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Foundations of the Christian Faith #3
Awakening to God
Foundations of the Christian Faith is a series of four books. Book one deals with our sovereign God, the knowledge of God, the Word of God, the attributes of God, and God's creation. The second book examines God as redeemer, the fall of the human race, law and grace, the person of Christ, and the work of Christ. Book three is about our relationship or awakening to God, the Spirit of God, how God saves sinners, the life of the Christian, and the work of God. Finally, in book four, Boice looks at God and history, time, history, the church of God, secular and sacred cities, and the end of history. Truly a well-reasoned and coherent systematic theology. Boice brings his respected wisdom and insights together into a beautiful exposition of Christian doctrine.
233 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
10 people want to read
About the author
James Montgomery Boice
268 books100 followersJames Montgomery Boice was a Reformed theologian, Bible teacher, and pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1968 until his death in 2000. He was also president and cofounder of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, the parent organization of The Bible Study Hour on which Boice was a speaker for more than thirty years.
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July 18, 2024
THE THIRD OF FOUR PARTS OF A COMPREHENSIVE POPULAR THEOLOGY
James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) was a Reformed theologian and pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1968 until his death, and was heard on The Bible Study Hour radio broadcast. Other volumes in this series are 'The Sovereign God,' 'God the Redeemer,' and 'God and History: Foundations of the Christian Faith.'
He cites an old atheist tract containing half a dozen sketches of Old Testament characters combined with a lurid description of their misdeeds; the tract cynically noted that David was yet called "a man after God's own heart." The atheist tract then asked what kind of God he must be who could be pleased with David? Boice comments, "Remarkably, the tract had hit on something which even God acknowledges." God calls himself just and holy; so, is God unjust? No. In the death of Christ, "God had justified and continues to justify the ungodly." (Pg. 76-77)
He suggests that our authority to call God "Father" goes back to Jesus Christ himself, and to no less important a statement than the opening phrases of the Lord's Prayer, where Jesus authorized his disciples to use the same word ("Abba") after him. "Jesus boldly assumed a relationship to God that was thought to be highly irreverent or blasphemous by most of his contemporaries." (Pg. 113-114) He asserts that prayer is for believers only. It is not for the heathen. It is not for the atheist. It is not for the good person who, nevertheless, regards Jesus as nothing more than a man, worth little more than an example. (Pg. 169)
He observes that God chose John the Baptist even before he was born. Jesus called his disciples while they were still fishermen. God called Paul while he was in the process of persecuting Christians. "In every case the call of God was based on God's own determination to save and use that one." (Pg. 199)
Boice's book is a useful, yet not oversimplified, "popular" version of Calvinist systematic theology.
James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000) was a Reformed theologian and pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia from 1968 until his death, and was heard on The Bible Study Hour radio broadcast. Other volumes in this series are 'The Sovereign God,' 'God the Redeemer,' and 'God and History: Foundations of the Christian Faith.'
He cites an old atheist tract containing half a dozen sketches of Old Testament characters combined with a lurid description of their misdeeds; the tract cynically noted that David was yet called "a man after God's own heart." The atheist tract then asked what kind of God he must be who could be pleased with David? Boice comments, "Remarkably, the tract had hit on something which even God acknowledges." God calls himself just and holy; so, is God unjust? No. In the death of Christ, "God had justified and continues to justify the ungodly." (Pg. 76-77)
He suggests that our authority to call God "Father" goes back to Jesus Christ himself, and to no less important a statement than the opening phrases of the Lord's Prayer, where Jesus authorized his disciples to use the same word ("Abba") after him. "Jesus boldly assumed a relationship to God that was thought to be highly irreverent or blasphemous by most of his contemporaries." (Pg. 113-114) He asserts that prayer is for believers only. It is not for the heathen. It is not for the atheist. It is not for the good person who, nevertheless, regards Jesus as nothing more than a man, worth little more than an example. (Pg. 169)
He observes that God chose John the Baptist even before he was born. Jesus called his disciples while they were still fishermen. God called Paul while he was in the process of persecuting Christians. "In every case the call of God was based on God's own determination to save and use that one." (Pg. 199)
Boice's book is a useful, yet not oversimplified, "popular" version of Calvinist systematic theology.
Displaying 1 of 1 review