JOHN by R.C. Sproul

If you've been following this blog for a while, you may remember this post where I discussed a new method of personal Bible study:

1. read through a book of the Bible chapter by chapter
2. read through it again with a companion commentary
3. work through a Bible study on the book

I did this with the book of Joshua and at the beginning of 2010 started in John. (I don't study very fast, do I?! Quality not quantity is okay when it comes to the Word, don't you think?)

I had finished up reading John and needed a reliable commentary. My folks got me this one by R.C. Sproul (at my request - Amazon and CBD reviews are very helpful in researching good books) for my birthday in June. Friends, are you looking to be taught, rebuked, corrected, and trained in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16)? This book is for you! This collection of sermons adapted to print will inspire your faith, lead you to repentance, and feed your soul and mind as you study the person of Jesus in John's gospel.

Some quotable quotes to whet your appetite:

• Those of us who believe in Christ are His disciples. But like John [the Baptist], we need to see that we are not worthy in and of ourselves to untie His shoes, for we have sinned against God and despised His just rule. Despite that, Jesus gave Himself for us, to redeem us from our sin. May we never cease to give thanks for such a great salvation. p. 12

• If you have in your heart today any affection for Christ at all, it is because God the Holy Spirit in His sweetness, in His power, in His mercy, and in His grace has been to the cemetery of your soul and has raised you from the dead. So you are now alive to the things of Christ and you rejoice in the kingdom into which He has brought you. p. 40

• Christ came in the first place to reconcile us to the Father. ... We need to have the majesty of the Father, in all of His greatness, in our minds as we worship. p.64

• The healing of the nobleman's son is just one more glimpse of the person of Christ, the person who, by His command, by His very word, brings life out of death, safety out of danger, healing out of disease, salvation out of lostness. This is our Jesus, in whom we believe. This is why we are called Christians. p. 74

And I conclude with a zinger in his commentary on John 5: 1-15.

• We need to remind ourselves that if God never blessed us another moment for the rest of our lives, we would have no reason under heaven to do anything but glorify Him, adore Him, and be grateful to Him for the blessings we already have experienced. p. 81