Blogs

1) Why is the Cross So Important to Christians – Christ Centred: This is by far my most visited post. It doesn’t go into a great deal of detail and I’m sure that I need to update it so that people can get more useful information from it. But it is what it is and I hope it can be of use to you.

2) Expiation and Propitiation: Two Important Words This Good Friday – R.C. Sproul: The difference between the two is essential to understanding exactly what God did on the cross.

3) Where Love and Mercy Meet: Substitution, propitiation and Revelation at the Cross – John Stevens: Four things that we need to see when we look at the Cross.

4) The Very Best Friday – Good Book Blog: The Good Book Blog explains what’s so good about Good Friday.

5) The Beauty of the Blood-Stained Cross – Trevin Wax: Yes it is beautiful and it would be good for us to look at it more and more.

6) Can We Say God Died- Douglas Wilson: See Wilson’s answer to this difficult.

7) Of First Importance: The Resurrection and the Cross at the Centre – Al Mohler: Al Mohler studies the important information in 1 Corinthians 15 and sees what it tells us for what is essential in the Christian Life

8) Good Friday: A Day That Will Live in Infamy but Rejoice for Eternity – Darrell Creswell : A simple meditation on how the Cross Rocks.

9) Good Friday and the Crucifixion of Shame – Mark Meynell: The author of Cross Examined (see below) hits upon an aspect we don’t often think of, how the cross of Christ crucifies our shame.

10) The Cross of Christ and His Glorious Resurrection – Adiel: Christ Centred reader Adiel recommends two of his favourite books for this weekend.

11) Christ Died for Us – We Died in Him – Glen Scrivener: Glen Scrivener explains what happened at the cross in terms of Union with Christ.

12) Cross Words – Andy Evans: Meditations on Cross and Christian Ministry to inspire pastors in what a day like today means for ministry.

Books

13) Death by Love – Mark Driscoll This is probably my favourite book on the cross. Mark Driscoll takes various doctrines of the cross and writes a letter to a real person about how this doctrine can change their life. Well worth a read. Check out my review.

14) Fifty Reason’s Jesus Came to Die – John Piper: This book is on sale at the Amazon store. This is a short book with great meditations on why Jesus came to die, with tonnes you may never have thought about before.

15) All Loves Excelling – John Bunyan: This is one of my all time favourite Puritan Paperbacks. John Bunyan meditates on Jesus’ great love for us. Stirring stuff.

16) Pierced for Our Transgressions – Steve Jeffery, Mike Ovey and Andrew Sach: A sadly necessary book, answering objections to Penal Substitution, it actually ends up inspiring us to worship and joy at the foot of the cross.

17) Cross of Christ – John Stott: Every UK Christian has been recommended to read this book a thousand times and many have never quite got round to it. The chapters are quite long, which can make it hard for some, but it is worth the effort. A spiritual classic.

18) Cross-Examined – Mark Meynell: Meynell has written probably the best summary of the cross for people who aren’t keen readers. There is some great insight in here and the application questions at the back are well worth working through.

19) Scandalous – D.A. Carson: I haven’t read this one all the way through yet, but what I have read is excellent. My wife has particularly found this helpful, so it may be a good try for people who aren’t regular readers.

Sermons

20) A Ransom For Many – Mark Dever: Just a great sermon on Mark 10:45.

21) The Cry from the Cross – C.J. Mahaney: I’d be surprised if you haven’t heard this before but it is powerful

22) The Cup – C.J. Mahaney: Again, really helpful. But oh so painful.

23) The Centre of the Whole Bible – D.A. Carson: The next three sermons are from talks that form the basis of D.A. Carson’s book Scandalous. Here Carson argues that what happened in Jesus’ death is the centre of the whole bible.

24) The Strange Triumph of a Slaughtered Lamb – D.A. Carson: Just for something different, why not take a look at the death of Jesus from the vantage point of Revelation.

25) The Ironies of the Cross – D.A. Carson: This is a good old-fashioned “Good Friday” kind of sermon. If you didn’t get one, take a look.

Video

26) Rescued – Igniter Media: A simple meditation on all the things the death of Christ saves us from.

27) Why do they call it Good Friday?: A simple explanation that could be really helpful for non-Christian friends.

28) My Last Day – Jesus’ Crucifixion in Anime: I’ve shown this to young people and they loved it.

29) The Jesus Film: Okay this is a time investment. You can skip towards the end where the crucifixion is happening. The most watched movie of all time.

30) Curse Motif of the Atonement – RC Sproul: Find out why curse is a necessary motif in the Atonement.

31) 3-2-1 Gospel Presentation – Good thing to share on a day where your friends may actually be thinking about the Gospel.

Podcasts

32) The Arrest, Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus = White Horse Inn: If you haven’t listened to the White Horse Inn, you need to. It is a discussion between four guys of different denominational backgrounds. They discuss the things that unite Evangelicals. The entire of their series on John has been really worshipful and I’m sure this session will really encourage and challenge you today.

33) The Gospel – Christ Centred: I’m pleased to say again that my listeners have impeccable taste and that this is by far and away my most popular podcast. Listen to find out the Gospel.

Phew… there we go. Oh but wait, where is 34. Well it’s going  to be down below in the comments section, where you add your favourite Good Friday resource…

There are some questions that trouble non-Christians that really don’t trouble Christians.

• “Is there such a thing is as truth?” seems so self-evident.
• “Is the crucifixion cosmic child abuse?” is easy to answer if you’ve read the Bible yourself.
• “Is Christianity anti-Semitic?” seems ridiculous when you know the church was founded by 12 Jewish guys who followed another Jewish guy who was fulfilled the great Jewish hope.

Although we are happy to answer the questions of our friends and family, these things rarely ever make us struggle.

But there are some questions that do.

One such question is about God killing people in the Old Testament. God seems utterly brutal to do such a thing. How can we reconcile this with the loving God of the New Testament?

Dave Bish has put up an excellent blog post entitled “What about God killing people in the Old Testament?” where he discusses these issues. I would urge you to read the post for yourself. Let me summarise the main arguments here and then add some thoughts of my own.

No difference between Old Testament and New

Dave correctly recognises that the often hold assumption that “The God of the Old Testament is mean and of the New is nice” is totally unfounded. Here are his arguments:

a) Because we have one Bible, one God (in three persons).
b) Because of Ananias and Sapphira. What’s with that?
c) Because it’s not Love vs Wrath. Wrath is love’s right response to evil.
d) Because the Bible’s own self-reflection is that the God of the Old Testament is too gracious not too mean. The persistent question isn’t why people die its why they keep getting forgiven. See the objections of Jonah the prophet sent to tell good news to the nasty city of Nineveh. He rages at God: I knew you’d forgive them so I ran away from preaching too them.

What terrible news! The God of the New Testament is as much a God of wrath as the God of the Old. Do we want to believe in this God?

Dave argues: “Actually, ‘The God of the Old Testament’ is too forgiving.”

The Grace of the God of the Old Testament

Dave points out many examples of the grace of God in the Old Testament:

i) They were given 400 years to turn to Christ from killing their children and various other evil practices. That’s pretty excessive patience. Before we weep over their deaths we should weep over the evil they perpetrated while God was being patient with them.
ii) Played out on the stage of global politics was the liberation of Israel from slavery Egypt 40 years earlier (told in the book of Exodus). Everyone in Canaan knew about that. The account of Rahab tells us that everyone knew and everyone took a view on the matter.
iii) People, like Rahab the Canaanite prostitute, heard and turned to God. Everyone could do that.
iv) No-one had to die. They were asked to leave the land that they’d been occupying. They heard all that they heard, and stood their ground. Those who died died in defiance. It’s a picture in human history of the defeat of defiant evil. A picture of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
v) The same people used to exile/judge Canaan were subject to the same judgement themselves when they were exiled because they’d turned from Jesus to do the things that the people in Canaan did. There was no favouritism here.“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

I think this is the most robust answer to the question I have ever heard and raises up some examples I had never thought about. God overflows with grace, even to these most wretched people. There is good news here, there is something to praise God for, even in these blood-chilling passages.

What does this have to do with me?

But what does this have to do with us? In my podcast on How to Read the Old Testament, I suggested a three-step approach to reading the Old Testament. Let’s use this to examine this issue:

1.What did it mean to the original hearers?

The Old Testament believers clearly saw it as God’s grace that he destroyed these people. As Dave rightly says, this was a people who killed their own children as part of their worship to God.

It would also been something of sheer amazement to them that people like Rahab actually could be forgiven their sins. A prostitute, who was as much part of this sinful society as anyone else, was redeemed simply by putting her faith in the God of Israel. This would have stunned them.

2. What similarities are there now in Christ?

We would do well to look carefully at the despicable sins of the Canaanites. The same heart lies within each of us.

We murder babies. We just do it at a hospital rather than a temple.

We trap women in prostitution. We just do it on our computer screens.

We worship other gods. We just worship “Me” rather than “Baal” .

Jesus is a just God. He will return and he will punish the wickedness that has cursed his world. A tear was never meant to be shed on this planet and the cause of every one will be punished. We have a new Joshua and he will destroy all the Canaanites.

But we are the Canaanites.

That is why the next part is so fantastic. This Joshua not only killed the sinners. He sacrificed himself that the sinners may go free and be changed. Just as Joshua allowed the woman who pleaded for salvation to live, so Jesus allows anyone who truly pleads to be saved.

3.Think how it applies to yourself

The murder of people should not cause Christians to stumble. We should recognise that we don’t see our sin as clearly as God does. Rather we should look to the abundant grace evident in the Old Testament and say to God “Why O Lord such love to me?”

What about you?

Have you struggled with this issue? Are there any questions you have about this difficult question? Or do you have something to add to Dave’s ideas?

Oh and before you go, if you haven’t already, read Dave’s article for yourself. It’s a real cracker.

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Other posts on this topic:

• How to read the Old Testament
• If Christ was real, he wouldn’t send people to hell
• Rejected by God
• What is the Gospel?

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In The Greatest Prayer Tip I Ever Received, I recommend using the prayers of Paul as inspiration for prayer.

Of course finding the prayers of Paul can be a challenge. So I have compiled a list of all of Paul’s prayers, prayer reports, prayer requests and exhortations to prayer. This list comes from “A Call to Spiritual Reformation” by D.A. Carson and shows every single prayer Paul prays.

Prayers of Paul

(All quotations are ESV)

View as PDF

Yet if your honest you probably haven’t understood how these doctrines affect you.

In one of the best recent books on the cross, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears tackle these issues in an immensely practical way. The writers take a topic of the cross (i.e. propitation, expiation, Christus Victor) and apply it to a real life situation. This makes it eminently readable and immensely practical.

If you wanted to read about the cross, but you’ve been put off by weighty doctrine, this is the book for you. It’ll explain the doctrines simply and apply them powerfully.

The Argument of the Book

Driscoll and Breshears see the message of the cross as relevant for all areas of life. They write to people in many situations (including paedophiles, those investigating Christianity and those who have to forgive adultery) The doctrines of the cross are explained and applied to their situation.

After each of these sections Dr Breshears answers some common questions about the doctrine used to tackle this situation.

Primary Audience & Purpose

Each letter has a particular person in mind (someone Driscoll has actually met in councelling sessions). The idea is to apply a doctrine of the cross to some aspect of their life.

Literary Features of the Book

Writing in letters and FAQs, this book is incredibly readable. My fiancée raves about this being one of the few theology books she actually understood. Yet it is also deep and challenging.

Is it Biblical?

Yes. Their approach is soaked in Scripture. The only things that leave me uncertain are “Unlimited Limited Atonement” and the idea of demon possession (which is too easily presumed, they don’t spend long enough defending their view from scripture).

However, they don’t let the various doctrines of the cross compete against each other. Nor do they undermine the centrality of penal substitution in the death of Christ. Their approach is not only biblical in content but in discussing importance.

Does it Apply Truth?

The whole point of the book is to apply truth. Some may worry whether we can apply the truth to ourselves, as the characters tend to be extreme cases (few haven’t been raped or involved in drugs). But in a way this means that no one can say “my situation is a special case”. It applies to all from the extreme to the normal

Is it Christ Centred?

The whole book centres around the cross. The person and work of Jesus is clear. It sees Jesus as the solution to every problem. You can’t get much better than that. (Buy it in the UK)

Other Reviews

Reformed Firehouse

Finitum Non Capax Infiniti

Heady Musings

The Christian Manifesto

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No wonder, this doctrine puts people off Christianity.

Emotionally, the idea is so disgusting we want to never hear it again. Logically, it seems utterly inconsistent that Christ could send people to hell.

Surely a loving God can’t send people to hell?

If Christianity is to stand we must ask this question: is there any way a loving God would allow hell?

Hell is Chosen

Firstly, a loving God could allow hell if we choose to go there.

The ultimate responsibility for going to hell lies with us. True, God decides to punish sin, but that doesn’t mean he is ultimately responsible. If I murdered a child nobody would blame the judge for me rotting in jail. They’d say it was my own fault.

So it is with us. We chose to rebel and therefore we are responsible for being in hell. God lets us have what we want. An eternity without him. We just don’t realise now how painful that is.

Hell is Just

Secondly, a loving God could allow hell if it was a just thing to send people there.

Many think that disobeying God’s law doesn’t deserve hell.  Surely, a loving God could never condemn us according to this!

Yet he could for two good reasons:

• We shun a law that is always good: God gives us commands that make life better. Even people who complain God is unjust agree we should love our neighbours as ourselves. This is a law God created! His laws are all good laws and so it is loving that he enforces them.
• We accept a life that is always hurtful: Our sin has tremendous consequences. Why do people cry? Why do people commit suicide? Why do people starve for lack of food? Because people like us abuse them our whole lives. God must punish us if he is loving to those we hurt. If he allowed people who hurt others as much as we have to go to his new creation, then frankly he isn’t loving at all!

For God to be a loving God he must be just, he must be fair. Hell is the ultimate sign of his justice and his justice shows us his love.

Hell is Hated

Thirdly, a loving God could allow hell if it was something he hated.

If God sends sinners to hell with sadistic glee, he isn’t loving. Yet hear this:

As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked

Ezekiel 33:11 (ESV)

God does not enjoy hell. In his love he laments over those going there. Therefore, how can we say hell disproves his love?

Hell is Love Revealed

Fourthly, a loving God could allow hell if it provided a way to reveal his love.

How does hell provide a way for God to reveal his love?

You and I deserve hell. If God is creating a perfect world, sinners like us don’t deserve to be there.

Yet the crazy thing is I won’t be going to hell. Why? Because Christ died in my place. He said that he would die on my behalf. He would go through the punishment of hell that I deserved.

That isn’t to say Jesus literally went to a place called hell. But he had the wrath of God poured out on him on the cross, and that is what hell truly is.

What absolute love that shows! That he would go through hell for us! All we have to do is repent of our sin and have faith in Christ and our sin is forgotten. How loving is that?

Hell reveals the love of God, for it shows what he was willing to do to save us. A loving God could allow hell for he would allow it to reveal the love he has for us.

Over to You

What are your problems with hell? Do you think it disproves the existence of God? What do you think of the God who went through hell to save us from sins?

P.S. Tim Keller’s Reason for God was really helpful in answering this question.

This Series:
If Christ Was Real… Answering four arguments that Christ cannot exist (Originally discussed at BridgingSchisms.org).

1. If Christ was real…he wouldn’t have such awful followers.
2. If Christ was real…he wouldn’t send people to hell. (this post)
3. If Christ was real…he wouldn’t judge us according to an unjust law
4. If Christ was real…he wouldn’t call me “sinner”. (coming soon)

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“I love Jesus but I hate the Church.” she said defiantly “The Church causes nothing but pain. I’m going to learn about Jesus on my own.”

These were the words of a girl I was discussing Christianity with. Clearly, she had not had the best experience of the church. As upsetting as it is she’s not alone.

Maybe you’re like this girl. Maybe you keep away from the Church thinking it has nothing to offer but hurt. Maybe you do attend Sunday service, but the Church has hurt you so bad you’ve lost the love you had at first.

Why should you love the Church. What does it have to offer?

The Church Loves Jesus

The Church is obsessed with Jesus. They preach, sing and shout about him. If you want to grow as a Christian, you can learn loads from these Jesus-lovers:

• You can hear the Gospel: When you became a Christian someone from the Church was communicating the Gospel to you (whether that was in the preached or the written word). The Church loves Jesus so much it shares the Gospel, and it has shared it with you. If the Church has shared the most valuable gift, why do you shun them?
• You can see inspiring models: My church is full of older saints (anyone who can’t say that is missing out). Gathering their practical and doctrinal experience and seeing the spirituality of their life is incredibly challenging for my life.
• You can delve deeper into Jesus: The teaching of the Church (from the pulpit and the pews) will show you more than you could have seen in a lifetime of study. 2000 years of Church teaching is delivered to you to build from. You will see many aspects of Christ that you never saw or never realised how beautiful they were.

The Church Loves People Who Love Jesus

However it is not just that the Church loves Jesus. You won’t just look on from the outside and see some good examples. The Church will actively come and seek you out to bless you in a number of ways.

• The Church encourages Christians: When you are downhearted, you need someone to encourage you and lift you up. The Church will do a much better job than anyone else. They will encourage you in Christ! They will make Jesus the foundation of your joy in sorrow and how much better that is.
• The Church rebukes Christians: This may not sound exciting. However, if you are going off the rails wouldn’t you want someone to pull you back? The Church won’t let you fall into immorality, away from Jesus. We all stumble, the Church is  themeans by which God lifts us up.
• The Church provides opportunities to Christians: Whatever your gifts are (preaching, singing, hospitality) the church will encourage them and provide opportunities for you to share the gifts God has given you.

Jesus Loves the Church

Yet the best reason of all is Jesus loves the Church. He died for her and gave himself up for her. He calls her his bride. She is his most treasured possession.

If you love Jesus you must love the Church. He won’t let you do otherwise.

“But sometimes the Church can fall short. Sometimes it really hurts me.” That is true and no one knows it better than him. When he was weeping in Gethsemane, where was the Church to help him?

Yet Jesus still love them, still gave himself up for them.

Whether you like it or not (if Jesus died for you) you are a part of that Church. Why not get involved and learn to love the Church as much as Jesus does?

(Picture “Worship“ by bpbp shutterbugchik under the Creative Commons Licence)

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“He seemed so strong in the faith!” they exclaimed to each other. They’d have never thought that this could be true.

With men like this around, it’s no wonder people question if Christ is real. Surely if he was real, he wouldn’t have such awful followers. Doesn’t this disprove Christianity?

1) Not all who claim to be Christ’s followers are

Jesus hates hypocrites He seems “meek and mild” in the gospels until the Pharisees arrive. They really receive the sharp end of his tongue.

This is the same throughout the Bible. In Amos, God says he hates the Israelites’ religious festivals and demands they stop until he sees “justice roll down like waters” (Amos 5:21-24).

God hates the paedophiles, the witch hunters and the terrorists just as much as you and I. They may claim to be Christians, but God rejects their sacrifice. Will we attribute their sin to a God who hates them?

2) All Christ’s Followers Still Sin

If Christianity claimed believers would be perfect then our faith would be easily disproved. But the fact is some of the worst cases of Christian’s sin are recorded in the Bible’s pages (i.e. David’s adultery).

The Bible testifies that the Holy Spirit must battle Christian’s sinful desires constantly. Christianity never makes the claim of perfection in its believers. So it is a straw man argument to say because Christians sin Christ can’t be real. Are you satisfied to criticise Christianity based on attacking a claim it doesn’t even make?

Indeed, God accepting sinners is one of the great truths of Christianity. If God only accepted the great and good, then you and I would be rejected (with everyone else). But now, everyone has a chance to come into the Kingdom.

The Bible does say Christians will start to display some fruits of the Spirit. Theywil be more loving, they will be more kind and (most of all) they will be more devoted to God. Christians will sin less, not be sinless.

3) All Christ’s followers Will Be Redeemed from Sin

Yet Christ doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t save evil men and keep them evil, or only slightly change them. If that was true he wouldn’t be worth knowing.

Once day Jesus will return. On that day, believers will be purified from wrongdoing for ever.

You might say “I want a religion that cleanses from all sin now!”.

Where will you find such a religion? How will it stop the fact your heart makes a beeline straight for sin? By making doing more good works? That’ll never work, we’d need an utter heart change to stop sinning.

Christianity teaches only through Jesus dying for sin will we ever be free from it. He is the only reason we can have a little freedom now and utter freedom later.

Why he has made us wait, I don’t know. But Jesus gives the hope that one day we will be saved.

Does your religion or irreligion have that hope? Is it something you are attracted to? Will your belief stop you from doing what is evil?

Over to You

Now I realise that in a desire for a good overview of the issues and brevity I will not have answered all the objections in as detailed manner as people would like. Please comment if you have any objections you would like me to try to answer, or if you are a Christian who would like to add something.

This Series:
If Christ Was Real… Answering four arguments that Christ cannot exist (Originally discussed at BridgingSchisms.org).

1. If Christ was real…he wouldn’t have such awful followers. (this post)
2. If Christ was real…he wouldn’t send people to hell
3. If Christ was real…he wouldn’t judge us according to an unjust law
4. If Christ was real…he wouldn’t call me “sinner”. (coming soon)

(Picture “God Hates You“ by NoHoDamon under the Creative Commons Licence)

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Soon, after some lively discussions on Eshu’s blog,  I hope to answer those who say that the church’s records of evil is a reason to deny God . However, before I do so I want to talk to the Christians. I want us to realise that living for Christ can be an essential part in the way God saves people.

But before I do that I better get a big misconception out of the way.

What Living for Christ Doesn’t Do

Almost every Christian has heard the words of St. Francis of Assisi:

“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words”

Unfortunately, Francis simply do not represent the Christian view of preaching the Gospel. In Philippians 1:15-18 Paul talks about a group of people who are preaching the Gospel out of rivalry. What is his response? Joy!

This seems odd and the only reason that this can be is that the Gospel (even through a bad witness) still has the power to save.

Indeed, we find this in Romans 10:14-15. This passage is a summary of the essentials of becoming a Christian :

• You must call on Christ. But this can’t happen without you:
• …believing in Christ. But this can’t happen without you:
• …hearing the message. But this can’t happen without someone:
• …preaching to you. But this can’t happen unless someone:
• …sends people to preach.

Now the only part we have in these “essentials” is preaching. Preaching must occur. It isn’t an optional “when necessary”  Notice Paul never says “And how are they to see Christ unless you live like him?”. The fact is the only absolute essential in try to get people saved is preaching the message.

Many use living the Gospel as an excuse not to do the hard work of preaching the Gospel. Yet this isn’t what the Scripture says when it calls us to right living. Living for Christ does not replace telling people the message. Preaching is our primary purpose. Only words can convert

What Living for Christ Does Do

Nevertheless, though preaching is essential, it’s just as bad to undermine the importance of living for Christ. Living for Christ provides a powerful testimony to how the Lord changes lives.

Winning souls can be likened to a football match. In football, unless you score goals, it’s impossible for you to win. But many other things contribute to you winning the match: tackling, passing, shooting etc. For the most part these skills are very important, even if they aren’t the most important part. There may be the odd game you win despite playing badly, but they are rare occurances.

Preaching is like scoring goals. It is the only way you can “win” a believer (not that preaching always is successful, there are other elements involved in Romans 10). All the other skills are like living for Christ. You can’t win a game just by living for Christ, you’ve got to preach. However, living for Christ can have such a powerful effect “on the game” that it contributes to winning the game.

Now, you may say “This is a clever illustration, but is the idea of living for Christ leading to success Biblical”. Yes! Read 1 Peter 2:12:

Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

1 Peter 2:12 (ESV)

Glorifying God on the day he returns means they’ll be Christians! Your good deeds have some effect in winning people for Christ.

Peter tells us they stop people from being able to say “Well you are evildoers, you are just as bad as us, you’re message can’t be valid”. It helps prove that the Gospel is true. Your good works make all the difference.

What This Means For Us Christians

This means if we are preaching the Gospel we better make sure our actions are up to scratch.

Are you preaching the message to your boss? Better make sure you are a good worker.

Are you preaching the message to your close friend? Better make sure you show your love by keeping in touch.

Are you preaching the message to your child? Better make sure you a kind and fair parent.

Living for Christ does make a difference.

Now what about those who claim to be Christians but have engaged in wars or sexual immorality? Should they stop us believing in Christ? We’ll talk about that next week…

(Picture “Point“ by a2gemma under the Creative Commons Licence)

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If so, this book is for you. In “The Gospel & Personal Evangelism”, Mark Dever teaches what the Bible says the Gospel is and the methods of evangelism it sets forth. This isn’t a book for pastors, it is a book that all Christians can read. So short you can read it in no time, this book is a great start if you want to see what evangelism is and how you should do it..

The Argument of the Book

Dever confesses that many Christians either do not evangelise or do not do so in the way they should. Therefore, he considers a number of questions in his chapter headings that may help Christians evangelise more effectively. The chapter headings are:

1. Why Don’t We Evangelise?
2. What Is the Gospel?
3. Who Should Evangelize?
4. How Should We Evangelize?
5. What Isn’t Evangelism?
6. What Should We Do After We Evangelize?
7. Why Should We Evangelize?

Throughout Dever argues that evangelism is not about numbers, and much less about manipulation. Instead, he argues that the task of the Christian is to faithfully tell the message of Christ’s death so that people can come to him and be saved from the wrath to come.

Primary Audience & Purpose

Whilst there is a “Word to Pastors” at the back, the book is written to general church members. Dever is keen that all people in the church see evangelism as their task, and not that of a special few. Dever’s main purpose is to confirm what the Gospel is and to help us to evangelize in a more effective way.

Literary Features of the Book

The book is quite short, making it much more readable for the average member than some others in its genre (i.e. Know and Tell the Gospel). Dever writes in an engaging way, using personal illustrations to punctuate his writing. He is very open about his own struggles and doesn’t succumb to bashing those he thinks are wrong. He states truth in a warm, loving and interesting way that many readers will enjoy.

Is it Biblical?

Dever is constantly trying to point us back to a Biblical reason for doing something. Readers will be glad to know that he defines the Gospel in an orthodox way and fights against some common evangelistic messages that don’t quite get it right (i.e. “The Good News Is Not Simply That Jesus Wants to Be Our Friend”). He also defines evangelism not as imposition, apologetics, social action or personal testimoy but as proclaiming the news of Jesus.

Does it apply truth?

The whole book is thoroughly practical and gives lots of ideas for how to do evangelism and how to get opportunities to tell people the Gospel.

Is it Christ centred?

Absolutely. Mark Dever doesn’t fall into the phony Gospels that some are putting forward, but rather is very definite in the fact that the Gospel is Jesus dying to take the punishment for our sins. Evangelism for Dever is about presenting Jesus and not just winning converts. (Buy it UK)

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Reading is a powerful gift from God, both to those who are Christians and those who aren’t.

I think most of the people who read this site are avid readers, but sometimes being an avid reader is not enough. When I became a Christian I read like crazy, but most of the books I read had a lot of fluff and not much meat. We need to know the books we read are worth reading.

Ever since I started reading better books, I’ve appreciated other Christians recommending books for my attention. This is what I plan to do here, with my 10 Books You Should Read in 2009.

1. The Bible: Holy Spirit

Obvious but an essential number one spot. If you’re a Christian, you need to make sure that you plan what sections of scripture you are going to read and actually study them. (If you struggle with Bible study, give me a shout in the comments and I’ll post how I go about it for your benefit, as well as some helpful resources). If you’re not a Christian, this is where all Christian ideas come from so it’s the best place to start. Start with a Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John) so you can find out about Jesus and maybe discuss it with a Christian friend. (Remember you don’t have to fork out for a Bible, you can always read it online. The most common reliable translations are the NIV and the ESV. Avoid paraphrases like the Message. Whilst they have some value, you won’t be reading the actually words of Scripture).

2. The Reason for God: Tim Keller

It’s often a bad idea to recommend books you haven’t read, but I’ve heard a lot of the content for this book online. This book is aimed at non-Christians (but Christians may find it rewarding too). I’ve found few books for non-Christians have been heartfelt, convincing and not shirking the difficult questions. I’m told this book is the answer to those problems. If you’re going to read a book looking into Christianity, you can’t really go wrong with Tim Killer.

3. Institutes of the Christian Religion: John Calvin

It’s his 500th birthday, come one give him a break! John Calvin was one of the most cross-centred theologians and despite being demonised by half of the Christian world is an amazingly influential and Godly man. Just read it. (For a reading schedule and an online translation)

4. Shadow of the Almighty: Elisabeth Elliot

The value of a biography for a Christian is immense.  It is important not only to find out truths but see them lived out. This book is the diary of murdered missionary John Elliot, tracing his life all the way through University right onto the mission field. It is an inspiration, especially if you’re still at Uni. (My review)

5. Pilgrim’s Progress: John Bunyan

Christian missionaries first translate the Bible and then translate Pilgrim’s Progress, it’s that good. It’s a novel, so is much easier to read than some of the doctrinal books, and it is a really challenging allegory of the Christian life. You will see yourself in Christian and Christiana and be challenged to live in a way that is glorifying to God. You can access it online here.

6. Knowing God: J.I. Packer

This is one of the best introductions to theology I’ve ever read. It will really warm your heart to the character of God, in many areas where you wouldn’t necessary expect to. The jealousy of God is something that was shown to be a real blessing to me through this book. If you haven’t read it I’d advise you do. However don’t bother with the study guide, it doesn’t add any value.

7. Death by Love: Mark Driscoll & Gerry Breashears

The slot for “cross book” has changed 3 times in my draft of this post. After having just read through Death by Love I can confirm that this is my favourite pastoral book on the cross at the moment. Mark Driscoll takes real people (non-Christian and Christian) that he’s had counselling sessions with and uses various doctrines of the cross to write a letter to their specific need. It is brilliant. I was worried that with the structure of this book it might undermine the centrality of substitution and justification; but none of the letters (as far as I remember) don’t go back to these core truths. Moreover at the end of each section Breshears answers some theological questions that arise. This is an easy read, very through and very practical. Christian or non-Christian, familiar with these doctrines or not, I think this is definitely a book you should read. A review will be forthcoming.

8. Bruised Reed: Richard Sibbes

This book had an incredible effect on my life. It is a warm pious book aimed particularly at those who are lacking assurance. Though it is an old book, the Puritan Paperback version has updated the language making this an easy book to read. Short and oh so sweet I would heartily advise you to read it. (My review)

9. God’s Big Picture: Vaughan Roberts

The entire Bible points us to Christ. If that idea is new to you, read this book.With helpful activies, it gives a good overall scope to the Bible and shows how it is fulfilled in Christ. I’ve heard of friends giving this to non-Christians, and if you are a non-Christian wanting to go further into scripture than the Gospels this will be an immense help in seemingly weird books (like Leviticus).

10. Christ-centered Preaching: Bryan Chapell

This is really one for preachers. Again one I haven’t read, but I have listened to the incredible lectures on Biblical Training. If you are going to preach this year make sure that you have either read this book or listened to the lectures. It features good practical approaches to preaching, as well as explaining how to make Christ the centre of all your sermons.

Special Mentions:

If you are looking for a commentary for a book on the Bible, buy Tremper Longman’s Old Testament Commentary Survey and D.A. Carson’s New Testament Commentary Survey so you know exactly what your getting. The lists at Denver, Westminster, Desiring God and BestCommentaries are helpful too, but not as thorough as the books.

Over to You

So what about you? What books do you think I must read in 2009? (Even if you’re not a Christian I’d be interested to hear your suggestions)

(Picture “The Library“ by Here’s Kate under the Creative Commons Licence)

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