One of the marvellous things about writing a book is that sometimes you get to hear about people who have picked it up months or even years later. It is of course something new to them, and sometimes the book blesses and encourages them even as it once did yourself as you wrote it. So, I was really pleased to read this new review of my book, Raised With Christ:
I consider myself Reformed. One of the things that means is that the cross is central to my understanding of the gospel. I listen to reformed sermons preached by reformed guys who write reformed books. I read reformed history, reformed theology, and listen to reformed pastors and professors. One of the things I have noticed is that in all of our theology, little is said about the resurrection. . .
But what do we do with the resurrection?
That question has been answered in a wonderful book by fellow Reformed blogger and minister Adrian Warnock in his new book Raised with Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything. The resurrection has been on my mind for a while now as over the past several months I have noticed this trend of conservative Christians almost completely ignoring the resurrection. And even when they do recognize the resurrection, they almost run by it . . .
Warnock walks the reader through what the Bible says about resurrection. As most books do on the resurrection, Warnock walks the reader through the necessity and evidence of the historicity of the resurrection. However, that is only a small part of the project. What I loved the most about this book is how the author connected the cross and the empty tomb as both being necessity for our salvation. Yes through them both, we can be justified.
But that is not all that the resurrection assures us. The author walks the reader through issues such as righteousness, regeneration, and our final resurrection from the dead. I have not come across a book, from this perspective, this biblically centered on this central subject. I pray that other Christians will be inspired to look deeper into this subject as I fear (as does the author) that it is all too often neglected in Christian circles . . .
I want to conclude by quoting the author regarding our salvation as a result of the resurrection:If you think of sin as producing an overdraft, Jesus takes over our bank account and pays off our debt. He then gives us access to his own account which hold so much money that no matter how much sin we commit we could never exhaust the supply. But those who know they have been the recipients of such grace do not live to scorn the giver. Jesus’ resurrection itself is imputed to us, declaring us eternally righteous, not merely forgiven of past sin. (126)
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