Should We Marry if We Are Theologically Divided?

Dr. Russell Moore recently had a couple write in and ask him this question.  To make it even more interesting, the young man is a self-proclaimed Reformed, dispensational fundamentalist while the young woman is a Pentecostal.  If you are not familiar with those terms, suffice it to say that they differ on lots of theological topics.

What I really appreciate about this article is Dr. Moore's wise & loving response.  It's worth the few minutes it takes to read, especially if you happen to find yourself in a similar situation.  You can read it here.

ESV Online

I'll keep this short and sweet.  The ESV Bible has gone digital... and it's free!  Crossway is calling it ESV Online.  Anyone is able to sign up, and you can "customize your own interface, highlight and mark verse numbers, add bookmark ribbons, search the ESV text, and manage personal notes."  Check out the rest of the press release here.  It's pretty sweet.  Check it out if you like.  Just throwing a great (free!) resource your way.

Also, if you have an iPhone or iPad, check out Crossway's ESV Bible App. My wife has it and really likes it.  You can find it in the App Store if you search for "ESV Bible."

New Recommended Reading on the Gospel from CJ Mahaney

In the past few years, CJ Mahaney (along with many other faithful friends & pastors) has helped me realize that as a Christian, I still need to hear the good news of the gospel, day in & day out.  To that end, here are 6 new books on the gospel that CJ recommends you think about reading.

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“The gospel cannot be preached and heard enough, for it cannot be grasped well enough,” wrote Martin Luther.*

By God’s grace I have been a Christian for 38 years. I agree with Luther—I still cannot hear the gospel enough. Each morning I seek to preach the gospel to myself by my study of Scripture and through the strategic reading of supplemental books about the cross. Over the past several months it has not been difficult to find enough books to fill this role. Six wonderful new books on the gospel have been published in the last five months, and they constitute a portion of my recent reading diet. Here they are:

God the Peacemaker: How Atonement Brings Shalom
by Graham A. Cole (Dec 2009), 257 pages
. This is a technical but reader-friendly addition in the NSBT series (New Studies in Biblical Theology). And not only is it detailed and readable, but I found it to be deeply moving, too. Many times throughout this book as I read about the atoning sacrifice of our Savior I ceased reading, looked up from the book, and broke into song. (In the interest of full disclosure, this often happens when I read. I am a noisy reader and often break into song while reading.)

God the Peacemaker is a wonderful book that explains why God's intention to restore shalom (peace) to his creation requires the death of Christ. Cole writes in the introduction:
We live in a troubled world. As I write, there are reports of a devastating cyclone in Myanmar, an earthquake in China, fighting in the Sudan and Iraq, shooting death after shooting death on the south side of Chicago. The list could go on and on. The waste of human life is enormous....Yet Christians believe in a good God who as the Creator has never lost interest in his world. The key evidence and the chief symbol of that divine commitment is the cross of Christ....Central to the divine strategy is Christ, his coming and his cross. The troubles and calamities will end. (19)
In recent years there have been many books that emphasize God’s restoration of shalom, but too few that highlight the central role of the cross in this plan.

By Grace Alone: How the Grace of God Amazes Me
by Sinclair Ferguson (Feb 2010), 118 pages
. Few have taught me more about the gospel of the grace of God than Sinclair Ferguson. I was reminded of the profound influence of his ministry in my life a couple years ago when I did this interview with him about the cross. Through his sermons and writing I am personally reminded of grace, affected by grace, and inspired to lead by grace. His latest book on the gospel of the grace of God is a gem—showing us why we should be amazed by it. Ferguson writes,
Being amazed by God’s grace is a sign of spiritual vitality. It is a litmus test of how firm and real is our grasp of the Christian gospel and how close is our walk with Jesus Christ. The growing Christian finds that the grace of God astonishes and amazes. Yet we frequently take the grace of God for granted. (xiv)
Ferguson writes as a man who is himself amazed by grace.

Scandalous: The Cross and Resurrection of Jesus
by D.A. Carson (Feb 2010), 168 pages
. In the preface Carson writes,
Nothing is more central to the Bible than Jesus' death and resurrection. The entire Bible pivots on one weekend in Jerusalem about two thousand years ago. Attempts to make sense of the Bible that do not give prolonged thought to integrating the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus are doomed to failure, at best exercises in irrelevance. (11)
This book is not only not doomed to failure but destined to serve readers in their appreciation of the gospel as he expounds on both the death and resurrection of the Savior. As Mark Dever says in his endorsement, "This professor can preach. These are model messages on crucial passages." They are crucial passages, presented as a model of exegesis and exposition. The book is developed around five core passages: Matthew 27:27–51, Romans 3:21–26, Revelation 12, John 11:1–53, and John 20:24–31. Pastors can easily adapt this structure and use these passages to develop a sermon series to serve their churches.

Atonement
by various authors, edited by Gabriel N.E. Fluhrer (Feb 2010), 142 pages
. This is a compilation of messages delivered over the years at the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology. Contributors include J.I. Packer, R.C. Sproul, and Ferguson. In his preface, editor Gabriel Fluhrer opens the book with these pointed words: "This is a book about blood and it soaks every page" (ix). And a little later he writes,
Today, along with other great doctrines of the Christian faith, the doctrine of the blood atonement of Christ is under attack. It is derided as “cosmic child abuse” and traded for a grandfatherly sentimentalism that muffles the piercing cries of the Savior being nailed to the cross. The pride of our sin dilutes the simple, clear, and shocking teaching of the New Testament: God killed his perfect Son to save hate-filled rebels from the wrath they deserve. (x)
The messages included in this book were finely chosen.

What Is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert (April 2010), 124 pages
. Gilbert's new book on the gospel is clear and compelling. I wrote in my endorsement that I hoped to place this book in the hands of every pastor and church member. And the only thing I would add is that I hope it finds its way into the hands of non-Christians as well. I agree with Mark Dever: "This little book on the gospel is one of the clearest and most important books I've read in recent years." Help me put a copy of this book into every hand. Buy a case of them and begin giving them away immediately!

It Is Well: Expositions on Substitutionary Atonement
by Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence (April 2010), 223 pages
. This series of sermons was published out of concern over the neglect of the gospel in the life of local churches. In the preface Dever writes,
Have you wondered about the cross lately? Have you wondered where it is in your own church, or in your own life? It's our prayer that these meditations will help you re-center your life on God's sacrifice for us in Christ and join in the celebration that's going on eternally as the saints in heaven praise God for the Lamb who was slain for us. (15)
Like Carson’s, this book can provide a pastor with a sermon series on the gospel. The 14 sermons are presented in canonical order on these texts: Exodus 12, Leviticus 16, Isaiah 52:13–53:12, Mark 10:45, 15:33–34, John 3:14–18, 11:47–52, Romans 3:21–26, 4:25, 5:8–10, 8:1–4, Galatians 3:10–13, 1 Peter 2:21–25, and 3:18.

I am grateful that we have many wonderful (and affordable) books about the gospel of Jesus Christ. We need these books because we cannot read enough about the gospel. We cannot read enough about the gospel because we cannot grasp it well enough.
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What Luther Says: An Anthology, compiled by Edwald M. Plass (St. Louis: Concordia, 1963), vol. 2, pp. 563–564.

Seven Abominations

No, this isn't an article about the Last Days of Revelations. It's not a "Wrath of God" countdown of the people committing the most evil in popular culture or government, either. I don't know about you, but the word "abomination" carries with it the unfortunate picture of a man with a comb-over and a three-piece suit screaming at the top of his lungs about teens gyrating their hips to "rock and/or roll" music. I wish that wasn't the first thing that came to my mind, but we should admit that there has been an inappropriate overuse of such a strong word. That said, "abomination" is a completely appropriate word to describe supreme hatred and disgust. I'm thrilled to say that I don't use the word very often, but that doesn't mean there isn't a proper place for use of such a colorful term. In Proverbs 6:16-19, we find one of those appropriate places:
16 There are six things that the LORD hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18 a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
19 a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers. (ESV)
Ouch. Hated by God? Disgusting and vile?? Seems harsh. Isn't this kind of language and attitude something God should "be above"? Why make such a big deal out of some of these? We can all probably agree that people that intentionally harm innocents are practicing evil. They should probably face some sort of ramifications for their evil deeds. What about people who have "proud eyes" and lie? Is that really something that should spawn "ABOMINATION-talk"?

It seems there may be a few things keeping us from feeling the full weight of this passage. The first may be a tendency to accept God's Wrath on a simple level. To some, it may seem that this is God's normal state. He is primarily characterized by his hatred and wrath against mankind's rebellion. Of course, it is true that God hates rebellion and evil, but this shallow understanding of God's attributes presents an ogre-like God who is looking for an opportunity to attack anyone who "crosses his bridge". This mentality misses the clear statements of Scripture referring to the God who loves glory, honor and power, but makes those attributes most manifest through lovingkindness. Our God is to be praised for His gracious love. Grace is to be seen as ultimate. Wrath is to be viewed as penultimate. This is not to put attributes at odds with one another, rather to place the appropriate weight on them.

In a similar way, some may misconstrue teachings about the love of God. This would be characterized as a view of God's love that would negate the possibility of any hatred. A "God of Love who hates" to them would seem to be a contradiction. This too is a misunderstanding of what the Bible teaches about God's Love and Wrath. There is a better way of viewing the connection between God's wrath and God's love. A way that shows why God shouldn't be and isn't "above" hatred, and sheds light on how magnificent his love really is.

God's hatred of evil is good news to us. There is no better place to observe the joy of God's hatred of evil than at the cross. The place where evil and wrath were present on a scale that had never been seen is also the place where hatred of evil demonstrated the greatest love ever known. I find it incredibly interesting to find all seven abominations listed in Proverbs 6:16-19 played out in the Gospel accounts of the death and humiliation of our Messiah. Is it not fascinating that these very same evils brought about the means by which evil was mortally wounded and sinners were forgiven?! Jesus took on evil, and in doing so bore the full fury of wrath. He could not be destroyed by His Father's wrath, but evil does not share the kind of perfection necessary to survive. Evil is a wounded fugitive in hiding until the Hero delivers the coup-de-grace in the Last Days.

The appropriate response to this idea of "abomination" is not to call on destruction of the sinners around us begging for obliteration, nor is it to pretend that God is somehow too big for the problem of evil in the world. Rather, we should respond in gratefulness that God sent his Son to show his love for us (Romans 5:8). His Son was sent to deal with our evil by bearing wrath because of his great love.

Welcome Aaron Camp to the Blog!

Over the past 2 years that Misha and I have lived in Aurora, IL, we have become good friends with one family in particular from our church, Aaron & Heather Camp. I can't remember how many nights we have spent hanging out, playing games, and talking with one another. God has been so kind to give us friends such as these.

One of the things that I enjoy most about hanging out with the Camp's is that Aaron and I get to discuss the many facets of our Christian faith. This may include diving deep into theology, sharing what we are currently reading, or discussing how current affairs are to be viewed in light of Scripture. Today, I would like to bring that same discussion to this blog. Aaron Camp will be a new contributor to Homo Unius Libri on a routine basis. He will be doing many of the same things I am currently doing, just in his own way. This will include pointing you to Christ-exalting resources, sharing what he is learning from Scripture, and doing some book reviews of recent books he has read.

I am really excited about Aaron contributing to this blog, and I hope you are as well. Since most of you do not know who he is, I conducted a short interview with Aaron so that you might get acquainted with the man himself.

Aaron, tell us a little bit about yourself. Include family, job, likes, dislikes, hobbies, or whatever else might help us know you a little better.

I'm married to my wonderful wife, Heather, for nearly three years now. I work at Crossway Books in Wheaton, IL in the Sales Department. Some of my main "likes" and hobbies are reading (theology and zoology are my favorite topics), painting, music (especially folk and rock) and the Indianapolis Colts.

How did you come to saving faith in Jesus?

I've never been able to give the date, but around the age of five years old I made a profession of faith. I truly believe that in child-like submission I believed the truth of Christ's death on behalf of me (the sinner), and responded in repentance. A question could be asked if that was the point that I gave my life to Christ, and to be fully honest, I'm nowhere near positive that I can remember my own thoughts and the event of that day very well. At the age of nineteen, through a series of events, I confronted that question head on. I had not been evidencing a life of faith in Christ, I was being tossed about by every philosophical fad I came across and frankly, I just didn't care most of the time about my relationship to Jesus, a church community or loving my neighbor. These are some serious realities that I had to deal with to reconcile my idea of being a disciple of Jesus! Through a variety of resources including intense study of new birth in the Bible, the book Chosen by God by R.C. Sproul and some great conversation with mature believers, I interacted with the idea that the sovereign & loving God was working out a plan to save sinners and redeem his creation beginning with the church. I now had a context to place Jesus' work in that made sense out of the world around me. I tend to look at this stage as a time of growing in understanding of salvation, but I must admit that the change of life that resulted truly causes me to wonder if I experienced new birth at a later age. I'm thrilled to know that my salvation does not require me to remember a date and place, but faith in the Messiah's work on my behalf and repentance.

What excites you the most about getting to serve the readers of this blog?

The conviction that right thinking leads to right affections, which leads to right living. This is only true in light of God's grace, and it does not happen apart from God first loving us. He is teaching us actively through our interaction with His Word. Both in opening our eyes to the truthfulness (internally), and in the experience of the Spirit teaching from the actual pages of Scripture (externally) as the Author. It is interaction with The Word that we see growth in our knowledge of God. It is my firm conviction that this blog exist to help people in their understanding and love for the Word by cultivating a desire to know and love Jesus. Could there be a more exciting reason to serve?


I don't think there is, Aaron.  I am so excited to have you on board with me, and I hope the readers of this blog will be served well from their interaction with you.

Book Giveaway Winners

Congrats to Kim Dietz and Kurt McConnell! Kim won Radical, and Kurt won The Radical Question.  I hope God reveals more of himself to you as you read this book.  Also, please email me (jeseger@gmail.com) your address, and I'll get these into the mail ASAP.

Swagger Wagon

I know I've only had a child for 3 months, but this video makes me want to buy a Toyota Sienna real bad...

Book Giveaway: Radical by David Platt

Friday, I posted a book review of Radical by David Platt.  On Friday, I'm going to give 1 copy of Radical and 1 copy of the condensed version of the book, The Radical Question, away for free.  All you have to do is post a comment below using the word "radical" or any form of it as many times in one sentence as possible while still being nearly grammatically correct.  For instance:

"It would be so radically radical if you radically chose this radical dude to get a free radical copy of Radical by the radical pastor David "Radical" Platt."

Please be sure not to post anonymously, or I won't be able to pick you since I'll have no idea who posted the comment.  I'll pick 2 winners randomly on Friday.  Let the commenting commence.

Book Review: Radical by David Platt

Religious freedom has done a lot of good for American Christian churches.  We are free to go to church on Sundays without the fear of being caught and persecuted.  We can gather together with our Christian brothers & sisters to pray without having to meet together in private.  We can even tote around our bibles with us wherever we go, not fearing who may see us holding it.  But, sadly, this same freedom has done a lot of harm to our churches.  Though we are free to read our bibles whenever we want, we are not hungry for the Word of God.  Though we don't have to meet in private to pray, we are not fervent in our prayers.  We waste our money on cars and gadgets, all the while accumulating more and more stuff, instead of using it to bring the gospel to the nations.  We've become comfortable, and as a result, we, as American Christians, have succumbed to the American Dream.  With his new book, Pastor David Platt wants to plead with us not to abandon this dream for the sake of the gospel and the nations to which it must go.


Radical by David Platt is a loving, pastoral indictment for the nominal American Christian to get off the couch, pick up his cross, and radically abandon everything to follow Jesus.  In it, he takes the time to walk his readers through Jesus' own words on what it means to truly follow him.  And make no mistake about it, Dr. Platt will challenge how biblically accurate many of your current practices truly are. For instance, in his chapter on reaching the nations for the sake of the gospel, Platt says, 
"While some professing Christians have rejected universalism [the belief that all people go to heaven no matter what they believe] intellectually, practically they may end up leading universalistic lives.  They claim Christ is necessary for salvation, yet they live their Christianity in silence, as if people around them in the world will indeed be okay in the end without Christ."
Challenges like these are much needed by us in the American church.  

One of the things I really enjoyed about Radical was the many stories that he shares from his missionary travels around the globe as well as from the people at his own church.  These stories serve to show us what it looks like to radically follow Jesus in practice.  These stories are then coupled with Dr. Platt's fluid & accurate interpretations on the relevant biblical texts on radical abandonment to Jesus.  Overall, this makes for a very enjoyable and meaty read.

For me personally, reading Radical caused me to reflect a lot on my own Christian journey & practices.  Am I living as if I truly believed the gospel?  Do I really believe that "to live is Christ, and to die is gain?"  I still need to reflect some more on this topic, but suffice it to say that Dr. Platt's book has affected me greatly.

I can't recommend this book any higher.  It came at a point in my life where I was getting comfortable, and I know that there are many others who are at that same point in their lives.  This book is a much needed wake up call for all Christians everywhere, and I would recommend you read it.  Buy it here.

Also, check back in the next few days.  I will be offering a free giveaway of Radical by David Platt to my readers.

If you just want to try a sample of the book first before buying it, Multnomah is offering a free download of Chapter 1.  You can also request a free printed copy or download a digital version of The Radical Question (a shorter version of Radical).  The download is only available through May 9, 2010.

This book was provided for review by the WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group.

George: A Movie Trailer

Can't wait until this comes out in theaters... Ha!!