Skip to main content

Review: The Lord Is Good

IVP Academic, 2018. 224 pp.
The psalmist proclaims that God is good and does good (cf. Ps. 119:68, 100:5, 136:1, 34:8). By far, the most common attribute of God in the Psalms is goodness. Yet this is an attribute of God often overlooked in Christian faith and practice. Moreover, it is sometimes denied, with the goodness of God being contingent on what humans believe to be “good” living. In The Lord is Good: Seeking the God of the Psalter (IVP Academic, 2018), Anglican priest and theologian Christopher R.J. Holmes believes that the doctrine of divine goodness is assumed by Christians, but he himself does not assume its veracity. Instead, he probes its development through the book of Psalms and comes to the conclusion that the Psalms serve as a case study for exhibiting God’s goodness, a trait that carries through the rest of Scripture.

Holmes begins by establishing a sound doctrine of God. What does it mean for God to be “simple” and “good”? How does the doctrine of the Trinity affect God’s goodness? Along the way, Holmes interacts with theologians past, including Augustine, Calvin, Barth, and, most particularly, Aquinas. Holmes writes with a Thomistic tone and purpose, moving from speculative analysis and toward practical application for the Christian life.

Holmes himself confesses that this study is limited insofar as human knowledge of God is limited, writing, “Yes, we cannot find words, and so on the one hand this study will fail, and that is fine; and yet, nonetheless, the utter delight to be had in the one who is good encourages us to persevere in receiving what the Lord is to himself” (53). Nonetheless, to Holmes, God’s goodness is both communicable and incommunicable. Christians are invited to participate in the divine goodness. To that end, the author discusses the influence of God’s goodness on the rest of the Bible and how this affects the Christian teachings of sin, Christ, and sanctification.
“The good God has to be perceived and experienced—tasted---before it can be described, doctrinally. Indeed, without experience of God’s goodness, the good done by God remains inaccessible” (76).
This excellent book combines theological inquiry with reflective meditation. Holmes often stops his lofty diatribes to speak an eloquent, meaningful message that causes one to grasp the goodness of God. Holmes shows readers that “good” is both an adjective and a verb: God is good and does good. This book is accessible to an intermediate academic audience, with some prior assumptions of church figures and theology. I highly recommend this fantastic book for those who seek a detailed answer, which draws from Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience, for why Christians celebrate God as good. Readers will close this book with a greater understanding of the truism, “God is good”—and it will never depart one’s lips in the same way.

 Purchase this book

(My thanks is given to IVP for providing a complimentary review copy in exchange for an honest review.)

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Product Review: LL Bean Extra-Large Rolling Adventure Duffle

Overview When adventure strikes, the right bag makes all the difference. Too often, however, luggage bags are either large, ponderous suitcases or small, flimsy duffle bags. I have traveled to Central and South America multiple times with terribly large suitcases. It added extra complication to my trip—especially lugging the bag up the steps! This is the problem which LL Bean seeks to rectify in the LL Bean Extra-Large Rolling Adventure Duffle. With a 137-liter capacity, this duffel is able to hold the items of the biggest pack-rat while being easy to transport. It features a telescoping handle, smooth-gliding wheels, and cinch straps. Specifications Capacity: Approx. 8,350 cu. in., 137 L.  Weight: 9 lb. 3 oz.  Dimensions: 17"H x 34"W x 15"D.  Highlights This bag is sturdy. Not only is it capable of holding many items, but it is incredibly durable. It has a reinforced nylon bottom and a thick plastic frame so that the bag does not sag or become weak....
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible

A revised version of the previously published NIV Zondervan Study Bible,  the NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible  (Zondervan, 2018) represents the best of biblical scholarship in a compact study Bible. It introduces Biblical Theology (BT), a discipline that is intended for readers to weave individual books and stories into a larger metanarrative that reveals God's redemptive plan through the entire Bible. To that end, this study Bible includes articles introducing BT and articles on theological matters. While the emphasis of this Bible may appeal to a more Reformed/covenantal audience, the contributors span a variety of theological traditions and are respected authorities within their discipline. The verse-by-verse notes—over 20,000—are insightful and suitable for determining the historical, literary, and cultural background of the text with a view to responsible interpretation of Scripture. There are in-text cross references, a concordance, maps, and useful charts. Each bo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sermon: Catch of the Day (Jonah 1)

Jonah: Flooded with Grace (I) Catch of the Day Jonah 1:1-17 Today, we begin a two-week series on the life of Jonah entitled Flooded with Grace, and the title of today’s message is “Catch of the Day.” We want to answer those questions you gave us last Tuesday (and, if you have more, you can still write them down later), but I first wanted to take a little bit of time before we answer those questions to discuss the concept of grace. The questions you gave us are awesome, but I think that they require a little stronger understanding of God’s merciful nature before we can tackle them. So we’re going to be flying over the book of Jonah to see God’s grace in action. In this short yet powerful story, we’ll see how God loves, pursues, and offers grace to all of us. That will be very important as we look at some of your guys’ questions later. Also, it is my understanding you studied Jonah last year, but I want to study his life again so that we can gain a better grip on what ...
Post a Comment
Read more