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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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4:8 Principle
by Tommy Newberry
from Tyndale House
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$12.00
Awe
by Paul David Tripp
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Bread & Wine
by Shauna Niequist
from Zondervan
for Adult
in Culture of Food (Location: COOK-CUL)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Celebration of Discipline - 25th Anniversary
by Richard J. Foster
25th Anniversary from HarperCollins
for Adult
in Spiritual Disciplines (Location: XCL-SPDI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Christian's Secret of a Happy Life
by Hannah Whitall Smith
from Hendrickson Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cross Centered Life
by C. J. Mahaney
from Multnomah Books
for Adult
in The Gospel (Location: XTH-GOS)
$6.50
Cure of Souls
by R. J. Rushdoony
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
for Adult
in Repentance & Avoiding Sin (Location: XCL-REP)
$26.00
Dangerous Duty of Delight
by John Piper
from Multnomah Books
for Adult
in Knowing & Loving God (Location: XCL-KNOW)
$13.99
Discipline
by Elisabeth Elliot
from Revell Publishing
in Spiritual Disciplines (Location: XCL-SPDI)
Dug Down Deep
by Joshua Harris
from Multnomah Books
for 9th-Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
Every Good Endeavor
by Tim Keller
from Dutton Adult
for Adult
in Work & Vocation (Location: SS-VOC)
$18.95
Existence and Attributes of God
by Stephen Charnock
from Baker Books
for 11th-Adult
in Theology Proper: The Study of God (Location: XTH-GOD)
$75.00 (1 in stock)
Family Worship Book
by Terry L. Johnson
from Christian Focus Publications
for 11th-Adult
in Family Worship (Location: BIB-FAWO)
$19.50
Fault Lines
by Voddie Baucham Jr.
from Salem Books
in Christianity and the State (Location: XWV-STA)
$24.99 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Forgive
by Timothy Keller
from Viking Press
for Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$27.00
God Loves Broken People
by Sheila Walsh
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
in Suffering & Hope (Location: XCL-SUF)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
God So Loved the World
by Elizabeth Goudge
from Coward McCann
for 5th-9th grade
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
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 Comes with a House Key
by Rosaria Butterfield
from Crossway Books
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$19.99
Grand Weaver
by Ravi Zacharias
Book Club from Zondervan
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Happiness
by Randy Alcorn
from Tyndale House
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
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 Banner of Truth Trust
for Adult
in Pursuing Holiness (Location: XCL-HOLY)
$30.00
Humility
by C. J. Mahaney
from Multnomah Books
for Adult
in Spiritual Disciplines (Location: XCL-SPDI)
$12.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Humility and Absolute Surrender
by Andrew Murray
from Hendrickson Publishers
for 10th-Adult
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
In His Service
by R. J. Rushdoony
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
for Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$19.50
In His Steps
by Charles M. Sheldon
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 9th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Knowledge of the Holy
by A. W. Tozer
from HarperOne
in Theology Proper: The Study of God (Location: XTH-GOD)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Law of Rewards
by Randy Alcorn
from Tyndale House
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Letters of Samuel Rutherford
Puritan Paperbacks
by Samuel Rutherford
1891 Reprint from Banner of Truth Trust
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$32.00 (1 in stock)
Living Church: Convictions of a Lifelong Pastor
by John Stott
from InterVarsity Press
for Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Long Journey Home
by Os Guinness
First Edition from WaterBrook Press
for Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Normal Christian Life
by Watchman Nee
3rd from Hendrickson Publishers
in Hendrickson Christian Classics (Location: XCL-DEV)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
One Thousand Gifts
by Ann Voskamp
from Zondervan
in Suffering & Hope (Location: XCL-SUF)
$18.99 $8.00 (2 in stock)
Pathway to Freedom
by Alistair Begg, foreword by Charles Colson
from Moody Press
for Adult
in Biblical Law (Location: XTH-LAW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Power Perfected in Weakness
by Christopher J. Klicka
from Shepherd Press
for 9th-Adult
in Suffering & Hope (Location: XCL-SUF)
$9.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Proverbs for You
by Kathleen Nielson
from Good Book Company
for 9th-Adult
in Bible Commentaries (Location: XBI-COMM)
Radical Disciple
by John Scott
from InterVarsity Press
for Adult
in Discipleship & Community (Location: XCL-DIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Real Christianity
by William Wilberforce, abridged and edited by James M. Houston
from Multnomah Press
for Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Respectable Sins
by Jerry Bridges
from NavPress
for 9th-Adult
in Repentance & Avoiding Sin (Location: XCL-REP)
$19.99
Revolt Against Maturity
by R. J. Rushdoony
from Chalcedon / Ross House Books
in Presuppositional Apologetics (Location: XAP-PRE)
$18.00
Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ
by John Piper
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Knowing & Loving God (Location: XCL-KNOW)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Sex and Money
by Paul David Tripp
from Crossway Books
for Adult
in Repentance & Avoiding Sin (Location: XCL-REP)
$18.39
Shepherd Looks at the Good Shepherd and His Sheep
by Phillip Keller
from Zondervan
for Adult
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
Simply Jesus
by N. T. Wright
from HarperOne
for Adult
in Jesus Christ (Location: XTH-JES)
$24.99
Soul Repair
by Jeff VanVonderen, Dale Ryan, Juanita Ryan
from InterVarsity Press
for Adult
in Christian Counseling (Location: XCL-COU)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
The Relationship Principles of Jesus
by written by Tom Holladay
from Zondervan
in Practical Christian Living (Location: XCL-PRAC)
$10.00 (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
Woman After God's Own Heart
by Elizabeth George
Deluxe from Harvest House
for 10th-adult
in Biblical Womanhood (Location: XFA-WOM)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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
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