Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Book Review: Galatians for You


I was excited to have the opportunity to review Tim Keller's newest book, Galatians for You. As many of you know, my Bible study recently went through the book of Galatians. This was the perfect follow-up in helping me to expand upon and apply what I had learned during that study.

Keller devotes two or three chapters to each chapter of Galatians. Each chapter has two parts, with the first part addressing the more technical and theological issues relating to the text, and the second applying the passage to issues around us. Keller's goal is that we, like Paul in Galatians, would see the gospel not only as the starting point for the Christian life, but as the center point of our entire walk with the Lord. He says, "We are not only justified by faith in Christ, we are also sanctified by faith in Christ. We never leave the gospel behind."

And that is really what this book does - helps us to not leave the gospel behind in any area of our lives. This book is Keller doing what Keller does best: applying the gospel to everything. How does the gospel influence our work? Our view of race? Our interactions within the church? Keller answers each of these questions, and many more, using the book of Galatians.

One of the best parts of this commentary is its simplicity. While Keller doesn't shy away from any difficult or controversial issues, he addresses them in a way that is easy to follow and easy to understand why those issues matter. The content is engaging, but doesn't move away from the text.

At one point, Keller quotes an old hymn, which says:
Lay your deadly "doing" down -
Down at Jesus' feet.
Standing in Him, in Him alone -
Gloriously complete. 
Ultimately, I think that is what Galatians for You helps to accomplish. By pointing us continuously to the completed work of Christ on the cross, Keller helps us to see what the Lord's words are to us through Galatians: find our sufficiency in Christ alone. It is a glorious theme.

2 comments:

  1. Great review! I just bought this, and I'm looking forward to reading it!

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  2. Katie,

    Thanks for contributing to the blog tour.

    Shaun Tabatt
    Cross Focused Reviews

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