Some Christians have a faith that engages their mind, but not their emotions. Others love God with passionate feelings but have little to no theology. It often seems like we must choose between our hearts and minds, but Jesus called us to love God with all our hearts and all our minds.
Adam Ramsey, the pastor of Liberti Church in Australia, spent years focusing on either heart or mind to the detriment of the other. But he eventually grew tired of the divide and came to realize he didn’t have to choose one over the other. It is entirely possible to have a passionate and intelligent faith. And in his book, Truth on Fire: Gazing at God Until Your Heart Sings, Ramsey invites us to recover a theology on fire by gazing at God’s majestic attributes.
Ramsey says, “My hope in these pages is to paint a biblical portrait of what God is actually like, so that we can gaze upon him together until our hearts can’t help but sing. To behold him in such a way that our daily experience is transformed with a deepened awareness of who it is we pray to, who it is that is with us, and who it is that we are loved by. To think about our God more deeply, in order to enjoy him more intensely. To let God’s truth set our hearts on fire.”
Truth on Fire has twelve chapters that focus on a specific attribute of God. For instance, His transcendence, sovereignty, holiness, love, etc. Each chapter explains God’s attributes, how Jesus embodied them, and what it means for us. Every chapter also has a few questions for deeper reflection and discussion.
I was highly interested in reading this book because I often struggle to have faith that engages my mind and heart. And the book helped bridged the gap a little. I love how Ramsey describes God’s attributes and showed God’s majestic beauty. I particularly liked that Ramsey shows how Christ perfectly embodies all of God’s attributes.
Also, though Ramsey addresses a weighty topic, his writing is easy to read and understand. In other words, it is not a dry academic exposition of God’s attributes.
The one thing that I didn’t care much for was chapter 10 on God’s justice. Ramsey veered off from writing about God’s attributes to venture into the world of social justice. Ramsey doesn’t write about God’s justice on sin in general but focuses only on issues like racism and oppression. This might be nitpicky, but I didn’t particularly like that Ramsey subtly criticized Voddie Baucham while favorably quoting Eric Mason. The former is much more biblical than the latter.
But aside from chapter 10, I enjoyed Truth on Fire, and I recommend it. I also recommend reading Knowing God by J.I. Packer and Knowledge of the Holy by A.W Tozer (one of my favorite books).
The Goodbook Company graciously gave me a copy, and this is my honest review.
