CHRIST’S GLORY, YOUR GOOD
Salvation planned, promised, accomplished
and applied
By Ryan M. McGraw
Reformation Heritage Books. 116 pages.
£7.56
ISBN 978 1 601 782 243
Here is a book that will leave you freshly appreciating the full redemptive work of Christ, leave you humbled as you consider all that Christ has done for you, leave you moved to obey Christ and leave you trusting Christ more readily.
Ryan McGraw sets out in this book to present the Christ whom God revealed in Scripture and the stated purpose of the book is ‘to set forth the gospel in terms of the glory of Jesus Christ and His place in the plan of God’. He sets Christ’s work firmly in the big picture of the Bible, as the chapter titles suggest (The Eternal Christ, The Christ of Genesis 3:15, The Incarnate Christ, The Obedient Christ, The Suffering Christ, The Resurrected Christ, The Exalted Christ and The Reigning Christ). At the same time he clearly makes links with major doctrines — such as the Trinity, Christ as the second Adam and union with Christ — as he goes along, which makes for a nourishing and engaging read.
McGraw is firmly Reformed in his theology, hence many references to the Westminster Confession of Faith. However, even if you don’t embrace covenant theology you will find much in this short book to edify you and move you to better worship and love for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Short but not light
A couple of comments that may steer you away or towards deciding to pick this book up to read. While it is a short book it is not a light read, as you might glean from his fondness for the puritan writer John Owen. The writing is clear and well argued, but quite compact and not laden with illustrations or anecdotes. He also assumes a certain degree of theological understanding, so this might be one to recommend to a more mature Christian reader.
