Book Review : Transformed by God : New Covenant Life and Ministry : David Peterson

     Few theological themes exist more prominently throughout the Scriptures than that of covenants. While this review isn't the place for discussing the importance of covenants, it is the place to give a brief word on it, as Dr. Peterson's book, Transformed by God : New Covenant Life and Ministry, assumes a foundational understanding of just how important the presence of covenants throughout the Old Testament, particularly, find their way to fulfillment in the New Covenant sealed by Christ. So, to introduce this review and the theme generally, here we go:

     Covenants play a significant role throughout the Old Testament. The formal covenant exists at peaks throughout redemptive history, as God addresses His promises to major biblical figures: Abraham, Moses, and David. The general role of divine promises is asserted soon after the Fall, when God promised in the "proto-evangelion" that One would come who would stamp out the serpent. Since that anticipation in Genesis, there are more or less formal events that concern the promises of God to His people. The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, however, are mouthpieces whereby a "New Covenant" would come about, a Covenant that would be fulfilled by God Himself. All of the other covenants and promises would ultimately find their converge point and fulfillment in the New Covenant. Which makes the New Covenant a very important aspect of redemptive history.

     Dr. Peterson's volume has to do with the proclamation of that New Covenant during the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah, in particular, and how the Covenant, "signed, sealed, and delivered," effects the people of God, our worship and ministry, the hearts of God's people, and our knowledge of God. This important reality indeed changes "everything" and Dr. Peterson's aim in writing this volume is admirable and more than appropriate. It is a commendable pursuit and an entry into what I would consider an "under-served" field of theology, particularly as it specifically concerns the New Covenant.

     The first four chapters of Transformed by God are adaptations of lectures delivered by Dr. Peterson, while the remaining two chapters are additions made to the work. To be fair, I have a good deal of respect for Dr. Peterson as a scholar. I own a couple other books by him, including his contribution to the Pillar Commentary series regarding Acts. There is no doubt that he is a fine scholar and theologian, I must say, however, that my experience with this book was not as engaging as I had hoped it would be. The book's content is solid, which alone merits a positive review on the grounds that it both addresses a very important theme and does so soundly. However, I found the book to be somewhat dry. This may have something to do with the adaptation of previous material or the extended time period I took to complete the book. Nonetheless, on such a major and largely unaddressed (in book form, at least) topic, I expected a bit more in the department of "engagement."

     I would certainly recommend Dr. Peterson's book to anyone looking to gain some perspective on the New Covenant and its implications for Christian life and ministry - that's the thrust of the book and, as I said, it does not fail in that regard. That being said, I would ensure that if you do read this book, that you stay intentionally engaged. Thank you to the folks at InterVarsity Press for supplying a complimentary review copy without expectations of a positive review.

Book Review : The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus (NSBT) : Alan Thompson

Two things to kick off this book review that I want to grab your attention right away :

• It's my opinion that the book of Acts is arguably one of the least understood books in the New Testament. The misapplication of this valuable portion of sacred Scripture is, sadly, behind the development of some very unhealthy theology. Accordingly, getting the book "right" is absolutely critical for those responsible for handling the Word and leading in the local church.
• Before I even get to the review itself, I have to say that Alan Thompson's entry into the New Studies in Biblical Theology series, The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus (being reviewed here), is an extremely valuable read. It's a five star book and I hope that can encourage you to consider this book as a study aid in approaching the book of Acts.

That being said, here's the official "review":

     Over the past decade plus, InterVarsity Press has been releasing some excellent volumes in a series entitled "New Studies in Biblical Theology." With contributions from scholars such as David Peterson, Greg Beale, and Andreas Kostenberger, the NSBT series, which is edited by D.A. Carson, is a treasure chest of biblical theological insights that are academically rigorous and evangelically faithful. There is a lot of very helpful material to be found in these books (at least in the few I've looked at).

     How does Alan Thompson's entry, The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus, which concerns a biblical theological framework for approaching the book of Acts, stack up to that reputation? With all of the out-of-the-strike-zone stuff out there regarding a theology of Acts, what kind of material does Thompson supply to the discussion? And with all of the differing interpretations of Acts, what really qualifies as a convincingly biblical theology of Acts? In light of all that background, I'm very happy to say that I found this book to be incredibly helpful. Frankly, I haven't read a more paradigm solidifying synthesis of theological analysis pertaining to a scriptural book/author in recent memory. It really is that well written and thoroughly biblical

     After introducing the book, Dr. Thompson supplies an initial framework for approaching New Testament theology, generally referred to as the "already/not-yet" description of the Kingdom of God. (If you're not familiar with that hermeneutic, check out Graeme Goldsworthy or George Eldon Ladd, who supplied some contemporary pioneer material on the Kingdom come/yet-to-come theology.) From that starting point, he treats the place of Jesus' death and resurrection in Luke's theology, with particular emphasis on how the resurrection is emphasized in Luke and Acts. Continuing, Dr. Thompson addresses what I think is one of the most critical areas of interpretation that fails to be understood in many deficient approaches to Acts: the missionary character of the book, particularly the expansion of God's Kingdom beyond ethnic Israel to include Gentiles throughout the earth. Chapter Four concerns the role of the Holy Spirit, which treatment by Dr. Thompson is excellent in its correction of the unhealthy doctrine of the Spirit held in many circles of popular evangelicalism today. Chapters Six and Seven address the role of two very significant factors in Old Covenant Judaism and the place that it takes in the life of the New Covenant community, as communicated by Luke. The final Chapter is a conclusion of the material.

     All things considered, while the book may be a bit more "technical" than some folks are used to, I would recommend that any Christian with an interest in understanding a biblical framework of Acts ought to pick this book up. Simply put, this book is well-written and thoroughly biblical. Thanks to the folks at InterVarsity Press for providing me a no-cost copy of this book for review purposes. While there was no expectation of a positive review on their part, I am glad to have had the opportunity to read through this excellent volume in the NSBT series.

Parents: Keep Reality Before Your Children: Scripture Memory

I'll admit it.  Scripture memory is for me the flossing of spiritual disciplines.  It's something that I know is very good for me, will probably head off some problems down the road, is recommended by 10/10 godly men, and should be practiced regularly.  What's more, it's something that I tend to get excited about in spurts.  I'll get revved up about it because I've got a few extra minutes with my girls in the car while I wait for my wife to grab some things at the store and I'll grab my Bible and turn around and recap our memory passage that I hadn't touched for a week.  It ends up being the most easily excluded thing for me during our family worship time, oftentimes because a) I've forgotten to go over it or b) it's bedtime already. 

Candy floss sure seems to be more appealing than the waxed variety.

If you're like me (with flossing - and for the sake of your teeth, I kind of hope you follow through with it more often than I do), you can at least identify with how I relate to Scripture memory.  Unlike flossing, though, Scripture memory isn't painful - even if you haven't done it for a while.  Memorizing God's Word is intended to be a delight (Psalm 119:14, 16), a vaccine against sin (Psalm 119:9), and satisfy the yearning of our hearts after the Word (Psalm 119:20).  It provides us with material to recount the wondrous works of God to each other and to our children.  And even if we have a Bible on us all day, it really is the surest way to guarantee that your thoughts have something godly to turn to when you're tempted to sin or just check out and think about baseball.  At the end of the day, like any biblical discipline, you won't regret it.

Unfortunately, we sometimes like to think that we can bypass our minds and head straight to the heart.  While the heart is crucial, God didn't design us as purely emotional beings.  We were made with minds.  And just as we are to love God with all of our heart, we're to do the same with our minds.  Yet like our emotions, our thoughts need to come under the sway of God's Word.  So when you wonder why little Billy is chucking his Duplo blocks across the room, remember that his darkened heart is also informed by a darkened mind that seeks to suppress the truth he knows.  And while memorizing Scripture doesn't save someone, how will someone believe unless they're given biblical, gospel truth to believe?  It's a whole lot more reasonable to keep hammering Billy with truth than hammering him with behavior modification.  And it's a whole lot more biblical as well.

How does Scripture memory become a part of family life?  Let me suggest this: if anything is going to put you on a path to walking together as a family (or even as a church), it's making sure that we're thinking God's thoughts after Him together.  I'm not going to say it's a secret that I think a primary way of keeping our kids from jumping into the deep end of the culture pool is by loving them well and involving a regular time of family worship into the daily routine.  And a really big way of keeping reality before our kids is making sure that we don't privatize our time in God's Word so that the only time we're in it is in the morning, before they wake up.  As helpful as that time is for us personally - and it is crucial and should not be neglected - consider how your little boy is going to develop a heart to spend regular time in the Word.  We need to teach our kids and model for them a love for Scripture.  And a really sweet way of doing that is to together memorize the same passages and focus on going together to the treasure chest of Scripture.

You Want Some Tips, Eh?

Well, here you go.  For what they're worth - and I do hope they are of some help to you - give these ideas a thought (or two or three):

• Think about your family.  Because each family and each learning style is just a tad bit different, I'm not going to tell you that there is a "best" way to approach it.  But here are some things to consider: What is going on in my family life right now that could be spoken to specifically by the Word of God?  What stage of life do we find ourselves in?  What area of sin seems to be pronounced in our family life or in the lives of our little ones?  Is there a particular book of the Bible that you've been reading together?  Are there particular things about God that you want your little ones to be seeing right now?  Any of these questions will help you come to a conclusion that approaching such and such a passage and eating it up together will be especially relevant to your family.  For our part, we're working to memorize Ephesians.  It's a tremendous book that covers so many different aspects of Christian doctrine and living.  And I want my girls to have a solid foundation of truth in context.  So that's where we're at.  But you won't go wrong, so long as you get an idea about what would be helpful for your home.
• Get a plan.  Plans fail for lack of counsel.  They also fail when they don't even exist.  So instead of just thinking that it's a good idea to memorize Scripture, think about how you might best help yourself and your family to actually do it.  Is there a better time of day to recite it together?  Would five minutes over dinner be helpful?  What about breakfast?  Don't feel that your plan is concrete - but try some things out and see what works best.  As helpful as my turn around in the car parked at Walmart moments may be, it's not the best time to ensure we're committing God's Word to memory together - mostly because it's just irregular.
•  Don't expect too much - or too little.  We have a tendency to assume that we can't memorize a whole lot.  We chafe at the thought of memorizing a whole chapter, not to mention a whole book.  But it can be done.  Just don't expect it to happen overnight!  If you think about all the little songs and ditties and commercials that we can finish the words to, you might give yourself a little more courage to say "We can do this."  And with your little ones, recognize that their minds are on overdrive.  Us old folks are the ones whose memories aren't getting any better (that is, unless, we exercise them!), while our little ones have minds that God has designed to gather and retain so much of what they're seeing and hearing.  I am so encouraged when my Lydia stays right on track with me when we're saying our passage.  Even so, remember that we have our off days and so will our kids.  That's just how it goes.  For my part, I'd rather set a high bar and deal graciously when we don't meet it than assume that a four year old can't hold on to the word "beloved" because we don't use it in every day speech.
• Enjoy the time and encourage and affirm each other.  Words of affirmation and encouragement are a big deal to me.  If they're not there, I can start feeling bummed out.  They mean a lot when they're there.  So remember, you've got little ones who look to you (and a spouse, for that matter) who would be blessed to hear a "Well done" from mommy and daddy.  Sometimes, I'll repeat the verse until I get to a point where there's a "key" word and then stall out a bit and ask for help in finishing it, in the hope that Lydia will pick up on it and chime in.  So affirm the goodness of your child's memorization by showing that it even serves your memorization efforts.  And ultimately, enjoy the time together.  Find something that can express your pleasure in memorizing and reciting Scripture together and offer it to your family.  It was a delight for David to commit God's Word to heart and it should be for us in our homes, as well.

Again, I hope those tips can help you out a bit.  I want to leave you with some  resources that can hopefully be of good service to you.  With the advent of smartphones, we've got even more and nearer tools to do this.  So let's take advantage of them (or use the old pen and paper, if you like) and actively commit to memorizing Scripture.  It might be like floss for some of us now.  But it has much greater promise than any flossing ever will and it's part of a rich legacy to leave your children and for them to take on to college and into their own families.  May these few thoughts and resources help us to serve our families well by keeping the truth of God's Word before our children regularly.

• Fighter Verses (Desiring God): Pretty much the go-to site these days for Scripture memory, along with a number of tools to help you as a family or church to get memorizing together.  (If my memory serves me right, I remember visiting Bethlehem Baptist one weekend and having someone from the congregation or a group from the congregation getting up and reciting the verse(s) for the week.  It wasn't awkward or performance-like, but reflected the discipline of grace embraced by the church.  Great testimony for corporate - be it family and/or church - Scripture memorization.)
• Seeds Family Worship: Scripture set to some catchy tunes.  The albums are divided by theme.  We've got a number of their songs and they probably get stuck in my head more than they do in our girls.  The music glues it to your memory very well.
• Journibles: While not "technically" a memorization tool, I know that writing things out can help lock in what we're thinking about.  These journals are set up for you to write out the Scripture you're journaling through.  Giving one of these to each member of your family, depending on the road for memorization you're taking, could help things set up a bit more.

Well, there you be.  It's a small sample, but a start.  The Fighter Verses are so well developed at this point (with apps for your smartphone and everything) that it may very well be the best and only tool for you to look at.  Whatever the case, memorizing the Word together is key.  And from memorizing it, we should be encouraging each other to be doers of the Word as well.

Next up on the list of tools, to be tackled later this week, Lord willing: the big, scary word, "catechesis" (rest assured, we're not talking here about the Roman Catholic catechism - instead, I'll be featuring Charles Spurgeon's).

To God Alone Be the Glory,
-Chris