God is For Us

C Ponsonby Simon

Description

Simon Ponsonby presents 52 inspirational chapters, bringing Paul's greatest letter to life, and blending careful theological and historical detail with illuminating application. Romans is intellectually and theologically massive. Augustine of Hippo, the great architect of Western theology, was converted while reading Romans. Martin Luther's encounter with the text led to a personal revival and the European Reformation, and Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones refused to teach on Romans for decades until he had grappled with and understood chapter 6. This passionate, illuminating devotional will prove a potent means of grace and growth.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• New Testament
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Lion Hudson
• Date de parution: 22 avril 2013
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780857214614
• Langue: English

Extrait

Copyright © 2013 Simon Ponsonby This edition copyright © 2013 Lion Hudson
The right of Simon Ponsonby to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Published by Monarch Books an imprint of Lion Hudson plc Wilkinson House, Jordan Hill Road, Oxford OX2 8DR, England Email: [e-mail] www.lionhudson.com/monarch
ISBN 978 0 85721 328 0 e-ISBN 978 0 85721 461 4
First edition 2013
Acknowledgments Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked “NIV” are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton, a member of the Hodder Headline Group. All rights reserved. “NIV” is a trademark of International Bible Society. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture extracts marke “KJV” are taken from The Authorized (King James) Version. Rights in the Authorized Version are vested in the Crown. Reproduced by permission of the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
The publisher has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Cover image: Roger Chouler/Lion Hudson
“Christian teachers and preachers, leaders and ministers have been waiting years for a good, contemporary, and freshly inspiring work on Romans. Simon Ponsonby was destined to write such a book. Here it is at last, vital, readable, and just what we all needed. Great teaching from a great teacher.”
– Canon Robin Gamble, Evangelist, Author and Founder of Leading Your Church into Growth
 
“St Paul’s rhetorical question to the Romans ‘What does the scripture say?’ (4:3) has always been the gold standard by which Simon Ponsonby has lived and served the Body of Christ, both as a highly effective pastor-teacher and a rigorous theologian. He writes as he speaks, with great flair and invaluable insight, with perfectly-judged illustrations and not a little humour. Simon tackles the towering truths contained within the letter to the Romans with freshness and immediacy, even with courage; and as always, he causes our hearts to be ‘strangely warmed’ as he makes us think, even sometimes to think again. This book will fall into the ‘must have’ category for preachers and teachers and believers alike, and deserves the widest readership possible.”
– Eleanor Mumford, Co-Founder of Vineyard Churches UK
 
“If I could only choose one person to hear preach the whole way through the Book of Romans, I honestly think Simon Ponsonby would be at the top of my list. Simon is one of the very best communicators of the gospel I know, and reading God is For Us has been my opportunity to sit at the feet of a brilliant theologian, story-teller, pastor and passionate follower of Jesus as they diligently unpack this epic Epistle. I’ve loved the opportunity, and have no doubt in my mind that you will too!”
– Revd Pete Hughes, Pastor Kings Cross Church, Leader New Wine 18–30s
 
“Reading a book on Romans that is based on a sermon series makes me think that this is how all biblical commentaries should be written. Simon Ponsonby’s engagement with this life-changing, history-making book of the Bible is thoroughly scholarly and unerringly pastoral. It is full of spiritual insight and compassion, with Simon’s natural touches of humour. This book is for anyone and everyone, and it will open up the treasures of Romans for all who wish to mine them.”
– Dr Lucy Peppiatt, Theologian, Author, Church Planter, Dean of Studies, Westminster Theological Centre
 
“Like many pastors, I have about two dozen volumes on the book of Romans in my library. This one by Simon Ponsonby will be in my top three of ‘go-to’ volumes every time I preach Romans! While showing great familiarity with contemporary Romans scholarship, this is a volume aimed not only at the intellect, but also at the heart and will. Ponsonby’s God is For Us is incredibly useful for reading as a daily devotional. It also is a treasure trove of preaching and teaching illustrations for pastors and church leaders. Not since Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones produced his Romans series have I read a volume of such powerful, motivating, and inspiring lectures on the book of Romans.”
– Dr Rich Nathan, Senior Pastor, Vineyard Columbus, Ohio
 
“An erudite piece of work interestingly written that may stand alongside some of the better treatments of Romans. Anyone who wants to learn more about Romans – or to teach it – should read this book.”
– Dr R. T. Kendall
 
“For centuries, commentaries on Romans have built on assumptions and preconceptions inherited from previous generations, each layer further burying Paul’s original voice. To this calcified deposit comes a biblical scholar at the peak of his game, lifting the accretions of the years with a forensic skill at once breath-taking and utterly compelling. Reading God is For Us is like watching the restoration of some majestic Leonardo mural hidden beneath later paintwork – an exhilarating, spine-tingling adventure of wonder and encounter with the New Testament’s own masterpiece here revealed as never before. God is For Us is the book this supremely gifted theologian was born to write.”
– Revd Paul Langham, Author, Bible Teacher, Vicar of Christchurch Clifton
To St Aldates Church family – who taught me so much more than I taught them
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Praise
Dedication
Introduction
1. The Journey Begins
2. A Life-Changing Letter
3. Meeting Paul
4. The Gospel (1:2–7)
5. Apostolic Apps (1:8–16)
6. Concerning His Son (1:3)
7. Harvests and Hindrances (1:13)
8. The Gospel for Christians (1:15)
9. Going for God’s Gospel (1:16–17)
10. The God Who Would Be Known (1:18–21)
11. Wicked is as Wicked Does (1:18–32)
12. The Spiral of Sin (1:18–32)
13. The Conscience Compass (2)
14. Judgment Day (2:1–16)
15. I’m a Jew on the Inside (2:17 – 3:4)
16. Even if You are Faithless, God Remains Faithful (3:3)
17. The Righteousness of God (3:21–26)
18. Faith Alone in Christ Alone (3:21–31)
19. My Father Abraham (4)
20. The Gospel of Love (5:5–8)
21. Heaven’s Hoi Polloi (5:12–21)
22. Go, Sin No More (6)
23. Red, Amber, Green (6:11–13)
24. The Law of Sinai and the Law of Sin (7:1–6)
25. Laws at War (7:14–25)
26. Two Propositions, Two Prepositions (8:1–4)
27. The Spirit of Holiness (8:4–11)
28. A Father to the Fatherless (8:14–17)
29. The Spirit of Adoption (8:14–17)
30. The Privileges of a Prince (8:17–30)
31. God is For Us (8:31)
32. Longing, Belonging, Prolonging (9)
33. Paul’s Type of Christian (10)
34. Good News for Whom? (10) by Joseph Steinberg
35. For the Jew First (11:11, 14)
36. Making Jews Jealous (11:11, 14)
37. Holocaust Memorial (11:26)
38. Living Sacrifices in a Lust-Soaked Society (12:1)
39. Boiled Frog or Frog Prince? (12:2)
40. God’s Fire Service (12:11)
41. Ablaze with the Spirit (12:11)
42. Charisms and Character (12:3–6)
43. God and Politics (13:1–7)
44. Get Up and Get Dressed (13:8–14)
45. Don’t Get Edgy with the Veggie (14:1–11)
46. Risen and Reigning (14:9)
47. Super-Size, Super-Skinny, Super-Spiritual (14:17)
48. My Word, God’s Word! (15:4)
49. An Ordinary Priest (15:15–21)
50. Give It Up (15:20–29)
51. Is Christianity Male? (16:1–7)
52. Benedictus Benedicat (15:5, 13, 33; 16:25–27)
Notes
Bibliography
Introduction
I have divided this book into fifty-two short chapters, enough for one a week for a year; or, if you are keen, one a day for fifty-two days. This book on Romans began as a series of sermons preached over twenty months between September 2010 and May 2012 at St Aldates Church, Oxford. I want to thank Charlie and Anita Cleverly for their enthusiastic encouragement of this project, as well as other colleagues at Aldates who vacated the pulpit on Sunday evenings, as well as the congregation who stuck with a sermon series that was uncharacteristically lengthy by modern standards. A friend and respected evangelical leader recently said that if you want to grow a church, you need mini-series of four sermons on current themes to keep people keen. The Vatican have suggested sermons be no longer than eight minutes, and the bishop of Lichfield wants to limit whole services to under fifty minutes. I struggled to preach my sermons each week in under fifty minutes. If short and sweet sermons were in fact what my church wanted, they were gracious enough not to say so – and eager enough to turn out weekly for just over a year and a half to study Romans.
I must thank publisher Tony Collins and editors Richard Herkes and Jenny Ward, who had confidence in this project and wrestled my sermons into book format. I am perpetually thankful to God for my dad Jeffrey Ponsonby; he is a model of Berean faithfulness to God’s word (see Acts 17:10–12), and who has prayed without ceasing for me as I worked on, and preached through, Romans. Special mention must be made of my great friend Mark Davies, a former SAS sergeant major who, as a new convert, read straight through all of Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s books on Romans. Our long and strong discussions over the meaning of texts in Romans have been as profitable to me as any single commentary – even when we failed to reach consensus.
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