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Bible Doctrine
Wayne Grudem
I.V.P., 1999, 523pp
Review by Rev. John Westendorp
The motivation for the production of this volume struck a chord with
this lover of truth. “Not only the pastors and teachers need to
understand theology in greater depth – the whole church does as well.
One day by God’s grace we may have churches full of Christians who can
discuss, apply, and live the doctrinal teaching of the Bible as readily
as they can discuss the details of their own jobs or hobbies – or the
fortunes of their favourite sports team or television program.” (p.14)
Those words bring back memories of the role played by ‘the little
people’ in Abraham Kuyper’s conversion. What struck him in his day was
how well, simple ordinary everyday Christians understood the gospel and
the issues that the gospel raises for the various spheres of life.
Kuyper wrote, “Calvin had so taught that, centuries after his death, in
a foreign land, in an obscure village, in a room with a stone floor,
people with a common labourer’s brain could still understand him.”
(Abraham Kuyper – Centenial Reader. See page 8 of this issue of T&S).
Grudem believes that Christians do not lack the ability to understand
doctrine but rather that they don’t have access to it in an
understandable form. Grudem’s objective then is to write a “Theology
Made Easy” or, taking a cue from a popular series of computer books, “A
Dummy’s Guide to Theology”.
Has Grudem achieved that objective? This volume is an abridged version
of Grudem’s 1,264 page Systematic Theology. It is very readable. Most
technical terms are explained (though beginners might still want to
consult a dictionary at times). There are some helpful diagrams (and a
few not-so helpful ones). There are review questions at the end of each
chapter as well as questions for personal application.
Evaluating the work of this evangelical writer from a reformed
perspective I found some pleasant surprises as well as some
disappointments. For example, it was pleasing to see that a major
reformational theme such as ‘common grace’ has a whole chapter devoted
to it. Yet it was disappointing to see that there was no mention of the
fact that there are some in the Reformed camp who deny that there is
such a thing as common grace.
I enjoyed reading Grudem’s chapter on election. Similarly I appreciated
his chapters on the Holy Spirit and on Spiritual gifts even though
Grudem clearly allows for the continuation of the miraculous gifts
today.
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