Cart
|
|
my account
|
wish list
|
help
|
800-878-7323
Hello, |
Login
MENU
Browse
New Arrivals
Bestsellers
Featured Preorders
Award Winners
Audio Books
See All Subjects
Used
Staff Picks
Staff Picks
Picks of the Month
Bookseller Displays
50 Books for 50 Years
25 Best 21st Century Sci-Fi & Fantasy
25 PNW Books to Read Before You Die
25 Books From the 21st Century
25 Memoirs to Read Before You Die
25 Global Books to Read Before You Die
25 Women to Read Before You Die
25 Books to Read Before You Die
Gifts
Gift Cards & eGift Cards
Powell's Souvenirs
Journals and Notebooks
socks
Games
Sell Books
Blog
Events
Find A Store
Don't Miss
15% off new books on Powells.com!*
Spring Sale
Big Mood Sale
Teen Dream Sale
Powell's Author Events
Oregon Battle of the Books
Audio Books
Get the Powell's newsletter
Visit Our Stores
Powell's Staff:
Five Book Friday: In Memoriam
(0 comment)
Every year, the booksellers at Powell’s submit their Top Fives: their five favorite books that were released in 2023. It’s a list that, when put together, shows just how varied and interesting the book tastes of Powell’s booksellers are. I highly recommend digging into the recommendations — we would never lead you astray — but today...
Read More
»
Brontez Purnell:
Powell’s Q&A: Brontez Purnell, author of ‘Ten Bridges I’ve Burnt’
(0 comment)
Rachael P.:
Starter Pack: Where to Begin with Ursula K. Le Guin
(0 comment)
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
{1}
##LOC[OK]##
##LOC[Cancel]##
Customer Comments
BBauer has commented on (3) products
Lordship Salvation: A Biblical Evaluation and Response
by
Charles C. Bing
BBauer
, November 27, 2010
Oustanding Treatment of the Lordship Issue! This is a newly updated version of Dr. Charles Bing's PhD dissertation. It is written in a scholarly fashion by a true biblical scholar, but I think that most Christians should be able to glean much useful material from the book. Dr. Bing is a most gracious man and this comes across completely in his writing. He gives a completely balanced yet very strong presentation of the Lordship debate from a Free-Grace stance (there's no name-calling here). He examines the arguments of Lordship Salvation proponents fairly, fully and in proper context, demonstrating how they fall short of a proper Free-Grace understanding of Scripture. This book is a MUST READ for anyone who wants an in-depth look at the Lordship debate. For a bit of a lighter look at the subject, see another of Dr. Bing's books on the subject: Simply by Grace: An Introduction to God's Life-Changing Gift Dr. Bing also has some excellent articles on the Free Grace Alliance web site and at the GraceLife Ministries web site.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
report this comment
Back to Faith
by
Fred R. Lybrand
BBauer
, June 06, 2010
Outstanding Clarification of the Faith vs. Works Debate! Fred Lybrand's exceptional new book, "Back to Faith: Reclaiming Gospel Clarity in an Age of Incongruence," is a MUST-READ for anyone who wants to examine in depth Calvin's age-old cliche, "It is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone." Over the years I have heard this cliche expressed in various forms by many many Christians. But have average evangelicals every really examined Calvin's words or have they simply accepted them as comprising a Christian "truism?" Lybrand methodically utilizes every avenue of study at his disposal, including logic, sound exegesis of extensive Scripture, historical background of the RCC and the Reformed movement, pragmatism, and Greek word meanings to bring about the systematic annihilation of Calvin's cliche. This is by far the most thorough treatment of the subject that I have read to date! I particularly enjoyed Lybrand's use of simple graphs to drive his points home. And his comprehensive analytic treatment of James chapter 2 was worth the price of the book for that chapter alone! THANKS FRED FOR A GREAT BOOK! For additional reading see: Simply by Grace, by Charles Bing and Secure Forever, God's Promise or Our Perseverance?, by Tom Cucuzza
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment
Crazy Love Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
by
Francis Chan
BBauer
, February 06, 2010
WORKS-BASED SALVATION "Waking up the sleeping church!" "Potent paradigm shift." "A clarion call to on-fire living for Christ." This is a sampling of glowing tributes on online book sites about the popular book "Crazy Love." A minority of comments stands in stark dissent: "Mean-spirited." "Unbiblical." "Confused." "Works theology." Count me among the latter group, the disenchanted. To be fair, there were a couple of things that I liked about the book. First, the first few chapters were fine, speaking about the greatness of God and about examining one's life and mortality. Second, I believe that the author had good intentions of wanting Christians to experience radical living for God. Sadly, much of the rest of the book morphed into a judgmental diatribe of Lordship Salvation teaching. As true of all such doctrine, the book muddies the distinction between justification and sanctification, melding them together while distorting the simple straightforward message of salvation by faith in Christ Jesus alone. In chapter four, Chan assembled a lengthy arbitrary list of what it means to be "lukewarm." Here is a sampling: "Lukewarm People attend church fairly regularly. It is what is expected of them, what they believe 'good Christians' do, so they go" (p. 68). "Lukewarm People rarely share their faith with their neighbors, coworkers, or friends. They do not want to be rejected, nor do they want to make people uncomfortable by talking about private issues like religion" (p. 71). "Lukewarm People say they love Jesus, and He is, indeed, a part of their lives. But only a part. They give Him a section of their time, their money, and their thoughts, but He isn't allowed to control their lives" (p. 72). After creating his list of the lukewarm, Chan chops them down like matchsticks in Chapter Five: "As I see it, a lukewarm Christian is an oxymoron; there's no such thing. To put it plainly, churchgoers who are 'lukewarm' are not Christians. We will not see them in heaven" (p. 84). Think about the drastic implications of Chan's statement. He has just said, in effect, if you are not in that possibly two or three percent of super-christians, then you simply are not going to heaven! Chan's acrimonious assessment stems from, in my opinion, his misinterpretation of the lukewarm Laodicean church of Revelation 3. Chan teaches that they were all unbelievers who were spit out by Jesus. The text itself refutes that viewpoint. The Laodicean church was one of the seven churches (church means "a body of BELIEVERS") to whom Jesus addressed his words of affirmation and entreaty to live lives befitting of the spiritual heritage that they already possessed in Christ. Rev. 3:19 in particular refers unmistakably to believers: "Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline." Hebrews 12:6 calls those disciplined by God "sons," clearly, BELIEVERS. As with the other churches of Revelation, Jesus calls the Laodicean church to repent, not for salvation, but for believers to get right spiritually with God, returning to blessing and fellowship with him. Chan also misinterpreted other passages of Scripture utilizing erroneous lines of argumentation to make his case. Here are two examples: 1. "My conclusion? Jesus' call to commitment is clear: He wants all or nothing. The thought of a person calling himself a 'Christian' without being a devoted follower of Christ is absurd" (p. 85). RESPONSE: Chan makes an interpretation based, by his own admission, upon a superficial childlike reading of the gospels. He cites no specific Scripture whatsoever. To which gospel is he referring? It's doubtful that he spent much time in John, for it says repeatedly that eternal life comes through believing in Christ alone for salvation: John 3:16-18, 36; 5:24; 6:28-29, 37, 40; 7:38; 10:9, 11:25-26; 14:6; 17:3. Chan must have targeted "discipleship" passages, spoken primarily to the apostles and intimate disciples, most of whom were already believers! 2. "Some people claim that we can be Christians without necessarily becoming disciples. I wonder, then, why the last thing Jesus told us was to go into all the world, making disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey all that He commanded? You'll notice that He didn't add, 'But hey, if that's too much to ask, tell them to just become Christians---you know, the people who get to go to heaven without having to commit to anything" (p. 87). RESPONSE: Chan misquotes Matthew 28:19-20 [incomplete quotation] from the NIV without citation. He says this was the last thing Jesus told us; actually Jesus' final words are recorded in Acts 1:8. Chan sardonically constructs a straw man, then razes it. Without legitimizing his mocking mischaracterization of the Free-Grace postition, I must say that I've never heard anyone else define Christianity the way that he did. Of course a person must commit to something when becoming a Christian; that something is a SOMEONE, namely Jesus Christ. Acts 16:31 says in a most simple and straightforward way, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved" (Titus 3:5, Romans 4:5, Ephesians 2:8-9 and John 3:16-18 give the same gospel message). Chan amalgamates the gospel message of salvation by faith in Christ alone with issues of discipleship and commitment (a front-loading of the gospel). Discipleship and commitment are issues of sanctification (a process of spiritual maturation, growth). To frontload the latter issues into the salvation message creates a complicated mess planting unreasonable demands upon the unsaved. This line of teaching also can destroy assurance of salvation for some believers who can never be sure if they've done enough. For further reading: "Simply by Grace," by Charles C. Bing; "Secure Forever: God's Promise or Our Perseverance?" by Thomas Cucuzza; "So Great Salvation," by Charles Ryrie.
Was this comment helpful? |
Yes
|
No
(3 of 4 readers found this comment helpful)
report this comment