Warfield on the Christian Life, by Fred Zaspel

As part of the "Theologians on the Christian Life" series, Fred Zaspel gives us a wonderful gift with his book on B.B. Warfield. He does a good job of giving us quick simple details on Warfield's life and acheivements and then goes right to the heart of the matter and gives us a glimpse of Warfield's passion for Theology. His passion for serving the Lord and Savior whom he loves.

Every Pastor as well as lay person will benefit from this book. It gives us a true picture of a man committed to the Inspiration and Inerrancy of Scripture. It gives us a true picture of a man who defended Christ's dual relationship, both God and Man, in the face of a new breed of liberal theologians who were desecrating the teachings of the Bible.

You will be encouraged to read how Warfield stood strong against the liberal tide. How he declared faithfully the Crucified, buried and RISEN Christ. As the chair of New Testament Teaching and Theology at Princeton Seminary he had an influencial place to teach his students and write his essays that would become a base from which conservative Bible believing Pastors could attain much clarity, wisdom and courage to preach Christ and Christ crucified. To preach that the Bible is the Inspired Word of God. That Christianity is the only religion where God came 'down' to his creation instead of his creation having to try to obtain higher and higher levels of religiosity to reach 'up' to God.

An interesting fact that Zaspel points out is that Warfield did not want to learn Greek. He came from a family of intellectual's and Greek was a required language to learn. But he didn't want to learn it. He wanted to skip it because he saw no need for it. How ironic that he would eventually become the most polished and qualified expert on the Greek language and the Greek New Testament.

This book will encourage you to want to pick up the sermons of people like Warfield, Spurgeon, Calvin and Augustine . . . even though they are 'outdated' and learn from them because as you find, they are never outdated, they are just like the Bible itself, always current, always relevant, always trustworthy.

Zaspel's writing is excellent and engaging. He holds your attention while driving home the facts of Warfields life and Theology. You won't be disappointed in this read at all.

Regarding Warfield, probably the best summation of his life came from one of his students. Upon his death at the conclusion of the funeral celebration as the coffin was leaving the chapel at Princeton, this student said, "As Warfield left this Chapel so has the 'old Princeton' left with him. Never again will this school be the same." That statement was prophetic. Never again has Princeton been the Biblical stronghold. It has turned liberal and stayed that way. Oh for another B.B. Warfield to come along and have the courage to stand against the Princeton's of this world.