Preparing for the Conference

These past few weeks I have been reading particular books in order to prepare myself for the Ligonier Ministries Conference which is next week. This year the theme of the main session is the holiness of God and the preconference is on John Calvin. In my preparation I recently read Sproul's book "The Holiness of God." Have you read it? It is a classic and well worth a read. Sproul is very gifted at taking ideas that are huge (like the holiness of God) or hard to understand (like predesitnation) and making them understandable and a joy to read about. He is a very intelligent man and clear communicator. If you have not read this book I highly recommend it. The other book I am just finishing up with is a short book on Calvin called "Calvin for Armchair Theologians" by Christopher Elwood. This book gives a great overview on the life and theology of John Calvin. I've really enjoyed reading the overview of his theology as it rings so true to the Bible. The bulk of the book is on his theology and is written in a clear and engaging way. Here is a short snippet from the book which I liked where the author is addressing Calvin's theology regarding order in the church:

"That is the basic aim of discipline, in Calvin's view: to hold together and strengthen the church as the body of Christ, a community that witnesses to and lives out Christ's love. So, for Calvin, discipline is not, as with the Donatists and Anabaptists, a means of creating a church of the pure. Calvin's church is a church of sinners, but it is a place where sin is being overcome through the peaching of the gospel. In his view, then, the ancient creeds that call the church "holy" are not incorrect. But instead of thinking of this holiness as an already accomplished fact, we ought to recognize it as the goal that God ultimately will achieve."