Deserted Island with Michael Reeves

Do you find it challenging to choose a favorite book? On this episode of 5 Minutes in Church History, Dr. Stephen Nichols invites special guest Dr. Michael Reeves to share which five books he would take with him on a deserted island and why.

Stephen Nichols: Welcome back to another episode of 5 Minutes in Church History. We're at Ligonier's National Conference here in Orlando. You might hear people in the background. I was able to pull Dr. Reeves away from his duties of speaking, and we're going to spend a few moments with him here on 5 Minutes. Dr. Reeves, it's great to have you.

Michael Reeves: Great to be with you.

SN: You, of course, are the president of Union School of Theology. You've written a number of great books; Rejoice and Tremble: The Surprising Good News of the Fear of the Lord; Delighting in the Trinity, which I know our students up at Reformation Bible College love, by the way; and this brand new book—I mean brand new—called Gospel People: A Call for Evangelical Integrity. Well, we've appreciated your books, and they've been a true service to the church. I'm going to do you a favor now, Dr. Reeves. I'm going to relieve you of your writing duties. I'm going to relieve you of your speaking duties, your presidential duties, and we're just going to send you off to a deserted island and you can just enjoy some books. But there's a catch.

MR: All right. Sounds good so far.

SN: You can only take five books.

MR: Okay.

SN: So that's going to be hard. Not five hundred, but five. So, what five would you take?

MR: That is very hard. I'm going to assume there are already probably a few grapes on this island.

SN: There's the Reformation Study Bible.

MR: Right.

SN: There's Calvin's Institutes.

MR: So, I don't need to mention some of those. I'm going to dive into some others.

SN: Go right ahead.

MR: I would take Athanasius’ Against the Arians.

SN: Ah, Against the Arians.

MR: Against the Arians; not On the Incarnation.

SN: I thought you were going to say On the Incarnation.

MR: You thought I'd say On the Incarnation, which will be right there in the shortlist, but Against the Arians is the most stunning bit of theology. How we know who God truly is. It's Lutheran in its insight.

SN: We are off to a great start here. Great choice. Book number two.

MR: Book number two. I would choose…I'd go for a Luther. I would pick one of his 1520 Reformation treatises. So, Treatise on Good Works; Freedom of a Christian. I think they're one work, really.

SN: I was going to say, I've seen them bound together. Let's cheat, and you can have that as one.

MR: That's good enough for me. They are just so immensely helpful as explanations of what faith is, what justification by faith looks like and means. So helpful for everyday Christian health.

SN: Vintage Luther.

MR: Yes.

SN: The Three Treatises.

MR: Yes.

SN: Number three?

MR: Number three. I would choose Thomas Goodwin. It's actually two works together—Christ Set Forth and The Heart of Christ in Heaven Towards Sinners on Earth. Goodwin wrote those because he said, "The minds of many are so wholly taken up with themselves, that Christ is scarce in all their thoughts." And so he writes to set forth Christ in his glory, that we might adore him.

SN: That's three. Number four.

MR: Number four. I think I would choose someone close to Goodwin, Richard Sibbes. I would I think choose…it was originally, unfortunately, titled Bowels Opened. What he means is he's talking about the Song of Songs and the deep gut feelings and desires of the bridegroom at his bride and how those are being exposited or opened. And he's trying to talk about the love that exists between Christ and his church. It's simply a beautiful meditation on how graciously, kindly committed Christ is to his church.

SN: So, we've got a church father, a Reformer, your beloved Puritans. We've only got room for one more. What would number five be?

MR: I couldn't go to a desert island, even though you might have visited and left some of these before, without putting some Jonathan Edwards.

SN: Ah, I knew you were saving the best for the last. So, what Edwards would you like to take?

MR: It'd be hard to pass up The End for Which God Created the World. That was such an influential book for me, The End for Which God Created the World, to see this big, biblical meta-picture of the glory of God. And I remember reading Religious Affections, where he says, “The hypocrite desires the gifts of God more than God himself.” And I remember thinking—convicted as a hypocrite when I read that many years ago—and I thought, “How could I love God more than life itself and the thought of heaven?” The End for Which God Created the World gave the answer. You see the glory of God. You see that is the source of life and happiness.

SN: Well, Dr. Reeves, we will leave you with your books. It's been a pleasure to talk to you.

MR: Thank you. Great to be with you.

SN: Well, that was Dr. Reeves and his five books for his deserted island, and I'm Steve Nichols. Thanks for listening to 5 Minutes in Church History.