PART THREE As I complete this review one of the things that stands out to me is how much the author leans upon Reformed Confessions and writers from the past. While he does interact with Scripture a lot, one notices that men like Irenaeus, Augustine, Calvin, and a host of Puritans are brought in to direct the arguments. This is not to say these great men shouldn’t be referenced; it is the supporting role these authorities are given that is …
Category: Book Reviews
PART TWO As we move on to the “covenant of grace” one thing to look for is how passages explicitly assigned to the covenants one can locate in the Bible are reassigned to support this theological covenant, which can’t be located in the Bible. Perkins, along with CT’s the world over, makes assertions about the “covenant of grace” that the Bible claims are about the New covenant: “The covenant of grace offers Christ as the mediator for sinners…The covenant of …
PART ONE As with all book reviews, this one has to be selective. With some books that is not a problem since they tend to be thin on argumentation. Or at least their main points can be summarized quite easily. This book by Perkins is not like that. He builds his concepts carefully from systematic and biblical theology as well as from the confessions. He has read the Bible and Reformed authors and has produced a work that discusses Covenant …
A Review of Harrison Perkins, Reformed Covenant Theology: A Systematic Introduction, Bellingham, WA., Lexham, 2024, 520 pages, Hardback. There is no shortage of books on Covenant Theology (CT). There is the big multi author compendium simply called Covenant Theology edited by Waters, Reid, and Muether. One of the contributors to that book is Richard Belcher, whose The Fulfillment of the Promises of God, which to my mind is the best introduction to CT on the market. Other introductions by Jonty …
This is another review that never saw the light of day at this venue. Review: On the Shoulders of Hobbits: the Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis, by Louis Markos, Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2012, pbk, 234 pages. When I came across this book at a bookstore I was weighing its purchase against another, more “academic” work that I had in my hand. Just a few years ago I’m ashamed to say I would have put this book down without going to the …
This is an older review that never saw the light of day here: Book Review: Schaeffer on the Christian Life, by William Edgar, Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2013, 206 pp, pbk. This book is one of Crossway’s Countercultural Spirituality series. Of all the volumes in the series perhaps the most natural choice for inclusion is Francis Schaeffer. Schaffer it was whose lectures and writings urged upon a docile church the responsibility of engaging the culture. His L’Abri mission epitomized a way of …
A review of David B. Capes, Matthew Through Old Testament Eyes, Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2024, 389 pages, pbk. I have already reviewed the previous volumes from this series. All three were what I would call average to above average works, containing useful content, although my repeated refrain was that in my opinion they fail to live up to the title. If you want to write a NT commentary “through OT Eyes” then you really can’t superimpose the NT on it. …
When a father writes a book about a beloved and departed daughter there is a good chance that it could turn into a rather sentimental panegyric; a balm for the families wounds, but not a right representation of the subject. This wonderful book does not fall into that trap; avoiding it scrupulously by several reminders from the author that he does not want the reader to leave with that impression, and also because the book is really about Jesus Christ. …
Part Two The next essay in the book is by Ryan Martin and is about Israel and the Church and the issue of supersessionism with a concentration upon Romans 9 – 11. I want to say at the outset that Martin does not really deal with supersessionism very fully in this piece, so those wanting a clear refutation of that teaching may be disappointed. However, he does present a patient and reasonable exposition of the section with useful exegetical notes. …
Part One After Beacham’s excellent offering we get one by Kevin Bauder. Bauder is one of the best representatives of Dispensationalism, and any contribution by him will be eminently worthwhile. He writes on Israel and the Church and his chapter is welcome because of the way Bauder tackles the subject. First he addresses the question of just what is meant by “a people of God” (72-79). This is perhaps a little long-winded but at the same time the delineation is …
