©2006, Crossway Books, 186 pages in hardback.

Contention is one thing Christians often want to avoid in the midst of constant teaching about the importance of tolerance. We often do all we can to avoid any conflict in denominational meetings at any level.

John Piper writes his book in this knowledge but also in the knowledge that throughout church history the church has needed guarding from errors that can so easily seep in. He examines the lives of three Christian men God raised up to battle giant errors that threatened the church in their day.

Athanasius, a fourth-century bishop of Alexandria for forty-five years, endured five exiles. He was a center of controversy because he defended the eternal divinity of Christ. He contended for truth in the midst of demanding civil rulers and double-minded church leaders. Athanasius’ love for Christ propelled him to not compromise Christ’s deity.

Owen lived twelve centuries later. Although the battlefield and point of attack were different, an uncompromising stand for truth remained a necessity. In the midst of pressing pastoral duties, he battled for God’s sovereignty in the salvation of sinners and for toleration of Protestants even when the King avidly promoted Catholicism. In examining Owen’s stand, Piper insightfully focuses on Owen’s desire for personal holiness in himself and others. In the midst of many duties and battles, he did not relinquish communion with God or battling temptation in his own life. Here the reader is reminded that those battling for Christian doctrine in the wider spheres must first and continually contend against temptation in their own foxholes.

Finally, Piper brings the reader into the twentieth century and the epic battle fought by J. Gresham Machen. Machen was raised up to battle modernism in his own denomination. In his student days, Machen had studied under Modernist professors in Germany and had almost been swayed by their arguments. This experience helped make him a faithful warrior for the truth. However, the majority of his denomination did not believe as he did, that Calvinism is the best expression of Christian truth and a necessary antidote to modernism. As a result of these lost battles, Machen was pivotal in the formation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and of Westminster Seminary.

Piper has penned these biographical overviews with a pastor’s heart. He brings out these men’s passion for God and resulting applications for our day. He addresses the current belief that building churches means avoiding contention on doctrine. He balances the truth with the fact that wisdom must be used to know when we must contend and when differing brothers can live together in unity. The applications can pierce us in regard to our sanctification, not just with the manner of our apologetics.

This volume is the fourth in Piper’s “The Swans are Silent Series.”

Review ©2007 Byron Snapp, Hampton, Virginia