For hundreds of years, coffee has been one of the two or three most popular beverages on earth. But it’s only recently that scientists are figuring out that the drink has notable health benefits. In one large-scale epidemiological study from last year, researchers primarily at the National Cancer Institute parsed health information from more than 400,000 volunteers, ages 50 to 71, who were free of major diseases at the study’s start in 1995. By 2008, more than 50,000 of the participants had died. But men who reported drinking two or three cups of coffee a day were 10 percent less likely to have died than those who didn’t drink coffee, while women drinking the same amount had 13 percent less risk of dying during the study. It’s not clear exactly what coffee had to do with their longevity, but the correlation is striking.

Other recent studies have linked moderate coffee drinking — the equivalent of three or four 5-ounce cups of coffee a day or a single venti-size Starbucks — with more specific advantages: a reduction in the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, basal cell carcinoma (the most common skin cancer), prostate cancer, oral cancer and breast cancer recurrence.  (Entire post here)

Occasionally I’ll skip a day or two of coffee drinking, now see I’ll have to seriously rethink that (and so much for that conservative activist and evangelical’s call for the boycott of Starbucks).

Hardcover: 114 pages

Many thanks to Banner of Truth Trust for this review copy of Sermons on the Beatitudes by John Calvin.

History and Layout

These five sermons on the Beatitudes are taken from Calvin’s Gospel Harmony, which were delivered in Geneva at the St. Peter’s church, in 1560.  They were translated from French into English by Robert White, an instructor in French Studies, University of Sydney, Australia, and has a specialist interest in the Reformation in French-speaking areas of Europe.

These five sermons are based on exposition of Matthew 5:1-12, Mark 3:13-19 and Luke 6:12-26.  At the head of each sermon is Calvin’s text, taken from the 1562 edition of the Geneva Bible.  In the endnotes, the reader finds the Scripture quotations that Calvin made throughout his sermons, whether direct quotes or paraphrases.  Calvin mainly quotes from the Psalms and the writings of Paul.

Theology

What the reader finds here are public sermons that the Geneva Reformer John Calvin delivered before his congregation of townsfolk, refugees and visitors.  They were not delivered in a vacuum.

The person who is familiar with Calvin in the Institutes and his commentaries will be thrilled to observe the consistency, and to a degree, many clarifications of Calvin’s theology.  For example, as Robert White correctly points out (and which may be confirmed by the sermons, especially the first three) Calvin does not, “however, treat the Beatitudes as entrance requirements to the kingdom announced by Jesus, but rather as marks whereby those who are already in the kingdom may be discerned, and God’s grace to them made visible.”  In other words, Calvin is clear and firm about his belief in man’s total depravity and God’s free sovereign in the calling and living of the elect.

The reader also finds Calvin’s laboring to expose the false security of the prosperity, ease, and comfort that many find in a pagan world.  His theology allowed him to be identified with the poor and the oppressed.  The reader, however, has to appreciate this drive and resolve of Calvin against the backdrop of 16th century Europe, especially with the religious persecution that abounds.  And it is not for naught that Calvin is called “the theologian of the Spirit,” as such is also evident throughout.

The Endnotes

The “Endnotes” not only trace down Calvin’s Scripture references, but they also interact with his commentaries, Institutes, and superior knowledge of the Patristic writers.  The “Endnotes” are a rich resource and certainly a plus to this work.  Thank you, Robert White, your extra labor is to be commended.

An Evaluation

These sermons were preached in the 16th century, with a few terms here and there, they certainly could have been preached today.  Given the universal condition of the human heart and the unsettling condition of the world we live in now, the 21st century reader will find these sermons not only richly biblical but timeless indeed.  The reader also finds Calvin’s expository prowess on display.  Calvin’s mastery of both the Old and New Testaments are quite evident.

As I conclude, if you’re working through the Sermon on the Mount, or the Beatitudes, in particular, Calvin’s Sermons on the Beatitudes will serve you well.  As I mentioned above, per contents, they are rich biblically and theologically.  More importantly, I believe they speak to the believer who finds himself living in the 21st century.

“So, we agree with the Cessationists that yes, certain gifts, at least, they’re going to cease. They’re going to cease,” added Driscoll. “Where we disagree with the Cessationists and we agree with the Continuationists is when they cease. We believe that all of the gifts continue until one very important transitionary moment in the history of the world.”

He continued, “So, when do these gifts cease? When? When Jesus comes back, when we see him face to face. So the Cessationists are right: certain gifts will come to an end. But the Cessationists are wrong: the end has not yet come. And the Continuationists are right: all the gifts continue until we see him face to face, until Jesus comes again.”  More here…

While agreeing with cessationists like John MacArthur when certain spiritual gifts cease, Mark Driscoll, with his interpretation of 1 Corinthians 13, believes supernatural spiritual gifts will come to an end at the eschaton, the return of Christ and the consummation of all things.

According to Driscoll, “the perfect” of 1 Corinthians 13:10 is Jesus himself.

(I’m neither a cessationist nor a continuationist.  I’m one who is simply open to the activities of God in his world)

(Reuters) – A Cairo court sentenced an Egyptian Muslim preacher to 11 years in jail for blasphemy on Sunday for burning a Bible during a protest last year outside the U.S. embassy.

Convictions for insulting Islam are common in Egypt, ruled by Islamists after the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, but more rare for cases involving the minority Christian faith.  More here…

“Liturgy is not law.  This is important.  The last thing I want to do here is return us to some parched and crabbed legalism around Sabbath observance.  The beauty of calling Sabbath practice a liturgy is that nothing is violated if it’s not followed, or if it’s altered, expanded, abbreviated.  No punishment ensues.  Liturgy functions in a completely different way.  Better to think of it, not just as a bridge, but as a kind of choreography, a choreography for our dance with things unseen, things ancient and things anticipated, things above and things below.  Some move through this choreography with light-footed elegance, others with flat-footed clumsiness.  You can add your own steps and moves, ignore others, or sit it out entirely.  No one will arrest you.”  (The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath, p. 10, emphasis added)

Some still keep the Jewish seventh-day, others Sunday, and still others another day in the week (Romans 14).  Whatever day you have set aside as a Sabbath, perhaps you might find this illustration helpful.

In other words, a way to avoid “parched and crabbed legalism around Sabbath observance.”

Paperback: 224 pages

At a training event here in St. Louis last month, I received a free copy of Eric Mason’s Manhood Restored: How The Gospel Makes Men Whole.  And since Eric Mason himself was the featured speaker, at the end of the first session, I went up to him, greeted him, and had my free copy of his book signed.

An Overview

In the Preface Eric Mason writes, “I have written this book because men need to know that only through the gospel of Jesus Christ can they be what God intends.”  This eight-chapter book may be divided into two sections (though not formally divided), with the first four chapters functioning as a foundation and the last four as application.

The Introduction begins with the question Another book on manhood?  Mason answers, yes, “I would, in fact, say that we don’t have enough material written on manhood.”  But more than another book on manhood, Mason quickly adds, “We need the gospel.  We need it more than books.  More than studies.  More than groups.  We need the life-giving, identity-establishing, purpose-defining gospel of Jesus Christ.”  It is this “purpose-defining gospel of Jesus Christ” that will be the dominant theme throughout the book, as Mason continues, “The goal of this book is not to motivate men with guilt of their failures but to facilitate an undeniable encounter with the ultimate God-man.  The hero of manhood for this work will be the incarnate Jesus Christ.  The eternal contribution of Jesus has changed the course of manhood forever.”  Does Mason succeed in achieving this goal?

In Chapter 1: The Life and Death of Manhood, Mason begins with the beginning and man as the image-bearer of God and consequently, God’s vice-regent, along with the woman, his partner and co-image-bearer.  But then manhood was killed and the fall ensued a snowball effect, which may be traced through the OT Scriptures until the Seed of the woman, Jesus, the restorer of manhood.  Chapter 2: The Impact of Daddy Deprivation sees fatherlessness as no respector of persons.  “We initially thought that fatherlessness would be primarily concentrated in the poor ethnic minorities.  To our dismay, though, daddy issues have been a cross-ethnic, cross-socioeconomic, cross-generational problem that doesn’t discriminate.”  After exploring humanity’s attempts at “Daddy Replacements,” Mason returns to “God’s Intention for Fatherhood.”  In Chapter 3: The Restorer of Manhood, Jesus is seen as not only the restorer of all things but of manhood in particular.  Around different titles of descriptors, Mason explorers the manhood of Jesus over against the myths and caricatures of manhood in our culture.  In Chapter 4: Restored Worldview, restored men need to develop a worldview that aligns to biblical values and principles.

Chapter 5: Restored Sexuality.  Sex, which was a God-given gift for reproduction and pleasure, because of the fall, took on new meanings: “men look at women as potential conquests; women use their sexuality as a form of control and power.”  Mason addresses “The Challenge of Porn and Sexual Selfishness” before turning to “Jesus and Sex” and a few guidelines on what restored sexuality looks like.  In Chapter 6: Restored Vision, Mason begins with Jesus and his prayer life and what it meant in his ministry and what it means for manhood restored.  Men are challenged to be wise decision maker and to order their lives in the right direction.  Chapter 7: Restored Family.  With the help of Ephesians 5, Mason explores what it means to love our wives and be the spiritual leaders in our homes and communities.  He then appeals to “Pastors [to] Set the Tone for Restored Manhood” in their local ministries, before concluding the chapter with “The Blessing of Children,” which is a brief commentary on Psalm 127 and 128.  Chapter 8: Restored Church.  After quote a line from the urban classic Boyz in the Hood, Masons writes, “The ratio of women to men is not merely a general population issue; it’s an engagement issue.  The church of God must focus in on manhood as an essential to discipleship.  The church must take on an active role in restoring the image of men through Jesus.”  After guidelines of “defeminizing” the church, Mason argues for “Adding Masculinity to Worship Gatherings,” as a means of connecting with men.  He concludes the chapter with “Spiritually Fathering Our Men and Boys,” as seen in the ministries of Jesus and the Apostle Paul.

An Evaluation

Above I quoted Eric Mason’s stated goal in writing the book and asked if he achieved it.  After reading the book, I answer in the affirmative.  The book is well-written.  It has a lively and vivid flow to it (I read it in two days).  Eric Mason skillfully weaves stories from his own upbringing, mentorship under noted pastor and author Tony Evans, his current pastorate at Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, and even the hip-hop culture–to illustrate many of his points.  The book is biblical, God-centered, and especially Christ-focused, since Mason presents Jesus as manhood restored–and rightfully so.

Eric Mason did not write this book for a particular ethnic group.  He wrote it for the church.  He wrote it for the discipleship of men, no matter their walk or station in life.  The reader can’t help noticing this fact.  With the above in mind, and Father’s Day, just days away, I highly commend Manhood Restored: How The Gospel Makes Men Whole, believing it to be a much needed book in the fight against fatherlessness, which continues to destroy our communities and consequently, derail the future of those who depend on manhood being restored.

“We need fathers, and we’re only going to be fathers to our children when we see that true fatherhood is rooted and defined in God the Father.”  –Eric Mason, Manhood Restored

In the end this intramural debate over Calvinism comes down really to whether a Southern Baptist is a 2-pointer or a 5-pointer.  Why do I say this?  Well, most Southern Baptists I know believe in man’s total depravity (or human inability, if you like) and the perseverance of the saints (or eternal security, once saved, always saved).

The bickering is about the U.L.I. of the T.U.L.I.P–whether some sinners are Unconditionally elect, or Christ atonement was only Limited to the elect, and that God’s call of the elect is through Irresistible Grace.

In the end, it really doesn’t matter!  Why do I say this?  Well, all Southern Baptists are saying, whether they are 2-pointers or 5-pointers, that we cannot save ourselves and neither can we keep ourselves saved, and if a person is not saved in the end, he or she wasn’t really saved to begin (or to put it another way, they were not among the elect).

Now if you were looking for a rigorous flowing discussion of one’s ordo salutis, the advantages and disadvantages of infra vs supra-lapsarianism, then I’m sorry to disappoint.  I see this whole intramural debate as a needless one, which needs to be resolved quickly for the sake of the gospel and not to be ongoing based on how many letters of the TULIP a person subscribes to (perhaps naivete may have crept in here).

Well, at this years’ Southern Baptist Convention, which concluded last evening, Fred Luter was re-elected to a second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention.  More here…

DeYoung

Eldredge

Both Kevin DeYoung and John Eldredge have written on the subject of holiness recently.  I’ve read them both.  In fact, I’ve just concluded my reading of Elredge’s work (and see my review of DeYoung’s here).  Since both works are fresh in my mind, and since both writers tend to attract their share of readers, I thought I’d do something of a brief reflection on both–similarities and differences, if you will.

Titles, Theses

DeYoung’s work: The Hole In Our Holiness: Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness.  Eldredge’s work: The Utter Relief of Holiness: How God’s Goodness Free Us from Everything that Plagues Us.

Both writers are quite aware that many Christians view the pursuit of personal holiness as an option.  DeYoung writes, “There is a gap between our love for the gospel and our love for godliness [he equates "godliness" with "holiness"].  This must change.  It’s not pietism, legalism, or fundamentalism to take holiness seriously.  It’s the way of all those who have been called to a holy calling by a holy God” (p. 21, emphasis added).  As for Eldredge, after making it clear that God’s purpose, in Jesus, is the restoration of the creation as he made, with Jesus being “the first in the line of humanity restored”.  This Eldredge argues is the purpose of Christianity.  “The intended shape of our existence is made clear in the person of Jesus” (p. 13).

Similarities

Both Eldredge and DeYoung make surprisingly similar points throughout.  Following are some of those similarities, though not in the order the writers developed them in their respective works: first, both writers view the reason for our redemption as including a pursuit of personal holiness.  Second, both are critical of mistaken legalistic pietism as the path toward holiness.  Third, both rely on the holiness of Jesus and our being in Jesus as the reason and path to true personal holiness.  Fourth, both writers address holiness and the struggle to remain sexually pure.  Fifth, both see racism and prejudice as opposed to a life of holiness.  Sixth, both argue that a call to holiness is a call to obedience.  Seventh, both see the pursuit of holiness and the fruit thereof of something of a gospel witness.

Differences

While both writers rely on the Bible as their primary source, both men appropriate different sections to make and develop their points.  But there are reasons for this approach, I believe.  For example, Eldredge’s work is divided into two sections: in section one, The Surprise of Holiness.  In this section, the reader finds Eldredge drawing mostly on the Gospels.  But in section two, The Way To Holiness, the reader finds Eldredge relying mostly on the Apostle Paul.  DeYoung, on the other hand, while drawing from both the Old and New Testaments in heavy doses, the reader finds much of the Apostle Paul throughout.

Regarding secondary sources, this is where the reader sees the bulk of the differences.  Apart from quoting a few works of fiction, Eldredge quotes the nineteenth century Scot George MacDonald here and there, but not too much.  C.S. Lewis is echoed in a few places.  On the other hand, DeYoung is seeing drawing quite a bit from those in the Reformed, Puritan, and Calvinistic camp–for example, Owen, Ames, Calvin, Baxter, Ryle, Packer, Bridges, Piper, Westminster Confession and so on.

But one big difference that I’ve noted that deserves mentioning is this: while John Eldredge draws on the Holy Spirit throughout, he only does so as a guide.  I find this use of the Spirit to be insufficient and deficient at best.  In the place of the Spirit’s power, I believe, is reliance on the speech-act theory (this is not to take away from the fruits of this theory either).  However, Kevin DeYoung does a much better job in his approach to holiness and the Holy Spirit.  In fact, one of DeYoung’s chapters begins thus, “Spirit-powered…,” and a subsequent subsection reads, “Holiness by Holy Spirit Power.”  There is no such approach or material in Eldredge’s work.

Conclusion, Recommendation

Recently I noted John Eldredge’s influence in my own journey here.  I was reminded once again in this work despite my grievous objection to his use of the Holy Spirit.  I continue to be impressed and encouraged on how Eldredge draws on the Gospels and the life of Jesus in particular.

Now if Eldredge is viewed as more practical in his approach, Kevin DeYoung is more doctrinal.  I have no doubt that those in the Reformed and Calvinistic camp will be right at home with DeYoung’s work–and rightfully so!  Both men have their readership, with a few overlappers, including yours truly.

“Starbucks is pouring all this money into destroying traditional marriage… If you know that when buying a cup… five, 10, 15 cents is going to be used to defeat marriage, can you do that? The answer is ‘no.’”

This is the rhetoric of David Burton, a conservative activist and a former evangelical pastor out of Texas, according to this post.

I understand this former evangelical pastor concerns and his zeal to protect traditional marriage, a man and a woman in holy matrimony, but why stop at Starbucks?  Why not go after all non-Christian entities?

In fact, why not create a Christian utopia out in Texas?  It’s big enough!

(See blogger Lon Hetrick 7 Reasons Christians Should Not Boycott Starbucks)

I DO NOT recommend or endorse John MacArthur’s outright misrepresentation of the paedobaptist position.

Of course, ever since Krister Stendahl’s 1960 essay, “The Apostle Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West” (which challenged the Protestant Reformation’s understanding of the doctrine of justification by faith alone, positing that the Pauline doctrine of salvation included a works component), E.P. Sanders Paul and Palestinian Judaism, and then the subsequent works of notables like James D.G. Dunn and N.T. Wright, the NPP generated a number of books, journal essays, lectures here and there, and so on.

But I’m not hearing a lot on the NPP these days.  Perhaps N.T. Wright’s Paul and the Faithfulness of God (the fourth installment in his Christian Origins and the Question of God) will spark a new wave of discussion, or more likely–a regurgitation!

“The purpose of the seventy-weeks prophecy, outlined in Daniel 9:24, was to secure that ultimate salvation, that release, redemption, and restoration of which the jubilee year [Leviticus 25:8-55] was a type or symbolic prefigurement.  When Jesus declares that in himself the jubilee of God has come he is saying, in effect, that the seventy weeks of Daniel have reached their climax.  The new age of jubilee, of which all previous jubilees were prefigurements, has now dawned in the person and ministry of Jesus.  THE GOAL OF THE SEVENTY-WEEKS PROPHECY IS THE CONSUMMATE JUBILARY SALVATION OF GOD!”  (Kingdom Come, p. 90)

In Kingdom Come: The Amillennial Alternative, Sam Storms relates how he used to be a Premillennial Dispensationist and his eventual journey away from it.  So Storms know a thing or two about the crucial importance of Daniel 9:24-27 of Premillennial Dispensationalists: Were it to be discovered that Daniel 9 does not, in fact, teach any such thing [that is, Dispensationalists interpretation leading to Rapture, 7-year period of Great Tribulation], that would strike a severe, if not mortal, blow to the entire dispensational scenario.

Now Sam Storms reached his conclusions about Daniel 9:24-27 by relying primarily on letting Scripture interpret Scripture and the strengths of covenant theology (Daniel 9:4).

Hardcover: 128 pages

Many thanks to Crossway for this review copy of J.I. Packer’s Weakness Is the Way: Life With Christ Our Strength.

An Overview

Packer’s little book is made up of four well-written chapters, based on 2 Corinthians, around the truth–that the way of true spiritual strength, leading to real fruitfulness in Christian life and service, is the humble, self-distrustful way of consciously recognized weakness in spiritual things.”  Packer defines “weakness” as inadequacy, whether physically, spiritually, and so on.

Chapter One: About Weakness.  This chapter is really an introduction, a road map, to where Packer is going in this little work.  Having defined “weakness” as inadequacy, Packer states and builds on this truth: “Sin, which disrupts all relationships, has disabled us all across the board.  We need to be aware of our limitations and to let this awareness work in us humility and self-distrust, and a realization of our helplessness on our own” (p. 15).

By way of “A Personal Postscript,” Packer concludes this introductory chapter by pointing out two physical struggles in his own life as “a recognition that the Christian way of life and service is a walk of weakness.”  First, in his youth, Packer reflects on the impact of wearing for ten years, a black aluminum patch to cover a hole in his head, which was a result of a road accident.  Second, Packer reflects on a three-year experience of the hobbling and wobbling discomfort of a disintegrating hip, “leading to a year of steady but slow recovery from its surgical replacement.”

Chapter Two: Christ and the Christian’s Calling.  This chapter is essentially a brief non-technical commentary on 2 Corinthians 5:6-6:2, with the central point being that the gospel message calls on all of us “to be realistic in facing and admitting our sinfulness, our weaknesses, our actual transgressions, and our consequent guilt before God” (p. 50).

Chapter Three: Christ and the Christian’s Giving.  This chapter is a survey of chapters 8-9.  Also, I find this to be the most interesting chapter in the book.  For instance, those who look to wealth as a source of stability and strength are actually revealing a weakness, that is, they have become idolaters (worshiping their investments, possessions, and bank balance); while “God–the transcendent triune Lord who is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit together, the divine team that is currently in action for our salvation–comes a poor second in our loyalty and love” (pp. 56-57).

Chapter Four: Christ and the Christian’s Hoping.  I find this chapter to be the most pastoral, truly giving Christians on the way hope.  In this chapter Packer returns to a brief discussion of 2 Corinthians 4:5-5:8.  Under the final heading, “Look Forward, and Look to Christ,” Packer concludes, “Neither I who write these pages nor anyone who reads them knows as yet what it will be like, experientially, to leave this world.  But one day we shall all have to do that, and it is wonderful to know that somewhere in the process of transition out of the body in the next world, Christ himself will meet us, so that we may expect his face to be the first thing we become aware of in that new order of life into which we will have moved” (p. 116).

Critique, Recommendation, and Conclusion

As someone who enjoys reading whatever J.I. Packer puts his pen to, for the average Christian reader, with the exceptions of the first and the last chapters, he or she will find this little book not as readily accessible.  This is not to take away from the contents of the book.  Rather, now comes my recommendation, the trained pastor or Bible teacher should first read this little work and put things on the bottom shelf, so to speak.

For those who’ve come to love the writings of Packer over the years, here’s a little work, that I believe, packs something of a big punch–though Packer’s approach to weakness in this work is not only about physical weakness, which is periphery, but really is about our inadequacies as Christian disciples on the way.  “For when I am weak, then I am strong,” or as the subtitle of the book reads, “Life With Christ Our Strength.”

• The Baptist Faith & Message 1963:

I.  The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is the
record of God s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of
divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth,
without any mixture of error, for its matter. It reveals the principles by
which God judges us; and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the
world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by
which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.
The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is Jesus Christ.

• The Baptist Faith & Message 2000:

I.  The Scriptures

The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.  All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, who is Himself the focus of divine revelation.

When this change was made, which appears to elevate the Bible above Jesus, Christianity Today had this to say, “BFM2000 is poorer without the rich Christocentric language of the earlier statement [BFM1963]. Jesus Christ is surely the center of Scripture as well as its Lord. One can affirm this while also welcoming the clear affirmation of the Bible as God’s infallible, revealed word”
(August 7, 2000, p. 36).

So when Burk challenged Stanley he was really not alone, he had the BFM2000 behind him.  This change from BFM1963 approaches something of bibliolatry, the worship of the Bible.  And neither am I saying that Denny Burk or the BFM2000 is guilty of this.