Dr. Robert Sumner passed away in December 2016. The Biblical Evangelist newspaper is no longer being published and the ministry of Biblical Evangelism has ceased operation.

The remaining inventory of his books and gospel tracts was transferred to The Baptist Tabernacle of Los Angeles and may be ordered here.

Book Reviews
Editorial unless noted

CHOOSING TO SEE by Mary Beth Chapman (with Ellen Vaughn); Revell, a Division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, MI; 41 Chapters, 273 Pages; $21.99

Mary Beth is the wife of Grammy and Dove Award winning recording artist Steven Curtis Chapman, who also wrote the Foreword for SEE. They have six children, three each: natural (Emily, Caleb, Will) and adopted (Hope, Stevey Joy, Maria). The last three girls were Chinese nationals and little Maria is now in Heaven, the reason for this story and the reason the book is subtitled A Journey of Struggle and Hope.

The title “SEE” came from a “last” picture Maria had colored. It was an orange butterfly and she had printed the word SEE on the paper, apparently from a short list of words her older sister had been given at school to learn. It is also the name of the song Steve wrote after her decease.

Maria idolized her big brother Will, a 17-year-old who also idolized her, and it is strange that he unintentionally caused her death. I don’t know what you’ve been reading of late, but this is one of the most moving books I’ve read in some time. The chapters about little Maria’s ‘accidental’ death and the accompanying incidents are a four-Kleenex read. The driver of the car that killed her at her own home was that older brother and hero, 17-year-old Will.

The book is easy to read, fascinating, interesting, in style almost something like a novel (probably thanks to Vaughn). The volume is saturated with Steven Curtis Chapman’s lyrics, much of it dealing with the children – and, of course, Maria. While it is the nature of tragedy for international celebrities that many are drawn who are not personally acquainted, even so, the book says that for the public visitation, “Thousands of people came. The support from our community, and the expressions of love and sadness that came from across the country and around the world, were unbelievable to us.”

There are numerous post-decease notes written by family. We smiled at the childlike honesty of little adopted sister Shaoey’s letter. Along with expressions of love was the repeated statement that she wanted to see her again, “but not too soon.”

It is apparent early on that the Chapmans are not Baptists (today’s books must be very careful about this; if the author early on says “we are Methodists” it turns off all the Lutherans, Church of God, Baptists, Episcopalians, Assembly of God, etc., right away; you get the idea). We ‘jumped’ to this conclusion when Mary Beth spoke of baptizing their three young children. (Later they are identified, at the end of the book, as Presbyterians! They’ll probably lose 23% of potential sales if word gets out!)

A lot of the early book was about adoptions (if you have had such thoughts, this section will be helpful to you, perhaps). Much of the latter section consists of quotes Mary Beth wrote on her blog, journal and other places after Maria’s death. That, to me, was not nearly as interesting, but perhaps it was good therapy for her.

I hope you never have to go through what the Chapmans experienced, but if you do, I trust you will pass through it with the same dignity and grace as they did.

This is a good book! We enjoyed it and we think you will, too.

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ASSURANCE OF SALVATION by Matthew C. Hoskinson; Bob Jones University Press, Greenville, SC; 6 Chapters, 228 Pages; $22.95, Paper

Subtitled Implications of a New Testament Theology of Hope, this volume is based on Hoskinson’s doctoral dissertation, “The Full Assurance of Hope: An Analysis of Contemporary Opinions on Assurance  of Salvation in Light of a Theology of Hope in the New Testament,” written in 2005.

His chapters are “A History of Assurance” (including the views of Romanism, Luther, Calvin and Wesley); “Contemporary Views on Assurance” (present only, with possibility of losing it; time of conversion, based on the Word of God; and a composite of the two); “Abraham and Hope” (including extended looks at Romans 4 and Hebrews 6:11-20); “Hope in the New Testament Historical Books” (using O.T. quotations, saving hope; and hope as a cornerstone in Paul’s Defense); “Hope in Paul’s Writings” (in conversion, sanctification and future eschatology); and “Hope in the General Epistles” (looking mostly at I Peter and Hebrews). There is one Appendix, “On Assurance As of the Essence of Saving Faith.”

As you would expect with a doctoral dissertation, the volume shows tremendous research – in fact, more so than usual in our opinion. The Bibliography alone covers ten full pages, broken down under Reference Works, Historical Works, Biblical Works and Theological Works. Notes are at the bottom of the page where they should be and there are 14 tables scattered through the book.

I think it safe to say we have more agreement than disagreement. All in all, it is a fine study and we are glad to add our endorsement.

The author currently serves as pastor of Ministry Vision at the Heritage Bible Church in Greer, South Carolina.

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ONCE IN A BLUE MOON by Leanna Ellis; B&H Publishers Group, Nashville, TN; 27 Chapters, 343 Pages; $14.99, Paper

We recently reviewed a book Rooms that we called ‘weird’ (different author; same publisher). Move over, Rooms, you’ve met your equal (well, maybe only ‘almost’). This one is loaded with conspiracy theories. At the end the heroine receives a shoebox of her late mother’s love letters she wrote to a married man.

There is some dialogue that we call risqué. There is joking and really making fun of marriage/divorce. In a drunken argument with a roommate at college she lets loose with a profanity. (We understand that lost people curse; we just don’t think it ought to be spelled out in ‘Christian’ fiction. Most would understand, we are confident, “She cursed,” or, “He let out an oath.”

It had one of the strangest endings of any novel we’ve read in many a spell. After being non-religious throughout the book, the heroine pulls her knees to her chest, rests her head on her bony kneecaps and prays, “Help me understand … show me the way.” She feels peace so she asks her ex-preacher boyfriend to baptize her – and he does, Pat Boone style in the hotel swimming pool. (She thought he might do it in the bathtub!)

In much ‘Christian’ fiction these days, at least one of the main characters is divorced; this one has both heroine and hero divorced. The author shows her thinking by having the hero tell about dating a couple of women after his divorce, “The second … dumped me,” explaining, “She said it was because I was still married in the eyes of the Lord.” And the author promptly called that woman, “... a Bible-toting innocent who knows all the right phrases, how to pray and sing hymns in the shower.” May I remind you, this is Christian fiction!

The last time the heroine went to church was as a girl when the preacher called her in his office to say her grandmother was worried about her and, referring to her dead mother, asked if she knew where people went who committed suicide. When she said no, “He removed his glasses, folded them carefully and leaned over his big, wide desk. I could see tiny red veins in the whites of his eyes, ‘They burn in hell. That’s what.’” And that is about the nicest picture of a clergyman in the book (other than statements about the hero, an ex-pastor). Believe me, the book’s heroine definitely doesn’t like preachers.

And, as a preacher, I’ll be hanged if I’ll recommend a book putting men of the cloth in a bad light.

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THE GOSPEL OF THE CHRIST by Thomas L. Stegall; Grace Gospel Press, Milwaukee, WI; 3 Parts, 19 Chapters, 826 Pages; $32.99

This, obviously, is a massive book (fortunately with a hard cover) and is subtitled, A Biblical Response to the Crossless Gospel Regarding the Contents of Saving Faith. When you read books like this you can’t help but muse, ‘what will they think of next.’ And the strange part is that the theology was invented by men who in the past were highly respected, like the late Zane C. Hodges, a former professor at the Dallas Theological Seminary. Stegall has done a massive amount of research in planning and preparing this exposé, for which we salute him.

The author writes as one committed to “firm belief in the verbal, plenary inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture” and from “a normative premillennial, dispensational position.” About the latter he says, “I am convinced that only a dispensational approach to Scripture yields a harmonious, non-contradictory doctrine of progressive revelation regarding the contents of saving faith.”

This whole issue can be summed up in the question, what is the gospel of Jesus Christ? To agree with the proponents of this crossless gospel it will be necessary to quit calling Matthew, Mark, Luke and John gospels. A fairly recent (in theological terms) position, this crossless gospel is praised, promoted and disseminated mostly by Bob Wilkin, the executive director of the Grace Evangelical Society, and his paper Grace In Focus.

To break down the contents of this volume, Part One deals with “Examining the Error of the Crossless Gospel.” In this section Segall deals with the tragedy of this new teaching (“one which does not require belief in Christ’s deity, substitutionary death, or bodily resurrection in order to receive eternal life”), how it affects other doctrines (such as the eternal wrath of God), why it is crossless (he examines four arguments used by the crossless gospel group), an examination of one of the movement’s model texts (John 6:47), why this new gospel is called crossless, and the significance of the Name of Jesus.

In Part Two, titled “Clarifying the Saving Gospel of Christ,” the author looks at three questions, “Has Progresssive Revelation Changed the Gospel?” “Is the Gospel a Broad, Non-Soteriological Message?” and “Is the Gospel of Christ the Saving Message?” He then looks at the Gospel as presented in Galatians, Thessalonians & Timothy, Romans, and in two passages in I Corinthians 15 (15:1-2 and 15:3-11). His chapters on Romans, Thessalonians/Timothy are especially telling, although the Corinthian one (a classic definition of the gospel) may be the most amazing and the most telling.

 The final section, Part III, is “Clarifying the Christ of Saving Faith.” There are four chapters, what ‘the Christ’ means in the OT & Synoptic Gospels, what it means in Acts 2, what it means in the rest of Acts. And a look as to whether believing in the Virgin Birth is essential for salvation. A final chapter is a summary, “What Does This Matter?”

Without claiming agreement with every point in this book of 800+ pages – a few places I had serious disagreement – we strongly recommend Crossless. It is not a “bedtime stories” book and demands careful concentration, but the effort will be worth it. Its worth as a reference tool will be invaluable for its owner.

Notes (and there are many) are where they ought to be, at the bottom of the page, saving the reader endless trouble in a ‘hunt and search’ game. In fact, every feature of a good theological book is found here: Abbreviations listing in the front; in the back a Bibliography of works cited; and Indices of Subject, Scripture and Author/Person. There is also an Appendix quoting “other Free Grace Voices” on the subject.

The price is a big consideration for the average preacher – although the size of the book makes the price a bargain – but you might check Amazon or Barnes & Noble for a savings of $6 or $7.

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WHOSOEVER WILL, Edited by David L. Allen & Steve W. Lemke; Broadman & Holman Publishing Group, Nashville, TN; 2 Parts, 11 Chapters, 306 Pages; $24.99, Paper

Subtitled A Biblical-Theological Critique of Five-Point Calvinism, these are “reflections” from the John 3:16 Conference held in November of 2008 at the First Baptist Church in Woodstock (GA), sponsored by Jerry Vines Ministries and co-sponsored by Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, Luther Rice Seminary, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

We like the title of the book. When opponents slurringly refer to those holding our position as “free willers,” I try to ‘constructively’ tell them such is not biblical terminology, so kindly please refer to us as “whosoever willers,” or just “whosoever will.” (Alas, to do so would defeat them even before they had an opportunity to present their arguments.) Thank God, however, “whosoever will may come” (Revelation 22:17; along with a host of other verses teaching the same truth).

Part One contains a message by the inimitable Dr. Jerry Vines on John 3:16 that is a good start for the whole book. It is followed by messages looking at the doctrines of Dort (TULIP) by different leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention. The first is “Total Depravity” by Dr. Paige Patterson, president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. This is an excellent study in which he discusses the meaning and origin of depravity from the opening chapters of Romans, followed by an answer to an increasingly popular claim by today’s Calvinists that the dead in sin are incapable of responding to the call of Christ.

Next is a message on “congruent election,” which the writer, Dr. Richard Land, prefers over “unconditional election.” He based his arguments on what early Baptist John Leland said in 1791: “I conclude that the eternal purposes of God and the freedom of the human will are both truths, and it is a matter of fact that the preaching that has been most blessed of God and most profitable to men is the doctrine of sovereign grace in the salvation of souls, mixed with a little of what is called Arminianism” (emphasis that of Land).

The “L” in TULIP, the idea of limited atonement (Christ died only for the elect) is handled by David L. Allen, one of the editors. In his historical section he notes that this issue was the ‘big battle’ at Dort and that many of the big names present did not concur with limited atonement. He says the final report committed “deliberately left it ambiguous” to placate the high-Calvinists” who were present. Allen says the first in church history to hold the limited view was Gottschalk of Orbais (AD 804-869), noting that contrary to the claims of some, Augustine did not. Nor did reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin or the noted American theologian, Jonathan Edwards. In fact, you will probably be surprised at the great names in Calvinism who did not hold it – at least in its restrictive sense by some today. Allen closes his arguments by looking at problems (he discusses seven) preachers face when proclaiming limited atonement.

Irresistible grace (now called “effectual calling” by Calvinists embarrassed by the harshness of the original term) is handled by Steve W. Lemke, a professor and provost at the New Orleans seminary. In our judgment it should be dismissed out of hand because of the biblical examples of “resisting” God’s grace and the calling of the Holy Spirit, but old errors die hard sometimes. This is an excellent chapter, closing with seven major theological concerns the author has with the teaching of irresistible grace.

The preservation and assurance of the saints is handled by Kenneth D. Keathley, theology professor and dean of graduate studies at the Southeastern seminary in Wake Forest. The position he sets forth is a modification of the “once saved always saved” position.

Part Two looks at some of the issues involved in Dort’s TULIP. Kevin Kennedy, who is an assistant professor of theology at Southwestern, based on his views of the atonement, asks, “Was Calvin a ‘Calvinist’?” Malcolm B. Yarnell III, an associate professor of Systematic Theology and director of the Center for Theological Research at Southwestern, looks at “The Potential Impact of Calvinist Tendencies upon Local Baptist Churches.” R. Alan Streett, who holds the W. A. Criswell Chair of Expository Preaching at Criswell College, considers “The Public Invitation and Calvinism.” Jeremy A. Evans an assistant professor of Christian Philosophy at Southeastern, was assigned, “Reflections on Determinism and Human Freedom.” And Bruce A. Little, professor of Philosophy and director of the Bush Center for Faith and Culture at Southeastern, concludes with “Evil and God’s Sovereignty.”

The book is enhanced by three indices: Name, Subject and Scripture. We are more than happy to recommend it.

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