Salvation: The Doctrine of Salvation for Every Woman (Book Review)

This is a really helpful book and I haven’t come across anything quite like it before!

Natalie is committed to faithfully explaining how salvation is accomplished by Christ: purposed from before the foundation of the world, dealing with sin that has entered our lives through the fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, by Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross and his triumphant resurrection.

This wonderful gift of salvation is applied to our hearts and lives by the work of the Holy Spirit and brings us into union with Christ. We are born again and move from death to life. Through faith in Christ, we are given Christ’s righteousness and justified in God’s sight and adopted into his family.

Each chapter is full of Bible references as Natalie shows the scriptural basis of our salvation. She introduces the reader to the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Westminster Confession of Faith, theologians such as Augustine, John Calvin, Herman Bavinck, John J Murray, and John Frame, with accessible bite-sized quotes. The theology in this book will make your heart rejoice with thankfulness as you reflect on your salvation won through Christ.

Theology through a woman’s eyes

Natalie succeeds in writing a fresh book in two ways.

Firstly, she presents the doctrine of salvation through the eyes of a woman connecting with a female readership. She helpfully uses illustrations from her own life as a woman, a wife, and a mother, and approaches the doctrine from the point of view of women.

Natalie shares her experience of miscarriage, stories of her family holiday, and her desire for a forever home. The connections to women in the history of redemption are powerful: references are made to the Exodus from the perspective of a Hebrew woman, and adoption is illustrated with references to Rahab and Ruth.

Secondly, Natalie writes with the desire to make doctrine accessible, particularly to women who haven’t studied theology previously. Theology is for women too! Here is a female theologian writing for women who aren’t yet theologians.

Helpfully and clearly, she explains theological concepts such as federal headship, the order of redemption, and the new perspective on Paul. This isn’t done in a condescending way but rather as building blocks to enable the reader to go on to find out more and grow in their understanding of doctrine.

Each chapter has pertinent questions to embed the truth in our own lives and settings. Some are tailored to women (for example, “How can we as women look forward to a home in our Father’s house?”) but most are generic (like “What spiritual junk do you find yourself trusting in?”).

This book isn’t exclusively for women – men can read it too!

Questions and theology

You will have questions as you read; studying theology does that to you. But that is a good thing because it helps us grow in our understanding and realise that, although we can’t answer all the questions, we can rest on what God has revealed to us in his word.

For example, the first chapter is on divine election which may be a new doctrine to you or something you struggle to accept. Persevere and keep reading, meditate on the Bible references, study with a more mature believer or a part of a women’s group, and you will be blessed.

This book is one of “The Good Portion” series published by Christian Focus Publications. Three other books in the series have been published: Scripture; God; Christ. I will be ordering these too!