The Gospel of Judas has had its fifteen minutes of fame. It is but another in an endlessly long line of stories or documents meant to shake the foundations of the Christian faith. Like its many predecessors, it gave National Geographic and anti-Christian authors an opportunity to voice their dissension with the biblical story of Jesus. A book titled The Gospel of Judas shot to near the top of the bestsellers lists and nearly as quickly, shot straight back down. Still, while its popularity was short-lived, it allowed Bart Ehrman and other revisionists a chance to laud the epistle for its new insights into the life of Christ. Surely Ehrman forever cast doubt upon his credibility as a historian when he blathered, “(The Gospel of Judas) is one of the greatest historical discoveries of the twentieth century. It rivals the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Gnostic Gospels of Nag Hammadi.”

In an uncertain world, there are at least six things we can always count on. These six are the focus of J.D. Wetterling’s new book, No One…. Quoting Jesus’ words from the book of John we know that:

• No One can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.
• No One can come to me unless the Father Who sent me draws him.
• No One comes to the Father except through me.
• No One takes it [life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.
• No One can snatch them [true Christians] out of my hand.
• No One will take away your joy.

These six “no one” statements form the framework for the book. Each one receives thorough, Gospel-centered treatment. Each chapter concludes with the promise that “these are unshakable certainties in an uncertain world.”

Twenty five years after its release, I finally read Jerry Bridges’ classic The Pursuit of Holiness (you can read my review here). I am glad to say that it only took me twelve to read The Discipline of Grace which has recently been republished by NavPress. A former ECPA Gold Medallion Book Award winner, this is a title I’m sure I will read again before another twelve years have elapsed.

The Da Vinci Code, until recently the talk of the Christian world, seems to have rapidly become yesterday’s news. Though the book continues to sell and the film continues to draw, Christians seem to have lost interest. That is often the way things are in the church these days. Christians seems to react quickly and enthusiastically to a perceived threat, but these threats soon fade and Christians move on to other things. While many of these threats are merely perceived, some are genuine and have the potential to draw people away from the faith.

For the past couple of months I have been using Sunday postings on this site to feature reviews of books I wrote a while ago, probably before most of you began reading the site. I reviewed some awfully good books while I was the only person who bothered reading this site and thought it might be a valuable exercise to share some of those reviews. I believe I have just about reache the end of these archived reviews. I’ll wrap it up today with a review of an excellent book I reviewed just about a year ago. I was attempting to work my way through Crossway’s recent publications and asked my contact at the publisher if there was a book in their catalog that he felt was an overlooked treasure - a book that deserved far more recognition than it had received. He suggested Father, Son & Holy Spirit by Bruce Ware. I knew of Bruce Ware from his excellent critique of Open Theism in Their God is Too Small (which was a condensed version of a larger work on the same subject, God’s Lesser Glory).

The Bible teaches that it is not historical or archaeological evidence lies at the heart of Christianity, but a childlike faith. Neither is it signs, wonders or miracles. The Scripture tells us that “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign.” A generation that serves the Lord will be content with a faith that God is who He says He is and that He has done what He says He has done. Nevertheless, because Scripture claims it is true, we should believe it to be so and should expect that we would find it to be so. “Faith in Jesus rests upon the truth of the events narrated in the New Testament. Faith in Christ is inseparable from the belief that certain events occurred and that the record of those events is true. The life of Jesus is more than just a spiritual event, it is an event in history. Thus Christians are faced with the problem of evidence.”

Richard Mouw’s inspiration for the name Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport came from the film Hardcore, directed by Paul Schrader, an ex-Calvinist. In this film, Schrader presents Jake Van Dorn, a pious Calvinist played by George C. Scott. In one scene, Jake sits in an airport in Las Vegas while trying to track down his daughter, who has gotten involved in the pornography business and is reported to be in Vegas. He has enlisted the help of Niki, a young woman who knows his daughter. As they sit, Niki challenges Jake on what she feels is an exceedingly negative outlook on life. He responds with a dry, irrelevant explanation of TULIP, the five points of Calvinism. Schrader takes this opportunity to poke fun at the tradition he grew up in and to poke fun at his memories of Calvinists.

I have a good selection of systematic theologies on my bookshelf. They range from the very readable to the almost hopelessly complex. Some of the authors are clearly very knowledgeable but have not been blessed with the ability to easily communicate that wealth of knowledge. Others are great communicators but, unfortunately, do not have as great an understanding of theology. Sometimes, though, these gifts come together in the form of a person who both knows a great deal about theology and is able to communicate his knowledge in a clear, understandable way. The latest addition to these volumes is Salvation Belongs To The Lord, written by John Frame. While smaller than most systematics, at only 360 pages, it is, to borrow the words of William Edgar, both “vigorously orthodox and sweetly pastoral.”

In earlier reviews I have mentioned my increasing and generally well-founded suspicion of books that have been self-published. The internet has made it possible for just about anyone with a few thousand dollars (and sometimes even less) to produce a book that looks both legitimate and professional. Yet hard experience has shown that often these books display a distinct lack of professionalism as they are sometimes replete with spelling mistakes and poor grammar. Many of them are little more than 200-page rants. I am rarely surprised, when I read these books, that they have been turned down by traditional publishers. But there are exceptions. The Story of Joseph and Judah (my review) was an exception, and I am glad to say that All Nations Under God by Mike Beasley is as well.

Reformed Christians are increasingly divided over how they ought to worship God. For many Reformed believers, this is an issue of great urgency. D.G. Hart and John R. Muether wrote With Reverence And Awe (Returning to the Basics of Reformed Worship) to address this topic. They call the book a primer on worship, “a brief overview of how Reformed theology informs the way we think about, put together, and participate in the worship service. Our aim is to help church officers and members gather corporately for worship and do so in ways appropriate to the God who has revealed himself in Christ Jesus” (page 13). The authors believe that good theology must produce good worship, while poor theology necessarily produces poor worship. This is something the church has understood in the past, but has lost sight of in recent years. Reformed worship, because of its distinctiveness, will worship God in ways that are distinct from other theological traditions.