Holiness of God Book Review

This was the first book I have read by R. C. Sproul. In The Holiness of God, Sproul expertly navigates and illustrates God’s holiness through Scripture and helpful, accessible teaching. In the first four chapters, Sproul explores God’s holiness from Creation, Isaiah 6, the life of Christ, and the response of human beings to God’s holiness, especially in the New Testament. Then, Sproul explores Martin Luther’s life and his encounter with the Holy God. After Luther, Sproul dedicates an entire chapter (6) to the difficult passages in the Old Testament about God’s brutality, pointing to His holiness as a necessary explanation. Then, Sproul surveys God’s holiness in the lives of Jacob, Job, Habakkuk, and Saul of Tarsus. Sproul concludes his book with a call to Christians to pursue holiness, and then looking for evidences of the Holy God generally in nature, and in specific places and times. In all, this book powerfully succeeds in calling Christians back to a healthy fear of the Holy God, and a renewed treasuring of Christ for His sufficient sacrifice.

Death by Love Book Review

Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears have produced an immensely helpful and deeply theological book in Death by Love: Letters from the Cross.  The book is formatted as a series of counseling scenarios in which Pastor Mark is hearing someone’s story and situation.  Then, Mark writes them a letter, pointing them from their situation to Jesus, emphasizing a different aspect of the benefits of the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Finally, at the end of each chapter there is a question and answer section, similar to other books Driscoll and Breshears have teamed up on like Vintage Jesus.  While working through numerous life situations such as abuse, addiction, legalism, bitterness, and betrayal, Mark pastorally helps the people he is counseling see Jesus as their substitute, their victory, their redemption, their sacrifice, their propitiation, their expiation, their atonement, their ransom, their example, their reconciliation, and the perfect revelation of God.