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The Heart of Reformed Theology

Flower power!

The Heart of Reformed Theology
By R.C. Sproul
Hodder & Stoughton.
242 pages. £8.99
ISBN 0 340 64278 5

R.C. Sproul is a US theological professor of some fame on the other side of the Atlantic He has the great gift of making the doctrinal rough places plain and difficult ideas accessible.

The author believes that Reformed/Calvinistic truth is biblical Christianity and crucial for the future well-being of evangelical Protestant faith. He is absolutely right - in the present confused state of evangelicalism, where strenuous efforts are being made by some high-profile charismatic churches, invaded by a post-modern mindset, to draw people away from the historic understanding of the very character and ontology of God.
The book falls into two halves. The first covers the foundations: the sovereignty of God, the reliability of the Bible and the centrality of Christ as prophet, priest and king, in the covenant work of salvation. His explanation of the key truth of justification by faith alone in Christ alone is particularly helpful. With a wide historical perspective, the good news that 'the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives' is set against the mixture of faith and works exemplified in classic Roman Catholic teaching to which the natural mind inevitably gravitates. Clarity here is, as ever, a fresh fountain of strength and jubilation to Christians of all ages.
The second half looks at the so-called 'five points' of Calvinism under the well-worn acronym TULIP: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance of believers. Many of these truths appear forbidding on the surface and have often been misused and misapplied in the past, but Sproul manages to expose the impossible inconsistencies of other positions and does so in such a pastoral way as to nurture faith and peace. Purple passages from the Westminster Confession and from theological greats, especially Calvin and Luther (who did not differ as much as many think!) are liberally sprinkled through the pages.
It is the decline of biblical, systematic theology which has robbed the church of much necessary discernment in our times, leaving Christians vulnerable to error and pain. This book does not claim to be a full-blown systematic theology. In some ways it is even better. It is concise, racy, pastorally pertinent and eminently suitable for intelligent Christians throughout the church.

JEB
Dr John Benton