Tuesday, July 15, 2014

[books i've been reading]



The Gospel's Power & Message. The first book of Washer's "Recovering the Gospel" trilogy focuses on key elements of the Christian message: the sinfulness of man, the righteousness of God, Christ's death as propitiation and redemption, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

The Gospel Call & True Conversion. Book two focuses on the elements of conversion--repentance, faith, and confession--and God's act of regeneration. Coming from a Calvinist perspective, he sees regeneration as happening prior to conversion. Regardless of whether you place regeneration in the miniscule moments before conversion or at conversion, his analysis of regeneration is one of the best and most coherent that I've read.

Gospel Assurance & Warnings. Here Washer tackles the doctrine of assurance; or, in other words, he seeks to answer the question, "How do I know I'm saved?" Paul tells us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith, and Peter exhorts us to make our calling and election sure. There are biblical ways to tell if you're a Christian or not, and he addresses both false assurance ("I believed or believe, and therefore I am saved") and biblical assurance. For the latter, he goes through the Book of 1 John, pointing out how God's people can be seen by their growth in holiness and love for God. In other words, justification produces sanctification, and thus sanctification proves justification. 

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