Moore, Russell D. Tempted and Tried: Temptation and the Triumph of Christ. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2011. 208 pp. $14.99 [most online Chrisitan books stores have it for less]. This book review by Terry Delaney appears on his website, Christian Book Notes (January 11, 2012). Used by permission.

Introduction

Dr. Russell Moore is the dean of the School of Theology as well as the vice president for Academic Administration at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also serves as the editor of the journal Touchstone and is a preaching pastor at Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. He has also authored Crossway’s The Kingdom of Christ among other books.

He has also written the paradigm-shifting work, Adopted for Life. You can read my review of that great work here.

Summary

This resource is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter sets the tone for the entire work and explains why temptation matters. The second chapter warns that we should always be aware of temptation and that if we are not, we are practically dooming ourselves. Chapters three and four look at why we would rather be fed than fathered in the sense that we shy away from being disciplined and also why our pride (see, sin) keeps us from admitting when we need help from error.

In all cases of temptation, we fight and fight and often times we lose because we are blinded by our selfish desires. Chapter five looks at Christ in the desert and how we, apart from the power of the Holy Spirit, would rather be exalted ourselves instead of being crucified unto Christ so that we can better fight against the devil. The sixth chapter explains why you cannot resist temptation and why you need a Helper. The last chapter is aptly titled (Not a) Conclusion. Here, the reader is told why the battle must rage on indefinitely this side of eternity.

Review

It seems as though Dr. Moore continues to call the saints to the obvious though not often discussed doctrines of the church. Tempted and Tried is a much needed resource for the church today. There is much in the way of self-loathing and pity today as many are seeing their sin as egregious before the Lord but never really getting beyond that fact except to cry out for salvation. Russell Moore shows us how temptation is a part of our life just as it was Christ’s. He helps us to see that the sin is not in the temptation but in our giving in to the temptation. He further explains to us that we cannot fight against these temptations on our own. We need Christ more than just for an entrance to salvation. Rather, we need the power of Christ for everyday living and for the everyday battle.

If there is one critique I have on this work it is the chapters are a bit long. I only say that because there is so much to digest that each chapter takes a few evenings to digest! By the time you get through one chapter, you find that you want to go back and re-read the chapter in one sitting.

Recommendation

There is much for the thirsty soul in this work. I highly recommend to all Christians Tempted and Tried. You will certainly be a better follower of Christ and a more effective witness of his grace and mercy in your life as you learn what it means to be tempted and tried and then who it was that faced the same temptations and trials and never gave in. What encouragement to come to the cross daily for your sustenance! What encouragement to live a victorious life in the power of Christ (and that is not a charismatic phrase)!

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An video interview with Russell Moore, the author of Tempted and Tried, is available here. Also, Desiring God ministries is making a transition from selling books from their site and are off-loading their entire inventory. They have put all of their books and resources on sale for $5 or less. Read about it here.

Let me back up first; back up to an Old Testament minor prophet. Hosea prophesied to the northern kingdom of Israel, just before its captivity by Assyria in 722 B.C. As a vivid object lesson, God tells Hosea to marry an adulterous wife, a symbol of Israel’s unfaithful relationship to God. Hosea marries Gomer, and despite bearing him three children, she still found her way to the street corner in the bad part of town. She prostituted herself to other lovers. Likewise, Israel tried to wed the worship of God to Canaanite religion. After all, Canaanite religion was a lot of fun—it deified sex—going to “church” was going to the brothel. God makes His assessment of His wayward people, “They consecrated themselves to that shameful idol [Baal] and became as vile as the thing they loved” (Hosea 9:10). What God is saying is that the character of what is worshiped rubs off; people become like the objects they love.

And this is the “look.” I have seen it many times. Masks and make-up can veil it for awhile, but in time, the unfaithful heart reaches the surface. People ensnared in sin or vice begin to look different. I’m not talking about the emaciated junkie. I’m talking about the effects of idolatrous sin on one’s countenance and even on one’s features.

Have you seen someone you may have known for years come to saving faith and before long, they look different? Once again, I’m not talking about someone getting a haircut or straightening their teeth, I’m talking about that new look in their eye or that new smile that reveals something very real and profound has happened inside of them.

But Hosea is talking about the opposite scenario. We actually take on the character of the idol or sin we bow to or fondle. People start to look different. I’ve especially seen it with sexual sin. If I may, people actually look uglier! It makes sense; sin and idolatry is acidic; unbeknownst to the deceived is that which they embrace is spiritually killing them. And what is happening on the inside begins to make its way to the outside.

Do you have the “look”? You don’t need to gaze in a mirror, simply be honest with God. Have you replaced Him with someone or something else? Have you downplayed sin in your life, perhaps even redefining it as something else?

Do you see the “look” in others? Do you love them enough to speak with them about it, doing so with humility and love?

Don’t think the “look” just goes away. What is behind it must be confessed: “Say to [God]: ‘Forgive all our sins and receive us graciously, that we may offer the fruit of our lips’” (Hosea 14:2). The prophet’s final words are these, “Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them” (Hosea 14:9).

Be wise and discerning, lose the “look.”

Pastor Rich Hamlin

February 9, 2012 

“This day I defy the ranks of Israel,” boasted Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:10.

“I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High,” promised Babylon in Isaiah 14:13-14.

“Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” crowed King Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4:30.

The Scriptures are full of those who were full of themselves, setting themselves up as God. It appears Olympia is full of them, too. Politicians have been hell-bent for sometime to change God’s definition of marriage. This past week, twenty-eight Washington state senators did just that. Next week, fifty-some house members will add their vote of support to the new definition and then one beaming governor will sign it into law. They even had the gall to defeat a clause that would have put the matter on next November’s ballot. Their message was clear, “We not only don’t care what God thinks, we don’t care what the people think, either; we alone know what’s best.”

God said marriage is the union of one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24). Olympia said it’s also the union of one man and one man; and one woman and one woman.

What is ironic is that it is the Bible-believing Christian who is accused of arrogance. How is that? We just believe God’s Word; it’s not us who believes we can amend it.

On trial before Pilate, Jesus said, “For this reason I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” At this, Pilate, who thought he could sit in judgment of the Son of God, scoffed, “What is truth?” (John 18:37-38). Just like Pilate, Olympia arrogantly believes it is whatever they want it to be.

Pastor Rich Hamlin

February 2, 2012

Times were difficult in the days of Daniel. Judah had been overrun by Babylon. Much of the nation had been deported—Daniel included. Babylon was quite proud she had destroyed Jerusalem and raided the temple of God. The people of God were defeated and discouraged. Was Marduk (the chief god of Babylon) stronger than God?

In Daniel 2, Nebuchadnezzar (the king of Babylon) has a troubling dream; he wants to know what it means. He orders his cabinet, “Tell me its meaning.” But he also throws them a curve ball: “Tell me my dream before you give me its meaning.” When they protest and say that’s impossible, he orders them killed. Daniel finds out about the king’s decree when they come for him. That night, God gives Daniel the dream and the interpretation. The next day, he reveals it to the king.

In short, the dream was this: Nebuchadnezzar saw an enormous, dazzling statue with a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, and legs of iron with feet a mixture of iron and clay. Then a rock not cut by human hands smashes and levels the statue. Like chaff, the wind blows the broken pieces away. The rock, however, becomes a huge mountain and fills the whole earth (Daniel 2:31-35). It is understandable the king was troubled; the dream too much for his Tylenol PM.

After faithfully regurgitating the dream, Daniel tells the king the interpretation given him by God. The dream was about four great pagan kingdoms. Babylon was the golden head, now reigning. Three successive empires (Media/Persia, Greece, and Rome) would follow. All would enjoy their time until the “rock” appears smashing all subordinate kingdoms and reigning forever. That “rock” was Jesus (1 Peter 2:8), who comes six centuries later. He now sits upon the throne of God’s worldwide empire.

At the time of the dream, God’s people were in exile. Things were not looking so good. For six centuries, pagan empires were enormous—they looked dazzling. The Medes, who succeeded the Babylonians, let Israel go home. But shortly after their return, the Greek’s ascended to power and then the Romans began their ruthless reign. God’s voice was silent in Israel. For over six hundred years, it looked as if God, his people, and his Kingdom had lost. And then, the silence was shattered, when the “Word became flesh” (John 1:14)—the “rock” had arrived. The Kingdom of God was established and the mountain still grows.

I gave you a little from Daniel and a little from history to tell you this: it is easy to get discouraged by what we read, see, and hear. Culture sours and smells. Politicians play God. Even the church seems to be blowing in the wind, uncomfortable in its skin and seeking to redefine itself once again.

In times such as these, we must remember Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. Daniel concluded the interpretation this way: “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed… It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever” (Daniel 2:44).

Where is Babylon, where are the Medes and the Persians and the Greeks and the Romans? They are no more. As it was then; so shall it be again. Those who seem to wield the power only do so for a time. But they don’t even wield it at all. Nebuchadnezzar would learn this personally two chapters later, rightly declaring, “His dominion is an eternal dominion; His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: ‘What have you done?’” (Daniel 4:34-35).

The Rock won. The Rock always does.

Pastor Rich Hamlin

January 26, 2012

Sibbes, Richard. Josiah’s Reformation. Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2011. 176 pp. $10.00. Purchase at Westminster Bookstore or Mongerism Books for less.

Introduction

Josiah’s Reformation is the latest in the Puritan Paperbacks Series published by the Banner of Truth Trust. This work was originally published in 1629. Sibbes “always sought to get under the superficial layer of his listeners’ behavior and deal with their hearts.” It is for this reason that Richard Sibbes is one of the more beloved of the Puritans by today’s readers.

Summary

Josiah’s Reformation is a compilation of four sermons preached by the Puritan, Richard Sibbes from Isaiah 57:15, “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose Name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

In explaining the doctrinal truth behind this verse, Sibbes exposits for his readers from 2 Chronicles 34:26-28 and offers four keys to true personal reformation. He looks at the tender heart first and foremost as the only means by which one can be humbled. He next looks at the art of self-humbling and the art of mourning. Both are necessary if true reformation is to take place in the soul. The last sermon (4th chapter) is entitled the Saint’s Refreshing. Here the reader is treated to true nourishment for the soul.

Review

You do not pick up the Puritans and expect to read something light and fluffy that does not impact you for in the here and now as well as later on down the road. Josiah’s Reformation offers sweet nourishment for the soul on most every page. The chapter on self-humbling is much needed today with our “me-first” theologies. I have said that there is much pride in the pastorate and many will know this to be true. Sibbes sought to not only teach his hearers how to properly self-judge, but he also offers, from Scripture, the importance of keeping ourselves humble. The art is when we are able to maintain that proper humility.

Far from being a book that will “work you over the coals,” Sibbes will bring you time and again to worship the Lord who alone enables the Christian to accomplish anything resembling reformation.

Again, Sibbes offers a wonderful treatise on the art of mourning…over sin. Not just your own sin, but the sins of others including your own nation. When was the last time you grieved over sin? Chapter three on Josiah’s Reformation will take you to that place of grief over sin once again.

All in all, while the language may be tough for some to overcome, it is well worth the effort to take the time and read through Josiah’s Reformation. To do so will be to take a break from the craziness of the world and to bask in the glory of the salvation granted to those who believe.

Recommendation

I heartily recommend to any who call on the name of Christ as Lord and Savior this work by Richard Sibbes entitled Josiah’s Reformation. It may be best to sit down and read it one chapter at a time (there are only four which take about an hour or so to read), but it is also worth putting on your nightstand and reading a page or two in the evening and meditate on the contents while drifting off to sleep.

You then changed the words, too. It was no longer an issue of “preference”—that implies a person making a choice to be gay. Now its labeled “orientation”—a word that communicates gays are born not made; that it is simply genetically who they are. The plan worked. The movement ceased being about sordid sexuality, it became one of rights—civil rights, actually. Just as women were denied the right to vote and blacks were deemed second-class in the previous century; the face of the movement became “normal” men and women who were treated unfairly and simply wanted the same rights as everyone else. And it’s hard to argue against someone’s civil rights—this is America. It is why same-sex proponents now enjoy the momentum.

I’ve also noticed you have sugared your position by saying you will provide “opt-outs” for churches; not forcing pastors to perform same-sex unions. But isn’t it against the law to arbitrarily opt-out of civil rights legislation? Regardless of one’s opinion, real civil rights are the law of the land. Skinheads have their opinion, but if they discriminate, they are breaking the law—period. You either don’t see the inconsistency in your “opt-out” logic or you do. I suspect you do. Just as denouncing homosexuality from the pulpit may soon be construed as “hate-speech”; you know the courts will eventually erase the “opt-outs” for Bible-believing pastors. You’re an attorney; maybe you even have a copy of your movement’s “play-book”—the one that lists the step-by-step strategies your side has employed to get to this point. I’m sure there are more chapters in it, too.

Some politicians say this is personally such a hard issue for them to decide—something about seeing the arguments of both sides. When argued as a civil right, it is difficult to oppose same-sex marriage. But it’s not about rights. It’s ultimately about the right of God to define His institution. Which He has done clearly: marriage is between one man and one woman. It is why same-sex marriage has nothing in common with women’s suffrage or blacks sitting in the back of the bus. It’s all about whether we believe God gets to decide the matter or politicians do.

Pastor Rich Hamlin

January 12, 2012

But let’s back up. We are talking about Olympia’s push to make Washington the seventh state in the union to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. And Gregoire is excited to be the proposed legislation’s torch-bearer.

In 2004, she supported legal rights for same-sex couples. In 2007, she signed a domestic partnership law toward that end. In 2009, she supported the passage of Referendum 71, the so-called “everything but marriage” law; the law where same-sex couples were granted all rights enjoyed by married couples except the one they coveted most—the ability to marry. And it’s this last one they so desperately want because their deviancy will then possess the language of normalcy.

But back to our governor’s carefully crafted quote from above. Parsing through it, here is what I find behind her words: “My faith really isn’t that important to me; certainly not enough for it to impact the way I govern. I know the Bible defines marriage as the union between a man and a woman. I also know it calls homosexuality a sin. But that’s so judgmental and not fair. And I don’t want to be associated with a state that listens to God concerning such things.”

That was some “personal journey”! She discarded whatever semblance of faith she had, declaring God’s way archaic and discriminatory; and happy to have arrived upon the shores of progress, acceptance, and enlightenment.

But if I may; could someone let her know her office is subordinate to the Throne of God? She needs to take another “personal journey”; this time, one that arrives upon the shores of God’s never-ending truth.

Pastor Rich Hamlin

• Fitzpatrick, Elyse and Jessica Thompson. Give Them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus. Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2011, 208 pp. $14.99.

Introduction

Elyse Fitzpatrick is an excellent writer and editor. I have reviewed two of her previous works, both published by Crossway Books, and have thoroughly enjoyed them. This book is a bit different in that it is a parenting resource that was co-written with her daughter, Jessica.

Summary

Divided into two parts with ten chapters, and three appendices, Elyse offers her readers a humbled, hindsight, handbook on parenting and pointing your children toward the grace of God found in the cross of Calvary. In part one, she gives us the theological foundations of grace. Within these four chapters, we are treated to biblical examples and reasons for showing grace in our parenting.

In part two, the reader is implored to find the evidences of grace in daily living. This section is comprised of six chapters and begins with a chapter on physical discipline. In each chapter, the authors exhort the reader to continue parenting in light of the cross and to point out the grace in your child’s every day life from behavior to mercies to even the food on the table. By the end of this section, if you have read it and wrestled with the Scriptural principles, you may find yourself viewing your neighborhood as a mission field if you do not already.

The three appendices drive further home the point of the gospel as being central to parenting.

Review

While I really enjoy reading various parenting books, I have found the latest round of books from the likes of Tedd and Paul Tripp, CJ Mahaney, etc. to be extremely helpful. Add Elyse Fitzpatrick and her daughter to that list. What I enjoyed the most about this particular resource is the humbled hindsight offered by Elyse. She openly admits to not getting it right all the time though she tried.

As a parent, we all understand the difficulty in maintaining our witness to our children when disciplining them. Elyse takes on the roll of that godly Christian mom that wants to be an asset and train up the younger women (and yes, men since men will also read this resource) to be better than she was as a parent. At the very least, be a bit more consistent.

I do wish in the chapter on discipline, they would have a been a bit less non-committal on the issue of spanking but they are adamant that spanking, if done properly, is biblical and that parents must come to their own (biblically-informed) conclusions on this matter.

Audio Review

I also was able to listen to this book from christianaudio. I found the quality of the audio to be exceptional. Tavia Gilbert narrated the book with great care and seemingly as a parent herself looking back on her own  years as a mother. Her emotions run the gamut along with Elyse’s writing from sorrow to joy and even singing with a beautiful voice that made me stop and listen to it again.

The only negative to the audio was once again the formatting of the files as they appear on my mp3 player. This has always been my biggest critique of christianaudio.

Recommendation

As a father of five children ages seven and under (as of the writing of this review), I found Elyse’s exhortations, confessions, and gospel-centered message to be refreshing and encouraging. There are days when you do not feel like you are doing a great job of parenting (and some days this is true) but Elyse and her daughter, Jessica, point the readers to the same cross that, as parents, we should be pointing our children. I highly recommend this resource to all parents who call on the name of Christ as Lord and Savior.

Friends,

It seems but yesterday, but alas, it was nigh several years ago; yet I shall never forget what my animal eyes saw that night.

The evening was crisp and the wind was quick. Many summers I have cursed my fur; this night I was grateful for its cover. A young foal at the time, my work was still light; yet the days still long as I learned my beast of burden trade. I was tired and my body cried for rest. Breath steamed from my nostrils, condensing on my nose and served up an incessant drip of warm saltiness that only begged further my thirst.

Coming over the last hill, I began to froth freely; the day’s work taken a greater part of me than realized. Water, straw, and rest were my only thoughts.

As I drew closer to my shelter, I could see something was very much the matter. Busyness surrounded it. My animal friends encircled the stable. A dim light cast shadows of intruders within. “Of all nights, why clean the stalls tonight?” I groaned.

The closer I came, the shadows gave way to faces; one a man, the other a young woman. The woman, though seated, was uncomfortable; the man stood near. This woman was in labor with child.

The little family to be was not going to receive sympathy from me this night. I was cold, tired, and hungry; I was not the imposition, they were. I pushed through two cows and knocked over a sheep—positioned now to bellow my case. Before able to voice contention, the woman birthed the child. I paused as the man wrapped the babe in cloth and laid Him in a manger—my manger!

I had seen enough. What little sympathy I may have had vanished. I turned only to discover that more humans now found my stable. A few dressed stately, most were common folk from the fields. “What is going on?” No one responded to my inquiry. All were caught up in the birth of this human child. “What’s a baby doing with animals, anyway?” Again, no answer; all were lost in the still.

“Enough is enough,” I brayed. “I am tired, I am hungry, and I am cold. No baby is more important than a full belly and a soft bed.”

A pig bristled hard against me, “Donkey, don’t you know who this is? This is He who the prophets have spoken and man calls Messiah. Creation has groaned for this night yet you groan only for yourself. Bow your head, donkey; greet your King.”

Pig, never known for tact, got my attention.

And it is why I now write you. You humans celebrate this Messiah’s birth on Christmas morn. Let not your lives vale His. For as the Holy Scriptures proclaim: “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

Celebrate His birth, my friend. I almost forgot; you mustn’t.

God Bless,

Donkey

Friends,

Four hundred years of silence, four hundred years of waiting; then it happened—and I was there. It was not my choice. I go where they tell me. I’m one of those, what do you call it?—compliant types. A shepherd’s crook tends to do that to you.

A Bethlehem hill, a winter’s night, a stiff Northeasterly; these are not a good combination, even for one with wool. If not for a hot fire and a warm conversation, I don’t know what our thinly clad shepherds would have done. On nights like this, I eat. It passes time and fills the belly, an enjoyable pursuit in an otherwise not so enjoyable situation.

Then it all happened so fast, I don’t know from which direction, or if there even was a direction. But they were there, everywhere. Bunches and bunches of them; and a holy light filled the cold Judean sky.

Heaven’s silence ceased when an angelic messenger spoke: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord!”

And we sheep looked at each other; all covered with awe and bursting from what we just heard. “It is happening,” one sheep bleated from behind. “Do you hear?” he continued, talking to no one in particular, “the Messiah, he is coming to bring man back to God.”

I cried. For I knew this was so. I was standing upon history’s hinge. God’s plan, promised for centuries, was unfolding. And I was there to usher its dawning. Next, more voices of no earthly tone; clear, full, and beautiful, rang forth from the rest of the gathered angelic host: “Glory be to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests.” And then they were gone.

Scurrying with excitement and falling over each other with joy, our shepherds tumbled and bounded down the hill to find Him whose birth had been foretold. It was then I found myself alone as my sheep friends also had run to tell of His birth to other animal friends.

A bright star still rested above. Its glimmering rays seemed to touch a small stable in the valley below. “He is born,” I whispered to myself. “He is here,” I breathed. “The King has come. O, how shall He be received?”

God Bless,

Sheep