Right with God by Michael Reeves. Union Publishing. 35 pages. 2023 ****
Seminary president and professor Michael Reeves writes that this is a little book about being right with God. It is a book about the wonderful doctrine of justification.
The author tells us that to be justified is to be a sinner on whom God has graciously pronounced the verdict “righteous.” It is to be declared righteous, not slowly transformed to become righteous. We are justified when God announces the verdict that we have a righteous status before him. To be justified means to come before God the Father not righteous in myself but clothed with the righteousness of my perfectly righteous first-born brother.
The author utilizes a good deal of scripture in this book, as well as writings from Luther, Calvin, Bunyan, Sibbes and others. He states that Paul’s letter to the Romans gets to the heart of the apostle’s understanding of how to get right with God. He also looks at the objections to justification, beginning with the letter of James.
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The author tells us that justification by faith alone must therefore be the very foundation stone of healthy Christian living. Without it you will not lean into the Christian life or have real joy and integrity before God.
This short book is packed with biblical wisdom. It is written in an easy-to-understand manner and can be read in one sitting.
Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:
- God does not love people because they have sorted themselves out: he loves failures, and that love makes them flourish.
- My current sin can and will hamper my enjoyment of the Christian life, but it can never alter my identity in him.
- Christ, our great Bridegroom, has taken all our sin, death, and judgement, borne it on the cross, and drowned it in his blood. He has then given to us all his righteousness, blessedness, and beloved status before his Father.
- We need not ask, “Have I got enough faith?” Faith is simply accepting, receiving, believing Christ—and he is enough.
- For all the sin that remains in our hearts and lives, we who trust Christ cannot be condemned without Christ being condemned with us. All his is ours.
- Salvation by grace alone is simply another way of saying salvation by Christ alone. There is no grace or salvation or righteousness without him.
- Sadly, far too many Christians lack the solid assurance that they have eternal life. The day of judgement need not be a day we dread, for it is the day of Jesus, our friend who has given us his righteousness.
- The simple fact is, you will not love God unless you know he loves you first. You will not love him unless you can know a security to enjoy him in.
- Study, Savor and Share Scripture: Becoming What We Behold. My wife Tammy has published a book about HOW to study the Bible. The book is available on Amazon in both a Kindle and paperback edition. She writes “Maybe you have read the Bible but want to dig deeper and know God and know yourself better. Throughout the book I use the analogy of making a quilt to show how the Bible is telling one big story about what God is doing in the world through Christ. Quilting takes much patience and precision, just like studying the Bible, but the end result is well worth it.
- Are We Living in the Last Days? Four Views of the Hope We Share About Revelation and Christ’s Return. In his latest book, Are We Living in the Last Days? Bryan Chapell explains that despite our different views of the End Times, Christians share a common hope: Jesus is coming back! And he will gather to himself those who have placed their faith in him. byFaith interviewed Chapell, asking him to tell them more about the book, and his reasons for writing it now.
Won’t you read along with us?
We are reading through Truths We Confess: A Systematic Exposition of the Westminster Confession of Faith by R.C. Sproul. From the Ligonier description:
“The Westminster Confession of Faith is one of the most precise and comprehensive statements of biblical Christianity, and it is treasured by believers around the world. R.C. Sproul has called it one of the most important confessions of faith ever penned, and it has helped generations of Christians understand and defend what they believe.
In Truths We Confess, Dr. Sproul introduces readers to this remarkable confession, explaining its insights and applying them to modern life. In his signature easy-to-understand style and with his conviction that everyone’s a theologian, he provides valuable commentary that will serve churches and individual Christians as they strive to better understand the eternal truths of Scripture. As he walks through the confession line by line, Dr. Sproul shows how the doctrines of the Bible—from creation to covenant, sin to salvation—fit together to the glory of God. This accessible volume is designed to help you deepen your knowledge of God’s Word and answer the question, What do you believe?”
This week we look at the last half of WCF 13: Of Sanctification. Here are a few helpful quotes from this section:
- A person who is seeking to be sanctified must have a passionate desire to obey both the letter and the spirit of the law of God.
- Antinomianism is a repudiation of the authority of the law of God over one’s life. Dispensational theology is a nineteenth-century aberration away from historic, orthodox, biblical Christianity.
- If the Old Testament moral law reveals to us what is pleasing to God, and the new covenant commands us to live in a way that pleases God, that tells us that we must give serious attention to the Old Testament law.
