Covenant Reformed Church of Sacramento stocks many books on Reformed theology and practice. Authors include Dabney, Calvin, Luther, Turretin, Warfield, Spurgeon, and our own pastor, Reverend Jim West.
Discerning Christ's Body: Requirements for Participation in the Lord's Supper and a Refutation of Paedocommunion
by Jim West, Brian Schwertley,
and Thomas Mayville
PURCHASE via email / $6.00
In this timely book, a report of the Western Classis of the RCUS, Jim West and Brian Schwertley demonstrate from Scripture the lack of biblical evidence in both the Old and New Testaments for the practice of paedocommunion. Thomas Mayville demonstrates from Church history that paedocommunion was not the normative practice of the Ante-Nicene fathers, but rather an aberration. He also documents how the sixteenthcentury Reformed confessions and theologians affi rmed the necessity of catechetical training and examination of catechumens for communicant membership by the elders of the church. The reader is invited to consider their arguments for Discerning Christ’s Body at the Lord’s table. We trust that if you prayerfully and humbly consider the presentation of the evidence, you will be convinced that the traditional Reformed practice is the biblical one.
Drinking With Calvin and Luther!
by Jim West
PURCHASE via email / $16.95
or from Oakdown Books
In this completely revised and expanded version of his underground classic, Rev. Jim West takes you through centuries of Christian history, looking at the role alcohol played in the church during the Protestant Reformation, in the American colonies, into the time of Charles Spurgeon and beyond.
With humor and wit, West winds through time showing in generation after generation how God's saints have enjoyed his many good gifts in reverence, thankfulness, and moderation.
The Glorious Foundation of Christ:
The Missing Clincher argument in
the Tongues’ Debate
by Jim West
PURCHASE via email / $5.95
The Church has failed to present a persuasive argument for the cessation of tongues speaking. The extent of this failure is illustrated not only by the growth of tongues speaking in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches, but by scores of non-Charismatic Christians who are puzzled why the gift of tongues is not exercised in their own churches.
In The Glorious Foundation of Christ, Pastor West presents an argument that most of us have never before considered. Writing clearly, and yet with kind regard to his Christian brethren in Charismatic churches, he argues that tongues are part of the completed foundation of Christ’s glorious work: the Church. Because a foundation can only be laid once, and since tongues is a foundational gift of the Spirit, tongues speaking is also a one-time gift. His cogent Biblical exposition demonstrates that the gift of speaking in tongues was exclusively for the founding of the Church during the first century, and not for our day.
The Baptism of Infants in the Old
and New Covenants
by Jim West
PURCHASE via email / $4.00
Written at the request of the Western Classis of the Reformed Church in the United States, this pamphlet (85 pages) will give cognitive rest to paedo-baptists about the position that they claim to believe, but do not fully understand. With a clear and through reliance upon the Scriptures, Pastor Jim West argues forcefully for the baptism of our covenant infants in chapters about the meaning of baptism; baptism in the old and new covenants; Christian education; why some covenant children apostatize; the error of presumptive regeneration, and others. Mixing detailed exegesis with practical advice, this is an indispensable pamphlet for those who wish to defend their Reformed position on baptism. (In memory of the great apologist, Dr. Cornelius Van Til, the front cover of the pamphlet includes a photo of Dr. Van Til surrounded by a number of covenant youth.)
Christian Courtship Versus
the Dating Game
by Jim West
PURCHASE via email / $5.00
How should Christian parents best prepare their children for marriage? Is dating the only way? What should they tell them about the American institution of dating?
At issue is the question of warrant. Is the dating institution morally neutral — an innocent cultural expression? Or is it a product of a pagan culture and thus Scripturally unjustifiable?
This booklet is particularly suited for older children still living at home. Its purpose is to guide both fathers and mothers as they raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Its purpose is to provide them with an alternative that is more in sync with the letter and spirit of the Bible. It zeroes in upon the father's responsibility in the courtship process. Also covered are both theology and biology, as there is a great deal of ignorance about the way that God has made us.
This booklet is also about virginity. Virginity is both outward and inward (Proverbs 6:25). Virginity is not simply physical. Virginity is purity of the heart. Nor is virginity merely denying yourself what you really would like to do outside of marriage; virginity is an inheritance that is brought into a marriage. In this sense, marriage is like a man and a woman exchanging lavish gifts— their bodies (1 Corinthians 7:4). When the father gives away the bride, he gives an inheritance. This book is devoted to the preservation of that inheritance.
The Art of Choosing Your Love
by Jim West
PURCHASE via email / $5.00
Christians are to marry “only in the Lord” (I Cor. 7:39). Anything less is an “unequal yoke,” which means that a Christian marrying a non-Christian is more than a mismatch. Marriage to a non-Christian is religious apostasy (II Cor. 6:14ff).
Christian Courtship vs. The Dating Game examined the methodology of romance and courtship. This book focuses upon the qualifications for marriage. Some of the criteria involved may surprise the Christian who, perhaps, has a “Valentine's theology” about marital love.
This study is also designed for the Christian father who wants the very best for his daughter and who has the responsibility to assess the spiritual credentials of would-be suitors. Let us remember that it is the father who must “give” the bride (1 Cor. 7:38).
A word about the title: The Art of Choosing Your Love. When we choose our love, we must love our choice. Loving is a responsibility that must be learned. This is why Paul tells Titus that the older women are to teach the younger women to love their husbands (Titus 2:4). Because love can be learned, it can also be unlearned and then relearned. Since love is learnable, every marriage is salvageable, no matter how great the shipwreck.
The Covenant Baptism of Infants
by Jim West
PURCHASE from Christian Worldview Ministries
Who is to be baptized? The answer is that the people of God are to be baptized. But who are the people of God? To understand this, we must understand that the people of God are defined in the Bible as the covenant people. We must understand the covenant if we are going to identify God's chosen people.
Next to the doctrine of the Trinity, the covenant is the most basic teaching of the Bible. The Old and the New Testaments of which we so often speak, are really the Old and the New Covenants (Jer. 31:31 ff). The covenant is so important that we cannot even be Christians unless we believe in it. It is the blood of the covenant that saves us from sin (Heb. 13:20)!
In The Covenant Baptism of Infants we discuss what a covenant actually is. We consider such things as covenant continuity and children under covenant law. We also consider several arguments for infant baptism.