THE GOD OF PROMISE AND THE LIFE OF FAITH
Understanding the heart of the Bible
By Scott J. Hafemann. Crossway
ISBN 1 58134 261 6
This is quite simply the best book on knowing God that I have read since Jim Packer's book of that title.
It is written by an American theologian for pastors and serious Christians to provide a basic framework for understanding the Scriptures in a way that will stimulate us to take up the Bible for ourselves and to seek all our satisfaction in God. I read it on holiday (twice) and found it enormously helpful on such themes as:
- the unity of the Bible and of the covenant relationships God establishes;
- the place of the law and the demand for obedience which flows from God's unconditional grace and his conditional promises, an essential obedience which expresses faith, hope and love;
- the place of suffering in the lives of God's children;
- and the role of the Spirit in beginning the work of transforming God's children into God's character.
There are some wonderfully detailed footnotes but sadly no bibliography, though he does speak of his indebtedness to Daniel Fuller and his student John Piper.
