The Church in Gods Program (Handbook of Bible Doctrine) [Paperback]

Robert L. Saucy (Author)

Book Description

Series: Handbook of Bible Doctrine | Publication Date: August 21, 1972

The Church in God's Program is a biblical study covering the entire scope of the church - its beginning, government, ministries, and the new covenant.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Moody Publishers; 1st edition (August 21, 1972)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080241544X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802415448
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,995 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert L. Saucy is distinguished professor of systematic theology at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University, in Los Angeles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Introductory Work in Ecclesiology, July 31, 2002

By 

J. F Foster - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Church in God's program (Hardcover)

Saucy wrote this book a number of years ago, but it is still a frequently used text in a number of seminaries, particularly those of a dispensationalist bent. It's a good book that will expose the reader in a pretty summarized fashion to the major issues in ecclesiology, or the study of the church.

Among the strengths of the book are that most every traditional ecclesiastical issue is covered in this book - church government, ordinances, discipline, church officers, and how the church figures into the study of eschatology. Saucy's analysis of these areas is sufficiently detailed to be pretty thorough, while presenting many of the distinctives in summary fashion. Saucy provides a very good bibliography at the end for readers to conduct further studies on particular areas of interest.

There are a few weaknesses which compel me to give the book a 4 star rating. First, the book is frankly pretty dry. Thus, it is not likely to be the kind of book that a casual reader would pick up and read. Ecclesiology may not be the most riveting theological topic in existence, but there are many issues in this area of study that are important and interesting. But it is very difficult to find any book emphasizing ecclesiastical issues that has captured the attention of casual readers and lay Christians. It would be nice if such a book existed, but this book by Saucy isn't it. Secondly, because the book is an ecclesiastical summary, it is uniquely positioned in the realm of ecclesiastical studies. The purpose of the book may have been to present these issues in a way that lay readership could understand, while also being a useful tool for more advanced studies. As indicated, I don't think the book particularly succeeds in speaking to the lay reader, and because it's a summary oriented book, it's usefulness to the scholar is also somewhat limited (although again, the bibliography is quite helpful in this regard), although I think it's very useful to seminary students. Lastly, Saucy is a progressive dispensationalist and his eschatological treatment of the church in this book is decidedly dispensationalist. For readers who reject dispensationalism, this area of Saucy's book will be a disappointment.

However, it is a good book with sufficient amounts of material to help seminary students as well as lay readers who are interested in getting their feet wet in ecclesiology, although the material tends to be presented in a rather dry fashion here.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book on Ecclesiology, though a bit dated, February 21, 2007

By 

theologicalresearcher "theologicalresearcher" (Canada) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Church in Gods Program (Handbook of Bible Doctrine) (Paperback)

If you're looking for a good and informative book on ecclesiology from a conservative evangelical perspective then Saucy's book will be the one for you. Though the book is slightly dated (first published in 1972) it is still useful for pastors, seminary students, and even laypeople if they want an informed book on ecclesiology. Not only is the book informative and comprehensive, it is easy to read.

The perspective given by Saucy is mildly dispensational, cautiously congregational, and strongly baptistic (though he opts for the Reformed view of the Lord's Supper). He argues quite convincingly for the congregational and baptistic view, but I believe he falters slightly in attempting to put a rigid distinction between the OT and NT, Israel and the Church (chap. 5). However, I believe that he totally got it right when he argues that the Church did not begin until Acts 2 (non-dispensational scholars like D. A. Carson, Walter Kaiser, and George Ladd have also argued that the Church began in Acts 2). Covenant theologians, on the other hand, argue that the Church (in spiritual form) began with Adam, Noah, Abraham, etc. This view, however, is nowhere found in Scripture and seems to be an imposition from a Reformed view of redemptive-history.

Despite the one criticism of promoting dispensationalism, Saucy does a very good job presenting his case in other topics of ecclesiology. One will find his chapter (8) on the worship of the Church quite good and useful. He provides the reader with a good understanding of the nature and purpose of worship. Considering the contemporary controversies surrounding what constitutes biblical worship, readers will find this chapter helpful to say the least.

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading a book on ecclesiology from a conservative, evangelical, and baptistic point of view. The only reason why I only gave it four stars is due to the out-of-dateness and Saucy's dispensationalist agenda.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must book for every Pastor-teacher, January 11, 2007

By 

Issa E. Haddad (Aliso Viejo, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Church in Gods Program (Handbook of Bible Doctrine) (Paperback)

It is concise yet comprehansive; useful for sermons and teaching materials. conservative in his view point. Despensational in his Theology. interact with other theologians.