2008 The Year that was…

Its always around this time of year people tend to get a little nostalgic about the year and I’m not about to buck the trend. We all like to take a reflective look at how things panned out. It can help us to feel a little better about things. So this post will probably be my last (who am I kidding?) for the year.
Here are some of highs and lows for me of 2008:

The Truth of the Cross

I still vividly remember a sermon my pastor preached a while back. Actaully when I say vividly I mean one particular thing he said during his sermon. He said that your theology of the cross will always reveals your theology about sin and salvation. Ask someone what they think the cross accomplished and you’ve got a basic shorthand for what they believe about a number of other things.

Foundations of Grace – Steven Lawson

Ever since I first heard about Lawsons first book in the series I’ve wanted to get my hands on a copy. It sat on my amazon wishlist for some time. But I did the responsible thing and bought all my course texts first, and sadly I’ve had to leave this one till now. Thankfully Reformation Trust helped me out with a copy of this first in a projected five volume series. I’ve enjoyed Lawson’s style of writing (see my previous review) so tackling his (projected) magnum opus seemed a lot less daunting. The book opened with a wonderful 13 page forward by Dr John MacArthur on Divine Immutability and the Doctrines of Grace which as Lawsons says in his preface is “priceless”. How we view the Character of God is extremely important for understanding the actions of God. If God is perfect, just, righteous and does not change, then everything he does is right, true and just. Not only that, his actions are right because he does them. He is the ultimate standard by which we measure good. If  we call something God does as unfair, or unjust then we are calling God’s Character into question.