I Have a Confession
Can the confessions of the church teach us anything today? In I Have a Confession, Nathan Eshelman explains the what and why of The Westminster Confession of Faith.
Grassmarket Press
This book is an inaugural title from Grassmarket Press, a new imprint from Crown & Covenant Publications that aims to provide readable resources on Reformed and Presbyterian theology and practice—for regular people. At just under 150 pages, it is a shorter and simpler book from general Crown & Covenant titles. It was a refreshing and welcome read.
Chapter 1 introduces the problem: There is a poverty of confessing churches. Eshelman defines a confessional church as a church that has a solid, biblical written standard of belief. “A confessional church believes and teaches a summary fo the Christian faith that is written down for all to study.” He shares 6 reasons why some may resist reviving confessionalism as a means to spiritual growth, and he gives 4 ways and reasons to return.
Trustworthy Sayings
Eshelman writes with warmth and in a style of casual conversation. He uses illustrations to get his points across, but also gives us a biblical basis for confessions. In Chapter 3, I found his table on the “trustworthy sayings” in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus to be helpful.
Chapter 4 takes us on a brief tour of church history, hearing the story of how The Westminster Confession came to be written. Eshelman concludes by explaining how the confessions help us to both know and love God, with an emphasis on how to live especially in regards in relating to the church and culture.
Confessional Faith
This book is an excellent introduction to The Westminster Confession and the reasoning behind holding to a confessional faith and belonging to a confessional church. I am challenged to incorporate more of the confessions in my own life and family, and I am encouraged to teach the confessions to my church and my children.
I received a media copy of I Have a Confession and this is my honest review. Find more of my book reviews and follow Dive In, Dig Deep on Instagram - my account dedicated to Bibles and books to see the beauty of the Bible and the role of reading in the Christian life. To read all of my book reviews and to receive all of the free eBooks I find on the web, subscribe to my free newsletter.