A simple desire to please God, to walk by the rule of his word, and to do all to his glory; like the famed philosopher’s stone, turns all the gold, consecrates the actions of common life, and makes everything that belongs to our situation in duty in civil in domestic life is part of our religion. When she is making our mending the children’s clothes, or teaching them, and when her maid (if serious) is cleaning the kitchen, or making a sauce, they may be as well employed, as when they are upon their knees or at the Lord’s Table. It is an unpleasant mistake to think all the time as lost which is not spent in reading, or hearing sermons, or prayer. These are properly called means of grace; they should be attended to in their proper season; but the fruits of grace are to appear in our common daily course of conduct. It would be wrong to neglect the house of God; it would be equally wrong to neglect the prudent management of her own house. It is chiefly as a mother in mistress of a family, that she can let her light shine to his praise. I would not have her think that she should serve the Lord better in any other station, than in the one to which his providence has placed her. I know that family cares are apt to encroach too much, but perhaps we should be worse off without them.

John Newton, Letters (Coffin), 159 in Tony Reinke, Newton on the Christian Life (Wheaton: Crossway, 2015), 169.

While these nineteenth century Christians [pietists] forgot the world for themselves, we run the danger of losing ourselves in the world. Nowadays we are out to convert the whole world, to conquer all areas of life for Christ. But we often neglect to ask whether we ourselves are truly converted and whether we belong to Christ in life and in death. For this is indeed what life boils down to. We may not banish this question from our personal or church life under the label of pietism or methodism. What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, even for Christian principles, if he loses his own soul?

Herman Bavinck, The Certainty of Faith, 94 as cited in John Bolt, Bavinck on the Christian Life: Following Jesus in Faithful Service, Theologians on the Christian Life, ed. Stephen Nichols and Justin Taylor (Crossway, 2015), Kindle Locations 228-233.

There is no question whatsoever, that is of greater importance to mankind, and that it more concerns every individual person to be well resolved in, than this, what are the distinguishing qualifications of those who are in favor with God, and entitled to his eternal rewards? Or, which comes to the same thing, What is the nature of true religion? and wherein do lie the distinguishing notes of that virtue and holiness, that is acceptable in the sight of God.

WJE 2:84 (Preface to Religious Affections)

As a starting proposal, I wish to argue that culture is worldview exteriorized, and worldview is culture interiorized, and both stem from the religion of the human heart.

Daniel Strange, Their Rock Is Not Like Our Rock: A Theology of Religions (Zondervan, 2015), 68-69.

Note: This is an excellent book, and it is currently available in Kindle format for $3.99.

Youngblood, Ronald. “The Fall of Lucifer (in More Ways Than One).” In The Way of Wisdom: Essays in Honor of Bruce K. Waltke. Edited by J. I. Packer and Sven K. Soderlund. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.

Youngblood argues that “Lucifer” in Isaiah 14 is not Satan. He insists that a contextual reading points toward a king of Babylon as the person under discussion. I would agree with the claim that the personage in view is not Satan, but I would argue that the context indicates an end-time setting which would lead to an identification with the Antichrist.

Wilson, Jonathan R. “Biblical Wisdom, Spiritual Formation, and the Virtues.” The Way of Wisdom: Essays in Honor of Bruce K. Waltke. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2000.

Wilson’s essay examines how the wisdom literature of Scripture should shape a Christian approach to virtue ethics and spiritual formation. Wilson did a good job of distinguishing a Christian approach to virtue ethics from other approaches. For instance, he comments:

In much of the virtue tradition, reflection [on teleology] is directed toward the human community and often toward a particular conception of the polis (‘city,’ ‘political community’). In much contemporary spirituality, the concern is narrowed even further, to the individual. Such spirituality is guided not by a thirst for God but by a narcissistic preoccupation with the self turned in. Since the ‘incurved self’ is a classic Christian definition of sin, much contemporary spirituality perpetuates sin. . . . Biblical wisdom begins, continues, and ends with the fear of the Lord (Prov 1:7). Wisdom is deeply concerned with human life and issues of character, but those concerns have a larger setting. That larger setting is God’s redemptive purpose for all creation” (298).

However, he sees value in a Christian virtue ethics:

Too often we have thought that ethics is solely concerned with ‘moral quandaries’ or ‘boundary situations.’ Challenging this, the virtue tradition teaches us that ethics is concerned with the whole of life, with ordinary, everyday living. Too often we have thought that ‘spirituality’ had to do only with Sunday worship, times of prayer, a quiet time of Bible reading. Against this way of thinking, the recent recovery of spiritual formation teaches us that Sunday worship is training us for the rest of the week, that prayer is a way of life, and that ‘quiet times’ are nothing unless we live them out in our everyday relationships. Biblical wisdom provides biblical grounding and guidance for this ‘everydayness’ of our lives. In the book of Proverbs, for example, eating, drinking, laboring are all subject to the guidance of wisdom. . . . This everydayness of life is given theological grounding by the integral relationship between wisdom and creation (Prov 3:19-20; 8:22-31l Job 28, 38-39). Living wisely means living in accordance with God’s intention for the redeemed creation in our everyday lives” (301).

Hassell Bullock, “Wisdom, The ‘Amen’ of Torah,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 52, no. 1 (2009): 3-8.

Bullock sees the Wisdom literature as affirming the teaching of the Torah. He highlights the links between their creation theology, monotheism, and the covenantal foundation of the “fear of the Lord.”

Craigie, Peter C. Ezekiel. Daily Study Bible. Edited by John C. L. Gibson. WJK, 1983.

This is a brief commentary on the book of Ezekiel. The benefit I’ve gained from this commentary over the years is from its brevity. Some of the prophets are large enough, and their organization is opaque enough, that it is difficult to keep the whole book in mind. The solution to this is repeated re-reading. But in these initial readings some interpretive guidance is helpful in making sense of some of the prophecies. This commentary is brief enough to facilitate this kind of initial approach to the book. Cragie is at times not as conservative as could be wished, suggesting that certain parts of prophecies were added to the book by later editors. But in providing a general orientation to the book prior to more in-depth study of the book, I find him suitable.

Miller, Stephen R. Daniel. NAC. B&H, 1994.

This is an excellent commentary on the book of Daniel. It is manageable in its size while still rendering carefully argued positions on the key issues. It’s written from a dispensational perspective. I’d say dispensational interpreters would most certainly want to own a copy, and non-dispensational students of Scripture should own a copy so as to have a careful exposition of Daniel from that perspective.

Ferguson, Sinclair B. The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, and Gospel Assurance—Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters. Wheaton: Crossway, 2016.

Sinclair Ferguson uses the Marrow controversy in 18th century Scotland as a historical lens through which to examine the issues of legalism, antinomianism, and assurance. Ferguson’s thesis, as reflected in the title of the book, is that both legalists and antinomians err in separating the benefits of Christ from Christ himself. The solution to both is to not seek the benefits of Christ apart from the person of Christ. In all, this is a helpful book full of interesting history and insightful theology. I think the one improvement could be situating the response of Boston and the Marrow men in the broader context of Reformed theology. Did they respond similarly or differently to these problems than Reformed theologians in other times and places? In the multitude of historical counselors there is oftentimes safety.