Dr. Finny Kuruvilla. Many people today say, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” Such language veils a hunger for God but a distaste for the church. Even in the church, Christians are asking, “Is this what church is supposed to be?” Many Christians sense deep down that there is supposed to be something more, but are unsure of what that something is. King Jesus Claims His Church presents a stirring, bold vision for the church that is both biblical and timely. . . .
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Description
Dr. Finny Kuruvilla. Many people today say, “I’m spiritual, but not religious.” Such language veils a hunger for God but a distaste for the church. Even in the church, Christians are asking, “Is this what church is supposed to be?” Many Christians sense deep down that there is supposed to be something more, but are unsure of what that something is. These longings can be fulfilled only by discovering God’s true intent for His people. The mandate for our generation is to recover a vision for the church that comes from correctly reading Scripture. King Jesus Claims His Church presents a stirring, bold vision for the church that is both biblical and timely.
$10.95
Reviews
Brother Finny’s book is a fascinating read. His passion for the church energizes every page. His passion to discover truth in the Biblical pattern is evident. The arguments are compelling. The conclusions are logical, Biblically sound, and historically accurate. The vision portrayed is globally massive and locally motivating. Most importantly, Brother Finny ends with a soul-searching challenge to align one’s life to the Biblical pattern. Prepare to be convicted, challenged, stretched, and most importantly, be moved beyond the status quo.
I have enjoyed and been encouraged by various books by David Bercot, such as “The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down”, “Will the Theologians Please Sit Down” and “In God We Don’t Trust”. I hoped that this book, being sold and recommended by Scroll Publishing, would be of the same caliber. Unfortunately, it is not even close. Finny Kuruvilla is a theologian. I don’t know what his theological education background is. However, reading “King Jesus Claims His Church” was like reading many other stuffy, unBiblical articles and books by theologians, both in the style of writing and the treatment of Scripture. The number one problem is Kuruvilla’s use of Scripture. Rather than investigating the Bible to see what God has commanded us to do, he approaches Scripture with various pre-conceived ideas and seeks to prove them by quoting Bible verses. In the process, he ignores other passages of Scripture that contradict his conclusions. A good example is his chapter on the Regulative Principle. Basically, the Regulative Principle (a term which I believe comes from Calvinism) says that we may only worship God in ways which are specifically permitted or commanded in Scripture. Kuruvilla begins the chapter by writing for several pages on the historical basis for the Regulative Principle, then gives a Scriptural basis. However, all but one of his proof texts come from the Old Testament, ignoring the fact that we are now dead to the Law (see Romans 7). His one passage from the New Testament (Mark 7:6-9) only proves that we must not add to God’s commands and require things He has not commanded. It does not prove that we may only worship God as He has specifically commanded. Furthermore, in applying the Regulative Principle, Kuruvilla forbids musical instruments, which were actually commanded, not merely permitted, in the Old Testament. We have a problem here. If we are going to use the Old Testament as a guide for New Covenant worship, we must also follow the commands for worship such as Psalm 150, which commands praising God with all sorts of musical instruments. To cherry-pick verses from the Old and New Covenants is to make our own doctrines of men, which Jesus says will make our worship vain (Mark 7:7). Finny Kuruvilla is a theologian who needs to sit down.
Finny Kuruvilla’s new book, King Jesus Claims His Church, gives kingdom-focused Christians a powerful vision of what the church should be today. If you are on this website, it’s likely you have become more aware of Jesus’ message of kingdom through listening to David Bercot’s audio recordings and reading books like The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down. But what should we actually do after we understand these teachings? Many of us find ourselves in churches that grasp some important portions of the kingdom message, but unfortunately ignore other parts. One group of Christian churches does a good job teaching the same kingdom message as the early Church regarding holiness, separation from the world, headcovering, divorce and non-resistance. A different group of churches lines up with kingdom teachings on baptism, evangelism, discipleship and the Lord’s Supper. Many Christians looking for fellowship that consistently upholds kingdom teachings are frustrated and feel isolated. What would it look like if a non-denominational Christian brotherhood were to embrace ALL of the kingdom teachings consistently? A group committed to obeying all the commands of King Jesus and his apostles, rejecting unbiblical traditions and evangelizing the cities of the world with the kingdom message would look like nothing we have yet seen. Finny Kuruvilla lays out a bold and compelling picture of what that would look like, today, and bids us to join him in seeing that vision fulfilled. This book addresses an unusually broad range of practical issues related to basic doctrine and church life. However, I found the clear writing style and topically organized chapter format made it easy to read. Kuruvilla is not an ivory-tower philosopher; his great passion is the church, and he is committed to living out the things he writes about. His own family has joined with other kingdom Christian families to putting these things into practice today, in a close Christian community in Boston. For those Scroll readers who have been learning about the kingdom and are yearning to see it lived out in a church setting today, I urge you to get this book, read it, and share it with your friends. I believe that this important book could become a catalyst to draw together kingdom Christians from diverse backgrounds who are serious about advancing the kingdom of Jesus Christ right now. This is a book that could get the old men dreaming again. It might change the course of your spiritual life, not to mention the world.
King Jesus Claims His Church is a though-provoking read that pushes its readers back to the word of God. Finny Kuruvilla has put to words what I have been yearning to express for years but did not know how. The conclusions he comes to helped me put my finger on the yearnings of my heart born from a disconnect between what I knew Scripture said and how my life and vision for the church fell short. The book is divided very well into different sections and chapters making it easy to revisit a topic for study. I have found myself revisiting these chapters many times over. Encountering this book was an answer to many buckets of prayers I have been uttering for years. I pray more readers encounter its pages and are inspired as I was to press forward for the King.
After reading this book, I sent a copy to the people I hold dearest in this world and I continue to recommend it to every Christian that I know has a love for Jesus’ church. I spent the first 25 years of my life around many churches and have a deep love for the Bible, but at my core I sensed that something was off. Despite calling myself a Christian, I constantly walked a life of “picking and choosing†from the Bible and I always felt convicted but never moved to action. Kuruvilla’s deep care to discover God’s true intent for His people shook my core and rattled my foundations. I spent many sleepless nights as I encountered a vision for the church that fundamentally differed from what I had experienced growing up.
I must admit that at first I was a bit frightened. How could it be that I had lived my whole life claiming to be a follower of Christ when my life did not reflect His teachings? The most comfort I received in these days was revisiting Scripture with Jesus and his kingdom at the forefront of my mind. King Jesus Claims His Church is so powerful because after every chapter I found myself driven back to the word of God. Slowly pieces began to fall into place as I studied Scripture and church history more intently to verify the topics presented throughout the book. Kuruvilla’s diligent and thought-provoking words forced me to defend the way I lived, or change. At the end of the day I found myself lacking, and I had to change. I always had a grand vision for my life where eventually I would become a faithful man, live with a faithful people, and give everything for my Savior and Lord. King Jesus Claims His Church drove me to replace my dreamy “grand vision†with a practical and immediate call to surrender my ways and life to King Jesus.
Very insightful and challenging. A bold vision for the Church. Much needed in this day and age. Finny covers a broad range of topics. He aims to be Biblical and bring the Church back to its Apostolic roots. In an age of compromise and secularism, every devout Christian should read this book with an open mind and discerning spirit.
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