Growing in the Gospel: Sound Doctrine for Daily Living by Jason Van Vliet (Hamilton, ON: Lucerna Publications, 2016). Sold by Amazon either in three separate paper-back volumes (apprx. $15 CDN per; or Kindle @ $7) or in one combined hard-covered volume (apprx. $45 CDN; 563 pages (total)).
Reviewed by Peter H. Holtvlüwer
Looking for a clear, easy-to-understand explanation of biblical subjects like covenant and election? Or Creation and providence? Or Justification and sanctification? Perhaps baptism and Lord’s Supper? Or maybe what happens when we die? Then look no further than Dr. Jason Van Vliet’s impressive new work, Growing in the Gospel!
‘Round the Kitchen Table
You might think that when a Professor of Dogmatics (such as Dr. Van Vliet is at the Canadian Reformed Theological Seminary) writes a book on the main teachings of the Bible that you would end up with a dry, technical text book for students of theology. “This is going to be so over my head and unrelated to my daily life,” you might say to yourself – but you’d be wrong! Dr. Van Vliet has worked hard to not only make the Bible’s teachings clear to the average adult Christian reader but also very applicable to the needs and struggles we all face. He truly aims to have his readers grow in the gospel – in both grasping it its richness and living it in its fullness.
This is the kind of book you can read, understand and discuss with your spouse and (older) children around the kitchen table or in a Bible study group. It is written with the skill of a learned instructor who knows his field along with the heart of a pastor who knows how God’s people think, feel and wrestle with life’s issues. It’s conversational, at pew level. Many chapters begin with a story from real life which not only introduces the teaching but also shows how it impacts everyday living. Carefully crafted questions at the end of each chapter bring up real and relevant matters of 21st-century western believers. Readers are directed back to the Bible for answers and urged not to rest on personal opinion. This excellent feature will be sure to stimulate energetic and up-building discussion.
Scripture’s Teaching
Using the traditional arrangement of topics found in many books on theology and even Reformed confessions (e.g. the Belgic Confession), Dr. Van Vliet begins by explaining what the Bible says about God and creation, man and our sin (Vol. 1), Christ, the Holy Spirit and our salvation (Vol. 2), the church and how people come to faith as well as life beyond the grave and Christ’s return (Vol. 3). Using everyday language, he carefully explains each subject from out of Scripture itself.
There is a danger that a writer uses the Bible to prove his own opinion but Van Vliet goes out of his way to show the reader what God is saying in His Word. With Bible in hand, the reader can perform the “Berean test” (Acts 17:11) and check for himself the truth of the explanation. At times, for subjects of controversy (e.g. the end times), various opinions are presented and where God’s Word has not spoken then this is acknowledged. Van Vliet gives an earnest and honest presentation of God’s Word. After explaining Scripture, the Professor moves on to refer regularly to the Reformed confessions (mostly the Three Forms of Unity), helping readers see afresh that what the churches of the Reformation have confessed for centuries is simply the plain teaching of God’s Word.
Special Topics
Dr. Van Vliet’s style is explanatory and not polemical. It’s not a book which in the first place outright tackles false teachings or faulty theology. At the same time, he is aware of various controversies swirling in our present-day North American Reformed church circles and so he spends some extra time on special topics such as “open theism”, covenant and election (Vol.1), the Holy Spirit and Pentecostalism (Vol. 2), and the baptism of infants (Vol. 3). In fact, I found the explanation of baptism’s Old Testament roots one of the stand-out chapters with a fresh presentation of overlooked passages like 1 Corinthians 10:2’s “baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.” Also, unless I’m mistaken, Van Vliet is indirectly interacting with the teaching of Federal Visionists when he stresses the biblical distinction between justification and sanctification (and clarifying the role of good works, Vol. 2), and later how the Lord’s Supper is not meant for children who cannot discern but for those who are able to make a credible profession of faith (Vol. 3). Dr. Van Vliet uses God’s Word to help us navigate these issues.
Practical Lay-Out
Each of the three volumes consists of twelve chapters, just right for a season of Bible study. Each chapter is on average a modest 16 pages, a very manageable size for adult Bible study groups or even for personal reading. Who would benefit from this book? Any Christian wishing to better understand the teachings of Scripture. Office bearers and parents who need to explain doctrines to their “people” will find this work immensely helpful. If you read a chapter a night (half hour?) three or four nights a week, you could nicely finish all three volumes in three months. You could also use the table of contents or subject index to go directly to a topic. While reading the volumes in order has value, a study group could select any of the three volumes to study on its own quite profitably.
The one small thing I would have liked to see in Growing in the Gospel is an index for Bible passages and another for the confessions. Dr. Van Vliet many times offers very helpful commentary on both Scripture texts and confessional passages and to have ready access to them via an index would benefit those who love digging deeper into the Word and our Reformed heritage. But that is minor. This is an excellent resource for Christians looking to understand Scripture more deeply and Dr. Van Vliet has, by God’s grace, served the churches of the Reformation well! Recommended!
[The book review re: Growing in the Gospel was first published in Clarion magazine]