REFORMATION DAY SERIES PART 1 - REPEAT BOOK REVIEW: CHRIST'S CALL TO REFORM THE CHURCH BY JOHN MACARTHUR

 Today is one week from Reformation Day. Forget the other thing people celebrate on this day. But I'm going to make the theme a focus on Tuesdays and Thursdays, plus a pair of Reformation themed Sunday blogs. How long? I'm not sure yet. But it will be a while. And maybe I'll save some for next year! 

I'm starting off with a repeat of a book review which was actually the first book review I shared this year.

Does the church need a Reformation? If Jesus was speaking to the church, what would He say? Would it be similar to what He had the Apostle John write to the seven churches of Asia Minor (Revelation 2-3)?

John MacArthur has been a solid voice encouraging believers to return to the sound teaching of Scripture and speaking out against modern trends that do not have Biblical grounding. This book is written to encourage today's church to do what Jesus commanded of the seven churches of Asia Minor: Repent!

This book starts off with how unpopular reforming the church is for the status quo. Chapters 2-9 are basically a commentary on Revelation 1-3, reading like a print version of a sermon series. 

The final chapter is titled "The Need for a New Reformation," and looks at the five solas of the Reformation: Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone), Sola Fide (Faith Alone), Sola Gratia (Grace Alone), Sola Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone), and Sola Christus (Christ Alone). MacArthur points out most lists end with Sola Deo Gloria, but he chose to end his book with what he focused on: Christ and the Church.

To be honest, I was hoping MacArthur to talk about how today's church mirrors the issues of the seven churches and specific steps the church can take to reform. Maybe I should write a book about that. But this book is Biblically sound and challenges us to be the Chruch God called us to be. I recommend this book. This is a much needed reminder (and for some a rebuke) to a church that needs to regain their first love and to repent.

 

BOOK REVIEW - LETTERS FROM JESUS: STUDIES FROM THE SEVEN CHURCHES OF REVELATION (GREEK FOR THE WEEK) BY CHRIS PALMER

 

Several weeks ago, I stated leading a men's Bible study on the Seven Churches of Asia Minor (Revelation 2-3). One of the books I read to prepare for the study was Letters From Jesus: Studies from the Seven Churches of Revelation by Chris Palmer. 

One important thing in looking at this book is that this is more of a devotional than a commentary. You may have noticed it reads "Greek for the Week;" the Greek refers to Palmer getting into the original languages, while the week points out that it's a weekly devotional, divided into 52 parts so it can last a year. Each chapter is four pages, starting with the verse in both English and Greek with the focal thought highlighted, an anecdote that goes through most of the second page, the Biblical thought for the third, and the final page including a prayer, projects for the week, and some cross references. (Since I was using it as research, I treated it as a daily devotional.)

Sometimes I think of devotionals as being a lighter study than a sermon or a commentary. This is not true of Palmer's approach. He tries to get into the meaning of the original Greek (I shouldn't assume that it's common knowledge that the New Testament was written in Koine - i.e. common - Greek, with the Old Testament written primarily in Hebrew with a few Aramaic segments). He succeed in getting into what the text is saying to the original audience and how it applies to today.

Following an introduction looking at "why Greek" and "why these seven churches, Palmer spends the first chapter looking at the image of Jesus in Revelation 1. He divides the remaining 51 chapters into looking at the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3, with eight chapters each on Ephesus and Smyrna and seven each on the remaining five churches. He gives each basically equal treatment, from the four verses given to Smyrna to the dozen for Thyatira.

I will admit that I was disappointed in Palmer in a couple of points. One is that in he either missed or avoided dealing with Revelation 3:10, where Jesus tells the church in Philadelphia they would be spared from the hour of trial coming on all men. The other is more bothersome. I expected with his focus on Greek that he would give a good explanation of the compound Greek word "Nicolatian", with the Greek words for control and people (laity). But no! Palmer not only takes up the traditional theory that one of the 7 deacons in Acts 6, Nicolas, went rogue and became a Gnostic teacher and formed a false group, but even embellishes what Nicolas thought; other books have correctly pointed out there's no Biblical nor historical proof for that hypothesis other than the similarity of the names (not a strong argument). But remember this book is a devotional, not a commentary.

In conclusion, I recommend this book. Allow me to break said recommendation into two parts: 

1. It is a very useful devotional. If you have the discipline to do it weekly and use it as Palmer designed it, go for it - you'll be blessed. You'll also be blessed if you make it a 52 day study  instead of 52 week.

2. Should you consider using this for research? Yes. There are other books I think are better for that role because unlike this volume, they are written as commentaries. But you definitely will learn more in this book as well.