FROM THE MOUTH OF GOD
Trusting, reading, and applying the Bible
By Sinclair B. Ferguson
Banner of Truth. 209 pages. £7.50
ISBN 978 1 848 712 423
In his book Sinclair B. Ferguson makes an excellent attempt at engaging congregants particularly in biblical education, not simply as an academic exercise but also for devotional purposes.
It is theologically balanced, evangelical, relevant and helpful in that Ferguson supplies a daily plan for reading the Bible over a year. (I am sure this could be adapted to suit the reader.) He also notes some practical approaches to reading the Bible, such as having good discipline and applying extra biblical material to help understand the text. This is the perfect soil to help people benefit from the Bible.
I might have liked Ferguson to show more of the importance of the Bible to preaching and other Christian ministries. But this may not have been within the scope of this book.
The book is in three parts:
Trusting the Bible
For Ferguson, ‘If Scripture said it, then God said it’: he argues that God communicates through the Bible – it is a book that is put not solely into the hands of scholars but of all people. Through the Bible God’s love is revealed. The Bible is the lens through which we view life and who God is. It is the Bible that restores, preserves and gives spiritual sight. He acknowledges the human factor in how the Bible has been written, but it is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that gives authenticity to what has been written (2 Timothy 3.16).
It is here that Ferguson acknowledges that Bible study supports the reading of the Bible. He offers what he calls ‘keys’ or ‘approaches’ to help us better understand what we are reading, such as reading Scripture in context. Seeing Jesus in the text which is ‘the big picture’ – having biblical logic and reading the Scripture from the perspective of its literary style – Ferguson makes the point that the way in which a person reads the book of, say, Revelation is different from the way they read Chronicles. He emphasizes that the Bible comes to us in the form of different literary genres.
The whole purpose of the Bible is to change lives, to change hearts and minds (Hebrews 4.12–13). It is profitable for teaching, correction, convicting men and women of their sins, and enabling spiritual maturity; it brings salvation and is able to develop people in their Christian ministry.
I would thoroughly recommend that this book be included in every church and every member’s library.
