8/12/2019 1992 Issue 2 - Book Reviews: Books by Clarence Stam and Calvin Beisner - Counsel of Chalcedon

1/2

yron napp

will

Rejoice "

(Phil.

4:4)

the

practice

of

correct

doctrine

takes our eyes of

ourselves

and

focuses

them on the

triune God.

ook Reviews

Living In

TheJoy

Of

Faith The

hristian

Faith

s

Outlined

In

The

Heidelberg

Catechism

by

Clarence

Starn,

Inheritance Publications Box

154Neerlandia,Alberta, CanadaTOG

IRa. $19.95; $26.50 in

u.s.

The author, a pastor in

the

Cana

dian

Reformed

Church,

provides the

reader with aseries ofsermons on the

doctrines presented in the Heidel

berg Catechism. Each chapter con

tains

relevant catechism questions

andanswers,anoutlineofthesennon

and the sermon itself

along

with

ap

propriate

Scripture

on

the

topiC.

Catechisticpreachingcan be ben

eficial to a congregation. Major

Bib

lical doctrine can thus be

regularly

taught. As the Holy Spirit works,

listeners are grounded in docirine

that works itself out in

all

aspects of

life. All

too

often,

I

receive

letters

from individuals and families

who

have no strong churchintheir area to

attend. Sadly many

churches

are

afraid to proclaim Biblical doctrine

forfear oflosingmembers. Inourage

of entertaimnent and

pleasure

orien

tation, the church itself

is

seen as a

place of entertainment.

Pastor

Stams

book provides a good resource

for

those

thirsty for

short

expOsitions

of

Biblical doctrine.

Sadly it

is

easy

to lose

Christ in a

studyofdoctrine. Caremustbetaken

to make sure

the

claims of Christ

are

clearly made lmown.

Every

doctrine

points in some way to Christ

and

of

The sermons are each less than

five

pages

in length. Thus the reader

course, to all members

of

the triune does not have to commit a large

Godhead.

We

must

never

take

such

segment

of

time

to

read

a

complete

pride in correct doctrine

that

we lose message. Being hardbound with a

sight

of

Christ our

Redeemer.

If we beautiful cover, the book lends itself

losesightof ourGod thenwealsolose

to

being used time

and

again which

sight of correct doctrine, for correct

would

also

be

easily noticed by

visi-

doctrine is God-centered. The

au-

tors

i

eft on the coffee

table.

thor keeps Christ before his hearers.

In a sennon on

"The

Function

of the GodInThreePersons

byE.

Calvin

Covenant Law he

writes:

"To

see

the

Beisner,

Tyndale 1984 16Opp.

holy God, we must show ourselves

holy in this life. We can

do so only

by

the

Spirit

and

Word

of

Christ,

and we

will

not

do

so

perfecdy. Christ is

also

oursanctification. Ourholiness,

too,

comes

from Him. Butwemustreflect

and demonstrate in our

life

that we

are a different people, a holy

people,

that we

are

separated

from

the

filth

and dirt

of

this world. For we are

Gods people, the people of is cov

enant who do His

law;

who gladly

hear

is

aw;

and

do

notfeelrestricted

when they

~ r it,

but

instead

feel

refreshed and challenged to serve

again, everyweek, withnewenthusi-

asm

and joy.

(p. 22 7)

From

this quote and the bookS

tide we are reminded of the joy that

come fromlmowing God as our

God

and understandingto the degree that

we do

that

He

is

a sovereign, cov

enantal

God

Whom

we can lmow

as

He

has

revealed HimselfinScripture.

We are not just

to

serve the Lord; we

are to serve

Him with

gladness.

(Ps.

100:1)

Paul,

grounded in correct

doctrine, could write

from

prison:

"rejoice

in

the Lord always,

again I

Lost

by many

in our generation is

the great struggle

that occurred

in the

early

church in the formulation of

basic Christian doctrine.

Beisner

capably

shows

the devel

opment of the doctrine

of

the

1linity

in the early church. This study

is

of

particular

interest

for the word 'Trin-

ity" is not

mentioned

inScripture. It

is

impossible to explain

by

human

reasoning

the

fact

of

three

persons

in

the

Godhead.

New Testament evidence is

pre

sented

and

then

the reader is intro

duced

to

the writings

of

Ignatius,

Irenaeus,

Tertullian

and the

develop

ment

of the

Trinitarian

doctrine

in

theirwriting.

These

and otherwriters

had

to

Scripturally answer Gnosti

cismandMonarchism. Byanswering

the

false

doctrines of

these

sects

Christians sharpened their own un-

derstanding

of

the

Trinity and thus

helped not

only themselves

but fu-

ture generations as well.

CONTINUED ON

PAGE

24

6 THE COUNSELo Cbalcedon February, 1992

8/12/2019 1992 Issue 2 - Book Reviews: Books by Clarence Stam and Calvin Beisner - Counsel of Chalcedon

2/2

SNAPP, CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6

Through the

onslaught of

Arianism thisfalseteachingdenied

the eternity

of

the Logos and both

the personality and deity of the

Holy Spirit)

the

Nicene Creed was

developed as

an

answer that faith-

fully set forth Scriptural teaching.

Thebook

closes with a briefexami-

nation

of

he Nicene Creed in light

of New

Testament teaching.

ThejoyofreadingBeiSneristhat

he writes on the level of he

man

in

thepew. Heexplamshistermsand

formulates his arguments cleady

and

cogently

The

Biblical doctrine

of

the

Trinity continues to

be

denied to-

dayby many including Jehovahs

Wimesses

and

Mormons. If asked,

could

you

defend the Scriptural

teaching on the Trinity? fnot this

bookisfotyou. ltwillalsogiveyou

betierappreciationforearlychurch

historyO

4

. THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon , Febmary, 1992

Non Profit

Org.

U.s.

Postage

PAID

BULK RATE

Pennit No

.

1553

Greenville

, SC

296 2

'iI ie Cotmsel

ofCfiaf ceMn

put

asong in

my

fieart 6ecause it aitlifuiEy applies (jot'swort

to

af

of ife ni

s

written in an. uruferstatufa6fe

stgfe. I CooK to t or wise counsel

ami

fiigfify

recommerui t oryour support.

]udyRogers

SONGWRlTERi

PERFORMER