Book Review - Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands

I have decided that I need to focus on finishing a book I started reading a couple months ago. In attempts to encourage this endeavor I will attempt to write a brief and rather un-thorough summary of each chapter as I finish it. Just for fun I may even totally miss writing about the main the point of the chapter. But I will try to include some personal thoughts that the author so ingeniously inspired.

The book: Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change
Author: Paul David Tripp

I am going to start my summary at chapter three. Why? I read chapters 1 & 2 a couple months ago and since my readership is really low I don’t feel the need to review for your benefit. If this offends you, feel free to leave a comment. But remember that I have the power of deletion.

Chapter 3: Do We Really Need Help?
The main point of this chapter (already I am going against my desire to totally miss the point of the chapter – stick with me and I'm sure I will accomplish this in a future post.) is that we do need help. He brings the reader back to the beginning of mankind. In Genesis 1 God creates Adam and Eve and then tells them what their life’s work is to be. This is unusual for the creation pattern: God created and then said what he had just created was good. After creating the first man and woman, rather than saying that the pinnacle of his creation was good, God spoke to them and told them what they were to do. God did this before sin came into the picture. This shows that we were created to be dependent on God. We were created to receive revelation and interpret that revelation. “We not only interpret situations and relationships, we interpret ourselves. We assign ourselves an identity and we live it out” (pp. 43). Our interpretations in turn shape our emotions, personal identity, views of others and the solution to our problems. It even impacts our ability to receive counsel.

In walks Satan. He knows that we need to and are created to listen to others for direction. He tells the truth to Eve, but twists the truth. He tempted Eve into attempting to find truth from a source outside of Christ. This wrong interpretation of Satan’s influenced Eve to redefine wisdom. This is something that we all do. We all affect other’s views of God, self and others. We influence others just by having a relationship with them; even if it isn’t one of great depth. “This is what sin does to us. It reduces us to fools who live in ways that deny both God and our own nature. We may not profess to be atheists, but in practice we live purely horizontal, godless lives” (pp. 49).

The author then brings Hebrews 3:12-13 to the reader’s attention. “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” These two verses identify believers as a source of correction and instruction as a means of protection from the effects of sin. Sin leads to disbelief which leads to turning away from God which leads to a hardened heart. “The Hebrews passage clearly teaches that personal insight is the product of community. I need you in order to really see and know myself. Otherwise, I will listen to my own arguments, believe my own lies, and buy into my own delusions (pp 54).

This is the basic gist of the third chapter. I left out a ton of good insight, but if you are that interested in knowing the full story you can buy and read the book for yourself.