Commentaries on 1 John

Recently, I had the privilege of preaching six sermons on 1 John in my home church. In order to prepare for these sermons, I consulted quite a few commentaries. Here are my impressions on each of them.

Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners – Book Review

I owe a great deal of debt to John Bunyan. When I was going through a crisis in my life, it was his book, the Pilgrim’s Progress, which brought me immense comfort and encouragement. The same book also introduced me to Calvinistic theology, a set of doctrinal truths which have become the anchor of my soul. So as I went through another difficult season in my life I did not hesitate to turn to another of Bunyan’s writings to find solace and encouragement. This time it was his autobiography Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners.

This book is short account of the most important phases of Bunyan’s life. Bunyan recounts his pre-conversion years (1-117), his evangelical experience (118-132), his fight with temptations and his victory over them (133-264), his pastoral ministry, his imprisonment and his trials. One of his friends adds a brief account of his death and his character.

Son of Hamas – Book Review

Son of Hamas – A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices . The tag line of this book should probably have read  – A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices which all worked together for the good of  someone who loves God and is called according to his purpose.

Mosab Hassan Yousef, popularly known as the Son of Hamas, by virtue of being the eldest son of a founding member of Hamas– a Palestinian terrorist organization – is now, can you believe it, a son of God.  This book takes you right into the heart of Israel-Palestine politics. It gives you a first hand account of the ideologies and motives behind the actions that have split the earth beneath them. And Mosab does all this not from a wishy-washy secular perspective but from a Biblical perspective, which is why this book is a delightful reading for any  Christian.

Review of Think: Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Part 2)

Continuing from my previous post, here I would like to mention a few things in Think which I found to be unpersuasive and sometimes disturbing. I realize that these points, on which I am going to comment on, are larger aspects of Piper’s theology and not the main points of this book itself. Disagreements on these points did not rob me of the benefits I derived from this book.

Also I should mention that while doing this exercise I am greatly aware that I am toddler in theology and layman with far lesser experience and maturity than John Piper, who has served the Lord for well over 35 years. Also, since I do not want to sound acrimonious, which has come to characterize much of Reformed blogosphere, I am going to address John Piper as Bro. Piper in order to always remind myself that he is my brother in the Lord and not some third person whom I delight in critiquing.

Review of Think: Life of the Mind and the Love of God (Part 1)

Think is a neat little book written by John Piper. As the title suggests, it is a book on thinking. More importantly, it is a book on how thinking is related to loving God – the great commandment that all Christians are called to fulfill.

In this book John Piper contends that thinking is something wholly indispensable for a Christian; but it is not an end in itself. It serves the larger purpose of loving God. And what is loving God? The essence of loving God is treasuring him above all things. All thinking is but a means to this end. This is the main thesis of the book.  The following sentence may capture the essence of the book

“loving God with the mind means that our thinking is wholly engaged to do all it can to awaken and express the heartfelt fullness of treasuring God above all things. Treasuring God is the essence of loving him, and the mind serves this love by comprehending (imperfectly and partially, but truly) the truth and beauty and worth of the Treasure” (Page 19)