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 […]
Hebrews Provides a Model for How to Encourage Stuck Believers to Get Growing
DAVID JANSSEN* I. INTRODUCTION Every church has them: believers who have the confidence of spending eternity with Jesus but who are not making progress in their spiritual life. Their stories vary. Some began to grow just after they were saved, then stalled. Others once had boldness for Christ until negative experiences from sharing the gospel […]
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 […]
The Doctrines That Divide: A Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians
The Doctrines That Divide: A Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians. By Erwin Lutzer. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1998. 247 pp. Paper, $15.99. I saw this book in a catalog, not realizing it was written twelve years ago. Yet I’m glad I ordered it. Lutzer discusses a few issues that are crucial […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
A Review of Thomas Stegall’s The Gospel of the Christ
I. The Thesis of the Book The main thesis of the book is that in order to be born again a person must believe in “the Lord’s deity, humanity, substitutionary death, and bodily resurrection, i.e., [in] His person, work, and provision” (p. 19). Note that believing in Jesus for eternal life, or for justification, is […]