Review of Broken-Down House by Paul Tripp

Mike Leake

Author: Paul Tripp

Pages: 224 pgs

Publisher: Shepherd Press

Price: 9.95

Genre: Christian Living

Quick Summary:

If you are familiar with Paul Tripp then you know what this book is about: sin leading to brokenness and Christ our redemption. This particular book considers the image of a broken-down house that God is rebuilding. It is about restoration and how to live while we are in the middle of this process. The subtitle “living productively in a world gone bad” is truly what this book is about.

The book is broken up into two sections, knowing and doing. The first section attempts to ground the reader in solid gospel-drenched theology. The second section attempts to apply the gospel to action. If you realize the brokenness you are living in and wonder how to bring about redemption to brokenness then this book is written for you.

What I Liked:

As always Tripp grounds everything in the gospel. He is becoming one of my favorite authors. He has the ability (which comes from experiencing grace) to tear down with the gospel and build back up with the gospel. You leave wounded and healed at the same time. Truly this is not the work of Paul Tripp but the faithful Shepherd that uses his writings for His glory. The gospel has power and Tripp stays close to the gospel in his writings. You will benefit from every chapter in this book because every chapter is soaked in the gospel.

What I Disliked:

It took me forever to read this book. Not because it is a slow read but it never seemed to connect in such a way that I felt compelled to read it except for as a devotional. I need to read it again—but it seems that it does not seem to flow together that well (but that could be my own reading of it).

Should You Buy It?

Because it took me so long to finish it I have the added advantage of knowing what stuck. One chapter in this book still sticks with me. So that’s worth the cost of the book to me (even though I got it for free). Even though the book feels more like a shotgun (small pellets scattered everywhere) than a rifle (a single pointed aim) some of the pellets are sure to stick in deep—and because they are gospel saturated even the little that does sink in will spread like wildfire and change your life. You need this book.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Hump Day Humor: Debating Calvinism

Mike Leake

(HT: Sacred Sandwich)

Obviously, this could have been turned to the Calvinist making a silly panicked argument.  All of us at time proof text, get backed in a corner and then get desperate. 

Secondly, in case you aren’t aware Servetus is one great blemish on the legacy of John Calvin.  Here is one perspective on what went down.  Here is another viewpoint.

Review of Samuel Rutherford by Kingsley G. Rendell

Mike Leake 1 Comment

Author: Kingsley G. Rendell

Pages: 192pgs

Publisher: Christian Focus

Price: 9.09

Genre: Biography

Quick Summary:

Samuel Rutherford was a Puritan pastor that lived in the 1600s. He is most known for his Letters and his pastoral work but this particular biography focuses on Rutherford the “apologist and propagandist”. This work track his life from his days as a student to his death. We meet Rutherford the pastor, the prisoner, the reformer, the apologist, the protester, and the man of extremes.

What I Liked:

I have not read many biographies on Rutherford. This is one of my first exposures to him in biographical form. I can tell though through reading this that Kingsley Rendell is not afraid of telling the story as it really was. He is not an overly doting biographer that refuses to look at the rough edges of his subject. And even though I do not have much exposure to Rutherford I am certain that there is information and perspective in this work that you will not find anywhere else.

What I Disliked:

In my opinion there are two types of biographies: the story/narrative type and the intentional/perspective type. This biography is the latter. What I mean is that you almost need a prior knowledge of Rutherford, Scotland, and this era before you can really get involved in this work. This book is supplemental to other writings on Rutherford and the period. I have no doubt that it is helpful but as an introduction to Rutherford it’s not what I was looking for.

Should You Buy It?

If you already have a basic knowledge of Rutherford, Scotland, and this particular era of history then this may be a fun read for you. This would be a great book to go along with a study of Rutherford, but it is not a good book to stand alone. You will learn things, but as far as overly enjoyable biography this book is not it. If it had more helpful footnotes at the bottom of the pages then it may be a little better to read, but I got lost in all of the characters, governmental structures, etc. that I was unfamiliar with.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Fruitless Controversy and Unintelligible Gibberish

Mike Leake

Today Ray Ortlund posted this gem from John Stott:

“I have several times heard Dr. Billy Graham say, and justly, that the trouble with us ministers is that we tend to preach to one another.  We little realize how unintelligible we often are.  ‘How much of what is customary to the man in the pulpit . . . is gibberish to the man in the pew?’  I was told of a patient in the chapel of a mental hospital who, after listening for a time to the Chaplain, was heard to remark, ‘There but for the grace of God go I!’  The simplicity and directness of Dr. Graham’s own preaching are a model for us all. . . . Dr. Graham has taught us all to begin again at the beginning in our evangelism and speak by the power of the Holy Spirit of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.”

I also spent a little time this morning reading Richard Baxter’s classic work, The Reformed Pastor.  I think what Baxter says here may provide a sound way for us not to fall into “preaching to one another”:

If we feed on unwholesome food, either errors or fruitless controversies, our hearers are like to fare the worst for it.

The reason why we can sometimes be “unintelligible” and speak “gibberish to the man in the pew” is because we can be tempted to spend a good amount of our time trying to figure out the answer to fruitless controversies. 

There is a time and a place for considering controversies.  Not every controversy is fruitless and unwholesome.  But an inordinate amount of time spent on controversies will cause the preacher to answer questions that his people are not asking (and probably don’t need to ask).