 |
| |
|
KNOWING SIN: Seeing a Neglected Doctrine Through the Eyes of the Puritans
MARK JONES with Foreword by Rosaria Butterfield
The first rule of combat is: know your enemy.
We don't talk a lot about sin these days. But maybe we should. The Puritans sure did—because they understood sin's deceptive power and wanted to root it out of their lives. Shouldn't we want the same?
Though many books have been written on the "doctrine of sin," few are as practical and applicable as this one. In Knowing Sin, Mark Jones puts his expertise in the Puritans to work by distilling the vast wisdom of our Christian forebears into a single volume that summarizes their thought on this vital subject. The result isn't a theological tome to sit on your shelf and gather dust, but a surprisingly relevant book to keep by your bedside and refer to again and again. You'll come to understand topics like:
Sin's Origin
Sin's Grief
Sin's Thoughts
Sin's Temptations
Sin's Misery
Sin's Secrecy
and of course . . . Sin's Defeat!
None of us is free from the struggle with sin. The question isn't whether we're sinful, it's what we're doing about it. Thanks be to God, there is a path to overcoming sin. And the first step on that path to victory is knowing what we're up against. Start Knowing Sin today!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword 9
Introduction: Rock You Like a Hurricane 13
Chapter 1: Sin’s Origins: Sympathy for the Devil 15
Chapter 2: Sin’s Contagion: Born This Way 25
Chapter 3: Sin’s Privation: You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling 39
Chapter 4: Sin’s Vocabulary: Fade to Black 51
Chapter 5: Sin’s Remains: Hello Darkness, My Old Friend 61
Chapter 6: Sin’s Sorrow: Hard to Say I’m Sorry 73
Chapter 7: Sin’s Alternative: Hurts So Good 83
Chapter 8: Sin’s Secrecy: I Put a Spell on You 91
Chapter 9: Sin’s Presumption: Highway to Hell 101
Chapter 10: Sin’s Pride: Stand Tall 111
Chapter 11: Sin’s Selfishness: All You Need Is Love 121
Chapter 12: Sin’s Envy: Hey Jealousy 129
Chapter 13: Sin’s Unbelief: Losing My Religion 139
Chapter 14: Sin’s Manipulation: I Want to Break Free 149
Chapter 15: Sin’s Thoughts: You Were Always on My Mind 157
Chapter 16: Sin’s Temptations: I Want It All 167
Chapter 17: Sin’s Degrees: Little Lies 177
Chapter 18: Sin’s Omissions: Where Is the Love? 185
Notes 193
The author begins the first chapter titled 'Sins Origins' with these words-
"The origin of sin is a fascinating but deadly serious discussion that should not be ignored by anyone wishing to understand themselves, this world, God, and the life to come. Not only Christians, but many outside of the faith recognize evil in this world and want to know where evil came from.
The Dutch theologian G. C. Berkouwer (1903–96) observed regarding the presence of sin, “No real genius is needed to see life’s battered and mangled pieces before us, and no particular wisdom is required to appreciate how profoundly abnormal life can be.” Who, with even a cursory knowledge of world news and history, could possibly say all is (and has been) well and good?
Those who believe in a purely materialistic universe naturally face the dilemma of whether we can even speak of objective good and evil. Christians, however, believe that God rightly called His completed work of creation “very good” (Gen. 1:31). We believe God righteously determines what is good and evil because He alone is truly good (Mark 10:18). When sin entered the world through Adam, creation became, in a sense, “very bad.” Another Dutch theologian, Herman Bavinck (1854–1921), remarked, “Sin ruined the entire creation, converting its righteousness into guilt, its holiness into impurity, its glory into shame, its blessedness into misery, its harmony into disorder, and its light into darkness.” When looking at the origin of sin we cannot appreciate its ruining effects unless contrasted with the original declaration by God Himself that what He had made was very good.
In discussing sin, we must ask two fundamental questions: Whether it be so? and What is it?"
mpn23
KNOWING SIN by Mark Jones
 SGCB Price: $10.00 (list price $16.00)
|
