The Perfect Law of Liberty - William Gadsby

Ok, so it's taken me three weeks to get to the book at the top of the pile that I mentioned in my last post The Perfect Law of Liberty' by William Gadsby (I got diverted by The New Calvinism Considered - Jeremy Walker, but that's another blog post!). Without giving a full review, I wanted to highlight some excellent passages...

This blessed gospel is a divine chest which contains all the Christian’s treasure, and its riches are durable riches and glory. “Where the treasure is there will the heart be also.” As ye prize your liberty and privileges, may you continue to look into the perfect law of liberty, and be earnest with God, at a throne of grace, that he would grant you fresh discoveries of the real excellences of the truth; for, just in proportion as your mind is drawn aside from the gospel, and you are left to look elsewhere, so you will be brought into bondage and distress; and despite all that men or devils say, just in proportion as the Holy Ghost enables you to look into the perfect law of liberty, so you will find a holy joy in believing, and a solid rest to your mind. Therefore, continue steadfast in the faith, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith, and ye shall be neither barren nor unfruitful. As heirs of God, anticipate your inheritance, and daily examine the contents of your Father’s will. God grant that it may be our happiness to be much in the gospel and to daily enjoy its contents.

Show me a man who is looking into the perfect law of liberty, and, by faith, living on its divine contents, and I will show you a man who is living in the fear of God, abhorring sin, and giving proof that the truth of God does not lead to licentiousness, but to holiness and godliness; for to this are the heirs of promise called. To such a man, the precepts which Christ has taught his church, the ordinances he has instituted, and the means of grace he has appointed, will be attended to with pleasure and delight; nor does he ever find himself at home when this is not the case.

God's beauty and glory are the saints eternal delight; and, fired with a feeling sense of this, they are concerned to walk in all well-pleasing before God, and unblameably among men.

That God may enable us to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called, in all things showing ourselves a pattern of good works; that we may live in the blessed enjoyment of the true liberty of the gospel; that we may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breath, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, and be filled with all the fulness of God; and that we may live not unto ourselves, but unto the Lord; may the Lord grant it, for the Redeemer’s sake. Amen and Amen.

This little treatise is well worth reading, very relevant and not at all difficult to get through especially considering it was written in the 1800's!
Lorna

Too Much Grace?

Earlier this year I read 'Christ in the Chaos' by Kimm Crandall and loved it.  A few months later I read 'Glimpses of Grace: Treasuring the Gospel in your Home' by Gloria Furman and really enjoyed that too. I still stand by these reviews and consider these to have both been helpful books but I now have another 3 or 4 books sitting on my bedside table all dealing with the struggles women can face in the home and the need to rely on grace.  I have scanned only one of them and have started to feel uneasy.  As I commented recently to a friend, there are so many of these books being published now it starts to feel a little like grace is becoming an excuse for licentiousness (i.e. don't worry about shouting at your kids/having a messy house/arguing with your husband, grace covers all your failings, just hear how bad I am...).
Interestingly I have now come across a blogger who has written about many of the same concerns that I have felt but been unable to clearly express.  These concerns are expressed as part of a book review (a book I have not heard of or read) and although I don't agree with all his points a lot of what he writes is helpful. Have a read...
http://theweeflea.wordpress.com/2013/10/30/boring-grace-a-review-of-one-way-love-inexhaustible-grace-for-an-exhausted-world/
(some of the comments on the post are also interesting)

Grace is not a new (or dare I say American) invention.  Grace is infinite.  Everyone knows Newton's famous hymn 'Amazing Grace! (how sweet the sound!), That saved a wretch like me...'.  In my (ancient) hymnbook, Newton shares a page with 3 other hymnwriters and each has something precious to say about grace:

(click on the picture and it will enlarge big enough to read)

I'm not wanting to suggest that all books on this topic should be banned(!)  But perhaps we need to be careful that we do not, by over-using the term grace, begin to think too lightly of it.

Lorna
By the way, the book that has jumped to the top of my pile has just been recommended by Jeremy 'The Perfect Law of Liberty' by William Gadsby.

What's your style?

Everyone shops differently, but most of us do get caught up in the Christmas shopping experience - for better or worse!  We have planned two very different Christmas shopping events to suit all types.  If you prefer shopping with the family, pop in on Saturday 16th November.  We will happily entertain your children with Christmas crafts & activities while you are free to browse our special offers.  Alternatively, if you prefer to shop in peace & quiet pop along on the evening of Monday 18th November.  We will be opening late for a relaxed evening of browsing and extra discounts.
Please note... the special offers & discounts are ONLY available at these events...  also the usual free refreshments will be available with added mince pies!

#CrazyBusy

It's not wrong to be tired.  It's not wrong to feel overwhelmed.  It's not wrong to go through seasons of complete chaos.  What is wrong - and heartbreakingly foolish and wonderfully avoidable - is to live a life with more craziness than we want because we have less Jesus than we need.

What a fitting final paragraph to this excellent little book! Not only has it made me laugh, it has also made me stop & think - alot.  There are changes ahead...
Lorna
Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung, IVP, £8.99

Engaging with Keller

Perhaps they will not be welcomed, but here are some sober essays on Tim Keller's theology. Having given a welcome to his reflections on work - see blog on 'Every Good Endeavour' - I feel a responsibility to take notice of criticisms of more fundamental elements of Keller's thought. Tim Keller, ordained in the PCA, was the founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, which has grown remarkably since into a major ministry. He is a very influential figure in the evangelical world: he both epitomises it and shapes it. It is a bold effort then to get a book like this published and EP Books are to be commended.
Keller's style is unashamedly philosophical. He is trying to reach a post-modern generation, particularly young professionals, and therefore seeks to jettison theological jargon. The problem emerges as to whether he (i) succeeds in 'translating' biblical terminology into his language correctly, and (ii) succeeds in conveying the truth through it. The authors of this book, led by Iain D Campbell, address this in the following areas of concern: the doctrine of sin, hell, the Trinity, creation, the church, and Mission. Quite a list! But Keller is handled very carefully on these matters by all contributors - perhaps too gently if the charges against him are fair. My conclusion is that there is a case to answer, and it will be interesting to see if Keller bothers with a rebuttal. But if avowed fellow evangelicals, fellow Presbyterians, find clear cause to sound a warning note against such a successful(?) fellow minister and brother, then something must indeed be up!
'Engaging with Keller' ed. Iain D Campbell & William M Schweitzer, p/b published by EP Books. RRP £9.99. Our price £8.49.
Jeremy

A Glorious High Throne

Our virtual reading club is getting on well with A Glorious High Throne (Edgar Andrews). I have been catching up with some reading this evening and this is too good a section not to quote!

It is central to the message of Hebrews that Christ's work of deliverance is complete.  Christ is the perfect Saviour because he saves perfectly.  There is nothing partial, conditional, or temporary about the salvation that is in Christ. Nothing is left to chance. Nothing is left to man's fallible 'decision' or 'commitment'. Jesus' work of atonement is a finished work of grace that has completely and eternally saved his elect.  Their entrance into 'glory' is assured. 

If you like the sound of that and want to join the club, please let me know (ladies only).

Lorna

Glimpses of Grace: Treasuring the Gospel in your Home

Glimpses of Grace is a compelling book, it can be read from cover to cover or just as easily dipped into ad hoc without losing the thread. Ever practical and honest, Gloria Furman uses a mixture of personal anecdotes, biblical truths, sound quotations and faithful hymnology to gently persuade you of the vital necessity of treasuring the Gospel in your home.
A few extracts will show this better than my attempts to describe it (from Chapter 9 God's Abiding Presence in Our Pain):

...I live in the midst of pain.  We're all carrying some sort of burden - maybe it's a lost love, or a lost child, a broken friendship or a broken home. We all limp as we go about our daily lives, and sometimes the pain is so deep that we can hardly bear to stand up. Your daily life is complicated by situations and extraordinary pain.
...There's a saying I learned in Kenya when visiting the church there. When somebody says, "God is good," everybody answers, "All the time." We extol the character of God and affirm, "God doesn't change." But how does God's immutable character affect our everyday perspective on life? If God doesn't change, how are we to respond when our circumstances do change? Rejoicing in the unchanging character of God is much harder to do when you feel like your life is a sandstorm swirling all around you, and you can't see which way to go, much less where the road went.
...Martin Luther said "Although it hurts us when he takes his own from us, his good will should be a greater comfort to us than all his gifts, for God is immeasurably better than all his gifts."
...Every time God acts, he acts in righteousness and grace.
...We need faith to trust that God doesn't merely "know what's best for us," but that he is what's best for us no matter what our circumstances are.

Lorna
Glimpses of Grace: Treasuring the Gospel in your Home by Gloria Furman, published by Crossway, £9.99