3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Attention Kindle users: read this before you buy!, August 12, 2011
Be advised, Kindle user that this is just one third of a larger book by Packer called "Growing in Christ" (...) - the other sections covered in Growing in Christ. At the time of my writing this, the full book "Growing in Christ" is just $1 more than this book. So spend a dollar more and get two other works by Packer for "free"!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book about living out the Ten Commandments, October 25, 2010
This review is from: Keeping the Ten Commandments (Paperback)
It's a real shame that the 10 Commandments receive little or no "airplay" in the modern Church. The Law constitutes a significant and foundational portion of God's revelation to man. What's more, the Lord Jesus Christ, God's supreme revelation, does nothing to diminish the Law. In fact, he states that the expiry dates of the created order and the Law order are coterminous (Matthew 5.18). He also says, "If you want to enter life, obey the commandments." (Matthew 19.17, NIV)
Yet so one-sided is the modern Church's treatment of law and gospel that words like what I have written in the preceding paragraph are immediately construed as promoting works righteousness and legalism. An Amazon.com "reviewer" commenting on J.I. Packer's book, _Keeping the Ten Commandments_, says, "This book is based on heresy from start to finish, on the heresy that the law is what will make people holy and righteous." Never mind the fact that Packer specifically affirms the need for repentance and faith in accordance with the demands of the Gospel (p. 18). No, Packer is teaching heresy because he dares to speak positively of the Law and give it a role in the Christian's life.
But I digress.
Packer's book is a brief read, weighing in at around 100 pages. His writing style is always a pleasure to read and this book is no different. A better title for the book might be "Living the 10 Commandments," for this is in fact the central theme. Says Packer:
"Living the Ten Commandments is the theme of this book, and the truth we must learn from the story of the rich young ruler is that only through life-wide repenting for one's self-serving lifestyle to date and through humbly receiving and trusting Jesus Christ as one's living Lord and Savior and through heart-changing regeneration of the Holy Spirit will Commandment-keeping ever pass beyond formal outward role-play to become the substantial concern of one's inward life, stemming from a truly God-fearing, God-honoring heart." (pp. 17-18)
Packer's book is a very accessible introduction to the 10 Commandments. He takes the reader through each commandment and, in a very practical way, explains how the commandment is to be lived out. In this way, he draws out the "general equity" of the Law. For example, when Packer explains the eighth commandment, which forbids theft, he argues that the commandment applies to more than just private property. He asserts that the theft of time is likely the most common form of theft today. "Employees contract to do so many hours' work for so much pay and fail to do it. We start late, finish early, stretch coffee, lunch, and tea breaks, and waste time in between. This is theft." (p. 74)
Throughout, Packer assumes the continuing validity of the Law for individual ethics. Near the end of the book, he also makes a brief case for the applicability of the Law to society at large.
_Keeping the Ten Commandments_ has study questions at the end of each chapter, making it a good book for group discussion/study. It would be ideal for a Christian or group of Christians with little knowledge of the 10 Commandments. Christians who hold to a love-or-law antithesis will also find this book helpful since it challenges that dichotomy. Packer says that love and law are allies, not enemies. Law needs love as its drive to avoid the dangers of externalism. But love needs the law as its eyes since love is blind (pp. 31-32).
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." - John 14:15, December 21, 2009
Mr. Packer makes the case for obedience to God for a more rewarding life. Nowhere does he say these "works" will bring the reward of salvation.
Which of the 10 commandments is so distasteful that one should bristle against it? No other gods before Him? No worship of idols? Not taking His name in vain? Observance of worship? Honor of father and mother? No murder? No adultery? No stealing? No false witness? No coveting? Faith is not a license to disobedience to the One who has given the gift of eternal life in heaven.
"For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome." - 1John 5:3
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