Customer Reviews

The Finished Work of Christ: The Truth of Romans 1-8

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book comes several years after Dr. Schaeffer's death in 1984 at the age of 72. It was transcribed and from tapes made of Bible studies on Romans 1-8 in the 1960s and edited. The writing is smooth and clear, despite the unorthodox route to publication. They are not scraping the bottom of the barrel for material. This is vintage Schaeffer.

Francis A. Schaeffer is most known as an evangelical apologist, evangelist, and social critic, but he was firmly rooted in Scripture and the historic (and biblical) doctrines of the Reformation: justification by faith, solo scriptura, and the priesthood of all believers. He was also experientially rooted in the life of Christ. For Schaeffer, doctrine should live in the life of the follower of Christ.

I found these studies to be refreshing and encouraging theologically and spiritually. One who is familiar with his other work will find salient Schaefferian themes throughout; but they are never superimposed on the biblical text itself.

Those who desire to understand the Christian gospel and world view should read this book. Those already committed to Christ and his cause should savor this book in order to delve deeply into the transformative truths of the gospel and how it applies to our needy world.

Douglas Groothuis

I've really been enjoying the simple exposition of the Word. This commentary seems to be a good balance between light-and-fluffy and those texts that are plagued with academic fog. Schaeffer's honest and conversational approach really brings the message of Romans to an understandable level.Schaeffer, because of his systematic approach, does tend to over-simplify -- so if you are looking for an indepth word study, this is not the commentary to get. If you are looking for an introduction to Romans or want a refreshing breeze of thoughts from a modern mind, this is the book for you.

Francis A. Schaeffer was one of the foremost philosophical thinkers of this century, a theologian that enfleshed the Christian life and taught many in the faith to use their brains, not to attack and 'debunk' truth, but to use their grey matter to think logically and spiritually, honoring Truth. The author has influenced countless millions, directly and indirectly. His philosophy and thinking was based on the scripture and maybe most of all on the Letter to the Romans from Paul the Apostle. The letter is the main document that links the Old Testament Torah to the revelation of Jesus.

For those of us who never made it to L'Abri, this posthumous volume provides an sense of sitting under the Bible teaching of Francis Schaeffer. I have his "complete works" and was delighted that this unfinished commentary was made available. I hope there will be a volume II. While there's likely more commentaries on Romans than any other epistle, this is a great addition. Schaeffer offers expository teaching, not heavy on the Greek, and not too technical, yet this is NOT a devotional commentary; it is a serious study of what's been called "the cathedral of epistles". We owe a great debt to Schaeffer, who served as a missionary to the intellectual seekers of the 60's & 70's and whose books have made a major impact within the evangelical world. In an age of junk books it is great to return to the thinking of a great mind whose intellect and compassion made so many want to be true to the Christian faith.

As an avid admirer of Dr Schaeffer, I enjoy his work tremendously. In seeking the same level of penetrative literary excellence, I was slightly disappointed. This could only be due to the fact that these are transcripts from cassettes of teachings he delivered.

Romans 2:17-29: "What is the manifest purpose for the Scriptures?"

The apostle Paul has explained, by way of progressive revelation, the plight of fallen man. The Bible alone has presented the problem of sin and God's cure for it. As Francis Schaeffer commented on this part:

'Paul is simply cutting away every other foundation than grace. He is cutting away all the arguments people have used down through the ages to say: 'I don't need a Savior.' p 51

The formation of God's people based on the grace received by revelation is vital. The progression is clear:

General revelation: nature, conscience

Special revelation: Scripture, Incarnate Word

The relevant question then becomes: what does the Christian do with the Scriptures?

This is a commentary on the first eight chapters of Romans. Francis Schaeffer is a brilliant expositer. He clarifies confusing passages and explains the rest using easy to understand analogies. A wonderful piece of work.

This book on the first eight chapters of Romans has helped me more than any other to understand the essence of Paul's message on salvation.

Francis Schaeffer does an excellent job teaching through the first 8 chapters of the book of Romans. We are using it for a small group Bible study.

Schaeffer held the position of modernity's last great theologian; all others after him were repeating his particular worldview and applying to our pluralistic American culture. Now, in the midst of evangelical crisis, we as the younger theologians in America must deal with new problems: pluralism, globalization, theological comprimise, apostasy, post-christian america, etc... Schaeffer, although not a subscribing postmodern, would have treated our culture with the same theology and the same solid anchor of truth, but possibly in a different way. I definately recommend this book to anyone who wants a solid read.