Bavinck on the Christian Life: Following Jesus in Faithful Service - Christian Living Book for Spiritual Growth & Discipleship | Perfect for Bible Study, Small Groups & Personal Devotion

Herman Bavinck has become trendy in Evangelicalism of late, which is a good thing. However, jumping straight into his Reformed Dogmatics can be daunting. John Bolt provides a much needed bridge with Bavinck on the Christian Life.Bavinck is known as an erudite and a masterful theologian, but according to Bolt, he was so much more. One of the author's goals of the book is to show that Bavinck's mind matched his heart for Christian service (18).After a chapter giving a historical overview of the theologian's life (21-38), Bolt lays "Foundations for Christian Living" according to the Dutch theologian. These include elements such as creation (chapter 2), the role of the law for the Christian (chapter 3), and the believer's union with Christ (chapter 4). It is important for the reader to understand that Bolt purposefully arranges his book (from creation, to law, and then union with Christ) in order to coincide with Bavinck's own progression.For Bavinck, we are humans before we are Christians. Becoming a Christian does not make you less human, instead it makes you more human. This temporal priority of being a human before being a Christian is key as it is the basis with which Bavinck "implies that in a Reformed understanding of Christian discipleship the creational, natural vocation of human beings is basic and primary (43)." Jesus Christ is not only our mediator of redemption, but he is also our mediator of creation (71). This temporal priority has immense implications - both positive and negative.It is worth noting that Bolt is careful not to imply by this that Bavinck disregards the necessity of gospel proclamation in discipleship. For he writes, "It is of course true that in the present dispensation, where sin remains, gospel proclamation and the mission and ministry of the church have priory of urgency (43)."On a positive note, the point of Bolt in presenting Bavinck's affirmation of creational priority is to counter what he calls "radical discipleship." Bolt writes, "From the perspective of radical discipleship, devoting oneself to a vocation in business, law, medicine, or information technology may be legitimate but of a lesser value if not exercised in a radical way. Lawyers and doctors who forsake high-paying positions and devote themselves to working for the poor are then lauded; medical specialists in research hospitals or institutes and corporate lawyers, not to mention Wall Street brokers, not so much....My concern is with Christians who might conclude that one person's call, and one kind of call, is the norm for all; one size fits all. An interpretation of Christian calling where a vision of radical discipleship is the norm for everyone could lead us...to set up a hierarchy of vocations in which explicit Christian service outranks Christian discipleship in the "ordinary" professions of our daily lives (45)."Bolt spends an entire chapter applying this theological principle to the believer's vocation (159-180). This application of Bavinck's theology is welcomed for the church today. Although I am a product of the Reformation - with its emphasis on the priesthood of believer and the dignity of earthly vocations - less often I hear in my baptist circles the affirmation of those faithfully pursuing God's vocational call as a construction worker, teacher, engineer or factory worker.For Bolt, the theological brilliance of Bavinck is found when he brings "...creation, redemption, and eschatology all into the doctrine of Christ without in any way blurring the distinction between nature and grace or sacrificing the gracious character and preeminence of Christ as our Redeemer (73)."In my opinion, the negative side of Bavinck's temporal priority of creation is found in his application of the Sermon on the Mount (SM). His driving commitment to this theological principle leads him to do injustice to the wisdom of the SM.For Bavinck the "passive virtues" of the SM are tied to the specific circumstances of its day. In other words, the passive virtues that are found in the SM do not directly carry over to a Christian community that finds itself in a position of authority or power. Bolt admits that Bavinck "relativizes the Sermon on the Mount by emphasizing its historical context as an address to a persecuted and oppressed minority living in a hostile environment (117-118)."I suggest, rather than simply being for the church in the minority, the SM serves the church by illustrating an alternate reality - shall we say, the true or actual reality. The passive virtues demonstrate that Christian discipleship and formation is counter-cultural. Let me suggest that the passive virtues of the SM transcend culture and time, and are not bound to be relativized.Not only this, but because Jesus is consistent in word and deed (Matthew goes to great lengths to show that what Jesus says in the SM is what he endures himself) these passive virtues tell us something about God. The incarnation of Christ does not teach us less about who God is, but more!Bavinck misses this because he is tied to the notion that discipleship is fundamentally tied to creation and not new creation. There is less of an appreciation by Bavinck of newness that the gospel brings. In addition, in trying to answer the question, how do Christian's act when they are the majority? I think he applies his creational temporal priority too quickly. The church, when it finds itself in a majority situation, would do better to dwell longer and harder on what Jesus says about power, authority, servanthood, etc. in the world where sin still remains, before acting as if the world which we inhabit is the same as Genesis 1-2.There is much in Bolt's primer on Bavinck that was of benefit. I am grateful for this much needed introduction.Disclosure: I received this review book free from Crossway. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review.