Many Christian interpreters of the Bible will readily call you anti-intellectual, obscurantist, and other nice epithets if you dare to believe the Bible really means what it says. You will be decried as a naive “wooden literalist.” Well, here’s a little something for you to meditate upon before you succumb to the hermeneutical sophisticates who look down their noses at you. The Book of Jeremiah is a good place to go for those seeking to establish a plain-sense biblical hermeneutic. …
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I read a lot of books. I sometimes review some of them at this blog. Some of the best books I read don’t get a review, either because I meander my way through them, or because I just don’t feel like reviewing a book at that particular time. Owing to the fact that I had my own book to get to the press I did not read as much as I usually do. Many of the books I read I …
This post comes in response to a brother in the Middle East who seems to be combating false teaching in this area. I hope that this helps. I have not included the apposite sections within the major Systematic Theologies, nor have I included the important critical studies of Dunn or Pannenberg (which are both worth reading). These books furnish a well-rounded portrait of the Jesus of the Bible and His identity as the God-Man. DOCTRINAL WORKS B. B. Warfield – …
PART THREE As I complete this review one of the things that stands out to me is how much the author leans upon Reformed Confessions and writers from the past. While he does interact with Scripture a lot, one notices that men like Irenaeus, Augustine, Calvin, and a host of Puritans are brought in to direct the arguments. This is not to say these great men shouldn’t be referenced; it is the supporting role these authorities are given that is …
PART TWO As we move on to the “covenant of grace” one thing to look for is how passages explicitly assigned to the covenants one can locate in the Bible are reassigned to support this theological covenant, which can’t be located in the Bible. Perkins, along with CT’s the world over, makes assertions about the “covenant of grace” that the Bible claims are about the New covenant: “The covenant of grace offers Christ as the mediator for sinners…The covenant of …
PART ONE As with all book reviews, this one has to be selective. With some books that is not a problem since they tend to be thin on argumentation. Or at least their main points can be summarized quite easily. This book by Perkins is not like that. He builds his concepts carefully from systematic and biblical theology as well as from the confessions. He has read the Bible and Reformed authors and has produced a work that discusses Covenant …
A Review of Harrison Perkins, Reformed Covenant Theology: A Systematic Introduction, Bellingham, WA., Lexham, 2024, 520 pages, Hardback. There is no shortage of books on Covenant Theology (CT). There is the big multi author compendium simply called Covenant Theology edited by Waters, Reid, and Muether. One of the contributors to that book is Richard Belcher, whose The Fulfillment of the Promises of God, which to my mind is the best introduction to CT on the market. Other introductions by Jonty …
This is an older review that never saw the light of day here: Book Review: Schaeffer on the Christian Life, by William Edgar, Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2013, 206 pp, pbk. This book is one of Crossway’s Countercultural Spirituality series. Of all the volumes in the series perhaps the most natural choice for inclusion is Francis Schaeffer. Schaffer it was whose lectures and writings urged upon a docile church the responsibility of engaging the culture. His L’Abri mission epitomized a way of …
The Book of Galatians is unique in many ways because of its polemic nature, aimed as it is against Christians in churches who have listened to false teaching and abandoned (or are close to abandoning) Paul’s teaching. It has not been well-served with commentaries, although some historical works are of note. Remember, I have preachers in mind for these recommendations. Balance is important. Other works are worth looking at, such as Phillip Graham Ryken’s contribution to the REC, but Stott …
A review of David B. Capes, Matthew Through Old Testament Eyes, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2024, 389 pages, pbk. I have already reviewed the previous volumes from this series. All three were what I would call average to above average works, containing useful content, although my repeated refrain was that in my opinion they fail to live up to the title. If you want to write a NT commentary “through OT Eyes” then you really can’t superimpose the NT on it. …
