I finished Jason’s book this morning. His last chapter, on assurance of salvation, was very good. His main interest was to critique the popular three-fold method of assurance (i.e. faith, good fruit, witness of the Spirit) — not because they could not be understood biblically, but because if they are treated as independent “lines of evidence,” then the result is a distortion of the all-pervasive nature of the Holy Spirit’s work. His treatment of this was really very good.
He was also good on the nature of good works, and the relationship they have to justifying faith. “Oh, great,” Jason is now thinking — “Mr. FV-Guy is praising my views on faith and works.” But I do praise them, and would point out yet again that the historic Reformed view on this (which Jason plainly holds) is also plainly held by some other folks who are mysteriously being assailed for not holding them. But I have said enough about this elsewhere.
Last, the quality of this book was uneven. The good parts (and very good parts) had to do with how individual Christian should conduct themselves in the immediate here and now. The parts I differed with had to do with the macro-understanding of the big picture.
If I may conclude with an analogy — it is as though Jason is navigating his way to kingdom come via Mapquest. He knows what to do now — two more exits, two more miles, and then take the ramp to the right. And when he sticks to that, I usually have no quarrel with what is going on. But I, kibbitzing in the passenger seat as I am, have a copy of a Rand Mcnally map of North America, and have concluded that if we keep this up for long enough, we will eventually get across the continent. “No,” he replies. “We are supposed to take the second ramp.”