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Practical Christian Living

If Christianity is nothing else, it is practical. “Practical Christian living” is nearly redundant, since Christ’s complete redemption extends beyond theoretical concepts to encompass our day-to-day behavior. Not that Christianity is merely practical—its inherent behavioral principals stem from its deeply spiritual and mystical character.

Maintaining a life of devotion to Christ is the “perseverance of the saints” John Calvin and other Reformers cited as evidence of true belief. In our current culture it is popular to emphasize the fact that each of us fails to live up to Christ’s perfect standard, that the important thing is to pursue that standard nonetheless. Traditionally, however, the Church has emphasized Christ's example, not our failure or ability to imitate it.

Such an approach may not appeal to people outside the fold (or to many within it), but it is the correct one. To preach a softened Gospel to attract souls does not ultimately result in more Christians, it only results in many deluded people trusting a weakened gospel.

Jesus’ statement that His yoke is easy is frequently taken to mean that a Christian need only “believe in Jesus” to eventually “go to Heaven.” Belief is a key aspect, and eternity with Our Savior certainly the object, but Christ’s redemption means our duty becomes not to ourselves (as when we are slaves to sin), but to render Him praise and uphold His perfect law. The ease of the Christian life derives not from the absence of moral constraint, but from the Holy Spirit abiding in each of us as well as in the corporate Church. In order to act the way we ought, we must cultivate our awareness of the Spirit and rely on His power and not our own to avoid sin and pursue holiness.

It goes without saying that slavery to Christ is abhorrent to non-Christians, understanding as they do their own slavery to sin as absolute personal freedom. The proper Christian response is not to downplay our bondage to Christ, but to discover the true joy of holiness and the paradoxical freedom our new slavery entails. Those we would bring into Christianity must not be misled, nor should they be ignorant of the duties of believers. Instead they should see the beauty of Christ’s righteousness as displayed by His followers, and the peace that His servants experience when they submit themselves to God’s law.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

 

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Active Filters: 11th grade (Ages 16-17), New Books & Materials
12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You
by Tony Reinke
from Crossway Books
for 11th-Adult
in Culture & Discernment (Location: XCU-DIS)
$13.59
Basic Christian Living
by Douglas Wilson
from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$18.00
Basic Christianity
by John Stott
2nd edition from InterVarsity Press
in Beginning Christian Apologetics (Location: XAP-BEG)
$6.00
Basic Christianity
by John Stott
2nd edition from William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
in Beginning Christian Apologetics (Location: XAP-BEG)
$7.99
Business of Heaven
by C.S. Lewis
Reissue from HarperOne
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$17.99
Carved in Ebony
by Jasmine L. Holmes
from Bethany House
for 10th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$17.99
Celebrating the Sabbath
by Bruce Ray
from P&R Publishing
for 11th-Adult
in Worship & Sabbath (Location: XWO-SABB)
$6.99
Christ Formed in You
by Brian G. Hedges
from Shepherd Press
for 10th-Adult
in Pursuing Holiness (Location: XCL-HOLY)
$15.95
Christian Life
by Sinclair B. Ferguson
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 11th-Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$11.50
Cost of Discipleship
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Foreword by Eric Metaxas
1st edition from Touchstone
for 10th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.19
Crazy Love
by Francis Chan
Revised and Updated from David C. Cook
for 10th-Adult
in Sacrificial Living (Location: XCL-SAC)
$12.00
Crossroads
by Colin Creel
from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Work & Vocation (Location: SS-VOC)
$10.39 $7.00 (1 in stock)
Desiring God
by John Piper
2nd edition from Multnomah Books
for 11th-Adult
in Knowing & Loving God (Location: XCL-KNOW)
$17.99
Discipline of Grace
by Jerry Bridges
from NavPress
for 10th-Adult
in Spiritual Disciplines (Location: XCL-SPDI)
$14.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Don't Waste Your Life
by John Piper
from Crossway Books
for 9th-Adult
in Sacrificial Living (Location: XCL-SAC)
$11.19 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Enemy Within
by Kris Lundgaard
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Repentance & Avoiding Sin (Location: XCL-REP)
$9.99
Experiencing God
by Henry T. Blackaby & Claude V. King
Revised & Expanded from Broadman & Holman
for 9th-Adult
in Knowing & Loving God (Location: XCL-KNOW)
$14.99 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Experiencing the Trinity
by Darrell W. Johnson
from Regent College
for 9th-Adult
in Theology Proper: The Study of God (Location: XTH-GOD)
$10.00
Extravagant Grace
by Barbara Duguid
from P&R Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in The Gospel (Location: XTH-GOS)
$12.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Face to Face
by Steve Wilkins
2nd edition from Canon Press
for 9th-Adult
in Hospitality (Location: SS-HOS)
$14.00
Family Worship Book
by Terry L. Johnson
from Christian Focus Publications
for 11th-Adult
in Family Worship (Location: BIB-FAWO)
$19.50
God at Work
by Gene Veith
from Crossway Books
for 11th-Adult
in Work & Vocation (Location: SS-VOC)
$9.00
God at Work
by Gene Veith
2nd edition from Crossway Books
for 11th-Adult
in Work & Vocation (Location: SS-VOC)
$12.79
God's Wisdom for Navigating Life
by Timothy J. Keller & Kathy Keller
from Viking Press
for 9th-Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$23.00
Gospel Primer for Christians
by Milton Vincent
from Focus Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in The Gospel (Location: XTH-GOS)
$10.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Habakkuk
by Walter J. Chantry
from Banner of Truth Trust
for 10th-Adult
in Bible Commentaries (Location: XBI-COMM)
$9.00
Heaven in Stone and Glass
by Robert Barron
from Crossroad Publishing Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$14.95
Hero of Heroes
by Iain Duguid
from P&R Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in Knowing & Loving God (Location: XCL-KNOW)
$9.99
Hole in Our Holiness
by Kevin DeYoung
1st edition from Crossway Books
for 11th-Adult
in Pursuing Holiness (Location: XCL-HOLY)
$11.99
Holiness
by J. C. Ryle
from Canon Press
for 11th-Adult
in Pursuing Holiness (Location: XCL-HOLY)
$22.95
Hospitality Commands
by Alexander Strauch
from Lewis and Roth Publishers
for 10th-Adult
in Hospitality (Location: SS-HOS)
$4.75 $3.00 (1 in stock)
How To Be Free From Bitterness
by Jim Wilson
2nd edition from Canon Press
for 10th-Adult
in Repentance & Avoiding Sin (Location: XCL-REP)
$12.00
How to Grow in Christ
by Jack Kinneer
from P&R Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Reading & Study (Location: XBI-STUDY)
$6.80
If. . .
by Amy Carmichael
from CLC Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$5.99
John Ploughman's Talk
by Charles Haddon Spurgeon
from Wipf and Stock Publishers
Christian Living for 10th-Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$15.00
Knowing God
by J. I. Packer
2nd edition from InterVarsity Press
for 9th-Adult
in Knowing & Loving God (Location: XCL-KNOW)
$20.00
Learning Contentment
by Nancy Wilson
from Canon Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biblical Womanhood (Location: XFA-WOM)
$12.00
Let Justice Roll Down
by John M. Perkins
from Baker Books
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.99
Letters to a Diminished Church
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99
Mark of the Christian
by Francis A. Schaeffer
2nd edition from InterVarsity Press
for 10th-Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$10.00
Money, Greed, and God
by Jay W. Richards
1st edition from HarperOne
for 11th-Adult
in Economics Resources (Location: ECON-REF)
$12.50
Morning and Evening
by Charles H. Spurgeon & Alistair Begg
2nd edition from Crossway Books
Devotional Material for 9th-Adult
in Devotionals (Location: XCL-DEV)
$29.99
Practical View of Christianity
by William Wilberforce
from Hendrickson Publishers
Religion/Philosophy for 11th-Adult
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
$12.95 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Prayer
by Timothy J. Keller
from Dutton Adult
for 11th-Adult
in Prayer (Location: XCL-PRAY)
$18.00
Pursuit of God
by A. W. Tozer
from Moody Press
for 9th-Adult
in Knowing & Loving God (Location: XCL-KNOW)
$4.99
Quest for More
by Paul David Tripp
1st edition from New Growth Press
for 10th-Adult
in Christian Counseling (Location: XCL-COU)
$14.50
Respectable Sins
by Jerry Bridges
from NavPress
for 9th-Adult
in Repentance & Avoiding Sin (Location: XCL-REP)
$19.99
Respectable Sins - Discussion Guide
by Jerry Bridges & Stephen Sorenson
from NavPress
for 10th-Adult
in Repentance & Avoiding Sin (Location: XCL-REP)
$8.99
Smoke On the Mountain
by Joy Davidman
from Westminster John Knox Press
for 11th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$20.00
Taking God Seriously
by J. I. Packer
1st edition from Crossway Books
for 9th-Adult
in Reformed Theology (Location: XTH-REF)
$10.39
Thoughts for Young Men
by J. C. Ryle
from Canon Press
for 10th-Adult
in Raising Sons (Location: XFA-SON)
$8.95
Tithing and Dominion
by Edward A. Powell & R. J. Rushdoony
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
for 11th-Adult
in Biblical Law (Location: XTH-LAW)
$8.00 $4.00 (6 in stock)
Trusting God
by Jerry Bridges
from NavPress
for 10th-Adult
in Suffering & Hope (Location: XCL-SUF)
$14.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Weakness Is the Way
by J. I. Packer
from Crossway Books
for 11th-Adult
in Suffering & Hope (Location: XCL-SUF)
$11.99
What He Must Be
by Voddie Baucham
from Crossway Books
for parents
in Preparing for Marriage (Location: XFA-PREP)
$13.59
Word versus Deed
by Duane Litfin
1st edition from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$11.00
Work Matters
by Tom Nelson
from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Work & Vocation (Location: SS-VOC)
$12.79
Worldliness
by C. J. Mahaney
from Crossway Books
for 10th-Adult
in Repentance & Avoiding Sin (Location: XCL-REP)
$10.39 $8.00 (1 in stock)
You Are What You Love
by James K. A. Smith
from Brazos Press
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$19.99
You Who?
by Rachel Jankovic
from Canon Press
for 11th-Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$14.95
Young, Restless, Reformed
by Collin Hansen
from Crossway Books
for 9th-Adult
in Reformed Theology (Location: XTH-REF)
$12.00
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