5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Missional, But Personal Instruction, November 14, 2007
This review is from: Overcoming The World: Grace To Win The Daily Battle (Paperback)
Dr Joel Beeke, long-standing stalwart of the Reformation and its Puritan heritage, gives us, as modern day people, an insight into the lives of not only the churchmen of the Puritan era, but also the folk in the pew.
Struggling to come to terms with suffering and injustice, living in perilous times, these men and women are fine examples of how we should conduct ourselves in the world today. That we portray a positive example to the lost is a biblical imperative from Christ.
On sin:
'When we surrender to the devil's temptation, that failure is rooted in unbelief.' p 36
On culture:
'Friend, if you marry the spirit of this age, you'll find yourself a widow or a widower in the age to come.' p 37
Quoting Calvin on election:
'We shall never be clearly persuaded...that our salvation flows from the wellspring of God's free mercy until we come to know the very sweet fruit of God's eternal election.' p 72
On worship:
'The worship of God is always primary, for one's relationship to God takes precedence over everything else.' p 73
On piety:
'But Calvin helped Christians understand that the pious live Coram Deo, 'in the presence of God', from the heart and in daily life. Piety is, therefore, voluntary and unforced, motivated by delight in God.' p 73
On holiness:
'As Stephen Charnock concludes: 'This is the prime way of honoring God: we do not seek to glorify God by elevated admirations, or eloquent expressions, or pompous services for Him, as when we aspire to conversing with Him with unstained spirits, and live to Him in living like Him.' p 83
On battling perfectionism:
'In the meantime, brotherly love for fellow Christians dissipates and becomes strained. We no longer love them enough to bear with their sinful tendencies.' p 118
On our dependency on the Holy Spirit:
'The Spirit uses means to enable us to be examples - means rooted in our private lives.' p 120
A long hard look at mature Christian conduct.
'You have heaven to win or lose for yourselves as much as others.' Richard Baxter,
The Reformed Pastor p 72
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great, but not the Best in Class, March 30, 2009
This review is from: Overcoming The World: Grace To Win The Daily Battle (Paperback)
One of the first few passages I was fascinated with in the early days of my acquaintance with the Bible is the apostle John's warning against worldliness in 1 John 2:15-16. This is probably why I am drawn into reading books related to the same theme of worldliness. Among the books dealing with this theme, I would place Dr. Beeke's "Overcoming the World," in the middle of the road between the plethora of old-school Puritan books and the more modern application-oriented ones; an example that falls under this category is "Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World" by Mahaney et al. Though Beeke rightly mixes orthodoxy and orthopraxy, the former should lead to the latter, I have the impression his coverage in general is not as deep and stunning as the Puritans, There are three reasons why this is the case. First, the book is a collection of manuscripts of a series of lectures delivered at Metropolitan Tabernacle School of Theology in London in 2002. You don't have the freedom to go deep when you have a time limitation as in a conference address or seminar to cover a particular topic. Second, Beeke is trying to cover too much here. What I mean is he is trying to talk about worldliness for lay-people and ministers; in personal and familial life; how to treat your wife and children, in 180 pages, while John Owen needs 407 pages in his triple-combo treatises to address sin, temptation and mortification related to individuals alone (see "Overcoming Sin and Temptation, ed., Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor); though not specifically about worldliness, but is inextricably linked to it. Third, there seems to be so many lists of to-do things which, though they are good lists, but they could probably have been shortened.
There are a few highlights that I thought worth mentioning, however. First, there is a chapter on piety in which the piety of John Calvin is set as an example. Calvin defines piety (pietas) as the right attitude of man toward God that includes true knowledge, heartfelt worship, filial fear, prayerful submission, and reverential love (p.42). Beeke argues a true understanding of piety, like that of Calvin, conquers the heart, "with an emphasis on the heart more than the mind. Head and heart must work together, but the heart is more important" (p.42). Moreover, "For Calvin, theological understanding and practical piety, truth and usefulness, are inseparable" (p.41). An undesirable effect of a head-only piety and theology without any effects on the heart is a bloated head that results in the third symptom of worldliness that the apostle John speaks of; that is, the pride of life, a nasty orthodoxy. It is interesting the original word `life' used in 1 John 2:16 is "bios," referring to the tendency of boasting in one's "life" or biography, that can also manifest in an inordinate reliance on one's correctness in doctrinal beliefs for the purpose of exaltation of one's theological knowledge as grounds to tout spiritual superiority and belittle and condescend others;something I have also been guilty of as well. On a separate note, upon learning about Calvin, I often wonder if the providence of God through his chronic illnesses as well as the socio-political situation in the days he lived in were the catalysts that made him a devout person. I believe so. Here is an example of the so-called sanctified suffering. Afflictions are often dreaded and avoided at all costs, but when sanctified, are the means to godliness. Second, Beeke's counsels on handling criticism (p.142-157) are excellent, of which I had the privilege to be among his audience during his address about the same topic at the Philadelphia Conference on Reformed Theology in 2008 in Sacramento, CA. Third, Beeke also offers precious counsels for the ministers. Something that caught my eyes as I was mulling over the appropriateness of an extravagant living for a minister of the gospel that he wrote about was,
"It is not right for a minister to walk in a vain show (Ps 39:6). If we preach to our people that they may not set their hearts on earthly things while our lifestyle shows that we ourselves do, our ministry loses credibility. Don't think of ministry in terms of a salary but as a spiritual investment that offers eternal dividends. Like Paul, let us learn to be abased and to abound with contentment" (p.168).
So do I recommend this book? Yes. Do I consider it as the best treatment on worldliness? No. Is it still useful for the edification of the saints? Absolutely. What are the best books that deal with the theology of worldliness? To name a few, as a personal preference, I would suggest Jonathan Edwards' "Christian Pilgrim: The True Christian Life A Journey Toward Heaven" (one of my all-time favorite sermons available online for free), Jeremiah Burrough's "The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment," and Thomas Watson's "The Art of Divine Contentment."
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