J.I. Packer is widely recognized as a leading
theologian of 20th century evangelicalism. In the series Theologians
on the Christian Life Sam Storms wrote the volume Packer on the Christian
Life: Knowing God in Christ, Walking by the Spirit. The subtitle is aptly
chosen and summarizes the two focuses of Packer’s writings. Actually, it makes
clear that for Packer Christian life is always life to the honor and glory of
the Triune God, who is himself the Source and Author of spiritual life.
One of the great merits of Packer is that he has written
in a very accessible way. He can be describes as a kind of 20th
century puritan. Packer himself has again and again testified of his great debt
to the puritans. I myself consider the synthetic attitude of Packer towards
Anglo-Catholics and Roman-Catho-lics as a serious demerit. But because Storms draws
attention of what Packer himself thinks the Bible teaches about Christian life,
this demerit has not a real place in the volume Storms has written.
Already as a young theologian the importance to uphold
the Bible as the infallible and inerrant Word of God. The central reference
point of the message of the Bible is for Packer the atonement. This accent gives
his writings both an Christ-centered and experimental emphasis.
For Packer it is very important for the Christian life
that we realize that we have a struggle with indwelling sin until death. This
was one of the important things Packer himself learned from the puritans. Very
valuable is that Storms added an appendix in which he gives exegetical and
theological evidence for seeing the man of Romans 7 as a Christian; and then not
an immature but mature Christian.
Packer again and again attends us to the fact that the main work of the person of the Holy Spirit is that
he unites is to Christ and that Christians have communion with Christ by the indwelling
of the Holy Spirit. In this way Packer makes clear that asking attention for
the person and work of the Holy Spirit never diminishes our focus on Christ.
I finish this review with the concluding words of Sam
Storm’s study on Packer: ‘So, whether you are yeas in years and new to the Christian
faith, or, like James Innell Packer, older and spiritual ripe, the call to everyone
who knows Christ, at every age, is the same: energetically engage, breathlessly
run, relentlessly repent, passionate believe, fervently worship, and zealously
seek after God and his holiness.’
Sam Storms, Packer on the Christian Life: Knowing
God in Christ, Walking by the Spirit, Theologians on the Christian Life, Stephen
J. Nichols and Justin Taylor (ed.), (Wheaton: Crossway, 2015), paperback 224
pp., $18,99 (ISBN 9781433539527)