Proclaiming a Cross-centered Theology by Mark Dever
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Proclaiming A Cross-Centered Theology is a product of Together for The Gospel, a coalition of concerned Christians who seek to maintain the purity of the gospel and encourage others to do the same.
The 2008 conference featured speakers Mark Dever, Ligon Duncan, John MacArthur, John Piper, Al Mohler, Thabiti Anyabwile, R.C. Sproul, and others. This quite the impressive lineup. Transcripts of each speaker’s contribution to the conference form the content of this book.
The main subject is declared by the book title, Proclaiming A Cross-Centered Theology. The goal is to uphold the gospel of Christ as central to the theology that is proclaimed from Christian pulpits.
Ligon Duncan leads out in chapter one by calling for sound doctrine. Duncan insists that systematic theology is not only necessary, but unavoidable if we are to speak of Christ. Taking the time to dispel some myths concerning a conflict between exegetical theology, Biblical theology, and systematic theology, Duncan shows that we all have a system of thought that we operate out of, and calls for us to recognize the need to use systematic theology in the church.
Thabiti Ayabwile shows how all are made in the image of God. In so doing, he emphasized to us all that racism is contrary to the gospel of Christ, and can be seen as a denial of the gospel, or at least a compromise of the gospel.
John MacArthur tackled the huge topic of human depravity and inability.
Mark Dever gave to us “Improving the Gospel: Exercises in Unbiblical Theology.” Dever demonstrated how the “new and improved” versions of the gospel are actually deficient. Whether men seek to make the gospel relevant by a contextualization that actually changes the gospel, whether we expand the gospel by embracing as fellow laborers those who deny the gospel (especially relevant in the days of Evangelicals and Catholics Together and the Manhattan Declaration), Dever calls us to simply embrace the Biblical truth of the gospel and stand upon it.
Greg Gilbert gives an overview of what the gospel actually is. One would like to think that Christians do not need to be reminded of this, yet we sadly need this reminder.
Sproul takes the “Curse Motif of The Atonement” and demonstrates to us that Jesus became a curse for us when He went to the cross and died for our sins. This seems to have resonated with everyone at the conference, possibly being considered not only the best presentation of the conference, but the best ever spoken by Sproul.
R. Albert Mohler Jr (Al) spoke concerning the battle against penal substitutionary atonement (PSA). His question is, “Why do they hate it so?” Having read this, it is obvious that the battle rages on even among those who call themselves evangelicals. Mohler declares that PSA is Biblical and should be embraced by those who desire to be true to the gospel.
John Piper is certainly in his element when he speaks from the book of Hebrews to show us how the supremacy of Christ can create radical Christian sacrifice. This chapter will certainly be an encouragement to those who are facing hard times for the sake of the gospel. It also has the potential to lay a foundation within our hearts for the times when we must suffer for Jesus’ sake.
Last, but not least, C.J. Mahaney gives us “Sustaining The Pastor’s Soul”. Mahaney has the peculiar gift of being able to take his Bible and bring out to us exactly what we need to pick us up off of the floor, or drag us out of the pit of self pity, or even the slough of despond. I honestly can see myself going back to this chapter in times of discouragement.
This book is a call for us to come Together for The Gospel. T4G has done a good job, and this book is indicative of the work that they have been doing for several years.
Many times transcripts of speeches/sermons show the marks of having been spoken and leave something to be desired when one reads them. Whether the credit goes to the speakers or to the editors, I do not know. I do know that one should not have this problem when reading Proclaiming A Cross-Centered Theology.
Many thanks to Angie Cheatham of Crossway for providing PastoralMusings with this review copy.
View all my reviews >>
No comments:
Post a Comment