In Christ Alone

There's not a lot of in-depth theology here, you won't come away from this with a deep understanding of any one subject, or a few related ones. This is a compilation of fifty articles, grouped together by topic, which will enable you to gain a refresher on a spectrum of topics, or an introduction to ideas, concepts and texts that you want to come back to and study in the future. As such, it's a really strong compilation and one that I'm glad I spent an afternoon with.Don't get me wrong – it's not that I didn't learn anything, or gain a deeper understanding of anything. But compared, say to his [b:The Holy Spirit 213379 The Holy Spirit (Contours of Christian Theology, #6) Sinclair B. Ferguson http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348337337s/213379.jpg 206559] or [b:Pundits Folly: 362599 Pundits Folly Sinclair B. Ferguson http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348583570s/362599.jpg 352687], it's (by design) not as in-depth. I thought his framing the book of Romans as a series of exchanges (e.g., man exchanging the truth of God for a lie; the gospel exchange of righteousness and justification instead of unrighteousness and condemnation) was very handy and something I'm trying to internalize. The chapters that followed it were a series of glimpses at the letter to the Hebrews, and now I want an entire book on that epistle by Ferguson.In the section on “The Spirit of Christ,” he has a chapter called “When the Spirit Comes,” which is an examination of John 16:8-11. His thesis knocked me off my feet and I will have to set to work on correcting my thinking on these verses.On the whole the book doesn't feel too much like a collection if unrelated articles, rather than a book he set forth to write; and as such it doesn't really suffer from being a compilation – though Part IV, “The Privileges of Grace,” is the weakest and most scattered. That said, the chapters from Part IV, “The Life of Faith” (on “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”) and “‘The Greatest of All Protestant Heresies'?” (on the doctrine of assurance) were very helpful and thought-provoking. So even at its weakest, this book rewards the reader.Part V, “A Life of Wisdom,” is really a section on sanctification. But instead of the approach that is usually employed here, Ferguson focuses on the more internal sanctification that needs to happen to result in the external fruit. All of which could use some extended treatment by this author. Particularly, I found the chapter on discernment rich and one that I need to return to for further meditation. His extended look at Psalm 131 to show how to cultivate contentment is, naturally, valuable – Ferguson's always at his best when discussing the Psalter.The final chapters center on the idea of spiritual warfare – not the flashy, type that characterize so much evangelical writing on the topic. But the quieter, more difficult, and (dare I say) more Biblical approach – focusing on our sin, our need for mortification, or own worldliness.There's a lot to be mined here for devotional use, as well as a spring-board for future study. ——An extended version of this review appears at: http://wp.me/p3z9AH-1fZ