02 May 2010

Resensi Buku-96: WORLDLINESS: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World (diedit oleh: Rev. C. J. Mahaney)

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Book
WORLDLINESS:
Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World


edited by: Rev. Charles Joseph (C. J.) Mahaney

Foreword: Rev. John S. Piper, D.Theol.

Publisher: Crossway, 2008





Simple description from Denny Teguh Sutandio:
As Christians, we live in this world, but the Bible teaches us that we are not of the world (John 17:16). So, how can we live in this world as Christians? Some Christians compromise their faith in order to appropriate to this world (worldliness). Worldliness, as Rev. C. J. Mahaney describes, is not external, but internal. Others do not care of this world. The Bible teaches us that eventhough we are not of the world, we are called by God to be God’s witnesses in this world. To be God’s witnesses in this world is not easy, because we should understand Christian faith well and do what we believe with the guidance from the Holy Spirit. In order to understand Christian faith well, we should understand that Christian faith is integrated faith which is our faith is implemented in our daily life. That is what Rev. C. J. Mahaney and friends teach us in the book Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World. In this book, Rev. C. J. Mahaney and friends teach us that Christians should resist the seduction of a fallen world by maintaining Christian faith in the integrated life, i.e.: media, music, stuff, clothes, etc. The authors explain each subjects clearly and deeply, so that we as Christian readers can grasp and apply God-centered life. If we want to study and live Christian life rightly, we should buy, read, and apply this book.



Contents:
1. Is This Verse in Your Bible? (Rev. C. J. Mahaney)
2. God, My Heart, and Media (Rev. Craig Cabaniss, M.Div.)
3. God, My Heart, and Music (Rev. Bob Kauflin)
4. God, My Heart, and Stuff (Rev. Dave Harvey, D.Min.)
5. God, My Heart, and Clothes (Rev. C. J. Mahaney)
6. How to Love the World (Rev. Jeff Purswell, M.Div., Ph.D.—Cand.)






Recommendation:
“This book is biblically grounded and Christ-centered, full of grace and truth. Every chapter raises the bar of Christian living without falling into legalism. One of the most timley and much-needed books. I’ve read in years. I highly recommend it.”
Rev. Randy Alcorn
(the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching biblical truth and drawing attention to the needy and how to help them and author Heaven and The Grace and Truth Paradox)

“Expertly addresses the issues that prompt the subtle, insidious, silent slide away from God that each of us is prone to take. Pay attention to this thought-provoking work and protect your heart for God.”
Rev. James MacDonald, D.Min.
(Founder and Senior Pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel and teacher of half-hour radio broadcast, Walk in the Word {
www.walkintheword.com}; Bachelor of Arts—B.A. in theology from London Baptist Bible College; Master of Arts—M.A. in Religion from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, U.S.A.; Doctor of Ministry—D.Min. from Phoenix Seminary)

“This book is biblical, practical, pastoral, and wise. It is honest about the authors’ own temptations, and it is so specific it will be controversial! But such a book is greatly needed as a challenge today – for all of us.”
Prof. Wayne Grudem, Ph.D.
(Research Professor of Bible and Theology at Phoenix Seminary, U.S.A.; Bachelor of Arts—B.A. from
Harvard University; Master of Divinity—M.Div. from Westminster Theological Seminary; and the Doctor of Philosophy—Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, U.K.)

“The strength of the work is that the authors try very hard not to let you forget the sheer God-centeredness of the gospel.”
Rev. Prof. Donald A. Carson, Ph.D.
(Research Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, U.S.A.; Bachelor of Science—B.Sc. in chemistry from McGill University; Master of Divinity—M.Div. from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto; and the
Doctor of Philosophy—Ph.D. in New Testament from Cambridge University, U.K.)

“These skillful soul-surgeons are brilliant at diagnosis and treatment, and they will help you see yourself, your sin, and your Savior. I now know the first book I am going to reach for when a Christian is wrestling with worldliness—or isn’t but should be! This is a book I will make use of, by God’s grace, again and again.”
Rev. J. Ligon Duncan, III., Ph.D.
(Senior Minister at First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi, U.S.A., Adjunct Professor of Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, U.S.A., and President of Allience of Confessing Evangelicals; Bachelor of Arts—B.A. from Furman University;
Master of Divinity—M.Div. and Master of Arts—M.A. from Covenant Theological Seminary; studied Systematic Theology at the Free Church of Scotland College under Professor Donald Macleod; and Doctor of Philosophy—Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland)

“Praise God for this little tool—specific enough to be helpful, grace-filled enough to be be really helpful!”
Rev. Mark E. Dever, Ph.D.
(Senior Pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington D.C., U.S.A., Executive Director of 9Marks Ministries, a trustee of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a member of the board of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals;
Bachelor of Arts—B.A. magna cum laude from Duke University; Master of Divinity—M.Div. summa cum laude from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary; Master of Theology—Th.M. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; and Doctor of Philosophy—Ph.D. in ecclesiastical history from Cambridge University, U.K.)





Biography of the authors:
Rev. Charles Joseph (C. J.) Mahaney is Founder and President of Sovereign Grace Ministries. He serves on the Council of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals and on the board of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. He also serves on the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation (CCEF). C. J.’s books include Humility: True Greatness; Living the Cross-Centered Life; and Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God: What Every Christian Husband Needs to Know. He also contributed to Dear Timothy: Letters on Pastoral Ministry, and to two additional volumes in the Foundations for the Family Series (Crossway).
He has also edited or coauthored four books in the Pursuit of Godliness book series, published by Sovereign Grace Ministries: Why Small Groups?, This Great Salvation, How Can I Change?, and Disciplines for Life. He is also coauthor of Preaching the Cross.
C. J. and his wife, Carolyn, have three married daughters and one son. They make their home in Gaithersburg, Maryland.

Rev. Craig Cabaniss, M.Div. is Senior Pastor at Grace Church, Frisco, Texas, U.S.A. Craig earned his Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Fuller Seminary, U.S.A.

Rev. Bob Kauflin is Director of Worship Development for Sovereign Grace Ministries and serves as a pastor and worship leader at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.s.A. He is the author of Worship Matters: Leading Others to Encounter the Greatness of God. Bob and his wife Julie have six children, four of whom are married. The family lives in Montgomery Village, Md.

Rev. Dave Harvey, D.Min. is responsible for church care, church planting, and international expansion for Sovereign Grace Ministries. He has served on the board of the Christian Counseling and Educational Foundation since 2006. Dave received a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Missiology from Westminster Theological Seminary in 1989; Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary from 1993 to 1995, and in 2001 became a graduate in Westminster’s D.Min. (Doctor of Ministry) program. The subject of his doctoral thesis was the identification and equipping of church planters. He is the author of When Sinners Say “I Do”: Discovering the Power of the Gospel for Marriage (Shepherd, 2007). Dave also wrote a chapter for Why Small Groups?, a book from Sovereign Grace’s Pursuit of Godliness series. Dave lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Kimm, and their four children.

Rev. Jeff Purswell, M.Div., Ph.D. (Cand.) is Dean of the Pastors College of Sovereign Grace Ministries Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S.A. He is also a pastor at Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, where he serves on the teaching team and provides theological support to the pastoral team. Jeff’s pre-ministry experience combines a degree in Economics and English Literature with a decade in the corporate banking world. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois (M.Div., 1998), where as a student he taught Greek as a teaching fellow in the New Testament department and worked as a teaching assistant in systematic theology for Wayne Grudem. Jeff is the editor of Bible Doctrine, an abridgment of Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in New Testament Studies from The Catholic University of America. Jeff resides in the Gaithersburg area with his wife, Julie, and their two sons, Samuel and Benjamin.