does about as good of a job as one could do. Even though I disagree with […]

The Gospel Commission: Recovering God’s Strategy for Making Disciples

The Gospel Commission: Recovering God’s Strategy for Making Disciples. By Michael Horton. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2011. 321 pp. Paper, $16.99. Before I read The Gospel Commission, I had only read a couple of books by Michael Horton. Overall, I was pleased with the direction of the book and was surprised to find out that […]

Made in America: The Shaping of Modern American Evangelicalism

Made in America: The Shaping of Modern American Evangelicalism. By Michael Scott Horton. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1991. 198 pp. Cloth, $13.95. This book by a young Reformed Episcopal minister in California reveals the weakness of the evangelical church at the close of the twentieth century. In eight chapters he tackles the ways in […]

Dominion Theology: Blessing or Curse?

Dominion Theology: Blessing or Curse? By H. Wayne House and Thomas Ice. Portland: Multnomah, 1988. 460 pp. Cloth, $15.99. Dominion Theology: Blessing or Curse? is an evaluation of Theonomy from a premillennial, dispensational perspective. The book is very well written and researched. One of the authors, Thomas Ice, was himself a theonomist from 1974 to […]

Who Will Be Saved? Defending the Biblical Understanding of God, Salvation, & Evangelism

Who Will Be Saved? Defending the Biblical Understanding of God, Salvation, & Evangelism. Paul R. House and Gregory A. Thornbury, Editors. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2000. 239 pp. Paper, $19.99. This multi-author book should be of particular interest to JOTGES readers for two reasons. First, the authors are dealing with views such as open theism […]

How Wide the Divide? A Mormon and an Evangelical in Conversation – A Review

One of the evident characteristics of the late-twentieth century religious scene, which has only intensified in the new millennium, is the desire of disparate confessions to find common ground. While the spirit of ecumenism has often been little more than a euphemism for the dissolution of any distinctiveness in theological expression, it need not be […]

This Was Your Life! Preparing to Meet God Face to Face

This Was Your Life! Preparing to Meet God Face to Face. By Rick Howard & Jamie Lash. Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 1998. 191 pp. Paper. $9.95. The back cover reads, “Imagine yourself face to face with the Lord. No secret remains hidden; even the thoughts and intentions of your heart are laid bare. Do […]

Witnesses in Stone: Landmarks and Lessons from the Living God

Witnesses in Stone: Landmarks and Lessons from the Living God. By Frederic R. Howe. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1996. 144 pp. Paper, $8.99. There is an old Jewish story that when God was creating the earth He assigned two angels to drop stones all over the earth. Each angel got a huge sack of stones […]

Colossians and Philemon

Colossians and Philemon. By R. Kent Hughes. Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1989. 185 pp. Cloth, $10.95. This volume is the first of a new series entitled “Preaching the Word.” Crossway Books has commissioned Dr. R. Kent Hughes, the Senior Pastor of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, to author this entire series, which when completed at […]

The Disciple-Making Pastor

The Disciple-Making Pastor. By Bill Hull. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell, 1988. 250 pp. Cloth, $11.95. In reviewing this excellent resource I am hard-pressed to keep from quoting the entire book. Pastor Bill Hull has written out of a pastor’s heart to today’s Christian leaders. To quote Dann Spader’s endorsement on the bookcover, “Every […]

An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith

An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith. By Dave Hunt. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2000. 272 pp. Paper, $9.99. According to the back cover, this book “fosters deeper trust in and commitment to God by defining the biblical gospel—and what it saves us from, clarifying the call to discipleship, articulating the faith for which […]

An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith

An Urgent Call to a Serious Faith. By Dave Hunt. Bend , OR : The Berean Call, 2000. 272 pp. Paper. $11.00. The title is provocative. What would such a book cover? According to the back cover, the subject of the book is the gospel: “For years, Dave Hunt has spoken out against the watering […]

In Defense of the Faith: Biblical Answers to Challenging Questions

In Defense of the Faith: Biblical Answers to Challenging Questions. By Dave Hunt. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1996. 347 pp. Paper, $11.99. Hunt’s full and well-researched book seeks to answer the hard questions on the Bible and on conservative, Evangelical Christianity in this organized and interesting volume. Part of the success of the text […]

What Love is This? Calvinism’s Misrepresentation of God

A Review of Dave Hunt’s What Love is This? Calvinism’s Misrepresentation of God Laurence M. Vance* Vance Publications Pensacola, Florida I. An Overview One would think that the debate over the doctrines of Calvinism, which has gone on for four hundred years, would have subsided by now. Yet, books on the subject continue to appear. […]

Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views

Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views. By Dave Hunt and James White. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2004. 427 pp. Paper. $17.99. There has been a spate of “debate” books in recent years that present the viewpoints of different authors on key issues. The original book of this nature was probably The Meaning of the Millennium: […]

Keeping Your Cool When Your Anger Is Hot

Keeping Your Cool When Your Anger Is Hot. By June Hunt. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2009. 296 pp. Paper, $12.99. Author June Hunt is a well-known Christian counselor and speaker. I have heard her on radio and in person and have been impressed with her graciousness, humility, and Biblical knowledge. She is also a […]

Character Studies in the Fourth Gospel: Narrative Approaches to Seventy Figures in John

Character Studies in the Fourth Gospel: Narrative Approaches to Seventy Figures in John. Edited by Steven A. Hunt, D. Francois Tolmie, and Ruben Zimmermann. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013. 724 pp. Hardcover, $219.00. Most JOTGES readers will experience sticker-shock at a $219.00 price tag. However, this book is a gold mine. You may (as I did) […]

The Grace Exchange: God’s Offer of Freedom from a Life of Works

The Grace Exchange: God’s Offer of Freedom from a Life of Works. By Larry Huntsperger. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1995. 192 pages. Paper. $8.99. The title is fascinating: The Grace Exchange. After reading the book, I’m still not sure what it means. The author seems to mean something like this: by grace, when we […]

Out of the Cults and Into the Church: Understanding & Encouraging Ex-Cultists

Out of the Cults and Into the Church: Understanding & Encouraging Ex-Cultists. By Janis Hutchinson. Grand Rapids: Kregel Resources, 1994. 221 pp. Paper, $10.99. As one who was in a very small yet dangerous cult group for 14 years before becoming a Christian, I was attracted to this book. Though I have been out of […]

Becoming A Contagious Christian

Becoming A Contagious Christian. By Bill Hybels and Mark Mittelberg. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994. 221 pages. (Paper), $12.99. Many have heard of Willow Creek Community Church in the Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Illinois, with their attendance of more than 16,000, and their semi-annual church leadership conferences. Author Bill Hybels serves as senior […]

Holy Transformation: What it Takes for God to Make a Difference in You

Holy Transformation: What it Takes for God to Make a Difference in You. By Chip Ingram. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2003. 263 pp. Cloth. $14.99. Transformation—it’s what we long for as Christians. And it is with much concern for the church that Chip Ingram, President of Walk Thru the Bible, has written a book to facilitate […]

Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven

Indication of the Way into the Kingdom of Heaven. By Saint Innocent of Alaska. Jordanville, NY: Holy Trinity Monastery, 2006. 48 pp. Paper, $6.95. St. Innocent of Alaska (1797-1879) was a Russian Orthodox bishop and missionary to Alaska. This short work was written as a catechetical tool for the natives who lived on the Aleutian […]

An Unconventional God: The Spirit According to Jesus

An Unconventional God: The Spirit According to Jesus. By Jack Levison. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2020. 226 pp. Paper, $21.38. Levison is the W. J. A. Power Professor of Old Testament Interpretation at the Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX. This book deals with the role of the Holy Spirit […]

Out of the Darkness Into the Light

Out of the Darkness Into the Light. By Gerald G. Jampolsky. New York: Bantam Books, 1989. 266 pp. Paper, $9.95. This book is a cleverly disguised promotion of New Age theology. Dr. Jampolsky, a psychiatrist, gives his New Age “testimony”-without ever openly identifying the book as such. He describes how he changed from being an […]

The Evangelical Essential: What Must I Do to be Saved?

The Evangelical Essential: What Must I Do to be Saved? By Philip Janowsky. Graham, OR: Vision House Publishing, 1994. 132 pp. Cloth, $13.99. Here is a really refreshing and valuable little book by a minister in the United Methodist Church. Janowsky holds degrees from Houghton College (NY), the University of Kansas, and Ilift School of […]

Guilt-Free Living

Guilt-Free Living. By Robert Jeffress. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1995. 256 pp. Cloth, $15.99. According to the author the purpose of his book is to help the reader “eliminate those unrealistic, self-imposed expectations about different life areas” that cause a person to wallow around in guilt and never truly enjoy life (p. 5). Jeffress believes […]

Slaying the Giants in Your Life

Slaying the Giants in Your Life. By David Jeremiah. Nashville , TN : Word Publishing, 2001. 217 pp. Cloth. $19.99. Popular author, pastor, and radio preacher, David Jeremiah, has written what many consider to be his finest work to date. After reading this book in one sitting, this reviewer would have to agree. Slaying the […]

Escape

Escape. By Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer. New York: Broadway Books, 2007. 413 pp. Cloth, $24.95. The author, Carolyn Jessop, tells an amazing story of her escape, both physically and spiritually, from a polygamous cult, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (S). At age 18 she was given in marriage to a […]

Practical Faith & Active Love: Meditations on the Epistle to James

Practical Faith & Active Love: Meditations on the Epistle to James. By Joel W. Huffstetler. Berkeley, CA: The Apocryphile Press. 2020. 109 pp. Paper, $16.95. Joel Huffstetler is an Episcopal priest. This book originally caught my eye because I was curious as to how somebody from his background would interpret the book of James. Most […]

Answers to the Most Important Questions About the End Times

Answers to the Most Important Questions about the End Times. By John Hart. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2016. 189 pp. Paper, $10.99. This easy to read book on eschatology starts off by asking the question: “Why should I be interested in Bible Prophecy?” (chapter 1). Hart points out that around 25% of the Bible contains […]

Paul & the Gift

Paul & the Gift. By John M. G. Barclay. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2015. 656 pp. Cloth, $117.99. Barclay’s work will be foreign to those who are not familiar with the new perspective on Paul (hereafter, NPP). Barclay’s discussion of NPP (esp. pp. 151-182) presupposes that one is quite familiar with it. The book is […]

Five Points Towards a Deeper Experience of God’s Grace

Five Points Towards a Deeper Experience of God’s Grace. By John Piper. Glasgow: Christian Focus Publications Ltd., 2017. 96 pp. Paper, $9.99. John Piper is a popular writer and retired pastor. He is a devoted proponent of Reformed Theology and Calvinism. In this short book, Piper tries to answer the question, “How did God save […]

1 Corinthians. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

1 Corinthians. The IVP New Testament Commentary Series. By Alan F. Johnson. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2004. 343 pp. Paper, $19.00. This commentary on Paul’s first (canonical) epistle to the Corinthians is somewhere between a devotional commentary and a technical commentary. Greek words are rarely mentioned. Yet illustrations are fairly rare in this work. […]

1 & 2 Thessalonians

1 & 2 Thessalonians. By Andy Johnson, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2016. 349 pp. Paper, $26.00. I was not familiar with the expression missional hermeneutic before I read this commentary. After reading it I’m not quite sure what that is. Johnson, Professor of NT at Nazarene Theological Seminary in Kansas City, is not writing a […]

The Account Which We Must Give

The Account Which We Must Give. By Carl G. Johnson. Schaumberg, IL: Regular Baptist Press, 1990. 131 pp. Paper, $5.95. Confronted with the importance of the biblical concept of the future judgment of believers, and finding a dearth of publications on this subject, Carl Johnson was motivated to proclaim “the awesomeness of the judgment Seat […]

An Easy-To-Understand Guide For Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds

An Easy-To-Understand Guide For Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds. By Phillip E. Johnson. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1997. 131 pp. Paper, $15.99. Phillip Johnson is the author of Darwin on Trial and Reason in The Balance. He wrote this book for high school juniors, seniors, and beginning college undergraduates. In it he discusses common mistakes […]

Darwin on Trial

Darwin on Trial. 3rd edition. By Phillip E. Johnson. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 2010. 247 pp. Cloth, $17.00. The first edition of this work came out twenty years ago in 1991. This twentieth anniversary edition contains a new foreword called, “a new introduction” on the cover, by Michael Behe which in itself is fantastic […]

Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament: The Evidence for Early Composition

Rethinking the Dates of the New Testament: The Evidence for Early Composition. By Jonathan Bernier. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2022. 318 pp. Paper, $29.99. Bernier is an assistant professor of New Testament at Regis College, University of Toronto. I was drawn to this book by the subtitle. I thought Bernier would follow the lead of […]

Antinomianism: Reformed Theology’s Unwelcome Guest?

Antinomianism: Reformed Theology’s Unwelcome Guest? By Mark Jones. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 2013. 145 pages. Paper, $14.48. Mark Jones is the pastor of a PCA church in Canada. Since those in the Free Grace movement are often accused of being antinomian, the title of this book caught my eye. This book, however, does […]

Apprehension of Jesus in the Gospel of John

Apprehension of Jesus in the Gospel of John. By Josaphat C. Tam. WUNT 2/399. Edited by Jörg Frey. Tübingen, GER: Mohr Siebeck, 2015. 265 pp. Paper, €89,00. Tam is an assistant professor at Evangel Seminary in Hong Kong. This book is a revision of his 2014 Ph.D. thesis at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. […]

Grace Revolution: Experience the Power to Live Above Defeat

Grace Revolution: Experience the Power to Live Above Defeat. By Joseph Prince. New York, NY: FaithWords, 2015. 384 pp. Paper, $15.99. In Grace Revolution, Joseph Prince notes that many people try to mix grace and law in Christian living: “Yet today many believers are still living in confusion, and get law and grace all mixed […]

Mom, I’m a Girl

Mom, I’m a Girl. By Judy Glenney. Enumclaw, WA: Redemption Press, 2017. 246 pp. Paper, $16.99. This book tells the story and lessons learned by a mother who lost her son to suicide at the age of 19. The son struggled with what is called transgenderism, though his counselors questioned that diagnosis. Glenney and her […]

A Metrical Psalter: The Book of Psalms Set to Meter for Singing

A Metrical Psalter: The Book of Psalms Set to Meter for Singing. By Julie and Timothy Tennant. Franklin, TN: Seedbed, 2017. 266 pp. Hardcover, $24.95. A recurring challenge for Free Grace churches is to find songs with good theology. Since most worship songs are written by proponents of Lordship Salvation, that salvation theology is reflected […]

Preaching and Teaching the Last Things: Old Testament Eschatology for the Life of the Church

Preaching and Teaching the Last Things: Old Testament Eschatology for the Life of the Church. By Walter C. Kaiser, Jr. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 2011. 186 pp. Paper, $12.99. A brief 163 pages followed by indexes, Walt Kaiser’s latest guide purposes to help preachers explore Old Testament eschatology with their congregations. Published by Baker […]

The Foundation of Augustinian-Calvinism

The Foundation of Augustinian-Calvinism. By Ken Wilson. NP: Regula Fidei Press, 2019. 121 pp. Paper, $14.99. I have known Ken Wilson for many years, having been his professor for five or six online classes, including four semesters of Greek (second- and third-year master’s level). He showed himself to be an outstanding student and researcher. He […]

Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649

Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649. By R.T. Kendall (London, England: Paternoster, 1997. Originally published by Oxford Press, 1981.) 263 pp. (Paper), $35.00. “Salvation (Justification/Reconciliation) is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.” I have rarely met any Protestant who does not, in some way, affirm that phrase. Yet what one means by […]

He Saves: The Assurance of Salvation Through Faith

He Saves: The Assurance of Salvation Through Faith by R. T. Kendall. Tyrone, GA: Authentic, 2006. 54 pp. Paper. $5.99. This short book by R. T. Kendall is apparently based on four sermons he preached from Rom 1:16. The titles of the four chapters are “What is the Gospel?,” “The Righteousness of God,” “Saving Faith,” […]

In Pursuit of HIS Glory

In Pursuit of HIS Glory. By R. T. Kendall. Lake Mary, FL, Charisma House, 2004. 310 pp. Hardback. $19.99. I chose to read R. T. Kendall’s autobiography, In Pursuit of HIS Glory, because of the great benefit I have received from many of Kendall’s other writings. His book Once Saved, Always Saved (now back in […]

Meekness and Majesty

Meekness and Majesty. By R.T. Kendall. Scotland, U.K.: Christian Focus Publications, 1992. 224 pp. Paper, $7.99. Most Bible students agree that Phil 2:5-11 is one of the most important passages in the entire Bible. In these seven verses, the apostle Paul reveals more about Jesus Christ than possibly any other single passage. Meekness and Majesty […]

Once Saved, Always Saved

Once Saved, Always Saved. By R. T Kendall. Chicago: Moody Press, 1985. 238 pp. Paper, $4.95. R. T. Kendall, minister of the well-known Westminster Chapel, London, gained considerable notoriety in Puritan studies with the 1979 release of Calvin and English Calvinism to 1649. In this Oxford monograph Kendall argued that English Puritanism’s doctrinal development of […]

Stand Up and Be Counted

Stand Up and Be Counted By R. T Kendall. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1985. 127 pp. Paper, $3.95. This author, R. T Kendall, needs little introduction. He became the minister of the famous Westminster Chapel in London with the blessing of his predecessor, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. This is interesting since Lloyd-Jones was a five-point […]

When God Says “Well Done!”: Running to Win the Prize

When God Says “Well Done!”: Running to Win the Prize. By R.T. Kendall. Scotland, U. K.: Christian Focus Publications, 1993. 224 pp. Paper, $9.99. In his preface Kendall writes, “This book will hopefully show us at least two things: (1) How to know we are going to Heaven not Hell; and (2) how we might […]

Are You Stone Deaf to the Spirit or Rediscovering God

Are You Stone Deaf to the Spirit or Rediscovering God. By R.T. Kendall. Scotland, U.K.: Christian Focus Publications,1994. 255 pp. Paper. For nearly 2,000 years, Hebrews 6:4-6 has been a theological battleground. The reason being, this passage presents grave difficulties for evangelicalism’s two most prominent theological systems: Calvinism and Arminianism. Calvinists teach that saved people […]

Rooted: Connect with God, the Church, Your Purpose

Rooted: Connect with God, the Church, Your Purpose. Kenton Beshore, et al. NP: Rooted Network, 2020. 227 pp. Cloth, $15.00. Rooted is a 10-week discipleship course that invites participants to practice seven “rhythms” based upon Acts 2: Daily Devotion (Acts 2:42, 46), Prayer (Acts 2:42), Repentance (Acts 2:37-39), Serve the Community (Acts 2:44-45), Sacrificial Generosity […]

Aftershock: What to Do When Leaders (And Others) Fail You

Aftershock: What to Do When Leaders (And Others) Fail You. by Ted Kitchens. Portland: Multnomah Press, 1992. 245 pp. Paper, $9.99. Just about every Christian can recount a tragic story about another Christian who fell into sin. Unfortunately, they can usually also recount the tragic way the offender’s church responded to the fallen believer. Kitchens’s […]

The Lordship-Grace Salvation Controversy

“The Lordship-Grace Salvation Controversy,” in The Front Lines Theology Series, No. 1 Edited by Conrad Koch. Bloomington, IN: Integrated Resources, n.d. audio tapes. $22.00. This resource/study packet is designed for the staff and friends of the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ to help them understand the issues behind the Lordship controversy. The packet contains […]

What the Bible Says About a Saving Faith

What the Bible Says About a Saving Faith. Bernard Koerselman. Chandler, AZ: Berean Publishers, 1992. 304 pp. Paper, $11.95. The author is a lawyer who gave up his practice in mid life to go into full-time Christian work. Rather than attend seminary, he chose to study the Bible intensively on his own. He did so […]

Modern Version Failures

Modern Version Failures. By Charles Kriessman. Collingswood, NJ: The Bible For Today Press, 2014. 146 pp. Paper, $14.00. This publication by a member of the Dean Burgon Society (DBS) is reviewed because of concern for the doctrine of inerrancy as it relates to the multiplicity of Bible translations. English Bible versions differ not only because […]

2 Corinthians. Revised edition

2 Corinthians. Revised edition. By Colin G. Kruse. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2015. 287 pp. Paper, $18.00. When I checked various Free Grace hotspots in this commentary on 2 Corinthians, I came away very impressed. This is an outstanding commentary that most JOTGES readers will find very helpful. 2 Corinthians 3:18. Excellent discussion (pp. […]

Paul’s Letter to the Romans

Paul’s Letter to the Romans. By Colin G. Kruse. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012. 627 pp. Hardcover, $52.00. I had been impressed by a quote I’d seen earlier from Kruse on 2 Cor 5:11. That made me think this commentary would be a good one. I like this commentary, but a few […]

Taking the Guesswork out of Applying the Bible

Taking the Guesswork out of Applying the Bible. By Jack Kuhatschek. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990. 163 pp. Paper, $6.95. Many evangelical Christians recognize the need for applying the Bible to their daily lives. But until now, guidelines for application have been restricted mostly to the final chapter of books on the subject of […]

John the Maverick Gospel

John the Maverick Gospel. By Robert Kysar. Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993. Revised edition. 157 pp. Paper, $12.99. When I first began reading the book I had high hopes of finding some worthwhile observations within it, despite the author’s liberal credentials. And I was encouraged, while still on the first page of the preface, […]

Holy Spirit and Salvation: The Sources of Christian Theology

Holy Spirit and Salvation: The Sources of Christian Theology. Edited by Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen. Grand Rapids: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010. 470 pp. Paper, $49.95. The fact that there are five pages devoted to “Permissions” (pp. 459-63) tells the reader a lot about this book. If only a small portion of any work is […]

The Shepherd of Hermas

“The Shepherd of Hermas,” in The Apostolic Fathers, 2:2-305. Translated by Kirsopp Lake. Cambridge, MA: The Loeb Classical Library, 1977. Cloth. If you hate free grace, forgiveness, and divine compassion, you’ll love “The Shepherd of Hermas,” here printed in Greek and English on facing pages. A more legalistic, works-oriented allegory would be hard to come […]

The Apostolic Fathers, Vol. 1

The Apostolic Fathers, Vol. 1. Translated by Kirsopp Lake. Vol. 24 in The Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1912. 409 pp. Cloth, $15.50. When the Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society was started in mid-1988, the book and periodical reviewers were faced with the question of how far back in time one […]

Firstborn Sons: Their Rights and Risks

Firstborn Sons: Their Rights and Risks. By George Henry Lang. Miami Springs, FL: Conley & Schoettle Publishing Co., Inc., 1984. 233 pp. Hardcover, $14.95. “Is it worthwhile to follow Christ? Does not being His disciple involve so great a loss and so much persecution and other trouble as to cause reasonable men to ask if […]

A Critique of the Crossless Gospel

A Critique of the Crossless Gospel. By Daniel J. Lash Rome City, IN: Weston Street Bible Church, 2011), 44 pp, free. In his booklet, A Critique of the Crossless Gospel, Daniel Lash addresses what he considers to be some important errors involving GES and the writings of Bob Wilkin in particular. While I found myself […]

Discipled Warriors: Growing Healthy Churches That Are Equipped for Spiritual Warfare

Discipled Warriors: Growing Healthy Churches That Are Equipped for Spiritual Warfare. By Chuck Lawless. Grand Rapids : Kregel, 2002. 224 pp. Paper. $11.99. Lawless eschews some of the more fanciful approaches to spiritual warfare and church growth today. His conclusion is that true spiritual warfare and church growth are accomplished by believers who are living […]

The Seven Laws of the Harvest: Understanding the Realities of Sowing and Reaping

The Seven Laws of the Harvest: Understanding the Realities of Sowing and Reaping. By John W. Lawrence. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1995 (original copyright, 1975). 130 pp. Paper, $7.99. In his classic work, The Seven Laws of the Harvest, John Lawrence responds to why the lives of many Christians are so ineffective. His thesis is […]

Absolutely Sure

Absolutely Sure. By Steven J. Lawson. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 1999. 190 pp. Paper, $12.99. This could have been a shorter book. Lawson (author and pastor of Dauphin Way Baptist Church in Mobile, AL) early on states that “the assurance of our salvation rests upon the impregnable rock of God’s Word. Our confidence about heaven […]

Running to Win! A Positive Biblical Approach to Rewards and Inheritance

Running to Win! A Positive Biblical Approach to Rewards and Inheritance. By G. Harry Leafe. Houston: Scriptel Publishers, 1992. 105 pp. Paper, $7.00. This small book, almost identical in size to our journal, deals with a mighty big topic: the doctrine of eternal rewards. Leafe writes: “Everything that we face in life is a part […]

No Greater Savior

No Greater Savior. By Richard Lee and Ed Hindson. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1995. 294 pp. Cloth, $16.99. Combining Scripture and a knowledge of history with logical deduction and imagination, Lee and Hindson offer their personalized portrayal of various episodes in the life of Christ. In some ways they do this very well. Tracing […]

The Potter’s Promise: A Biblical Defense of Traditional Soteriology

The Potter’s Promise: A Biblical Defense of Traditional Soteriology. By Leighton Flowers. NP: Trinity Academic Press, 2017. 175 pp. Paper, $16.91. Leighton Flowers is a former Calvinist Baptist minister and is currently the Director of Apologetics for Texas Baptists. In The Potter’s Promise, he describes how he gave up on his belief in Calvinism. It […]

God and Stephen Hawking: Whose Design Is It Anyway?

God and Stephen Hawking: Whose Design Is It Anyway? By John C. Lennox. Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2011. 96 pp. Paper, $5.95. In 2010, Stephen Hawking, the famed Cambridge physicist and cultural icon, published a book (coauthored with Leonard Mlodinow) entitled The Grand Design, in which he purported to explain the origin of the universe without […]

God’s Providence: He Cares for You

God’s Providence: He Cares for You. By Mark J. Lenz. Milwaukee, WI: Northwestern Publishing House, 2000. 146 pp. Paper, $14.50. In God’s Providence: He Cares for You, Mark J. Lenz explains the doctrine of providence in a way suitable for an Adult Bible Study class. The book is written in a personal style, with direct […]

Lordship Salvation: Some Crucial Questions and Answers

Lordship Salvation: Some Crucial Questions and Answers. Including a Reply to “So Great Salvation” by Charles C. Ryrie and “Absolutely Free!” by Zane C. Hodges. By Robert Lescelius. Asheville, NC: Revival Literature, 1992. 217 pp. Paper, $6.99. Add another book to the lordship side of the Lordship Salvation controversy. The balance of books is on […]

Sin, the Savior, and Salvation

Sin, the Savior, and Salvation. By Robert P. Lightner. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1991. 318 pp. Cloth, $16.95. Considering the modern confusion over the doctrines concerning salvation, a book which speaks clearly on the subject is very welcome. Dr. Robert Lightner, Professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, has written a book that will […]

Historical Criticism of the Bible: Methodology or Ideology?

Historical Criticism of the Bible: Methodology or Ideology? By Eta Linnemann. Originally published in German as Wissenschaft oder Anfragen and Alternativen. Neuhausen: Friedrich Hanssler, 1986. Translated by Robert Yarborough. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990. 169 pp. Paper, $9.95. Eta Linnemann is an eminent continental scholar, a former student of Rudolf Bultmann, and a member […]

Maximum Security

Maximum Security. By Steven Linscott with Randall Frame. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1994. 216 pp. Cloth, $12.99. We don’t often associate murder cases with grace, but Maximum Security, a well-named (spiritual meaning) and well-written true story, shows the triumph of grace in the life of a young Bible school student and his wife when he was […]

Living Water: The Gospel of John — Logos 21 Version

Living Water: The Gospel of John—Logos 21 Version. Glide, Oregon: Absolutely Free, Inc., 1996. 77 pp. Paper. This pocket-sized booklet, with a blue cover featuring a beautiful photograph of a flowing waterfall, takes the world’s oldest and best “tract,” the Gospel of John, and puts it in an attractive, easy-to-read translation with a series of […]

The Cosmic Center

The Cosmic Center. Revised Edition. By D. Bruce Lockerbie. Portland: Multnomah Press, 1986. 194 pp. Cloth, $11.95. The subtitle of this book tells its story: The Supremacy of Christ in a Secular Wasteland. Lockerbie does a commendable job of painting the despair, pain, and meaninglessness of philosophies which do not have the Lord Jesus Christ […]

Romans Unlocked – Power to Deliver

Romans Unlocked – Power to Deliver. By Rene A. Lopez. Springfield : 21st Century Press, 2005. 319 pp. Paper. $15.99. The commentary literature on the book of Romans is absolutely voluminous, so why the need for yet another commentary on this book? Simply put, this one is both briefenough to attract a wide range of […]

3:16—The Numbers of Hope

3:16—The Numbers of Hope. By Max Lucado. Thomas Nelson, 2007. 64 pages. Paper, $2.99. I. Introduction It was Sir Francis Bacon who said: “Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” Well, the moment I saw the title of pastor and best-selling author Max Lucado’s […]

And the Angels Were Silent

And the Angels Were Silent. Max Lucado. Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1992. 261 pp. Cloth, $16.99. The prolific and immensely popular Max Lucado is a masterful author, gifted communicator, accomplished speaker, and sadly–a propagator of a false gospel. In his book, And the Angels Were Silent, Lucado beautifully presents the events of the final week […]

In the Grip of Grace

In the Grip of Grace. By Max Lucado. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1996. 235 pages. Paper, $19.99. Grace is the engine that drives the book of Romans. No wonder Lucado would turn there for his expositions on grace. And exposit grace is what he does more than exposit Romans. Those looking for biblical exposition will be […]

Coming to grips with God’s discipline of the believer

Coming to grips with God’s discipline of the believer. By Erwin W. Lutzer. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991. 46 pp. Paper, $3.25 Can we always draw a direct connection between specific events and judgment from God for specific sins? Dr. Lutzer answers this question in God’s Discipline, and gives helpful instruction on this often-ignored subject. God’s […]

Growing Through Conflict

Growing Through Conflict. By Erwin Lutzer. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1992. 156 pp. Paper, $5.99. This short and easy-to-read Bible study book is from the Life-in-Perspective Series. As always, Dr. Lutzer captures the reader with his simple, clear, and illustrative style. The book is meant to be read along with most of 1 and 2 Samuel […]

Back to Faith: Reclaiming Gospel Clarity in an Age of Incongruence

Back to Faith: Reclaiming Gospel Clarity in an Age of Incongruence. By Fred R. Lybrand. NP: Xulon Press, 2009. 297 pp. Paper, $18.99. Seven of the eight chapters have the words the cliché in them. The cliché in question, attributed to John Calvin, is stated in the preface and the start of Chap. 1 as […]

One-Minute Prayers for Men

One-Minute Prayers for Men. By Hope Lyda. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2004/2010. 288 pp. Cloth. $9.99. Do you have a tendency to struggle with communication, especially when it comes to talking with God in prayer? Do you ever find yourself too busy to pray? Hope Lyda, bestselling author of the popular One-Minute Prayers series, […]

My Vertical Neighborhood: How Strangers Became a Community

My Vertical Neighborhood: How Strangers Became a Community. By Lynda MacGibbon. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2021. 160 pp. Paper, $17.00. We are all surrounded by neighbors, but how do you get to know them? In My Vertical Neighborhood, former journalist Lynda MacGibbon tells the story of moving from rural New Brunswick to take a job […]

Ashamed of the Gospel. When the Church Becomes Like the World

Ashamed of the Gospel. When the Church Becomes Like the World. By John F. MacArthur, Jr. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1993. 254 pp. Cloth, $17.99. Having been concerned for years about some aspects of the modern church-growth movement, I hoped to find in this book careful analysis of the problems or potential problems. I was partially […]

Faith Works: The Gospel According to the Apostles

THE HIGH COST OF SALVATION BY FAITH-WORKS: A Review of John F. MacArthur, Jr.’s Faith Works: The Gospel According to the Apostles1 ROBERT N. WILKIN Associate Editor Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society Roanoke, Texas I. Introduction It is with a deep sense of sadness that I write this review. Reading this book and listening […]

Hard to Believe: The High Cost and Infinite Value of Following Jesus

A Review of John MacArthur’s Hard to Believe: The High Cost and Infinite Value of Following Jesus Robert N. Wilkin Editor Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society Irving , Texas   I. Introduction John MacArthur is the author of scores of books and commentaries, Pastor of Grace Community Church in Southern California, which averages 7000-9000 […]

Saved Without a Doubt: How to Be Sure of Your Salvation

Saved Without a Doubt: How to Be Sure of Your Salvation. John MacArthur, Jr. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1992. 187 pp. Paper, $7.99. John MacArthur claims to publish this book out of a pastoral concern for those in the churches who lack assurance of salvation. It is out of the same pastoral concern that I would […]

The Gospel According to Jesus

A CRITIQUE OF THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JESUS J. KEVIN BUTCHER Pastor Ebenezer Baptist Church Detroit, Michigan   I. Introduction By writing The Gospel According to Jesus, in a sense John F. MacArthur has done the evangelical world a favor. He has raised to a level of national consciousness the contemporary confusion in the Church […]

Rebuilding Your Broken World

Rebuilding Your Broken World. By Gordon MacDonald. Nashville: Oliver-Nelson Publishers, 1988. 224 pp. Cloth, $12.95. Gordon MacDonald’s previous major work, Ordering Your Private World, presented the idea that each believer has an inner “garden,” a relationship with God that must be cultivated daily through devotions and discipline. If this “private world” is not consistently maintained, […]

The Forgotten Command: Be Holy

The Forgotten Command: Be Holy. By William MacDonald. Kilmarnock, Scotland: John Ritchie, 1993. 239 pp. Paper, $7.99. In this issue of JOTGES our founder and director presents a practical article on our part in sanctification. This book would be a good follow-up with its 31 short chapters of practical suggestions on how to obey the […]

Luis de Molina: The Life and Theology of the Founder of Middle Knowledge

Luis de Molina: The Life and Theology of the Founder of Middle Knowledge. By Kirk R. MacGregor. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015. 292 pp. Hardcover, $24.32. Kirk MacGregor has written a tour de force on the life and theology of Luis de Molina. Luis de Molina, the originator of Molinism or “Middle Knowledge” was a […]

Free Speech or Propaganda?

Free Speech or Propaganda? By Marlin Maddoux. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990. 224 pp. Paper, $9.95. Maddoux begins with his personal reaction to the television coverage of the tragic events at Kent State University in May 1970. That event started him thinking that the American news establishment was conducting what he calls a “really big […]

Developing a Vision for Ministry in the 21st Century

Developing a Vision for Ministry in the 21st Century. By Aubrey Malphurs. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992. 256 pp. Paper, $11.95. The Power of Vision. By George Barna. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1992. 184 pp. Cloth, $14.99; Two books have appeared this year which will be a source of great help to pastors or […]

The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-up, and Burnt Out

The Ragamuffin Gospel: Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-up, and Burnt Out. By Brennan Manning. Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1990. 227 pp. Paper, $7.95. As the subtitle suggests, this book is about the good news of the Gospel for those who feel unworthy. It is neither a theological nor an exegetical book. Scripture is not […]

The Signature of Jesus

What is Contemplative Spirituality and Why is It Dangerous? A Review of Brennan Manning’s The Signature of Jesus John Caddock Winchester, OR   The Never-Ending Review Little did I know when I began to read The Signature of Jesus the time and effort that would be involved in understanding it. I am not a theologian […]

God Has Chosen: The Doctrine of Election Through Christian History

In the last issue of the JOTGES we ran a review of Ron Merryman’s book Understanding Biblical Election. We wrongly indicated that the price of the book is $17.95. Actually, Merryman Ministries has the policy that “All materials are distributed without charge on a grace basis.” They add that, “At the request of a number […]

Authorized: The Use & Misuse of the King James Bible

Authorized: The Use & Misuse of the King James Bible. By Mark Ward. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018. 154 pp. Paper, $12.99. As one who holds to the Majority Text (MT) view of textual criticism, I have a warm place in my heart for the KJV. While it follows the Textus Receptus (TR), not the […]

First Corinthians

First Corinthians. Alfred Martin. Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1989. 149 pp. plus Appendix, Select Bibliography, and Scripture Index. Cloth, $16.95. Dr. Martin served with distinction at Moody Bible Institute for thirty-two years where he taught in the Bible Department and became Vice President and Dean of Education. In his “retirement” he has kept busy writing […]

A Prophet with Honor

A Prophet with Honor. By William Martin. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1991. 734 pp. Cloth, $25.00. In 1985 Billy Graham asked William Martin to consider writing his life story. Martin is Harvard Divinity School trained and a professor at Rice University, where he teaches sociology of religion. From the outset he makes […]

Gospel Allegiance: What Faith in Jesus Misses for Salvation in Christ

Gospel Allegiance: What Faith in Jesus Misses for Salvation in Christ. By Matthew Bates. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2019. 269 pp. Paper, $17.99. This book is a follow up to Salvation by Allegiance Alone (SAA; cf. pp. 18-20). It is more of the same. The first book taught works salvation, but Bates did not […]

Was the Reformation a Mistake? Why Catholic Doctrine Is Not Biblical

Was the Reformation a Mistake? Why Catholic Doctrine Is Not Biblical. By Matthew Levering, with Kevin J. Vanhoozer. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2017. 240 pp. Paper, $16.99. This book was “commissioned by Zondervan for the five-hundredth anniversary of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses (p. 16).” Its intended audience is Bible-believing Christians who “continue to resonate with […]

The Gospel According to Rome

The Gospel According to Rome. By James G. McCarthy. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1995. 397 pp. Paper, $11.99. “The Turks are at the Gates of Vienna!” These dramatic words from the Louis de Rochemont film “Martin Luther” (1953) are relevant today. In the 16th century Lutherans were pressed to reunite with Rome to form […]

Mystery of the Cross

Mystery of the Cross By Alister E. McGrath. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990. 190 pp. Paper, $8.99. This book’s purpose is to stimulate, or even irritate, the readers “to reflect further on the enigma of the cross” (p. 188). McGrath fulfills his purpose by providing a well-written, challenging, and thought-provoking consideration of the Cross […]

What Was God Doing on the Cross?

What Was God Doing on the Cross? By Alister E. McGrath. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992. 123 pp. Paper, $7.99. What religious organization in its right mind would choose a noose or an electric chair as its logo? Symbols are crucial to people’s perception of what something stands for. The British Labour party, our […]

Firm Foundations: Creation to Christ

Firm Foundations: Creation to Christ. By Trevor McIlwain with Nancy Everson. Sanford, FL: New Tribes Mission, 1991. 582 pp. Paper, $24.95. Few books will promote the grace position as well as Firm Foundations. This is not a theology book on the issue of grace. Rather, it is a study of the Bible from a grace […]

The NIV Application Commentary: Galatians

The NIV Application Commentary: Galatians. By Scot McKnight. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995. 320 pp. Paper, $22.99. McKnight is professor of biblical and theological studies at North Park College in Chicago. This commentary is part of the NIV Application Commentary Series, designed to provide both scholarship and application: “bringing an ancient message into a […]

Grace Rules

Grace Rules. By Steve McVey. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1998. 203 pp. Paper, $8.99. This book has a simple message on how to live the Christian life: Focus on Jesus Christ in us and not on rules. Living by rules does not mature us or please God. The difference is between compliance and obedience, […]

The God Who Won’t Let Go

The God Who Won’t Let Go. By Dean Merrill. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998. 158 pp. Paper, $11.00. Merrill has written a compelling Christian-living book that unveils divine grace in the face of guilt, tragedy, and failure. This work accomplishes its solitary aim: to overwhelm the reader with the unconditional forgiveness of God. However, this […]

Galatians: God’s Antidote to Legalism

Galatians: God’s Antidote to Legalism By Ron Merryman. (Duluth, MN: Merryman Ministries, 1999), 130 pp. Paper, $13.00. “Galatians is God’s antidote for legalism. As no other book, it clarifies the issue of the believer’s relationship to Old Testament Law and the grace provision for sanctification clearly expressed in the New Testament…Thank God for the Epistle […]

In Christ: Position & Identity Unparalleled, Considered Exegetically: Colossians 2:3-3:4

In Christ: Position & Identity Unparalleled, Considered Exegetically: Colossians 2:3-3:4. By Ron Merryman. Orland, Florida: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2007. 185 pp. Hardcover, Finally someone has written a book on the church age believer’s position and identity in Christ! While not very long (only 30 pages; 43 pages including the appendices) it packs a punch. I […]

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. By Eric Metaxas. Nashville, TN. Thomas Nelson, 2010. 608 pp. Hardcover: $29.99. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (4 February 1906–9 April 1945) was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, anti-Nazi resistant, and founding member of the Confessing Church. His view of Christianity’s role in the secular world has become very influential. Bonhoeffer became known […]

Not Afraid of the Antichrist: Why We Don’t Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture

Not Afraid of the Antichrist: Why We Don’t Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. By Michael L. Brown and Craig S. Keener. Minneapolis: Chosen Books, 2019. 236 pages. Paper, $15.99. Michael Brown is the founder and president of FIRE School of Ministry in Concord, North Carolina, and host of the daily radio program The Line of […]

Not Afraid of the Antichrist: Why We Don’t Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture

Not Afraid of the Antichrist: Why We Don’t Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture. By Michael L. Brown and Craig S. Keener. Minneapolis: Chosen Books, 2019. 236 pp. Paper, $15.99. Michael Brown is the founder and president of FIRE School of Ministry in Concord, NC, and host of the daily radio program The Line of Fire. […]

Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host

Angels: What the Bible Really Says About God’s Heavenly Host. By Michael S. Heiser. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2018. Hardcover, $19.99. In his book Angels, Michael Heiser says that there are many misunderstandings about angels due to Christian traditions and myths. He desires to speak about what the Bible says about angels. He does not […]

Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy

Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy. By R. Albert Mohler Jr., Peter Enns, Michael Bird, Kevin J. Vanhoozer, and John R. Franke. Edited by J. Merrick and Stephen M. Garrett. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013. 328 pp. Paper, $19.99. Of the five authors, three have their doctorates from liberal schools (Enns, Harvard; Franke, Oxford; Vanhoozer, Cambridge). […]

Worship Evangelism

Worship Evangelism. By Sally Morgenthaler. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995. 320 pp. Cloth, $19.99. Finally there is some sound theology and reasoning injected into the controversy over church worship styles. While expecting another book of church-growth ideas and formulas on how to make the church service appeal to unchurched “seekers,” I found instead a […]

The Man in The Mirror: Solving The Twenty-Four Problems Men Face

The Man in The Mirror: Solving The Twenty-Four Problems Men Face. By Patrick M. Morley. Brentwood, TN: Wolgemuth & Hyatt, 1989. 307 pages. Cloth, $16.99. This book makes the point that Christian men today need to follow Christ instead of materialism and the world. Unfortunately, it is limited by shallow biblical exposition and by Lordship […]

The Gospel According to Matthew

The Gospel According to Matthew. By Leon Morris. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992. 781 pp. Cloth, $39.95. Here is a well written, scholarly, thorough treatment of Matthew’s Gospel. However, it is flawed by a strong and consistent Lordship Salvation position. Concerning Matt 5:20 Morris followed a statement concerning God’s grace in salvation […]

Searching for Adam: Genesis & the Truth about Man’s Origin

Searching for Adam: Genesis & the Truth about Man’s Origin. Edited by Terry Mortenson. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2016. 524 pp. Paperback, $24.99. This book consists of sixteen chapters, each written by a different author. The book deals with many issues. Among these are: Did Adam exist in history or is he a myth?; […]

21 Things God Never Said: Connecting Our Misconceptions About Evangelism

21 Things God Never Said: Connecting Our Misconceptions About Evangelism by R. Larry Moyer. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2004. 176 pp. Paper. $10.99. There are so many misconceptions in churches today about how to evangelize and what should be said in evangelism that any book which helps clarify the offer of eternal life should be widely […]

Free and Clear: Understanding & Communicating God’s Offer of Eternal Life

Free and Clear: Understanding & Communicating God’s Offer of Eternal Life. By R. Larry Moyer. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1997. 272 pp. Paper, $13.99. Larry Moyer, co-founder and executive director of EvanTell ministry in Dallas, has been a Free Grace evangelist for over twenty years. In this book Larry shares insights gained from his many […]

Leadershift

Leadershift. By Doug Murren. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1994. 228 pp. Cloth, $15.99. Doug Murren is a self-proclaimed “third-wave charismatic” who believes that all the sign gifts (such as prophecy) are active today. He has seen his church in Kirkland, Washington grow from just a few members to several thousand in less than 15 years. […]

Why Men Hate Going to Church

Why Men Hate Going to Church. By David Murrow. Nashville: Nelson, 2005. 248 pp. Paper. $13.99. Reaching men (adult males) must become the number one priority in your church. David Murrow explains why and how. Murrow spends the first half of the book laying out the problems in the average church and why men don’t […]

Is Jesus the Only Savior?

Is Jesus the Only Savior? By Ronald H. Nash. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1994. 188 pp. Paper, $12.99. This important book evaluates the growing influence of pluralism and inclusivism as over against traditional Christian exclusivism. Pluralism answers the title of the book with “No.” Inclusivism answers the title of the book with “Yes, but […]

Worldviews in Conflict: Choosing Christianity in a World of Ideas

Worldviews in Conflict: Choosing Christianity in a World of Ideas. By Ronald H. Nash. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992. 176 pp. Paper, $10.99. Christianity is only one of seven worldviews. According to Ronald Nash a worldview is “a conceptual scheme by which we consciously or unconsciously place or fit everything we believe and by […]

If By Any Means

If By Any Means. By R. E. Neighbour. Miami Springs, FL: Conley & Schoettle Publishing Co., 1985. 128 pp. Paper, $5.95. The confusion over the condition, confidence, and consequences of salvation is by no means limited to this generation. If By Any Means, written in 1940 by R. E. Neighbour, is a beautiful theological tapestry […]

Nelson’s Concordance of Bible Phrases

Nelson’s Concordance of Bible Phrases. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992. 752 pp. Cloth, $19.99. Students of the Bible will find this unique concordance very helpful. Unlike the typical concordance, which is a listing of verses in which an individual word occurs, this one lists all the verses where a particular phrase occurs. The editors have […]

Does God Lie? Faith then Elect or Elect then Faith

Does God Lie? Faith then Elect or Elect then Faith. By Melvin R. Nelson. Xulon Press, 2007. 257 pp. Paper, $16.99. One of the central questions in the Calvinism debate is whether God has a group of people called his “elect” that have not yet exercised faith in Christ. Does faith come before election or […]

New Revised Standard Version

The New Revised Standard Version. Oxford University Press, USA, 1991. I. Introduction In May of this year the latest and most thoroughgoing revision of the RSV appeared, sponsored by the National Council of Churches. I must confess that I have been having my morning devotions in the NRSV for the last several months.1 The reason […]

Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People’s Hearts the Way Jesus Did

Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People’s Hearts the Way Jesus Did. By Randy Newman. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 2004. 269 pp. Paper. $12.99. The basic thesis of this book is that Jesus used lots of questions when He taught and evangelized and so should we. If we engage unbelievers in a dialogue, then we will have much […]

An Absolute Sort of Certainty: The Holy Spirit and the Apologetics of Jonathan Edwards

An Absolute Sort of Certainty: The Holy Spirit and the Apologetics of Jonathan Edwards. By Stephen Nichols. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2003. 202 pp. Paper. $14.99. While this book is about certainty that God’s Word is true, not about one’s personal regeneration, Nichols does spend two chapters (chapters 4–5, pp. 77-153) talking about what Edwards […]

Is the Reformation Over? An Evangelical Assessment of Contemporary Roman Catholicism

Is the Reformation Over? An Evangelical Assessment of Contemporary Roman Catholicism. By Mark A. Noll and Carolyn Nystrom. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005. 272 pp. Hardback. $24.99. Dr. Earl Radmacher spoke with prophetic insight in 1990 when he wrote in The Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (33:1) that Lordship Salvation was paving the road back […]

Killing Jesus: A History

Killing Jesus: A History. By Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2013. 293 pages. Hardcover, $28.00. This book is part of the “killing” series of books written by O’Reilly and Dugard, about the deaths of famous people. Previous titles are: Killing Lincoln; Killing Kennedy; and Killing Patton. They have […]

Faith Undone: the emerging church…a new reformation or an end-time deception?

Faith Undone: the emerging church…a new reformation or an end-time deception? By Roger Oakland. Silverton, OR: Lighthouse Trails Publishing, 2007. 261 pp. Paper, $12.95. A few years ago I spoke at a conference. One of the fellow speakers was Roger Oakland. I was impressed then with what he said about the influence of postmodernity in […]

More Than One Way? Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World

More Than One Way? Four Views on Salvation in a Pluralistic World. Edited by Dennis L. Okholm and Timothy R. Phillips. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995. 283 pp. Paper, $16.99. More Than One Way? is a unique volume in that it includes the perspective of liberal pluralist John Hick. The book contains four different […]

The Christian Message for Contemporary Life

The Christian Message for Contemporary Life. By Stephen F. Olford, Grand Rapids : Kregel Publications, 1997. 112 pp. Paper. $7.99. Stephen F. Olford is a noted communicator, author, and pastor. Born in 1918 to missionaries, he spent the first seventeen years of his life in West Africa where he witnessed the power of the gospel […]

Jonathan Edwards: An Introduction to His Thought

Jonathan Edwards: An Introduction to His Thought. By Oliver D. Crisp and Kyle C. Strobel. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018. 232 pp. Paper, $21.42. Oliver Crisp is a professor at Fuller Theological Seminary, and Kyle Strobel is a professor at Talbot School of Theology. Both are clearly experts on the topic of this book. It […]

Beyond Calvinism and Arminianism: An Inductive Mediate Theology of Salvation

Beyond Calvinism and Arminianism: An Inductive Mediate Theology of Salvation. By C. Gordon Olson. Cedar Knolls, NJ: Global Gospel Publishers, 2002. 538 pp. Cloth. $16.00. One of the strengths of the Calvinistic system is the monopoly on books about Calvinism that it has long held. Until recently, most books written in opposition to Calvinism were […]

Say Yes! How to Renew Your Spiritual Passion

Say Yes! How to Renew Your Spiritual Passion. By Luis Palau. Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1991. 172 pp. Paper, $8.95. Say Yes! is a call to repentance to the Church-an appeal to wake up and follow the Lord Jesus Christ. God desires to fill our lives with His victory, power, and joy. Instead of presenting […]

The New Evangelicals: Expanding the Vision of the Common Good

The New Evangelicals: Expanding the Vision of the Common Good. By Maria Pally. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2011. 268 pp. Paper, $20.00. Marcia Pally is a professor at New York University. In this book, she makes the case that there is a growing tendency among American evangelicals to move more toward the left in their […]

Are You Saved? The Orthodox Christian Process of Salvation

Are You Saved? The Orthodox Christian Process of Salvation. Fifth Edition. By Barbara Pappas. Westchester, IL: Amnos Publications, 2006. 63 pp. Paper, NP. Evangelicals often ask questions like, “Are you saved?” “What is meant by salvation?” and “What must I do to be saved?” But these questions are not normally asked by Eastern Orthodox parishioners. […]

Religion on Trial

Religion on Trial. By Craig A. Parton. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2008. 97 pp. Paper, $14.00. Craig Parton’s Religion on Trial is an introductory defense of Christianity in the tradition of legal apologetics. The back cover description claims that Parton “argues that religions uniformly fail the simplest tests of admissibility for their respective claims.” […]

Gospel Assurance & Warnings

Gospel Assurance & Warnings. By Paul Washer. Grand Rapids, MI: Reformation Heritage Books, 2014. 252 pp. Paper, $20.00. Paul Washer has done lots of videos which are available online. He promotes a strong form of Lordship Salvation. This book has essentially the same title as a book I read years ago by Gerald Borchert (Assurance […]

Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings

Getting the Reformation Wrong: Correcting Some Misunderstandings. By James R. Payton Jr. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2010. 272 pp. Paper, $23.00. The Reformation is clearly a key movement in Church History. Yet, it is often one of the most misunderstood movements as well. This book goes a long way toward helping correct some of […]

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Kingdom Come. By J. Dwight Pentecost. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1990. 360 pp. Cloth, $17.95. This new work by Dr. Pentecost has been awaited with eagerness by many in dispensational circles. Pentecost is well known for both his teaching and writing career, and his book Things to Come has been a dispensational classic for […]

Piercing the Darkness

This Present Darkness. By Frank Peretti. Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1988. 376 pp. Paper, $8.95. Piercing the Darkness. By Frank Peretti. Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1989. 441 pp. Paper, $9.95. It was exhilarating, thrilling, reviving, rewarding—everything an angelic warrior was made for! The Host of Heaven had waited so long and had built up such […]

This Present Darkness

This Present Darkness. By Frank Peretti. Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1988. 376 pp. Paper, $8.95. Piercing the Darkness. By Frank Peretti. Westchester, IL: Crossway Books, 1989. 441 pp. Paper, $9.95. It was exhilarating, thrilling, reviving, rewarding—everything an angelic warrior was made for! The Host of Heaven had waited so long and had built up such […]

Exalted Above the Heavens: The Risen and Ascended Christ

Exalted Above the Heavens: The Risen and Ascended Christ. By Peter C. Orr. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2018. 238 pp. Paper, $25.00. This book by Peter Orr is part of the New Studies in Biblical Theology (NSBT) series. The primary purpose of the book is to address something that is lacking in Christological studies. […]

The Message: New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs

The Message: New Testament with Psalms and Proverbs. By Eugene H. Peterson. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1995. Pp. 940. Paper, $17.00. All Scripture quotations in this publication [review] are from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. The author—I feel “translator” would be a misnomer—says that the NT was […]

Why I Am Not an Arminian

Why I Am Not an Arminian. By Robert A. Peterson and Michael D. Williams. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004. 224 pp. Paper. $15.00. Why I Am Not a Calvinist. By Jerry L. Walls and Joseph R. Dongell. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004. 230 pp. Paper. $15.00. As we can see from the titles of what […]

Out of Ashes

Out of Ashes. By Keith Phillips. Los Angeles: World Impact Press, 1996. 196 pp. Cloth, $10.00. This book chronicles author Keith Phillips’s ministry of discipling and church planting in the racially-torn, depravity-dominated ghettos of America’s inner cities, with a special focus on Watts, that section of Los Angeles made famous by the 1965 riots. Phillips […]

The Prologue of the Fourth Gospel

A review of Peter M. Phillips’s The Prologue of the Fourth Gospel1 by Bob Swift2 This is a book that Free Grace readers should take a look at for more than one reason. First, and just as the title states, it contains an interpretation of crucial subject matter – the first eighteen verses of John’s […]

Only One Way?: Reaffirming the Exclusive Truth Claims of Christianity

Only One Way?: Reaffirming the Exclusive Truth Claims of Christianity. Edited by Richard Phillips. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006. 151 pp. Paper, $12.99. This book consists of six chapters by six different authors. All come from a Reformed background and the material in the book was originally presented at the 2005 Philadelphia Conference on Reformed […]

Faith Victorious: Finding Strength and Hope from Hebrews 11

Faith Victorious: Finding Strength and Hope from Hebrews 11. By Richard D. Phillips. Phillipsburg, NJ : P&R Publishing, 2002. 234 pp. Paper. $12.99. This book is based, according to the author, on a series of sermons he preached in the early morning service at Tenth Presby terian Church in Philadelphia in 2001 (p. x). Phillips […]

Jesus the Evangelist: Learning to Share the Gospel from the Book of John

Jesus the Evangelist: Learning to Share the Gospel from the Book of John.By Richard D. Phillips. Orland, Florida: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2007. 185 pp. Hardcover, $19.00 Jesus the Evangelist is a delightful and challenging combination of reformed theology and evangelism from the heart of a thoughtful and passionate pastor. Within GES circles most would question […]

Amazing Grace in John Newton: Slave-Ship Captain, Hymnwriter, and Abolitionist

Amazing Grace in John Newton: Slave-Ship Captain, Hymnwriter, and Abolitionist. By William E. Phipps. Macon , GA : Mercer University Press, 2001. 270 pp. Cloth. $35.00 If you like the song Amazing Grace, then you’ll probably like this book about its author. Much confusion surrounds John Newton. His life is often idealized. Phipps points out […]

Grace, Faith, Free Will; Contrasting Views of Salvation: Calvinism & Arminianism

Grace, Faith, Free Will; Contrasting Views of Salvation: Calvinism & Arminianism. By Robert E. Picirilli. Nashville, TN: Randall House Publications, 2002. iv + 245 pp. Paperback. $19.99 The title of this book is one that could be found on a book written by a Calvinist or an Arminian. However, this is certainly not true of […]

The Gospel: Its Heart, Heights & Hopes

The Gospel: Its Heart, Heights & Hopes Three Books in One. By Arthur T. Pierson. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1978, 1996. 702 pages. Cloth, $29.99. This volume, originally three separate books, is over 100 years old. Originally published in 1892, 1893, and 1896, they are derived from sermons Pierson preached at Charles Spurgeon’s church, the […]

A Wideness in God’s Mercy: The Finality of Jesus Christ in a World of Religions

A Wideness in God’s Mercy: The Finality of Jesus Christ in a World of Religions. By Clark H. Pinnock. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992. 217 pp. Paper, $16.99. Clark Pinnock writes in response to John Hick’s pluralism and the exclusivism of most Evangelicals. His book has two main parameters within which he feels a […]

Four Views on Eternal Security

Four Views on Eternal Security. Edited by J. Matthew Pinson. Contributors: Michael S. Horton; Norman L. Geisler; Stephen M. Ashby; J. Steven Harper. Grand Rapids : Zondervan Publishing House, 2002. 302 pp. Paper. $14.99. Eternal security is one of the dearest doctrines to me. Thus I was thrilled when I heard about this new book […]

Brothers, We are NOT Professionals

Brothers, We are NOT Professionals. By John Piper. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2002. 286 pp. Paper. $14.99. In an age when megachurches are marketed as the ministry model and pastors plaster their faces on billboards and books, it is helpful to be reminded that pastoral ministry and the CEO mindset do not mix. John Piper […]

Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions

Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions. By John Piper. Nottingham, England: InterVarsity Press, 1993. 239 pp. Paper, $15.00. The goal of missions, John Piper contends, is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God. The ultimate goal of the church is not missions. Worship is. Missions exist because […]

The Passion of Jesus Christ

The Passion of Jesus Christ. By John Piper. Wheaton, IL : Crossway Books, 2004. 125 pp. Paper. $7.99. This is a short book containing 50 chapters (most are 2 pages or less) explaining 50 reasons why Jesus suffered and died. This is good theology and very practical. There are, of course, places where the author’s […]

Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints

Stand: A Call for the Endurance of the Saints. Edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008. 157 pp. Paper, $14.99. The subtitle implies that this book might be on the Reformed doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints, the fifth point of Calvinism. While that doctrine does get brief discussion […]

Knowledge and Christian Belief

Knowledge and Christian Belief. By Alvin Plantinga. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2015. 144 pp. Paper, $16.00. Alvin Plantinga explains there are two kinds of objections to Christianity: de facto and de jure. The first kind of objection says we shouldn’t believe in Christianity because it is factually false. The second kind of objection says we […]

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. By David Platt. Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 2010. 230 pp. Paper, $14.99. “A New York Times Bestseller” proclaims a banner at the top of the book. Here is a book that is hard to categorize. Imagine a cross between The Gospel According to Jesus and […]

Amazing Grace. Hymn Texts for Devotional Use

Amazing Grace. Hymn Texts for Devotional Use. Edited by Bert Polman, Marilyn Kay Stulken, and James R. Sydnor. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1994. 310 pp. Paper, $15.99. It is a pleasure for one who already reads a hymn every day, along with the Bible and a devotional classic, to review a book that […]

Adam as Israel: Genesis 1-3 as the Introduction to the Torah and the Tanakh

Adam as Israel: Genesis 1-3 as the Introduction to the Torah and the Tanakh. Seth D. Postell. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2011. 204 pages. Paper, $24.00. Rarely does a book come around that is truly revolutionary. This book is one of the rare ones. Postell, a Professor at Israel College of the Bible in Netanya, […]

Scandalous Grace: A Book for Tired Christians Seeking Rest

Scandalous Grace: A Book for Tired Christians Seeking Rest. By Preston Sprinkle. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2021. 188 pp. Paper, $17.99. The title of this book catches the attention of those who promote the grace of God. Sprinkle desires to show how great the grace of God is. He starts off by discussing […]

Real Christians

Real Christians. By Charles Price. Colorado Springs, CO: Navpress, 1987. 174 pp. Paper, $5.95. Charles Price is a British evangelist who first published this book in Britain under the title Christ for Real. Unfortunately, like too many modern evangelists, Price fails to wed good theology with gospel preaching. His theology of salvation is unapologetically of […]

Jesus: His Life and Ministry

Jesus: His Life and Ministry. By Derek Prime. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995. 280 pp. Paper, $10.99. Written with the lay person in mind, this book gives an overview of our Lord’s life and ministry. Its best features are the many helpful tools the author has included which equip the reader to “dig deeper” on […]

A Theology of Inclusivism

A Theology of Inclusivism. By Neal Punt. Allendale, MI: Northland Books, 2008. 263 pp. Paper, $14.95. The author, Neal Punt, is a retired pastor in the Christian Reformed Church and a graduate of Calvin College. Punt’s thesis is that Calvinists should not say, “All persons will be finally lost except those the Bible declares will […]

Whatever Happened to the Gospel?

Whatever Happened to the Gospel? By R. T. Kendall. Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2018. 200 pp. Paper, $15.99. Two things attracted me to this book: the title and the author. Both are great. I loved Kendall’s earlier book, Once Saved, Always Saved. I read this book with great expectation. There are many things to […]

Salvation

Salvation. By Earl D. Radmacher. Nashville: Word Publishing, 2000. 302 + xiii pp. (Cloth), $21.99. JOTGES readers should rejoice in the publication of this important and influential work by a leading Free Grace proponent. This book is part of Dallas Theological Seminary’s Swindoll Leadership Library series. Dr. Radmacher does a masterful job of explaining salvation […]

The NIV Reconsidered: A Fresh Look at a Popular Translation

The NIV Reconsidered: A Fresh Look at a Popular Translation. Earl Radmacher and Zane C. Hodges. Dallas: Redención Viva, 1990. 155 pp. Paper, $8.95. This is an important book on a major topic for English-speaking Christians. It is also long overdue. First of all this is neither a “chain saw” review nor a nit-picking one. […]

Evangelism in the 21st Century: The Critical Issues

Evangelism in the 21st Century: The Critical Issues Edited by Thom S. Rainer. Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, 1989. 227 pp. Paper, $12.95. This collection of twenty-one essays, with foreword by Billy Graham, was published as a tribute to Lewis A. Drummond. Drummond served many years as the Professor of Evangelism at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary […]

Historical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles

Historical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles By William M. Ramsay. Ed. by Mark Wilson. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1996. 160 pp. Paper, $9.99. Many religious writers have doubted or denied the historical reliability of at least parts of the Bible. Few, however, have gone out to test these theories as did Sir William Ramsay (1851-1939). […]

Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People’s Hearts the Way Jesus Did

Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People’s Hearts the Way Jesus Did. By Randy Newman. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2004, 2017. 267 pp. Paper, $18.99. Randy Newman was for a time on college campus staff with Campus Crusade for Christ. Newman’s purpose is not to explain what the saving message is. For the most part, he assumes that […]

The Next Reformation: Why Evangelicals Must Embrace Postmodernity

The Next Reformation: Why Evangelicals Must Embrace Postmodernity. By Carl Raschke. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004. 235 pp. Paper. $19.99. While some reviewers have intimated this book is a tough read, the opposite is true. Raschke makes Postmodernism and Postmoderns easy to understand with his many clear statements. Faith is not rational or propositional (pp. […]

Repentance Versus the Heresies of Curtis Hutson & Jack Hyles

Repentance Versus the Heresies of Curtis Hutson & Jack Hyles: An Open Letter (dated Dec. 12, 1996) to Dr. Shelton Smith, Editor of Sword of the Lord. By Roland Rasmussen. Published in pamphlet form by Faith Baptist Church of Canoga Park, CA. 21 pp. $1.00. Having written my doctoral dissertation on repentance and salvation, I […]

One-Verse Evangelism

One-Verse Evangelism. By Randy D. Raysbrook. Navigator Napkin Evangelism Series. Colorado Springs: DawsonMedia, 1996. 11 pp. This booklet presents a very simple method of evangelism. Raysbrook suggests that rather than putting an unbeliever through a complicated Sword drill jumping from verse to verse, that we settle on one verse and explain it carefully. He recommends […]

Lord and Christ: The Implications of Lordship for Faith and Life

Lord and Christ: The Implications of Lordship for Faith and Life. By Ernest C. Reisinger. Phillipsburg, NJ: P & R Publishing, 1994. 178 pp. Paper $8.99. Reisinger makes no effort to hide the fact that his theology comes from the doctrinal constructs of men. Some of the sources he cites to define terms and explain […]

Unlocking Wisdom: Forming Agents of God in the House of Mourning

Unlocking Wisdom: Forming Agents of God in the House of Mourning. By James Reitman. Springfield, Missouri: 21st Century Press, 2008. 352 pages. Paper, $19.95. As I recently made my way through Jim Reitman’s new book, I was often reminded of Mortimer Adler’s dictum that a good book is known by its need to be read […]

Rembrandt: Life of Christ

Rembrandt: Life of Christ. Nashville: Oliver Nelson, 1995. 136 pp. Cloth, $22.99. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606-1669) executed the pen and ink sketches, black ink etchings, and full-color paintings in this book. Except for a well-written two-page introduction, the text of this life of our Lord is selections from the New King James Gospels, which […]

Jesus, Divine Messiah: The New Testament Witness

Jesus, Divine Messiah: The New Testament Witness. By Robert L. Reymond. P & R Publishing Company, 1990. 357 pp. Paper, $17.99. Christ asked His disciples this question: “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” And again, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matt 16:13, 15). This is the most […]

Christ Before the Manger: The Life and Times of the Preincarnate Christ

Christ Before the Manger: The Life and Times of the Preincarnate Christ By Ron Rhodes. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992. 299 pp. Paper, $13.99. Christ Before the Manger is a study about our Lord Jesus Christ in His preincarnate state. Using NT passages referring to Christ’s preexistence, Ron Rhodes paints a picture of Him […]

The Heart of Christianity: What It Means to Believe in Jesus

The Heart of Christianity: What It Means to Believe in Jesus.By Ron Rhodes. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1996. 208 pp. Paper, $8.99. This book will both please and disappoint most JOTGES readers. It will please in that Rhodes repeatedly speaks of the gift of eternal life and of faith in Christ being the sole […]

The Popular Dictionary of Bible Prophecy: More Than 350 Terms and Concepts Defined

The Popular Dictionary of Bible Prophecy: More Than 350 Terms and Concepts Defined. By Ron Rhodes. Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House Publishers, 2010. 340 pp. Paper, $14.99. During a seminary class on eschatology I once heard a graduating student exclaim in frustration, “I just don’t know what I believe!” Ron Rhodes has sought to solve such […]

The Topical Handbook of Bible Prophecy: Every Bible Verse on the End Times

The Topical Handbook of Bible Prophecy: Every Bible Verse on the End Times. By Ron Rhodes. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2010. 175 pp. Paper, $9.99. A companion piece to his Popular Dictionary of Bible Prophecy: More Than 350 Terms and Concepts Defined, Dallas Theological Seminary alumni Ron Rhodes offers a helpful and easy-to-use tool […]

The Wonder of Heaven: A Biblical Tour of Our Eternal Home

The Wonder of Heaven: A Biblical Tour of Our Eternal Home. By Ron Rhodes. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2009. 266 pp. Paper, $13.99. As part of a recent book which had a chapter on heaven, I read a number of books on heaven. This is one of those books. The author’s basic premise is that […]

A Review of Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth, Part 1

Brad Doskocil Chairman GES Board I. INTRODUCTION Richard J. Foster has written numerous books and is founder of Renovaré, a Christian non-profit organization dedicated to promoting spiritual formation through the use of spiritual disciplines. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth1 was first published in 1978 with subsequent versions published in 1988, 1989, and […]

Certainty—A Place to Stand: Critique of the Emergent Church of Postevangelicals

Certainty—A Place to Stand: Critique of the Emergent Church of Postevangelicals. By Grant Richison. Pickering, Ontario: Castle Quay Books, 2010. 320 pp. Paper, $27.95. Rarely have I read a book that moved me as much as this one. The title itself is moving: Certainty—A Place to Stand. In our postmodern culture nothing is certain, especially […]

Not Reformed at All: Medievalism in “Reformed” Churches

Not Reformed at All: Medievalism in “Reformed” Churches. By John W. Robbins and Sean Gerety. Univoi, TN: The Trinity Foundation, 2004. 180 pp. Paper, $9.95. Not Reformed at All is a polemical work intended for Reformed Presbyterians. In it, Robbins and Gerety show that Douglas Wilson is not in keeping with Reformed Theology in regard […]

The Assurance of Salvation: Biblical Hope for Our Struggles

The Assurance of Salvation: Biblical Hope for Our Struggles. By Robert A. Peterson. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019. 191 pp. Paper, $16.99. Robert Peterson was a Professor of Systematic Theology at Covenant Seminary for over twenty-five years. He has written or edited thirty books. There is much to like about this book. The tone is […]

The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary

The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. By Robert Alter. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company, 2018. 3500 pp. Hardcover, $125.00. Christian interpreters of the OT run into two common struggles when reading the OT. The first is the tendency to read our Christian perspective into passages where it is not warranted. The […]

Grace, Faith, Free Will—Contrasting View of Salvation: Calvinism & Arminianism

Grace, Faith, Free Will—Contrasting View of Salvation: Calvinism & Arminianism. By Robert E. Picirilli. Nashville, TN: Randall House, 2002. 245 pp. Paper, $19.99. Normally we do not review books that were published more than a few years ago. However, I just came across this book. It is by someone who calls his view Reformation Arminianism […]

Grace, Faith, Free Will—Contrasting View of Salvation: Calvinism & Arminianism

Grace, Faith, Free Will—Contrasting View of Salvation: Calvinism & Arminianism. By Robert E. Picirilli. Nashville, TN: Randall House, 2002. pp. Paper, $19.99. Normally we do not review books that were published more than a few years ago. However, I just came across this book. It is by someone who calls his view Reformed Arminianism (e.g., […]

Is Calvinism Biblical? Let the Scriptures Decide

Is Calvinism Biblical? Let the Scriptures Decide. By Robert N. Wilkin. Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2017. 280 pp. Paper, $15.00. Calvinistic theology is gaining popularity among Evangelicals today. I have been involved in Southern Baptist churches for much of my life, and this theology is becoming more and more prominent in the seminaries and […]

Heaven and Hell: A Biblical Guide

Heaven and Hell: A Biblical Guide. By Robert P. Lightner. Taos, NM: Dispensational Publishing House, 2017. 112 pp. Paper, $9.95. This book is written by Robert Lightner, Professor Emeritus at Dallas Seminary. It is a collection of papers broadly related to the topics of heaven and hell. Chapter 1, “Heaven,” only briefly addresses the nature […]

Beyond Prewrath: End-Time Prophecy

Beyond Prewrath: End-Time Prophecy. By Robert Parker. Winter Garden, FL: Robert’s Trumpet, LLC, 2021. 139 pp. Paper, $19.95. Robert Parker is a student of the Bible and has a background in mathematics/engineering. Both of these aspects of his life come through in this book on Biblical prophecy. As a result of his studies, he posits […]

Repentance: The First Word of the Gospel

Repentance: The First Word of the Gospel. By Richard Owen Roberts. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2002. 368 pp. Paper. $19.99. When I saw the title, I knew I had to read this book. Repentance was the subject of my doctoral dissertation. Since it is central in the gospel debate, I have long been concerned about […]

The New Testament in the Original Greek According to the Byzantine/Majority-Textform

The New Testament in the Original Greek According to the Byzantine/Majority-Textform. Ed. by Maurice A. Robinson and William G. Pierpont; Exec. Ed. William David McBrayer. Atlanta: The Original Word Publishers, 1991. lvii + 510 pp. Paper, $24.95. Having themselves edited a Greek NT (The Greek New Testament According to the Majority Text) the present reviewers […]

Spirituality According to John: Abiding in Christ in the Johannine Writings

Spirituality According to John: Abiding in Christ in the Johannine Writings. By Rodney R. Reeves. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press 2021. 280 pp. Paper, $28.00. Rodney Reeves has a PhD in NT from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and is a lifelong Southern Baptist. He is a gifted communicator and uses a number of stories and […]

The Power of His Presence

The Power of His Presence. By Adrian Rogers. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1995. 191 pp. Cloth, $14.99. This motivating book for Christians by Southern Baptist pastor Adrian Rogers merits a somewhat mixed review, I believe. First, three points of commendation are in order. First, it is a book on the inner, or spiritual, life. We need […]

The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament

The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament. By Cleon L. Rogers, Jr. and Cleon L. Rogers, III. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998. 652 pp. Cloth, $39.99. I have had the privilege of knowing both Cleon Rogers Jr., who was one of the my Greek professors in seminary, and Cleon Rogers, […]

Seven reasons not to ask Jesus into your heart!

Seven reasons not to ask Jesus into your heart! By Dennis Rokser. Duluth, MN: Duluth Bible Church, 1998, 40 pp. Paper. A woman approached me after a recent church service and stated that she had heard that I teach that it is not right to ask Jesus into your heart. She wanted to learn more […]

Should Christians Fear Outer Darkness?

Should Christians Fear Outer Darkness? By Dennis Rokser, Tom Stegall, and Kurt Witzig. Duluth, MN: Grace Gospel Press, 2015. 503 pp. Paper, $19.95. Though the title suggests this book is about the expression the outer darkness—found only in Matt 8:12; 22:13; and 25:30—in reality the book more broadly discusses Should Christians Fear the Judgment Seat […]

Understanding Biblical Election

Understanding Biblical Election. By Ron Merryman. Jacksonville, FL: Merryman Ministries, 2020. 44 pp. Spiral bound, $17.95. Because of the disastrous effects of Calvinism and Reformed Theology, many have had their assurance of everlasting life wrecked. Many Christians have wondered, “Am I one of the elect? How do I know God chose me? How can I […]

Reformation Commentary on Scripture, New Testament XIII: Hebrews, James

Reformation Commentary on Scripture, New Testament XIII: Hebrews, James. Edited by Ronald K. Rittgers. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2017. 341 pp. Hardcover, $49.99. This commentary series gives the reader the views of leading Reformed scholars “from the late 1400s to the mid-seventeenth century” (p. xxii). The reader should not expect to be overwhelmed with […]

The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church

The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church. By Marvin Rosenthal. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990. 319 pp. Cloth, $10.95. Here is yet another book which claims to refute the pre-tribulation Rapture. But in this one there is a new twist. The author is neither mid nor post-tribulational. Instead, he holds to a new placement of the […]

The Word of God in English: Criteria for Excellence in Bible Translation

The Word of God in English: Criteria for Excellence in Bible Translation. By Leland Ryken. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2002. 327 pp. Paper. $15.99. As the subtitle suggests, this book deals with the issue of translation theory. Ryken discusses this from his vantage point as a professor of English at Wheaton College. In his Preface, […]

Matthew: Expository Thoughts on the Gospels

Matthew: Expository Thoughts on the Gospels. By J. C. Ryle. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1993. 296 pp. Paper, $12.99. This commentary, originally published in 1860, is part of the Crossway Classic Commentaries. It was republished, as is noted above, in 1993. Anglican bishop J. C. Ryle (1816–1900) wrote this book at a popular level, so it […]

Basic Theology

Basic Theology. By Charles C. Ryrie. Wheaton Illinois: Victor Books, 1986. 544 pp. Hardcover, $14.95. In Basic Theology there are no surprises. For some this is unwelcome. For those who have enjoyed Ryrie’s other works and are committed to a theology that is straightforward and readable, and to wholesome doctrine, Basic Theology will seem like […]

Biblical Answers to Contemporary Issues

Biblical Answers to Contemporary Issues. By Charles C. Ryrie. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991. 134 pp. Paper, $7.99. Dr. Charles Ryrie, former professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, has written scores of books over the years, and this small but extremely practical volume surely ranks among the most profitable. The book contains thirteen concise […]

So Great Salvation

So Great Salvation. By Charles C. Ryrie. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1989. 166 pp. Cloth, $12.95. If this book had been written only several years ago, it would be hard to imagine a debate over the conditions of salvation such as there is today. For many years Dr. Ryrie has caught the brunt of the […]

Transformed by His Glory

Transformed by His Glory. By Charles C. Ryrie. Wheaton: Victor Press, 1990. 144 pp. Cloth, $12.99. I must admit at the outset that my love and respect for Dr. Ryrie as a man of God—for who he is and for what the Lord has done through him—do not allow me to be objective in reviewing […]

The Swedish Pietists: A Reader

The Swedish Pietists: A Reader. Edited and trans. by Mark Safstrom. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2015. 237 pp. Paper, $28.00 From the early 1880s to the beginnings of the 20th century, the Lutheran state churches in Scandinavia experienced a spiritual awakening comparable to those in America. Two of the most important leaders in that movement […]

Refuting Compromise: A Biblical and Scientific Refutation of “Progressive Creationism” (Billions of Years), As Popularized by Astronomer Hugh Ross

Refuting Compromise: A Biblical and Scientific Refutation of “Progressive Creationism” (Billions of Years), As Popularized by Astronomer Hugh Ross. By Jonathan Sarfati. Green Forest, AR: Master Books, 2004. 411 pp. Paper, $14.99. Genesis 1 states that God created the heavens and the earth in 6 days. In recent years the length of the days has […]

The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance & Assurance

The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance & Assurance. By Thomas R. Schreiner and Ardel B. Caneday. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001. 344 pp. Paper, $27.00. I. Introduction Thomas R. Schreiner teaches NT interpretation at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the author of numerous works on Paul, […]

Follow Me: The Master’s Plan for Men

Follow Me: The Master’s Plan for Men. By David E. Schroeder. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992. 243 pp. Paper, $10.99. This ambitious book lays out a discipleship plan especially for men based on the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Its unique feature is that it focuses on character transformation in a small group […]

Why We Left Mormonism: Eight People Tell Their Stories

Why We Left Mormonism: Eight People Tell Their Stories. By Latayne C. Scott. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1990. 166 pp. Paper, $7.99. Conservative Republicans with “family values”; neat teenage “elders” with white shirts and dark trousers going door to door; a world-class choir-these are the images that Mormonism evokes for many. Historically-minded readers will […]

Healing Grace—Let God Free You From the Performance Trap

Healing Grace—Let God Free You From the Performance Trap. By David Seamands. Wheaton: Victor Books, 1988. 192 pp. Cloth, $14.99. Over the years, there have been many books written about the theology of grace. But in Healing Grace, Dr. David Seamands has given us a book that powerfully demonstrates how grace can practically impact our […]

Election and Perseverance

Election and Perseverance. College Studies Series. By C. Norman Sellers. Miami Springs, FL: Shoettle Publishing Co., 1987. 193 pp. Cloth, $12.95. Divine determinism and human free will occupy opposite poles on the theological spectrum. Invariably, whenever one attempts to emphasize one over the other, the balance is disturbed. Robert Shank’s doctrines of election and eternal […]

All About Repentance

All About Repentance. By Richard A. Seymour. Kissimmee, FL: Clarity, 1974. 180 pp. Paper, $3.50. Few points of contention in modern Gospel debates have generated more interest lately than the definition of repentance. Because of recent publications holding views opposing the “change of mind” position, this 1974 book (originally published by Harvest House Publishers, Hollywood, […]

Fishing for Men

Fishing for Men. By. Richard A. Seymour. LaGrange, WY: Integrity Press, 2004. Paper. 368 pp. Here is a book on evangelism that is clear on the gospel. How refreshing that is! Though many books on evangelism are long on method and short on clarity, this one is an exception. It is clear on the message […]

The Gift of God

The Gift of God. By Richard A. Seymour. Kissimmee, FL: Clarity Publications, 1985. 117 pp. Paper, $3.00. As many will attest, searching for an objective treatment of the subject of “how to be saved” today can be frustrating indeed. Richard Seymour, Dean of the Florida Bible College (Orlando), has no doubt sensed this same frustration. […]

40 Questions About Calvinism

40 Questions About Calvinism. By Shawn D. Wright. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2019. 303 pp. Paper, $24.99. On my bookshelves, I have several books in the Kregel Academic “40 Questions” series and find the format very practical, even if I don’t fully agree with all of the answers given to every question. However, 40 […]

The New Nature

The New Nature. By Renald Showers. Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1986. 182 pp. Hardcover, $12.95. My first introduction to Renald Showers’s work came as I was rushing down the stairs of a seminary library, researching Paul’s “old man/new man” terminology. A friend stopped me, directed me to Showers’s doctoral dissertation, and out from the microfilm […]

Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept

Naming the Elephant: Worldview as a Concept. By James W. Sire. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004. 163 pp. Paper. $14.00. Most people spend little time pondering their worldview. Yet, it is a concept that governs much of the way we live. Sire writes, “At the base of all our thought—all our ruminations about God, […]

With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God

With: Reimagining the Way You Relate to God. By Skye Jethani. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2011. 121 pp. Paper, $14.99. This book is a rather skillfully disguised presentation of contemplative spirituality. Jethani cites Henri Nouwen a lot (pp. 119, 120, 161, 162, 165, 168, 193). He also cites other contemplative teachers, including Dallas Willard (p. […]

Spiritual Birthline: Understanding How We Experience the New Birth

Spiritual Birthline: Understanding How We Experience the New Birth. By Stephen E. Smallman. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006. 171 pp. Paper. $12.99. One of the endorsers explains well how Smallman arrived at his thesis: “By applying a pastor’s heart and a willing ear to hundreds of testimonies heard over decades of ministry, Stephen Smallman has […]

Nothing But The Blood

Nothing But The Blood. By Bailey E. Smith. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1987. 212 pp. Paper, $6.95. Nothing But The Blood is a book of good news and bad news. First, the good news. This book is a lot of fun to read. It is filled with excellent illustrations. Dr. Smith’s preaching, as it is recorded […]

The Bible Made Impossible

The Bible Made Impossible. By Christian Smith. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2012. 240 pp. Paper, $11.99. The subtitle of this book tells the tale: Why Biblicism Is Not a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture. What is Biblicism? It takes the author a page and a half (pp. 4-5) to state ten characteristics. I will try […]

Transforming Conversion: Rethinking the Language and Contours of Christian Initiation

Transforming Conversion: Rethinking the Language and Contours of Christian Initiation. By Gordon T. Smith. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2010. 208 pp. Paper, $22.00. As in most evangelical books on salvation or conversion today, the author argues that salvation does not occur at a point in time (cf. pp. 146, 203). He calls the idea that […]

Hubris

Hubris. By Jeffrey Smith. Raleigh, NC: Gold Cuff Publications, 2004. 89 pp. Paper. $10.99. This book contains a hard-hitting, fast-paced slideshow of a man’s experience in a cult-like legalistic church. Although the names, places, and events were changed to hide the identity of the characters, they were all inspired by true events to which many […]

Essays in Anthropology: Variations on a Theme

Essays in Anthropology: Variations on a Theme. By Robert Spaemann. Translated by Guido de Graaf and James Mumford. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2010. 94 pp. Paper, $15.00. Love & the Dignity of Human Life: On Nature and Natural Law. By Robert Spaemann, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2012. 69 pp. Paper, $12.00. Robert Spaemann is considered […]

Love & the Dignity of Human Life: On Nature and Natural Law

Essays in Anthropology: Variations on a Theme. By Robert Spaemann. Translated by Guido de Graaf and James Mumford. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2010. 94 pp. Paper, $15.00. Love & the Dignity of Human Life: On Nature and Natural Law. By Robert Spaemann, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2012. 69 pp. Paper, $12.00. Robert Spaemann is considered […]

What Is Faith?

What Is Faith? By R. C. Sproul. Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2010. 67 pp. Paper, $2.50. This booklet is divided into four chapters. The first two chapters are good. The last two are not. In Chap. 1, “A Hopeful Vision,” Sproul takes Hebrews 11 as his main text. He emphasizes that the promises of God […]

Grace Unknown: The Heart of Reformed Theology

Grace Unknown: The Heart of Reformed Theology. By R. C. Sproul. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000. R. C. Sproul is the author of forty books, founder of Ligonier Ministries, and the daily radio teacher for the nationally broadcast “Renewing Your Mind.” He is also known as one of the easiest to follow communicators from […]

Saved from What?

Saved from What? By R. C. Sproul. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2002. 128 pp. Cloth. $14.99. The title of this book really grabbed my attention. For a long time I have felt that a key to proper biblical interpretation on passages using the words save and salvation is to ask saved from what? I was disappointed […]

The Righteous Shall Live By Faith: Romans

The Righteous Shall Live By Faith: Romans. By R. C. Sproul. Wheaton IL: Crossway Books, 2009. 514 pp. Cloth, $34.99. By almost any standard, R. C. Sproul is a prodigious writer, having authored over 60 books. The Righteous Shall Live By Faith is part of his own “St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary” series, being adaptations of […]

Can I Lose My Salvation?

Can I Lose My Salvation? By R.C. Sproul. Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015. 65 pp. Paper, $2.50. R.C. Sproul is a gifted and clear theological writer. His booklet, Can I Lose my Salvation? concisely addresses the questions, “If I’m presently in a state of faith, if I’m presently embracing Christ, will that change? Will the […]

Dispensational Understanding of the New Covenant

Dispensational Understanding of the New Covenant. By Mike Stallard, John Master, Dave Fredrickson, Roy E. Beacham, Elliott E. Johnson, Rodney J. Decker, and Bruce Compton. Editor Mike Stallard. Schaumburg, Ill.: Regular Baptist Press, 2012. 285 pages. Paper, $24.99. This book presents three dispensationalist views of the Church’s relationship to Israel’s New Covenant. The non-dispensationalist view […]

How Good is Good Enough?

How Good is Good Enough? By Andy Stanley. Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2003. 92 pp. Cloth. $9.99. Andy Stanley’s small evangelistic book takes readers on an intellectual quest. Instead of telling them what to believe, with proof texts, he leads them to draw the logical conclusion that no one enters heaven by being good—only by […]

Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure?

Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure? By Charles Stanley. Nashville: Oliver Nelson, 1990. 195 pp. Cloth, $14.95. The year 1990 was a vintage literary year for the Free Grace Movement! In the previous review, Pastor Ed Underwood justly praises Dr. Charles Swindol for the clear stand he has taken in The Grace Awakening. But equally […]

Temptation

Temptation. By Charles Stanley. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1988. 192 pp. Cloth, $12.95. In this book the well-known pastor of First Baptist Church, Atlanta gives the Christian community helpful teaching on the subject of temptation. He writes in a positive tone, assuring believers of their ability through Christ to resist temptation. At the same time, […]

The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life

The Wonderful Spirit-Filled Life. By Charles Stanley. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992. 239 pp. Cloth, $17.99. This book by the pastor of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta, Georgia is a practical work that will edify believers. Although it does contain some doctrinal points, the book is primarily designed to help Christians in their daily […]

The Five Points of Calvinism Defined, Defended, and Documented

The Five Points of Calvinism Defined, Defended, and Documented. By David N. Steele; Curtis C. Thomas; S. Lance Quinn. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2004. 247 pp. Paper, $12.99. I’ll admit it—I’ve been corrected by the Calvinists. As I read this book, I made notes and prepared my review, and was planning to blast the book. But […]

The Shroud and the Controversy

The Shroud and the Controversy. By Kenneth E. Stevenson and Gary R. Habermas. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 1990. 257 pp. Cloth, $15.95. For those unfamiliar with the subject, the Shroud of Turin is a burial cloth dating back many centuries which contains a three-dimensional image-that is, with depth of field-of a man who was killed […]

The Bema: A Story about the Judgment Seat of Christ

The Bema: A Story about the Judgment Seat of Christ. By Tim Stevenson. Gainesville, TX: Fair Haven Publications, 2000. 260 pp. (Cloth), $18.99. The cover of this book is a beautiful painting of one believer in the midst of a multitude appearing before the Lord Jesus Christ in all His glory. There is much I […]

Dare 2 Share: A Field Guide to Sharing Your Faith

Dare 2 Share: A Field Guide to Sharing Your Faith.by Greg Stier. Carol Stream: Tyndale, 2006. 274 pp. Paper. $12.99. Every pastor, youth pastor, and parent who works or interacts with teenagers must buy this book for their teenager, but read it themselves first. As the subtitle indicates, this book has practical tips and insights […]

Outbreak! Creating a Contagious Youth Ministry Through Viral Evangelism

Outbreak! Creating a Contagious Youth Ministry Through Viral Evangelism. By Greg Stier. Chicago: Moody Press, 2002. 265 pp. Cloth. $19.99. Written by Greg Stier, the co-founder and president of Dare 2 Share Ministries, Outbreak! provides a fresh and insightful look at evangelism in the context of youth ministry. In eleven chapters Stier elucidates the process […]

The Cross of Christ

The Cross of Christ. By John R. W. Stott. Downer’s Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1986. 383 pp. Cloth, $17.95. As a leader in British evangelicalism and in worldwide Christian mission, Anglican John R. W. Stott has widely impacted mainstream evangelicalism ever since the publication of his evangelistic work, Basic Christianity, in 1958. Dr. Stott’s early espousal […]

Eternity: Reclaiming a Passion for What Endures

Eternity: Reclaiming a Passion for What Endures.By Joseph M. Stowell. Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1995. 244 pp. Cloth, $12.95. This is an important book. Not because it is replete with “exegetical breakthroughs” or because it contains a plethora of scholarly insights, but rather because it calls the reader to focus on what every believer should […]

The Effective Invitation

The Effective Invitation. By R. Alan Streett. Old Tappan, NJ: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1984. 252 pp. Paper, $6.95. For those who believe the evangelistic invitation has a legitimate and important use in Christian preaching, there has long been the need for a helpful book. Streett’s work could be that book, if one is willing […]

The Case for Grace: A Journalist Explores the Evidence of Transformed Lives

The Case for Grace: A Journalist Explores the Evidence of Transformed Lives. By Lee Strobel. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2015. 230 pp. Hardcover, $22.99. Lee Strobel is a former pastor of the Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois. He is today known as a New York Times best-selling author and an apologist for the Christian […]

Shall Never Perish: Eternal Security Examined

Shall Never Perish: Eternal Security Examined. By J. F. Strombeck. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications (Reprint), 1991. 207 pp. Paper, $9.99. You don’t have to be a Bible College or seminary type to enjoy this book, and it will be a help to all your friends who need to know about eternal security. Warren Wiersbe writes […]

James, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series

James, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series. By George M. Stulac. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993. 206 pp. Paperback, $17.00. Though this book was originally published nearly twenty years ago, it is still being marketed to schools and scholars. I just became aware of it. And I’m glad I did. Stulac takes the normal […]

Not Sure: A Pastor’s Journey from Faith to Doubt

Not Sure: A Pastor’s Journey from Faith to Doubt. By John Suk. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2011. 211 pp. Paperback, $18.00. I found reading this book to be a sad experience. Here a Calvinist pastor of the Christian Reformed Church feels it beneficial to Christianity and the world to write a book […]

Not by Faith Alone: The Biblical Evidence for the Catholic Doctrine of Justification

Not by Faith Alone: The Biblical Evidence for the Catholic Doctrine of Justification. By Robert A. Sungenis. Goleta, CA: Queenship Publishing Company, 1997. 774 pp. Paper, $24.95. Robert Sungenis is a 1982 graduate of Westminster Theological Seminary, one of the leading Reformed seminaries in America. In 1992 he converted to Roman Catholicism. He is now […]

Sanctity of Life: The Inescapable Issue

Sanctity of Life: The Inescapable Issue. By Charles R. Swindoll. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1990. 103 pp. Paper, $6.95. Written by one of the most popular and prolific preachers and writers in evangelicalism today, this little book is really a tract for one of the most crucial social issues of our time. As a pastor for […]

Stress Fractures. Biblical Splints for Everyday Pressures

Stress Fractures. Biblical Splints for Everyday Pressures. By Charles R. Swindol. Portland, OR: Multnomah Press, 1990. 273 pp. Paper, $10.99. In the introduction to Stress Fractures, Swindol states that “this book has some answers [to stress fractures] that cannot fail to bring you relief” (p. 12). He draws an analogy between physical stress fractures (the […]

The Benefit of the Doubt: Encouragement for the Questioning Christian

The Benefit of the Doubt: Encouragement for the Questioning Christian. By Charles R. Swindoll. Plano, TX: Insight for Living Publishing House, 2011. 72 pp. Paper, Np. Having recently read Grant Richison’s book, Certainty—A Place to Stand(see review in this issue), I was intrigued when I heard about this new book by Chuck Swindoll. What would […]

The Grace Awakening

The Grace Awakening. By Charles R. Swindoll. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1990. 311 pp. Cloth, $15.99. One of the primary frustrations of the Free Grace Movement has been the popularization of Lordship Salvation over the past decade. Though many high-profile evangelical leaders have voiced their personal concerns privately, none has been willing to risk alienating his […]

Passion for the Gospel: Conversations with Greg Laurie and Chuck Swindoll

Passion for the Gospel: Conversations with Greg Laurie and Chuck Swindoll. By Charles R. Swindoll and Greg Laurie. IFL Publishing House: Plano, TX, 2006. 101 pp. plus 10 prepages. Paper, np. When I heard this new book advertised on Insight for Living, I was surprised. Why would Chuck Swindoll be doing a book about evangelism […]

Getting “Saved”: The Whole Story of Salvation in the New Testament

Getting “Saved”: The Whole Story of Salvation in the New Testament. Edited by Charles H. Talbert and Jason A. Whitlark. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2011. 324 pages. Paper, $30.00. This book has twelve essays by six authors. “This volume of essays is concerned with soteriology. How does one gain a covenant relationship with God and […]

The Myth of Certainty

The Myth of Certainty. By Daniel Taylor. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992. 158 pp. Paper, $9.99. Many people in and out of church today struggle with the issue of doubt. Am I saved or I am lost? Is the Bible trustworthy? With this book Taylor seeks to help such people. I appreciate his aim. […]

Jesus + Nothing = Everything

Jesus + Nothing = Everything. By Tullian Tchividjian. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. 220 pp. Hardcover, $18.99. Tullian Tchividjian is Billy Graham’s grandson and the Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church. His book, Jesus + Nothing = Everything concerns the dangers of legalism and the importance of looking to Christ alone for our justification and […]

The Book of Romans. Ariel’s Bible Commentary

The Book of Romans. Ariel’s Bible Commentary. By Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum. San Antonio, TX: Ariel Ministries; 2022. 408 pp. Hardcover, $19.00. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum is founder and head of Ariel Ministries in San Antonio, Texas. Ariel is a ministry that evangelizes and also produces discipleship resources from a Messianic Jewish perspective. The ministry emphasizes taking […]

The Chronological Study Bible: New King James Version

The Chronological Study Bible: New King James Version. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2008. 1696 pp. Hardcover, $44.99. Fans of the New King James Version will be pleased with this new and innovative study Bible from Thomas Nelson. Students of the Word have often sought to understand when events occurred as they unfolded within the […]

The Word Made Flesh: A Theology of the Incarnation

The Word Made Flesh: A Theology of the Incarnation. By Ian A. McFarland. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2019. 249 pp. Paper, $18.49. McFarland is a professor at the University of Cambridge. This book is a scholarly treatment of the Person of Christ. It deals with how the human and Divine natures come together […]

Tethered to the Cross: The Life and Preaching of C. H. Spurgeon

Tethered to the Cross: The Life and Preaching of C. H. Spurgeon. By Thomas Breimaier. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2020. 271 pp. Hardcover, $24.64. Thomas Breimaier is a professor at Spurgeon’s College in London. In this work, he analyzes Spurgeon’s approach to hermeneutics. C. H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) was perhaps the most famous preacher of […]

Spiritual Gifts: What They Are & Why They Matter

Spiritual Gifts: What They Are & Why They Matter. By Thomas R. Schreiner. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2018. 172 pp. Paper, $16.99. This book is very irenic in nature. Thomas Schreiner says that the issue of spiritual gifts is not a “first-order” doctrine (p. 2). Devout Christians can have different opinions. He was at […]

Philippians: Pursuing Christ to Know Him—A Commentary

Philippians: Pursuing Christ to Know Him—A Commentary. By Thomas W. Finley. NP: NP, 2014. 135 pp. Paper, free. Thomas Finley wrote this commentary on Philippians and offers it free of charge (though it is listed for $6.33 on Amazon). On the copyright page Finley writes, “Permission is granted to copy, translate, reprint or distribute this […]

Acts. Reformed Expository Commentary

Acts. Reformed Expository Commentary. By Derek W.H. Thomas. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2011. 784pp. Cloth, $39.99. This commentary is a practical exposition of Acts and does not seek to be an exegetical commentary. According to the Series Introduction, this commentary sets out to accomplish several goals: 1) To be a “faithful, inspiring, and useful” commentary […]

Invitation to Evangelism: Sharing the Gospel with Compassion and Conviction

Invitation to Evangelism: Sharing the Gospel with Compassion and Conviction. By Timothy K. Beougher. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2021. 403 pp. Cloth, $39.99. Beougher is the Billy Graham Professor of Evangelism and the associate dean of the Billy Graham School at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His book is endorsed by many people from that […]

Let Faith Change Your Life

Let Faith Change Your Life. By Becky Tirabassi. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1997), 171 pp. Cloth, $17.99. The title drew me in: let faith change your life. You bet. I wanted to see what the author had to say about this important subject. My interest was piqued further by the many glowing endorsements from people […]

The State of the Evangelical Mind: Reflections on the Past, Prospects for the Future

The State of the Evangelical Mind: Reflections on the Past, Prospects for the Future. Edited by Todd Ream, Jerry Pattengale, and Christopher Devers. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2018. 180 pp. Hardcover, $23.87. This book is comprised of eight essays by scholars in various fields, including journalism and philosophy. It is not an exegetical or […]

Crave: Wanting So Much More of God

Crave: Wanting So Much More of God. By Chris Tomlinson. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2010. 218 pp. Paper, $13.99. In many ways, Crave is rather refreshing. It is written with a combination of compassionate exhortation and honest internal dialogue. In it, Tomlinson recounts several awkward experiences that he has floundered through seeking to live […]

The Tony Evans Bible Commentary

The Tony Evans Bible Commentary. By Tony Evans. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019. 1440 pp. Hardcover, $44.99. Dr. Tony Evans is founder and senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas. He is also the founder and president of The Urban Alternative, an evangelical outreach ministry. He is on radio and has […]

The Disruption of Evangelicalism: The Age of Torrey, Mott, McPherson, and Hammond

The Disruption of Evangelicalism: The Age of Torrey, Mott, McPherson, and Hammond. By Geoffrey R. Treloar. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017. 334 pp. Hardcover, $35.00. The title of this book grabbed my attention. How was evangelicalism disrupted? Treloar is Australian who teaches at the Australian College of Theology and who is a visiting fellow […]

Masonic Rites and Wrongs: An Examination of Freemasonry

Masonic Rites and Wrongs: An Examination of Freemasonry. By Steven Tsoukalas. (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1995), 241 pp. Paper, $12.99. My father was a Mason and Shriner. He almost never took off his large Masonic ring. My sister was a part of Job’s Daughters when she was growing up. My dad encouraged […]

Majestic Destiny: Kingdom Hope Is Rising

Majestic Destiny: Kingdom Hope Is Rising. By Curtis H. Tucker. Redmond, OR: Last Chapter Publishing, 2011. 292 pp. Paper, $15.99. The title and subtitle are intriguing, though a bit vague. Is this book about what eternity will be like? About the Millennium? About the Rapture? The title and subtitle leave the reader wondering. The eighteen […]

Anti-Calvinists: The Rise of English Arminianism c. 1590-1640

Anti-Calvinists: The Rise of English Arminianism c. 1590-1640.By Nicholas Tyacke. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990 [reprinted, 1991]. xxi + 303 pp. Paper, $26.00. Readers who enjoy church history will find this book truly absorbing. Tyacke’s study forms part of the Oxford Historical Monographs series and was first published in cloth in 1987. A foreword to the […]

Tyndale’s New Testament

Tyndale’s New Testament. Translated from the Greek by William Tyndale. Edited and introduced by David Daniell. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1989. 429 pp. Cloth, $28.95. King Henry VIII’s Chancellor “for all seasons,” Sir Thomas More, called Tyndale “a beast,” one of the “hell-hounds that the devil bath in his kennel,” discharging a […]

Unearthing the Bible: 101 Archaeological Discoveries That Bring the Bible to Life

Unearthing the Bible: 101 Archaeological Discoveries that Bring the Bible to Life. By Titus Kennedy. Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2020. 254 pp. Paper. $22.99. Titus Kennedy is a professional field archaeologist and an adjunct professor at Biola University, as well as a research fellow at Discovery Institute. He draws upon archaeology and documentary artifacts to […]

Galatians 1 & 2: Exposition, Commentary, Application

Galatians 1 & 2: Exposition, Commentary, Application. By Laurence Vance. Pensacola, FL: Vance Publications, 2010. 154 pp. Paper, $12.95. It is a bit unusual to have a commentary of just the first two chapters of any book, let alone Galatians. However, Vance indicates in the Introduction that he started this work nine years ago and […]

The Other Side of Calvinism

The Other Side of Calvinism. Revised Edition. By Laurence M. Vance. Pensacola, FL: Vance Publications, 1991, 1999. 788 pp. (Cloth), $27.95. This book has ten major sections. The first half deals generally with Calvinism (Introduction, Origin of Calvinism, John Calvin, James Arminius, The Five Points). The second half deals point by point with the five […]

Uncommon Graces

Uncommon Graces. By John Vawter. Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1998. 191 pp. Paper, $11.00. This popular Christian-living book by John Vawter may be one of the most important books that JOTGES members read this year. Although Vawter does not discuss how one may have eternal life, he does focus on how a believer who has […]

A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard & the Christian Life

A Matter of Basic Principles: Bill Gothard & the Christian Life. Don Veinot, Joy Veinot, & Ron Henzel. Springfield, MO: 21st Century Press, 2002. 383 pp. Paper. $15.99. I came to faith in the Lord Jesus for eternal life in the fall of 1972. Around a year later I attended Bill Gothard’s Institute of Basic […]

God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life

God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life. By Gene Edward Veith. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2002, 2011. 176 pages. Paper, $15.99. In God at Work, Gene Edward Veith introduces the Lutheran doctrine of vocation and thereby presents a different way of understanding the meaning and purpose of the Christian life. The term “vocation” […]

The House Church in the Writings of Paul

The House Church in the Writings of Paul. By Vincent Branick. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 1989, 2012). 144 pp. Paper, $20.00. Where and how did the early churches meet? In this slim volume, Vincent Branick summarizes the academic literature on house churches in Paul’s writings. Along the way, he also explains the many different […]

Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe

Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism’s Looming Catastrophe. By Voddie T. Baucham, Jr. Washington, D.C.: Salem Books, 2021. 251 pp. Hardcover, $24.99. Baucham addresses the problem of critical race theory, intersectionality, critical social justice, and their impact on our society and Evangelicalism. These ideas view racism as being engrained in the very fabric […]

Can it Be True? A Personal Pilgrimage through Faith and Doubt

Can it Be True? A Personal Pilgrimage through Faith and Doubt. By Michael Wakely. Grand Rapids : Kregel Publishing, 2002. 224 pp. Paper. $11.99. The presently popular evangelical (in the most liberal sense of the word) postmodernist, Brian McClaren sug ges ts in his writings that doubt serves as a Christian virtue. While he believes […]

Going for the Gold

Going for the Gold. By Joe L. Wall. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991. 180 pp. Paper, $6.95. “[The] whole subject of rewards for the believer is one, I am afraid, rarely thought of by the ordinary Christian, or even the average student of the Scriptures. But it is both a joyous and solemn theme and should […]

Why I Am Not a Calvinist

Why I Am Not an Arminian. By Robert A. Peterson and Michael D. Williams. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004. 224 pp. Paper. $15.00. Why I Am Not a Calvinist. By Jerry L. Walls and Joseph R. Dongell. Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2004. 230 pp. Paper. $15.00.   As we can see from the titles of […]

Spiritual Warfare. Victory Over the Powers of This Dark World

Spiritual Warfare. Victory Over the Powers of This Dark World.By Timothy M. Warner. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1991. 160 pp. Paper, $7.95. The content of this book is an edited form of the Church Growth Lectures given in 1988 at Fuller Theological Seminary. The author is a professor of missions and evangelism at Trinity Evangelical Divinity […]

Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?

Purpose-Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? By Rick Warren. Grand Rapids : Zondervan Publishing House, 2002. 334 pp. $19.99. This is both a popular and powerful book. Its influence has spread rapidly throughout Christianity and the book and related materials are popping up in churches. Warren’s purpose is to give Christians purpose—that […]

The Purpose Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission

The Purpose Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission. By Rick Warren. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995. 399 pp. (Cloth), $24.95. It is easy to see why so many churches today are “converting” to the “purpose driven church” model for church growth. What makes this new model so interesting is that it […]

Paul and the Hermeneutics of Faith

Paul and the Hermeneutics of Faith. By Francis Watson. Second Edition. London: T&T Clark, 2016. 560 pp. Paper, $39.95. Paul and the Hermeneutics of Faith situates Paul in a metaphorical three-way conversation with Scripture and Second Temple Jewish interpreters. As a Jew, Paul would not have abandoned his Pharisaic heritage of reading and learning from […]

The Gospel Solution: Was Jesus Looking for “a Few Good Men”?

The Gospel Solution: Was Jesus Looking for “a Few Good Men”? By Tom Weaver with John Souter. Bremerton, WA: True Light Press, 1999. 291 pp. Paper, $15.95. According to the back cover, this book “develops a comprehensive approach to understand the Gospels. This is more than a book on the ‘hard sayings’ of Jesus. Author […]

Selling Jesus. What’s Wrong with Marketing the Church?

Selling Jesus. What’s Wrong with Marketing the Church? Douglas D. Webster. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1992. 165 pp. Paper, $9.99. One of the fastest growing trends in evangelical circles is the art of marketing the church. This is the concept popularized by Bill Hybels, George Barna, Lyle Schaller and others. In his book, Selling […]

Above All Earthly Powers: Christ in a Postmodern World

Above All Earthly Powers: Christ in a Postmodern World. By David F. Wells. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2005. 339 pp. Paper, $18.00. Wells powerfully captures the influence of postmodernity on the church in America today. Lots of books on postmodernity are written for scholars and are hard to follow. Not so with […]

No Place for Truth, or, Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology?

No Place for Truth, or, Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? By David F. Wells. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1993. 318 pp. Paper $14.99. This is one of the best books I have read in years. Wells, a seminary professor of historical and systematic theology, discusses key aspects of the decline of interest […]

Breaking Free Of OCD

Breaking Free Of OCD. By Jeff Wells. Houston, TX: Lucid Books, 2016. 162 pp. Paperback, $14.99. Whether you suffer from OCD—as do 6.6 million in the U.S.—or you’re just more OC than you’d like—or if you suffer from anxiety, depression, or any kind of mental illness or emotional problems—Breaking Free Of OCD will help. The […]

John Nelson Darby

John Nelson Darby. By Max S. Weremchuk. Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1992. Translated from the German, John Nelson Darby and die Anfdnge einer Bewegung, 1988. 256 pp. Cloth, $14.99. A strong GES supporter was challenged by an antidispensationalist about the father of modern dispensationalism: “He wasn’t very educated.” My friend, though a seminary graduate, had […]

When Children Come Out: A Guide for Christian Parents

When Children Come Out: A Guide for Christian Parents. By Mark Yarhouse and Olya Zaporozhets. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2022. 173 pp. Paper, $20.00. This book gives advice to Christian parents who are confronted by a child’s announcing that he or she is homosexual. Most of the book deals with same-sex attraction, but the […]

Where Do We Go From Here? How Tomorrow’s Prophecies Foreshadow Today’s Problems

Where Do We Go from Here? How Tomorrow’s Prophecies Foreshadow Today’s Problems. By David Jeremiah. Nashville, TN: W Publishing, 2021. 243 pp. Hardcover, $26.99. David Jeremiah is an extremely popular author and speaker. This book is easy to read and deals with ten events that Jesus prophesied. Jeremiah believes that in today’s news we are […]

Shock and Surprise Beyond the Rapture! The Mystery of the Ages Revealed

Shock and Surprise Beyond the Rapture! The Mystery of the Ages Revealed. By Gary T. Whipple. Hayesville, NC: Schoettle Publishing Co., 1992. (Cloth), $10.95. Those who are interested in the mission of GES will find Beyond the Rapture by Pastor Gary Whipple a mixed blessing. The burden of the author is to clarify in a […]

Postmodernism 101

Postmodernism 101. By Heath White. Brazos Press: Grand Rapids, MI 2006. 176 pp. Paper, np. Considering my own feelings on postmodernism and the effects I’ve seen of it, I actually enjoyed reading this book. The author makes it clear that he is writing in a very broad sense and he does not go into great […]

The Potter’s Freedom

The Potter’s Freedom. By James White. Amityville, NY: Calvary Press Publishing, 2000. I. Introduction One thing Calvinists can never be accused of is failing to present their views. Of all the books written by Calvinists during the past ten years, James White’s book The Potter’s Freedom is perhaps the most polemical. And because it is […]

New Geneva Study Bible: Bringing the Light of the Reformation to Scripture

New Geneva Study Bible: Bringing the Light of the Reformation to Scripture. Edited by Luder Whitlock, Jr., R. C. Sproul, Bruce Waltke, Moisés Silva, et al. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995. 2058 pp. + 128 page concordance + 20 introductory pages. Cloth, $47.99. The editors of this study Bible are a veritable Who’s Who of […]

Confident in Christ: Living by Faith Really Works

Confident in Christ: Living by Faith Really Works.By Robert N. Wilkin. Irving, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 1999. 287 + xii pp. Paper, $9.95. Robert Wilkin is a man after my own heart. He has a passion to handle the Word of God accurately in order that he might stand approved after testing by God. In […]

Following the Master: Discipleship in the Steps of Jesus

Following the Master: Discipleship in the Steps of Jesus. By Michael J. Wilkins. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1992. 400 pp. Paper, $14.95. Wilkins, Associate Professor of NT Language and Literature at the Talbot School of Theology (Biola University), has written a substantial book on discipleship. It is refreshing to find such a biblical approach […]

“Reformed” Is Not Enough: Recovering the Objectivity of the Covenant

“Reformed” Is Not Enough: Recovering the Objectivity of the Covenant. By Douglas Wilson. Moscow, ID: Canon Press, 2002, 2010. 208 pages. Paper, $17.00. What does it mean to be a Christian? In “Reformed” Is Not Enough, Douglas Wilson argues that theologians should think of the covenant in more objective terms, where being a Christian means […]

Power Evangelism

Power Evangelism. By John Wimber with Kevin Springer. San Francisco: Harper & Row Publishers, 1986. 201 pp. Cloth, $14.95. This controversial book brings a new slant on evangelism from John Wimber, the founder and principal figure behind the “signs and wonders” movement. He comes from an evangelical Friends background, but in this book promotes charismatic-style […]

On This Day

On This Day. By Carl D. Windsor. Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989. 383 pp. Cloth, $14.95. This book contains 366 entries-one for each day of the year, including February 29. Each page contains: (1) A Scripture reading for that day; (2) A sampling of what happened on that day in history; (3) A listing of […]

Making Heretics: Militant Protestantism and Free Grace in Massachusetts, 1636–1641

Making Heretics: Militant Protestantism and Free Grace in Massachusetts, 1636–1641. By Michael P. Winship. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2002, 2014. 322 pages. Paper, $32.50. This book recently came out as a paperback. In it, Winship deals with what is commonly called the “antinomian” controversy of the Puritans in the Massachusetts colony in the seventeenth […]

Opposite Poles: Contradictions within Sola Fide?

Opposite Poles: Contradictions within Sola Fide? By Frederick W. H. Wright. NP: Xulon Press, 2003. 276 pp. Paper. $15.99. This book has an attractive cover and a provocative title and subtitle. The back cover has impressive endorsements from, among others, Vernon Grounds and Warren Wiersbe. However, the writing is hard to follow and the point […]

Christianity’s Crisis in Evangelism: Going Where the People Are

Christianity’s Crisis in Evangelism: Going Where the People Are. By Linda Raney Wright. Graham, OR: Vision House Publishing, 1995. 185 pp. Cloth, $14.99. This is an intensely practical discussion of reaching the lost in our day, written by a woman who is obviously an active soul-winner herself. This author is concerned—rightly it appears—with what she […]

Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision

Justification: God’s Plan and Paul’s Vision.By N.T. Wright. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009. 279 pp. Hardcover, $25.00. Whether you have been following the theological battle between those that refer to themselves as New Perspective on Paul and those that are referred to as Old Perspective, Wright’s newest work will give you a good taste […]

What’s So Amazing About Grace?

What’s So Amazing About Grace? By Philip Yancey. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997. 304 pp. Cloth, $19.99. I was delighted to get a chance to read this new book on grace. We can not have too many. I was not disappointed with the book, but it was not exactly what I expected. I thought […]

Spiritual Lessons from the Life of David

Spiritual Lessons from the Life of David. By Zane C. Hodges. Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2017. 88 pp. Paper, $10.00. There are very few books written by Free Grace writers that deal with the OT. Spiritual Lessons from the Life of David is a welcomed exception. The book deals with 1 Samuel 16–19. Hodges […]

The Eternal Sonship of Christ

The Eternal Sonship of Christ By George W. Zeller and Renald E. Showers. Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers, 1993. 127 pp. Paper, $8.99. Several evangelicals have recently concluded that Christ only became the Son of God at His incarnation and therefore His Sonship was not eternal. In The Eternal Sonship of Christ, Zeller and Showers deal […]

Dr. Dobson: Turning Hearts Toward Home

Dr. Dobson: Turning Hearts Toward Home. By Rolf Zettersten. Dallas: Word Publishing, 1989. 183 pp. Cloth, $10.99. This reviewer is a long-time listener to Dr. James Dobson and his “Focus on the Family” radio broadcast. I have found his insights on the family to be very helpful and biblically based. It was thus with great […]

A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament

A Biblical Theology of the Old Testament. Edited by Roy B. Zuck with consulting editors Eugene H. Merrill and Darrell L. Bock. Chicago: Moody Press, 1991. 446 pp. Cloth, $27.99. In his foreword to this book, Dr. Kenneth Barker (of NIV renown) states, “In my estimation, it is the best evangelical volume to appear on […]

Rightly Divided: Readings in Biblical Hermeneutics

Rightly Divided: Readings in Biblical Hermeneutics. Ed. by Roy B. Zuck. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publishers, 1996. 320 pp. Paper, $14.99. Dr. Zuck has woven together a scholarly work with contributions from scholars associated with such institutions as Oxford and Aberdeen, as well as Dallas, Denver, Gordon Conwell, Trinity, and Western Conservative Seminaries on how to […]

Vital Theological Issues: Examining Enduring Issues of Theology

Vital Theological Issues: Examining Enduring Issues of Theology. Roy B. Zuck, General Editor. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1994. 232 pp. Paper, $12.99. This is the fourth volume in Kregel’s Vital Issues Series. Eighteen articles centered around crucial theological concerns are assembled from Bibliotheca Sacra, the journal published by Dallas Theological Seminary. The articles span a […]

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