Bitesize Biographies: John Newton By: John Crotts

Bitesize Biographies: John Newton

By: John Crotts

When I first started to read Christian books about 25 years ago, I was told to read as many Christian biographies and autobiographies as I could, and that in reading them, I would find out how God uses men for His glory. I now have a very good collection of them in my library.

People who know John Newton’s name often only know one or two things about him. They recognize that he wrote one of the most popular hymns of all time: “Amazing Grace”. The other thing they might know is that he was captain of a slave ship before he wrote that hymn. Those facts are true, but there is a great deal more to his story! (p.10)

I will leave it for readers to find out more about the rest of his story, and by the time you finish this book, you will realize that it is not “Bitesize” at all. I do want to share one of Newton’s gifts that God bestowed upon him: the gift of writing. God used him to write letters to a young lady named Polly, with whom he fell in love and later married.

John Newton’s letters have comforted many Christians and brought the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to many of those with whom he corresponded. Back in his day, it would take anywhere from four to six weeks to receive a letter from someone, and Christians were very eager to receive his letters.

I’m grieved at the fact that Facebook, Twitter, blogs, websites, and emails allow us to receive messages within an instant of second from someone and yet we don’t take our time to read most or any of our emails when a ministry sends it to us.

Despite making comments about the negative impact of emails or any of the above social media, I believe that when we take our time to write like John Newton, we can reach and comfort others. I pray that you will get this book, read it, and treasure it. It is not just about the hymn “Amazing Grace”; you will find out what prompted John Newton to say, “I'm a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior.”

I received this book for free from Evangelical Press via Cross Focused Reviews for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Bound Together: How We Are Tied to Others in Good and Bad Choices Author: Chris Brauns

Bound Together: How We Are Tied to Others in Good and Bad Choices
Author: Chris Brauns

Don't let the title scare you, but be encouraged that you are bound together with others. What is it that binds us together? In his latest book, Chris Brauns defines the negative (curse) point of "the principle of the rope" as the decision that Adam made to rebel against God, which has subsequently left us in a desperate situation. We stand condemned as rebels, excluded from God's good future, unless we are saved from our wretched condition (p. 50).

In Chapter 3, Chris Brauns follows up with the positive (blessing) point where believers are "roped" to Christ, so in being united with Christ--or being "roped" to Him--we can receive His freedom, forgiveness, and salvation for our sins (p. 58).

"Roped to Christ", in precise, theological language, equates to "union with Christ". Union with Christ means that the believer and Christ are one. This reality underlies the message of the gospel and affects every aspect of our salvation. Because Christ is righteous, the believer is righteous. Because Christ is a child of God, the believer is God's child. Because Christ is eternally blessed, the believer is eternally blessed. Union with Christ means that a believer is in Christ and Christ is in the believer, who is being increasingly conformed to the image of Christ (p. 63).

Most Christians focus so much on the person and the work of Christ (it is an excellent desire for believers to study the person and work of Christ), but fail to recognize their own "union with Christ". This has cost many Christians to not experience "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3).

In "Part II: Applying the Principle of the Rope", husbands will learn something new in Chapter 7. After reading this chapter, I decided to take a week off for Spring Cleaning my whole house so my wife could have a rest.

After reading Chapter 8, I must confess that I have not read the story of Rahab the way Chris Brauns wrote it in this chapter. God's grace is so richly shown in her life that I have reread this chapter twice to sink into my spirit the richness of God's grace towards a sinner like me.

I encourage you to read this book for a clear understanding of "original sin" and the best understanding of our "union with Christ". For me, Chapter 7 alone is well worth the price of buying the book because my wife noticed that I had done something I had not done in our 14 ½ years of marriage, which was taking a week off to do Spring Cleaning.

I received this book for free from Zondervan via Cross Focused Reviews for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Divorce & Remarriage: A Permanence View

Book Review

Divorce & Remarriage: A Permanence View by Daryl Wingerd, Jim Elliff, Jim Chrisman and Steve Burchett (Elders of Christ Fellowship of Kansas City)

http://www.amazon.com/Divorce-Remarriage-A-Permanance-View/dp/0982096801/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1361558716&sr=1-2-fkmr2&keywords=divorce+and+remarriage+a+permanence+view+Jim+Elliff

I’m not writing this review to condemn my brothers and sisters in Christ who hold a different view than I do. If you agree with my reasoning by the time you finish reading this review, then confess your sins to Christ and move on with your current marriage because there is only one sin in the Bible that He declares to be unforgivable (Matthew 12:31).

I’m contending with the above Elders on a “no-divorce” view. Please refer to Chapter 6: “The Meaning of the Exception Clause: What is Porneia?” and Chapter 8: “The Historical and Biblical Context for the Divorce Debate”. You may need to read these chapters at least two or three times in order to fully understand their (the Elders’) view. (Due to the limitations of books that are out there, I don’t want to spill the beans in this review.)

My reasoning is this: We must look at our marriage as Christ’s marriage to His Church. Ephesians 5:25-27 says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”

According to Ephesians 5:25-27, as husband and wife, do you give yourself up to each other? Do you make each other holy (of course, by the cleansing and washing with water through the word)? Do you present each other without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish to each other? I’m afraid that in many marriages, we, as men, are just worried about how we PRESENT ourselves to outsiders rather than to our wives.

If you hold to the divorce view on the grounds of the “exception clause”, please allow me to remind you of what you and your spouse promised each other on your wedding day: “Till Death Do Us Part” or “Until Death Do Us Part”. Make sure your minister inserts the “exception clause” if you plan to divorce. Why make a promise or covenant with each other when you know for sure that that will never be the last sin you and your spouse will commit against each other? There are many sins that we commit inside and outside of the marriage context that are worse than the sin mentioned in the “exception clause”.

Here is the most common one, besides the “exception clause”, that comes from women: Her husband is a wife beater (AKA he physically abuses her). Look to your Savior who endured those few hours of pain on the cross for your sins. The Son of God was humiliated and stripped nearly naked before the world. Do you live for His glory or yours?

There are many reasons why women don’t report their abusive husbands to the authorities. One of them is that she is afraid that her husband will be locked up in jail or end up in prison, and the loss of his income would be the end of their family. Sometimes, she wants to save face, not wanting her friends to know that she is married to a husband who physically abuses her, not all, but most of the time. My message to those women: Don’t be intimidated by the financial aspect of the situation; let your local church know about it because most churches set aside a fund that is specifically used to help families that are in financial crises. Don’t be afraid to let others know. Remember, people don’t know how to help you if they don’t know your concerns. We are all sinners and saints, and as sinners, we will continue to sin. Divorcing him is not the answer to helping him; you are only leaving him to hurt the next person he marries. Get help for him by using authority or Matthew 18 or both.

You have heard the phrase “there is no perfect church”, therefore, “there is no perfect family”, but there is nothing wrong with desiring a healthy family, so that’s why you need to read this book with a mind that is set on building a healthy family. One last thing: if you are a wife and your husband’s work schedule prevents him from shepherding his family, step up and be the “shepherdess” (Genesis 29:9). Rachel was the only female in the Bible that was called a “shepherdess”, so I believe it is safe for you to be the shepherdess of your family in the absence of your husband. And don’t forget to keep Christ centered in your family, just as Joshua did: “But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15).

Thanks to Daisy Yao for editing this book review.

Books on Church Discipline

Books on Church Discipline

Handbook of Church Discipline: A Right and Privilege of Every Church Member

By: Jay E. Adams

Those Who Must Give an Account: A Study of Church Membership and Church Discipline

By: Editors John S. Hammett & Benjamin L. Merkle

The Transforming Community: The Practise of the Gospel in Church Discipline

By: Mark Lauterback

Church Discipline: How the Church Protects the name of Jesus

By: Jonathan Leeman

THE BOOK OF CHURCH ORDER OF THE ORTHODOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

http://www.opc.org/BCO/BCO_2011.pdf

POLITY: A Collection of Historic Documents

Biblical Arguments on How to Conduct Church Life

Edited by Mark Dever

http://www.9marks.org/files/Polity.pdf

The Remarriage Adventure: Preparing for a Lifetime of Love & Happiness

http://www.tyndaleblognetwork.com/1_title/submit-review.php?type=EDIT&bppID=10564

The Remarriage Adventure: Preparing for a Lifetime of Love & Happiness (Focus on the Family)

Authors: Dale Mathis & Susan Mathis

This is just another self-held book. Let me just start out on (page 21) “Like the ‘concept’ of the Trinity.” Why not “Like the ‘doctrine’ of the Trinity.”? (I didn’t know that God can be a ‘concept.)

(Page 25) “Your goal is to learn about and understand your future mate’s heart…” Well according to God’s word “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9) I don’t think the authors have read this verse from the Bible before they encouraged others to learn about and understand their future mate’s heart.

(Page 93) “Conflict can happen for lots of reasons: when your self-esteem is threatened…”  Where is sin? As a Christian, conflict in a marriage is not because of one being’s “self-esteem” is threatened but rather when one become “self-centered”.

(Page 95) “And with God’s help, our behavior patterns will improve.” Where is holiness?

The problem with many marriages is they called upon the Lord as a Divine Helper to help them to improve their behavior.

I can go on to talk about the rest of 100 pages left of this book. I decided not to. May the Lord put His fear in our heart to take our marriage covenant just He take His covenants with us to the cross.

Disclosure: Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a copy of Implosion: Can America Recover from Its Economic and Spiritual Challenges in Time? However, all views expressed in this post are that of my own.

"Why We Love the Church." By Kevin DeYoung & Ted Kluck

is reading "Why We Love the Church." Kevin DeYoung & Ted Kluck

Implosion: Can America Recover from Its Economic and Spiritual Challenges in Time? Author: Joel C. Rosenberg

Implosion: Can America Recover from Its Economic and Spiritual Challenges in Time?

Author: Joel C. Rosenberg

With the rise of unemployment and more homes are heading to foreclosure. I believe most readers will buy this book because of the subtitle of this book.

Mr. Rosenberg is no friend of “replacement theology” (page 84) and he is definitely a firm believer of the “Secret Rapture Theology” (page 199) I’m quoting from Mr. Rosenberg book from (page 200) “Can such people fall on their knees the minute after the Rapture and receive Christ’s free gift of salvation for themselves? Absolutely, and they should. If they do, the Bible teaches that their sins will be instantly forgiven and their souls saved forever.”

My question to Mr. Rosenberg will be quoting directly from Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” (ESV) If all the believers are gone then who will be on earth to preach the Gospel? How can unbelievers believe in Him of whom they have never heard?

If unbelievers do believe, they still cannot be saved because according to Mr. Rosenberg, “all you need is sincere faith” to be saved (page 204) not “saving faith.”

There two positive chapters that are worth reading are chapters 14 and 15 on the “Great Awakening” but I do wished that in chapter 15 the “Second Great Awakening” Mr. Rosenberg would do well to stop at “and at times controversial” on “The Rise of Charles G. Finney’s Life”

It’s a fair book…

Disclosure: Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a copy of Implosion: Can America Recover from Its Economic and Spiritual Challenges in Time? however, all views expressed in this post are that of my own.