I have now moved my blog to a new host at www.andyrobinson.org.uk

Basic List of Books for a Pastor’s Library

Dr Wayne Grudem … An amazing bible scholar and theologian. His fantastic book “Systematic theology” is a must have reference book for any Christian who wants to understand more of the bible.

A few years ago I was at a conference where Dr Grudem was speaking and I had the pleasure of having dinner with him. As I had just come on staff at Kings Church Horsham we discussed the type of books I should have in my then, nonexistent, reference library. Dr Grudem suggested this list, although a little old now, as I think it was not new at that point either, I would recommend you take a look at it to see if there are any you could/should add to your library.

It really helped me as I wondered which commentary’s to Greek lexicon I should get and I trust It will help you to

Basic List of Books for a Pastor’s Library

Dr Wayne Grudem … An amazing bible scholar and theologian. His fantastic book “Systematic theology” is a must have reference book for any Christian who wants to understand more of the bible.

A few years ago I was at a conference where Dr Grudem was speaking and I had the pleasure of having dinner with him. As I had just come on staff at Kings Church Horsham we discussed the type of books I should have in my then, nonexistent, reference library. Dr Grudem suggested this list, although a little old now, as I think it was not new at that point either, I would recommend you take a look at it to see if there are any you could/should add to your library.

It really helped me as I wondered which commentary’s to Greek lexicon I should get and I trust It will help you to

Financial Crisis or Financial Plan?

Does God Cause Disasters

Today I was speaking in church on Acts 11:19-21 and tackled the question is God surprised by things that happen? I particularly look at the story of the scattering church after the murder and subsequent persecution.

The bible tells us in Amos 3:6 that Disaster (Hebrew word is Evil) comes to a city because God caused it! Job 2:10 says “Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil” and Isaiah 31:2 says “He is wise and brings disaster” This is a very strange concept for us to grapple with. Is God behind this evil (Not moral evil) that comes upon a city or indeed upon individuals?

If you are interested I have done a detailed exegesis of Amos 3:1-6 which you can download here.

You can Download my Powerpoint Slides from my talk here.

 

Spectacular Sins

I reference this book by John Piper which is a very interesting read and will assist you in some of the thoughts and questions this talk will raise.

I was baptised as a baby is a common objection when being presented with Believers Baptism. What does the bible say? That is the only question we need to consider. If infant baptism is a bible principle then we should practice it. If it is not then we should consider what the bible does say and follow it.  

There is some argument that baptism of infants is akin to the babies in Israel being circumcised at 8 days old (More). Now there are some parallels here, I agree. Circumcision was a public declaration of belonging to the covenant community of God. Back then you belonged to the covenant community of God by virtue of your birth (your parents) and thus a public declaration was appropriate. However, today we belong to the covenant community of God not by virtue of our parents will, but by virtue of our confession of faith in Jesus, in his death and resurrection, by virtue of acceptance of the grace of God! Thus, baptism must be as a believer.

Now a discussion for another day is about sprinkling vs. immersion. If someone was to come to me and say as a believer I was “sprinkled” rather than immersed, I could accept that as a believer’s baptism although I would want to do a bible study with them based on the New Testament to see if the believer then felt that they would like to respond in the same way as the early church set as the standard example.

However, if someone was to say they were sprinkled as a baby then clearly this is not a believer’s baptism but an act of the will of their parents and not by virtue of them putting their faith in God. I would have to say they have not been baptised and should, as the New Testament shoes us, make a public declaration in that way. There may be, as for the original believers we have read about, some humiliation or even difficulty with family members but we are commanded to repent and be baptised, in that order and I believe that we need to be faithful and live a life worthy of Jesus name, suffering a little humiliation or family unrest for our saviour.

Sometimes the argument is that there is no premise for “re-Baptism” in the bible, and I would agree. There is no biblical president for a rebaptism of a believer. If you were baptised as a youngster and then came to me saying “I did not really fully understand, can I go again” I would say “no”. You were a Christian, you were saved, then you were baptised then that is sufficient “repent and be baptised”. If however you were baptised as an unbeliever because of pressure from parents etc then I would say you were not baptised as a believer and so you should now be. In the same way if you were baptised as a baby, you were not baptised as a believer and so you should now be. It is not “re-baptism” as you were not previously baptised as a believer which is the only New Testament basis for baptism.

If want to listen or download a talk where I discuss this more fully just click here to listen now, or hear to download it as an MP3

I will shortly be writing a paper which will discuss this, and other issues relating to baptism more fully, so check back oon.

 Here is a response to the comments left on my previous post “Any one for Miracles?”

What a question – “Is smoking a Sin?”

This is something that has long been debated and, in my opinion, the answer has changed as we have discovered more and more information on the effect of smoking on our health and well being.

I have written a paper that I have cleverly entitled “Is Smoking a Sin” where I examine the whole issue of Smoking and focus on some key areas:

• Addiction
• Rebellion & Deceit
• Health
• Free Choice & Pleasure

The outcome for me was interesting, not because I smoke (I don’t), but because what I discovered affects so much more than smoking. Whilst looking at the area of addiction I was convicted as to my own addiction to caffeine. Whilst looking at the issues of health and looking after the body God has given me I wondered if I do all I could to look after it. So don’t think “I don’t smoke so this does not apply to me”. Take a look!

You can download the full document for free right here

The English Standard Version is, in my opinion, a great translation of the bible and offers a far closer understanding of what the writers actually meant when they wrote the passages.

Many translations provide a “Thought for Thought” translation where the “meaning” of what the writer was trying to day is translated, rather than an actual translation of the words written (i.e. a “Word for Word” translation)

This does mean that “Word for Word” translations might be less easy to read than a “thought for thought” translation but is not so open to the bias of the translator, cultural influences or political correctness influencing the meaning of the final text.

Here are some examples of the differences:

All that said I found the ESV modern, readable and most importantly accurate. I therefore recommend to all my youngsters (and adults too) the English Standard Version