412 - 1 and 2 Timothy Titus & 1, 2 Thessalonians, 1, 2 Timothy Titus

1 and 2 Timothy Titus
By Gordan D. Fee
San Francisco. Harper & Row 1984. 274 pp. $9.95.

1, 2 Thessalonians, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus
By Gary W. Demarest
Waco, Texas, Word Books, 1984. 333 pp. $14.95.

These two commentaries on the Pastoral Epistles (plus Thessalonians in the Demarest work) are conservative evangelical in tendency, like the series in which they appear. Both commentators, for instance, affirm that Paul wrote all of the epistles under study.

Gordon D. Fee is an ordained minister in the Assemblies of God Church and Professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. His commentary, like that of the entire Good News Commentary series, is based on Today's English Version, the text of which is printed at the beginning of each unit. The comments include an exposition of the unit as a whole, clearly and helpfully written; detailed verse-by-verse notes, which answer questions of the serious student but may be a bit heavy for the average church school teacher, and additional notes in smaller type, to which the scholarly references are relegated. The whole is preceded by a scholarly but readable introduction in which Fee affirms the specific occasional nature of these letters (I Timothy addresses the problem of false teachers among the elders-overseers of the church in Ephesus), and offers an intellectually honest treatment of the question of authorship, coming down on the side of the traditional solution.

Although the series is intended for lay Bible study groups and the ordinary reader, Fee's commentary may be of greatest help to pastors and teachers who will use its extensive bibliography and indices and who can

413 - 1 and 2 Timothy Titus & 1, 2 Thessalonians, 1, 2 Timothy Titus

appreciate the depth of scholarship that informs his notes.

Gary W. Demarest has been senior pastor of LaCanada Presbyterian Church in suburban Los Angeles since 1965. Prominent in Presbyterian conservative evangelical circles, Demarest reveals himself in this commentary, as primarily a pastor, preacher, and world mission enthusiast. He is an informed student of Scripture, whose clear outlines of the five letters, while topical, respect the literary units and whose notes on key terms in Greek are frequent and helpful. His writing is homiletical in style, with frequent use of the first person and of direct address. The numerous illustrations and applications to daily life are drawn in large part from Demarest's own pastoral experience. This reviewer read the notes on II Timothy 4:6-8 to a friend dying ing of leukemia.

Like the Communicator's commentary, series as a whole, this commentary is based on the New King James Bible, the text of which is printed at the beginning of notes on each unit. In the preface, the author accepts Pauline authorship of both epistles to the Thessalonians and of the Pastoral Epistles. which he views as Paul's earliest and latest writings, respectively. He attributes the great differences in the two sets of letters to changes in Paul's life between A.D. 48 and A.D. 64 and finds three great themes to be common to all five letters: church government and organization, sound doctrine, and quality in Christian living. An introduction to each letter treats the historical background and occasion for writing. A selected bibliography, weighted toward conservative evangelical works, completes this clearly printed, wellbound work.

Lamar Williamson
Presbyterian School of Christian Education
Richmond, Va.