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NEW RELEASE: 1–3 John (Reformed Expository Commentary) by Douglas Sean O’Donnell

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1–3 John by Douglas Sean O’Donnell

240 pages | Direct Price: $19.99 $15.00 | Series: Reformed Expository Commentary

Summary

How can we know that we possess eternal life? The apostle John answered that question in the three epistles that bear his name. He wrote that we must first believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that Christ came in the flesh. Second, we must obey God’s commandments. Third, we must love others.

In this illuminating and engaging commentary on John’s letters, pastor-scholar Douglas Sean O’Donnell illustrates and applies these three essential tests that judge whether we possess eternal life or not. Grow in your knowledge of Christ, our Savior. Learn how to live in the light. Grab hold of the gospel-transformed life!

 

About the Author

O'Donnell_DouglasDouglas Sean O’Donnell (M.A., Wheaton College; M.A., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) was senior pastor of New Covenant Church in Naperville, Illinois. He is currently a senior lecturer at Queensland Theological College in Brisbane, Australia, while obtaining his doctorate at Trinity College Bristol and the University of Aberdeen. He is also the author of God’s Lyrics and Ecclesiastes (REC series).

 

What Others Say About This Book

“Written with wit, learning, and savvy, this is a commentary to read and savor. . . . Each chapter amounts to an informative, uplifting, and challenging appeal. If more pastors preached like this, and more believers saw these truths in Scripture, both church and society would be moving in far better directions. Read this book! You’ll find in John’s holy epistles fresh meaning, life, hope, and direction.”

—Robert W. Yarbrough, Professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary

“What do you preach—not only to plant a church but to help it to survive the invasion of false teachers, loveless strife, and immorality? This enduring question emphasizes the vital relevance of John’s letters for churches in every time and place. Written by a pastor for pastors, Douglas O’Donnell’s commentary offers a rich feast for the servers as well as their diners.”

—Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

“Creative storytelling and contemporary references combined with careful examination of the text make Douglas O’Donnell’s commentary on 1–3 John an essential resource for understanding and teaching these oft-neglected epistles.”

—Nancy Guthrie, Author, Seeing Jesus in the Old Testament Bible Study series

“O’Donnell’s work is marked by solid exegesis, a knowledge of church history, and faithful theology. . . . I was helped and encouraged by this commentary, and I commend it gladly.”

—Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

 

About the Series

All the books in the Reformed Expository Commentary series are accessible to both pastors and lay readers. Each volume in the series provides exposition that gives careful attention to the biblical text, is doctrinally Reformed, focuses on Christ through the lens of redemptive history, and applies the Bible to our contemporary setting.

 

Excerpt from Modesty: More than a Change of Clothes by Martha Peace & Kent Keller

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Below is an excerpt of Modesty: More than a Change of Clothes by Martha Peace & Kent Keller, pages 17-18.

What Is the Biblical Standard of Modesty?

A picture book would have been quite handy, but God chose in His infinitely perfect wisdom to give us words to answer this question. After all, the Scriptures were written “for our instruction” (Romans 15:4). The Bible tells us what we are doing wrong, teaches us how to correct it, and trains us to be godly (see 2 Timothy 3:16).

Based upon the Bible as revealed in the chapters that follow, this is our definition of modesty:

Modesty is an inner attitude of the heart motivated by a love for God that seeks His glory through purity and humility; it often reveals itself in words, actions, expressions, and clothes.

If you have a heart(1) that loves God, you will want to please God. According to the Bible, the heart is the part of you that thinks your thoughts, makes the choices of your will, feels your emotions, and lives on after your death.

A heart that is concerned about pleasing God will express itself modestly by what you think, say, do, and wear. True modesty can come only from someone who is more concerned about showing the world how great God is than how great she is. True modesty doesn’t come from changing one’s wardrobe. It comes from having one’s heart changed. If you want to be modest, your heart must follow after God. When you choose to be immodest (or commit any sin), then you are choosing your own sinful desires over God’s desires, showing that He is not first in your life—at least not at that moment.

God can again be first in your heart when you repent from your sin and believe in His Son Jesus Christ (Mark 1:15). Repenting from sin means that you change your view of sin so that you live as God desires. What used to seem fun or desirable is now seen as something that God hates, so you want to turn from that sin. God is first in your heart when you believe that Jesus is the only one who can save you from your sin. He is the Lord and Master of your heart. When He is most important to you, you want to please Him by doing what He commands, because you love Him! When God is first in your heart, you will be modest!

On the other hand,

Immodesty is an attitude of the heart that expresses itself with inappropriate words, actions, expressions and/or clothes that are flirtatious, manipulative, revealing, or suggestive of sensuality or pride.

Just as with modesty, the immodesty we can see comes from an immodest heart, which we can’t see. You can, however, measure the heart by the fruit that your life produces (Matthew 7:20). If you want to act or dress immodestly so that you catch the attention of all the guys, or at least that cute one who you wish would pay more attention to you, God is not first in your heart.

If you haven’t found out already, some guys can be manipulated pretty easily. This desire to get them to do what you want by flirting, behaving, or dressing immodestly does not honor God. This does not come from a pure heart, but from a sinful desire for attention that dishonors God.

(1) When the Bible refers to the “heart,” it never refers to the phys- ical organ that pumps the blood around in one’s body. Neither לב (leb) in the Old Testament nor καρδια (kardia) in the New Testament ever refers to the physical organ.

BOOK HIGHLIGHT – Philosophy, Science, and the Sovereignty of God by Vern S. Poythress

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Philosophy, Science, and the Sovereignty of God by Vern S. Poythress

264 pages |Direct Price: $16.99 $13.00 | Published: 2004

Summary: We live in an atmosphere in which many people feel that intellectual integrity demands that one give up many elements of the biblical story. Not only evolution, but engineering, psychology, medicine, sociology, linguistics, anthropology, historiography, archaeology, art, music, and philosophy are all summoned to the task of undermining biblical teaching.

Rather than responding to “problems” posed by the secular culture, Vern Poythress set out in this, his first book, “to concentrate . . . on the positive task of uncovering some biblical foundations for science and the philosophy of science.”

Poitiers continues: “Most of what I say is more an introduction to philosophy of science than a treatment of special problems in philosophy of science. The question of basic orientation is at stake.”

Chapters treat (1) orientation, (2) ontology, (3) methodology, (4) axiology, (5) epistemology, and (6) study and its ethics. Appendixes evaluate (1) previous Reformed philosophy (Dooeyweerd, Stoker, Van Til, Clark, Pike), (2) the naive/theoretical distinction, (3) aspects, and (4) the law of contradiction.

“Because of sin, people still have trouble understanding the Bible and seeing the implications of the Bible for science,” Poythress writes. “This book is intended to jar them into a better understanding and to provide some tools for seeing how to begin reforming science.”

About the Author:

Poythress_VernVern S. Poythress (MLitt, University of Cambridge; PhD, Harvard University; DTh, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa) is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. He is also the author of Understanding Dispensationalists; Science and Hermeneutics; Implications of Scientific Method for Biblical Interpretation; Symphonic Theology; The Validity of Multiple Perspectives in Theology; The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses, and many others.

 

 

Apologetics: A Justification of Christian Belief by John M. Frame and Edited by Joseph E. Torres

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Apologetics: A Justification of Christian Belief by John M. Frame and edited by Joseph E. Torres

John Frame’s prayer for this book

“My prayer for this book is that it will motivate believers to take the gospel to the streets, even to the world, without fear. Among Christian apologists there are “not many . . . [who] were wise according to worldly standards” (1 Cor. 1:26), but those worldly standards themselves are foolishness in God’s estimation. So we should expect apologists faithful to the Lord to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Cor. 10:5). May God use this book to help believers to present the gospel with such power.” —John Frame (quoted from is Facebook page)

What Joseph Torres has to say about editing this work

“It was a pleasure to work with Dr. Frame on this dream project, and I put in a year’s worth of work into the editing. It is a substantial update and expansion of Apologetics to the Glory of God with two new introductions (one by myself, and the other by Dr. Vern Poythress of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia), explanatory footnotes found throughout, and multiple additional appendices, two I which I wrote. That all equals approximately 100 new pages.” —Joseph E. Torres (taken from Kingdomview)

about the book

Renowned theologian John Frame sheds much-needed light on the message and method of genuinely Christian apologetics in this landmark title. He insightfully examines apologetics in terms of proof, defense, and offense and clarifies the relationships of reason, proofs, and evidences to faith, biblical authority, and the lordship of Christ.

Two subjects of particular note are Frame’s fresh look at probability arguments and a stimulating investigation into the problem of evil.

Some of the most valuable elements of this book are Frame’s extensive use of Scripture and his presentation of specific lines of argument. There is also a model dialogue in the concluding chapter that shows how these lines of argument work in conversation.

This is an extensively redeveloped and expanded version of Frame’s previous work, Apologetics to the Glory of God.

Endorsements

“John Frame’s Apologetics to the Glory of God brought about a paradigm shift . . . in my understanding not only of apologetics but of all other intellectual endeavors as a Christian. Ever since then, it has been the first book I recommend to those looking for an introduction to Christian apologetics.”

—James N. Anderson, Reformed Theological Seminary

“John Frame winsomely, patiently, and persuasively contends for the gospel and brings together a rare blend of big-picture thinking, levelheaded reflection, biblical fidelity, love for the gospel and the church, and ability to write with care and clarity.”

—John Piper, Bethlehem College and Seminary

“John Frame manages to tackle the most difficult problems facing a Christian who endeavors to defend the faith: the nature of evil, world religions, the use of evidences, and much more. And he does so with grace, theological acumen, and an enviable straightforwardness. . . . [An] extraordinarily profitable volume.”

—William Edgar, Westminster Theological Seminary

 

BOOK HIGHLIGHT – J. Gresham Machen by Stephen J. Nichols

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J. Gresham Machen: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought by Stephen J. Nichols

256 pages | Direct Price: $13.99 $10.50 | Published: 2004

Summary: An introductory guide to the life and works of J. Gresham Machen. His major works are introduced and summarized. Also discussed are his pastoral writings. This is the third book in Stephen Nichols’s popular “guided-tour” series and includes 24 illustrations.

About the Author:

Nichols_Stephen_JStephen J Nichols (PhD, Westminster Theological Semenary) is president of Reformation Bible College and chief academic officer of Ligonier Ministries. He is also author of Jonathan Edwards: A Guided Tour of His Life and Thought, and Martin Luther: A Guided Tour of his Life and Thought.

 

Endorsements:

“Stephen Nichols has done a fine job of presenting an accessible introduction to the life and thought of J. Gresham Machen. Nichols offers lucid expositions and fresh interpretations based on his own research.”

—George M. Marsden

“J. Gresham Machen’s writing was as clear as his arguments were persuasive. Nichols has accomplished the rare feat of making Machen even more accessible. For readers unfamiliar with Machen, this is the perfect appetizer to the feast of further study in Machen’s writings. For those more knowledgeable, this will be a reliable reference.”

—Darryl Hart