It is a pleasure to review and to recommend Be Sure What You Believe: The Christian Faith Simply Explained by Dr. Joe Nesom. The subtitle aptly describes the heart and soul of this book: "the Christian faith simply explained." Dr. Nesom's many years as a teacher at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and as a faithful pastor have successfully meshed into a theologically sound work that is easily read by the layman. His simple style is reminiscent of early Baptist pastor-theologians like Norvell Robertson, William Bullein Johnson, and John L. Dagg. We need more pastors who can write and preach theology simply.

In twenty chapters, the book is a survey of the major doctrines of the Christian faith in the order of most confessions and systematic theologies. However, the simplicity of explanation, coupled with the absence of theological jargon, makes it a very good introduction to the body of truth historically believed by Protestants and, particularly, Baptists. The study questions at the end of each chapter are useful for personal reflection, Sunday School class discussions, and other venues.

The occasional references to historical Baptist confessions add to its flowing heartfelt presentation out of the personal beliefs of the author. Nesom's explanations align well with the 1833 New Hampshire Confession, the 1689 London Baptist Confession, the Abstract of Principles of Southern Seminary, and the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message.

The chapters dealing with the Trinity, and the divinity and humanity of Christ, are simple and masterful in their presentation. To the trained reader, one notices his incorporation of the historical councils as they hammered out the biblical doctrine of the Trinity and the person of Christ. However, his presentation is so simple that the untrained reader may not know that they have just read a survey of the historical controversies which culminated in an orthodox view of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Those who wish for extended historical references and footnotes in a technical volume must go elsewhere, but that was not Dr. Nesom's purpose in writing.

The doctrines of grace are well explained throughout the book without a heavy use of theological jargon. This makes the book even more useful to the pastor who wishes to introduce untaught church members to these biblical doctrines without the stumbling blocks of common misunderstandings of certain theological terms.

A welcome explanation is Dr. Nesom's reference to Article IV of the 1963 Baptist Faith and Message on the new birth. While most Southern Baptist pastors today believe that regeneration occurs after repentance and faith, Dr. Nesom shows that the 1963 BF&M teaches that faith is a sovereign gift of God which is given in regeneration. The sinner responds to the gospel with the gift of faith. In other words, regeneration precedes repentance and faith as a gracious work of God, not man, according to the election of grace. As the 1963 BF&M states:

Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart, wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace.

Dr. Nesom's explanation of the doctrines of grace in the 1963 BF&M will be a useful tool to pastors who wish to teach their people that salvation is "all of grace." He also gives a balanced explanation of God's sovereign election and the full responsibility of people to respond to the gospel.

Included are two chapters touching subjects which are rarely found in a systematic treatment of doctrine: singing God's praise and prayer. The author's love for sound doctrinal hymns comes through the entire book but is especially emphasized in a chapter designed to warm the layman's heart to great hymnology. This can be a welcome help to a pastor who is dealing with the shallow theology and flippant tone of many contemporary songs. His use of the Lord's Prayer to teach prayer to the reader is a helpful remedy to the feeble prayer lives of many churches.

Dr. Nesom's discussion of the return of our Lord is a good, simple discussion of the essentials that are clear in Scripture in a day when God's people are confused by their exposure to convoluted schemes of His return and the erroneous interpretation of many texts of Scripture. He deals with such speculative views by pointing out simple clear passages which eliminate the erroneous ideas which are so popular today. One example is the imminent return of Christ at any moment--a clear truth which contradicts certain elaborate schemes.

Finally, two things are interspersed throughout the book which make it a delight to read as a work of theology: it is thoroughly Christ-centered in content and warmly devotional in tone. It is one thing to understand sound doctrine, it is another to sum up all things in Christ Jesus. It is one thing to explain sound doctrine, it is another to be so caught up in the truths of God's Word as an author that the reader's heart is warmed in the reading.

I heartily recommend Be Sure What You Believe for pastors as a model of simplicity in preaching the great doctrines of the faith, for laymen as a study manual, for new Christians as an introduction to the Christian faith, and for Baptists as a faithful summary of what our forefathers lived and died for.

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