Category: Books

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Christian Counseling Booklets from CCEF

~ Bob Hayton ~ 5 Comments

The Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation is an excellent resource for a Scriptural-based approach to life’s problems. Their motto is “Restoring Christ to counseling, and counseling to the Church.” I have found their materials to be gospel-centered and grace-oriented. They are an incredible help to the church.

CCEF through its publishing arm, New Growth Press, makes available a wide range of booklets that address a host of common problems. I am going to highlight a few of these booklets in this post.

The booklets are sensitive to the life-situation they address, yet also apply the Bible and particularly the Gospel to the problem. I highly recommend them.

Single and Lonely: Finding the Intimacy You Desire by Jayne Clark.

This booklet explores how loneliness, which plagues single young people as much as it does the elderly, sick and widowed, is connected to the gospel. Protecting yourself, and aiming for one or two close friendships usually backfires. Recognizing our acceptance and love found in Christ, we should instead pursue wholeness and healing in a community of Christ-lovers. Practical steps for recognizing and dealing with the problem of loneliness in oneself and others are also included.

You can preview the booklet here, and purchase it directly from CCEF or from Westminster Bookstore.

Sex Before Marriage: How Far is Too Far? by Timothy Lane.

A counseling booklet with that title would scare me. But that’s the kind of question on many people’s mind. The booklet begins by rooting advice in a biblical view of sex. It’s wonderful and its a big deal, not something flippant or light. It goes on not so much as to prescribe boundaries but to expose heart issues and motivations. It admits chastity will look different in different cultures and times, but it gives an overarching principle: “Don’t act like you are married when you are not!” It draws a line and recommends no romantic or involved physical touching, let alone other questionable acts. It shifts the focus to marriage and will lead the conscientious reader right in this difficult arena.

You can preview the booklet here, and purchase it directly from CCEF or from Westminster Bookstore.

Find more of these helpful booklets here, or check out their mini book subscription program.

Books for the Bullied: Recommended Resources Dealing with Grace & Legalism

~ Bob Hayton ~ 7 Comments

My post yesterday, on “The Real Meaning of 1 Thessalonians 5:22” seemed to touch a nerve. Sharper Iron excerpted this line from my post: “1 Thess. 5:22 Often ‘Used As a Bully Club to Keep People in Line with the Group’s Expectations'”. If that’s all you see, it comes across a bit strongly. But this is the real beef with the misuse of 1 Thess. 5:22. It really is used in such a harsh, unloving and hyper-critical way.

A friend of mine from college posted the following on my Facebook page in response to my post:

Good read! I have been doing some extensive studies on the subject of “living under grace” these past few months. I have sat under many of these “bullies”…it is almost as if they are trying to bully us back under the law. It is interesting…when you read the Scriptures through the eyes of Grace…it sheds a whole new light on everything…

I replied back with some of the books that I’ve read over the years that helped me grapple with Grace vs. Legalism. I thought I’d share some of them here with you today.

I should first stress that the definition or the use of the word “legalism” can be much more incendiary than using the term “bully club”. I don’t want to offend and I don’t conclude that people in most fundamentalist churches are legalists. The tendency to legalism in the manner I am talking about, is a wider problem than just fundamentalism. But let me be careful to define what exactly I’m talking about. I’ve defined legalism in the past, but will try to give a quick explanation here as well.

Legalism is an attitude of the heart that depends on self-efforts to please God. It can apply to sanctification and not only to justification. I used to wonder how people could call fundamentalists “legalists” because none of us were close to a works-based justification. But as I left the movement of fundamentalism (I’m still a historic fundamentalist at heart), I came to grips with a real legalism of my own mind and heart. I really did think I was better than other Christians because of the positions I held or the level of personal sanctification (as evidenced by my external standards) that I maintained. I had to be honest with myself and admit that I used to actually think things like: “Those other people must not be as serious about the Lord or love Him as much as we do, because…”.

This kind of performance-oriented Christianity is legalism. When your relation with God ebbs and flows in direct correlation to how much production you have achieved recently in keeping the do’s and don’ts and in evangelism and service, then you really are legalistic and you don’t understand grace. This doesn’t mean you aren’t saved. It means you are missing out on the true glory of the Gospel of grace.

The following books helped me as I thought through these things, and may be a help to you as well.

The Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing by C.J. Mahaney This book is a real gem. It has been revised and expanded and is now available under the title Living the Cross Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing although you can still find the first edition. This book will help you see how the Gospel intersects with all of life, and it has a chapter devoted to the legalism of which I speak. I highly recommend it. (Click on the picture of the first book, for a post I did on it way back in 2005.)

The Grace and Truth Paradox: Responding with Christlike Balance by Randy Alcorn This book is an easy read and quite helpful. Sometimes we feel that you can either be gracious or stand for truth, but Alcorn shows us that dichotomy is false. Jesus perfectly lived a life balancing an emphasis on Grace and Truth. This book cuts at the heart of legalism. (Click on the book’s cover to read my review with excerpts.)

Extreme Righteousness: Seeing Ourselves in the Pharisees by Tom Hovestol This book studies the Pharisees through new eyes. Instead of seeing how bad they are, or even how bad others are, Hovestol stresses that we are in their shoes. Evangelicals are the closest thing to a conservative religious establishment today, and we would be the target of Christ’s anger too. This book can be biting, but in much of it, Hovestol is sharing his own journey. It’s refreshing to be honest and to really see yourself through different eyes. (Click the book’s cover for the Amazon listing for this book.)

40 Loaves: Breaking Bread with Our Father Each Day by C.D. Baker is a book I reviewed recently. It is a devotional book with 40 small readings. It is packed full of grace from cover to cover. The author told me he shares a similar legalistic past and wanted to stress grace. You will be blessed by this book. (Click on the book’s cover to read my review.)

“Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism” by Joel Beeke

~ Bob Hayton ~ 4 Comments

Calvinism is all the buzz these days. Last year, Time Magazine listed the rise of “The New Calvinism” as number 3 on a list of “10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now” (see excerpt here). The five points of Calvinism are gaining adherents at a rapid rate. At the same time, a deep-seated rejection of Calvinism remains popular in large swaths of evangelicalism.

When it comes to the internet, fierce debates over Calvinism are the norm. Calvinists routinely suspect the worst of their “Arminian” opponents who are often pictured as near-Pelagians. Arminians think that Calvinists tout a dour, sour-faced God who gleefully condemns people to Hell with no chance for salvation. No wonder then, that Calvinists don’t evangelize.

From my vantage point, as a convert to Calvinism from a Baptist non-Calvinist viewpoint, both the Calvinist superiority complex and the Calvinism-is-of-the-devil overreaction share a common shortfall. Neither extreme really appreciates the full ramifications of Calvinism for all of life. Both have a certain amount of ignorance with respect to the history and teaching of Calvinism from the Reformation onward. A historical perspective and an appreciation for Calvinism’s impact on worldview and theology beyond the rather specific and limited focus of the five points would do much good all around.

It is these reasons and more which make Joel Beeke’s book Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism such an important resource. This book is packed with material illustrating how Calvinism impacts all of life.

The book starts off with an historical treatment of the origins of what we call Calvinism and a look at several of the Reformed confessions. Then it moves on to a Scriptural defense of the teachings of Calvinism. Here we find a treatment of the 5 points of Calvinism as well as the 5 solas. We also find that the sovereignty of God, or theocentrism is the doctrinal heart and soul of Calvinism.

The book goes further and surveys the piety of Calvinism and its impact in the church. In these sections we learn a lot from the Puritans on sanctification and church life. Particular emphasis is placed on the emphasis of the role of preaching in worship, which is truly Calvinism’s gift to the wider church.

The book then goes on to how Calvinism provides a “theology for all of life”. I was particularly struck by this section. The discussion of a Puritan home and marriage was eye-opening. Indeed the medieval era had downplayed the physical aspects of the marital union. The clergy were above sex, or were supposed to be, and that was left for mistresses and secret elopements. The marriage wasn’t about that, it was a societal convention. The Puritans took the Bible’s teaching on the importance of the marital union and brought back a Biblical morality and a healthy enjoyment of physical pleasures within the confines of marriage.

I also enjoyed the chapter on vocation, and how Calvinism invests the idea of a life’s calling with great significance. Political and ethical questions are also addressed from the perspective of Calvinism.

The book concludes with a chapter by Sinclair Ferguson on doxology as the end goal of Calvinism. As it was John Piper’s ministry in particular that drew me toward Calvinism, I can testify that Calvinistic theology if it is actively embraced and understood should tend toward a doxological thrust in life. Everything should be seen as flowing from God’s good hand, and our very salvation is a free gift of God’s grace. Calvinism should make us worshipful and humble, not proud.

Joel Beeke and the other contributors to this book are to be commended for showing us how doctrine should impact all of life. They open up the horizons of contemporary Christians to see the beauty of faithful orthodox piety of previous generations. The book does get long and can be quite varied at times. But the work can be seen as an anthology from which to glean what you find interesting and helpful. I recommend this book heartily.

This book is available for purchase at the following sites: Amazon.com, Westminster Bookstore, and direct from Reformation Trust

Disclaimer: This book was provided by Reformation Trust Publishing for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to provide a favorable review.

Quotes to Note 16: Paul a Minister of the New Covenant

~ Bob Hayton ~ 8 Comments

A while back I finished Jason Meyer’s excellent new book The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology (Broadman & Holman). It was there that I first grasped the significance of Paul’s declaration in 2 Cor. 3:6 “who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant“. Meyer argues that Paul was a minister of the new covenant in the same way that he ministered the gospel (see 2 Cor. 4). In other words, the new covenant is intimately related to the gospel. Let me allow Jason Meyer to explain.

…The source of Paul’s competence is not himself… it comes from God… God’s sufficiency surges within God’s new covenant, the base of operations for Paul’s ministry. God’s sufficiency is inherent or intrinsic to His new covenant…. Paul says this new covenant consists “not of the letter, but of the Spirit”….the Spirit defines the new covenant and makes it what it is….

These conclusions should not cause one to miss the semantic and grammatical links between “minister” (diakonos) and “covenant” (diatheke) in v. 6 Porter observed that “minister” (diakon-) words appear throughout the covenantal context of 2 Corinthians 3. The fact that Paul connects the service of his ministry to the concept of covenant is important in determining the relationship between the new covenant and the gospel. Paul presents parallel claims as a servant (diakonos) of the new covenant (kaines diathekes) and a servant (diakonos) of the gospel (euaggeliou). Further evidence emerges in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 where the new covenant is parallel to “gospel” (euaggelion), especially in light of the repetition of previous themes like “glory” and “veiled”…. (pg. 75-78)

This understanding, that the very gospel Paul preached is connected to the new covenant, fits in with Jesus’ inaugurating the new covenant at the Last Supper. It fits with Hebrews 8 and 10 which apply the new covenant to the believing church of today, not a reconstituted Israel or house of Judah in years to come. The new covenant’s promise of a radical experience of the Spirit, fits with the New Testament’s emphasis on the Spirit’s present role in believers. We are living in the age of the new covenant. It is already here, but it is not yet here in the fullest sense.

“Ryken’s Bible Handbook: A Guide to Reading and Studying the Bible” by Leland Ryken, Philip Ryken & James Wilhoit

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

Resources for studying the Bible are a dime a dozen, today. Every popular pastor or gifted teacher has his own study Bible or commentary set. Teacher’s handbooks, small group study guides, commentaries of all kinds, and big thick dictionaries abound. Many of these resource tools aren’t all that helpful, and some are outdated. Others are too bulky to be accessible, or too compact to be worth one’s time.

Enter, Ryken’s Bible Handbook (Tyndale). This handy, manageable volume stands apart in both its convenience and its worth. A wide variety of helpful material is arranged and presented in an attractive and accessible format.

Following the Bible handbook pattern, the information is arranged book by book through all 66 books of the Bible. The stress is on how best to read and understand the content of each particular book. Articles on Bible narratives, wisdom literature, prophecy, parables and more are placed at important positions throughout the handbook. And the book also cross-references these helpful articles often enough to ensure they remain useful (and not forgotten).

A fact sheet with information about the author, audience and special features of each book sets the stage. This is followed by an outline and a discussion of literary forms, key characters, doctrines and themes, and tips for reading or teaching the book. Next the flow of the book is traced so one can catch a sense of the whole. Interspersed throughout are helpful charts and a collection of quotes from Bible teachers and pastors. A discussion of the challenges to reading the book, and a guide to applying it are also included.

The handbook excels at keeping things simple yet providing real help. It manages to remain neutral on most theological controversies, aiming to equip one to read the Biblical book rather than actually teaching a theological position drawn from specific passages.

I found the article on parables to be particularly well done. That section makes the point that parables hint at something “alongside”. “It is untrue that you can find only one theme or ‘point’ in a parable. Most parables employ multiple themes or ideas.” (pg. 447) This emphasis for me is especially important as I’ve seen other books on reading the Bible stress the opposite, which seems to contradict Christ’s own interpretation of parables and leans to heavily on rationalistic scholarship.

Even if you disagree in a few places with the book, that won’t take away from it’s overall usefulness. Sunday school teachers, Bible students of all ages, pastors and parents will find this book very helpful. I heartily recommend it.

This book is available for purchase at the following sites: Westminster Bookstore, Amazon.com or direct from Tyndale House.

This book was provided by Tyndale House Publishers for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.