There are few things you can do in life, which will both at once waste time, and enrich it. Reading is one of those things. I could spend every waking hour nose in book, if money were no object. I have particularly great joy when reading books on Christianity. For example, in a matter of hours I read C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters.. and then immediately re-read the whole book. I love to discover what various authors have taken from the Bible, and then study the scripture with their thoughts fresh in memory. Recently, I’ve taken to reading quite a bit of material on Christian Doctrine. I find that the more I investigate who God is,my appreciation for how God uses events in my own life increases dramatically. I started off with Wayne Grudem’s basic primer Christian Beliefs, which deals with foundational topics that all Christians should know about. Topics like “Election”, “Sanctification” , and “Justification”. All very “Christianese” terms about God’s love for us, and what it means to be given unmerited favor, and the power that God uses to change peoples hearts from stone to flesh.
Another book I’ve read, that I highly recommend is Spectacular Sins by the incredibly famous theologian/pastor John Piper. The premise of Piper’s book is that Jesus is in charge of everything, that all things are created for him.
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things ewer created through him and for him. Colossians 1:15-16
Among the powers and principalities referred to by the Apostle Paul include the spiritual enemies that encroach on our lives, and are fighting against God in a cosmic battle, they are destined to lose while bringing Jesus all the Glory in the Process! The book examines some of the greatest sins committed by men against God and shows how God uses them for his purpose (Romans 8:28). My favorite example he uses was by Joseph, who meeting his brothers who sold him into slavery. Knowing his brothers had great fear of his retribution, Joseph reassured them:
…Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph,whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there are yet five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. Genesis 45:4-8
What an amazing statement of forgiveness of guys who only sold him into slavery because killing him would have made their oldest brother guilty in conscience.
The latest book on Doctrine I picked up is Mark Driscoll’s and Gerry Beshear’s Doctrine – What Christians Should Believe. I found this book at Barnes and Noble, totally on accident. I knew that Mark was involved in a book project, and when I saw it on the shelf, I made yet another impulse buy (the first of the day being a Macbook Pro). I sat down with a peppermint tea, expecting to get through maybe 20 or 30 pages. 76 pages and two chapters later, I was raving about it on social media. These guys hold nothing back at all. Chapter 1 is titled Trinity: God Is. A bold, and true exposition of who God is (Love by the way), and his makeup. Not only that, but explaining why that is important, in very practical terms. These guys pack a ton of great information, in a very readable format. My favorite section so far, is actually in Chapter 1, which talks about the first appearence of our Trinitarian God, right from Genesis 1:1. When the ancient Jewish Rabbi’s were translating Genesis into Aramaic, they did a word study on the Hebrew word re’shit which is used as a replacement for the Hebrew word for “firstborn” (bekor) Several times in the Old Testament. What was even more tripped out, was 200 years before Christ’s arrival, these Rabbi’s (in the Targum Neofiti) rendered Genesis 1:1,2 with both words, in English being
In the beginning, by the firstborn, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
As a Christian, I’ve found my life greatly enriched by not only reading these books, but being able to share the ideas with others. Knowing the Doctrine’s that make up your faith will equip you to help your friends go to the right source of knowledge, and to grow closer to God.
Parsnips