1996 issue 7 - book reviews: books by carson, miller, sandlin, and einwechter - counsel of chalcedon
TRANSCRIPT
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8/12/2019 1996 Issue 7 - Book Reviews: Books by Carson, Miller, Sandlin, And Einwechter - Counsel of Chalcedon
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To (jlorify And
Enjoy
jod:
A Commemoration
Of
The
Westminster Assembly, ed.
by
John L
Carson and
David W.
Hall. The
Banner of
Truth
Trust
,
P. O. Box 621 , Carlisle, PA
17013, 338 pp.
with
index.
$32.95, 1994, hb.
The
answer to the first
question
of
the
Short
er
Catechism has been aptly chosen
as the
title of this volume.
Within
its pages are the addresses
given in 1993 to commemorate
the Wesbninster
Assembly
of Divines
that
was
convened
in 1643.
Divided into three
sections, the various
addresses examine
the
histOly of
that
day, and
provide an overview of
the documents produced
by those men
(The
Westminster
Confession of
Faith, th
e Westminster
Short
er
Catechism,
the Westminster
Larger
Catechism, the
Fann
of
Church
(jovemment and
the
DirectOly
of
Public
Worship).
The final
section
contains the
texts
of commemorative sennons
on the
Sovereignty of
(jod, the
Pre-eminence of Christ and the
Application of Redemption .
Preceding
thse sections David
Hall
provides an excellent
historical
study of previous
commemorations of
the
Westminster
Assembly.
The
volume
concludes
with
an
article
by Jay Adams on
the
Influence
of
Westminster and
some
helpful appendices
.
Each
article is
readable and
provides insights to
the
subject at
hand.
The reader should finish
the
book
being
more
knowledgeable
of
the
faithful
and
arduous work of the men
at
the Assembly
and far more
appreciative
of
what (jod
did
through
those
men .
t would
be difficult to pick
out
the most
important
article in
this
volume.
The
authors have
each
done their
homework and
are
well
qualified
to spe
ak
on
their topics. The
inclusion of
the
sennons
provide
a
practical
balance to
the
book
and
fittingly
remind the
reader of
the
practicality
of
aU Biblical
doctrine.
The
authors of the
various essays
also realize
this.
Thus
,
the reader
will
find points
at which the
essays spe
ak not
only to
the mind but
to the
heart
as
well.
This volume will be valued
by those
who
appreciate
the
documents
produced
by the
Westminster Assembly. The
documents
have
an enduring
quality
. Their quality
is also
seen in
that
th
ey
speak
to many
of
the
doctrines at issue in
refonned
churches today
.
Hopefully those
readers
unfamiliar
with the Westminster
documents
will
be motivated to
a study
of
the
Confession of
Faith
and
its
accompanying
documents.
From Fear to Freedom
(Living
as Sons
and Daughters
of
(jod)
by
Rose Marie Miller,
Harold Shaw Publishers,
Box
567, \. heaton, Ill. , 60189,
1994, 161 pp .
incl.
appendices,
p.6, $9.99. .
From Fear
to
Freedom
is
the
stOly
of
Rosie
Marie Miller, a
pastor's
wife, who was
outwardly
doing
the right
thil)gs
but who
was
inwardly suffering
and
stru
g
gling
with her
stance
before
(jod.
llle
book
opens
with
Rose
Marie meditating at
her daughter's wedding
ceremony. She rejoices
over the
perfect
bride
and
groom,
her Christian
children, her
faithful
Bible
and Catechism
training
of her children,
their
good
looks
and
manners.
All the years
of
hard
work are
bearing
fruit.
Soon
after this, however, Rose Marie
experienced some
family trials
and faced
an
emotional midlife
crisis.
I
did
not
realize
that the
confidence
I had always had
about
my
life
was
not
faith
,
as
I
had
assumed, but
a
reliance on
my own competency, be
it
real
or
imagined.
p
15 She felt
guilty
,
lonely, helpless,
.
abandoned -
as an
orphan - and
yet
she
couldn't
come to
tenns
with her
problem
.
She openly
tells
of conflict
with her husband
Jack
-
pastor
of
a thriving
church
in Jenkintown,
Pennsylvania.
Sh
e studied
scripture
and tried
to
communicate
with her husband
but with little
success
.
Everything
seemed to be
his
fault
- she
was masterful in
her
September, 996
t
THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon
t
2
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8/12/2019 1996 Issue 7 - Book Reviews: Books by Carson, Miller, Sandlin, And Einwechter - Counsel of Chalcedon
2/3
blame shifting. Jack embarked
on a study,
of
Qalatians to,
ind
:
some insight
for
dealing with
the tension
in
his
home.
Rose
Malie rehearses her
,
childhood arid
seeks to learn
from it. She
remembered
how ' '
her mother had
suffered
from
emoti,onal and mental problems.
As she delved
into
the
parental
relatioJ1ship
; she saw sin that , .
had never been-dealt with
properly, The problems were '
never even admitted . .Clearly ,
the
sins
o f . . t h e f \ l t h e ~ were
vi
.sited on the
children
unto the : ,
third 'and fourth generationiUn
her and her children). She was ,
dealing with .
sin
in the
same
'
way her parents had - by, ,
suppressiJ1g it,
QY
ig:l1Qrlng it.
In the remaining
chapters, the
authotbegins to slowly comelo '
grips with the
fact
that she
has
tried
to
be independent and s e l f ~
sufficient
and has nol
trusted
in
Christ's p()wer. Qradually, as
she
is
broken again and again ,
by
the Lord, she
sees
His '
sufficteJ1CY
rid
hertotai
i n s u f f i c l e ~ C Y .
She
T ~ a l i z e s
that ' ,
Chrlst's
~
is bouhdless and :
free. It
d o e ~
~ o t d ~ p e i l d o n our
energies
or
accomplishments.'
It
,
is all of Qod's ,grace.
:
Rose
Mllne had to becrilshed
and see nothing good inherself
Then she was ready
for.real
: '
kingdom work . .qo is now
using her
to
speak
alqng
with
h ~ [ Ji-usband in many;churches
ill
America'and abroad as ;
one
beggar offering the bread of ife
to all-other beggar."
A\so,
amazing things have
begun
to
happen in her family as the
children
obserye their ehanged
parents.
This
book is
a very personal ,
a c ~ o u n t
of
Rose
Marie Miller's '
life" t to()k great courage to ,
share these
private deti\i1s'.of her '
stiuggleswith
sin.
Praise,Qod '
for His
victory
in the Millers ' '
lives.
j v1i1J1Y Christians will
be
. , . . 0_ . .
helpeq by
this book.
2:13-17
and' CoL 2:14-17 mean"
(p. 23). This distinction is , . '
helpfuL
be,cause
the
often used '
three-fold division separates the
moral rom civil law,, ' ,
although thedvillawoften
defines
the
moral law.
For
example, from
the civi laws
we
learn
that the breaking of the ,
'A ,Christian e c o n s v u c t i o ~ seventh commandment
includes
Primer by ,Andrew Sandlin. '
incest, bes
,tialitY and
Chalcedon Foundation Box .15 l: h o m ( ) s e x u l i ) y . , ',;
Vallecito,
CA.95251,49.
pp.
Sandlin 's book is p i j . r t i c u l a ~ t y
$3.25,. : ' helpM in ;h,at he begins with '
To many,
reconstruction"
the Bible and with the f a c t ) h a ~
. . . .
r e c o n s t r u ~ o n i s t
thinking flows
has to
do
just With Qod's1ilwfromScriplure;He r n p h a s i i e s
'andpostmillenialism. The author thatcultural
chaAge
canoniy. '
begins at neither pOint.He starts ' ,begiJ1 after stony
Ilearts
ha,ve ,
atthe'
beginniJ1g wiUi
the
'
,.
' , ,
beenuprooted
a n d r e p l a ~ e d w i t h
presupposition thattheB,ibl
e
is hearls that
are
soft toward God's
(lod s
inerrant,
infallible
'word
woM.
Each chapter
conclude$
.
f r o m w h l c h ~ l I docmnemust ' with'obje,ctionsthal a ~ ~ b ~ e ~
.come and on.v/hich allUfe must
raised
to the
subjects covered,
be
lived.
In the remaining
brief thereifl al]ose,
t h ~
a u t h o r d ~ e ~
n d ~ o w t h of Ciod's 'kingdom i
{
, ' '
'
not
go,
intp.
de.ptn
in any
chapte
,
r.
and the
fact
that Christians
are
He is f a ~ t h f u f t 0 the title.,He hilS
to apply GOd 'sword to every ' , written a
primer-an
introduction :
area
of life.
His dear and
precise
writing
is
'
RegardiJ1g Qdd s
lawaJ1d
its
a c ~ o m p a h i e d by' g r a c i o ~ s spirit:,
applicabiliiy
to today,
the
author .
Its
br,evity n i ~ k e s it reader
does
not divide the law into f r i e J 1 d l i t 6 i n l i ~ l s i t i v e ,
threftypes-moi'at; civil aJ1d ' individuafs; ts
SttiptUral
ceremdiliai.Qdd detennineSthe ' faithfulness
m a k e s i f a Y o l u m ~
,
delineation bdweeTl;teinpoTiIt'y , , that
rec6nSthidioniStHan
,','
arid abiding laws. Sandlin . : ;distribute t o t ~ o s e
d e s i r ( ) u s o f
writes:
"CertaJn
'
parts
dnhe law ' leaming th'citsodetytan be , ,
were pointers
'to Chrisl arid his '
recoJ1striJcte
-
8/12/2019 1996 Issue 7 - Book Reviews: Books by Carson, Miller, Sandlin, And Einwechter - Counsel of Chalcedon
3/3
reconstruction is rooted. Of
course
it
can
be profitably read
by an individual desirous of
learning
about reconstruction.
Church booktables should
provide
space for this
work.
Hopefully
it
will reach a wide
audience and
have
a
positive
impact
on a culture that is bent
on deconstruction.
.. .:
'
.
.. '
, .'
i
Ethics and God s LilW: An
Introduction to Theonomy, by
William O. Einwechter,
Preston/Speed
Publications, RR 4 Box 705,
Mill Hall; PA 17751. 1995,
85pp, incl.
Scripture
index, pb.
This book is a healthy
addition
1
currently available
books on this important topic.
The author provides the
reader
with a concise yet Scriptural
explanation of theonomy. In
ten brief but meaty chapters he
provides
the reader with a clear
presentation
of
many aspects
of
theonomy
[ Ciod'slaw J.
How
is
it definedl How
does it differ
from naturalJawl
Isn t theonomy e g l ~ c l Isn't
the Christian under
grace,
not
lawl These and similar
questions
are
answered in a
pastoral, cogent manner.
Having made his case for
theonomy being
Ciod's
ethical
system
for His
creation
he
24 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon t September, 1996
Non-Profit
Org. .
U.S.
Postage
.
PAID
BULK RATE
Pennit No. 1553
Greenville,SC
29602
.
closes
the book with a chapter
that provides several reasons
. why the reader should
embrace
theonomy as the
ethical
system
on which individuals and
societies must stand.
The book
is reader
friendly
in its
brevity,
compassionate
yet
passionate
approach
and in its
well-written
style.
A
bibliography
is
included
so
that
interested readers
may
further
study this important
issue.
Sadly we live in a day when
too
many in the church oppose
theonomy yet cannot correctly
define
the term. Hopefully
the
wide
circulation
of this book by
means
of personal
recommendation,
church
booktables; etc. will be
used
to
educate a
needy population
as
to
the definition and
extreme
importance of theonomy for
our
day.