The Business of Is-Ness: How to Live in the World God Made

by David Schrock

What is it? Few questions are more basic or more important that defining what a thing is. And yet, few questions are more confused. What is a human being? What is a man and a woman? What is marriage? And what is a family? Questions like these stand at the heart of modern ethics, and Christians who love their neighbors need to have good answers to them.
In nine chapters, The Business of Is-Ness answers nine questions about how to live in the world God has made the world. Without technical jargon, The Business of Is-Ness aims to help faithful Christians see from Scripture what the world is, as God intended. While the gospel of Jesus Christ offers redemption to sinners who worship creation instead of the Creator, such good news depends upon a proper understanding of God’s world. Indeed, grace does not destroy nature; it restores it. Yet, that truth depends a proper understanding of what nature is.
As Creator, God defines what the world is and how it is meant to work. And in his Word, God has revealed what those definitions are. Accordingly, anyone who takes seriously God’s Word can know with certainty what God has said about himself, his world, and everything in it.
In our confused age the nature of creation is under constant threat. So, it is vital that Christians know more than the gospel of redemption. They must also be able to proclaim and explain the doctrine of creation. In a word, “Is-Ness” is our business. And this book will help you proclaim the glorious truths of God’s creation, even as you look for the new creation.

218 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2025

Reviews

[Philip Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every now and then I read a book that is a culmination of a bunch of conclusions I had recently come to, but expressed better than I could express it (and with sources cited that I haven't yet looked at). This is one of those books. Amen, amen, amen. A timely word. Also, I like progressive covenantalism so it went down pretty smoothly.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a regular listener to David's podcast, I was not surprised at all to find this a carefully argued, beautifully-articulated, delightfully organized book. He methodically applies the Bible to the ontology, or is-ness (his neologism) of 9 different aspects of creation, and he does so in order to reach the layman. If you have read more technical books in this vein, it will leave you underwhelmed at times, but I think he does a great job reaching his target audience. I think his best chapters are on what marriage and family are for. One nugget I took away is the common misconception that each individual's body is 'a temple', but rather that Paul is referring to each person as part of the church as 'The Temple'. Hardly a heterodox view, but it is a helpful clarification in understanding Paul's argument in 1 Corinthians.

[Ron Comoglio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the benefit of sitting under the preaching of this content in sermon form, and getting the full force of how much modern (and post-modern) culture had lied to me so insidiously. God’s ways are higher and better, if we would heed them.

I quote a sentence from the conclusion which really is a great preparatory thought: “Along the way, they will find, as we have found in this book, that there will be painful conflicts between what we think (and what we have been taught) and what God’s Word says. Yet that is exactly where sanctification occurs.”

[Daniel Fahringer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An accessible theological work exploring Biblical ontology, which has largely been lost in our day. An excellent read that I think would be a huge blessing for young Christians to help them better understand and live in the world God made as the subtitle says.

[Nellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book addresses issues that are going haywire in the world. Step addresses God, the Cosmos, Humanity, the body, marriage, family,man/woman, and. The church.