Review: Why I Am a Christian

Why I Am a Christian by John R.W. Stott
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

As with his other titles, Stott writes clearly and does not dive into complicated theological jargon or discussion. He writes in a calm, gentle manner (unlike the strong argumentation of Ravi Zachariah’s). He cites the notable people. thinkers and theologians as he gives the reasons why he is a Christian. Most of the time, he utilises the bible as the primary source of reference for his substantive.

John Scott is one of my favourite theological authors; The Cross is Christ is one of the few books that I felt deserving of an exceptional 6 stars. However, as a 30 year old I could not engage with the content of this book. I am aware that my peers generally hold post modern world views, and felt that his book would better serve a modern audience (like the readers of 2003, when it was first published). Alternatively, this title could also be useful to readers whose English is a second language or for people who hail from traditional and non-postmodern backgrounds. For engaging critical or intelligent thinkers, this book would however not be useful in bringing up logical positions or debates in apologetics. A better title to aid evangelism of postmodern people would perhaps be Timothy Keller’s Reason for God or C S Lewis’ Mere Christianity.

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Review: God's New Society: The Message of Ephesians

God's New Society: The Message of Ephesians by John R.W. Stott
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This commentary appears to deviate away from Stott’s usual high quality titles that are epitomised by clear exposition, engaging illustrations and deep theological reflection. Published in 1979, this book has blessed many generators of students, pastors and preachers prior to the publication of newer commentaries. An updating of the illustrations and language would be helpful in capturing the attention of modern readers and assisting in their comprehension of the biblical text. It would also be more useful if Stott transposed what he perceives to be poor translation choices against more popular modern translations such as the ESV, NLT or NIV – as compared to the older AV, RSV and NEB translations as found in the book. On the same note, the title’s age renders it unable to interact with modern scholarship that has since been published, and references are made to scholars whose names the present day reader would probably not be familiar with.

Before the advent of the excellent commentaries by Walter Liefeld's 1997 and Clinton Arnold's 2010 excellent commentaries utilise modern analogies and cite present world events. Liefeld’s IVPNTC commentary is superior in brevity and clarity – teachers and pastors would find it useful for lesson/sermon preparation. Arnold’s ZECNT commentary is superior in depth and theological reflection – advanced readers and scholars would find it useful. R Kent Hughes' 1990 title from the Preaching the Word Series is also superior exposition and has surpassed Stott’s title.

Amidst the book’s various issues, there are some timeless truths and reflections that are still relevant and helpful to reflect upon today. Looking back in time, this reviewer is heartened that in his exposition of Eph. 3:7, Stott extends grace to a movement he did not agree with or endorse, thereby effectively illustrating the point of the passage – that “the unity of the church is due to charis, God’s grace having reconciled us to himself; but the diversity of the church is due to charismata, God’s gifts distributed to church members”:

From this word charismata that the adjective ‘charismatic’ is derived. The so-called ‘charismatic movement’, although controversial in a number of its distinctive emphases, has without doubt been used by God to bring spiritual renewal to many churches and individual Christians. Nevertheless, we should register a biblical protest against the designation ‘charismatic movement’, whether its adherents themselves chose it or were given it. ‘Charismatic’ is not a term which can be accurately applied to any group or movement within the church, since according to the New Testament the whole church is a charismatic community. It is the body of Christ, every single member of which has a gift (charisma) to exercise or function to perform. (Pg. 155-6)

Furthermore, the Pentecostal and Charismatic churches today would do well to pay heed to and prevent much abuse from Stott’s timeless advice regarding God’s raising up of prophets and prophetesses (4:11) by “carefully test[ing] by Scripture and by the known character of the speaker, and that the regular, systematic, thoughtful exposition of the Bible is much more important for the building up of the people of God.” (Pg. 162-3).

This reviewer suggests that much of the abuse and misuse of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, especially regarding words of knowledge and ‘commands’ from church leaders, could be avoided if Holy Scripture is the lens by which all such words are examined by. A church would perhaps enjoy the best of the charismatic and reformed worlds – when they are fed a diet of faithful exposition of Scripture in the environment of expectant supernatural faith-expanding operation of the Holy Spirit in ministry of the lost and of the congregation.

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Review: The Incomparable Christ

The Incomparable Christ by John R.W. Stott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Of the hundreds, if not thousands of books I have read, this has got to be one of the finest. I first chanced upon a daily devotional (written by a certain John Stott) that was donated to my school library. As the part-time librarian, I skimmed through a few pages to size up if the book should be put into circulation or sold. The result? I was so mightily impressed by the overall biblical theological format and the theological richness in the individual pages, that I ordered one copy for my personal use. The book? Through the Bible, Through the Year: Daily Reflections from Genesis to Revelation (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...)

Stott (and his editorial team) have married brevity with brilliant scholarship. The Incomparable Christ is made up of 4 sections, all of which pack so much substance into so very little (number of) pages. Stott somehow managed to keep me intellectually engaged and emotionally excited to continue reading when three quarters of the book contain topics that I naturally do not find much interest in. In sections 2 (church history) and 3 ("fathers of the faith"), I was continually reflecting about and even inspired by the content.

While not one of my favourite books of the bible, I have had to study parts of the book of Revelation extensively for the purposes of completing course requirements (and have also twice listened to D A Carson's 26 lectures on Revelation). I have found that most of the top scholars who have written commentaries on Revelation to be extremely difficult to understand; I often found myself wondering why did they have to make the commentary so complicated and cryptic. In section 4, Stott on the other hand, has taken a lifetime of research and study, conveying just the the cream of (probably after years of painful deliberation on the many conflicting views) his positions in a concise, highly accessible format.

While easily comprehensible, such a wide-breadth-ed book on the incomparable Christ calls us to read it many times over. It would be a pity to just leave it on our shelves. Thank you Pastor John, for leaving this most wonderful labour of love for generations to be challenged with and blessed by. I'd imagine that laypeople, scholars, and pastors all should find something from the book that they would be able to take away. For me, it was the majesty of the matchless Christ who lovingly calls me to come and die and follow him.

I received this book from InterVarsity Press for the purposes of providing an unbiased review. All views are my own.

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Stott on our first obligation to the biblical text

How much do we love God's word? Enough so that we do not impose the twenty first context to interpret what the ancient authors addressed to an ancient audience?

From Page 26 of: The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching

John Stott, "The first obligation [in expounding the text] is faithfulfulness to the biblical text. You and I have to accept the discipline of thinking ourselves back into the situation of the biblical authors-their history, geography, culture, and language. If we neglect this task or if we do it in a halfhearted or slovenly way, it is inexcusable. IT EXPRESSES CONTEMPT FOR THE WAY IN WHICH GOD CHOSE TO SPEAK TO THE WORLD [my emphasis]. Remember, it is the God-inspired text we are handling. We say we believe this, but our use of Scripture is not always compatible with what we say is our view of Scripture. With that painstaking, meticulous, conscientious care we should study for ourselves and open up to others the very words of the living God! So the worst blunder that we can commit is to read back our twenty-first century thoughts into the minds of the biblical authors, to manipulate what they said in order to conform to what we would like them to have said and then to claim their patronage for our options."

Stott on Christian Living

Commenting on Gal. 5:24, Stott comments:

"It is a great mistake to suppose that our whole duty lies in passive submission to the Spirit’s control, as if all we had to do was to surrender to His leading. On the contrary, we are ourselves to ‘walk’, actively and purposefully, in the right way. And the Holy Spirit is the path we walk in, as well as the guide who shows us the way."

From Page 153 of 

The Message of Galatians