Guy Prentiss WatersBesprekingen

Good primer on Justification and the NPP. Would recommend to someone interested in learning the basics of the debate and the Reformed position.

Why does church government matter? In this book, Guy Prentiss Waters offers a brief and accessible introduction to presbyterianism that shows how a well-ordered church fosters Christian lives lived well. In making the case that church government is critical to Christian discipleship, Waters presents an overview of the nature of the church (the body and its member) and its structures of authority (officers, assemblies, and ordination). He concludes by answering common questions people raise about church government. The book is an ideal resource for explaining the relevance of church government to the ordinary Christian’s life and service.

Good. A bit dry, if you aren't immediately interested in the topic. He supports his arguments extensively with scripture, and makes sincere attempts to give fair voice to opposing viewpoints on certain doctrines (like female deacons), while still attempting to maintain a measure of brevity. Overall worth reading. Would make a good primer on the topic for those unfamiliar. I would recommend to most Christians who are not brand new to the faith and don't be distracted from more pressing matters of study, like the doctrines of grace.

Waters, Guy Prentiss, J. Nicholas Reid, and John R. Muether, eds. Covenant Theology: Biblical, Theological, and Historical Perspectives. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020. $60.00

The Reformed Theological Seminary faculty has produced a book that fills me with excitement. Any volume that requires three editors must be quite an undertaking, and that is certainly accurate of Covenant Theology. I have long awaited the publication of this collection of essays from the faculty of RTS, and it does not disappoint. The reader who picks up this 600 plus page book will be rewarded with scholarly articles covering as much covenant theology as is possible.

Three parts contain 27 chapters, each authored by an individual. I appreciate this aspect because many books co-authored tend to lose their flow. Authors write differently, and when styles compete, the reader loses. That is not the case with the present book. If you happen to struggle with one author, know only three authors wrote more than one chapter (Belcher, Reid, and Waters each wrote two chapters).

Before diving into the contents, I want to clarify and not pretend as though I read every word of each chapter. God has given me gifts; incredible speed reading comprehension is not one of them. I will be getting a physical copy, along with pen and paper, and reading through the entirety of the book at a later date. My eyes perused every chapter and some sections kept my attention for extended periods.

Part one begins with the biblical covenants. They proceed chronologically and do not skip even the most challenging of topics. Dr. Guy Richard kicks off with one of the more controversial teachings within covenant theology, that of the Covenant of Redemption. Dr. Richard summarizes the covenant as “a pretemporal agreement between the persons of the Trinity to plan and carry out the redemption of the elect.” The idea of covenant is not contrary to Scripture, and Dr. Richard provides the biblical and theological rationale for its existence and concludes with its relevance. Dr. Richard Belcher Jr. and Dr. Guy Waters work through the covenant of works in the Old and New Testaments, respectively. The Westminster Confession of Faith articulates a covenant of works (WCF 7.2). Dr. Belcher provides a short overview of some Reformed scholars who vary to different degrees from the WCF and their understanding of Genesis 1-3 before devoting a few paragraphs to the Federal Vision understanding. Dr. Waters shows from 1 Corinthians 15, Romans 5, 10, and Galatians 3 the evidence of Adam being in a covenant relationship with God.

The existence of the remaining covenants is not in question, but our understanding and their role need clarification. Ultimately, all remaining covenants fall underneath the umbrella of the covenant of grace (chapter 4) inaugurated in Genesis 3:14-19. The specific covenants between Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David each receive a chapter. Chapter 9 details the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31) as a “central concern of Prophetic Literature, as well as the whole Old Testaments.” The next four chapters cover how the various New Testament books use covenant theology, or specifically, how they approach the covenants and its language.

Part 2 begins the section looking at the history of covenant theology. Dr. Ligon Duncan starts with a brief study of covenants in the early church. Each successive chapter works its way through a period of history up to recent developments. The overall consensus is that covenant theology has continued to see development in each era. Dr. Douglas Kelly confesses the Medieval era offered little discussion on the matter in light of the expansive time frame (approximately 800-900 years). Some highlights include Dr. Mark McDowell covering Barth’s and the Torrances’ engagement with covenant theology and Dr. Michael Allen bringing the reader up to recent discourse while providing principles for future studies.

Part 3 covers “Collateral and Theological Studies,” otherwise stated as topics of study which help shed light on how we understand covenant theology. We get fantastic essays on ancient Near East backgrounds, Second Temple Judaism, and contemporary NT scholarship. I become gitty scanning through the chapters looking forward to spending a great deal of time in each. Dr. Mike Glodo offers an excellent engagement with Dispensationalism, and the same needs to be said of Dr. Scott Swain’s undertaking of new covenant theologies and progressive covenantalism. Dr. Derek Thomas’s closing chapter on the significance of covenant theology to assurance and sacraments provokes the reader to reconsider all the previous chapters as even more practical than they might have assumed before.

You read all 27 chapters and think you have finished? Nope. Kevin DeYoung provides what may be one of the most critical sections of the entire book: “Why Covenant Theology?”. If you happen to find yourself holding this book and do not know what you are getting into, read the afterward first. Even if you are not familiar with covenant theology, do not worry because the rest of the book will answer questions about what is covenant theology. It is imperative to understand why it is worth days, weeks, or even months of your time to study this area of theology, and DeYoung succinctly provides a reason.

Who should purchase this book? Seminary students and pastors. Interest lay Christians would benefit from reading the various chapters, but this volume is thoroughly academic. Not to dissuade the average Christian from getting this book, but if you are not the type to pick through a systematic theology book, you would not enjoy Covenant Theology.

It is not really within my skillset to engage with each section of the book; expect various scholars to do that in the coming months. I can say that the faculty of RTS provides a desperately needed resource and sets the bar for further studies and interaction on this topic. The authors and editors certainly deserve recognition for how well this volume flows. Covenant Theology will be a book I refer back to, and the book I ask people to engage with who disagree with the Reformed view of covenant theology.

This book challenges the reader to think about how they need to approach reading. It is not like many systematic theologies in which you read a section, perhaps lasting 2-5 pages. The flow is such you kind of want to start at the very beginning and make your way through Covenant Theology in its entirety. One can, without recourse, pick any chapter and start reading; however, I would suggest those with less experience studying covenant theology to start from the beginning and treat each chapter as a building block.

I highly recommend getting a copy of this book, though I wonder if that needs to be said. Covenant Theology is one of those books which interested readers already know about and want to get, and others do not desire to read. Also, while I have increasingly read digital versions of books, I would not recommend that for this book. It is an academic resource; it needs to be on your shelf. I only wish my review copy (which I am grateful for) was physical.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley for review purposes. My comments are independent and my own.

I expect this will be helpful for my ecclesiology paper.
Review: http://www.reformation21.org/shelf-life/how-jesus-runs-the-church.php

If you're looking for a commentary on the book of Acts that is more of an overview but still exegetical, this commentary by Guy Prentiss Waters is a pretty good choice. He hits at a high level on some controversial issues/textual debates where he deems it necessary, but it is still kept at a minimum and further reading for delving deeper is usually suggested in the comments.

I think that it is a nice commentary to have that you can start with in your studies, turning to it first to get the 'high-level' view and then after reading Waters on a text, turn to the ones that are more critical. Or you can just 'read it through' on its own, the author really helps you get your thoughts moving on a text, for instance, in the account of Pentecost, I had never considered that "Like wind, fire is a sign of God's presence with his people", which caused me to 'connect the dots' and remember the tabernacle in the wilderness and the cloud that had the appearance of fire by night and the tongues of fire possibly partly symbolizing the presence of God in our bodies/temples(1 Cor 6:19).

At the end of different sections he has an 'application' part that summarizes the ways the accounts of Acts apply to us today. In his discussion of the application of chapters 4:32-5:11 where it speaks of Christians selling their property and giving the proceeds to the Apostles to be distributed to the needy Waters points out that, "Many commentators note, as we have done, that this passage does not warrant the abolition of private property in the church. In saying this, we need to take care not to ignore the main point of these verses: one mark of a church filled with the Holy Spirit Is that believers are from the heart concerned for the physical needs of their brothers and are prepared to take extraordinary steps, if necessary , to meet those needs……How do we view our possessions? Are we enslaved to them or have we been freed from that bondage in the service of our Savior God? If we profess to know this freedom, then are we taken providentially-appointed opportunities to assist our brothers in Christ?"

I need to note that Waters is 'Reformed' and holds to the Westminster Standards, so if you, as I do, hold to an earthly millennial reign of Christ in a redeemed Israel(having redeemed, and given new hearts to the descendants of Jacob - see Ezek 36:26-38) note that Waters does not see that, and this is evinced especially in his views on the first chapter of Acts.

But overall I think it is a good commentary, and a good tool for assisting in the study of Acts.

Many thanks to the folks at Cross Focused Reviews for sending me a free review copy of this book to review(My review did not have to be favorable.)

This is a very thought-provoking series of theological essays engaging the contemporary challenges to the historic Reformed understanding of the doctrine of justification by faith alone. Any book of this sort, with multiple contributors, is bound to be somewhat uneven in quality - but this is one of the better books of this sort that I've seen.

Here is the table of contents, interspersed with my brief comments.

1. What did Saint Paul Really Say? N. T. Wright and the New Perspective(s) on Paul - Cornelis P. Venema

2. Observations on N. T. Wright's Biblical Theology with Special Consideration of the "Faithfulness of God" - T. David Gordon

These first two chapters engage the writings of N. T. Wright, who is probably the highest profile proponent of the New Perspective on Paul (and is also one of the most renowned contemporary Jesus scholars). Their critiques of Wright are very, very insightful and should be seriously considered. Everything really does seem to fall on Wright's embrace of a certain way of reading Second Temple Judaism (as non-legalistic) and his interpretation of the phrase "dikaiosune theou" as "the covenant faithfulness of God" instead of "the righteousness of God." This second question is adequately challanged in the second chapter of this book.

3. A Justification of Imputed Righteousness - Richard D. Phillips

4. The Foundational Term for Christian Salvation: Imputation - C. F. Allison

These two chapters address the recent controversies surrounding the doctrine of imputation. Having read Piper's defense of imputation in Counted Righteous in Christ, as well as Carson's essay in the volume on Justification edited by Husbands, I still found these chapters very helpful and persuasive (I've not yet read Brian Vicker's Jesus Blood AND Righteousness, a recent more in-depth treatment of imputation). These essays were very good.

5. Reflections on Auburn Theology - T. David Gordon

This was a little less interesting to me, probably b/c I'm not Presbyterian.

6. To Obey is Better than Sacrifice: A Defense of the Active Obedience of Christ - David Van Drunen

As I recall, this was also a good essay, defending the necessity and imputation of the active obedience of Christ to believers

7. Covenant, Inheritance, and Typology: Understanding the Principles at Work in God's Covenants - R. F. White & E. C. Beisner

Of all the essays in this book, this one stands out as the most helpful and the one that will repay several re-readings in the future. The authors set out to show why the theological construct of covenant theology (as traditionally understood in Reformed theology) is biblically-faithful and warranted from the texts (even though the language is sometimes extra-biblical). Most helpful was their contrasting the two principles of inheritance, by either personal merit or representative merit, and then tracing these two principles through the various historical covenants. This is the best thing on covenant theology that I've read so far (though my reading in this area has not been very wide).

8. Why the Covenant of Works is a Necessary Doctrine: Revisiting the Objections to a Venerable Reformed Doctrine - John Bolt

As with the chapter 7, this was a very, very helpful treatment of covenant theology, specifically the covenant of works. Bolt is an excellent and lucid writer and I finished the essay wanting to read more of his material.

9. The Reformation, Today's Evangelicals, and Mormons: What Next? - Gary L. W. Johnson

This essay was good, but seemed a little bit displaced in this volume.

Overall, this is a very good volume and worth reading for those engaged in the current debates over justification. However, if you are only going to read one book on the New Perspective on Paul, get Stephen Westerholm's Perspectives Old and New: The Lutheran Paul and His Critics. It is much more comprehensive and has been the most important book I've read on the issue.

"Waters’s book succeeds as a review but largely fails as a response."

Read my full review.

Just finished reading this. If you are at all interested in the history and implications of this particular school of thought, pick up this volume. Waters writes in an easy to understand style. I learned much from this book. Highly recommended

From Daniel Christensen

Doctrinal Theology

Doctrinal Theology