Book Review: The Parable of the Ten Virgins
Posted: October 6, 2009 Filed under: Book of the Week, Book Review, The Parable of the Ten Virgins Leave a comment(Post by Chadd Sheffield)
Jesus Christ relentlessly divides the world into two. There are houses built on a rock, and on sand. There are sheep, and there are goats. There is wheat and there are tares. There are trees that bear fruit, and there are thorns and thistles. And, according to Jesus in Matthew chapter 25, there are wise virgins, and there are foolish virgins; and the one you are makes all the difference here now, and in eternity.
I first came across the name Thomas Shepard while reading Jonathan Edward’s classic Religious Affections. Edwards quotes Shepard in Religious Affections more than he quotes any other author—in all of Edward’s books combined. However, it was not this recommendation from Edwards that inspired me to read Shepard’s book. The words that Edwards quoted struck my heart particularly deep, and revealed to me that I tended to trust God wrongly; that I tested myself according to my culture, that I would often times try to make my election sure by mental assent and not a full, vibrant faith and love towards the Lord. It was Thomas Shepard that revealed to me by the scriptures that a foolish virgin could have just as easily passed my tests, and then the fear of God drove me to get a deeper understanding of the differences between those beloved by God and regenerated by His Spirit, and those who—as Shepard says—love the Lord Jesus only from the teeth outward.1
At first, the size of the book and the language both make it appear that reading it may seem like a burdensome task, but I would like to propose that it shouldn’t be. Dr. John Gerstner in the foreword says, “Don’t read it. Study it, a few pages at a time; decipher it… It may not save you, but it will leave you in no doubt if you are saved, and even less if you are not!” We ought not try to just read through The Parable of The Ten Virgins. When your motive is to finish the book rather than understand it—it does become burdensome. But if your motive is to learn from the faithful expositions of God’s Word, and if your motive is to have assurance about the things of God, and if your motive is to fight to enjoy Christ here and to be prepared in the hereafter then this book is not a burden; it’s a blessing.
The book is a collection of Shepard’s sermon notes on the Parable of The Ten Virgins found in Matthew 25:1-13. He takes you verses by verse, sentence by sentence, and word by word. Though the work is a little over six-hundred pages, Shepard does not repeat himself. The points of doctrine always seem reasonable, and are never forced. It is never boring, especially when you realize his sermons are directed to you.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins is a parable that covers much of the Christian life. This is precisely the reason why Shepard has written so much concerning it. It affects how we view the church, sin, wasting our time, and assurance of salvation. It affects how we view the most important of things.
Lastly, I think this book has a prophetic message to our current generation. In every church there are foolish virgins who believe they await our Lord and it will be well with them. But the Lord knows them not, and the foolish virgins will be shut out at last—and they don’t know it! They lack oil in their vessels, but they either don’t notice, or know where to buy without price! We must not let them perish in ignorance by our slumbering. Oh, that we would wake, and pray that we ourselves do not fall into temptation, and that the knowledge of the Lord would spread through our churches and the earth—in hope that some foolish virgins would wake and get oil in their vessels before he comes to them in death or at the end of time.
RHB Title Coming Soon
Posted: October 5, 2009 Filed under: Book of the Week, Reformation Heritage Books Leave a comment
The Earnest Communicant – Ashton Oxenden – Introduced by Cornelis Pronk
Retail Price: $6.00/RHB Price: $4.00 Paperback, 48 pages
ISBN 978-1-60178-069-0
Available by October 31
Publisher’s description:
This booklet provides devotional material, aimed to prepare one’s heart for partaking of the Lord’s Supper. It is designed for daily preparation the week before Communion service. Each day contains a brief meditation, several points for self-examination, a number of challenging resolutions, and a prayer. Over the course of the week, you will cover topics such as repentance, faith, holiness, God’s Word, prayer, Christ’s sufferings, and love.
Endorsements:
“Through warm meditations, searching examinations, heartfelt resolutions, and moving prayers, Ashton Oxenden presents us with just what we need as earnest communicants to seek God’s face in Christ with passion for each day of the week preparatory to Communion.” —Joel R. Beeke
“For those who do, The Earnest Communicant will be our great help. Gently and graciously it will lead you to see your need afresh—but also to see that Jesus Christ is more full of grace than you are of sin. Ashton Oxenden knew this well and teaches us afresh that, at the Lord’s Supper, Christ stands at the door and knocks. If anyone opens the door, He will come in and share the supper with them. Our Lord Jesus Christ welcomes and receives sinners at His Table!” —Sinclair B. Ferguson
Author Information: ASHTON OXENDEN (1808–1892) was evangelical minister in the Church of England, and served as the Bishop of Montreal.
Who Made God?
Posted: October 2, 2009 Filed under: Book of the Week, Desiring God Conference 2009, Evangelical Press, Who Made God? 4 Comments
This past weekend I was up in Minneapolis for John Piper’s Desiring God National Conference, when I happen to see one of Evangelical Presses new titles in the book store, Who Made God?, by Dr. Edgar Andrews. I know what you may be thinking, “who in the heck is Edgar?” If you care enough to know a bit about him, you can check here, but in short, Dr. Andrews is the Emeritus Professor of Materials, University of London, Co-pastor of Campus Church, Welwyn Garden City, England and editor of Evangelical Times. You can check out the rest of his title by EP here.
Here of recent I have gotten into the Theism, anti-thesim, creation, etc. type books. This book however caught my eye (not only because it is one of EP’s only few “good covers”) but the table of contents seemed quite amusing. Chapters like;
Sooty and the universe (Who made God?); Yogurt, cereal and toast (Can science explain everything?); Stringing it all together (Searching for a theory of everything); Pouring concrete (Foundations and hypotheses)/ Ferrets and fallacies (A brief critique of God, the failed hypothesis); Defining God (What do we mean by ‘God’?); Starting with a bang (Cosmic origins);Steam engine to the stars (Time and the hypothesis of God); Peeling onions (law in conscience, nature and society); Cosmic chess (The origin of the laws of nature); Over the moon (Natural law and miracles); Information, stupid! (The origin of life); Life in a cake mixer (The origin of living organisms); The tidy pachyderm (A critique of neo-Darwinianism); The mighty mutation? (Can mutations create?); The second shoe (Man and his mind); Man and his Maker (Man, morality and redemption).
You get the picture. However the book although humorous, goes against the claims of scientific atheism, and does it well.
Reviewed by Rev. David H. Kim, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York said the following,
“It has been a pleasure to read this book. I don’t mean to sound overly flattering, but Dr Andrews has done the world a great service by adding this to our shelves. I am impressed by the way he has maintained the integrity of both science and theology, revealing comfort in both fields. I have been waiting for a book just like this to recommend to others – one that I don’t feel compromises theological or scientific integrity and truth. The “God hypothesis” will be unpalatable to many, but to those who have sincere questions this book will provide an invaluable apologetic. There is so much science and theology in the book and yet the writing style makes difficult and complex concepts accessible. While there were a few sections that were challenging to understand, the book as a whole is easy to read and well-written.
I appreciated the exposing of the reductionistic tendencies that atheists are forced to adopt, thus limiting their ability to conceive the wonder and beauty of the material universe. I also appreciated how unscientific “science” can be and how we should be wary of those who use/abuse the name of science to promote unscientific assumptions and conclusions. I really appreciated the explanation of quantum physics and how the author makes complex physics understandable and entertaining. This was one of my favorite chapters.”
Reviewed by Rev. Abraham Cho, Fellowship Group Director, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York.
“If you have been looking for a thoughtful, cogent and accessible counterpoint to the recent flurry of publications by the so-called New Atheists, you need look no further than Edgar Andrews’ Who Made God? Rather than offering an ad hoc response to the assertions made by Richard Dawkins and the like, Dr. Andrews instead asks us to consider a different way in to the conversation – to approach belief in the biblical God as a thesis in and of itself, one that is worthy of our thoughtful consideration.
He asks us to apply the methodology of hypothesis to the question of God to see how it fits – and, in fact, it proves to fit remarkably well. With great clarity and rousing humour, Dr. Andrews applies the thesis of God to questions like the problem of time, the nature of humanity and the question of morality – and demonstrates how belief in God has both simple elegance and far-reaching explanatory power.”
Reviewed by Daniel Webber, Director, European Missionary Fellowship.
“Starting with the hypothesis of God, Professor Andrews sets out to demonstrate that the existence of the God of the Bible makes better sense of what we can actually learn from science than does atheism. On his way to this conclusion he also points out the scientific and logical inadequacies of evolutionism. He succeeds in doing so with a deceptively light touch – but there is nothing lightweight about either his analysis or the rigour with which he pursues his case. This is apologetics at its best: immensely instructive for the Christian and utterly devastating for the atheist.”
Gospel-Centered Musings 