Robert Kolb, Concordia SeminaryTo an American Christianity caught in the grip of a rapidly spreading virus of individualism and materialism, Fesko issues a call to repent. He pleads for a turn back to the historical confessions of the faith. His argument centers on his own Reformed confessional heritage, but his words ring true for those committed to the Lutheran confessions and other historical traditions of the Christian message. This volume is a significant contribution to our understanding of the role these confessions from the past can play in the twenty-first century and of the formidable challenges confessing Christians face in countering the cultural commandeering of the church.
Ligon DuncanI am an advocate for confessionalism. What is that, you ask? Confessionalism is the belief in the usefulness, importance, and indeed necessity of a full and unambiguous public statement of and adherence to the church's official doctrinal belief, founded upon the Scriptures. Because of the importance of confessionalism in the life of the church, I am always looking for good resources to make a case for it. Samuel Miller's The Utility and Importance of Creeds and Confessions and Carl Trueman's The Creedal Imperative are books that I have heretofore happily turned to for help. I am glad to now add John Fesko's The Need for Creeds Today. Fesko offers explanatory background that provides a framework for understanding why many Christians in our own time have undervalued creeds and confessions and why we need to recover a churchly, confessional Christianity in Protestantism today.
Keith MathisonNo creed but the Bible!' has long been a core belief among evangelicals, especially in the United States. Although those who repeat this phrase certainly mean well, they often fail to notice that it is a self-contradictory statement, given the fact that it is itself a creed--a statement of what they believe. Ironically, then, the statement 'No creed but the Bible!' itself manifests the unavoidability of creeds. The Need for Creeds Today addresses the confusion in the contemporary church with a brief but persuasive case for the necessity and importance of creeds and confessions. It should be required reading in every seminary.
Wesley Hill, Trinity School for MinistryHere is a gift to the church--the richest example of theological commentary on Paul's letter to the Ephesians that we now have, from one of our finest contemporary theologians. Drawing on the Reformed exegetical and theological vision of John Webster, Michael Allen here presents the fruit of his patient listening to the apostolic witness, and it is nourishing fruit indeed.
Daniel J. Treier, Wheaton College Graduate SchoolThis volume is an admirably compact example of a theologically focused commentary--celebrating what Paul celebrates and wrestling where the epistle wrestles. Allen is a fitting substitute for the late John Webster as the volume's author, since he seeks fundamentally to be a student of Paul and of the risen Christ, who speaks through the apostle by the Holy Spirit.
Jonathan A. Linebaugh, University of Cambridge and Jesus CollegeAnchored in and responsive to the scriptural text, listening to and engaged with the history of doctrine and biblical interpretation, and always reading with an eye on the personal, political, and pastoral horizons, Ephesians by Michael Allen is a model of theological commentary. Without ever overlooking historical and contextual information about the letter, Allen's ear is principally tuned to the good news proclaimed by Ephesians: God, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. My highest praise is a personal report: having read this commentary, I immediately read the letter to the Ephesians.
