A Review of Jeremy Walker’s “Passing Through”

The author of Hebrews comments that Abraham sojourned as “he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.”  Like Abraham, this is not our home.  And as Paul reminded us in his epistle to the Philippians, we are actually citizens of Heaven, not of the Roman Empire, or the United Kingdom, or the United States.  The latter is our mission field, where our King has placed us to colonize for His kingdom.  A kingdom, mind you, that the King Himself declared, “is not of this world, or else my servants would fight.”

Where did this message get lost?  And even where it is not “lost”, but still preached, I fear it remains un-applied.

Enter Pastor Jeremy Walker’s newest book, “Passing Through”, where yet again he leverages his deep insight into Scripture with his solid grasp of Puritan and Reformed theology to help the reader recapture a vision of our mission that has long lost its luster.  It is my observation that Christians don’t want to colonize, they want comfort.  It’s not worship that consumes them, it is war. But not the type of war that is fought with the Gospel, our Bibles, and missionaries, but with guns, bombs, and military.

Which is why Pastor Walker’s book is both needed and timely.  As Dr. Horton observed, the Christian is called, not to be a settler or a tourist, but rather, a pilgrim. But what does that even mean?  How is that achieved?  In “Passing Through”, Mr. Walker details the problem and then offers situational guidance with the subsequent chapters. He discusses topic like respecting earthly authorities, a Biblical perspective on a “social Gospel” (or if there truly is such a thing), appreciating creation, and finally…a call to “Serve the King”.

Like previous books authored by Pastor Walker, this work is well-researched and chocked-full of great quotes and helpful illustrations.  As a result, I recommend this book for pastors and Bible teachers alike. If you are a fan of the Puritans, no doubt Mr. Walker’s message will resonate with you.  If you are a Bible student looking to weave the theme of our Heavenly citizenship, this book is a must-own.  All in all, this is an easy recommendation for anyone looking to gain the proper, Christian perspective on how we sojourn here, while looking for our real home.

I would like to point out that the author did an interview with The Confessing Baptist, which can be hear here.

By way of disclosure, a copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher in return for an honest evaluation, which I have provided.